November 12, 2025 • 28 mins
Larry Krueger joins The Saloon to break down the 49ers loss to the Rams and what it means moving forward, with one-on-one interviews featuring S Ji’Ayir Brown and Cardinals team reporter Dani Sureck previewing San Francisco’s Week 11 matchup in Arizona.
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Speaker 1 (00:22):
Hey faithful, this is your team reporter Bree welcoming you
to our brand new podcast, The Saloon presented by Cisco.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Here you will get all of your.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Latest news and updates on the San Francisco forty nine Ers,
including exclusive analysis, interviews with coaches, players, and more. Be
sure to subscribe on Sirius xm Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and
anywhere you get your podcasts. Thank you, hey faithful, Welcome
back to The Saloon presented by Cisco.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
I'm your forty nine Ers team reporter Brianna Janelle.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
And in today's episode, re recap the tough loss to
the Rams in Week ten with Larry Krueger. He shares
some insight from the game also gives us a few
highlights from that matchup. Later on in this episode, we
catch up with Danny Strek to preview the rematch against
the Arizona Cardinals. We talk about everything to expect in
week eleven and what you should be looking out for
in that matchup. First off, here's my conversation with Larry.
(01:16):
Hey faithful, Welcome back to The Saloon presented by Cisco.
My guest today is Larry Krueger, host of the Crew Show,
also an amazing voice on KNBR. Larry, thanks for joining
me on the podcast again.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
How are you, oh Man?
Speaker 3 (01:27):
Thanks for inviting me back. Always enjoy our conversations and
I'm looking forward to it.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
I mean tough game to recap, but let's break it down.
Let's start with mac Jones. As we're looking at the offense.
He was thirty three of thirty nine for three hundred
and nineteen yards, three touchdowns and eighty four point six
completion percentage. What stood out to you about the way
he commanded the offense and just do you think this
might be one of his most complete games as a Niner.
Speaker 3 (01:55):
You know, I sit in the booth in the press
box next to Todd Husak, the former Stanford quarterback. So
now I'm getting a chance to sit there with a
former NFL quarterback in college quarterback who sees the field,
you know, differently, and so we comment back and forth.
The thing that I commented to him about was just
how accurate Mac Jones is. Mac Jones is. You know,
(02:18):
he doesn't look like a guy who would be able
to throw from different arm angles and different this and that.
He does and he he puts it right on the
receiver's hands and it's uncanny. So I always thought Brock
was really accurate, you know, but Jones is as accurate.
And the way he's playing right now, eighty five percent
(02:38):
completion percentage is an incredible number against a bad defense,
against a really good defense, it's astonishing. And then that's
coming on the heels of the New York Giant game
where he completed seventy nine percent. So you know, this
guy set the NCAA record for completion percentage his final
year at Alabama, like seventy seven percent. It's the highest
ever in the FBS. And you know what, his accuracy
(03:01):
stands out. He is incredibly accurate.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
Exactly, And I mean talk about accuracy, let's talk about
tight end George Kittle. What did you think of that
diving tiptoe score. He also caught every pass.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
That went his way.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
What do you think of the way he kept on
carrying the offense making sure that the team was still
in the game even late in the contest.
Speaker 3 (03:23):
I mean, these guys, the guy has infectious energy and
enthusiasm that goes beyond his talent.
Speaker 4 (03:30):
Right.
Speaker 3 (03:30):
His talent's amazing. You know, he's a great blocker, He's
a great receiver. He's a total package player. But it's
his attitude, and it's his swagger, and it's his confidence
and his ability. You know, some people like old Scout
told me, you know, good football players affect themselves, great
football players affect others. And that's what George is. He's
(03:51):
a great football player. You know, when he's in the room,
you at all times. I've talked to his tight end
mates about that. He's like, yeah, man, if George's and
the Luke Ferrell's like, if George is in the room,
you know, he's there, and it's like he's really really
a presence. But he's just a great player all the
way around, and a great blocker. But more than anything,
he's a leader, and he gives this team a swagger
(04:14):
and a confidence that they don't have when he's not
out there.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 1 (04:18):
I think that's why I really carried through even during
some of those low moments in Week ten. He kept
on making sure that the offense was still in the game.
I also want to highlight running back Christian McCaffrey. He
just continues to hit milestones every single week. It feels
like every Monday we're talking about what new record he's broken.
He's now become just the fourth player in NFL history
with seven thousand rushing and five thousand receiving yards. How
(04:42):
impressive is it that he's still producing at that level
despite some of the offensive woes.
Speaker 3 (04:48):
You know, one of the things I didn't know about
Christian is just about how his personality, you know, impacts
his play. He is the most competitive guy in the room.
You know, he doesn't look like it. You know, he's
pretty smiley guy. He's not. He doesn't verbally, he doesn't
come across as like, oh he's super this or that,
(05:10):
but he is so competitive. He wants to win so bad.
He's like he's got like a simmering and you know,
he's like simmering on game day and when you talk
to me. He loves football. He loves every aspect of it.
And he's just a terrific all round player. I mean,
he is their team MVP.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
I think, yeah, definitely. I mean those were some of
the highlights from the game. Ultimately, the forty nine Ers
fell to the Rams forty two to twenty six. The
team hasn't lost back to back games, but the Niners
also haven't won consecutively and recently in recent weeks.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
What went wrong in this contest?
Speaker 3 (05:46):
Well, just you know, the Rams are a really great
football team. I don't think there's any question about that.
Stafford is a future Hall of Famer and he's in Brionna.
A young Stafford would have turned it over a lot.
But if you notice in this game, when the Niners
did get pressure on him, he kept his poise. He
threw it away or he threw it into the turf.
He's eliminating, he unders He's always been able to make
great plays, but now he understands the importance of eliminating
(06:10):
negative plays. So he used to have great, you know,
twenty great plays and four negative plays. Now he's got
you know, eighteen great plays and no negative plays. So
he's I think that aspect of his game, he's become smarter,
more more patient, and you know, he's I think, you
know a lot of times with NFL quarterbacks. We saw
it with Steve Young. Sometimes they get they just they
(06:33):
get better, better, better, better, better, better better, and then
it's over, you know, because it's like you're really smart,
really smart, and then all of a sudden you take
a terrible hit and you can't go on any longer.
I kind of feel like Stafford is playing the best
football of his career, believe it or not right now.
And you know that's very disappointing as a forty nine
Er fan, because the talk in the summer was he's
(06:54):
got back problems and he can't play. And you know,
we all were thinking, oh, we're going to see a
lot of Jimmy Garoppolo this year, and the Rams probably
are going to struggle because of the because of Stafford's age. No,
he's thirty eight, and he's just keep he just keeps rolling.
He's he's He's an amazing player, he really is, And
I think I would say that was the number one reason.
The forty nine Ers offensive line did a nice job
(07:14):
against the Rams d line, But Stafford just they couldn't
stop him. You know, they he basically went touchdown, touchdown,
touchdow down to start second half. Basically never they never
really stopped him. He's he's just a terrific player playing at.
Speaker 4 (07:28):
A high level.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
Definitely, And well, speaking of that matchup against Stafford, even
after a tough loss, we still saw some flashes from
the defense. I want to know, what is your sense
of how this young defensive group is handling those growing
pains with players coming in and out, and just that
increased responsibility on some of the younger guys.
