- 2 days ago
Willard and Dibs take a look around the NFC and explain how everything is setting up perfectly for the 5-0 49ers ahead of tonight's game vs. the Commanders.
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00:00We do have this from earlier today. I had missed this from Cam Minman. Christian Kirk will not
00:05be activated off of IR for today's game. Instead, the Niners will activate special teams wide
00:14receiver ace Malik Turner from the practice squad. The other way to look at that, though,
00:19is if all they're bringing up is Malik Turner and there's no Christian Kirk. I think that means that
00:25Mike Evans is good to go and he'll be playing tonight. Makes sense. And, you know, honestly,
00:30Christian Kirk is kind of just an idea at this point. I don't even know if he exists. He might
00:37as well be AI because, I mean, he was there in camp, I guess, for a hot second and then
00:42he wasn't. I saw him practice this week. Or they told us that was him. I mean, maybe it was
00:49Dijon
00:49Love or whatever the hell. I mean, there was a wide receiver who we've been told is a 49er wide
00:55receiver with no proof that it's actually a 49er wide receiver. You should go on a date with
01:01Christian Kirk and find out if that's actually him. Yeah, I mean, I guess that would be the thing.
01:05But honestly, you know, Christian Kirk actually asked me to send him $12,000 and I did. I'm
01:11kidding, people. That's Dijon Love. They will not have Christian Kirk at their disposal tonight.
01:18The wide receiver room, I would guess then to be Mike Evans, Brandon Cooks, Jordan Watkins,
01:24Jacob Cowing, and Malik Turner. Right. And I do believe that the juice will be loose.
01:31That was, yeah, he has no designation. Right. So he's in. Nick Bosa not back yet. Christian Kirk
01:38not back yet. Drey Greenlaw's out. Other than that, it's the Niners. It's the Niners. And so if
01:46juice is, you know, fully back, that means about 40 or 50 percent of the snaps. And that means a
01:51lot
01:51more of what we're used to seeing with him doing that funky reverse motion, that cheat motion or
01:57whatever you want to call it. And so, yeah, I'm sure McCaffrey is the most delighted about that news.
02:04You could not have convinced me of this before the year started. You just couldn't have. You know
02:12this about me. I'm as optimistic as they come. I wake up happy. This is how I do it. I
02:19feel very
02:19lucky to feel that way when I wake up every day. And therefore, when I look at things, I tend
02:25to
02:25always see the possibilities, whether they're quote unquote realistic or not. But it is also based in
02:33another characteristic. And that is that I always have a healthy respect for the surprising. I don't
02:42think we would like sports as much as we do if they were as predictable as many of us tend
02:48to think
02:48they are. We spend every summer always thinking that a lot of these teams will come back and look
02:55the exact same as they did when we last saw them. And they almost never do. So whether the Niners
03:02were
03:02supposedly too old, whether the Seahawks defense was immovable, whether the Bears were going to score
03:09every time they touched the ball, whether that Cowboy defense, remember the defense for the Cowboys
03:15had been fixed and the Eagles were still really good and the commanders were going to be healthy
03:20again. All of the things that we said in this offseason, the majority of them, some of them
03:26are true. The majority of them are not. But when I look at this solely through the lens of the
03:3249ers,
03:33you could not have convinced the most optimistic person out there that this is what it would
03:40potentially look like six weeks in, especially if the 49ers win this football game tonight,
03:46if they get to 6-0. The idea that here on October 19th, the Niners could have essentially a four
03:54and a half game lead on the Los Angeles Rams, a three and a half game lead on the Seattle
04:03Seahawks,
04:04and then looking at the framework of the league and seeing teams that they were told would be scary.
04:11Eagles, Cowboys, Commanders, etc. Even the Lions, let's throw them all in there. They're just not.
04:19They're just not. And in a way, as I said off the top of the show, it almost makes me
04:24hesitant.
04:25Because right now, if you just made me make predictions solely on this moment in time,
04:32I don't even see how the Niners wouldn't win the NFC. But I know that's not the way life works.
04:40So we'll see where this all goes. But I get why a Niner fan might be getting ahead of themselves
04:46today,
04:46because that's literally the way the NFC looks in this moment.
