- 1 week ago
Spadoni, Shasky, Steiny, Guru, Willard, and Dibs continue the 2026 Red & Gold Summit and are joined by Brian Baldinger. Baldy attacks every angle of the 49ers season.
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00:00Just NFL season, Niner season kind of opening thought that you want to share.
00:04Like they won 12 games last year.
00:06Like they were a good team.
00:08They beat the Rams in overtime.
00:10Like they beat Seattle.
00:11Like they were right there.
00:12They went to Philadelphia and won a playoff game.
00:15I mean they fired the offense coordinator as soon as the game was over
00:17because of what the 49ers did to them.
00:20Like nobody could have predicted that a year ago
00:22and the injuries that they incurred.
00:23I never thought Fred Warner would ever miss a game,
00:27much less what he did.
00:28And to see that happen last year and the guys that went down
00:31and for them to overcome all that, coaching matters in this league.
00:34And Kyle is a great coach.
00:36And so I'm wide open.
00:39I don't know what's going to happen.
00:40I know everybody's anointing the Rams right now.
00:43Like everybody is zero and zero.
00:45Everybody has to figure out what their team is, what they do well.
00:49And what they did well last year was they played freaking hard.
00:53They loved playing for Robert Sala last year.
00:55It didn't matter who was that linebacker, who was on the defense.
00:58They played hard.
00:59And it jumped off the film when you'd study that team.
01:02And that's a great – I mean you can't ask for anything more from a team
01:08than to play that hard.
01:10Yeah, but they still need to have some – I agree.
01:12It was awesome.
01:13Garrett Wallow playing great in that Philadelphia game.
01:16They need some pass rush, Baldy, and they've got to stop the run.
01:19I mean those are real elements.
01:20And not having Robert Sala to me is one of the biggest unknowns.
01:24I don't know what to make of Raheem.
01:26I don't need it.
01:26We were doing this earlier, 20 sacks and six interceptions for the year.
01:30And you go 12 and 5.
01:32That's the franchise low with an extra game.
01:34And you had eight games without your starting quarterback.
01:37And you go 5 and 3 in those games with McCorkle Jones who's limping around
01:42and vomiting on the sidelines.
01:43I mean he actually played even better in the Rams' loss.
01:46Right, exactly.
01:46I thought he played that in one of his best games.
01:48No doubt.
01:49You can make up a lot with effort and good coaching.
01:52But, you know, it does – you know, especially if you look at what's going on,
01:57you know, with the Rams.
01:58Like it is about affecting the quarterback and the other team's quarterback.
02:02And if you can't do that on a consistent basis against a Stafford,
02:06against a Darnold, against Caleb Williams,
02:08against some of these quarterbacks now,
02:10they're going to have their way with you no matter what you try to do.
02:12Baldy, let me ask you this because you're talking about the Rams
02:15and I'm scared of them or what have you.
02:18But I've never – and I said this to Stiney, ad nauseum –
02:21I've never seen a defensive coordinator have Kyle's number
02:25like I've seen McDonald in these last two.
02:29And I'll give you that.
02:31That's pretty good.
02:32But how serious of a problem is that or is that just personnel?
02:36Because now I'm like, dude, it was for the number one seed in your house
02:40and then we saw what happened in the playoffs and then when –
02:43you know, the Christmas game against – when he was with Baltimore,
02:46that's our – is that real or hey, you know what,
02:49we got Mike Evans and Scriblin coming in here, we're okay.
02:52Mike McDonald is a defensive genius.
02:55Like every single – every defense in this league is trying to copy what –
02:59not just what he did last year.
03:01He did the same thing in Baltimore.
03:02They were the number one defense in Baltimore.
03:04They led the league in takeaways and in saps when he was there.
03:07They did it at Michigan.
03:09He plays this matchup zone where you don't know –
03:12and if you go back to the Super Bowl against New England,
03:14Drake May is getting hit and sacked in the first two drives.
03:18They disguised what they were doing and the way that they sat in these zones,
03:23it forces the quarterback to hold the ball and then while he's holding it
03:27and they're just – like you don't want to throw up because there's, you know,
03:31Devin Witherspoon sitting right on top of your receiver, right?