Speaker 3 (07:47):
Well, I mean, I think in a way they're they've
handled it very well. I mean the Tatum Bethunes, the
Jayre Browns, the Malik Mustafa's, the even the rookies, you know,
guys like Siegel and mchel before he went out, Alfred Collins, Mchael,
you know, CJ. West. I mean, I think they're handling
it well. I think they've got the right kinds of guys.
(08:08):
But we saw in this game that if you don't provide,
if you don't produce pass rush up front, puts a
lot of pressure on the young dbs. And in the
fourth quarter of that game, there were some miscommunications, there
was some frustration going back and forth between the players,
and it's just I think it's going to be really
important that Robert Sala and Daniel Bullocks emphasize the need
to play with poise, but when things go wrong, stay
(08:32):
together because without pass rush, those guys are going to
be tested and at times are going to be overwhelmed,
and it's really important that they just stay together and
stay positive.
Speaker 2 (08:41):
That's right.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
Coach Shanahan might have alluded to the fact that the
injuries might have caught up to them in this game.
Do you agree with that and where do you think
the absences really showed against the Rams?
Speaker 3 (08:52):
Well, I mean, you know, the injuries up front, you know,
that's really it. The forty nine ers don't really have
the ability with any consistency to be able to move
the quarterback off the spot without blitzing. Robert Sala in
his first state with the Niners, you know, had games
where he didn't blitz at all. He blitzed fifty four
percent of the snaps against Stafford in this game. It's
(09:14):
the highest blitz rate the forty nine ers have had
in nine seasons. And he's doing it out of necessity.
So it's really that's really where you know, the big
impact is that instead of being able to get pressure
with your front four, I mean the Niners front four
Brionna at the beginning of the year, when they had
you Tier, gross Matos and mckel inside and Huff and
Bosa outside, that was an overwhelmingly dangerous pass rushing forsome.
(09:38):
And now with you know, Huff back, but no Bosa,
no Michel, you tear, gross matos hurt. It's you know,
they're doing the best they can, but they have to
scheme up their pressure and it puts their defensive backfield
in much more of a of a difficult situation. There's
not a lot of room for air. So this is
just kind of their reality. Saala is not going to
(10:00):
complain about it, but he and he's going to do
a good job at coordinating this thing through the end
of the year, but they're going to be challenged to
create pressure on the quarterback each and every week. That's right.
Speaker 1 (10:11):
Well, the special team screw came through with a few
momentum changing plays, a big punt return by sky Moore.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
What did you think of that run?
Speaker 3 (10:18):
Well, you know, I've really I'm enjoying sky Moore. And
we were talking before we went live about sky and
it's just like he's such a great dude. You know.
I was talking to him the other day in the
locker room and I said, hey, man, there, some guy's
tiptoe through there.
Speaker 4 (10:32):
You don't.
Speaker 3 (10:33):
You don't play this game with any fear at all.
You're not the biggest guy. Where does that courageousness come from?
And He's like, man, I only know one way to
play and I, you know, he goes upfield with reckless
abandon and I said, you know, occasionally, when you go
that hard, you're going to get blown up. And he
looked at me and he's like, you know what, man,
I have gotten blown up, and he kind of laughed
(10:53):
about it. And just the fact Breonna that he could
laugh about, you know, getting you know, some of the
hits that he's taken kind of shows he's got the
right mentality for it. If you're afraid, you know, it
doesn't work, you have to have that fearless approach he does.
And he's this close to taking one to the house.
I think we're going to see it. I don't know
(11:13):
if it's this week, but I'm pretty sure that sky
Moore is going to have either an eighty ninety or
one hundred yard return and and it's going to be
a house and people are going to be like, we
love sky Moore. He's really close to busting one. If
you watch the All twenty two, there's been three examples
already where he's gotten one one tackle break away from
(11:35):
a touchdown. So I do think it's coming. And there,
of course, Eddie Pinero, I mean what can we say
about Eddie. He's just been absolutely phenomenal. He's given this
team such a shot in the arm. And then I
think Boyer is a really good special teams coach that
was suffering through their struggles early. But he is attention
to detail and as you can tell, they're getting a
little bit better, a little bit better, a little bit
better as the season goes, and that's a great sign.
(11:57):
So they got the kicker. I think they got the
right return guy. I think they got the right coordinator.
It's really just about their coverage units making tackles, and
if they can do that, I think they're you know,
we're going to see them really evolve and improve as
a unit.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
I love to hear it.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
I know the faithful or hungry for maybe a sky
Moore punt return touchdown.
Speaker 2 (12:16):
That would be really exciting.
Speaker 1 (12:18):
Now we've got back to back divisional games at home
versus the Rams. Now we're on the road against the Cardinals.
How do the forty nine ers bounce back and you know,
help their divisional standings in this contest?
Speaker 3 (12:28):
Well, if you I think they take you know, a
page out of Seattle's book. If you looked at the
box score, from Seattle Arizona. From this last game, Seattle
only threw Darnald only threw twelve passes the entire day.
They ran the ball like forty times. And I think
the way Brian Robinson is coming on right now, Brionna
and CMC, I think this is a run and there's
(12:50):
a possibility that Brock returns in this game, and I
think they're going to want to take some of the
pressure off of him. I think this is a run
heavy game plan where the Niners use a lot of Robinson,
a lot of CMC, and really run it aggressively at
the Cardinals. And I think a great win here would
be the forty nine Ers having you know, thirty to
(13:12):
forty runs, running it effectively and really kind of described,
you know, you know, discovering that they can win a
different way. It doesn't have to be through the pass.
You know, they have a really good passing offense. I
think this is the game that they kind of rekindle
their running dominance.
Speaker 1 (13:28):
If it's one thing this forty nine Ers offense knows
how to do, it's activate that run game. I'm excited
to see this match up. Larry, Thank you so much
for joining us. Recapping that Week ten game looking ahead
to Arizona.
Speaker 2 (13:38):
I appreciate you always.
Speaker 3 (13:40):
Anytime, Brown, I appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (13:42):
Now we're gonna rewind the tape a little bit, and
I sat down with JayR. Brown for a pregame conversation
before the forty nine Ers faced the Rams. Here's my
conversation with JayR. All Right, faithful, this is your forty
nine Ers team reporter Brionna Janelle sitting with JayR. Brown
right before the forty nine Ers versus Rams Week ten contest.
Speaker 2 (13:59):
JayR, how are you doing.
Speaker 4 (14:00):
I'm doing great, Excited to be here. Let's do it.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
Let's do it.
Speaker 1 (14:04):
So Jayer, it's week ten. Just how are you feeling
physically mentally at this point in the season.
Speaker 4 (14:09):
Oh, physically, I'm feeling great. Ready to ball out.
Speaker 5 (14:12):
Man, Still got a lot I want to accomplish this season,
a lot of goals ahead.
Speaker 4 (14:16):
Mentally, feeling great. You know, got the.
Speaker 5 (14:18):
Guys we rallied around. You know, even with the loss
of our peers, we still fight and we're still going.
Still have so much belief. So I'm in a great mood.
I'm in great spirits.
Speaker 1 (14:26):
You and Malick had a great game against the Giants
last week? What clicked were you in that matchup?
Speaker 5 (14:31):
Just man, trying to go out there every week and
be better than I was last week, you know, never satisfied,
always leaving room for growth, you know, because that's the
biggest room in the world. So just going out there
trying to execute my job every week.
Speaker 3 (14:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:45):
Yeah, And it's year three for you now. Time has flown.
