- 1 year ago
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00On the River Island's guest line, Greg Cosell, back for another season.
00:05Greg, how you been?
00:06Did you guys miss me?
00:08So much.
00:08Terribly.
00:11Well, that's good to hear, you know.
00:13So I'm back.
00:14We'll do this every week.
00:15You're back.
00:15What do you do in the offseason?
00:17Do you still break down tape?
00:20Of course.
00:21I've probably seen about 90 to 100 guys already who'll be in next year's draft.
00:26And then I started going back and watching NFL tape from last year about three weeks ago
00:32because I can do it differently in the offseason.
00:35You know, I don't have the deadlines that I do during the weeks of an NFL season.
00:40So, yeah, no, I do this all year round.
00:43I pretty much watch tape every day.
00:45When you look at the Niners tape from last year, is it a tragio comedy or a horror film?
00:52You know, it's you guys.
00:56Welcome back, Greg.
00:57You know, it's funny.
00:59I watched a lot of Brock Purdy.
01:01I've actually mostly focused on Purdy.
01:03I did because I knew he'd be a big story, you know, because of the contract situation.
01:08I did watch all of John Jennings' targets.
01:12But that's what I mostly watched from last year.
01:16Plus, I re-watched some specific sides of a ball like I watched.
01:20I'm trying to remember now.
01:22Let's see.
01:23I watched the 49ers' offense versus the Seahawks' defense from Week 11
01:27because they opened the season against the Seahawks.
01:30So, I also watched them against the Rams because I think they played them early in the season as well.
01:34So, you know, I go back and do those things because then I see it with a different eye
01:38when I watch it, you know, six, seven, eight months later.
01:42Greg, I'm so glad that you looked at all of Jawan Jennings' targets
01:45because, as you're probably aware, he has not performed at all in this training camp.
01:50And there is a debate over, or some curiosity, in terms of how much this is about a nagging calf injury
01:56and how much this is about a contract rework that he would like.
02:01And we still don't really have the answer to that question.
02:03But as we get closer to the season, I think this might be more about cash.
02:07And so, it begs the question, how vital is he to what they do?
02:14Well, he is vital to what they do, but what it begs the question,
02:18and you're seeing it, for instance, in Washington with Terry McLaurin,
02:21who's obviously got a bigger track record than Jennings,
02:25but the question is how important is a receiver to his team
02:29versus where does he stand in the group of receivers in the league?
02:33Like, Jennings, to me, is very important to the Niners,
02:38but I don't think anybody's going to say that he's a top-five receiver in the league.
02:43You know, when I watched all his targets, and I took a lot of notes, obviously.
02:47I didn't know that I was going to be doing you guys, so my notes were not about that.
02:51But I have a lot of notes on them.
02:52And, you know, I ended up by saying a couple of things.
02:56It's the perfect mix of receiver traits and pass game scheme,
03:00and I'll tell you what I mean by that.
03:01You know, there's a lot of reduced splits in the 49ers offense
03:05where the receivers line up closer to the formation.
03:09They're not split wide.
03:10And he worked from the slot quite a bit.
03:13He had 114 targets.
03:1553 of those came from the slot.
03:17So that's almost half came from the slot.
03:19So he had a lot of what we call free access where he was not pressed.
03:23Now, he works between the numbers,
03:25which is the foundation of the 49ers pass game, extremely well.
03:29He's got size, he's got physicality, he's got competitive toughness.
03:35You know, he's physical as a route runner.
03:37He can work through contact when necessary.
03:40He gets hard yards, run after catch.
03:43He's a good receiver.
03:45You know, and I don't know what he's asking for.
03:48I don't follow those kinds of things closely, guys.
03:50But, you know, you're not going to say he's in the category of Jefferson
03:54or Chase or Brown or C.D. Lamb or, you know, you're not going to say he's that guy.
03:59But to the Niners, he's very, very important.
04:01So I don't know what that means when it comes to salary.
04:05Does he remain as important without Debo,
04:07where now he either has to be the boundary X or he has to play the Z,
04:10and he'll have fewer snaps in the slot position?
04:14Well, the question is, can he be a boundary X?
04:17Because one thing you did not see much of on his tape a year ago
04:20was him working one-on-one on the outside versus press man.
