Speaker 1: Factors, Patric drawing Parker touchtower. What a win for this
Speaker 1: Miami Dolphin team? Wow? What is up? Dolphins? And welcome
Speaker 1: to the Drive Time Podcast, part of the Miami Dolphins
Speaker 1: official podcast network, covering your Miami Dolphins each and every day.
Speaker 1: How is it going everybody? I am your host, Travis Wingfield,
Speaker 1: and I am here to bring you your daily dose
Speaker 1: of Miami Dolphins football. And on today's show, we are
Speaker 1: back into the No the Enemy series as we are
Speaker 1: taking a look at the Dolphins Week five opponent, a
Speaker 1: team that had a Lombardi Trophy in its sites last year,
Speaker 1: the San Francisco forty Niners, as we'll take a look
Speaker 1: at how they get back to the big game this year,
Speaker 1: Kyle Shanahan's greatest strength, the expectations for Jimmy Garoppolo and
Speaker 1: the team, who was the biggest unsung star on that team.
Speaker 1: All of that and more as we detail this Week
Speaker 1: five matchup with Brian Peacock on this too. Was day July,
Speaker 1: the fourteenth edition of the Drive Time Podcast, and this
Speaker 1: is installment number six of the Know the Enemy series.
Speaker 1: About halfway Home, as we're discussing last year's NFC champions
Speaker 1: the San Francisco forty niners and one of my favorite
Speaker 1: stories last year in football because I was always such
Speaker 1: a big fan, a big supporter, a big believer of
Speaker 1: Kyle Shanahan, even before that incredible season where he and
Speaker 1: Matt Ryan in Atlanta put together pure magic that year.
Speaker 1: And I think the thing I love most about Shanahan
Speaker 1: is that he knows exactly who he is and if
Speaker 1: he's going down, he's gonna go down his way, and
Speaker 1: that's going down swinging. He is aggressive and aggressive play caller.
Speaker 1: Also has the continuation of the greatest running scheme in
Speaker 1: the history of football for my money, from his father
Speaker 1: Mike Shanahan, filtered through coaches like Gary Kubiak and so
Speaker 1: many others after him and before Kyle and now really
Speaker 1: perfect did by Shanahan in the Bay Area with that
Speaker 1: forty nine running game he has. And I once upon
Speaker 1: a time wrote a piece on my own independently owned
Speaker 1: website third and ten dot com. It is no more,
Speaker 1: but I used to grade quarterbacks and talk about the
Speaker 1: play caller quarterback relationship and break down some film and
Speaker 1: the general idea was to grade every single drop back
Speaker 1: of every single quarterback. And I started that after the
Speaker 1: Steen season and talked about how I thought Shanahan would
Speaker 1: find a way to win in San Francisco as he
Speaker 1: was paired at the time with Brian Hoyer, going back
Speaker 1: to some of the concepts and some of the designs
Speaker 1: of his plays in his offense with the Browns. I
Speaker 1: think it was with Brian Hoyer, and now off the
Speaker 1: heels of a Super Bowl appearance last year, the Niners
Speaker 1: give Kyle Shanahan his big extension and they have to
Speaker 1: feel really good about where they are at the coaching
Speaker 1: position for now and heading into the future. But I
Speaker 1: think the start he had in San Francisco those first
Speaker 1: two years really make the story and his path even
Speaker 1: more I guess and chanting to follow along with, because
Speaker 1: the Niners had a couple of tough years there in
Speaker 1: the win lost column in his first two years, but
Speaker 1: there were circumstances around those win lost totals that I
Speaker 1: thought didn't tell the whole story about the team and
Speaker 1: the program that he and John Lynch were building there.
Speaker 1: And so to see them rip off thirteen wins last year,
Speaker 1: two more victories in the postseason in rather convincing fashion,
Speaker 1: and come within one quarter of lifting a Lombardi Trophy.
Speaker 1: I'm just a big fan of all the easy plays
Speaker 1: and easy yards that Shanahan helps create, both in the
Speaker 1: running game and the passing game. On top of the
Speaker 1: fact that they are littered with star players across that roster,
Speaker 1: one of the more entertaining and intriguing teams in the
Speaker 1: entire National Football League. So with that, let's go ahead
Speaker 1: and dive into this next edition of the No the
Speaker 1: Enemy series. The Week five opponent. It's October eleven at
Speaker 1: Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, up against the San
Speaker 1: Francisco forty nine Ers. It's a four oh five Eastern kickoff.
Speaker 1: Let's go ahead and welcome in my guest, Brian Peacock
Speaker 1: and riding Shotgun on Today Drive Time podcast. He is
Speaker 1: the host of Locked on NFL co host and Locked
Speaker 1: on fourty Niners. You can find him on Twitter at
Speaker 1: b D Peacock, the Silky Smooth voice himself Brian Peacock. Brian,
Speaker 1: Welcome in, my friend, Travis. How are you man? It's
Speaker 1: great to be here with you. I was gonna say,
Speaker 1: I gotta get caught up on on what you're doing now,
Speaker 1: because I know you've kind of expanded your scope of
Speaker 1: work within the Locked On network, and I wanted to
Speaker 1: ask you how's that going now that you're joining Matt
Speaker 1: Williamson there as the co host of Locked on NFL,
Speaker 1: and just how is Locked on life in general? How's
Speaker 1: it going in that world? Locked On Life has been great, man,
Speaker 1: and I think we've been pretty lucky covering the NFL
Speaker 1: that things cross your fingers, knock on wood, whatever you'd
Speaker 1: like to do, that it stays that way and we
Speaker 1: we stay on the path here and training camp is
Speaker 1: able to get going and the season is able to
Speaker 1: start on time because that will be huge for what
Speaker 1: we do covering this sport. And I think it's been
Speaker 1: a lot more difficult for some folks that cover some
Speaker 1: other sports. So it's been great. It's been fun covering
Speaker 1: the four Niners all offseason long has been planning to
Speaker 1: talk about there. Of course, the NFL has been much
Speaker 1: of the same, and it's been fun co hosting with
Speaker 1: former NFL scout Matt Williamson and I can't divulge everything,
Speaker 1: but keep a look out. There's something special coming with
Speaker 1: Mattilliamson and I with our podcast on it Locked On NFL.