Speaker 1 (14:48):
Now, time has flown by the guys. Look to you
as one of the vets. How has that growth process
been for you?
Speaker 5 (14:56):
It's been dope, man, you know, because I was one
of those younger guys who came in and kind of
had like a VET mindset to him. Even though I
had a lot of Vets around me, you know, they
always you know, treated me like a VET. So to
actually be a VET now and a year three and
have a lot of younger guys in a.
Speaker 4 (15:11):
Room, it's dope, man.
Speaker 5 (15:13):
It's pretty dope man, because the young guys there's a
lot of respect between me and guys in a room,
and we enjoy each other out there and we have fun.
Speaker 2 (15:21):
That's so good. I love hearing that.
Speaker 1 (15:23):
Now some of the older Vets on the team, and
of course the fan base know and love coach Sala,
But for you, this is your first year working with him.
What's a new perspective he's given you about finding success
with this defense?
Speaker 5 (15:35):
His his i Q for the game is sharp, man,
it's very sharp.
Speaker 4 (15:40):
One of the best minds I've been around.
Speaker 5 (15:42):
And I've been around some good dcs and good coordinators,
but yeah, SLA's IQ man is nothing like it.
Speaker 1 (15:49):
Man.
Speaker 4 (15:49):
It's definitely big ups to him. Man.
Speaker 5 (15:51):
He definitely got a feel for the game. He knows
the game, he knows what he's looking for, and he
knows how to call it.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
Yeah, that Rams duo of Puka Nakua and Davante Adams
has been one of the best in football.
Speaker 2 (16:02):
What are the real keys to defending them?
Speaker 5 (16:04):
Both of those guys are great players. Davante's been doing
it for a long time at a high level. Pooka
a little younger, but he's been doing it for a
for a while at the high level. And both of
them has great hands, great routes, you know, great feel
for the game. A lot of respect for those guys, man,
you know, but you know, we have talent on our
side as well. You know, we have guys that can
(16:25):
play and just as much respect goes out to them,
I know it's respects to us as well.
Speaker 1 (16:29):
Can you tell me just how unique it is to
go up against an opponent that you know so well
versus a team that's outside of the division.
Speaker 5 (16:36):
Y'all know each other. That's the that's the that's the
uniqueness of it. You know, you get to learn the
other guys more and more. You know, you play them
twice a year every year, so you get to learn
the routes that Pooka likes to run. You get to
learn the routes that that Matthew Stafford likes to throw.
You know, you get a feel for each other, and
which makes the game harder, honestly than rather meeting a
(16:56):
new team where you don't really have a field form
and how they operate, and you kind of gradually grow
through that throughout the game. From the first snap, you know,
we're going to know exactly who each other are, and
that's what makes the game interesting.
Speaker 1 (17:08):
Joining me now on the saloon is Arizona Cardinals team
reporter Danny surrec Danny, thank you so much for joining
me today.
Speaker 6 (17:14):
Thanks for having me. I'm excited for the second mat shot.
Speaker 1 (17:17):
Both teams are looking to bounce back in the division.
Both the forty nine ers and the Cardinals will be
rolling into State Farms Stadium looking to shake off a loss.
But before we get into this game, let's recap a
little bit of Week ten. I mean, the Cardinals fell
to the Seahawks and a tough loss, But what were
some of the bright spots in that game?
Speaker 7 (17:34):
Offensively, they struggled against a really good defensive front in Seattle,
and while the Cardinals knew that Seattle had one of
the best defenses in the league going into the game,
didn't really give themselves a lot of chances to combat that.
And that's just partially because Seattle's defense is so good.
There's absolutely things this offense wants to be better at
when that comes to pad level timey execution on the
(17:56):
offensive line, quarterback Jacoby Brissett getting the ball out faster,
and receivers making more of those contested catches.
Speaker 6 (18:03):
On defense, it started.
Speaker 7 (18:04):
With a bit of bad luck at just just an
explosive play, almost seventy yard touchdown catch for JSN on
Seattle's first drive, and quarterback Gary Williams was toe to toe,
stride for stride with Jaysn and just got tripped up
on his foot, and then two stripsack fumbles returned for
touchdowns by Seattle's defense just put the Cardinals in a
hole that they were unable to dig themselves out of.
Speaker 6 (18:26):
Bright spots. Cardinals forced three turnovers.
Speaker 7 (18:29):
And complimentary football put points on the board after two
of them, although in a game that was just such
a struggle start to finish, not a lot of bright spots,
but if you're looking for some, that would be one
of them. And just the fight from this team. We've
seen that consistently every year under head coach Jonathan Gannon.
Is a team that does not quit, lays very physical,
plays very hard, regardless of the score or the situation,
(18:51):
and that was on display. The Cardinals ended up coming
back almost punted within a two score game, despite being
down thirty five.
Speaker 6 (18:57):
Nothing at one point.
Speaker 7 (18:59):
They're absolutely looking to bounce back at home another divisional
opponent in the forty nine Ers, in a game that
they also had a chance of winning.
Speaker 1 (19:07):
Both the forty nine Ers and the Cardinals are both
fighting to establish some sort of consistency. How are the
Cardinals shifting from the Seahawks to the Niners this week?
Speaker 7 (19:17):
With a game like that, they have no choice but
to quickly review the tape, learn about the corrections that
you'd be made, and flush it that. That's just the
best thing to do, and what we've seen from this
Cardinals team is their.
Speaker 6 (19:29):
Ability to do that.
Speaker 7 (19:30):
Look, the Cardinals set a record they didn't want to set,
being the first team since the merger to lose three
straight games in a walk off field goal and the
forty nine Ers being one of those teams, Seattle being another.
Speaker 6 (19:41):
Yet every week the Cardinals have stuck in it.
Speaker 7 (19:44):
With the exception of the game against the Seahawks and
the win in Dallas, for Arizona, every game had been
a one score game coming down.
Speaker 6 (19:51):
To the final few plays.
Speaker 7 (19:52):
This isn't an Arizona team that's consistently getting.
Speaker 6 (19:55):
Blown out of the water. They lost to some really
good teams.
Speaker 7 (19:58):
So I expect them to have that same mindset as
they shift things into the forty nine Ers, and things
will look different, I mean really for both teams from
that first matchup in Week three. So I'll be curious
to see how those things kind of shake out and
how Arizona gets back on track.
Speaker 6 (20:12):
After that loss against Seattle.
Speaker 1 (20:14):
In Week three, the forty nine Ers faced Kyler Murray.
But a lot has changed since that matchup. Now the
forty nine ers are gearing up to face quarterback to cope,
what have you taken away from his performance so far
and what should the forty nine ers expect against him?
Speaker 7 (20:27):
For Brissette is as experiences backup quarterbacks tom He's been
in the league for a decade. He's had some really
good things on tape, and one of those things has
been ball security. And up until those two sacked fumbles
returned for touchdowns by the Seahawks, Prissette had only thrown
one interception in his three games as a starter. He
now has four games under his belt as a cardinal,
and something Brissette is really good at staying in the pocket,
(20:51):
even if he is under constant pressure. How the hand
in his face gets hit and takes his back, he
gets right up the next play. He has no hesitation
staying in the pocket that falling play, waiting for that read,
waiting for the right time for his receivers to break
the routes to get the ball up quickly. That's something
that Brissette has done a really nice job of. And
the team takes note of that wide receiver Marvin Harrison
(21:12):
Junior said last week at his locker that when he
sees his quarterback taking hits, getting off to the ground
and getting back up, that energizes him and the rest
of their team to be a agressive and to fight
on every single play. That's something Bersett's done a nice
job of. Kyler Murray hurt his foot shortly after that
first matchup against the forty nine Ers, missed some games,
and then was placed on IR so last Sunday against
(21:35):
Seattle was the first of the minimum four games for
Murray to miss with that injury.
