- 2 weeks ago
49ers insider Matt Maiocco joins the show to give JP and BMitch a 49ers scouting report ahead of Monday Night's game.
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00I'm really excited to jump on the Rude Guest Hotline and welcome in our friend, Mr. Matt
00:05Maioco, covers the 49ers for NBC Sports Bay Area.
00:09He's been covering the Niners a long time, knows his team inside and out.
00:13Matt, thank you for making time for us.
00:14How are you doing, buddy?
00:16I'm doing great.
00:17Always my pleasure.
00:18Hope you guys are having a good day and don't pee too soon.
00:21Got a big one tonight.
00:23Well said.
00:24We hope we have a great night, Matt.
00:28It'll be a nice night.
00:29I can tell you that.
00:30It's nice weather.
00:32That I can assure you.
00:35Yeah, the sun's shining.
00:37Matt, I'm staying right by SFO at the A-loft.
00:40If you want to come by for lunch, feel free.
00:42Okay.
00:43Let's do it.
00:44Dude, Niners are off to a great start.
00:465-0 have looked very good, look like the best team in football.
00:51Has anything surprised you with the strong start for San Fran, or is this what you expected?
00:56Yeah, no, it has been surprising.
00:59I mean, I knew they'd be a top one, two, or three offense in the NFL, but what surprised
01:05me is the defense, especially when you factor in that Nick Bosa's only been available for
01:10two games.
01:12They've just found a way.
01:13You know, they're lacking star power on defense.
01:16They have Fred Warner, and he's great.
01:20You know, I can't imagine there's a linebacker in the NFL who even approaches him.
01:25But, you know, it's been kind of an underrated defensive backfield.
01:32That unit's played well.
01:34They've rotated every game.
01:36They've had nine defensive linemen up, and they just have this churn of defensive linemen
01:41coming in and out.
01:42And again, really no star power.
01:43Osadigizua is their best defensive lineman, but a rookie, Grayson Holden, has played very
01:48well.
01:50But, yeah, that's probably been the thing that's been the biggest surprise.
01:53Raheem Morris has been a really good addition as defensive coordinator, doing a lot of different
01:59things.
02:00The defensive backs absolutely love him.
02:03They're making plays.
02:05So, yeah, I'd say that the offensive production and the way Brock Purdy is playing, and I didn't,
02:12you know, I hadn't seen Mike Evans up close.
02:14So, watching him has been a revelation as well.
02:17But I'd say overall, the reason the 49ers are 5-0 is because the defense has been every
02:24bit as good as the 49ers offense.
02:27They are, are they very healthy right now or not, defensively?
02:34Well, relatively speaking, I think you'd probably look at them and go, no, they're not healthy.
02:41They, they're down to basically one wide receiver.
02:44That's Mike Evans.
02:45That's how he's.
02:46By the way, Gebo looked really good.
02:49And he's such a good fit for what they're doing.
02:52So, bringing him back was very important.
02:56And he's, he's made a contribution.
02:59However, now he has a hamstring injury and he's out for several weeks.
03:02But they are down Devo Samuel, Demarcus Robinson, the first round pick, Dajon Stridling,
03:10Christian Kirk could make his debut for the 49ers tonight.
03:14So, the wide receiver position isn't healthy.
03:17They'll be getting all those guys I mentioned back at some point.
03:22The defensive line, you know, they've, they've played 15 different defensive linemen.
03:27I think there was a point where, you know, like the 10, the 10 defensive linemen that they opened the
03:32season with six of them have been out with injuries.
03:36And so, they're not necessarily healthy.
03:41They have four guys out for this game, including Bosa and starting safety, Marquis Siegel.
03:48And then I mentioned Devo Samuel earlier.
03:50But from where they've been to where they are now, and then looking ahead to the future, I guess you
03:57could say that they're about as healthy as they've been.
04:00You can give Matt a follow on X at MayocoNBCS.
04:05That's M-A-I-O-C-C-O-N-B-C-S.
04:09Does a great job covering the Niners.
04:11I follow him.
04:12I recommend you do the same.
04:15Obviously, there's a lot of weapons for San Francisco.
04:20But the dude running the show in Brock Purdy has just been excellent.
04:25He's not getting – he's been sacked three times on the year.
04:28I think he's getting sacked on like 1.8% of snaps or something.
