- 8 hours ago
Greg Cosell of NFL Films joins Willard and Dibs to break down the 49ers' win over the Commanders to improve to 6-0, to wonder how the offense will look without all their wide receivers, to look ahead to Week 7 vs. the Falcons, and more.
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00:006-0.
00:036-0.
00:04Not Cosell. He's 5-1.
00:07Why? When did he lose?
00:09I mean, actually, I have him at 4-1-1.
00:11There was one that might have been graded as a draw.
00:14There was a tie?
00:15I think so.
00:16Between you and Cosell?
00:17Well, he's not wearing a tie.
00:18He's wearing an unbelievably great orange hoodie.
00:22And I think it's because Tennessee keeps marching on.
00:25The volunteers.
00:26Tennessee.
00:28Let's go live.
00:28Arrested development.
00:30It's a 5.
00:30To the River Islands guest line.
00:33And on YouTube.
00:34Joining us as he does every single Wednesday from NFL Films.
00:37With the deep dive on everything going on, Niners and more.
00:40It's Greg Cosell.
00:41Hello, Greg.
00:42How are we doing this afternoon?
00:43Gentlemen, how are you today?
00:45We are great.
00:47But, man, do we have questions for you.
00:50Those 6-0 49ers.
00:52Well, yeah.
00:52They were not as aesthetically pleasing as usual, Greg.
00:56Well, they were in the first half.
00:58They sure were.
00:59They sure were.
01:00But the defense said that.
01:01Actually, they would have blown them out if on the, I think it was the first possession of the second
01:05half.
01:05It might have been Luva who tipped it or it would have been an easy touchdown to Cooks, I believe.
01:11So, yeah.
01:12I mean, yeah.
01:14You know, this is the NFL, guys.
01:16It's a win.
01:17They're 6-0.
01:18I'm definitely being sarcastic.
01:20However, I do think for a lot of 49er fans, the thought on the way to the car was, oof,
01:27once Mike Evans went out, the offense just kind of stopped.
01:31And, obviously, you're pointing to a drive where Evans was not in there.
01:34And they went right down the field, had to settle for three.
01:37But what's your response to that?
01:38What did you see after Mike went out?
01:42Well, obviously, when you take, you know, it's an interesting question, guys, because I think sometimes we all lose sight
01:50of the fact that it's better to have good players than not good players.
01:55Wouldn't you think so?
01:55So, I'm in on that.
01:57That's astute.
01:57And that comes right from the film, Greg.
02:00Yeah.
02:01So, I mean, it's funny.
02:02I was talking to one of my guys today as we were preparing for the matchup show this week.
02:08And we were just talking about a particular team, I forget.
02:11And they're not particularly playing well on one side of the ball.
02:16And he just said, you know what?
02:17They just don't have a lot of real good players on that side of the ball.
02:20And sometimes, you know, at certain positions, if you don't have the great players, and don't forget Debo's out as
02:26well, so, yeah, they're just not as good at the receiver position.
02:32But, you know, this game was interesting because if McCaffrey doesn't fumble, they're probably up by maybe three touchdowns at
02:38the half, and then it's a whole different game.
02:40And then if that ball is not tipped by Louvoo, that was an easy touchdown.
02:44So, yeah, obviously they went three and out, three consecutive series in the second half.
02:52I'd be hard-pressed to say that there should be major concern about the 49ers.
02:56Probably not major concern, but I wonder what you saw in the second half where you didn't have Mike Evans
03:02in there.
03:02Did it seem like they were reluctant to try to look down the field and make throws?
03:07Did you see any throws that might have been open in that second half?
03:12Not really.
03:13I mean, I thought that looked pretty good on Kittle's 35-yarder on the first third-quarter possession.
03:18That was without Evans, wasn't it?
03:20Yep.
03:22I mean, I think you guys are – I'm being honest, guys.
03:25I think you're nitpicking a little.
03:27This is the NFL.
03:28You know, every drive is not a touchdown.
03:31You know, the other team plays too.
03:33I don't think there's anything wrong with their offense.