Speaker 1 (21:39):
Now, speaking of Arizona's weapons, Trey McBride's been a really
consistent weapons in this Cardinals offense. How do you see
him performing against a nine ers defense that's rotating through
some younger defenders.
Speaker 7 (21:51):
This is got to be a huge game for Trey McBride.
He has won the most reliable weapon for this Cardinals offense.
Consistently brings the ball in. He's got sticky hands, he's
got a huge catch radius, and he refuses to go
down on first contact. It takes multiple defenders to bring
McBride down, and you can see that he's been giving
in his all because a lot of times he'll go
(22:12):
on to the sideline after a long drive and you
can see he's taking a knee, he's having to catch
his breath. He is really putting his body on the line,
garnering a lot of defensive attention and still finding ways
to create success. The fact that the forty nine ers
are without one of the best linebackers in the league
and Fred Warner does provide an advantage for this Cardinals offense.
They're going to have to take advantage of. McBride is
(22:34):
one of the most well rounded tight ends. He has
the full route tree. He can block, which is something
he's had to do a little bit more of because
the Cardinals are without their two top blocking tight ends
and Tip Ryman and Travis's vocal life done for the
year with injuries from a couple of weeks ago. And
while they won't be facing each other, I am excited
for this quote unquote matchup between two of the best
(22:55):
tight ends, if not the two best tight ends in
the league with McBride and George Kittle, and hopefully they
can have a little fun with each other. I know
that McBride was the highest paid tight end this offseason
for about twenty whole seconds before Kittle beat him by
Pamny's there.
Speaker 8 (23:09):
And I know they joked about it when they met
up at tight End.
Speaker 7 (23:11):
University, so I know they won't be going toe to
toe per se on the field at the same time.
But I do think that's a fun matchup to watch
between two of the best of their position.
Speaker 1 (23:19):
Right now, on the topic of that blocking game, there's
a lot of similarities in this matchup. Both the forty
nine Ers and the Cardinals will want to establish the
run and set the tone early. How do the running
backs like Amari Impossibly Bam Knight find success with this
Cardinals offense?
Speaker 7 (23:36):
The run game has been a struggle all year for
the Cardinals. Even when they had James Connor their start
healthy to start the year, it wasn't jumping off the
page the way that people were expecting, mostly given the
consistency with personnel on the offensive line, the offense as
a whole, and how good the Cardinals were at running
the ball last year. They're one of the top teams
(23:58):
with a run offense, and that was a struggle even
with Connor. And then you lose Connor that season ending
injury in San Francisco, right at the start the second half,
and then the following week Cardinals have to place second
running back on that depth chart, dray Ben said on
injured reserve, and he has not played a game since,
so the Cardinals have really had to go through the
depth chart and then really go deep in that running
(24:20):
backs room, and it's been a struggle.
Speaker 8 (24:22):
There have been.
Speaker 7 (24:22):
Flashes, and that's something that Bam Knight provides is he's
got a little bit of that twitchiness and he can
move the ball forward, doesn't necessarily always want to go
lateral before he's going north and south. So that's been
good to see an Amari de Mercado as somebody who
is incredibly strong as your third down back, very good
at pass protection, and he's also a threat really in
(24:43):
the passing game. He's shown some nice things, put up
some nice yardage numbers from the line of scrimmage. So
that's something that the Cardinals are going to want to establish.
You always want to establish the run, established dominance, were
down the defense open up the rest of the playbook.
It has been a struggle similar to the forty nine
ers in a sense for the Cardinals to do that
on a consistent basis, though and that's something they're going
(25:04):
to look to do every single week.
Speaker 2 (25:06):
Now.
Speaker 1 (25:06):
We all remember Week three, it was a really close
game and the forty nine ers managed to get a
win with a last second field goal. Do you expect
Week eleven to be another tight game?
Speaker 7 (25:17):
You hope so, right, You hope so, and that it's
not so lopsided. I do think that this is going
to be a matchup. It's always a good matchup between
these teams, and they're similar in a lot of ways
of not having the starting quarterback right, being out some
key defenders, and some of the injuries that these teams
have faced. But it's always a tough challenge. Both of
(25:37):
these teams are known for being physical and being tough.
Kyle Shanahan is known for being one of, if not
the best coaches in the league when it comes to
disguising what their offense is doing, and that's a tough
challenge to defend. And then you guys have someone like
Christian McCaffery, who, when you look at the numbers, might
not be as quote unquote dominant as years passed right
(25:58):
running the rock, but he is just as much of
a threat in the passing game as well.
Speaker 8 (26:02):
So both teams have some similar struggles and adversities that
they're working towards, but it's always a good match. Hopefully
for Cardinals fans that can come out on top this
time around, but I am expecting it to be a
good fight for both teams.
Speaker 1 (26:16):
Finally, Danny, give us some insight here. Who are a
few names on the Cardinals that footy Niners fans should
be looking for that could be difference makers this weekend.
Speaker 8 (26:26):
First, I would say Trum McBride, who we touched on.
Speaker 7 (26:29):
I think when you're looking at advantages and disadvantages for
both teams, he already is such an advantage for the
Cardinals and for a bit of a banged up forty
nine Ers defense, at least in that linebacker's room. That
would be a name I would keep an eye on. Defensively,
cornerback Garrett Williams. He did not play in that first matchup.
He was on iron with knee injury he sustained week two.
Speaker 8 (26:49):
He's come back. Last year.
Speaker 7 (26:50):
Williams was ranked one of the top corner one of
the top slot corners by Pro Football Focus, and Williams
has a great ability not just because of his physical
skill set, but his mental strength as well to not
just be inside but to also move outside, and that's
the position room. The Cardinals have been hit pretty hard
in terms of injuries, so I would expect to see
(27:13):
Williams kind of move around some inside and outside. That's
what we saw in Seattle, and he plays tight, clean
discipline football forty nine ers have got a receiver like
Rickie Pearsol who went off against the Cardinals the first
time around. I'm excited for that matchup for the Cardinals
defense is to have Williams back on the field because
(27:33):
when you have him out there, to trickle down effect
of how defensive corner or Nick Ralis can utilize his
other playmakers in unique way, someone like safety Buddha Baker,
and maybe they have him blitz a little bit more
move around the field. Having Williams on the field absolutely
gives this defense a leg up from what they had
that first matchup when he wasn't able to play well.
Speaker 1 (27:54):
Danny, a lot to look for in this rematch, this
time in Arizona.
Speaker 2 (27:58):
Danny, thank you so much for joining me today.
Speaker 8 (28:00):
Thanks so much for having me on. I'm looking forward
to the game.
Speaker 1 (28:03):
All right, Faithful, Thank you so much for tuning in
to another episode of the Saloon presented by Cisco. Don't
forget to subscribe to the podcast on YouTube, Siria sexm
and your favorite podcast platform. The week eleven matchup against
the Cardinals airs at one oh five Pacific time on Fox.
