- 9 hours ago
Mark Schlereth, former 49ers offensive lineman, joins Willard and Dibs to react to the news that the 49ers are trading for three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle DeForest Buckner.
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00:00The Forrest Buckner is a Niner, and I don't want to waste any time because our favorite Trench guy is
00:07on with us right now.
00:08It is Tuesday. It is that time. Out to the River Islands guest line. We're joined by Mark Schlereth.
00:14NFL Insider Call is presented by Nationwide. For your insurance and financial needs, Nationwide is on your side.
00:21Stink, how you doing, and what do you think? Defoe, back home to the Niners.
00:26I love it. I love it, man. He's been a great player. He's still a really productive player.
00:34Man, just the length, the size that he has, the extension that he has, the push that he gets in
00:39the pocket, all those things are great things.
00:43The rotation that he helps create with San Francisco, I just think it's a big-time move for them getting
00:49D-Buck back.
00:50And, again, just adding to the quality players that they already have on defense now, if they ever get Bosa
00:58back.
00:59And, you know, just, like, that is a huge move, getting him out of Indy.
01:05When you look at what they are lacking right now, not only against the run, but also in terms of
01:10an interior pass rush,
01:11how much does he come in and just immediately help them?
01:15Yeah, it's big. Like, and sometimes it's not just about winning your one-on-one.
01:19Sometimes it's about just getting push in the pocket, right?
01:22Push in the pocket, because when you get outside edge rush, if you can get push in the pocket at
01:28the same time,
01:29what it ends up doing is keeping quarterbacks from stepping up in the pocket, from climbing the pocket.
01:33And that allows the edge to get there.
01:36So even if you don't compile big-time numbers from the inside, you have a huge effect on pass rush.
01:42So that part is huge for them.
01:45And, you know, this is another just really nice piece of the puzzle for that defense.
01:50All right. It's a corresponding move as well.
01:53Got to get your response to Quentin Nelson to the Seahawks.
01:57That was really big.
01:59Now, Quentin has always played left guard, you know, in Indianapolis.
02:04And the weak spot for the Seattle Seahawks is the right guard position.
02:10So I'm not sure if they're just going to ask him to play right guard, if he can do that.
02:14I just will tell you this, man.
02:16I left Washington after six years at right guard and moved to left guard.
02:20And it took me an entire season to feel comfortable playing left guard.
02:23As a matter of fact, I never did it out of a left-handed stance.
02:26I just gave in to the fact that I couldn't play left-handed.
02:30So I had to play it out of a right-handed stance.
02:33And I had a long conversation with Steve Wisniewski the other day because he was one of the other guys
02:37that played left guard out of a right-handed stance.
02:39He's pretty damn good at it.
02:40So I was like, if it's good enough for him and Bruce Matthews, it's good enough for me.
02:44Not that I'm in the caliber of those two guys.
02:47But it was a real struggle moving over to left side for me.
02:51So I don't know if they'll move Gray Zabel over there, if he's played right guard before or not.
02:56But still, with that said, it helps solidify that offensive line.
02:59I think it was a huge move for the Seahawks.
03:02Why is it so much different?
03:03I mean, go ahead and speak to those of us who are not offensive linemen,
03:07who don't really have the same idea about technique.
03:10But it seems to me like, okay, you're next to the center.
03:13Just go block somebody.
03:14Why is it so different?
03:16Yeah, you ever wipe your butt with your left hand?
03:19I don't.
03:20I'd have to think about that.
03:23I guess this is what you think, right?
03:26Write an essay left-handed.
03:28Everything flips.
03:30All the schematics of what you do body-wise flips.
03:34It is so – it's just really – it really is uncomfortable.
03:38And I did both in college.
03:40You know, we played strong and weak guard in college.
03:42So I'd flip from the right side to the left side.
03:45And it wasn't a problem then.
03:46But when you get entrenched to one spot, it is – it's definitely difficult.
03:51And, you know, everything goes backwards.
03:54So on the left – on the right side, your left hand becomes a dominant inside catch hand,
04:00you know, strike hand.
04:01And then you flip over to the left guard, and it's opposite.
04:04It's your right hand that becomes that.
04:06It just is – it's just different.
04:08There's a lot of guys that struggle.
04:09As a matter of fact, Tristan Wirfs, when he got switched from right tackle to left tackle
04:15for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, ended up seeing a psychologist, a sports psychologist,
04:20because he was struggling with it so much.
04:22And he's one of the best – he's one of the top tackles in football
04:27and has been for quite some time.
