00:00Oh my, on first and goal, Fred Warner came flying in!
00:05That's kind of Fred Warner saying, you know what, I'm tired of this quarterback sneak stuff for being successful,
00:09so I'm going to time this perfectly, and I'm going to hit you before you even take your first step,
00:14Kirk Cousins.
00:15KSC Masterpiece right here on 105.3 The Fan.
00:20Right now, I want to have a conversation with y'all.
00:24Who do you fear on the 49ers?
00:27Why is it Fred Warner, and where do the Cowboys hold an advantage?
00:32Now, there's other people you could be concerned about, to be certain, but Fred Warner's obviously the one who sticks
00:40after him.
00:40Fred Warner is the best player on the field every time he steps on the field.
00:45And even after the injury, he still has, like, wasn't he trying to get ready for the playoffs at the
00:52end of the season after that injury?
00:54That feels right.
00:56But he's the most agile dude.
01:00He covers so much range.
01:03He hits so hard.
01:05Hard, yeah.
01:06And his IQ's high.
01:08Like, you don't find players like that all the time that have, they're the, it's the Josh Hamilton without the
01:14problems.
01:15You know, it's the five-tool player that can do all of the things.
01:21And, you know, one of the things I was kind of thinking about, and I need to go back and
01:24look at this.
01:26The Niners have always had this kind of, ever since I've known, they've always had this persona of very tough
01:36defense.
01:36You know, those Joe Montana teams still stout defenses.
01:42Those Steve Young teams, stout defenses.
01:44We talked about, we talked with Merton Hanks about that.
01:47Even though they only got them one time, you know what I mean?
01:50I do.
01:53But since Shanahan got there, and since Fred Warner's been there, and Robert Sala was a defensive coordinator there.
02:03D'Amico Ryans was a defensive coordinator.
02:06Those defenses have just been outrageously stacked.
02:11And they play with an intensity.
02:14And, Kevin, I've been trying to find another word for urgency, but I think urgency is the right word.
02:18Yeah.
02:19Everything matters so much.
02:21Every detail matters so much when it comes to the way that they play defense.
02:27And I think it's also offense, too.
02:29They play with a certain intensity on offense that's kind of, and I don't know if that's a Shanahan thing.
02:35It seems like Shanahan is the designer of this great offense because his dad handed it down to him.
02:42They kind of stole some things from the West Coast offense and Bill Walsh.
02:48But the players set the tone for the way things are supposed to be.
02:53Fred Warner's at the helm of that thing.
02:55Yeah, absolutely.
02:56So I think you're right.
02:57Like, why is it Fred Warner?
02:58Because he does all the things.
03:00He's all over the field.
03:01And you've got to take him out of the picture.
03:04Because once you think you've pushed Nick Bosa out of the way, Fred Warner fills the gap.
03:09Now, Fred Warner is tied for second right now in betting odds for Defensive Player of the Year behind only
03:17Will Anderson.
03:18Okay.
03:18And so, I mean, that kind of gives you an idea.
03:22Warner, he forced another fumble on Brock Bowers, who we've talked about as just, Brock Bowers is an unbelievable player.
03:30And then he recovered another fumble.
03:33So far this year, he is responsible for creating or recovering six turnovers.
03:40Wow.
03:41Geez, dude.
03:42And that's like the, it's a slow choke out.
03:47Yeah.
03:47Because you know how some people, they'll just suffocate you from the moment it starts.
03:52The way that this Niners defense does, you go into it going, we got a chance.
03:58And then by the end of it, you're like, dad, oh man, what do we got to do?
04:03Now, they're not perfect by any means.
04:05They've given up some points.
04:07They don't give them a lot.
04:08But they're not perfect.
04:10But by the end of the whole thing, these forced turnovers, the moments where you, you don't want to.
04:16Of which they had five against the Raiders.
04:18You don't want to give the ball back to that offense.
04:21You can't.
04:21You don't want to give any more opportunities for Christian McCaffrey to break one on you.
04:26And that's why I think that Fred, because you're so afraid of their offense, that's why Fred Warner and his
04:35defense are so scary.
04:36Now, speaking of their offense, Brock Purdy.
04:39Brock Purdy is 3-0 with two regular season wins and one in the postseason against the Cowboys.