Speaker 1: So that news to come expert of teasing. We both
Speaker 1: learned that with Locked On, I think because that was
Speaker 1: one of the things I was always so proud of
Speaker 1: myself for teasing certain events and certain aspects. Yeah, man,
Speaker 1: it's it's fun to watch you guys continue to grow
Speaker 1: and and uh, you know, I was always such a
Speaker 1: big supporter and big believer in what we were doing
Speaker 1: when I was with Locked on the Lockdown podcast network.
Speaker 1: And one of my favorite things we ever did when
Speaker 1: I was there, and you guys did it again this
Speaker 1: year was the Draft Show. I mean, that is the
Speaker 1: comprehensive coverage you get from Locked on Sports is It's
Speaker 1: so good and so in depth, and and you get
Speaker 1: good local experts every single day talking about your team.
Speaker 1: So definitely check it out Locked on Dolphins. Kyle Crabs.
Speaker 1: You guys all know who he is. He does a
Speaker 1: great job taking over for me on the Locked On
Speaker 1: Dolphins podcast. There, let's go ahead now and get into
Speaker 1: the brass tacks of why we have you on here.
Speaker 1: Brian talk about some San Francisco forty Niners, and I
Speaker 1: want to start with a topic that maybe is a
Speaker 1: little bit sensitive, but it always fascinates me. The Super
Speaker 1: Bowl hangover, Right, I'm sure you've heard about it and
Speaker 1: talked about in countless times, and I know media are
Speaker 1: gonna ask coach about it. Are the Niners and Shanahan
Speaker 1: and those guys? Are they acknowledging it? Like addressing it?
Speaker 1: And what do you think the potential pitfalls are of
Speaker 1: coming so close to that ultimate prize but then coming
Speaker 1: up just short of getting the championship trophy? Yeah? I
Speaker 1: think there's a few things. One, it's just hard to
Speaker 1: get to the super Bowl, so just getting back is
Speaker 1: difficult anyway. So I think part of it is that, Okay,
Speaker 1: you got the super Bowl, people expect you to get
Speaker 1: right back. You look here after year, things fluctuate so much.
Speaker 1: One twelve months a calendar year in the NFL is
Speaker 1: an eternity. So it's just hard to get their period
Speaker 1: and be as good as you were the year before.
Speaker 1: And some things have to go right to get to
Speaker 1: the Super Bowl. The other thing is I think maybe
Speaker 1: the way this offseason is gone, with COVID and and
Speaker 1: and everything else in the world, I think maybe it's
Speaker 1: made for a different environment for a team than normal
Speaker 1: in a post Super Bowl loss offseason. And the other
Speaker 1: thing with the Fortins and and I can't remember it
Speaker 1: being this way in the past with past forty Niners
Speaker 1: teams or really any teams. They've been so amped up
Speaker 1: to get right back. I wonder if that might be
Speaker 1: the hangover that you are too ready to go the
Speaker 1: day after the Super Bowl. You can't keep up that
Speaker 1: intensity all the way through the season into next February.
Speaker 1: You almost have to let it go. You have to.
Speaker 1: You have to. You just have to reset everything in
Speaker 1: the organization, come back fresh, and then hit it hard again.
Speaker 1: I almost wonder if teams grind too much for those
Speaker 1: off months before the season starts after Super Bowl, and
Speaker 1: if that could wear on a team. So I'm thinking
Speaker 1: maybe the psychological aspect of it that might be where
Speaker 1: a super Bowl hangover comes in, is you can't win
Speaker 1: the super Bowl the next year starting the day after
Speaker 1: this super Bowl. You have to wait till the season
Speaker 1: starts to get going. And maybe that uh, maybe you
Speaker 1: run your your engine a little bit dry over the
Speaker 1: course of the off season thinking about it and trying
Speaker 1: to get back to work and running it back too quickly. Yeah. See,
Speaker 1: that's that's exactly what I'm talking about. How it's such
Speaker 1: a fascinating ideology that maybe maybe there is something to
Speaker 1: kind of taking some time away and resetting. I know,
Speaker 1: for content creators like yourself and myself, it's always helpful
Speaker 1: to get away for like a week right in the
Speaker 1: middle of the summertime step away and you come back
Speaker 1: refresh and you feel better than ever. And maybe that
Speaker 1: maybe the fact that the team was away from the facility,
Speaker 1: like you mentioned, is a built an advantage in that way.
Speaker 1: We can only find out on Sunday's coming up here
Speaker 1: in September and beyond in the fall. And I would
Speaker 1: like I like to liken it to like a video
Speaker 1: game analogy. When you're playing a game where you get
Speaker 1: to the final level, maybe you don't make it, you
Speaker 1: don't beat the ultimate boss. The next game you restart,
Speaker 1: you always die right away, right because you're so anti
Speaker 1: to get back and you just can't quite like get
Speaker 1: yourself composed and make a good effort at us. So
Speaker 1: bad analogies aside, One of my favorite things about this team,
Speaker 1: and I talked about it in the open, is the
Speaker 1: way that Kyle Shanahan creates opportunities on offense for guys
Speaker 1: to have easy decisions and to make plays that way.