04:25You know, so can he expand his game to be that guy?
04:29And I think there would be a question about that,
04:31you know, a legitimate football question.
04:33And, you know, I'm not sure we know the answer to that.
04:36But, you know, if you're going to pay a receiver big, big money,
04:40then you expect him to be able to line up at boundary X.
04:43And I'll give you an example of that.
04:44I had a great conversation with Steve Spagnuolo this summer.
04:47I've known Steve for years.
04:48And he was talking about the Eagles,
04:50who they obviously lost to in the Super Bowl.
04:52And he said that A.J. Brown might be the most important player on their offense
04:56because he can line up at boundary X and win one-on-one against anybody.
05:00You know, so those receivers, there's not a ton of those guys.
05:04So whether Jennings can be that guy, that would remain to be seen.
05:08And normally, there's few exceptions.
05:11There's always exceptions to every rule.
05:13But normally, you're not paying a receiver, in your mind, a team's mind,
05:17you know, that kind of money, that big money, unless he can fill that role.
05:21Yeah.
05:22And so then the next question might be, for example,
05:25can Ricky Pearsall fill that role?
05:28Would love to know what you think about what you're seeing so far from him
05:31in this preseason.
05:33Well, I like Ricky Pearsall.
05:34You guys know that.
05:35And I think that he's a good receiver as well.
05:37I'm not sure either one is a true boundary X, the single receiver to the short side of the field
05:42that can line up and, you know, consistently win one-on-one against the higher quality corners
05:47in the league.
05:48But the other thing to keep in mind is we know that Kyle Shanahan's offense is versatile
05:54in terms of formations and motions.
05:56And, you know, I don't know exactly how Kyle thinks about all this.
06:00But, you know, my guess is that he may not see that true boundary X as important as some
06:06other teams do just because of all that formation variation and the shifts and the motions,
06:11because they're among the league leaders in terms of percentage of plays that have shifts
06:15and motions.
06:16So, you know, I don't think either one would, Jennings or Pearsall would be ultimately considered,
06:22you know, a true boundary X.
06:24So, you know, we'll see.
06:25Look, I doubt Jennings is going to sit out the season, so at some point he's going to
06:30be there.
06:30You know, the question is, is he going to be ready to play week one?
06:34Well, and then all that said, and how it might not be as important in a Kyle Shanahan offense,
06:39what if we asked it a different way?
06:41Like, do you think that Ricky Pearsall in this offense has the goods to kind of put up
06:47what their wide receiver one usually does?
06:51Yeah, I think he does.
06:55And, you know, see, that's the thing.
06:57We live in a league now, and again, people can say, well, a year ago there was a lot more
07:01running in the league, and we don't know where that's going.
07:04You know, it's tough to predict the future.
07:06But, you know, you live primarily in a league where passing is important.
07:11So there's a lot of receivers who make a lot of catches and put up yards.
07:15That doesn't mean they're big-time number ones, because, you know, that's the nature of
07:20the game, is, you know, guys catch a lot of balls.
07:23And so we'll see.
07:24But, you know, I think that Pearsall can be a guy that is a volume target, if that's what
07:29you're asking me.
07:30Again, that doesn't make him Justin Jefferson, but I think in the context of the offense,
07:35can he be a volume target?
07:36Probably so.
07:37Yeah, and a team that runs almost more, 21 personnel, two running backs, one tight end
07:42than anyone in football.
07:43So your need for three receivers is somewhat diminished.
07:47I want to ask you, Greg, about the defensive line, and in particular, a couple of the
07:51rookies, and what you saw on tape last year from the Niner run defense that led them to
07:56be so soft against the run, especially in those A and B gaps.
08:01Well, that's why they drafted who they drafted.
08:03I think they told us how they felt about their run defense.
08:07I don't think we had a guess about that.
08:09You know, so obviously they drafted Collins in the second round from Texas, who's kind of
08:14a physical freak, but I've watched all his snaps in the preseason, and I think he's got
08:19some work to do in terms of his hand usage, in terms of how to play off blocks.
08:23He struggled at times with double teams, which did not surprise me.
08:27See, I think people, number one, need to understand that with few exceptions, this stuff doesn't
08:32happen overnight.