04:50And if you look at the way it has shaken out, and beyond just the records, right, you look at
04:55Philadelphia,
04:57and they're 2-4, but their quarterback is gone with blood clots. And Dallas was supposed to be,
05:03and I actually did a Calci trade on anything at the start of the year. I did a Dallas 10
05:09or more wins.
05:10Yeah, absolutely. Well, you can cash out at any time, because you can trade in and out of your position.
05:15I hope you did.
05:16And I've traded out of that position, because that one's not happening. And I think I actually also traded
05:22out of my Chicago Bears that they would not win 10 or more, because they look to be fun and
05:29dangerous,
05:29and their defense is not great. But they feel like they could put up 40 on anyone at any time.
05:35But beyond that, Minnesota, I had them as, you know, will they win nine or more? And I was a
05:41yes.
05:41And so, yeah, they're going to win nine or more. But honestly, Minnesota, you talked about like the
05:47points scored and points against. They've given up 64 points in five games. That's crazy. Which is not
05:52even 13 a game, but they don't really score. So I'm thinking about possible matchups in like
05:58Chicago, Minnesota is kind of a fun one, because Chicago's offense, Minnesota's defense. The thing about
06:04the Niners that I keep coming back to is, if you go up against Chicago, can you win a 42
06:10to 39 game?
06:12Well, yeah, the Niners can do that. Can you go up against Minnesota and win a 17 to 14 game?
06:18Yes,
06:19you can. The Niners are the only team in the NFC, to me, is one that can win a shootout,
06:25a low scoring game. They can win in all different ways.
06:28This is why I'm so high on the Niners right now. You and I have talked about it all year
06:32long,
06:33and that is the idea of balance. There's just very few teams in the NFL right now that look like
06:40they can offer a lot on both sides of the ball. I felt really good about Jacksonville as well.
06:45Their trip to London was really wonky. Let's be honest. They should have lost both games,
06:51if not for the ridiculousness of Nick Sirianni at the end of the game against the Eagles. The
06:56Jacksonville Jaguars come home from London 0-2. Well, they should have won yesterday if it wasn't
07:03for Travis. I like to jog Hunter jogging off the field on a fourth down punt where you didn't get
07:10off the field, and so it's 12 men, automatic first down. That's a turnover. I don't know if you saw
07:16that. I watched the entire game. I'm not saying that that was the only thing, but that was a moment
07:22where you're getting the ball back. Houston is not on a roll. They're giving you the ball. They're
07:27punting you the ball, and you can't get off the field? Embarrassing. You, the Jaguars, allowed
07:34C.J. Stroud to go up and down the field on you, throw for over 300 yards, throw for three
07:41touchdown
07:41passes. These are numbers that C.J. Stroud has not achieved all year. He's been good this year.
07:48He's been good-ish, yes, but he's not put up those kinds of numbers. Didn't last year either.
07:54I'm glad they've got their offensive line issues fixed, but my point is the Jaguars have come down
07:59a notch in my mind. They were the other team that I like to point to in the NFL right
08:04now
08:04in terms of being really balanced. People might want to bring up the Chiefs, and I think that that's
08:10fair. They're 5-0. They're also 3-0 in the division, just like the 49ers are. I think the
08:17Niners' defense has performed better than the Chiefs' defense so far, but yesterday was
08:23certainly a good day for them, and so maybe they kind of moved to the head of the line
08:27right now in terms of, you know, the power rankings in the conference and who looks the
08:34most balanced. So here we are again, I guess, Niners and Chiefs. That's what it looks like.
08:39Yep, and honestly, and I shared this on our thread earlier, and it's way, way, way cart ahead
08:44of the horse. Like, the horse can't even see the cart, but the idea of the Niners getting the one
08:49seed and getting into the Super Bowl and taking on the Chiefs in LA, a third chance at Mahomes,
08:56I'm here for it. And so if that is going to be the way it goes on Valentine's Day, I
09:00would love it,
09:01even though it's going to give a lot of people, including our very own Mark Grandy, probably PTSD
09:06about, like, oh my God, it's Andy and Mahomes again.