03:34And there's Nick Amowari sitting right on top of your receiver.
03:36However, he has come up with this scheme and it is a scheme that the quarterbacks
03:43don't know what you're doing until long after the snap.
03:46Okay, but the playoff game was – they got suffocated.
03:49That's the only way I can describe it.
03:51Seeing it up close and personal, there was nowhere to go with the ball.
03:54The Week 18 game was a lot closer than people remember.
03:59He threw the ball a little behind and at his knees at CMC.
04:03He kind of fumbled it up and it got picked at the goal line.
04:05Look, that was their only good drive.
04:07I'm not here to say that they didn't, you know, move the ball in the game.
04:09They didn't move the ball very well.
04:11But neither did Seattle in that game.
04:13Seattle did not play a good game.
04:14There was that long third and 17 screen play with Charbonnet and that ended up being the difference.
04:19But I think Week 18 was a lot closer than people remember.
04:22But everybody's just going to remember the playoff loss.
04:24I know.
04:25You know, you could have scored a touchdown.
04:26Now, they could have had the ball 20 times, 20 more times.
04:29I don't think they were scoring a touchdown.
04:31Wow, man.
04:31Like, it was just that – it was just – they – it's not that they knew what Kyle's doing
04:36or what Brock was doing.
04:38It's just the way that they play.
04:40It's the way that they disguise.
04:42It's the way that they sit and just – they're sitting on – they're route reading.
04:47They're sitting in these zones, and they're just waiting for you to make a mistake.
04:52And so you don't want to make a mistake.
04:54So you hold the ball.
04:55You end up throwing it away, checking it down, and you can't overcome it.
04:58It's really the same thing as the Patriots in the Super Bowl.
05:01McDonald is the defensive version of Kyle Shanahan.
05:04Well, he has earned that right.
05:06It's early.
05:07But he did it in Baltimore.
05:09They should have beaten Kansas City that year when he was there.
05:11They had that – Kansas City didn't score a touchdown,
05:14didn't do anything in the second half.
05:16They couldn't score in that game.
05:17But this guy – like, watch the tree of coaches that come out of Seattle right now.
05:24They're going to start – everybody's going to be wanting to pluck something from their system.
05:29Do you think they're going to miss their offensive coordinator, Kubiak, a lot this year,
05:32Sam Donald specifically?
05:34Well, you know, they took Brian Fleury from Kyle's staff, okay,
05:37and he was a tight end coach here.
05:39He was here for six years.
05:40Brian Fleury's a good coach.
05:42He's part of this system.
05:44It's called Quarterback Collective.
05:46Sean McVay, Kyle's in it.
05:48I was out at one of their conventions this year.
05:50A lot of young coaches are coming up to this system.
05:53Brian Fleury is part of it, you know.
05:55And so I think he's going to do good.
05:57But Clint was – if you go back even the year before when he was the offense coordinator
06:02in New Orleans, they started off 2-0 scoring 40 points a game.
06:07And then the whole offense line got decimated, and the whole thing collapsed.
06:10And he was like – you know, Seattle picked him up, and he put this thing together last year.
06:14He's very, very good.
06:16He learned a lot from his dad.
06:17His dad was a great coach and coordinator as well.
06:21And so he'll do some good stuff with the Raiders.
06:24But I think Brian Fleury is going to be pretty good up there.
06:26Baldy, I know in that first hour you were taking a lot of pictures, kissing babies, shaking hands, signing autographs.
06:33It's all going viral right now.
06:34For sure.
06:35You're going to be all over Instagram.
06:37But did you hear anything from the six of us that you want to discuss or challenge?
06:43I didn't get a chance.
06:45I was just talking to the fans.
06:46Okay.
06:47I was a little off my game.
06:53I know there was a lot of point counterpoints going on in here, and I couldn't say what side of
06:57the fence I could have met on.
06:59Well, Baldy in the building and still not a P1.
07:03Yeah, yeah, yeah.
07:04I mean, so here's some of the things we were debating, though.