08:33There's a learning process.
08:35College football, I don't care if it's the SEC, it's still college football.
08:39It's different in the NFL, but I think he's a guy that has traits, a ton of traits.
08:46I mean, he's 6'6", he's 330, if I remember correctly from doing my draft work, I think
08:51his arms were over 35 inches, so there's a lot there to like, and he showed some flashes
08:56in his, I think he played 44 snaps through the first two games.
08:59I've seen them all, and then they drafted C.J.
09:02West, I believe, was that fourth round?
09:05I think so, yeah.
09:06Yeah, and he's another guy, he's a different kind of player, but I think down the road,
09:11he does have the ability to develop into a three technique, meaning that he's a penetrating
09:16type player, he's got some good quickness to him, you know, I think that he's got the
09:22athleticism in his body to do that, but you know, this takes time, so we'll see how, you
09:28know, how it all plays out, but obviously they believe that they did not stop the run, which
09:33they didn't very well a year ago, and you know, sometimes, you know, they're a four
09:37down defensive line, they're not a defensive line that does a ton of different alignments,
09:44I mean, obviously there's always tweaks, and that depends on opponent as well, and every
09:48offensive line coach and D coordinator does have some different looks, but for the most
09:53part, they're a four down D line in normal down and distance situations, and you know, guys
09:59sometimes have to get off blocks, that's the nature of the position, so they've got
10:04to learn how to do that in the NFL, you know, C.J. West came from Indiana, but he played at
10:08Kent State before that, so you know, this is a step up, and you know, it'll probably take
10:13a little time.
10:14Greg Cosell, NFL Films with us, as he will be every week throughout the NFL season here
10:19on Willard and Dibs, while you're talking about those two guys, I think that we hear a
10:23lot along those same lines, where Alfred Collins, higher draft pick, but maybe might take a
10:29little bit more time, do you see it that way, like will C.J. West maybe contribute, is he
10:33ready to contribute earlier?
10:35It's possible, and I'll tell you why, you know, normally tall guys, and I think Collins
10:39has to fight this, a lot of tall defensive tackles do, the tendency to play too upright
10:46off the snap, because what that does is it negatively impacts both your short stroke
10:51strength and your initial quickness, and you really have to fight that when you're 6'5",
10:566'6", as a defensive tackle, and you know, sometimes that can be hard to deal with, and
11:02that's something that he'll have to, I'm sure they're working with him on it, because
11:07you know, as soon as you stand up straight, it doesn't matter how strong you are, how powerful
11:11you are, you're going to get moved.
11:13How were DeForest Buckner and Eric Armstead thus able to be as productive as they've been,
11:19being 6'6", and 6'7", respectively?
11:21Well, Buckner is a little bit of a freak, I mean, he's, you know, we know he's been
11:25a great player, he's, you know, he's a little different in that regard, you know, Armstead,
11:30I think, on occasion has that problem, but not enough where it derailed his career, you
11:35know, big guys do have a tendency to do that, sometimes it's hard, you know, not to do that
11:41just because of your size and length, but Buckner, he's just, you know, he's had a great
11:46career, I mean, he's, you know, he's probably not going to be a Hall of Famer, but he's
11:49certainly had a great career, and, you know, and Armstead has had a really solid career
11:55as well, so, you know, some guys can do it better than others, but tall guys do have
12:00that tendency.
12:01Greg, while we're on the 49er defense, going from Nick Sorensen to Robert Sala, how do you
12:06see that as changing the 49er defense this year?
12:11I mean, again, that's hard to know right now, because Robert Sala's been in the league
12:16now a bit, I'm sure he's made adjustments.
12:18Look, he made adjustments when he was the 49er D coordinator previously, because don't
12:23forget, he came from the Seattle, that Seattle background with cover three, and then he started
12:28playing a lot more too high, so he made adjustments when he was previously the coordinator, because
12:34the league demanded it, so that's a hard question to answer, the preseason games don't tell you
12:38much about that, simply because, you know, they're not game planning, they're, you know,
12:42and they're not even playing necessarily their starters, although I've got to tell you, the
12:47kid, Siegel, I really liked his college tape, he was one of my guys that I really, really
12:53liked on his tape, and I'm curious to see how it plays out when the season starts, but, you
12:58know, that's hard to know right now, you know, what the difference, they're still going to
13:01be a four down front, you know, they'll still be a base 4-3 when they play base defense,
13:07they'll still be, you know, a 4-2-5 nickel, you know, I don't know how much dime they'll
13:12play, my guess is not a ton, so, you know, I think in terms of personnel, they won't
13:17change dramatically, the question is from a coverage standpoint, and then you get into
13:22the blitz percentage, you know, and I don't think we know the answer to that right now.
