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Willard and Dibs open the show by reacting to the 49ers' 23-17 win over the Commanders. Was this the kind of game the 49ers needed at this point of the season?
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00:00I feel like that was exactly the football game they needed.
00:06I think the 49ers could use, and the fan base for that matter,
00:12a little stress, a little reminder.
00:15Remember we were talking so much yesterday about how the start to this season,
00:19like an author could not have written a book where the start went this well
00:27for the San Francisco 49ers.
00:29With what's happening with the Rams, Seahawks, rest of the NFC, Eagles, et cetera,
00:33Cowboys, all of that.
00:35So it's gone so well.
00:37I really think, in a way, this kind of adversity at this point,
00:42the reminder that NFL games are hard,
00:45that's why your survivor pulls down to seven people or whatever it is,
00:50it's hard, man.
00:51It's hard to just go out there and win all of these football games.
00:55So the first half looked like the Niners we've come to expect.
00:59They're not all going to be Picassos.
01:02They're not all going to be blowouts.
01:03I think a couple of those reminders, and for instance, Fred Warner in the locker room
01:09after the game being like, that doesn't really feel like a win to us because of the bar we set.
01:13I think that's a good thing.
01:15I think it's a good thing right now, especially with a bye one week away.
01:18I think in some ways it's a good thing, but I look at the way the second half just kind
01:22of devolved offensively.
01:25And, you know, you lose Mike Evans late in the second quarter, and then after that,
01:28you kind of just, I thought, got away from what you should have done for me,
01:32which is run the ball.
01:34And they did have some two tight end, two running back formations.
01:38But as you look at those last three drives, they were too throw happy.
01:42And they took over with just seconds left in the third quarter.
01:45And as I mentioned in the crossover, he gets sacked, and now it's second and 19.
01:49And negative plays on first down usually lead to punts.
01:53And in this case, they did.
01:54And the defense, man, they stepped up in such a huge way, especially that front seven
02:00and even the front four or five or whatever you want to call them.
02:04And you throw Fred in the mix as well.
02:05I think Raskeem Morris is absolutely just a master right now.
02:11The way he's mixing things up.
02:13On one play, he showed seven, and then they dropped into four.
02:17They didn't blitz.
02:18They showed the blitz.
02:19They pulled out of it.
02:20Jaden Daniels didn't know what was going on, and they got a sack on that play.
02:23Yeah, no, the front seven was great, except for that doesn't include Malik Mustafa.
02:27And I think that if you're going to talk about the defensive side of the football,
02:30that's the first name out of your mouth, my opinion.
02:33Like, the other side to it, and I think to the point that you're making, isn't it funny?
02:38You see, you know that anxiety you feel right now about Mike Evans?
02:41Feel some anxiety, like another wide receiver, and in this case, the best one, might miss some time.
02:49Hopefully it's just one game.
02:51By the way, I'm, like, declaring him out, and that is not a fact yet.
02:54But that's what I'm thinking.
02:56Short week.
02:57That's what I'm hearing is going to happen is Mike misses this week,
03:00and they think there's a good shot that he's back after the bye for the Raider game.
03:04So, we'll see how that all goes, but because of the way the second half played out,
03:09it feels like, for the moment, we'll see if it's true, but the 49ers, quote,
03:14can't move the ball without Mike Evans.
03:16It feels the same way the pass rush felt last year.
03:20Well, that's it.
03:21Nick Bosa's gone, and the 49ers can't rush the passer without Nick Bosa.
03:25Have you noticed that Bosa is still out, and nobody's freaking out about it anymore?
03:32And I really want to spotlight that, and I don't want this to feel like a stray on Bosa.
03:38I'm so excited about what this might look like when he gets back,
03:42and that might be on Sunday, by the way.
03:45But do you notice?
03:46There's no anxiety about it.
03:48Because the 49ers, through drafting, through the calling of their defensive coordinator,
03:54and through the efforts of their individuals,
03:58and don't forget their acquisition at the trade deadline last year,
04:02in Keyon White, who is a certified dude right now at this point.