03:35You know, here's a note I made about the Niners' offense, which is true every single week.
03:41And by the way, that doesn't mean every single week.
03:44It's executed perfectly because it just doesn't happen that way.
03:47I said it's a tough offense to be schematically multiple against because Shanahan formations and motions you so extensively, you
03:55can get caught with one or several players out of position.
03:59So, you know, it's a tough offense to play against.
04:01That doesn't mean it never, ever gets stopped.
04:04So, you know, I think that if that ball hadn't been tipped, that game is probably a blowout.
04:11And even if they had gone three and out a couple times, we would be having a different conversation.
04:16Greg, yeah, there's no nitpick in here.
04:19We want to know what you saw, and I think you're sharing that.
04:21I don't think I saw anything that was, you know, out of the ordinary.
04:26I mean, there was a – I'll give you an example.
04:28Go for it.
04:28Okay, so Purdy was sacked for a nine-yard loss on the first play of the second, second-half possession.
04:36Unaccepted.
04:37Okay?
04:37Yeah.
04:38What happened was the right guard, Pune, got driven back into the pocket by Payne.
04:42You know, does that mean there's an issue with their offense?
04:45It does not.
04:46It means Dominic Pune lost –
04:48Yeah, he lost that snap.
04:50The O.A. sack on second and four, which was also on their second-half protection, resulted from McKivitts making
04:57a mistake,
04:58blocking a blitzing second-level player rather than the defensive end O.A.
05:03Does that mean there's a problem with their offense?
05:05No, you give Washington credit, and we spent actually a good amount of time doing that yesterday.
05:10They changed up what they were doing schematically defensively in the second half.
05:13It worked on some key plays, but I think –
05:16And then there were some, you know, guys, Pune got beat.
05:20McKivitts made a mistake.
05:22These things do happen.
05:23You know, it doesn't mean there's something schematically wrong with how the 49ers play offense.
05:27So I think Niner fans would love to hear you speak on the confidence level, and I know this is
05:34speculation,
05:35but the confidence level that this offense will still be able to execute even without any of their top six
05:43wide receivers,
05:44which is possible this Sunday.
05:46We don't know for sure, but that's possible.
05:49Right, and again, does that at times change things?
05:54Because they're going to play a Falcons team that plays a lot of cover one, which is man coverage.
05:58So could there be snaps where receivers are not open and can't separate because they're not playing with their top
06:06receivers?
06:06Sure, that can happen, and that's why talent does matter as well.
06:11But, you know, we'll see how that plays out.
06:14They're not going to get man coverage on every snap.
06:16They'll get some zone coverage as well.
06:18And then we'll see if they can run the ball.
06:20They've been running the ball.
06:21You know, it's funny.
06:22The numbers are not sensational for the run game, but I think they've run the ball, for the most part,
06:27pretty consistently,
06:28you know, in the way they need to run the ball to play the opponent they're playing and win the
06:33games.
06:34I want to go back to Washington just for a moment, Greg, and I was kind of struck by the
06:39fact that a lot in the second half,
06:41they motioned McCaffrey out of the backfield, and so they were going empty on the snap.
06:46Does that ultimately invite the other team to blitz a lot more?
06:52Some.
06:52Not every team believes in that.
06:54You know, it depends on how you feel about the quarterback you're playing against.
07:00Purdy is obviously a very quick processor and decision maker.
07:03He normally doesn't get stuck in those situations.
07:06You have to have a great feel for what the other team's route concepts are when they're getting pressured
07:12because you've got to take that away because if you just give the quarterback an easy throw,
07:16the pressure is not going to be a factor.
07:19So you have to keep that in mind.
07:21Some teams, like I remember Rex Ryan, you used to always talk about if a team went empty, man,
07:25I was going to hit the quarterback, and that's great.
07:28But you have to also take away the quick throw that defeats the blitz.
07:33You know, and it all depends on situations.
07:35There's a lot of teams that believe if it's third and nine, let's blitz.
07:40Let's force them to throw hot, and then we tackle them for a five-yard gain, and they punt.