Speaker 1: And I'm a big Jimmy Garoppolo fan, have been since
Speaker 1: his time at Eastern Illinois and that week he had
Speaker 1: the Senior Bowl that year. What do you think he
Speaker 1: has to do this year to progress upon what he
Speaker 1: was last season his first real full healthy season with
Speaker 1: San Francisco, And what would it look like for him
Speaker 1: to really validate his position as the long term answer
Speaker 1: for Niners fans to say, Okay, we definitely have our guy.
Speaker 1: I'm with you two. I love Jimmy Garoppolo coming into
Speaker 1: the draft and starting with that Senior Bull week, and
Speaker 1: and the more I watched his tape and as a
Speaker 1: small school guy, but man, he was a great prospect
Speaker 1: and and I think we nailed that one. He was
Speaker 1: somebody I really liked coming out. So I've been a
Speaker 1: fan of Jimmy Garppolo for a long time. Was surprised
Speaker 1: with the trade to the forty Niners. And you saw
Speaker 1: right away when you jumped in with he has no
Speaker 1: problems reading defenses and going through his reads and making progressions.
Speaker 1: The forty Niners were a team that couldn't win a
Speaker 1: single game, and Jimmy Garoppolo rolls in and wins five
Speaker 1: games in a row in a dumb down system. So
Speaker 1: I think it's mostly about that system and getting a
Speaker 1: full season worth of reps in the off season and
Speaker 1: the regular season, which he's never had. With the forty nine,
Speaker 1: he came in after Halloween and then jumped in starting
Speaker 1: with a paired down system. For the fort teen, he
Speaker 1: had the full off season with Kyle Janni, and then
Speaker 1: he tears his a c L, so then he's rehabing
Speaker 1: an a c L. Before last year, starts the full
Speaker 1: slate of games, sixteen games for the first time in
Speaker 1: his career, takes the team to the Super Bowl, and
Speaker 1: you thought, okay, cool, Finally Jimmy Garoppolo gets a full
Speaker 1: season as a starter, and he's gonna have a full
Speaker 1: off season coming into another year, and we'll see another
Speaker 1: bump in his uh in his ability, and I think
Speaker 1: we still will see that. But then now we've seen
Speaker 1: another little hiccup here where they haven't been able to
Speaker 1: go through the off season program as normal. They've gotten
Speaker 1: a lot more classroom work, a lot less on field work.
Speaker 1: So reps is really the one thing that he's needed
Speaker 1: throughout his career. He hasn't been able to get those
Speaker 1: game reps and um, he's had some offseason reps, but
Speaker 1: we'll see if he's able to take that next step.
Speaker 1: I still think there is a ceiling for Jimmy Garoppolo,
Speaker 1: and I think if he plateaus or gets worse, then
Speaker 1: there's some difficult decisions to make for the next offseason
Speaker 1: because the contract is structured in a way that they
Speaker 1: can get out of it. I don't foresee that happening.
Speaker 1: I don't think they're gonna want to get out of
Speaker 1: that contract. I think they're gonna probably want to add
Speaker 1: years to that contract this time next year, and I
Speaker 1: think we will see the next level of Jimmy Garoppolo.
Speaker 1: And really for the fort that's probably the number one key,
Speaker 1: because a rising tide lifts all boats, right is that
Speaker 1: saying something like that? And I think Jimmy Garoppolo getting
Speaker 1: a little bit better makes the entire team a lot
Speaker 1: better now, Brian, I am guilty as anybody of kind
Speaker 1: of being sensationalistic at times. I always talk about how
Speaker 1: things fascinate me, how I'm intrigued by these certain things,
Speaker 1: and I already use it up once in this podcast,
Speaker 1: but I'm gonna use it again. The thing you mentioned
Speaker 1: there about what Jimmy G brings to the offense. It
Speaker 1: really does fascinate me because I think that one thing
Speaker 1: we look at with quarterback play is right now, there
Speaker 1: are so many guys that offer these tangible traits, right
Speaker 1: Like Lamar Jackson's athletic ability is tangible. It pops off
Speaker 1: the tape right when you watch him every single time.
Speaker 1: Kyler Murray, same same train of thought there, Patrick Mahomes,
Speaker 1: Russell Wilson, all these guys with these elite physical tools.
Speaker 1: And that's how to say it. Jimmy G doesn't have
Speaker 1: physical tools. He is more of a traditional pocket passer
Speaker 1: and he's very very good in that sense. But I
Speaker 1: think that what he does intangibles in terms of executing
Speaker 1: Shanahan's offense is just he's the right guy for that job.
Speaker 1: You agree with that, Yeah, I think it misses well
Speaker 1: with what Kyle Shanahan likes to do. He's really good
Speaker 1: at firing the ball over the middle of the field,
Speaker 1: short and intermediate stuff, and Shannihan loves dialing up those
Speaker 1: type of things that Shannihan loves to have receivers that
Speaker 1: can run after the catch. Um, I would say that
Speaker 1: they could grow beyond that, though, and that's where there
Speaker 1: could be a ton of growth in this offtense offense
Speaker 1: is bigger plays, getting the ball down the field, more
Speaker 1: air yards I think that are past blocking from the
Speaker 1: offensive line, you know, as they add more playmakers, more
Speaker 1: players that are a little bit better getting down the field,
Speaker 1: and they can start to do some or of that
Speaker 1: type of thing, and that would help just open things
Speaker 1: up over the middle, which is where they want to work.
Speaker 1: They want to run the ball, they want to feed
Speaker 1: George Kittle a lot. But teams are gonna stack the box.