09:11Yeah, but, like, to the point you're saying, I mean, I'd bet, I'd bet $1,000 right now that's not
09:19the Super Bowl. Like, it's just, it doesn't work that way. It's not that predictable. The message
09:26that we keep getting, how many teams, when we leave here on a Friday, you know one thing to be
09:33reality, and then you come back on Monday, and reality couldn't be more different. When we left
09:40here on Friday, how'd you feel about the Eagles? Well, let's talk about the Rams. How'd you feel
09:45about the Rams? I was, like, puffing up my chest about how they were going to win five in a
09:49row,
09:50and you're like, let's bet. And I said, well, give me odds. And you wouldn't give me odds. And
09:54had you given me odds, like 10 to 1 odds, I would have taken it, and you would have won.
09:59I would have won. But I don't want 10 to 1 odds. You were saying it with your chest. And
10:04so I was
10:05like, that's not happening. You don't just uncork a five-game win streak in the NFL. You don't just
10:11do that. That's really, really, really hard, no matter who you're playing. You've got three teams
10:16who've done that. Yes, they have. And it's really, really hard. I mean. Depends. Yes. And I looked at
10:25the schedule. And I thought the Rams, your schedule, it was Arizona twice. And you've
10:31got the Raiders like, yeah, Rams, you're going to go 17-0. Win five in a row. Let's go.
10:37Yeah, you're saying that five teams have done it. But those five teams did it from a 0-0 record.
10:42And it turns out all three of them are really good. People were asking the Rams to do this
10:46from a 2-3 spot where they have not really. And by the way, we all damn well know they
10:52could
10:52have, should have easily lost that game in Philadelphia, too. There are very few moments
10:58this year where the Rams have actually looked good. Very few moments. And I thought it was
11:04laughable how many people. And, you know, I don't know why she's standing out in my head.
11:09I don't want to call her out. I love her content. But Kay Adams did content last week where she
11:14said, I don't think the Rams are going to lose again. Look, newsflash to everybody who keeps
11:19predicting undefeated runs for the Rams. They're not that good. They're just not that
11:26good. The proof is in the pudding. They're sitting here staring at you, telling you. And
11:30this is not one player away. So Miles Garrett coming back at some point is not going to
11:35suddenly flip this thing all in a different direction. I wonder if they're even favored
11:39in Vegas this weekend. Are they? Oh, for sure. Are you sure? Are you super sure? Against the
11:44Raiders? Yes. They're probably favored by four and a half, I would guess. Or more. Let's
11:49take a look. And I only know because, you know, I'm one of seven remaining people in
11:54my survivor pool. All those people who took the Rams this week. Boy. Condolences. You're
12:01spot on. The Rams are minus four and a half. Sign me up for the Raiders right now. Right
12:07now. It's funny you say that. How stubborn do you all need to be? They're not that good.
12:14You're so stubborn. Like, what are we doing? I mean, hell, I'm not mad about it. We're
12:19going to make money on it. But, like, I mean, I think it's funny. Like, why? Why? How many
12:26times does someone need to tell you who they are before you believe them? How many times?
12:30More than four, to be honest. Okay. Well, Australia was a scheduling snafu. Of course. I mean,
12:36they should have beaten Denver. Here we go. I mean, we would have beaten Denver. We had a
12:4116-0 lead, and then we kind of blew that one. I mean, this is why I get so mad
12:44when
12:45people sort of do the whole, like, oh, gosh, Anahan's a joker and all of this stuff. It's
12:50like, how many times does this organization, does the 49er organization need to explain to
12:59you and show you that they're a good organization? How many great players need to come here and
13:04keep fawning over the organization? Mike Evans, the latest. I don't know if you saw his
13:09comments. Oh, yeah. I mean, like, how many times does this need to happen before you can
13:15put some freaking respect on this front office coaching staff organization, its players, everything
13:22within it? How many times do they need to tell you who you are before we listen? I think
13:28if you're still a holdout, then you're probably not watching it or you're doing, you know, a
13:35full-on ostrich take where your head's in the sand because, yes, you got people like
13:40Mike Evans who, whatever, we say, first ballot Hall of Famer. It's just a thing. I don't even
13:45know if he will be because sometimes people don't get to go in on the first ballot because
13:50the Hall of Fame is kind of a funky thing. But, yes, he came here and he's been completely
13:56devout about what they're doing here. And that is completely the way it's gone. And, you
14:01know, the Rams, you could look at their losses and this and that. But I think they go to
14:05the Las Vegas to take on the Raiders. And the Raiders, honestly, aren't very good. Three
14:10and three. Not that bad either. No, they're not. It's not that bad. They're not that bad.