07:44It's all philosophical based on a coach's point of view.
07:48You know, some coaches are not big blitz guys.
07:50So it all depends on the philosophy of the defensive coach.
07:54Greg Cosell, NFL Films, every Wednesday, Willard and Dibs, 95-7, the game.
07:59Okay, Greg, look, there's nobody, not you, not us, no 49er fan who doesn't love Fred Warner.
08:08But was he playing a little bit too aggressively in this game in your eyes?
08:14I don't know what that means, guys.
08:16You have to explain that to me.
08:17Well, so Troy Aikman, especially on the broadcast, but he wasn't the only to notice.
08:21You know, Fred, there were a number of plays where you could say he was leading with the helmet.
08:27There was a flag thrown at one point.
08:29It got picked up.
08:30But it became a whole thing on the Monday night broadcast.
08:34And so your perspective on the way Fred Warner was hitting people in this game.
08:41You mean, you're talking about the technique by which he was hitting people?
08:44Well, yeah, he was certainly.
08:46Is that what you're talking about?
08:47He was pointed out that he was leading with the crown of the helmet,
08:49and he was flagged for it momentarily before it was picked up at least once.
08:54Right.
08:55I mean, I didn't really notice that on film.
08:57I mean, to me, he plays that way all the time.
09:01You know, I think when you're an aggressive player,
09:03are there going to be plays like that?
09:04You know, it's like a defensive back.
09:06You know, there was a play where theoretically, I think it was Mustafa,
09:09they talked about the fact that he could have been called for a hit.
09:12I think that was early in the game.
09:13Might have been first or second series.
09:15It was on Diggs when Diggs, I think, hurt his hand.
09:17You know, I mean, when aggressive guys, that stuff happens.
09:21You're not going to say to Fred Warner, don't be aggressive.
09:23You know, he's a great player.
09:25I don't think that's an issue with Fred Warner.
09:28To me, every week I watch him, I come away thinking,
09:30this guy is just the best linebacker in the league.
09:33And probably one of the best I've seen recently on film.
09:35So I don't think there's a problem with Fred Warner.
09:38I want to ask you about Raheem.
09:40And I call him Raheem the scheme because there were multiple times where
09:44he showed seven up front and he rushed four.
09:47And the other times he showed four and he rushed six.
09:49What are you seeing from exactly what he's doing with the front
09:52that had Jaden Daniels confused?
09:56Well, it's not so much the quarterback that can get confused with fronts.
10:00When quarterbacks get confused or can get confused is when you change the picture
10:05from a coverage standpoint, pre-snap to post-snap,
10:09which Raheem Morris has done a nice job with.
10:11I mean, this was a game where he changed the picture and it was clear that this was
10:16something that he wanted to do.
10:18He went from single, as I recall, he changed the picture to play cover two a number of times
10:26and it wasn't what the picture started with.
10:28So, you know, that's something that does affect quarterbacks.
10:33The fronts are a bigger deal for protections because you have to account for people.
10:39And so now your offensive line, the commander's offensive line, has to deal with that.
10:44And plus, I thought the 49ers did a really good job with stunts in this game.
10:49Multiple stunt concepts were a major part of the 49ers pass rush game plan.
10:54They executed them from different front alignments, Dan, as you just indicated.
10:59And, you know, I think that they've become very, very good at that
11:03because they've got athletes on the front, athletes who can bend and be flexible.
11:08Height is a very flexible athlete.
11:10Their D tackles are flexible.
11:12We know White lines up inside, outside.
11:15Mikel Williams, he's not as flexible, but he's explosive.
11:19So, you know, you mentioned talking about changing the picture.
11:23We saw a number of times that he changed the picture from single high safety to cover two invert,
11:28meaning that a corner becomes the deep half field player.
11:31So we saw that twice in the first three possessions, and then we saw it again later in the game.
11:36So they were trying to do things to cause issues for both the O-line of the commanders and for
11:41Jaden Daniels.
11:43Greg, to what level do you think the 49ers missed Dre Greenlaw in this game, and how did Jaden Duggar
11:50do?