07:07For example, Spadoni and Guru got into a pretty interesting debate with regard to, should John Lynch be on any
07:18sort of an even warm seat?
07:22No.
07:23No, there's been too much success.
07:25Like, he works hand-in-hand with Kyle.
07:28They came in together.
07:29They're going into their 10th year together.
07:31They work well together.
07:34Has their drafts been great?
07:36I don't think so.
07:37I don't think any of us think they're drafts.
07:39But you find Brock Purdy in the 7th round.
07:41You find Dominic Poonie in the 3rd round.
07:42Like, you can find, they found good players.
07:45It's just they haven't hit at the top of their drafts.
07:48And that's, you know, you can put that on, John.
07:50You can put that on the system, whatever.
07:52But, you know, being healthy is part of it.
07:54Mikel Williams looked like he was going to be a great prospect.
07:57And, you know, you get hurt.
07:59It's kind of hard to judge that.
08:01Stiney said that Brock Purdy's good enough to win a Super Bowl, but not on this team.
08:07Well, he's gotten you to the NFC Championship game.
08:09And, you know, his elbow got blown out in the sixth play of the game.
08:12So, who knows what would have happened if he stays in there.
08:15And he went to the Super Bowl.
08:16And he went to the Super Bowl, yes.
08:17So, like, he's good enough to get you there.
08:19Like, I don't know.
08:20Like, how good do you have to be?
08:22You know, like, Matt Stafford didn't get there this year.
08:25And he was the MVP of the league.
08:27You know, so, you've got to have a little bit of things go your way when you get to the
08:32NFC Championship or you get to a Super Bowl.
08:35Yeah, I think Sam Darnold's a great example where he got to the Super Bowl and he won the Super
08:40Bowl.
08:40But is Sam Darnold good enough to win the Super Bowl?
08:43Well, he is now because he won it.
08:45But he might have been the ninth most important player on their team last year.
08:50But two years ago, he won 14 games in Minnesota.
08:52And they got shellacked by the Rams.
08:54And it was his fault.
08:55Yeah.
08:56That's what they said.
08:56But the offense line was a mess.
08:58And he got sacked nine times.
09:00Like, nobody would have been good that day at quarterback for the Vikings.
09:03But, I mean, just think about how we thought about Jalen Hurts two years ago.
09:07And think about how you feel about now.
09:08I mean, watching that playoff game, he looked like he didn't know how to throw from the pocket.
09:12And yet, I watched him.
09:13And you could make the argument, out-duel Mahomes two different times in the Super Bowl.
09:18So, like, I'm...
09:19Here's the thing, though, Joe.
09:21Honestly, like, these guys can't do it by themselves.
09:23I agree.
09:24You just can't.
09:24I agree.
09:25You have to have a good offense line.
09:27You have to have a run game.
09:28You have to have Jackson Smith.
09:31And nobody thought Jackson Smith and Jimmy was going to lead the league in receiving.
09:34Nobody.
09:34Coming out of Ohio State.
09:36But nobody thought he could play outside, like, the way he is.
09:39Like, he's flourished in that system.
09:42So, I feel like, you know, Brock can only do so much.
09:45Like, they need playmakers.
09:47They need a better run game than what they've had.
09:50And if you give him those things, I think he can make the plays that are off script.
09:55So, the plays that you have to make.
09:57And then some special plays.
09:58Bobby, let me...
09:58Oh, go ahead.
09:59No, go ahead.
10:00How good is this offensive line?
10:02Let's keep it real, man.
10:03As pass protectors or run blockers?
10:05Both.
10:06Because, to me, it's two different things, right?
10:08Yeah.
10:08Yeah, they're two separate things.
10:09All right.
10:10Well, hold on.
10:10I mean, is Carver Willis going to start at left guard?
10:12I believe so.
10:13It's him or Carter Colby.
10:14We think so.
10:14Yeah.
10:15So, Carver Willis could start his first game and go against Aaron Donald.
10:18Oh, my God.
10:19Man.
10:19That sounds like fun.
10:20Right?
10:20Like, that's not really...