Speaker 2 (28:17):
We'll see you there and Gunners
Hey faithful, this is your team reporter Bree welcoming you
to our brand new podcast, The Saloon presented by Cisco.
Speaker 2 (00:28):
Here you will get all of your.
Speaker 1 (00:29):
Latest news and updates on the San Francisco forty nine Ers,
including exclusive analysis, interviews with coaches, players, and more. Be
sure to subscribe on Sirius xm Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and
anywhere you get your podcasts. Thank you, hey faithful, Welcome
back to The Saloon presented by Cisco.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
I'm your forty nine Ers team reporter Brianna Janelle.
Speaker 1 (00:53):
And in today's episode, re recap the tough loss to
the Rams in Week ten with Larry Krueger. He shares
some insight from the game also gives us a few
highlights from that matchup. Later on in this episode, we
catch up with Danny Strek to preview the rematch against
the Arizona Cardinals. We talk about everything to expect in
week eleven and what you should be looking out for
in that matchup. First off, here's my conversation with Larry.
(01:16):
Hey faithful, Welcome back to The Saloon presented by Cisco.
My guest today is Larry Krueger, host of the Crew Show,
also an amazing voice on KNBR. Larry, thanks for joining
me on the podcast again.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
How are you, oh Man?
Speaker 3 (01:27):
Thanks for inviting me back. Always enjoy our conversations and
I'm looking forward to it.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
I mean tough game to recap, but let's break it down.
Let's start with mac Jones. As we're looking at the offense.
He was thirty three of thirty nine for three hundred
and nineteen yards, three touchdowns and eighty four point six
completion percentage. What stood out to you about the way
he commanded the offense and just do you think this
might be one of his most complete games as a Niner.
Speaker 3 (01:55):
You know, I sit in the booth in the press
box next to Todd Husak, the former Stanford quarterback. So
now I'm getting a chance to sit there with a
former NFL quarterback in college quarterback who sees the field,
you know, differently, and so we comment back and forth.
The thing that I commented to him about was just
how accurate Mac Jones is. Mac Jones is. You know,
(02:18):
he doesn't look like a guy who would be able
to throw from different arm angles and different this and that.
He does and he he puts it right on the
receiver's hands and it's uncanny. So I always thought Brock
was really accurate, you know, but Jones is as accurate.
And the way he's playing right now, eighty five percent
(02:38):
completion percentage is an incredible number against a bad defense,
against a really good defense, it's astonishing. And then that's
coming on the heels of the New York Giant game
where he completed seventy nine percent. So you know, this
guy set the NCAA record for completion percentage his final
year at Alabama, like seventy seven percent. It's the highest
ever in the FBS. And you know what, his accuracy
(03:01):
stands out. He is incredibly accurate.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
Exactly, And I mean talk about accuracy, let's talk about
tight end George Kittle. What did you think of that
diving tiptoe score. He also caught every pass.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
That went his way.
Speaker 1 (03:16):
What do you think of the way he kept on
carrying the offense making sure that the team was still
in the game even late in the contest.
Speaker 3 (03:23):
I mean, these guys, the guy has infectious energy and
enthusiasm that goes beyond his talent.
Speaker 4 (03:30):
Right.
Speaker 3 (03:30):
His talent's amazing. You know, he's a great blocker, He's
a great receiver. He's a total package player. But it's
his attitude, and it's his swagger, and it's his confidence
and his ability. You know, some people like old Scout
told me, you know, good football players affect themselves, great
football players affect others. And that's what George is. He's
(03:51):
a great football player. You know, when he's in the room,
you at all times. I've talked to his tight end
mates about that. He's like, yeah, man, if George's and
the Luke Ferrell's like, if George is in the room,
you know, he's there, and it's like he's really really
a presence. But he's just a great player all the
way around, and a great blocker. But more than anything,
he's a leader, and he gives this team a swagger
(04:14):
and a confidence that they don't have when he's not
out there.
Speaker 2 (04:17):
Yeah, definitely.
Speaker 1 (04:18):
I think that's why I really carried through even during
some of those low moments in Week ten. He kept
on making sure that the offense was still in the game.
I also want to highlight running back Christian McCaffrey. He
just continues to hit milestones every single week. It feels
like every Monday we're talking about what new record he's broken.
He's now become just the fourth player in NFL history
with seven thousand rushing and five thousand receiving yards. How
(04:42):
impressive is it that he's still producing at that level
despite some of the offensive woes.
Speaker 3 (04:48):
You know, one of the things I didn't know about
Christian is just about how his personality, you know, impacts
his play. He is the most competitive guy in the room.
You know, he doesn't look like it. You know, he's
pretty smiley guy. He's not. He doesn't verbally, he doesn't
come across as like, oh he's super this or that,
(05:10):
but he is so competitive. He wants to win so bad.
He's like he's got like a simmering and you know,
he's like simmering on game day and when you talk
to me. He loves football. He loves every aspect of it.
And he's just a terrific all round player. I mean,
he is their team MVP.
Speaker 1 (05:28):
I think, yeah, definitely. I mean those were some of
the highlights from the game. Ultimately, the forty nine Ers
fell to the Rams forty two to twenty six. The
team hasn't lost back to back games, but the Niners
also haven't won consecutively and recently in recent weeks.
Speaker 2 (05:43):
What went wrong in this contest?
Speaker 3 (05:46):
Well, just you know, the Rams are a really great
football team. I don't think there's any question about that.
Stafford is a future Hall of Famer and he's in Brionna.
A young Stafford would have turned it over a lot.
But if you notice in this game, when the Niners
did get pressure on him, he kept his poise. He
threw it away or he threw it into the turf.
He's eliminating, he unders He's always been able to make
great plays, but now he understands the importance of eliminating
(06:10):
negative plays. So he used to have great, you know,
twenty great plays and four negative plays. Now he's got
you know, eighteen great plays and no negative plays. So
he's I think that aspect of his game, he's become smarter,
more more patient, and you know, he's I think, you
know a lot of times with NFL quarterbacks. We saw
it with Steve Young. Sometimes they get they just they
(06:33):
get better, better, better, better, better, better better, and then
it's over, you know, because it's like you're really smart,
really smart, and then all of a sudden you take
a terrible hit and you can't go on any longer.
I kind of feel like Stafford is playing the best
football of his career, believe it or not right now.
And you know that's very disappointing as a forty nine
Er fan, because the talk in the summer was he's
(06:54):
got back problems and he can't play. And you know,
we all were thinking, oh, we're going to see a
lot of Jimmy Garoppolo this year, and the Rams probably
are going to struggle because of the because of Stafford's age. No,
he's thirty eight, and he's just keep he just keeps rolling.
He's he's He's an amazing player, he really is, And
I think I would say that was the number one reason.
The forty nine Ers offensive line did a nice job
(07:14):
against the Rams d line, But Stafford just they couldn't
stop him. You know, they he basically went touchdown, touchdown,
touchdow down to start second half. Basically never they never
really stopped him. He's he's just a terrific player playing at.
Speaker 4 (07:28):
A high level.
Speaker 1 (07:29):
Definitely, And well, speaking of that matchup against Stafford, even
after a tough loss, we still saw some flashes from
the defense. I want to know, what is your sense
of how this young defensive group is handling those growing
pains with players coming in and out, and just that
increased responsibility on some of the younger guys.