04:07They are generating the pass rush that they need, and they are doing it without Nick Bosa.
04:13And if you are a fan of the idea of the 49ers winning a Super Bowl,
04:17I'm telling you right now, there is nothing more important than that.
04:21Period. Period.
04:24There is nothing more important.
04:26This regime has constantly said that they build their defense from the line back.
04:32That is the key to everything they do on defense.
04:34And if you are still able to be productive with that group without Nick Bosa,
04:40first of all, what are you when he's there?
04:43That's scary for the opposition.
04:45He's right. I mean, if he's able to play and, you know, be healthy.
04:49Right. But when he played, he played well.
04:51And so adding him in.
04:52But if this is what you look like without him, that's less scary.
04:57Certainly.
04:57Less worried about his ACL now, to be honest with you.
05:00I am.
05:01Well, when you run through, like, those players who are playing in place and playing well,
05:06Mr. Practice Squad, Sebastian Valdez, he almost sacked the handoff last night.
05:11He burst through so quickly, he almost got to Jaden Daniels before he was able to hand the ball off.
05:16And you had, you know, Height, obviously, and Halton, two guys who were just drafted.
05:21They're rookies, and they're in their wrecking shop.
05:24And so your front, the guys in the interior and even the guys on the edges,
05:28they all look like they're just next man upping it, and they're playing awesome.
05:32Yeah, and then I said it on the crossover, I'll say it again, and I don't usually, you know me,
05:39I don't like doing this six games after it happened.
05:42The 2026 NFL draft, the 49ers select awesomeness.
05:49They crushed this.
05:50And the only reason I feel comfortable saying that already is not because I'm not projecting.
05:56It's happening already.
05:58Look at the production they are getting out of their rookies.
06:03This is unbelievable.
06:05This has to have you excited not just about this year, doesn't it?
06:10It should.
06:11The defense is a bunch of babies.
06:13It's Fred and Dre and a bunch of absolute babies.
06:18Well, not even Dre.
06:18Last night, it was Duggar who led the team with 11 tackles.
06:22And it's Halton and it's Height, guys who were constantly in the backfield.
06:27And I know Sebastian Valdez is not drafted, nor is he a rookie, but he's a practice squad guy.
06:31And they told the story on the broadcast where I think it was Pittsburgh who said, hey, we want to
06:37sign you off the practice squad.
06:39And he said, no, I want to stay here.
06:41I want to stay a niner and wait my chance because I guess John Lynch and company went to him
06:46and said, you know, we love you.
06:48And there'll be a time when we're going to go ahead and use you.
06:51That time's not right now.
06:52And so he actually passed on getting a regular gig so he could stay here.
06:56And now he's getting elevated.
06:58And he had a monster game last night.
07:00Yeah, no, you look at the like, I could not be more excited about that.
07:04We're going to dive into this game, obviously, on on all aspects.
07:09We'd love to know how you're feeling coming out of a game like that.
07:13This is one of those that brings a lot of mixed reactions.
07:17Does it's a victory Tuesday?
07:19Does it feel like one?
07:21You know, what's your thought on on where the 49ers sit when the offense goes out there?
07:28Look, you and I, we're we've been around these parts long enough to know you do three, three and outs
07:34in a row.
07:34Well, then they're coming for Shanahan and Purdy.
07:37They're coming for you.
07:38And probably it sounds to me today like more frustration with Shanahan than Purdy.
07:44I didn't really see any of it as frustrating, to be honest.
07:48I feel it's frustrating because, like, that's not the way that you want it to go.
07:51But I think that Washington, when Mike Evans goes out, they're like, all right, we're going to flood the middle
07:58of the field.
07:59And we're going to try to keep Purdy in the pocket.
08:02And we're going to try to speed him up.
08:03And they had some success doing it.
08:05And when that's the case, it becomes very difficult to just run the ball up the middle, number one.
08:10And number two, if you get home for a sack, well, now it's second and 20.
08:15And that totally limits what you can do.
08:18You can't run the ball anymore.
08:20You got a bunch of baby giraffes running around out there as wide receivers.
