- 5 weeks ago
Greg Cosell of NFL Films joins Willard and Dibs to preview the start of the 2026 NFL season, including tomorrow's 49ers-Rams Week 1 game in Australia.
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00:00Football!
00:01Yeah, football.
00:03Football.
00:05Two hours.
00:06Two hours.
00:07Two hours.
00:08Two.
00:09Willard and Dibbs, Greg Cosell, NFL Films.
00:12Greg, there's football in two hours.
00:14Two hours, Greg.
00:16NFL football.
00:17I've been watching a lot of college football, guys.
00:19Oh, yeah.
00:20No, that's exactly right.
00:21NFL football.
00:22Got to get two feet in before you go out of bounds, Greg.
00:25There you go.
00:26Yeah.
00:26There you go.
00:27All right.
00:27Hey, actually, before we dive deep on Niners, can we play a little bit with the game that's
00:33going to happen tonight?
00:34Like, I've got some questions.
00:36How do you think A.J. Brown changes the Patriots this year?
00:42I mean, again, all you can talk about is who A.J. Brown is.
00:45He is a true what we call boundary X receiver, meaning he can line up to the boundary side
00:52of the offensive formation as the single receiver, where there's three receivers to the other
00:56side, and very often that receiver gets man-to-man coverage, so he gets one-on-one, and Brown
01:03can win one-on-one.
01:05So he changes, he potentially changes the way they might play three-by-one sets, and he changes
01:12the way defenses might have to play them.
01:14When you look back at the Patriots last year, and I know that they had an inordinately easy
01:19schedule, and they were incredibly healthy, what did they do that made them so successful
01:24that you saw on tape?
01:26Well, you know, it's interesting, because Drake May obviously had a very good season, and
01:30he was good in all areas, first down versus blitz, third down.
01:33But then when they got to the playoffs, it kind of all fell apart offensively.
01:37Their O-line really struggled to pass protect.
01:40We saw what happened over the last four, five, six games with Will Campbell at a left
01:44tackle.
01:45He's going to remain there for now, anyway.
01:48They just really struggled, and May, even during the regular season, was sacked an awful
01:53lot.
01:53That number will have to decrease.
01:55You just can't play like that on a consistent basis.
01:58But May is a very aggressive thrower.
02:00He's got an aggressive mindset, which you have to have in the NFL.
02:03He throws a really good deep ball.
02:07So, you know, I think the run game, they'd probably like to get a little bit more out
02:11of the run game on a more consistent basis.
02:14But we'll see, because they did struggle against good teams down the stretch and in the playoffs,
02:19whereas against lesser teams, they really performed well.
02:23And Greg, then let's go to the Super Bowl champs.
02:25New offensive coordinator in Brian Fleury.
02:28The backfield is kind of the lead story there, with Charbonnet still out and Kenneth Walker not
02:33on the team, big hopes for Jadarian Price.
02:36How do you think they look different this year?
02:40Well, they'll have some different people.
02:41I mean, the safety next to Julian Love, I'm not even sure who that is, because Ty Okada
02:46is not playing in the game tonight, and he started six or seven games last year due to injury
02:52and played extremely well.
02:54I guess Eman Worry is due to play, but I know he's been struggling with an ankle injury.
03:00And obviously, the run game.
03:01This is a team that wants to run the ball.
03:04They're not just a pass-happy team.
03:06Price, Jadarian Price, the rookie from Notre Dame, who they drafted with the last pick in
03:10the first round, he will be their starting running back.
03:13And I think they expect him to be, you know, at least a sustainer of offense.
03:19They are a very, very good under-center play-action pass team.
03:23That is foundationally how they throw the football.
03:26They get Darnold under-center, they go play-action, and they push the ball down the field.
03:32Darnold's yards per attempt last year was very, very high, particularly off play-action,
03:37and they want to drive the ball down the field.
03:39What's your approach, personally, to watching this game?
03:43So you'll watch it tonight in real time, and then do you go back post-game and watch it again?
03:47Do you wait until tomorrow?
03:48Oh, how much of this do you actually pour over, knowing that there's another 15 games this weekend?
03:55Well, I'll watch it in detail, first thing tomorrow morning.
03:58I'll probably be falling asleep tonight.
04:00Don't forget, I'm on the East Coast.
04:02So I'll be in at 5.30 tomorrow morning, and I'll put the tape on right away.