04:32Is the line that clean or is Purdy just picking defenses apart?
04:39Yeah, it's a little bit of both.
04:41And Brock is very deceptively quick and agile and avoids sacks as well.
04:47I think the offensive line has played very well, no question about it.
04:52And it's aligned with continuity.
04:54They basically have the same five guys this year as they had last year.
04:58The only difference at left guard is Connor Colby.
05:01He started six games as a rookie.
05:03Now he's in there as their starting left guard.
05:07So they've played very well.
05:08I don't want to take anything away from the offensive line.
05:10And certainly Brock has been great as far as – well, you've been around Kyle Shanahan.
05:16I know it was a while ago.
05:18But he uses this term automatic.
05:20Brock is automatic.
05:22And what he means by that is whenever a play is drawn up against a coverage,
05:29the ball goes where it needs to go.
05:32No questions asked.
05:33The ball goes to where it needs to go.
05:35And Kyle doesn't have to give it a second thought.
05:37He can just look at his script for the next play.
05:40But another thing that's really helped the 49ers is just the schedule.
05:46They opened the season in Melbourne, Australia, where crowd noise wasn't a factor at all.
05:55The way that stadium was set up, it just wasn't a factor.
05:59And plus, there were far more 49ers fans there than Rams fans.
06:03And then they played three consecutive home games.
06:07And so that helped as well.
06:10You know, just having the offensive line on the same page and being able to communicate.
06:14Now, there were three sacks last week in Seattle, a game that they won.
06:20But, you know, kind of to my point, I mean, I don't think anybody would argue if I said, hey,
06:24Seattle has, you know, either the one, two or three best defense in the league.
06:29I don't think anybody would argue.
06:30Well, the 49ers defense last year, or last week, against Seattle, up in Seattle, they sacked Sam Darnold five times
06:38and created four takeaways.
06:40A couple of fumble recoveries, including one in the end zone, a couple of interceptions from Renardo Green.
06:46So, yeah, going kind of back to my earlier point about the defense.
06:52The defense has really done a good job.
06:55And the offense, they're running the ball better than they did last season.
06:59And they're protecting Purdy better.
07:02They're just doing everything better than they did last year when they were really banged up.
07:06And still, they somehow were playing for the number one seed in week 18 and went on the road and
07:14won a playoff game.
07:15So, I think they felt in a lot of ways, like all the problems they had last year with all
07:20of the injuries, that that kind of served as a springboard going into this season.
07:26But, if you had to say they had a weakness, what would that weakness be?
07:32Boy.
07:34Yeah, you know, again, I've been talking glowingly about the defense.
07:40But I'd still say it's the defensive line.
07:42You know, they just don't have the guys that just line up and go get the quarterback.
07:47And at times, their interior run defense has been a little suspect, although the numbers don't necessarily bear that out.
07:56But I would say that, like, they don't have great juice as far as just getting after the quarterback.
08:03And that's why I mentioned Raheem Morris a little bit earlier.
08:06Like, he's been scheming it up pretty well.
08:08You know, they're doing a lot of different things defensively.
08:11You know, when the 49ers were really good, you know, it was just, here's your four-man rush.
08:17Go get the quarterback and play, you know, cover three on the back end.
08:21It was just very, everybody knew what they were doing.
08:24There were no surprises.
08:26Offensive coordinators weren't ever fooled.
08:29Just the 49ers had better personnel.
08:30And they don't do that.
08:32You know, they're not at that point now where they have better personnel.
08:36And they can just line up and basically telegraph, this is what we're going to be in.
08:42This is the coverage.
08:43This is our pass rush.
08:44Try to stop us.
08:45So they're not at that point.
08:47That's why I do believe the 49ers will be active at the trading deadline.
08:52You know, that's coming up November 10th.
08:55They have been very aggressive under John Lynch.
08:59Oh, and by the way, last night I was in San Francisco.
09:04Keena Turner, one of the legendary 49ers player, went into the Frayers Hall of Fame.
09:09And John Lynch and Adam Peters were hanging out.
09:12So who knows?
09:14But anyway, I think the Frayers will be active in trying to add to their defensive line at the trading
09:19deadline.
09:20And one guy to keep an eye on is DeForest Buckner, who they probably shouldn't have dealt away back in
09:282020.