10:22Braden Fisk.
10:22...the way you want to break it in.
10:24You know?
10:24But that's what...
10:26That's your reality.
10:27Colby could be in there.
10:28I don't know.
10:28And Aaron Donald might not play.
10:30Why not?
10:31He's going to play.
10:32Maybe.
10:32All right.
10:32Is he?
10:33I think so.
10:33I mean, wasn't it on your show that Graziano said he's here and that he's not going to play?
10:37That was on ESPN.
10:38Then the next day, yeah.
10:39Okay.
10:40Yeah.
10:40I mean, if he does play, he's playing limited snaps.
10:44Let's be real.
10:46From what I hear.
10:47What do you hear?
10:49From what I hear.
10:49What do you hear?
10:50He's not...
10:51He's not...
10:52He didn't join his team to be a part-time player and play limited snaps.
10:55Agreed.
10:55But he came here...
10:56But week one.
10:57Week one.
10:57He came here to be Aaron Donald.
11:00Wow.
11:00Okay.
11:00So getting back to the offensive line question.
11:02My big problem against Seattle, what I've seen in all the matchups, they don't move when
11:07we go into the, like, motion.
11:09When you put a guy in motion, Juice is moving around.
11:11They don't move.
11:12No.
11:12And it seems like they could never...
11:14They're a zone team.
11:15They could never be able to establish the run enough to get that play-action pass game going.
11:20And it really stymied them.
11:22They're not a drop-back passing team, at least with Brock.
11:25And if they can't run the ball against Seattle, that's my biggest question.
11:29Yeah.
11:29Well, I mean, that's part of their system, is that they're just matching up.
11:34You can run, you know, Deshaun Stribbling across the formation from one side to the other,
11:39or George Kittle, the way he goes in motion every play, and they might not move anybody.
11:44They're just...
11:45All they do is just, okay, they're in a two-by-two, they're in a three-by-one, we're going
11:50to match
11:50this up.
11:51This is...
11:51We're not going to show you how we're going to match it up.
11:53Like, Drake May still doesn't know what they did in the first two series against them.
11:57And they went cover zero on the third play of the game, and they hit them.
12:01And so...
12:01But nobody saw it.
12:03Nobody's...
12:03It didn't look like it before the snap, and they got there.
12:06And you mentioned, like, Joe, if they can't run it, then they don't beat anybody.
12:11And I looked at the numbers throughout Shanahan's career, and their winning percentage when they
12:15have 30 carries or more, it's about 85%.
12:18And last year, they were 11-0, the Niners, when they led at halftime.
12:23So, the Shanahan blueprint is so finite, they have to run it a bunch, they have to lead at
12:29the half.
12:30If not, they almost always lose.
12:32This is the Red and Gold Summit, 95-7 the game at Jack's Restaurant and Bar, out here
12:39in Pleasant Hill.
12:40We are blessed enough, not only that all six are here together, but Brian Baldinger is
12:47here with us as well, hanging out.
12:50Spadoni, go ahead.
12:51So, that being said, it was clear they needed a difference maker in the receiving quarter last
12:57year.
12:57Like, they just...
12:57Once Kittle went down two, that's the mismatch.
12:59I love Juwan Jennings, but he's clearly a wide receiver three now in Minnesota, when
13:03you got J.J., Addison, et cetera, et cetera.
13:06Can Mike Evans be that guy this year?
13:09And are you concerned, and again, the board, concerned about this?
13:13You know, he hasn't had two full, like, practices back-to-back.
13:17Yeah.
13:17Well, I mean, he's been that guy for 12 years.
13:20He's been exactly that guy.
13:21That number one guy.
13:22And if you get...
13:23If you need a fourth down conversion, if you need a red zone touchdown, the ball's going
13:27to Mike Evans.
13:28Now, how much time he's actually practiced?
13:31Probably very, very little.
13:32I don't know the timing that he's going to have with Brock to start this season, but he
13:36has been that guy.
13:38He has been as dependable as any receiver in his game.
13:41He has been...
13:42Nobody in the history of this game, including Jerry Rice, ever put 1,000 yards up his first
13:4810 years of the season, like he did, every single year.