13:25Yeah, it was pretty low last year, and one of the fewest blitzing teams in football, I'm
13:30curious about your thoughts on Siegel a little bit more, because the Niners' safeties of
13:35late have been downhill, hard-hitting, run-stoppers, are these attributes that Siegel brings with
13:41him from college? Well, he can play both on the back end, and he can play in the box, he played
13:46some slot in college, he's a versatile player, you know, and that's the way he was deployed
13:50in college, so, you know, I found him to be a really intriguing player, you know, it's
13:55funny, guys like that always get lost in the draft, because their physical and athletic
14:00traits are not quote-unquote special, you know, he's not an explosive athlete, I can't
14:05even remember what round he was drafted in. In the fifth, yeah. In the fifth, okay, but
14:09I really liked his tape, I liked the way he played, I thought he showed up on tape all
14:13the time, and as I said, he played multiple spots in the context of, was it Kansas State?
14:19I'm trying to remember, was he Kansas State? Yes. Yeah, I watched so many guys, I forgot
14:25where he went to college, but I remember liking him a lot, and, you know, I thought he could
14:30be a really good pro, you know, see, very often with defensive players, and I learned
14:36this really early on, when I started out watching college players, and this goes back years and
14:40years and years, I used to think in terms of, well, he's either great or he can't play,
14:44and it took me a while to learn that, you know what, a lot of guys play defense, play
14:48on the defensive side of the ball in the league. Not everybody's an all-star, not everybody's
14:52an all-pro, so what you do is you try to find out what guys do well, and then you put
14:57them in those positions. That's how you deploy them within the context of your defense, and
15:01he's a guy that does a lot of things well. You wouldn't say he's a star, like, oh my
15:06God, look at this guy on tape, he just blows you away, but he's versatile positionally and
15:11does a lot of things well.
15:14Greg Cosell with us, NFL Films, here on 95.7 The Game. Greg, what have you seen from D.
15:20Winters so far in his career, and how do you feel about his opportunity to kind of take
15:25over the Dre Greenlaw role next to Fred Warner?
15:29Well, I thought he played well last year down the stretch. I mean, I thought he showed up
15:32on tape. You know, I think he's a good athlete. I think he moves well. You know, I think he's
15:37theoretically kind of a similar player in the fact that, you know, not overly big, but more
15:43athletic than powerful. So in some ways, you have the same kind of player. Now, again, much
15:50of this depends on how Robert Sala, who's probably going to do some different things than
15:54Nick Sorensen, how he's going to put all this together. You know, I can tell you right
15:58now, guys, and I know fans, for the most part, only get to see the games on TV. The
16:05games are the least important part of training camp, the least important part. You know, I've
16:10been fortunate in my career to be able to go to a lot of training camps and have a lot
16:14of access and see a lot of things. And I can tell you for a fact that the games are the
16:19least important part. So, you know, I can't answer exactly what happens on a day-to-day
16:24basis. You know, these guys get in at 6.30 in the morning. They have meetings. They
16:29practice. They have meetings. I mean, this is an all-day affair. And that's where
16:34really the work is done. You know, the games are, you know, especially when guys
16:40don't play that many snaps, the games are, like I said, the least important part of it.
16:44You looked at the tape from Brock Purdy thoroughly last year. Oh, thoroughly, yeah.
