0:01

What football is doing last week they

0:03

had Brady this week they got pretty

0:05

doing it we're literally doing it differently

0:07

from everybody else. As a matter of fact moving

0:09

forward from this point on I will not make a

0:11

reference to your P.F.D. Ready

0:13

to get into it? Yeah. Alright we're going team

0:15

by team. I would be very careful about its length.

0:17

Am I going to get sued? You got legal on this?

0:20

Let's send you out on the right. P.F.F.

0:23

sucks have a great day everybody. Boom! Welcome

0:33

into the P.F.F.NFL Podcast, Steve Palazzolo,

0:35

Sam Monson. We're live-ish on YouTube

0:38

on a Monday morning previewing

0:40

the Super Bowl because you know what we're flying

0:42

out to the Super Bowl. We could say Super

0:44

Bowl right? We could say it. I

0:46

know it says big game on the screen that you guys are seeing here

0:49

but it's a Super Bowl. Everybody's got

0:51

to say big game. If you're selling something. Yeah.

0:54

If you're advertising. We could say Super

0:56

Bowl. That's what it is. Yeah. If

0:58

it's connected the ad has to be from the big

1:01

game before you get into trouble. I don't

1:03

know. It's also vaguely. Find out

1:05

if Raj is listening. It's vaguely hilarious that that's

1:07

the standard of Sunu. You

1:11

can't connect your product to the Super Bowl

1:13

so if everyone just agrees to

1:15

say the big game we can

1:18

do exactly that. Perfectly fine. Yeah.

1:21

Perfectly fine. Anyway we're live here on a Monday

1:23

morning previewing the game and then we're heading out

1:26

to Vegas right now. We'll be there all week live

1:28

on location in Vegas. Yeah.

1:31

On a frontier air flight. Yeah.

1:33

High class of first class of the skies.

1:36

Thoughts and prayers please. You

1:38

know there's one of my favorite

1:40

things in the world is seeing you holding very

1:43

small things. When you get to

1:45

the frontier seat and realize that the

1:47

tray table in front of you is the size of

1:49

a mobile phone that's going to be

1:51

fine. I've never flown frontier is it all. I

1:55

would hate to trash a potential future sponsor

1:57

of the show. I am not being facetious.

1:59

when I say the tray table is the size

2:02

of a phone. Really? It like

2:04

is this. Is the leg room extra

2:06

tiny there? Oh, it gets the

2:08

same. But you, like the tray

2:10

table is smaller than your hand. Wow.

2:13

Yeah, that's not easy. So it doesn't matter

2:15

because I can't use a tray table because

2:17

it never flattens out over my

2:19

knees. My knees are too high. Well, this one might, just

2:21

because it's that small. So maybe it will. So

2:24

you will not have the benefit of seeing me in the

2:26

middle seat. I have

2:28

upgraded. Oh yeah. At

2:30

least an aisle. At least an aisle. And then

2:32

at the gate, I will do my usual puppy

2:34

dog face. Please, can I get an aisle in

2:36

an exit road? You have something available. I anticipate

2:38

that not being available. So I at least bought the

2:41

aisle because it's Vegas. It's Super Bowl

2:43

week. It's probably going to be loaded. I don't

2:45

think it's the puppy dog look that

2:47

does you anything there. I think it's them. Yeah, I

2:49

think it's them going, oh yeah, we can,

2:51

we'll make that up. And I just want to give a

2:54

shout out before we're getting into the game. I promise a

2:56

shout out to again, a lot of our listeners and our

2:58

viewers that I run into in mobile. We

3:01

were waiting to get a credential at

3:03

the Senior Bowl and somebody looked at me and said, I

3:05

thought you were going to start using your size to

3:08

intimidate people. I said, ah,

3:10

you listen. That's good. You know, like

3:12

using our inside jokes on us. And

3:14

then see, I made sure I got my credential faster. Well,

3:16

you're going to say they looked at you and just yelled out

3:18

big goofy. No,

3:21

but that could happen. We should. Imagine

3:23

you had heckled just like standing

3:26

in a queue being yelled big goofy. It's one

3:28

thing when you're on a baseball diamond or whatever.

3:32

Well, we're going to preview that big game, Niners

3:34

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4:31

right, man, we've decided to preview the

4:33

game at the beginning of the week here. It's

4:35

live. It's evergreen for at least seven days here.

4:39

And oftentimes we do it later in the week, but we're going to get

4:41

it out of the way so you guys can always reference back

4:43

to our Chiefs in 49ers

4:45

preview. Yeah, early preview. And then the

4:48

rest of the week is going to

4:50

be fairly chaotic. Certainly

4:52

Tuesday show. We have yet to determine

4:54

when it's actually going to get recorded.