13:50And just when you thought he might be fading, he came back and put up 13 touchdowns.
13:55He's been an incredible player.
13:57He has been largely healthy.
13:59I know he had the shoulder injury last year.
14:01I know he's, like, nicked up right now.
14:03But largely, one of the reasons why they signed him is he's largely been very healthy and dependable
14:09for most of 12 years.
14:11What's more important, then, for the Niners this year?
14:14Establishing the run with whoever, CMC, Kalon Black, we know the 400-touch thing.
14:19We've talked about that a lot.
14:21Or that other playmaker stepping up, be it Mike Evans, Stribling, Jake Tonjes.
14:27What's the more important factor, the run game or one of these playmakers on the outside?
14:31I think the playmakers will assert themselves and show up once the run game gets going.
14:37I think they have to be able to run the ball effectively.
14:40I think Kyle's offense is built off play action.
14:44It's built off deception.
14:46He's very good at it in when to call certain plays.
14:50But I think it's all based off being able to establish a good run game.
14:53Because we keep talking.
14:54We did this deep dive about 2,000 yards.
14:57When they hit the 2,000-yard mark for a season, they usually have a great year.
15:01Last year, with an extra game, they were 1,800 yards as a team running.
15:05They want to be up to 2,200 yards.
15:07That's when they've been their most robust.
15:09And then, obviously, they've been able to pass off that play action.
15:12I don't know, man.
15:13CMC, after 415 touches, it's going to be tough.
15:16It is.
15:16I mean, the history in this league of running backs, there's only been one.
15:21El Teek.
15:22LaVanian Tomlinson is the only one that consistently put up 400 or more touches catching and running
15:28over an eight-year period of time.
15:31He's the only one that was able to endure.
15:33That's crazy.
15:34I want to throw this at you, because this was kind of something that we talked a lot
15:38about yesterday, and you played.
15:40You've been in locker rooms.
15:41How many years, by the way?
15:4212.
15:4212 years.
15:43Dang.
15:44So, there's been this thought.
15:46I believe social media has taken 49er fans on a ride this year, this offseason.
15:51This idea that it's an offseason from hell.
15:55It's been weird.
15:56Yeah.
15:57There's been a lot of junk.
15:58Yeah, a lot of noise.
15:59But the players.
16:00So, let me go down through six things, and you tell me if the players give a rat's you-know
16:06-what.
16:07Oh.
16:07Okay?
16:08The owner gets popped for solicitation.
16:11They don't care.
16:11They don't care.
16:11Okay.
16:12You know what that was, right?
16:14Solicitation sensation.
16:14Honestly, players that rarely do any player ever interact with the owner.
16:19Okay.
16:19Next one.
16:21Do the players care that there's another human being out there impersonating being a member
16:27of the 49ers and robbing women while he's doing it?
16:31No.
16:31But it's a fun story.
16:33Okay.
16:33It is fun.
16:34I've never seen it.
16:35Not for the 26 victims, but I guess what you're saying.
16:39You've never seen a football player with a helmet on the beach.
16:42I don't know.
16:42Like, it's hilarious.
16:44Have you ever heard of mental waivers?
16:46Because I believe you-
16:47No, emotional.
16:47Emotional waivers.
16:48I'm sorry.
16:48You know what you're stuck on.
16:50There's been so many spoofs off it that have been awesome.
16:53Yes.
16:53There you go.
16:54Have you ever had your helmet anywhere other than, like, I don't know, the facility?
16:58No.
16:59No.
17:00Did you ever wear it?
17:01Did you ever wear it?
17:01You don't just come walking?
17:02Did you ever wear a helmet outside of stuff?
17:05Did you ever wear any team gear when you were not representing the team?
17:12No.
17:13It's a great Q&A.
17:14Thanks, it's a bad curse.
17:15We were supposed to avoid Q&A, but we all have so many questions.
17:19This is so good.
17:20All right, keep going.
17:21Okay.
17:21Kyle Shanahan, obviously they care about him as a human being, but the Kyle Shanahan car accident
17:26and the debate over whether or not something funny happened with the 11-day break.