11:52Oh, I like Duggar.
11:53I mean, it's always hard to say how did a team miss a player because we don't know exactly what
11:58the player is asked to do.
12:00You know, we don't know the mental part because obviously Greenlaw is a veteran who knows, you know, who's been
12:05there.
12:05And Duggar is still a rookie.
12:07And, you know, playing, starting in a new position, you know, because normally he's a Sam backer in their 4
12:14-3 base,
12:14and he plays a lot on the line of scrimmage, on the ball, as we say.
12:19So in this game, guys, he was taking Greenlaw's spot and playing off the ball.
12:25Again, I'm not charting every play, and I don't know how they charted, how the linebacker coach would chart it,
12:30but I think Daniels is a really good player.
12:33I like him a lot.
12:34I think he's just starting to become, you know, a really, really good player.
12:39And I think, again, their safety's played well.
12:42I mean, Mustafa made those two big plays on third and fourth down late in the fourth quarter.
12:47I think it was the next-to-last drive, the big run stop on McNichols for no gain,
12:52and then the match coverage on Burks, and Burks is 6'3", and Mustafa's shorter.
12:57You know, I think they have good players on defense, and they're being schemed well by Raheem Morris.
13:04You mentioned the stunts, but I just want to focus on Haidt and Halton and even Sebastian Valdez
13:10and what you saw from them, especially in the A and the B gaps,
13:14how they were able to go out there and be so successful.
13:18Yeah, I mean, their D tackles, that rotation has played extremely well,
13:24both in the run game and rushing the quarterback.
13:27You know, Diggy Zou and Halton are very athletic inside players.
13:30They're both very good in the stunt game.
13:34Valdez is more of a run-stuffing type player, so he gets snaps,
13:38and they had Thompson back this week.
13:40He's an interesting player as well, and he played meaningful snaps.
13:43I think he played in the 20-snap range, so now they've got some depth.
13:48I don't know when Nick Bosa's due back, but obviously when he does come back,
13:52that is going to give them a lot.
13:54This D line has played very, very well.
13:58You know, it's probably a surprise to many because I'm sure a lot of people,
14:01you know, with the exception of Nick Bosa, who, you know,
14:04obviously people expected to be playing,
14:06I think people thought there were a lot of questions on this defensive front,
14:09and quite frankly, they've played really, really well.
14:12Greg, let's look at the offensive side of the ball.
14:14We saw Christian McCaffrey and Kalon Black on the field at the same time,
14:18at times in this game, which is a little bit of a new wrinkle,
14:22and especially with the wide receiver injuries.
14:24I would love your perspective on the options that that creates
14:29and if that might be one thing the Niners can do
14:32while they are missing so many wide routes.
14:34Yeah, and that's the thought that I had because, you know,
14:37we call that the pony package when you're playing two backs,
14:39but they're two running backs.
14:42And I think that you could see that more this week
14:45because McCaffrey can essentially be a wide receiver.
14:48He lined up numerous snaps as a detached wide receiver.
14:52Plus, he's a very good motion guy,
14:54so you could even start with two guys in the backfield,
14:57motion McCaffrey out.
14:58You still have a run game with Black.
15:00He and McCaffrey are somewhat similar in the sense that they're both decisive,
15:05no-nonsense downhill runners.
15:06Obviously, McCaffrey's a great runner and maybe a Hall of Fame player,
15:10but they're similar stylistically, which fits how the 49ers want to play.
15:15But you could absolutely see that again because, you know,
15:19the receiver situation because McCaffrey, I mean, he's a receiver.
15:23He's really, really good at that.
15:25Before we look ahead to Atlanta, I work with the president of Brockistan,
15:29my partner Mark Willard, and, you know, just I want to ask, you know,
15:33your thoughts looking at the film of the throws he made from the one he made,
15:38you know, with people at his feet and then the two throws to Evans
15:42and, you know, the layered throw to George Kittle.
15:44What did you see on tape from my partner's guy, Brock Purdy?
15:48That's my guy.