04:06That'll be the first thing I do tomorrow is I'll grind through the tape.
04:09And usually early games, week one, week two games, I watch really carefully because, you know,
04:15you don't have a template yet.
04:16I mean, even if you feel you know coaches and what they do, there's always tweaks that are made in
04:22the offseason.
04:23So early in the season, I have to watch these games on tape really carefully
04:27because it's just there are going to be some things that are different.
04:30Greg Cosell, NFL Films, joining us here at River Island's Guest Line.
04:35Greg, let's dive into the Niners and the lead story.
04:40Twice since they've left for Australia, we've gotten word about defensive linemen.
04:44Sam Okuwanu earlier or late last week, and then last night, Alfred Collins is out for the year.
04:50So let's talk about the interior defensive line for the Niners,
04:54what you know in terms of personnel and how they can handle a loss like this.
05:00Yeah, that's tough.
05:01I mean, I'm not sure who's going to now get all the snaps at D-tackle, you know,
05:06particularly in their base defense.
05:08See, that raises a very, very interesting question because these teams played last year Week 5 and Week 10.
05:14And Week 5, the Rams had not yet made their change to being a high-percentage 13-personnel offense,
05:22meaning they had three tight ends on the field.
05:24When they played Week 5, when, by the way, Stafford threw for almost 400 yards,
05:29they did that almost exclusively out of 11 personnel,
05:32meaning they had only one tight end and three wide receivers on the field.
05:36So if that's the way they choose to go, Collins might not have been on the field anyway.
05:41But if the Rams stick with their multiple tight end personnel
05:44and the 49ers want to play in a base defense and play their run defense,
05:50then, again, I'm not sure because this just happened, I guess, within the last 24, 48 hours.
05:56I'm not sure what their answer is, you know, who's going to, you know, be in there instead.
06:02I mean, you can look at their depth chart.
06:05I don't know how much that tells us right now.
06:07Does that mean that the rookie, Grayson Halden, is going to play in those situations?
06:12C.J. West could get, obviously, a ton more snaps.
06:16You know, he was probably a rotational player to begin with,
06:18and he's really more of a run defender anyway.
06:21So I think right now we're a little uncertain as to how they're going to divvy up the snaps,
06:26depending on what the Rams' personnel packages are in this game.
06:30And it's a copycat league, we know this, and it seems like the whole 13 personnel
06:34has been something that's really picked up a lot of momentum around football.
06:39When you look at the tape, what do defenses do in order to combat this new movement
06:45towards three tight ends?
06:47It's a great question, and believe me, I wish I was smart enough to have a brilliant answer,
06:51but the thing with three tight ends is that more often than not,
06:56high percentage of the time, teams defensively will play their base personnel.
07:01So that means they'll have four defensive backs on the field.
07:04Now, some teams play big nickel, which means they do have five defensive backs,
07:08but that sort of big nickel safety has to be able to play the run
07:12and has to be a physical competitive player.
07:15You know, there are certain guys who are like that, the Emanwaris, the Derwin James,
07:18the Kyle Hamiltons, but not every team has that kind of player who can do that.
07:23So then if you happen to have one or two of the three tight ends
07:26that you can detach from the formation and can essentially run wide receiver routes
07:32or routes that you essentially think of as 11 personnel-type route concepts
07:37that you run with three wide receivers, that puts a burden on the defense
07:41from a coverage standpoint because they're playing with bigger people
07:44and they only have four defensive backs on the field.
07:47So that's really the first thing that you have to figure out
07:50when you play a team like the Rams that evolved into playing a lot of 13 personnel
07:55because they had someone like Terrence Ferguson who could line up as a wide receiver.
07:59They had Colby Parkinson who could kind of be both,
08:02line up as a wide receiver but also line up in line.
08:05So it just makes it difficult as to how you decide you want to play them
08:10in terms of personnel.
08:11Greg, what makes Puka Nakua special?
08:14And I know you know the 49er defensive backfield well.
08:17How have you seen them try to guard him in the past?
08:22And what do you think is on top tomorrow night?
08:26Well, I mean, again, now we're talking about a different defense.
08:29I mean, in the past, because they played a lot of zone,
08:32they didn't double him in a strict sense.
08:36And don't forget, they also have Devontae Adams.