17:33Do the players care?
17:34Does that affect...
17:35I think they are amazed at how he recovered.
17:39They looked at it like, that guy was really injured.
17:42He had a broken wrist.
17:43He had this.
17:43And he's back coaching, like, very, very, like, within a week.
17:47Okay.
17:48I think they're amazed at his recovery.
17:49Next one.
17:50A former teammate is on Instagram on the weekly hoping to join the Washington Commanders and
17:57calling their team little-ass boys.
18:00Stop being a little kid.
18:00Do they care?
18:02No, they're making fun of him.
18:03Take the man.
18:03Because he's not even in the league.
18:05Like, he was so short-sighted, all the things that he was saying.
18:11No, they don't care.
18:11Like, when you're an ex-player and you're bad-mouthed in a team, it's one thing if you're an ex
18:16-player
18:16and you're having success someplace else, you're going to be boys.
18:19You're going to, like, unite.
18:20But, like, those days of what he did here have been long gone forgotten.
18:24Last one, and this is the one I don't know how you're going to answer.
18:28Yeah, okay.
18:29Substation.
18:29Yes.
18:30They care?
18:32At this point.
18:33This year.
18:34You know, it is a weird situation.
18:37Uh-huh.
18:37Nobody else has a substation.
18:39I remember, like, the Giants had the Meadowlands.
18:41They had all these cancer.
18:43You guys getting cancer.
18:45Oh, yeah.
18:45They had all these, like, toxic dumps and all this stuff.
18:49And they just thought that was the Meadowlands.
18:52That's what it was.
18:53And they couldn't run from it.
18:54And it just kept happening over and over again.
18:56But then, you know, it eventually died away.
18:59Like, I don't know.
19:00I didn't think Fred Warner would ever get hurt.
19:03If Fred Warner got hurt, then I started thinking there might be something to it.
19:06Didn't Geraldo look for John Gotti out there?
19:10Well, he's in the end zone.
19:11He's like, he's in the end zone.
19:12Oh, I'm so sorry.
19:14Damn it, I thought I had one.
19:15Why Fred?
19:16Hoffa.
19:17Why did you come here?
19:18He's built like a secret.
19:19Because, you know, untouchable, unbreakable.
19:21Fred never missed a game in high school.
19:22Never missed a game at BYU.
19:24Never missed a game at the 49ers.
19:26Like, and he played through some injuries.
19:28But I never saw him down on the ground like that when that foot, you know, got shattered.
19:33Yeah.
19:33Like, that was the injury that said, oh, wow.
19:37That anybody could get hurt if Fred gets hurt.
19:39Okay, so for the players, was this a bad offseason?
19:42No, the players just, honestly, they are really good at blocking out noise.
19:47They hear everything.
19:48Don't get me wrong.
19:49They might actually chat about some of it.
19:51But players, all they care about is let's get to these games.
19:56Like, the preseason sucks for a lot of veteran players.
19:59They got to get through it.
20:00They got to get through training camp.
20:01But really, they want to get and play these games.
20:03That's what matters to them.
20:06You said that they don't care about ownership and stuff.
20:08I do know I've heard from a variety of people who tell me they're thrilled Parag's gone
20:14because he squeezed them at every contract turn.
20:17Well, that's not the owner, though.
20:18Yes.
20:18That's the contract guy.
20:19Yes, and I've heard that that is something that they're absolutely thrilled that he's not involved.
20:24No, look.
20:24There are some teams, like, say, the Patriots.
20:27Like, Christian Gonzalez is up for a contract.
20:29Yes.
20:29Like, there's no talks.
20:30They're not anywhere close.
20:31But the Patriots, going back to Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, they did not reward players with big contracts.
20:38The way the 49ers have consistently done it.
20:40The way the Eagles have done it.
20:42The way some of these teams step up and extend players going, that's a core player.
20:46Fred, Nick, you know, George, like, you know, Juice.
20:50Like, you guys are our core guys.
20:52And they extend those guys.
20:54They have done that on a consistent basis.
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