15:49Yeah, I think he's pretty good.
15:51Yeah.
15:51That's a good take.
15:52We at Brockistan do, too.
15:55Yeah, I mean, look, that first third and four of the Evans 24-yarder,
15:59that was just another great snapshot of his elite post-snap operation.
16:03I mean, the commanders went from single high to cover two with the middle open,
16:07and Lou Vu, who was on the ball, became the middle hole defender,
16:10and Purdy just saw it instantaneously.
16:13He just hit his back foot and delivered to Evans on the seam route
16:16because the middle's open when you go to cover two.
16:19But that's the kind of stuff, you know, when you see him do that,
16:22it looks like, you know, the three of us could do that.
16:24But that's so hard to do because they changed the look,
16:27and it just registered instantaneously, guys.
16:31I mean, and even the Kittle 11-yard touchdown throw,
16:34which was also a layered throw because he had to throw that over the flat
16:38defender Medrano, and when I saw it from the end zone angle on the coaching tape,
16:43Medrano didn't miss it by much.
16:45So it had to be an absolutely perfect throw, you know,
16:49what I call a firm touch throw.
16:51You can't drive that ball because then you'll throw it to Medrano.
16:54But you also can't throw it with too much arc because then you'll take Kittle
16:58out of bounds.
16:58So that's just a perfect, perfect throw.
17:02And then how about the big-time throw in the digger out to Evans
17:05with a run-after-catch for 54 yards?
17:08I mean, the high-level timing and anticipation and precise ball placement.
17:12I mean, these are just, you know,
17:14not every quarterback's making these throws, guys.
17:17Greg, speaking of quarterbacks, what's your evaluation of Michael Penix?
17:22Yeah, Penix is basically a pocket player.
17:26What we saw last week against the Bears is they were very aggressive.
17:28Pressure-wise, you know, you can affect him with pressure,
17:32and the Bears did so.
17:34But their offense, guys, starts with Bijan Robinson.
17:37The one thing you have to defend, you must defend the outside zone run game.
17:41They are as good as any team in the league with the outside zone run game.
17:44And Robinson, to me, and I don't want to anger anybody in the Bay Area,
17:51but I think Robinson's the best back in the league.
17:53Oh, wow.
17:54I mean, we'll go ahead and bookmark that and, you know,
17:57share it across all social media platforms and direct them.
18:00I'm sure you will, and I've said that before.
18:02Yeah, he's not wrong.
18:03He's not wrong, and you're not wrong, Greg.
18:05And I wonder about the Niners' new scheme,
18:07if it lines up to actually be one that can stop it.
18:10Because I'm thinking about last year in the wide nine,
18:13which to me felt more equipped to stop the outside zone.
18:16How does the Raheem scheme line up against the outside zone?
18:20Well, I think it's more in terms of how you coach your players.
18:23The one thing that you have to be careful about when you play against outside zone
18:28is just to get your D lineman running laterally.
18:31Because if they start running laterally, that's what the offense wants.
18:34Because then they just get pushed.
18:36They just get driven out.
18:37So you have to find some way to mix the lateral element and the vertical element.
18:42You can't just get moved laterally along the line of scrimmage.
18:46Because eventually what happens is a hole and a gap just opens up.
18:50And Robinson is, I mean, he's as good an outside zone runner as there is in football.
18:54So, you know, it's how it's coached much more than, you know.
18:58And again, I'm sure there's different ways to line up.
19:00That's real detail stuff that I don't know how Raheem's going to look at that.
19:04But you just can't let yourself just be driven laterally along the line of scrimmage.
19:09Well, Greg, I wonder if we could overlay what the Falcons might try to do offensively
19:14with the second half of what we saw Monday night.
19:17Because I get where you're coming from on where the Niner drives went wrong.
19:20But what was it that Washington, in your eyes, started to have success with in the second half?
19:27And therefore, what can Atlanta maybe draw from that?
19:31Well, they threw the ball a ton, obviously.
19:34You know, and Daniels made a couple of really good throws, which you know what?
19:39He's an NFL quarterback.