Speaker 3 (07:47):
Well, I mean, I think in a way they're they've
handled it very well. I mean the Tatum Bethunes, the
Jayre Browns, the Malik Mustafa's, the even the rookies, you know,
guys like Siegel and mchel before he went out, Alfred Collins, Mchael,
you know, CJ. West. I mean, I think they're handling
it well. I think they've got the right kinds of guys.
(08:08):
But we saw in this game that if you don't provide,
if you don't produce pass rush up front, puts a
lot of pressure on the young dbs. And in the
fourth quarter of that game, there were some miscommunications, there
was some frustration going back and forth between the players,
and it's just I think it's going to be really
important that Robert Sala and Daniel Bullocks emphasize the need
to play with poise, but when things go wrong, stay
(08:32):
together because without pass rush, those guys are going to
be tested and at times are going to be overwhelmed,
and it's really important that they just stay together and
stay positive.
Speaker 2 (08:41):
That's right.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
Coach Shanahan might have alluded to the fact that the
injuries might have caught up to them in this game.
Do you agree with that and where do you think
the absences really showed against the Rams?
Speaker 3 (08:52):
Well, I mean, you know, the injuries up front, you know,
that's really it. The forty nine ers don't really have
the ability with any consistency to be able to move
the quarterback off the spot without blitzing. Robert Sala in
his first state with the Niners, you know, had games
where he didn't blitz at all. He blitzed fifty four
percent of the snaps against Stafford in this game. It's
(09:14):
the highest blitz rate the forty nine ers have had
in nine seasons. And he's doing it out of necessity.
So it's really that's really where you know, the big
impact is that instead of being able to get pressure
with your front four, I mean the Niners front four
Brionna at the beginning of the year, when they had
you Tier, gross Matos and mckel inside and Huff and
Bosa outside, that was an overwhelmingly dangerous pass rushing forsome.
(09:38):
And now with you know, Huff back, but no Bosa,
no Michel, you tear, gross matos hurt. It's you know,
they're doing the best they can, but they have to
scheme up their pressure and it puts their defensive backfield
in much more of a of a difficult situation. There's
not a lot of room for air. So this is
just kind of their reality. Saala is not going to
(10:00):
complain about it, but he and he's going to do
a good job at coordinating this thing through the end
of the year, but they're going to be challenged to
create pressure on the quarterback each and every week. That's right.
Speaker 1 (10:11):
Well, the special team screw came through with a few
momentum changing plays, a big punt return by sky Moore.
Speaker 2 (10:17):
What did you think of that run?
Speaker 3 (10:18):
Well, you know, I've really I'm enjoying sky Moore. And
we were talking before we went live about sky and
it's just like he's such a great dude. You know.
I was talking to him the other day in the
locker room and I said, hey, man, there, some guy's
tiptoe through there.
Speaker 4 (10:32):
You don't.
Speaker 3 (10:33):
You don't play this game with any fear at all.
You're not the biggest guy. Where does that courageousness come from?
And He's like, man, I only know one way to
play and I, you know, he goes upfield with reckless
abandon and I said, you know, occasionally, when you go
that hard, you're going to get blown up. And he
looked at me and he's like, you know what, man,
I have gotten blown up, and he kind of laughed
(10:53):
about it. And just the fact Breonna that he could
laugh about, you know, getting you know, some of the
hits that he's taken kind of shows he's got the
right mentality for it. If you're afraid, you know, it
doesn't work, you have to have that fearless approach he does.
And he's this close to taking one to the house.
I think we're going to see it. I don't know
(11:13):
if it's this week, but I'm pretty sure that sky
Moore is going to have either an eighty ninety or
one hundred yard return and and it's going to be
a house and people are going to be like, we
love sky Moore. He's really close to busting one. If
you watch the All twenty two, there's been three examples
already where he's gotten one one tackle break away from
(11:35):
a touchdown. So I do think it's coming. And there,
of course, Eddie Pinero, I mean what can we say
about Eddie. He's just been absolutely phenomenal. He's given this
team such a shot in the arm. And then I
think Boyer is a really good special teams coach that
was suffering through their struggles early. But he is attention
to detail and as you can tell, they're getting a
little bit better, a little bit better, a little bit
better as the season goes, and that's a great sign.
(11:57):
So they got the kicker. I think they got the
right return guy. I think they got the right coordinator.
It's really just about their coverage units making tackles, and
if they can do that, I think they're you know,
we're going to see them really evolve and improve as
a unit.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
I love to hear it.
Speaker 1 (12:12):
I know the faithful or hungry for maybe a sky
Moore punt return touchdown.
Speaker 2 (12:16):
That would be really exciting.
Speaker 1 (12:18):
Now we've got back to back divisional games at home
versus the Rams. Now we're on the road against the Cardinals.
How do the forty nine ers bounce back and you know,
help their divisional standings in this contest?
Speaker 3 (12:28):
Well, if you I think they take you know, a
page out of Seattle's book. If you looked at the
box score, from Seattle Arizona. From this last game, Seattle
only threw Darnald only threw twelve passes the entire day.
They ran the ball like forty times. And I think
the way Brian Robinson is coming on right now, Brionna
and CMC, I think this is a run and there's
(12:50):
a possibility that Brock returns in this game, and I
think they're going to want to take some of the
pressure off of him. I think this is a run
heavy game plan where the Niners use a lot of Robinson,
a lot of CMC, and really run it aggressively at
the Cardinals. And I think a great win here would
be the forty nine Ers having you know, thirty to
(13:12):
forty runs, running it effectively and really kind of described,
you know, you know, discovering that they can win a
different way. It doesn't have to be through the pass.
You know, they have a really good passing offense. I
think this is the game that they kind of rekindle
their running dominance.
Speaker 1 (13:28):
If it's one thing this forty nine Ers offense knows
how to do, it's activate that run game. I'm excited
to see this match up. Larry, Thank you so much
for joining us. Recapping that Week ten game looking ahead
to Arizona.
Speaker 2 (13:38):
I appreciate you always.
Speaker 3 (13:40):
Anytime, Brown, I appreciate it.
Speaker 1 (13:42):
Now we're gonna rewind the tape a little bit, and
I sat down with JayR. Brown for a pregame conversation
before the forty nine Ers faced the Rams. Here's my
conversation with JayR. All Right, faithful, this is your forty
nine Ers team reporter Brionna Janelle sitting with JayR. Brown
right before the forty nine Ers versus Rams Week ten contest.
Speaker 2 (13:59):
JayR, how are you doing.
Speaker 4 (14:00):
I'm doing great, Excited to be here. Let's do it.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
Let's do it.
Speaker 1 (14:04):
So Jayer, it's week ten. Just how are you feeling
physically mentally at this point in the season.
Speaker 4 (14:09):
Oh, physically, I'm feeling great. Ready to ball out.
Speaker 5 (14:12):
Man, Still got a lot I want to accomplish this season,
a lot of goals ahead.
Speaker 4 (14:16):
Mentally, feeling great. You know, got the.
Speaker 5 (14:18):
Guys we rallied around. You know, even with the loss
of our peers, we still fight and we're still going.
Still have so much belief. So I'm in a great mood.
I'm in great spirits.
Speaker 1 (14:26):
You and Malick had a great game against the Giants
last week? What clicked were you in that matchup?
Speaker 5 (14:31):
Just man, trying to go out there every week and
be better than I was last week, you know, never satisfied,
always leaving room for growth, you know, because that's the
biggest room in the world. So just going out there
trying to execute my job every week.
Speaker 3 (14:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (14:45):
Yeah, And it's year three for you now. Time has flown.