08:38So in that Week 5 game when Stafford threw for almost 400 yards,
08:42it wasn't just Nakua.
08:44Nakua, he's a fascinating player because they line up in a lot of what we call
08:49condensed or reduced splits.
08:50So he lines up close to the formation, not necessarily split wide.
08:55Now, of course, he will be split wide at times,
08:57but he lines up close to the formation at times will go in motion
09:00and reduce himself close to the formation.
09:03And he's so physical and competitive inside,
09:06he really catches through contact extremely well.
09:10And he's really competitive and physical and tough run after catch.
09:14So when you have a receiver that can really work the middle of the field,
09:18between the numbers, between the hashes, those are tough throws.
09:21And, of course, Stafford can make those throws.
09:23Then it's really difficult because even, as I said, he can catch through contact.
09:28He doesn't need to be wide open.
09:29He can catch the ball as he's getting hit, basically, still catch it,
09:33and then fight off the tackler and turn them into bigger gains.
09:37You mentioned Stafford's numbers last year in Week 5,
09:40and it just was remarkable, 389 yards, three touchdowns.
09:44What is the thing that teams can try to do to make him uncomfortable
09:49so that he's not able to just pick you apart?
09:53Well, the majority of it is about pressure.
09:55I mean, I wouldn't say Stafford's immobile, but he's a pocket quarterback.
09:59He's not a playmaking quarterback.
10:02He doesn't have that playmaking dimension.
10:04So, really, you have to be able to pressure Stafford.
10:07You have to be able to make him play a little faster than he wants.
10:11I mean, he is as pretty a thrower as we've almost ever seen.
10:15He's one of those guys.
10:16He's just a natural.
10:18And, obviously, he can throw with all different arm angles.
10:21He's very aggressive throwing the football.
10:24He is tough as you know what.
10:26He can stand there when there's people around him.
10:28He's willing to take shots.
10:30So, you really just have to try to get people around him as much as you possibly can
10:35and hit him.
10:37And, obviously, the game is such that you can't just, you know, run right at him and
10:40smack him.
10:41Those are penalties.
10:42But you've got to really condense and squeeze his pocket so he's just not a comfortable player.
10:48And then, ideally, that just minimizes or limits, to some extent, his efficiency and
10:54his ability to make those really, really good throws.
10:57Greg, we know that you love to speculate.
11:00Are you ready to do that a little bit with us?
11:05No, you'll be all right with this, I think.
11:07I think.
11:08So, last year, the Niners could not intercept passes and the Niners could not sack the quarterback.
11:14But let's say, here's the speculative part, that Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw kind of look
11:20like they used to look when they were together.
11:23What does their presence do for the rest of the group in creating some of those negative
11:30plays that they had a hard time doing last year?
11:33I do remember over the years, because, obviously, I've watched every 49er play for years and
11:38years.
11:38All of them.
11:39I do remember that they did, when they had five-man pressures years back, where Warner
11:46was part of those pressures.
11:47Greenlaw is not necessarily a blitzer, per se.
11:50But Warner is long.
11:51He's athletic.
11:52They'd line up in those loaded fronts, meaning there would be three defensive linemen to one
11:56side of the center.
11:57They'd put Warner on the ball opposite the loaded front.
12:01They'd rush five.
12:02They'd have multiple stunt concepts.
12:03They would cause some problems, because I remember doing pieces in my NFL matchup show
12:08just about that, where they would use really multiple stunt concepts that Warner would be
12:13a part of, and they were able to generate sacks and pressures on the quarterback.
12:17They'll have to decide if they want to go that route.
12:20You know, again, much of it depends on the personnel they have on the field, which will be a function
12:25of the personnel the Rams put on the field.
12:27That, to me, is one of the things to look for early in the game tomorrow night.
12:32Because, as I said, week five, the Rams lined up with 11 personnel on 97% of their snaps.
12:38In week 10, they lined up at 11 personnel less than 50% of their snaps because they had made
12:44the transition and evolution to 13 personnel.
12:47As we're looking at the defense, and I know you've seen a bunch of Jaden Duggar from his
12:51college tape, does he profile as somebody who might be utilized in some of these blitz packages
12:57you're talking about?
12:58Well, he almost profiles, too, as someone you could play as sort of a big nickel.
13:02Now, I know he's listed as a linebacker, but he has safety in his background.
13:06He's a very athletic guy with tremendous length.