14:15But, I mean, whatever. So they lost a three-point game to the Chiefs and a three-point game to
14:20the Bills. And we go, oh, the Raiders are pretenders. Who, like, the Rams just lost to the
14:27Cardinals. They lost by three, quote-unquote, to the Bills because they got a late touchdown.
14:33Still, it was a competitive game. It was. That's the Bills. Right. That's the Bills. And
14:37that's the Chiefs. Like, those are good. I'm not saying the Raiders are great, but they're
14:42clearly, like, they'll give you a game. That's a viable football team. The Patriots hammered
14:48them. Yes, that was a spot and a road game and all of that stuff. Like, I... You beat the
14:53Dolphins. Good on you. Yes. You beat the Chargers. Whoa, at the time. All right,
14:56Raiders. Listen. I mean, and then you beat the Saints. I'm just saying, whatever. I'm
15:01not going to make this about L.A. versus former L.A. versus former Oakland versus
15:06current Las Vegas. When I did my survivor pick this week, the... I was doing some of
15:11the A.I. and it said, oh, the pick might be New England this week and then you'll
15:17have the Rams for next week. So I went New England this week, but I'm not going the
15:22Rams next week. You better not. I will absolutely kick you in the shin if you do.
15:26Hey, quietly. I know the Patriots were like, ooh, the Patriots. The Patriots, the last three
15:31weeks are 3-0 with a road win at Buffalo. And then they totally picked apart Las Vegas.
15:39And then yesterday, obviously, handled the New York Jets.
15:42Ah, handled-ish.
15:43I mean, look, they're 4-2. And they went to the Super Bowl last year. I'm not a huge believer
15:48in the Patriots, but give them credit where it's due. They're playing good football. So I'm
15:53not here to tell you Vegas is great. I'm here to tell you they're not bad. There are a lot
15:59of teams I'd pick out that are worse. So the idea that we are once again expecting the Rams
16:06to now go on the road and beat someone by more than a field goal is hysterical to me.
16:13Like, maybe they will. Maybe they will. But the idea that it's expected and now down three more
16:20players, including Devontae Adams. Why? Make the case for me.
16:27I don't think anything really is, quote, expected anymore. Like, you can expect the Niners to win
16:33tonight. They're favored by, what, seven and a half. And the pick will be in here in about an hour's
16:37time.
16:38And the pick is already in. But honestly, like the whole idea of expectation in the NFL
16:44is a little bit foolish in and of itself. And yet the Rams, if you look at them right now,
16:49and Stiney said this in the crossover, they're two and four. They've got 11 games left. And if
16:55they want to make the playoffs, they probably need to win eight of the last 11, like 10 and seven,
17:01I think is the minimum. At least. At least. So if you want to pick your way through,
17:07you still go, the Rams go to Santa Clara. They go to Seattle. They host Seattle. And so
17:13it's a bit of a minefield right now. No doubt. No doubt. I think the idea of the Rams making
17:19the
17:19playoffs is at this point, at best, a coin flip. The idea of them winning the division is ludicrous.
17:28Luda. Thank you. Shout out Atlanta. Luda. Like the idea of anybody other than the Niners winning
17:35the division. It's kind of ludicrous. The Rams on their schedule. Sure. They've got this four
17:40game stretch that everybody knows they're going to win all of those for sure. They're going to win
17:43all five. Right. Sure. And then they get a buy and then they get Green Bay and Kansas City and
17:49San
17:50Francisco and Dallas and Seattle twice. Okay. Okay. Sure. They've got this. They've got it right
17:57where they want it. Um, look, I say all this to say, um, that in a way it's almost uncomfortable
18:04how perfectly the 49ers start to the season is because remember, it's just a start. That's all
18:11it is. Um, and, uh, my hope right now is that these thoughts that we're all having don't
18:17make their way into the locker room. That's, and that's their job.