4:56

So I don't know if you remember

4:58

last year, we went live from Radio

5:00

Row every day the way we normally

5:02

do our show, but the

5:05

internet was so bad that going live

5:07

was problematic. Right? Even though

5:09

we paid for the fancy ass super internet

5:11

that they supply and hardwire into your stuff,

5:13

we paid for that and it was still

5:15

useless. So this year we're not going to

5:17

be going live. We're going to record them

5:19

and then upload them later on so that

5:21

it's not a disastrous experience. The problem

5:23

is that will do one or two things. Number one,

5:26

it's going to happen later in the day because it's going to take a while to

5:28

do that. Right? We're

5:30

on the West coast, you know, even if we record early

5:32

morning Pacific time from Vegas, it's going to take

5:34

a while to upload and it'll be later in the day by the time you

5:36

have it. Number two, we're

5:38

kind of at the mercy of other, you know, of, of

5:40

big time people, right? Big time people like, Hey, yeah, we

5:43

can do your show, but it'll be 10am. And

5:45

then we're like, well, now we gotta, now we

5:47

gotta record our stuff later. So we

5:50

also don't know when they're going to bail on us. As of now,

5:52

Kay Adams is going to join the show, but you know, if she

5:54

gets, gets too busy or something, she's like, no.

5:56

So that's why I have to cut. Certainly

5:59

Tuesday, Tomorrow. Oh God only knows

6:01

when it'll be there, but it'll be there. Are

6:03

so just be ready. I think you'll get your arm.

6:06

Think. You'll get your five shows. Yes!

6:09

My. Other come at different times. Bob

6:11

Storm is said to fifteen or three

6:13

fifteen Tuesday what he saw were just

6:15

for hims they harvest the other on

6:17

the other programming node that we are

6:19

not going to be having a and

6:21

official meeting. Greeted circa as we as

6:23

we floated the idea that we might.

6:26

We. Didn't know a last minute we didn't

6:28

get it arranged enough. I will say unofficially

6:30

if you do want to meet and greet

6:32

us. Will. Be there Wednesday

6:35

late afternoon right Wednesday around for we

6:37

will be recording a show for Thursday.

6:39

Yes! So if you do want to

6:41

come by Circus. Circus. Swam

6:43

will be over there recording Wednesday

6:45

afternoon. For. Thursday? Yeah, It's.

6:48

Called us how they're apparently this week so we're

6:50

not going in the pool colder than Cincy? Yeah,

6:52

Don't. Think the heat that they. Misguided

6:55

really to do if now. It

6:57

makes me think Cincinnati could host a suitable. The

6:59

weather in the weather's better here. The bigs. Your

7:02

what? Assignments: Are you ready to talk

7:04

football? It's girls would just be ready

7:06

to sweet all yours English Everybody just

7:08

be ready. Skipping crazy can be crazy.

7:10

I forty niners and she's man. I'm

7:12

I want to start with us a quest I wanted

7:15

to. I want to talk a little was on full

7:17

size of all I want to talk X's and o's

7:19

but I think one of the themes. This.

7:22

Of. This. Playoffs. Is

7:24

the the stuff that we don't

7:27

necessarily quantify? Ps. After the unquantifiable

7:29

the. The. Mental state of both

7:31

teams. The Psychology: Some of the stuff

7:33

that I like to are push aside

7:36

sometimes because it's hard hard to quantify

7:38

and I think to get here. The

7:40

Chiefs have looks like the team that's been

7:42

there before their experienced and I think a

7:44

big reason why the teachers because they paid

7:46

so few mistakes death over the last three

7:48

games and their opponents have made mistakes and

7:50

that but Chiefs of just played really clean

7:52

football so want to start with the Sam.