16:49Super thoroughly, actually. I didn't want to undersell just how thoroughly your deep
16:54dive was. But when you reflect on his year last year, what are some of the takeaways
16:59that you have in areas where he needs to be a little bit better to get back to where
17:03he was two years ago? You know, it's funny you say that. During the season, I can't watch,
17:10you know, 250 dropbacks in a row of a quarterback. You know, I have to each week
17:14watch games, you know, as many as I can. But in the offseason, I can watch 250 dropbacks
17:19over a two or three-day period. And I got to tell you, I came away thinking that Purdy's
17:24really good. Now, I thought there were times he left the pocket too soon. And I thought
17:29that was one of the things that at times, you know, he struggled with last year. But
17:33overall, I mean, to me, as a post-snap operator, in other words, when the ball snapped and it's
17:42in his hands, I think he's an outstanding post-snap operator. He sees the field intuitively.
17:48I think he's an elite processor. I think he creates timing and anticipation throws based
17:54on his immediate understanding of what he sees. And that allows him to throw with precise
17:59timing. You know, I came away after watching everything about him that he's a really, really
18:07good quarterback who truly understands how to play the position at the NFL level.
18:12And you came away with that after watching the 6-11 season.
18:16Yeah, because I'm not, you know, there's a lot of reasons why teams win and lose games,
18:20guys. It's just everybody, you know that. Everybody thinks it's the quarterback or the
18:24coach is an idiot. You know how fans think about that stuff.
18:27Greg, I kind of asked it that way, because I want to hear you say it again so that it
18:32can marinate for a lot of our audience and even some of the national media personalities
18:38who are using that 6-11 to victory lap, that their points about Brock Purdy not being that
18:44good were right, even though they are categorically incorrect.
18:48You know, there's a lot of different elements to playing quarterback, okay?
18:51Some guys play quarterback, you know, like, I can tell you right now, here, I'll tell you
18:58this. I'm not going to tell you who told me, but a defensive coordinator in the league told
19:02me this, who's very highly respected. And he said, you know, Patrick Mahomes is not a very
19:07good progression reader. Now, okay, that's a coordinator that's played against him. So
19:12people listening to that might go, you know, you're crazy. You know, it's Patrick Mahomes.
19:16You know, people have different strengths. Is Brock Purdy going to do what Josh Allen can do?
19:21Is Brock Purdy going to put a team on his back and win a Super Bowl, quote unquote, by himself?
19:27Of course, no one does it by yourself, no matter who you are. But you know what I'm saying.
19:31You know, is he that kind of player? No. So some people might think then, well, then he's not in
19:37the top five. That makes him in the top 10 or 12 or 15, whatever list they want to choose.
19:41But when it comes to the subtleties and the nuances and the understanding of how to play the
19:47position, Brock Purdy is high level. Does he have a rocket arm? No. Is he the most athletic
19:53quarterback in the league? No. But he understands intuitively and innately how to play the quarterback
19:58position. You know, look, you guys, I'm sure, have talked ad nauseum going back to last year and
20:04probably through the summer about why the Niners were 6-11, you know, and there's many reasons for
20:10that. And it's not just Brock Purdy. In fact, he'd probably be one of the least important
20:16reasons. It sounds like you've been listening to our show, Greg, and we appreciate that.
20:21Well, I haven't been, guys. I'm sorry. I actually don't, you know. I mean, I actually work, you
20:27know. And, you know, it's funny. I don't have a long ride to the office and I'm just, you
20:31know, this is not personal to you guys or anybody else, but, you know, I don't really listen
20:36to people talking to me in my car. I listen to music. Oh, what kind of music? I'm a classic
20:42rocker. Yeah, he is. Okay. Give me three bands. Well, Led Zeppelin's my favorite band
20:48of all time. You know, I fall into, I love Southern rock. Like, I love the Almonds. I
20:53love Skinnerd. But other, like, you know, sort of blues rock bands, I was a big Deep Purple
20:57fan, Bad Company, you know, that kind of stuff. I was a big Tull fan. Nice. Oh, man.
21:03A little Tull. Throw in some Tull and watch 250. Snaps a Purdy. The man loves Skinnerd and
21:10Purdy. I mean, Greg, that's how you get a weekly spot on this show. I was a big Eagles
21:17fan, too. The band. Yeah, not Philadelphia. Exactly. Yeah, yeah. Greg, we'll be talking to
21:23you soon. Thank you. Hey, I can check out anytime I want, but I can never leave. Oh,
21:28there it is. Greg flipping Cosell for the win. Greg, we'll do it again soon. We're already
21:34looking forward to it. All right, guys. Appreciate it. Thanks.