Speaker 1: Teams are gonna be putting their safeties down inside and
Speaker 1: putting extra eyes on George Kittle and saying, Okay, let's
Speaker 1: see if you can beat us outside. And so the
Speaker 1: Forts are gonna have to prove that they can do
Speaker 1: that a little bit to open things back up inside
Speaker 1: to do what they want to do in the run
Speaker 1: game and throw the ball over the middle and hit
Speaker 1: George Kittle. But Jimmy Garoppolo, I will say he does
Speaker 1: have one elite trade and it is his release. He
Speaker 1: has one of the quickest releases I've ever seen, and
Speaker 1: he's had that all the way back to college, and
Speaker 1: I think that really helps him get the ball out quickly.
Speaker 1: He gets the ball out as quick as just about
Speaker 1: anybody in the NFL. I think it was Garoppolo and
Speaker 1: Drew Brees were one two and they were kind of
Speaker 1: going back and forth all season long. And Tom Brady
Speaker 1: is really good to getting the ball out very quickly too.
Speaker 1: And um, that's that's really perfect for what Kyle Shanahan
Speaker 1: likes to do. Get the ball out early, let the
Speaker 1: playmakers make plays. Yeah, that's That's exactly what I was
Speaker 1: going to reply with. Is that that's why I think
Speaker 1: he makes such a good fit there with Shanahan, because
Speaker 1: he makes quick decisions and gets the ball out quickly.
Speaker 1: And that's the design of the Shanahan offense. And you
Speaker 1: talk about trying to get the vertical game involved. Of course,
Speaker 1: I'm sure Niners fans will see that deep shot in
Speaker 1: the Super Bowl in their nightmares for years to come.
Speaker 1: But the games before that, in the playoffs, they were
Speaker 1: carving teams up. I remember watching the Vikings game with
Speaker 1: a buddy of mine, my best friends, a big time
Speaker 1: Vikings fan, and the way they were just pre pre
Speaker 1: snap shifting and motioning and creating gaps and just the
Speaker 1: slightest movement of linebackers to create passing lanes. It's so
Speaker 1: fun to watch them be surgeon like in that in
Speaker 1: that way in their offense. So that passing game is
Speaker 1: based upon a quality running game that just seems like
Speaker 1: it's transportable across any personnel you want to put out there.
Speaker 1: And that's where I go to here, Brian, is the
Speaker 1: backfield for the Niners looks like Raheem Moster? It should
Speaker 1: be the starter. You still have Tevin Coleman in in
Speaker 1: the fold. Is this running game just basically going to
Speaker 1: be successful no matter who's back there? And what does
Speaker 1: that backfield look like this year without Matt Brita and
Speaker 1: coming back with us Check, Moster and Tevin Coleman. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I think the running game is gonna be fine no
Speaker 1: matter who's back there. But the strange thing is is
Speaker 1: Kyle Shannon has still put a lot of resources into
Speaker 1: the running back position. You would think that would be
Speaker 1: where they could go bare bones and maybe save some money,
Speaker 1: but they spent the second most, including fullback Kyle us
Speaker 1: Check and makes twice as much as the next fullback
Speaker 1: in the league, and he is the best fullback in
Speaker 1: the league, so you know he's earned that money. But
Speaker 1: they spent the second most money on their running back
Speaker 1: group of any team in the league. And they don't
Speaker 1: have any household names at running back, but they have
Speaker 1: a lot of really good ones and I think they're
Speaker 1: gonna be just fine there no matter who's there. Even
Speaker 1: if Raheem most wants to hold out or wants to
Speaker 1: get traded, they would be fine. But I will say
Speaker 1: raheemstart is the best running back on that roster, and
Speaker 1: I think he proved that last year five point six
Speaker 1: yards per carry, And he does have legitimate right because
Speaker 1: he's underpaid. If he's gonna get two hundred carries and
Speaker 1: Kyle Shanahan's offense this year, he's gonna go nuts. So
Speaker 1: maybe you should wait to cash in next year after
Speaker 1: he gets all those carries. But Raheem Moster is pretty
Speaker 1: amazing to watch him out run angles for defenders in
Speaker 1: the NFL. And Matt Brita, who just got traded obviously
Speaker 1: to the Miami Dolphins, or three guy Tevin Coleman runs
Speaker 1: a four three Jerick McKinnon is a four or four
Speaker 1: flat guy. When you see Raheem Mostert make other players
Speaker 1: that run for threes look slow because of his first
Speaker 1: That's how you know he has a special ability there.
Speaker 1: So Raheemos starts burst is is something that is unique.
Speaker 1: And he's a former track guy, and it's really rare
Speaker 1: that you see someone break out this late in their
Speaker 1: career after being you know, a special teams demon his
Speaker 1: entire career. So he's being paid like a special teamer.
Speaker 1: He probably does deserve a bumping salary, but he still
Speaker 1: has two years left on his deal. I don't know
Speaker 1: how that's gonna work out, but um man, Raheemos start.