Speaker 1 (14:48):
Now, time has flown by the guys. Look to you
as one of the vets. How has that growth process
been for you?
Speaker 5 (14:56):
It's been dope, man, you know, because I was one
of those younger guys who came in and kind of
had like a VET mindset to him. Even though I
had a lot of Vets around me, you know, they
always you know, treated me like a VET. So to
actually be a VET now and a year three and
have a lot of younger guys in a.
Speaker 4 (15:11):
Room, it's dope, man.
Speaker 5 (15:13):
It's pretty dope man, because the young guys there's a
lot of respect between me and guys in a room,
and we enjoy each other out there and we have fun.
Speaker 2 (15:21):
That's so good. I love hearing that.
Speaker 1 (15:23):
Now some of the older Vets on the team, and
of course the fan base know and love coach Sala,
But for you, this is your first year working with him.
What's a new perspective he's given you about finding success
with this defense?
Speaker 5 (15:35):
His his i Q for the game is sharp, man,
it's very sharp.
Speaker 4 (15:40):
One of the best minds I've been around.
Speaker 5 (15:42):
And I've been around some good dcs and good coordinators,
but yeah, SLA's IQ man is nothing like it.
Speaker 1 (15:49):
Man.
Speaker 4 (15:49):
It's definitely big ups to him. Man.
Speaker 5 (15:51):
He definitely got a feel for the game. He knows
the game, he knows what he's looking for, and he
knows how to call it.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
Yeah, that Rams duo of Puka Nakua and Davante Adams
has been one of the best in football.
Speaker 2 (16:02):
What are the real keys to defending them?
Speaker 5 (16:04):
Both of those guys are great players. Davante's been doing
it for a long time at a high level. Pooka
a little younger, but he's been doing it for a
for a while at the high level. And both of
them has great hands, great routes, you know, great feel
for the game. A lot of respect for those guys, man,
you know, but you know, we have talent on our
side as well. You know, we have guys that can
(16:25):
play and just as much respect goes out to them,
I know it's respects to us as well.
Speaker 1 (16:29):
Can you tell me just how unique it is to
go up against an opponent that you know so well
versus a team that's outside of the division.
Speaker 5 (16:36):
Y'all know each other. That's the that's the that's the
uniqueness of it. You know, you get to learn the
other guys more and more. You know, you play them
twice a year every year, so you get to learn
the routes that Pooka likes to run. You get to
learn the routes that that Matthew Stafford likes to throw.
You know, you get a feel for each other, and
which makes the game harder, honestly than rather meeting a
(16:56):
new team where you don't really have a field form
and how they operate, and you kind of gradually grow
through that throughout the game. From the first snap, you know,
we're going to know exactly who each other are, and
that's what makes the game interesting.
Speaker 1 (17:08):
Joining me now on the saloon is Arizona Cardinals team
reporter Danny surrec Danny, thank you so much for joining
me today.
Speaker 6 (17:14):
Thanks for having me. I'm excited for the second mat shot.
Speaker 1 (17:17):
Both teams are looking to bounce back in the division.
Both the forty nine ers and the Cardinals will be
rolling into State Farms Stadium looking to shake off a loss.
But before we get into this game, let's recap a
little bit of Week ten. I mean, the Cardinals fell
to the Seahawks and a tough loss, But what were
some of the bright spots in that game?
Speaker 7 (17:34):
Offensively, they struggled against a really good defensive front in Seattle,
and while the Cardinals knew that Seattle had one of
the best defenses in the league going into the game,
didn't really give themselves a lot of chances to combat that.
And that's just partially because Seattle's defense is so good.
There's absolutely things this offense wants to be better at
when that comes to pad level timey execution on the
(17:56):
offensive line, quarterback Jacoby Brissett getting the ball out faster,
and receivers making more of those contested catches.
Speaker 6 (18:03):
On defense, it started.
Speaker 7 (18:04):
With a bit of bad luck at just just an
explosive play, almost seventy yard touchdown catch for JSN on
Seattle's first drive, and quarterback Gary Williams was toe to toe,
stride for stride with Jaysn and just got tripped up
on his foot, and then two stripsack fumbles returned for
touchdowns by Seattle's defense just put the Cardinals in a
hole that they were unable to dig themselves out of.
Speaker 6 (18:26):
Bright spots. Cardinals forced three turnovers.
Speaker 7 (18:29):
And complimentary football put points on the board after two
of them, although in a game that was just such
a struggle start to finish, not a lot of bright spots,
but if you're looking for some, that would be one
of them. And just the fight from this team. We've
seen that consistently every year under head coach Jonathan Gannon.
Is a team that does not quit, lays very physical,
plays very hard, regardless of the score or the situation,
(18:51):
and that was on display. The Cardinals ended up coming
back almost punted within a two score game, despite being
down thirty five.
Speaker 6 (18:57):
Nothing at one point.
Speaker 7 (18:59):
They're absolutely looking to bounce back at home another divisional
opponent in the forty nine Ers, in a game that
they also had a chance of winning.
Speaker 1 (19:07):
Both the forty nine Ers and the Cardinals are both
fighting to establish some sort of consistency. How are the
Cardinals shifting from the Seahawks to the Niners this week?
Speaker 7 (19:17):
With a game like that, they have no choice but
to quickly review the tape, learn about the corrections that
you'd be made, and flush it that. That's just the
best thing to do, and what we've seen from this
Cardinals team is their.
Speaker 6 (19:29):
Ability to do that.
Speaker 7 (19:30):
Look, the Cardinals set a record they didn't want to set,
being the first team since the merger to lose three
straight games in a walk off field goal and the
forty nine Ers being one of those teams, Seattle being another.
Speaker 6 (19:41):
Yet every week the Cardinals have stuck in it.
Speaker 7 (19:44):
With the exception of the game against the Seahawks and
the win in Dallas, for Arizona, every game had been
a one score game coming down.
Speaker 6 (19:51):
To the final few plays.
Speaker 7 (19:52):
This isn't an Arizona team that's consistently getting.
Speaker 6 (19:55):
Blown out of the water. They lost to some really
good teams.
Speaker 7 (19:58):
So I expect them to have that same mindset as
they shift things into the forty nine Ers, and things
will look different, I mean really for both teams from
that first matchup in Week three. So I'll be curious
to see how those things kind of shake out and
how Arizona gets back on track.
Speaker 6 (20:12):
After that loss against Seattle.
Speaker 1 (20:14):
In Week three, the forty nine Ers faced Kyler Murray.
But a lot has changed since that matchup. Now the
forty nine ers are gearing up to face quarterback to cope,
what have you taken away from his performance so far
and what should the forty nine ers expect against him?
Speaker 7 (20:27):
For Brissette is as experiences backup quarterbacks tom He's been
in the league for a decade. He's had some really
good things on tape, and one of those things has
been ball security. And up until those two sacked fumbles
returned for touchdowns by the Seahawks, Prissette had only thrown
one interception in his three games as a starter. He
now has four games under his belt as a cardinal,
and something Brissette is really good at staying in the pocket,
(20:51):
even if he is under constant pressure. How the hand
in his face gets hit and takes his back, he
gets right up the next play. He has no hesitation
staying in the pocket that falling play, waiting for that read,
waiting for the right time for his receivers to break
the routes to get the ball up quickly. That's something
that Brissette has done a really nice job of. And
the team takes note of that wide receiver Marvin Harrison
(21:12):
Junior said last week at his locker that when he
sees his quarterback taking hits, getting off to the ground
and getting back up, that energizes him and the rest
of their team to be a agressive and to fight
on every single play. That's something Bersett's done a nice
job of. Kyler Murray hurt his foot shortly after that
first matchup against the forty nine Ers, missed some games,
and then was placed on IR so last Sunday against
(21:35):
Seattle was the first of the minimum four games for
Murray to miss with that injury.