04:29But he still had that kind of trouble with it.
04:31Interesting.
04:32Mark Slareth is with us here.
04:3395-7, the game with it and dibs as he is every single Tuesday.
04:37Okay.
04:38Offensive lineman, Stink.
04:39Talk to me about what's going through your head and your assessment,
04:43if we can dream a little bit that the 49ers will have some health on the defensive line.
04:49Nick Bosa on the edge.
04:52Mikel Williams and Keon White on the other edge.
04:55And in the middle, Osa Odigizua and DeForest Buckner.
04:59As an offensive lineman, you're looking at that group.
05:02What are you thinking?
05:04Yeah, I'm thinking that you get to a point where it's not just about taking out one guy.
05:13You know, Nick Bosa's out there, and you're always going to focus on Nick Bosa, right?
05:17You're always going to have protection that's going to push that way.
05:22That's going to be your number one priority.
05:24But when you have multiple guys that can hurt you, that's when you're in trouble.
05:29Like, when you're not afraid to go five one-on-ones across the board, you can get five guys out
05:35in the pattern.
05:35It just doesn't matter anymore.
05:37But when you have one dude, we can deal with that, right?
05:40Because we can find a way to double-team that guy and take him out effectively.
05:44But now, all of a sudden, when you have, you know, two or three dudes that are all problems,
05:49then it becomes impossible because you can't double-team everybody.
05:52And you start winning with those dudes, you start walking up, you know, you walk up a guy like Fred
05:59Warner in the A-gap,
06:00so you can't slide out to a guy like Nick Bosa.
06:03Now we've got to eat him up with a running back or an extra tight end.
06:06And it limits how many guys you can get out in the pattern.
06:10So when you start having multiple guys that you've got to be concerned with,
06:14it really limits what you can do as an offense.
06:16So DeForest Buckner comes in, and assuming he comes in tomorrow or whatever, the day after that,
06:21how long will it take for him to be able to, like, absorb the scheme from Raheem Morris as an
06:28interior defensive lineman?
06:31Not long.
06:32He'll play.
06:33He'll play right away.
06:34I mean, come on.
06:35There's a reason we put those guys on defense.
06:37Most of them aren't that bright, right?
06:39Like, they're really athletic, but they're not that bright.
06:42So we can line them up and say, hey, you line up on this defense, on the outside shade of
06:48the guard.
06:48On this one, you line up on the inside shade of the guard.
06:51Yeah, not that difficult.
06:53You know, obviously, there are going to be some things that basically transfer from Indianapolis
07:00or wherever he's been in the past.
07:02But there'll be some learning things, you know, different names and blitzes
07:05and different gap control things that they're doing.
07:08But for the most part, you'll be able to assimilate pretty quickly.
07:12Plus, you got Fred Warner back there who is, let's face it, not only one of the best guys,
07:17but one of the smartest and brightest dudes that plays middle linebacker.
07:21So on every play, he'll be able to kind of direct you on what you need to do.
07:25So I don't think that assimilation into the defense is going to be that difficult for DeForest Buckner.
07:31We're talking to insider Mark Slareth.
07:33Nationwide is so much more than a great insurance company.
07:36They're one of America's largest financial services companies, too.
07:39Nationwide is on your side.
07:41Okay, Stink, again, we're projecting based on names and health,
07:46but this defensive line that the 49ers are trying to put together,
07:51where would you kind of place it among defensive lines around the league?
07:55Do you have it up near the top?
07:58Yeah, that's it.
07:59Like, if Nick Bosa's healthy, yeah, I would put it up there in that top 10 category,
08:06maybe approaching five.
08:09You know, I don't have all the defensive lines in front of me,
08:12but, like, when you start looking and start talking about, you know,
08:16guys that can really play, guys that affect an offensive line,
08:20they would be up there, certainly, you know,
08:25and like I said, I don't have everybody sitting in front of me,
08:28but, yeah, I definitely would, you know, put them in that top 10 category.
08:33Healthy, obviously.
08:35You look at the Atlanta game, and they had two pressures,
08:37and I'm not saying that they made this move based on just that one game,
08:41but when you looked at the way the Niners were unable to really impact that game,
08:46how much will DeForest Buckner now elevate them to a spot where they can be,
08:50again, more impactful?
08:52Yeah, I mean, some of that, too, is you got to look at the way that Atlanta
08:57approached you, you know, you got to look at the way that they're going to play.
09:00They're a very talented offensive group.
09:03A lot of people don't realize how actually talented they are on the offensive
09:06side of the ball.