Speaker 1: If he does get two hundred carries or more this year, lookout,
Speaker 1: you rattle off those speeds of those running backs. It's
Speaker 1: no mystery of what Kyle Shanahan wants for that outside
Speaker 1: and stretch his own scheme that he has there. That again,
Speaker 1: I just i'm I'm I watch it in marvel at
Speaker 1: how consistent, how good it is. And that's where you
Speaker 1: go ahead and pivot. Here is the offensive line. The
Speaker 1: big change upfront this year is going to be going
Speaker 1: from Joe Staley to Trent Williams. Just this is what
Speaker 1: I think the blue blood organizations do. They find a
Speaker 1: way to restock the cupboards. And we'll get back into
Speaker 1: that exact same topic on the defensive line here in
Speaker 1: just one second. But talk about this offensive line and
Speaker 1: how they execute that scheme and what that swap out
Speaker 1: of Williams and Staley does for this Niners offensive line
Speaker 1: this year. It's a really good group up front. They
Speaker 1: have been a better run blocking unit than a pass
Speaker 1: blocking unit last year. I think it would surprise people
Speaker 1: to see how mediocre they were actually as pass blockers
Speaker 1: in nineteen, but one of the best run blocking units
Speaker 1: in the NFL. And you know that's it takes eleven
Speaker 1: guys to run Kyle Shanahan's scheme and they work so
Speaker 1: hard on and you see the fruits of that, you know,
Speaker 1: three years in now. Al Shane Hand's run game is
Speaker 1: just really dialed up last year and maybe you could
Speaker 1: even continue to improve, which is scary when when uh,
Speaker 1: you add someone like Trent Williams, who and it's hard,
Speaker 1: it's blasphemous to say that you could upgrade from Joe Staley,
Speaker 1: But I think at this point, just having a younger
Speaker 1: player that's as talented as Trent Williams, I think before
Speaker 1: the Niners are upgrading at left tackle after seeing and
Speaker 1: Joe Staley has been banged up over the last few years,
Speaker 1: and and last year I think we saw it. He
Speaker 1: missed some games and when he came back, he had
Speaker 1: a really rough game against Jadeveon Clowney. He he wasn't
Speaker 1: playing like the old Joe Stalely that people remember, even
Speaker 1: though he was playing some pretty good ball. But Trent Williams,
Speaker 1: if he's fresh, I don't know if he'll be rusty,
Speaker 1: but he could absolutely be an upgrade at left tackle,
Speaker 1: so they could actually be even better upfront than they
Speaker 1: were last year. Mike McGlinchey was hurt a little bit
Speaker 1: last year as well. He's coming into his third year.
Speaker 1: He's gotten better every season Western Richburg. If he gets healthy,
Speaker 1: forty Niners run game is incumbent on having a nice
Speaker 1: athletics center, which Western Richberg fits perfectly. It's why the
Speaker 1: forty Niners gave him a lot of money. But he's
Speaker 1: had a ton of injury problems. If he can be healthy,
Speaker 1: then look out. This could be a really good unit upfront.
Speaker 1: Forty and the X factor, they're a guy that could
Speaker 1: start maybe at any position up front. He might battle
Speaker 1: for the starting right guard position. But he filled in
Speaker 1: really nicely for Joe Staley when he was out in
Speaker 1: Daniel Brunskill. It was an a a f player, a
Speaker 1: former tight end, and um, yeah, he might end up
Speaker 1: being a future starter at tackle at some point in
Speaker 1: the NFL, weathers with the forty nine or somebody else.
Speaker 1: So they do have a good unit up front and
Speaker 1: could potentially be better than they were last year. We
Speaker 1: have Brian Peacock here Locked On NFL podcast and Locked
Speaker 1: on forty Niners podcast, all of that within the Locked
Speaker 1: On podcast network umbrella, we're talking about the San Francisco
Speaker 1: forty Niners. And on the Monday show here I'm Drive Time.
Speaker 1: I talked about the ESPN Insider uh NFL executives and
Speaker 1: scouts and coaches and players rankings they've been rolling out
Speaker 1: the last couple of weeks, and you mentioned Trent Williams
Speaker 1: as a possible upgrade for Joe Staley. I found his
Speaker 1: ranking on that list to be very interesting because every
Speaker 1: one of these lists had so much volatility, where like
Speaker 1: Ronnie Stanley, for instance, I think was gread at number
Speaker 1: one by somebody, at number eleven by another another scouter
Speaker 1: executive and that volatility was so interesting to me. But
Speaker 1: Trent Williams I think was as high as two and
Speaker 1: as low as six. So the fact that he still
Speaker 1: has that level of respect after missing an entire year
Speaker 1: just tells you how good of a player he has
Speaker 1: been throughout the course of his career. Now, you talked
Speaker 1: about one of the niners best players earlier in passing
Speaker 1: as we kind of pivot here to the skill players
Speaker 1: at the receiver and tight end position. Now, for my money,
Speaker 1: George Kittle is the best in the business. I think
Speaker 1: he was number one in those ESPN rankings. How does
Speaker 1: this receiver group kind of take over? I guess I
Speaker 1: should say replace the production they're gonna lose with Emmanuel Sanders.
Speaker 1: And where's Deebo Samuel At heading into the season with
Speaker 1: the foot injury he just suffered. George Kittle coming back
Speaker 1: into the you know fold as fully healthy after missing
Speaker 1: some time last year. Talk about these skill players, Brian
Speaker 1: Emmanuel Sanders was the one question I had as far
Speaker 1: as off season moves with the forty Niners. They they
Speaker 1: have basically the same group returning. They're adding a first
Speaker 1: round pick in Brandon iuk to that group now to
Speaker 1: try to replace Emmanuel Sanders hard four rookie wide receivers
Speaker 1: to make their way in the NFL. I mean, it's
Speaker 1: just difficult. This off sne is going to be even
Speaker 1: more difficult than for rookie wide receivers and someone who
Speaker 1: hasn't had a lot of big time defense Division one
Speaker 1: football like Brandon Iuk who was a junior college transfer
Speaker 1: and had really one year of production at Arizona State.