04:47In those games, thrown for 726 yards.
04:50But more importantly, kind of keeping in the theme of turnovers, he has five touchdowns and no interceptions against the
04:58Cowboys.
04:59So, you just think about that from a combination.
05:01Like, this feels like a game.
05:02If you're even even in the turnover battle, you are probably going to lose.
05:08And you have Brock Purdy, who hasn't turned the ball over a ton in general and hasn't turned the ball
05:13over against you at all from an interception perspective.
05:16And we already talked about the turnover machine that is Fred Warner.
05:21That is a dangerous combination for this Cowboys team.
05:24And it's part of the reason San Francisco is 7-1, for God's sake.
05:27San Francisco, 9-3-6.
05:28Corey just described marriage, the slow choke out.
05:31That's, come on!
05:32Guys!
05:33Some marriages, probably.
05:34Marriage can be positive, too.
05:36Yeah!
05:37It's funnier to make jokes, though.
05:38From the 6-8-2, the line should be 49ers minus 17-and-a-half.
05:42Bold prediction.
05:44I would take the Cowboys plus 17-and-a-half.
05:47I, um...
05:48And perhaps a couple points lower.
05:50But that'd be it.
05:53So, I know we've mentioned two players now that are...
05:57We can go through a lot more if you want, yeah.
05:59I have...
06:00I mean, I think let's just leave Christian McCaffrey off the table because...
06:04Can I tell you a weird thing about him, though?
06:07Okay.
06:08And then we'll get to the other people, please.
06:11Yeah.
06:11So, he scored his 37th career receiving touchdown last weekend.
06:17Broke the tie with Marshall Falk for the most by running back in the Super Bowl era.
06:21And you're like, oh, wow, that's freaking crazy.
06:24But, he also had gone nine straight games without a receiving touchdown before that.
06:30So, like, people might think, oh, so he still just catches receiving touchdowns all the time.
06:35This is his first one of the year.
06:36So, that's another one.
06:38Like, if you don't keep him out of the end zone receiving, you are gonna be in a bad way.
06:45Is the...
06:45Well, and...
06:47Is his yards, though, are they still...
06:50Is he still productive as a receiver as far as...
06:54It seems like the numbers are there.
06:56It seems like Brock Purdy knows, look, if all else fails, I have this open.
07:01And it also seems like Kyle Shanahan realizes, I can get big chunks still out of this offense
07:06by sending everybody across the field a certain way and then leaking McCaffrey out.
07:12So, it's kind of interesting that you bring that up because rushing, most certainly, the
07:17yards are there.
07:18He's on pace to have more touchdowns rushing than he ever has.
07:21And you might be like, oh, well, does that kind of offset the receiving?
07:24The receiving has fallen off a cliff.
07:26Both in terms of healthy targets, receptions, yardage, touchdowns, it's way lower than you
07:35would normally see in a healthy Christian McCaffrey receiving season.
07:40But he's had a resurgence in the run game, at least for men, per carry average, and a touchdown
07:46percent perception.
07:48So, I think the thing is, they just don't give him the ball as much as they have been.
07:52But when they do, at least running the ball, it's been effective.
07:55But if he catches a touchdown pass, oof, tough.
07:58Well, and I mean, the Shanahan offense is always going to create big running plays.
08:02They, that's just...
08:03We love to give a big running play.
08:05The Shanahans and Kubiaks work together to build probably the perfect running system with
08:10that zone running scheme.
08:12But the, one of the reasons that the receiving yards could be different there, Kevin, is because
08:19Purdy now is more comfortable and in command of the offense.
08:22I agree with that.
08:23He had Mike Evans at times.
08:26Now, Keenan Allen, I'm going to tell you, I think Keenan Allen's going to be productive
08:29this week.
08:30He's going to be a productive receiver and make a big catch that you're like, son of a
08:34B. I can't believe that he was wide open.
08:37How can he not make that catch against us last week?
08:39And you're going to go, oh yeah, it was Daniel Jones.
08:41That's why.
08:42It seems like they're still, they still have hope for Debo.
08:45It's George Kittle.
08:47George Kittle is a mismatch.
08:50And I'm trying to figure out who tries to match up on him.