09:07They've got some not good players, but they've got some great players.
09:11How much quick game there was, how much boot game there was,
09:14how much of the running game was effective.
09:16You know, you can really eliminate opportunities to rush the passer in any game
09:22based upon the way you call the game and based upon the way the game is going.
09:27And, you know, when Christian leaves the game early and you're, you know,
09:31I mean, the receivers you're pulling out there right now are no, no, you know,
09:35every time you say no offense to the guys that were out there, but, you know,
09:38you're going to offend them.
09:39You know, you're basically bringing a bunch of practice squad guys out to play
09:43because you don't have Mike Evans.
09:44You don't have Debo.
09:45You don't have some of your guys there.
09:47And then when Christian left the game, part of your passing game left,
09:51I know he came back in, but on a very limited role.
09:54That was a really tough ask and allowed Atlanta to stay in that game without really
10:00exposing their quarterback.
10:02And so, you know, that's just kind of the way that game played out.
10:06And so, you know, as I was watching it, you know, I looked at them offensively and say,
10:11wow, they're really, you know, they're really right now, they're going to struggle
10:14because they just don't really have anybody that threatens the Falcons.
10:18And they took advantage of that, made a couple of big time plays.
10:21The play by Bates on the sideline was huge, tapping his toes with the interception.
10:25So, you know, they made some big time plays in that.
10:28And it was able to keep them in the game to where they didn't really have to expose their pass
10:33rush
10:35and didn't have to expose their quarterback.
10:37Stink, outside of the coaching staff, you know, Kyle Shanahan and some of the assistants,
10:41there's probably only a handful of 49ers left on the roster who actually played with DeForest Buckner,
10:46who left the team in 2019.
10:49However, there is kind of a leadership brotherhood that you can see being even reestablished.
10:57Debo comes back, Dre comes back.
10:59What does this mean to the group from an emotional standpoint, you think?
11:04Yeah, I think it's always big to have guys that you're familiar with, guys that you like,
11:10guys that, you know, left and you missed.
11:13So that kind of connection and that kind of playing for one another and playing together is always,
11:19to me, is the biggest part, you know.
11:22It's the thing that we don't talk about often,
11:24but to me it's the biggest part about being a championship football team is,
11:30you know, your willingness to sacrifice, your willingness to put others ahead of yourself,
11:36your willingness to do those things, as, you know, silly and cliche as some of those things sound,
11:42that to me is the biggest key to winning championships.
11:45Like, every team that I was on that was a championship caliber football team,
11:51man, it was all about team first.
11:53That was what we were about and about sacrificing for one another and doing things,
11:59you know, doing things that basically put every other guy on that team ahead of yourself.
12:04And that's how you win.
12:06And so when you get more of those guys in the fold, it's always, you know,
12:11it's always a powerful position to play from.
12:14And those guys are the guys when the going gets tough.
12:17Joe Gibbs used to say this.
12:18When I first came in the league, he would say this all the time.
12:21And I've always adhered to it.
12:22I've always believed in it.
12:24Great athletes will make plays in the first three quarters,
12:26but character men win games in the fourth quarter.
12:29And he preached it all the time, just about character, about how you show up,
12:34how you play for one another.
12:36And I've always believed in that philosophical approach.
12:40And, you know, it's just one of the things that I think has been, you know,
12:46a common, kind of a common thread with all the championship teams I played on.
12:50And the Niners have a bunch of young defensive linemen.
12:53How much can they really learn from DeForest Buckner midseason?
12:56Is it more about mentorship in the preseason and training camp
13:01or throughout the course of the year?
13:02Can these guys really, you know,
13:04glean things from DeForest Buckner now that he joins the team?
13:08Oh, yeah.
13:09You're always, I mean, you're always constantly learning.
13:12And all the guys that have been around for a while have little tricks to the trade.
13:18And I remember, you know, I remember, you know,
13:21young guys that came to our teams, you know, would be like, hey,
13:27they would ask me a question.
13:28And sometimes coaches will say things that's great.
13:32They're great on a grease board, but they don't really, they're not really,
13:37they don't really work or they just, like,
13:40there's little tweaks that you have to make to them.
13:43And that's where a veteran player can go, hey, man, don't think of it that way.
13:47Don't think about the way he explained it.
13:50Here's how you have to think about that.
13:52And that was always incredibly valuable to me as a young player.
13:56And then my ability to pass that stuff on to a younger generation of players
14:01where, you know, you get coached up on a technique
14:04and then a young player would come to you and I'd be like,
14:07yeah, I think that technique is crap.