Speaker 1: So the Emmanuel Sanders loss is big because they felt
Speaker 1: they needed to trade for a veteran last year and
Speaker 1: they're bringing back pretty much the same group but adding
Speaker 1: a rookie. So how quickly Brandon i you can get
Speaker 1: up to speed and he might be a package player
Speaker 1: early in the season, and then maybe around October we'll
Speaker 1: see him maybe get a full compliment of starts, potentially
Speaker 1: in a full complement of snaps and start to play
Speaker 1: a lot better as Deebo Samuel did last year, which
Speaker 1: also kind of happened to coincide with the arrival of
Speaker 1: Emmanuel Sanders. Diebo Samuel had a broken foot in his workouts.
Speaker 1: He might miss the beginning of the season. That would
Speaker 1: be a real downer for the forty nine ers who
Speaker 1: have a lot of question marks, but a lot of
Speaker 1: upside at wide receiver. Was seeing young players like Jalen
Speaker 1: Heard who missed all of last year and Dante Pettis
Speaker 1: who was in Kyle Shanahan's doghouse. So that wide receiver
Speaker 1: group is going to be the biggest training camp competition,
Speaker 1: maybe for two starting spots if Deebo Samuel does miss
Speaker 1: some time to start the season. And then you yeah,
Speaker 1: you mentioned George Kile. I I agree with the ESPN list.
Speaker 1: I do disagree with some of the things on those
Speaker 1: lists that I've seen so far, but the one I
Speaker 1: do agree with is that George Kittle is the best
Speaker 1: tied end in the league. And it's not just because
Speaker 1: of his past catching ability. He's one of the best
Speaker 1: runners after the catch, not only a tied end but
Speaker 1: as a pure receiver period in the NFL. But it's
Speaker 1: his ability as a blocker which is really special. He
Speaker 1: impacts every single snap of the game. The forty Niners
Speaker 1: rush for two yards per carry less when George Kittle
Speaker 1: didn't play last season. That's how valuable he is to
Speaker 1: the forty Niners offense. I had a chance to watch
Speaker 1: plenty of Niners tape this this summer because of Matt
Speaker 1: Brita and getting a look at some of the running
Speaker 1: plays there. And I can't tell you how many times
Speaker 1: Brian that he puts someone on the sideline gets up
Speaker 1: clapping right in their face, and it's you just don't
Speaker 1: see guys celebrate blocks that way with the frequency what
Speaker 1: he did with which he does because he's always doing
Speaker 1: He's always putting guys on their back side. Now let's
Speaker 1: go ahead and flip it over to the other side
Speaker 1: of the ball, and the hits keep coming. For this
Speaker 1: Niners roster that's just loaded. John Lynch has done such
Speaker 1: a good job of loading up the roster with talent.
Speaker 1: For Kyle Shanahan and for the defensive coordinator's name is
Speaker 1: escape Robert Sala, the two guys that are really getting
Speaker 1: a good job or getting a good crop of players
Speaker 1: to coach up for the Niners. And I think this
Speaker 1: defensive line is the best part of the team, maybe
Speaker 1: the most dominant unit in all of football. Nick Bosa,
Speaker 1: Solomon Thomas, Eric Armstead, d Ford. And then they swap
Speaker 1: out this year DeForest Buckner essentially for Javon kin Law.
Speaker 1: Talking about Senior Bowl stars. There is that the expectation
Speaker 1: that Kin last steps into that role and is there
Speaker 1: any reason to think this front won't destroy people again
Speaker 1: up front like just like they did last season. Yeah,
Speaker 1: that was the other hard decision forty had to make
Speaker 1: this off season, letting Emmanuel Sanders walk and then trading
Speaker 1: the Forest Buckner to Indianapolis. But once they saw that
Speaker 1: uh and he was willing to give up that number thirteen. Overall,
Speaker 1: I think forty Niners just had to do it. It
Speaker 1: was the It was the shrewd move for the fortys
Speaker 1: front office and John Lynch, and he said he wanted
Speaker 1: to keep a strength of strength. So that's why they
Speaker 1: flipped that first round pick and used it on another
Speaker 1: defensive tackle in Javon kin Law. Javon kin Law, I
Speaker 1: don't expect him to play as much as the iron
Speaker 1: man DeForest Buckner did because Buckner just almost never came
Speaker 1: off the field and and he was a really good
Speaker 1: player for the forty Niners. So it might take a
Speaker 1: couple of years for Javon can want to get to
Speaker 1: that level. But he does have the ability. He's such
Speaker 1: a monster and he can dominate other grown men and
Speaker 1: put them on their back and put them into the
Speaker 1: quarterbacks lap at the college level. So it's gonna be
Speaker 1: fun to watch his development and I'm sure he will
Speaker 1: be a big part of that forty Niners defensive line
Speaker 1: under defensive line coach Chris kusikause it's really just a
Speaker 1: play forward, play the run on the way to the
Speaker 1: quarterback attacking defensive line. Nick Bosa was such a boost
Speaker 1: of one of the best young players in the NFL,
Speaker 1: and for my money, I think he's the most valuable
Speaker 1: player on the forty Niners roster right now seeing what
Speaker 1: he did as a rookie, and he's already playing at
Speaker 1: an elite level. If he could get even better, that's
Speaker 1: just scary for opposing offenses. And then you have Eric
Speaker 1: Armstead who can play the run as a defensive end.