19:40He can do that.
19:41You know, one in particular I thought was a great throw was when he hit Williams for 23 yards
19:46on third and eight on the second, second half TD drive.
19:49That was a big time throw by Daniels.
19:51It was a far hash deep sideline throw off his back foot.
19:54I mean, there were just some really good throws made.
19:58You know, the Burks 30-yarder was another really good throw.
20:02And they got stuck with, you know, obviously because of the linebacker situation,
20:08they chose to play a lot of big nickel with Davis, and Davis was matched on Burks.
20:13And that was a mismatch.
20:15So, you know, there were situations in this game where Daniels made some big time throws,
20:19and then the Niners had to play a little differently than they're used to playing
20:23due to injuries, and they played.
20:25I mean, Davis is not a guy they expected to play, I'm sure.
20:27So, you know, we'll see.
20:29I mean, you know, sometimes it comes down to injuries,
20:32and sometimes you've got to react, you know, in the moment.
20:35And when that happens, you'll get beat once in a while.
20:37You know, obviously, I don't know what Stout's situation is.
20:41That's the reason that Davis was in the game, because Stout got hurt,
20:44and they went, they played more base, because Jalen Graham played a lot of snaps.
20:49They went big nickel with Davis playing.
20:52So they ended up playing base and big nickel versus 11 personnel in the fourth quarter,
20:57and that's not how they want to play.
20:59So in that game, you know, they got stuck.
21:02Now, I don't know Stout's situation for this week.
21:05Greg Cosell, NFL Films, one quick last thing for you to break down,
21:09and that is in honor of this bright orange hoodie that you're wearing today,
21:12which I love, what is Greg Cosell's favorite fruit?
21:17Would you please break down a trip through the produce aisle for Greg Cosell?
21:22Jeez.
21:23Yeah.
21:25God, you know, I probably don't need as much fruit, guys, as I should.
21:28That's my problem.
21:29I've been trying to have a lot more protein lately, you know,
21:32but I'm probably not a big fruit eater, although I will say I do like oranges quite a bit,
21:38not just because I'm wearing an orange hoodie, but I do like oranges quite a bit.
21:42It's a fair answer.
21:43How many pumpkins do you currently have at your house?
21:46None.
21:47Oh, boy.
21:48I mean.
21:48How many will you have?
21:50You know, I'm 10 days away.
21:51My daughters are older.
21:53Halloween is not like a big holiday in my life for these days, you know.
21:58My daughters are 30, geez, 37?
22:0237 and 30?
22:04Yeah, Halloween's not a big event.
22:05That's too bad.
22:06I was going to go as Greg Cosell for Halloween next week.
22:10Well, you can be sure of one thing, then people will tell you you're not good looking.
22:14Well, I'm ready for that.
22:16I was going to go to their homes and break everything down for them
22:20and tell them that their living room and the pottery is out of place.
22:24I mean, look at your candy bowl.
22:25You've got too many Kit Kats here and not enough Snickers.
22:27Yeah, so we'll give that a shot, Greg.
22:29Now, I do like both Kit Kat and Snickers, but I try not to eat them because it's not really
22:33good for you.
22:34Yeah.
22:35Greg, awesome as always, and we will talk to you next Wednesday.
22:40Yes, we will.
22:41Hopefully, it'll be another Niners win.
22:43We're hoping for 7-0, Greg.
22:46What is their bye week?
22:47Is that after Atlanta?
22:48After next week.
22:49After this week, yeah.
22:51All right.
22:52All right.
22:52It sounds like you haven't met 7-0.
22:54Greg Cosell, lock it up.
22:56Niners win on the road.
22:59That's right.
23:00They're in Atlanta.
23:00Well, it'll be interesting.
23:02You know, that could be a tougher game than many might think.
23:04Yeah.
23:04Yeah.
23:05No doubt about it.
23:06Okay, Greg.
23:07Great stuff.
23:08We'll talk to you soon.
23:09All right, guys.
23:10Thanks so much.
23:11Loved it.
23:11There it is.
23:12That's Greg Cosell.