13:09He has play speed and range.
13:11You know, theoretically, if the Rams play a ton of 13, you could see him on the field kind
13:16of in that hybrid linebacker safety role, depending on the offensive formations.
13:21So, that's something to look for as well against 13, because he does have those kinds of athletic
13:28and physical traits.
13:30Greg Cosell, NFL Films with us.
13:32I want to piggyback on something we talked to you about last week, and this is with the
13:3649ers wide receiver core.
13:38And I know we're all curious to see Dejan Stribbling and how they utilize him.
13:43So, when the 49ers go two-wides, who do you think profiles better to kind of handle that
13:52situation opposite Mike Evans?
13:54Is it Stribbling, or is it Debo, or is it door number three?
14:00Well, that's a great question.
14:02And again, that's a speculative question as well, because obviously Debo is a player that
14:08they've had and that has been used in multiple ways with movement, pre-snap movement.
14:13And, you know, whereas DeSean Stribbling is probably not that player, not yet anyway.
14:18You know, he'd probably line up in, you know, just a couple of spots.
14:23He probably is not ready to be a Debo Samuel type player yet.
14:27So, I think you'll see both.
14:29I think you'll see both players.
14:31See, here's the issue.
14:32It's not an issue, but it's a question in the game again.
14:34We know that the Niners have been a heavy 21-personnel team.
14:38I mean, last year, almost 40% of their offensive snaps had huge check on the field and 21 personnel,
14:44which was the highest in the league by a wide margin.
14:47And the Rams, to defend that, played much more of their base defense than they had in
14:53almost any other games because of the Niners.
14:56So, now we'll see.
14:57Do the Niners do that?
14:58Do they play the way they played with 21 personnel?
15:02Do they, in an attempt to maybe change up and look a little different, play some more snaps
15:08of 11 personnel against a secondary that is clearly revamped, but good?
15:13I mean, obviously, they've got McDuffie.
15:15They've got Watson.
15:16I think Quentin Lake is a really, really good football player.
15:19So, we'll see how the Niners choose to attack.
15:22When you look at the 49ers, and particularly Debo Samuel, I know that Washington didn't
15:27use him the way the Niners did with a lot of carries, but looking at Debo from the tape
15:33last year, does he have the same ability potentially to come out and be the wide back that he used
15:39to be here with the Niners?
15:40I think he does.
15:41Don't forget, his game was never really built on explosion.
15:45I mean, I guess, was it 2021 when he put up the big receiving numbers and had good yards
15:50per catch?
15:51But for the most part, you wouldn't call him an explosive vertical player.
15:55So, you know, I think given that, I don't think there's a drop-off in what he can bring
16:00to the 49er offense.
16:02You know, he's not the kind of guy that's going to average 17 yards a catch.
16:06You know, he's the kind of guy that, you know, if he has a good season, he's going to average
16:0912 yards a catch, and that's who he is.
16:12So, I don't think there's necessarily a drop-off.
16:14Don't forget, he did catch 72 balls last year.
16:17It's not as if he caught 30 balls.
16:19Greg, how would you...
16:20And that was on a team where the quarterback situation was really not ideal.
16:24Not ideal at all.
16:25How would you sort of compare and contrast the skill set of Kalon Black with Brian Robinson,
16:32who backed up Christian McCaffrey last year?
16:35You know, amazingly enough, I'd actually say Black, who's not as big as Robinson, but I think
16:41he's just a naturally tougher inside runner.
16:43I think that's the way he runs.
16:45And I think you saw that in the preseason.
16:47I obviously saw it watching his tape at Indiana, which I studied in detail.
16:51He's a very physical, urgent, determined inside runner.
16:55He embraces the contact.
16:57He embraces the physical part of the game.
17:00He's not going to shy away from contact.
17:02He's not going to slow down his feet.
17:05A lot of backs slow their feet down.
17:08You know, when they get to the second level and they feel contact coming, they sort of
17:12brace for it.
17:13He does not brace for it.
17:14He tries to run through it.
17:16So, you know, again, I don't know what they're going to do.
17:19Look, obviously McCaffrey, I mean, we know McCaffrey played something like 93% of the offensive
17:24snaps a year ago.
17:26You know, he was the entire offense for the most part in many ways.
17:31So, again, that's something else to look for in game one.