09:29And I don't know if you saw his comments and how the Colts, just an embarrassing loss in Tennessee, or
09:36not in Tennessee.
09:37It was in Indianapolis against the Titans.
09:40And they fired their GM today.
09:42So keep an eye on maybe DeForest Buckner coming back to the Frayers.
09:45And that would be a huge lift to that defense.
09:49We saw him in London.
09:51Make sure he don't come before the night.
09:53He killed the Colts.
09:55Buckner and Taylor won that game for them in London.
09:58I mean, he was excellent.
09:59Yeah, he's a, I mean, I can't believe he's 32 years old, been in the league for 11 seasons.
10:05And he is still just, he's one of those 10 out of 10 guys.
10:09Again, I don't know why the 49ers got, well, I do know why they got rid of him.
10:13There are finances involved, but man, when you get a player like that, you keep them for as long as
10:18you can.
10:20Yeah.
10:20Dude, we know that, I mean, you said you saw them last night, AP and John Lynch at the 49ers
10:26Hall of Fame ceremony.
10:28We know that AP was out here.
10:30We know that since AP has taken over the commanders, those two have already made a trade when they traded
10:36Brian Robinson that way.
10:38If things go poorly for Washington over these next few weeks, I wonder if Deron Payne doesn't help that Niners
10:44team.
10:45I know that's, you know, it's so funny you said that because I was kind of looking at stuff yesterday.
10:50Like, you know, who, what kind of players to keep an eye on?
10:55And he is definitely one.
10:56Yeah, he would, he would fit very well.
10:58But yeah, I mean, I know it's always this time of year.
11:03It's a little bit uncomfortable because, you know, if, say, a general manager reaches out to a team and says,
11:10hey, is this guy available, there's something implied there.
11:14It's if the general manager making the phone call believes that your team isn't going anywhere.
11:20So they have to play this kind of, kind of a delicate dance of who might be available, who's not.
11:27But what is it?
11:28So November, November 10th would be after week nine.
11:34Yeah.
11:35So, yeah, so there's still a few, still a few games out there for teams to kind of make a
11:41move.
11:41And even like the Colts, I mean, the Colts are two and four and they were atrocious yesterday.
11:47But there are only two games out in the division.
11:50And so, you know, how many teams are just going to pull the plug and say, oh, we're not going
11:56anywhere.
11:57You know, let's be sellers at this point in the season.
12:00Yeah, there's a lot of teams that, a lot of, oh, the NFC East look like it's not.
12:05Well, wide open.
12:07Yeah, I mean, that's the same thing with Washington.
12:10Like, who in that division is going to run away from it?
12:14Nobody.
12:15Nobody's going to run away from it.
12:17I mean, eliminate the Eagles, you know, the Giants and the Cowboys.
12:22Oh, my God.
12:23Yeah.
12:23So I think the commanders probably feel like maybe they can add some pieces and get in the mix and
12:29be right there and make a run.
12:32Well, I think to do so, they've got to steal a win tonight.
12:35And it looks hard to do.
12:36Talking with our friend Matt Mayoko covers the Niners for NBC Sports Bay Area.
12:40Give him a follow at Mayoko NBCS.
12:43Listen, Matt, the Niners look like the best team in football.
12:46They're 5-0.
12:47They're more than a touchdown favorites, according to Las Vegas.
12:49Like, there's real reason why Sam Fran is expected to win tonight.
12:55We did this for an hour and had people call in.
12:58If there's a massive upset tonight, how do you think Washington pulls that off?
13:03I think it's Jake Daniels using those legs.
13:06I think it's, you know, I think that's the scary part for the 49ers is, you know, third and eight.
13:15They might have great coverage, but using those legs to get a first down.
13:20And it's maybe getting deep on the 49ers' defensive backfield.
13:24So, you know, I think it's going to be a lot of third down conversions, both arm and legs, factoring
13:33into the equation for the commanders.
13:36So, you know, I think that that's the path.
13:40And I think it's a very clear path.
13:42And it's a path that concerns the 49ers.
13:44Everybody I talked to this past week, defensive players, the head coach.
13:49I mean, everybody is concerned about just the complications of defending a quarterback who can do it in a couple
14:00of different ways.
14:01And, you know, Fred Warner was even talking about, you know, a lot of times when you have a mobile
14:07quarterback who can make plays with his legs, the idea is, hey, make him play quarterback.