08:24And so, you know, it disrupted their flow for sure.
08:29And there you go.
08:31And did he get a little too conservative?
08:33I don't know.
08:33I keep hearing that from people.
08:35But it sounds like maybe you wanted him to be more conservative.
08:38I wanted him to lean on his strength, which is to run the ball, give the ball to McCaffrey.
08:43And, you know, the opening play when they go on 11-play drive.
08:46So your defense, they, it was kind of bend but don't break.
08:49And it's 23-10.
08:50So now you're hoping for a nice six or seven-minute drive, even if it ends in a punt.
08:55Let's eat some clock.
08:57Let's let those guys have some orange slices and some Gatorade on the sideline.
09:00And you come out and you go max protect.
09:03And you're trying to make a big play.
09:04And Purdy gets sacked.
09:06And so now it's second and 19, and this drive is over before it starts.
09:10Even though you did get the fourth quarter break, those defenders had about six minutes
09:14of live, real-time rest.
09:17And then Washington goes out there, and it's another 11-play drive.
09:21And so, okay, back-to-back, long defensive drives.
09:24Now it's a six-point game.
09:26Okay, how about this time we go ahead and eat some clock?
09:29Well, scramble.
09:30You get sacked.
09:31You try to hit McCaffrey.
09:32You don't.
09:33And then you punt again.
09:34And I was thinking, you are killing your defense, Kyle, with the way you're approaching
09:38this.
09:38Can I challenge you on something?
09:40Do it.
09:41I don't think the run game is their strength anymore.
09:44I think they're good at it.
09:45I think they're a lot better at it this year.
09:47But when I watch the 49er offense play, that's not what scares me if I'm a defensive coordinator.
09:52I'm much more scared right now of Brock Purdy and his playmaking and his ability to layer
10:01throws, his ability to read my defense, his ability to escape the pocket and move the
10:07chains.
10:08Christian McCaffrey is a lock Hall of Famer and is averaging the yards per carry this year
10:15that the 49ers need him to average.
10:18And I get what you're saying.
10:19Traditionally, that's what makes a Shanahan offense go is just the ingenuity, if you will,
10:28of the way they deploy their run game.
10:30But when I watch this offense, if you ask me, like, what makes them go?
10:34What makes them cook 2026?
10:38I don't think it's their run game anymore.
10:39I think it's their pass game.
10:40It's normally their pass game.
10:42But when you lose Mike Evans in the second quarter, it is not the pass game any longer.
10:46And that's why they were splitting McCaffrey out wide, because he's actually somebody who
10:52can be a receiver.
10:53So now you've got no one in the backfield.
10:55And Washington was just bringing five, bringing six, because they knew you weren't going to
10:59run the ball because there's nobody back there.
11:01And so I understand what you're saying about the macro look at this team.
11:05And you're right.
11:06It's been Mike Evans.
11:07It's been George Kittle.
11:09It's been Debo.
11:10It's been McCaffrey.
11:11It's been juice in the pass game.
11:13The run game has been something that's been good, better than last year.
11:17But last night, you were in a spot where I thought you needed to go out there and at
11:21least show the potential to run it.
11:23But instead, you just were splitting everyone out wide.
11:26And that's why they were able to tee off on you.
11:28Niners 23, Commanders 17.
11:31The 49ers are the first team in the NFL this year to arrive at the 6-0 mark.
11:36They've got a short week.
11:37They go to Atlanta.
11:38They are a very small favorite in Atlanta.
11:41And I think we understand why.
11:43And then they get their bye week.
11:45And so, listen, this is one of those games.
11:49At 20-3 at halftime, we were both in the building.
11:52It was threatening to be a snooze.
11:55Like, I'll be honest with you.
11:56That was the feeling at halftime.
11:58Everybody's like, go get in line.
12:00Let's get some food.
12:01If we miss the third quarter, who cares?
12:03We got this one.
12:05And then, you know, an hour and a half later, you're chewing fingernails and wondering if
12:10they're about to take their first L of the year.
12:12And then, you know, I think the first half is going through one of those games.
12:12We got this one of those games.