Speaker 1: He can bounce inside and rush the pastor another former
Speaker 1: first rounder in Solomon Thomas give you a little bit
Speaker 1: of depth there. The sleeper on the defensive line, those
Speaker 1: deep j Jones, who's a really good one technique defensive
Speaker 1: tackle for the forty Niners defense, and when healthy, he
Speaker 1: is really good and I think he might have a
Speaker 1: little bit more pass rushing in him as well, but
Speaker 1: he can take on double teams. He's explosive. He's a big,
Speaker 1: strong dude built load to the ground. So the forty
Speaker 1: Niners have no shortage of talent upfront. And then oh yeah,
Speaker 1: you have d Ford coming off the edge, who's highly
Speaker 1: paid third down rusher at this point. Because of some
Speaker 1: knee problems, he only played about of the snaps last season,
Speaker 1: and he was so impactful in those snaps. He got
Speaker 1: a minor procedure done this year. If he can play
Speaker 1: of the snaps, that'll be huge because the forty Niners
Speaker 1: pass rush is dynamic when both Nick Bosa and d
Speaker 1: Ford are on the field together. As we move on
Speaker 1: to the second level of defense and linebacker, I'm kind
Speaker 1: of going over my notes here and realizing does anybody
Speaker 1: in in the NFL benefit more from the Senior Bowl
Speaker 1: in the forty Niners? I mean, I mean, I know
Speaker 1: that trader for Jimmy Garoppolo, that was where really he
Speaker 1: became an on the scene type of guy at the
Speaker 1: Senior Bowl. That yere in, Deebo Samuel same story last year,
Speaker 1: Javon kin Law this year, and another guy that I
Speaker 1: fell in love with at Senior Bowl week was linebacker,
Speaker 1: Fred Warner, does he have a case for you, Brian
Speaker 1: as the best off ball linebacker in all of football?
Speaker 1: And what does the rest of this group look like
Speaker 1: around him? And Drake green Law as well. So the
Speaker 1: forty Niners have done a really good job of of
Speaker 1: scouting and finding good players at the Senior Bowl, and
Speaker 1: Fred Warner was one that I love that I found
Speaker 1: late in the process in eighteen and I thought, Okay,
Speaker 1: he's your outside linebacker, You're your will linebacker, and no,
Speaker 1: they plugged him in at middle linebacker from day one,
Speaker 1: put the green dot on his helmet. He's been calling
Speaker 1: into place since he was a rookie. And uh, he's
Speaker 1: probably one of the lesser known, one of the most
Speaker 1: underrated players in the NFL right now. Fred Warner is
Speaker 1: so good. He's got range, he can cover, and he's
Speaker 1: a really smart player too, So um yeah, he's he's
Speaker 1: basically going to have to be one of those players
Speaker 1: that steps up in a captain's role, I think with
Speaker 1: DeForest Buckner now gone. He's so good and he's really
Speaker 1: underrated around the league. But when you add the athleticism
Speaker 1: of Drake green Lawn there as well, he was a
Speaker 1: rookie fifth round find last years have been so good
Speaker 1: in that if six round area in the draft. And
Speaker 1: then Kan Alexander, who they spent a bunch of money on.
Speaker 1: He's been hurt a lot in his career, but when
Speaker 1: he's on the field, he's dynamic as well. Brings a
Speaker 1: lot of energy and brings a lot of speed. So
Speaker 1: that's the key with that forty Niners linebacker group is
Speaker 1: the big guys up front do all the heavy lifting
Speaker 1: and then let those linebackers fly around cover and go
Speaker 1: hit people. Let's go ahead and move back to the
Speaker 1: final level of the defense here in the second dairy,
Speaker 1: and I think this group probably features the answer to
Speaker 1: a question I'll ask you here in just a moment
Speaker 1: about the unsung star on the football team. But if
Speaker 1: you can just kind of riff on the second dairy,
Speaker 1: I'm most curious to know about what Richard Sherman meant
Speaker 1: to this defense because we know his style of play.
Speaker 1: He was the lynchpin of that Cover three defense in
Speaker 1: Seattle that was top ranked defense in the NFL for
Speaker 1: so many years there up in Seattle with Pete Carroll.
Speaker 1: Did he really help kind of transition that same style
Speaker 1: of defense down to San Francisco from the rival and
Speaker 1: that cover three And how does that kind of benefit
Speaker 1: the entire secondary. Yeah, Richard Sherman was a big get,
Speaker 1: not just because his ability on the field, but I
Speaker 1: think having that veteran back there in the secondary. And
Speaker 1: he was even better in twenty nineteen than he was
Speaker 1: in twenty eighteen. He was coming off that achilles injury
Speaker 1: in eighteen, and he looked much better in twenty nineteen.
Speaker 1: And and whether it's that he's still that guy or
Speaker 1: it's just reputation, he can shut down one side of
Speaker 1: the field still and and I think it is somewhat reputation,
Speaker 1: so the guys on the other side get heavily targeted
Speaker 1: as a result of Kello Witherspoon has shown at times
Speaker 1: that he's up to the challenge and then other times
Speaker 1: he has wilted. That left an opportunity for a really
Speaker 1: underrated player in Emmanuel Moseley to step in and start
Speaker 1: at the end of the season at right cornerback, and
Speaker 1: I think he actually has solidified that position. And a
Speaker 1: lot of folks had the four Niners drafting cornerbacks in
Speaker 1: the first round of their mock drafts, and I think
Speaker 1: the four Niners like Emmanuel Moseley a lot more than
Speaker 1: people realize, So I don't think the fourty Niners saw
Speaker 1: that as an immediate need. Now next year they've got
Speaker 1: a bunch of free agents and things to figure out.
Speaker 1: But I think the fourty nine is really like their
Speaker 1: starting unit of defensive backs, and that obviously is included
Speaker 1: in a nickel corner who I think should be considered
Speaker 1: starting players in the NFL the days in Kawan Williams,
Speaker 1: who's one of the best nickel corners in the NFL.