14:13Make him sit in the pocket and go through his reads and play the position.
14:18But he says that doesn't work with James Daniels because he's really good at playing quarterback, too.
14:23So I think that that's the dilemma.
14:26And that would be the concern for the 49ers heading into this game.
14:32Yeah, it's going to be really interesting.
14:35Matt, I don't know that you've seen this, but the commanders through five games have had a single player score
14:41two touchdowns in every game.
14:44So twice that's been a tight end, twice that's been a receiver, once it's been a running back.
14:49Obviously, the Niners are loaded at those spots.
14:52Do you feel like Evans will play tonight?
14:54Maybe we clear that one up.
14:55Yes.
14:56Yeah, he'll play.
14:57I figured as much.
14:59So you've got Evans, you've got Kittle, and you've got McCaffrey.
15:02All three are bona fide killers.
15:05If you had to predict a big game from one of those guys, who do you think it would be?
15:11I might throw Kittle in there.
15:13Yeah.
15:13Yeah.
15:15Yeah, I think I'd go Kittle.
15:17But I also think that because of the past distribution, McCaffrey has a chance.
15:26They've really limited his touches a year ago at this time.
15:30Yeah, a year ago at this time, I think it was like a hundred and like, you know, darn near
15:35140 touches through five games.
15:39And at this point, it's 80 touches through five games.
15:45So this could be a game where they need that.
15:51You know, they need him to have more touches.
15:54But I would say that the two big issues for the commanders and defending would be the middle of the
16:00field and getting the ball into Kittle's hands and getting the ball into McCaffrey's hands.
16:07Yeah.
16:07I mean, weirdly, and three of these games were with the Panthers, so it's a different scenario.
16:14So McCaffrey has not killed them in five career games.
16:18He's been better through the air than he has on the ground.
16:20And Washington's run defense is the best thing they do defensively.
16:25They're top ten in the NFL and rush yards allowed through five.
16:28They've been pretty good on the ground.
16:30I mean, hell, they kind of got Cam Scadaboo benched.
16:32But my biggest concern, and I think this goes back to Kyle,
16:39Kyle Shanahan deserves a lot of credit for everything that happened before the season started
16:44and then the way this team has opened the year.
16:48The red zone for Washington's defense has been problematic,
16:52and the red zone for this Niners offense is fantastic.
16:56How well does Kyle Shanahan scheme it up when he gets into the green and then the red?
17:03Yeah.
17:04Yeah.
17:05I mean, you know, it ebbs and flows, of course, as it always does.
17:09But, yeah, they've been very efficient as far as, you know, getting the ball down there and punching it in.
17:16And they do have, you know, with Mike Evans, he is such a unique target.
17:23He's 6'5", he has 35-inch arms.
17:26I think that put him, like, in the 99th percentile if he was a left tackle, let alone a wide
17:35receiver.
17:35So the thing that has really been apparent is he and Purdy have a very good connection.
17:41I mean, there have been so many passes in these first five games where you're going,
17:45you know, when you're watching it live, you're going,
17:48why is Purdy making that throw?
17:50He's covered.
17:52And then somehow the ball gets past, you know, the nearest defender.
17:56And then you're going, how did Evans make that catch?
18:00So he's been an incredible red zone and third down target.
18:05So that's the guy to keep an eye on when it gets into those tight spaces because, I mean,
18:11he's like, you know, he's a power forward boxing out underneath the basket.
18:14And he's got the sticky fingers, too.
18:19So, yeah, that would be the guy to keep an eye on, certainly in the red zone,
18:23while also having McCaffrey available as a guy who can catch it out of the backfield,
18:32you know, do his choice routes and leave linebackers spinning around,
18:37or being able to run it between the tackles as well.
18:41So, yeah, that's very, very good in those areas in the red zone, no doubt about it.
18:50Matt, really looking forward to seeing you this evening.
18:53Thank you very much for the time today, man.
18:56Well, listen, there's a reason they play the games.
18:58Never know what's going to happen on that field.
19:00Yeah, absolutely.
19:01Absolutely.
19:01As we see every Sunday, especially when our teams aren't playing
19:06and were able to watch red zone and were, like, amazed at what's going on around the NFL.
19:10Yep, like yesterday.
19:12Yep.
19:13Matt, thank you again, man.
19:14Appreciate it.