Speaker 1 (21:39):
Now, speaking of Arizona's weapons, Trey McBride's been a really
consistent weapons in this Cardinals offense. How do you see
him performing against a nine ers defense that's rotating through
some younger defenders.
Speaker 7 (21:51):
This is got to be a huge game for Trey McBride.
He has won the most reliable weapon for this Cardinals offense.
Consistently brings the ball in. He's got sticky hands, he's
got a huge catch radius, and he refuses to go
down on first contact. It takes multiple defenders to bring
McBride down, and you can see that he's been giving
in his all because a lot of times he'll go
(22:12):
on to the sideline after a long drive and you
can see he's taking a knee, he's having to catch
his breath. He is really putting his body on the line,
garnering a lot of defensive attention and still finding ways
to create success. The fact that the forty nine ers
are without one of the best linebackers in the league
and Fred Warner does provide an advantage for this Cardinals offense.
They're going to have to take advantage of. McBride is
(22:34):
one of the most well rounded tight ends. He has
the full route tree. He can block, which is something
he's had to do a little bit more of because
the Cardinals are without their two top blocking tight ends
and Tip Ryman and Travis's vocal life done for the
year with injuries from a couple of weeks ago. And
while they won't be facing each other, I am excited
for this quote unquote matchup between two of the best
(22:55):
tight ends, if not the two best tight ends in
the league with McBride and George Kittle, and hopefully they
can have a little fun with each other. I know
that McBride was the highest paid tight end this offseason
for about twenty whole seconds before Kittle beat him by
Pamny's there.
Speaker 8 (23:09):
And I know they joked about it when they met
up at tight End.
Speaker 7 (23:11):
University, so I know they won't be going toe to
toe per se on the field at the same time.
But I do think that's a fun matchup to watch
between two of the best of their position.
Speaker 1 (23:19):
Right now, on the topic of that blocking game, there's
a lot of similarities in this matchup. Both the forty
nine Ers and the Cardinals will want to establish the
run and set the tone early. How do the running
backs like Amari Impossibly Bam Knight find success with this
Cardinals offense?
Speaker 7 (23:36):
The run game has been a struggle all year for
the Cardinals. Even when they had James Connor their start
healthy to start the year, it wasn't jumping off the
page the way that people were expecting, mostly given the
consistency with personnel on the offensive line, the offense as
a whole, and how good the Cardinals were at running
the ball last year. They're one of the top teams
(23:58):
with a run offense, and that was a struggle even
with Connor. And then you lose Connor that season ending
injury in San Francisco, right at the start the second half,
and then the following week Cardinals have to place second
running back on that depth chart, dray Ben said on
injured reserve, and he has not played a game since,
so the Cardinals have really had to go through the
depth chart and then really go deep in that running
(24:20):
backs room, and it's been a struggle.
Speaker 8 (24:22):
There have been.
Speaker 7 (24:22):
Flashes, and that's something that Bam Knight provides is he's
got a little bit of that twitchiness and he can
move the ball forward, doesn't necessarily always want to go
lateral before he's going north and south. So that's been
good to see an Amari de Mercado as somebody who
is incredibly strong as your third down back, very good
at pass protection, and he's also a threat really in
(24:43):
the passing game. He's shown some nice things, put up
some nice yardage numbers from the line of scrimmage. So
that's something that the Cardinals are going to want to establish.
You always want to establish the run, established dominance, were
down the defense open up the rest of the playbook.
It has been a struggle similar to the forty nine
ers in a sense for the Cardinals to do that
on a consistent basis, though and that's something they're going
(25:04):
to look to do every single week.
Speaker 2 (25:06):
Now.
Speaker 1 (25:06):
We all remember Week three, it was a really close
game and the forty nine ers managed to get a
win with a last second field goal. Do you expect
Week eleven to be another tight game?
Speaker 7 (25:17):
You hope so, right, You hope so, and that it's
not so lopsided. I do think that this is going
to be a matchup. It's always a good matchup between
these teams, and they're similar in a lot of ways
of not having the starting quarterback right, being out some
key defenders, and some of the injuries that these teams
have faced. But it's always a tough challenge. Both of
(25:37):
these teams are known for being physical and being tough.
Kyle Shanahan is known for being one of, if not
the best coaches in the league when it comes to
disguising what their offense is doing, and that's a tough
challenge to defend. And then you guys have someone like
Christian McCaffery, who, when you look at the numbers, might
not be as quote unquote dominant as years passed right
(25:58):
running the rock, but he is just as much of
a threat in the passing game as well.
Speaker 8 (26:02):
So both teams have some similar struggles and adversities that
they're working towards, but it's always a good match. Hopefully
for Cardinals fans that can come out on top this
time around, but I am expecting it to be a
good fight for both teams.
Speaker 1 (26:16):
Finally, Danny, give us some insight here. Who are a
few names on the Cardinals that footy Niners fans should
be looking for that could be difference makers this weekend.
Speaker 8 (26:26):
First, I would say Trum McBride, who we touched on.
Speaker 7 (26:29):
I think when you're looking at advantages and disadvantages for
both teams, he already is such an advantage for the
Cardinals and for a bit of a banged up forty
nine Ers defense, at least in that linebacker's room. That
would be a name I would keep an eye on. Defensively,
cornerback Garrett Williams. He did not play in that first matchup.
He was on iron with knee injury he sustained week two.
Speaker 8 (26:49):
He's come back. Last year.
Speaker 7 (26:50):
Williams was ranked one of the top corner one of
the top slot corners by Pro Football Focus, and Williams
has a great ability not just because of his physical
skill set, but his mental strength as well to not
just be inside but to also move outside, and that's
the position room. The Cardinals have been hit pretty hard
in terms of injuries, so I would expect to see
(27:13):
Williams kind of move around some inside and outside. That's
what we saw in Seattle, and he plays tight, clean
discipline football forty nine ers have got a receiver like
Rickie Pearsol who went off against the Cardinals the first
time around. I'm excited for that matchup for the Cardinals
defense is to have Williams back on the field because
(27:33):
when you have him out there, to trickle down effect
of how defensive corner or Nick Ralis can utilize his
other playmakers in unique way, someone like safety Buddha Baker,
and maybe they have him blitz a little bit more
move around the field. Having Williams on the field absolutely
gives this defense a leg up from what they had
that first matchup when he wasn't able to play well.
Speaker 1 (27:54):
Danny, a lot to look for in this rematch, this
time in Arizona.
Speaker 2 (27:58):
Danny, thank you so much for joining me today.
Speaker 8 (28:00):
Thanks so much for having me on. I'm looking forward
to the game.
Speaker 1 (28:03):
All right, Faithful, Thank you so much for tuning in
to another episode of the Saloon presented by Cisco. Don't
forget to subscribe to the podcast on YouTube, Siria sexm
and your favorite podcast platform. The week eleven matchup against
the Cardinals airs at one oh five Pacific time on Fox.
Speaker 2 (28:17):
We'll see you there and Gunners
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