17:33Is he going to play that much or are they going to clearly start, given his age and the
17:38wear and tear on his body, to give Kaelin Black, you know, two possessions or whatever
17:44they decide to do just to limit McCaffrey a little bit?
17:47Because you know what?
17:48It's a long season.
17:49Yeah.
17:50What about in the pass game?
17:51It felt like they weren't comfortable using Brian Robinson in passing situations out of the
17:57backfield last year.
17:58Or they've talked about Black being good at that, even though we didn't see it in Indiana.
18:03What do you think?
18:04Yeah, I mean, I don't know the answer to that because obviously he didn't do it in college
18:08and I wasn't there for a pro day or I haven't been there through training camp.
18:12He would strike me as a guy, though, that can do it because he's a good pass protector, too.
18:16He seems to me like a guy that would be good in every aspect of the game.
18:19Now, very few are like McCaffrey, obviously, who's one of the best receiving backs that we've
18:24seen in, you know, the last 20 years.
18:26So, you know, I don't know what their plan is.
18:29I will say this, though, about I know that the Rams defense is rebuilt, particularly at
18:34the corner position where they were not very good last year.
18:36But keep in mind that the Rams defense last year played five games against the Seahawks
18:42and the Niners.
18:43And in those five games, they gave up 405 yards on average.
18:48They struggled against the good offenses, the 49ers and the Seahawks.
18:52So, obviously, that's the reason they went and they signed McCaffrey.
18:57And I can't remember whether it was a trade or a sign, but obviously, they've got McDuffie
19:03and they've got Watson now playing corner.
19:05And Watson's a good player, too.
19:07Miles Garrett, you obviously have seen probably every snap that he has taken so far in the
19:13NFL.
19:14How profoundly does he change their defense, especially when you look at that secondary having
19:20a great pass rusher up front?
19:22Yeah.
19:23And Garrett, obviously, as you guys know, the 49ers played the Browns last year and they
19:28were really about eight or nine snaps that they went head to head in pass protection.
19:32And it was, you know, Garrett got him a couple of times.
19:35Williams did a really good job a couple of times.
19:37You're going to see that matchup because Garrett and again, I assume the Rams will do the same
19:42thing.
19:42But Garrett with the Browns lined up on that side, the right side of the defense, the left
19:47side of the offense, probably 80 to 85 percent of a snap.
19:51So, you're going to see that matchup.
19:53And it'll be very interesting to watch because that matchup in some ways could dictate how
19:57the Niners play.
19:58If Trent Williams struggles and the Niners feel they have to help him, that changes the way
20:04they play their pass game because then you lose a primary eligible receiver because you
20:10have to chip him or you or changes the way you line up formationally because you might
20:14want to put a tight end there just to slow down Garrett.
20:17I mean, that's a big matchup in this game.
20:19But I also think that the McKivitt's young matchup on the other side is a very big matchup.
20:24That could be a marquee matchup in this game because that's probably going to be a lot of
20:28one on one because of Garrett.
20:30OK, Greg, when we go to bed tomorrow night, will the Niners be a game ahead of the Seahawks
20:34and Rams?
20:38You know, boy, you know how I hate this stuff.
20:43I know, I know, I know.
20:45I mean, we really just do it.
20:46We just do it to hear you laugh, Greg.
20:48You got a great laugh.
20:49We just want you to laugh.
20:50That's all it is.
20:51Yeah, I can't predict these games.
20:53All right.
20:53Because, you know, we just had a conversation where I gave you 10 variables and I could
20:56probably give you 10 more if we had more time.
20:59So, I just can't.
21:00I can't pick these games.
21:01All right, there it is.
21:02Greg says the Niners will be a game ahead of the Rams and Seahawks when we go to bed.
21:07On their way, obviously, it was 17-0 season, don't you think?
21:10That's what I think.
21:11Odds are.
21:11I mean, yeah.
21:12Yeah.
21:12Yeah.
21:13Greg, here we go, man.
21:15Out of the gate and underway.
21:16Thank you so much.
21:17And we'll do it again next week when we've actually got a game to react to.
21:21I know.
21:21I'm really looking forward to watching the tape of tonight's game and the 49ers game.
21:25Us too.
21:26Us too.
21:26Greg, thank you, sir.
21:29All right.
21:29Appreciate it, guys.
21:30Thanks so much.
21:30All right, Greg Cosell, NFL Film.