08:54Because Deron Bland can't physically cover him.
08:56And you're not, I don't know how often they get him outside for that.
09:00Yeah.
09:00Because they love to have the look that it's single back or you have the eye formation.
09:05They love to have the look where George Kittle's on the line.
09:08Because he's a great blocker, too.
09:11But if you're coming out of there and now he's lined up on Barham, Winters, or...
09:17Would the size differential be just too much for you with Caleb some?
09:21And the ability to, the speed and catch.
09:22And that's what I'm fascinated to see, if Caleb matches up on him when he matches up on him.
09:29Because he's such a good receiver.
09:31Right.
09:32He is a receiver.
09:33Yeah.
09:33As much as he is a tight end.
09:36Maybe even the separation isn't there.
09:38But yeah, the size matters on that one.
09:40And you brought up somebody that I think is really important.
09:43And whether it's George Kittle touchdown receptions or Christian McCaffrey running touchdowns,
09:51they'll just wear you down.
09:53Yeah.
09:53It's the way they play.
09:55They're averaging.
09:56Just those two together put up about two touchdowns per game.
10:01I mean, don't you feel like, when you talked about Fred Warner,
10:04and we didn't even talk about the rest of the defense,
10:06but when you talk about Fred Warner, flip it around.
10:10George Kittle's your Fred Warner on the other side of the ball.
10:12That is fascinating.
10:13You know, he's athletic.
10:15Yeah.
10:15His size is, you know, everything that goes on there, you're like, geez, dude.
10:19He can kick your ass in the middle of the field.
10:20Yeah, he's physical.
10:21And he plays with an intensity and urgency that you're just like,
10:24that's the same dude on the other side of the ball.
10:26And it's a perfect combination.
10:28It was like whenever we wanted Josh Hamilton and Matt Kemp.
10:32We just wanted opposite.
10:33They were both in the same, like, as good as they could be at that one year.
10:37And we were like, yeah, opposite sides of the plate.
10:39Let's do it.
10:39I know this hasn't come up a lot this year,
10:42but I would like to tell you positive steps for the Cowboys defense.
10:49All right.
10:50Their third down defense in the last three weeks has been leaps and bounds better than it had been all
10:59season.
10:59You know how, like, a player starts off with really clunky stats, so even when they pick it up,
11:05they have overall clunky stats and people still think they suck, right?
11:08Yeah.
11:09So you can look at the Cowboys.
11:11They still have the league-worst third down defense.
11:13They give up a first down more than 48% of the time.
11:16Awful.
11:17Worse than the NFL.
11:18But the last three weeks, they have gotten better, better, better.
11:25And, I mean.
11:26You're kidding me.
11:27I'm not kidding you.
11:28And, look, did I choose a three-week sample?
11:31Because, obviously, the game before that was a freaking atrocity when it comes to third down defense.
11:37Yes, that is clearly what I did.
11:39But I think three games is a decent-sized sample of having played nine so far to say I see
11:45progress there.
11:46Now, I don't know if that's going to be enough for you,
11:48especially because when San Francisco converts 40% of their third downs, they're 6-1.
11:54So, like, that feels like a mismatch.
11:56But if you look at the Cowboys' defense in the last three weeks, they've gotten significantly better on third down.
12:02Now.
12:02So you're saying there's a chance.
12:04There is a chance.
12:05That and special teams.
12:06Or you can make the argument, look at the teams they've played.
12:08And, look, that's a tough counter-argument for me to handle.
12:12I'm just trying to give you any positive stat I can find in a matchup that feels like it's overwhelmingly
12:18stacked against you.
12:19From the 254, holy crap.
12:21Am I listening to the Niners broadcast from the substation?
12:24From the 817, just curious.
12:27I really don't think the Cowboys have a chance of winning.
12:30There has been nothing to indicate this.
12:32And that's why.
12:32Are they saying we have not indicated that we feel they have a chance or that the Cowboys have not?
12:37Yeah, I think they're saying I have seen nothing to indicate.
12:40And I told you yesterday, you will need a heroic special teams effort.
12:44And their special teams is horrible.
12:48So, maybe that will give you a chance.
12:49We can do this, man.
12:50We can play football.
12:52That's just, well, hmm.
12:54I guess that's the spirit.