Speaker 1: Two is really good against the run and it flies
Speaker 1: around and makes plays. So the forty Niners have an
Speaker 1: underrated defensive backfield, I think. And then the safeties again
Speaker 1: a couple of underrated players. I don't think they have
Speaker 1: a ton of ball production and they don't create a
Speaker 1: lot of turnovers. But Jimmy Wards uh someone who can
Speaker 1: drop down and cover people with his experience as a
Speaker 1: corner and has range in that deep middle of the field.
Speaker 1: And Jakoski Tarty is a big, rangy, strong safety who
Speaker 1: can cover and hit people as well. So it's a
Speaker 1: really good, solid defensive backfield, and you have the star
Speaker 1: power in Richard Sherman. So you said the name there,
Speaker 1: and I want to see if it's the same one
Speaker 1: you're going to choose for your unsung player. Who is
Speaker 1: the player on this Niners roster that really makes the
Speaker 1: biggest impact. But maybe the national fan, the national casual
Speaker 1: fan doesn't know enough about this player. Who is the
Speaker 1: guy that we need to know more about on the
Speaker 1: Niners roster. I think one of them you mentioned earlier
Speaker 1: is Fred Warner. I think people who know no but
Speaker 1: I think nationally still people don't quite realize how good
Speaker 1: of a player he is. And he'll probably start to
Speaker 1: get in the conversation of the best linebackers in the NFL,
Speaker 1: not just like, oh, look, here's a good young linebacker.
Speaker 1: Now he's one of the best linebackers in the NFL period.
Speaker 1: But um, I'm thinking Kawan Williams is the guy that
Speaker 1: you think is underrated around the league because he's so
Speaker 1: good in the slot, and you just don't you know,
Speaker 1: nickel corners just don't get a lot of love in
Speaker 1: the NFL, but they're starting players and they're so important,
Speaker 1: and teams more and more target the slot more than
Speaker 1: anything else. So I, uh, your number one receiver in
Speaker 1: your number one target when you're going three wide is
Speaker 1: playing the slot, and you gotta have a really good
Speaker 1: slot cornerback, and Kawan Williams has been that for the
Speaker 1: forty Niners, really underrated player around the league. Yeah, we're
Speaker 1: talking to your talking to a host of a guy
Speaker 1: that works for a team that drafted a cornerback in
Speaker 1: the first round after signing Byron Jones and having Exhabing
Speaker 1: Howard on the roster, so we know how important cornerback
Speaker 1: play is down here as well as anybody. My last
Speaker 1: question for you here, Brian, and I've been asking my
Speaker 1: fellow host here are my guests on the podcast, what
Speaker 1: does this team have to do to get to the playoffs?
Speaker 1: But I think that would be a little bit selling
Speaker 1: it short for a Niners team that won thirteen games
Speaker 1: and fifteen and total if you count the postseason last year,
Speaker 1: the forty will get back to the super Bowl if
Speaker 1: fill in the blank. I think they just have to
Speaker 1: continue to do what they're doing. I think they have
Speaker 1: to not all flat on their face. I think, you know,
Speaker 1: Jimmy Garoppolo can't get hurt again. I think that's the
Speaker 1: number one key I talked earlier about how a rising
Speaker 1: tide raises all ships. So Jimmy Garoppolo getting a little
Speaker 1: bit better, I think is the number one key with
Speaker 1: this team, because teams that have the film teams, you know,
Speaker 1: defenses are so good and they'll have some ways that
Speaker 1: they want to attack the forty Niners and if they
Speaker 1: try to take away the middle of the field and
Speaker 1: they're able to stack the box and stop the run
Speaker 1: a little bit and maybe have an extra safety there
Speaker 1: in the middle of the field on George Kittle, forty
Speaker 1: Niners have to win outside. So it's Jimmy Garoppolo and
Speaker 1: it's the young wide receiver group developing on the outside.
Speaker 1: I think that's the one thing that really needs to happen,
Speaker 1: and the development needs to happen fast. Someone needs to
Speaker 1: step up and be a playmaker outside of Deebo Samuel
Speaker 1: at wide receiver, and that's what I'm looking for. Because
Speaker 1: on defense, I mean, they plug their hole with the
Speaker 1: best player they possibly could, Jabon Ken Law, and they're
Speaker 1: bringing everybody else back and it's such a great unit.
Speaker 1: I have no worries about the defensive side of the ball.
Speaker 1: So if that offense, can they continue to put up
Speaker 1: points and can they maybe even put up more points
Speaker 1: than they did last year because it seems like teams
Speaker 1: in this league are able to score more and more points,
Speaker 1: have more and more speed on the field. Can the
Speaker 1: forty Niners keep up on offense? That will be the
Speaker 1: number one key I think to me to getting back
Speaker 1: to the super Bowl. It's a four oh five kickoff
Speaker 1: and week number five, the Dolphins traveled to San Francisco
Speaker 1: take on the Niners on October eleven. He is Brian
Speaker 1: Peacocky is the host of Locked on NFL and Locked
Speaker 1: on forty Niners. You can find him on Twitter at
Speaker 1: b d Peacock. Brian, thank you so much for joining us.
Speaker 1: We learned a ton about your San Francisco forty Niners. Anytime,
Speaker 1: Travis pleasure chatting with you again. Pleasure is all mine.
Speaker 1: Be well, my friend, and there he goes Brian Peacock
Speaker 1: Locked on forty Niners, Locked on NFL podcast. Really good
Speaker 1: stuff there and a unique perspective on how the Niners
Speaker 1: will approach this season coming off a trip to the
Speaker 1: Super Bowl where they did come up just short, but
Speaker 1: again Dolphins will see them in week number five. As
Speaker 1: for today podcast, that is going to be my time
Speaker 1: you all. Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast
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Speaker 1: Until next time, fins up.