14:09I won't do it.
14:10I do this instead, you know, and just live with the butt chewing
14:14because I'd rather block the dude.
14:16So, like, those are things that happen and those are good things.
14:21And good coaches, like, good coaches understand that.
14:24And they'll steal.
14:25They'll, like, steal whatever they can steal from you as a player
14:28and try to implement it into their own teaching.
14:31Mark Slareth is with us here on Woodland Tibbs 95.7 The Game.
14:34Stink, I know you're not a front office guy,
14:36but the fan base here is still hot to trot about acquiring a wide receiver.
14:42And I wonder if you were on this team,
14:44how would you kind of read the room?
14:46They've got a receiving core they love.
14:48They're all hurt.
14:49But then again, they're all coming back.
14:52Like, Mike Evans, Debo Samuel, and Demarcus Robinson
14:55are likely to play the next time they play.
14:58Their early draft pick, Dajon Stribling, is right after that.
15:01And then they've got some young guys.
15:03Jordan Watkins has played well recently.
15:05But they're kind of all not healthy now.
15:09What would you do?
15:10If you were on the Niners, would you want another acquisition there?
15:15I hate wide receivers, so no.
15:19I would not.
15:20You'd get rid of the four that they've got, huh?
15:23Yeah, I would cut one of those guys just to send a message.
15:28Yeah, no, listen, they're all going to get those guys back.
15:33Mike Evans is, like, that dude is one of the best.
15:37I know he's a great teammate.
15:39He's just one of the best receivers.
15:43Obviously, he's going to be a Hall of Famer.
15:45But he's still so ultra-competitive and productive.
15:50And that's a dude that, you know, will make those combat catches
15:54that even when he's covered, he's open, he'll come back.
15:58Debo accepting that role again as that, you know, utility knife
16:04or that Swiss Army knife, like, doing everything.
16:08Like, I love that aspect, that unselfishness that we just talked about
16:13with Debo and what he does.
16:15I was really impressed with dribbling early before he had the injury.
16:19So hopefully he can come back and play well.
16:21So I would like, hey, man, I'd weather the storm and say,
16:25we're going to be good.
16:26Our receivers are going to come back.
16:28I don't need to teach another guy the system.
16:30We're going to be fine.
16:33So I would just leave it at that.
16:35Is there a little bit of a mindset of, okay, you're 6-1,
16:38and I know that Seattle made some additions,
16:40and they're kind of knocking on your door.
16:42But with a little bit of a cushion, does that lead you,
16:45as a football team, to be more conservative?
16:49I don't think so.
16:51I mean, I think you've got to always be careful about, you know,
16:55who's on the open market.
16:57Like, I'll just be honest with you.
16:59The name that keeps coming up to me is George Pickens.
17:02I wouldn't put that guy on my football team if my life depended on it.
17:07Yeah, he'll make the spectacular.
17:08He will.
17:09But then, you know, you'll see him standing around killing grass half the game.
17:15You know, he's not going to get involved in blocking anybody.
17:18That just does not fly with Kyle Shanahan.
17:21I was on the team when Mike Shanahan pulled Shannon Sharpe,
17:26called him up to his office, and said, hey, listen,
17:28I'm just going to let you know how this goes.
17:30I'm talking to other teams about, you know, the potential of trade.
17:33I'm looking at interest in that.
17:35And if you don't block people and you don't start practicing,
17:39like, I'm going to move you because that's what's required.
17:43And I know Kyle Shanahan understands that better than anybody else.
17:47And Shannon Sharpe became, you know, he never gets the credit he deserves.
17:51He became a really good run blocker for us in all those, you know,
17:54when Terrell Davis was going 1,100, then 1,400, then 1,700, then 2,000 yards.
17:59He was a big part of that running game.
18:02But that was a meeting that happened in Mike's office where he said,
18:06either you jump in and do it the way I'm requiring you to do it.
18:10Otherwise, you won't be here.
18:12Like, he doesn't have to do that.
18:13There doesn't have to be that conversation with any of the guys they have.
18:17They're all involved in it.
18:19So, like, I wouldn't mess with the apple cart, so to speak.
18:22Sting, great stuff.
18:23We appreciate you always.
18:25We're already looking forward to next week.
18:27Sounds good, guys.
18:28Be well.
18:28Okay, you too.
18:29That was Mark Schlereth with us here on Willard and Dibs.
18:32This NFL Insider Call is presented by Nationwide.
18:35For your insurance and financial needs, Nationwide is on your side.
18:40Sounds like he, too, is a big fan of the deal.