7:55

How do you think? The psychology. of

7:58

this game plays out because you have Chiefs

8:00

who have played mistake free football and

8:02

you have Kyle Shanahan who has

8:04

to go to the Super Bowl now

8:06

for the third time the last two times

8:09

he's been in the Super Bowl 2016 with the Falcons

8:11

28 to 3 they blow the lead we know that

8:13

was a big issue and then 2019 with the 49ers

8:15

a 10-point lead into the fourth quarter

8:19

against these Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes same

8:22

thing is it a play calling issue

8:24

can they just not hold the lead Jimmy Garoppolo misses

8:26

a deep post what

8:28

happens what happens if in

8:30

both of those situations right like the Niners have

8:33

a lead or they're trying to make

8:35

a fourth quarter comeback which we know generally

8:37

has been challenging for them even though they

8:40

did it last week how is that gonna play

8:42

out here in this game yeah I mean

8:44

I think that the Chiefs have been

8:46

the bulletproof psychological team throughout the postseason

8:49

they as you said they've been there

8:51

before and you know unlike some other

8:53

teams where you talk about the history

8:55

it's actually it's relevant history like most

8:57

of the players on this team have

9:00

been there before and have done it

9:02

last year you know there's not that

9:04

many that happen whereas some

9:06

other teams like this team back in 2019

9:08

or whatever like there's like seven

9:10

people on the roster that were even at

9:13

that last game you know it's not the

9:16

same but the Chiefs have been there before

9:18

and they've been playing like it like playoff

9:20

Mahomes playoff Kelsey these are real things that

9:23

show up in tangible numbers as well as

9:25

just that feel of experience

9:27

and comfort during the games I

9:30

think there is a chance that the

9:32

49ers have sort of exercised some demons

9:34

over the last couple of weeks in

9:36

terms of those you know Shanahan's never

9:38

come from behind getting into

9:41

the fourth quarter just never come back from a

9:43

big deficit all those kinds of things they've won a

9:45

couple of those games now and

9:47

I think that's probably important for them

9:49

psychologically but they

9:52

haven't done it in the Super Bowl you know and

9:54

as you said Shanahan has been

9:56

to a big game like that and it didn't

9:59

go well So I think

10:01

there's a chance that they're on

10:03

equal footing in that regard. But if

10:05

it's going to go one way, that

10:07

intangible psychological stuff, it's going to

10:09

go Kansas city's way. Yeah. That's my

10:12

feeling with it as well. Right. I mean, then

10:14

you come out of the Baltimore Ravens AFC championship

10:16

game and you're like, why didn't they run the

10:18

ball? What happened? And did they just, did

10:20

they just get to a point where they messed

10:23

with themselves mentally and they changed the game plan.

10:25

They were like, Oh, no, we're gonna, we're

10:28

gonna do what they don't expect. You know, it's the chiefs.

10:30

Therefore we have to score more and we don't need to

10:32

run the ball as much. Like the Ravens took themselves out

10:35

of their own game plan. Will Shanahan even do

10:38

that early on? Will they run the ball too? I mean, will

10:40

they pass the ball too much? Will they rely on their

10:43

outside playmakers more than they, than they should? You

10:45

know, again, every week I like to say the

10:49

Kansas city run defense has their holes and

10:51

then in a good running team can exploit

10:53

it. We've seen that at times throughout the season. Haven't

10:55

really seen it. Um, we saw it one

10:57

time in the playoffs with the bills and

11:00

I thought the bills game plan was great. I thought the Ravens

11:02

could replicate it and, and slow

11:04

the game down and, uh,

11:06

you know, limit possessions and

11:08

then just hope to make one or two stops defensively.

11:10

The bills just couldn't make those stops. I

11:13

go back to that though. The Niners can do that. They

11:15

can play ball control. They could throw

11:18

the underneath stuff. Debo Samuel after the catch

11:20

Christian McCaffrey running the ball. Um,

11:22

so I think the Niners are equipped to

11:24

stay within themselves in their game plan should match with

11:26

the type of game plan. I think that can, that

11:28

can beat the chief. So let's start on that side

11:30

of the ball Niners offense going up

11:33

against this chief's defense spags

11:36

been so good, man game plan. And

11:38

what's he going to do against Shanahan in this

11:40

49ers offense? Yeah. My, my

11:42

big question is whether the chiefs sort of

11:44

stick with what they have done most of

11:46

the season or if they do change it

11:48

up and do something dramatically different and in

11:50

particular, what I mean by that is whether

11:54

they stick to a man heavy

11:56

coverage type of system, right? The Kansas city

11:58

chiefs have run man coverage a lot. this

12:00

season, I think they're top five, but

12:03

the 49ers have this absolute nightmare

12:06

row of individual man

12:08

cover, beater, playmakers, right? George

12:11

Kittle, Deebo Samuel, Brandon Iyuk,

12:13

Kyle Juszczyk, Christian McCaffrey, we've

12:15

talked all the way through

12:17

the year, there's no team

12:19

in the NFL that has all

12:21

of those guys covered individually, right? The, you

12:23

know, team like Baltimore was about, was one

12:25

that you think maybe they could do it.

12:27

Kansas City's had some great

12:29

performances on defense, but there's multiple players

12:32

you would say probably

12:34

don't match up well with their equivalent

12:36

of that guy, right? Now George Kittle

12:38

dealing with an injury, maybe he's not a hundred percent,

12:41

that would help. Christian McCaffrey's been

12:43

banged up all the way through the playoffs, but

12:45

he's been playing through it and hasn't shown any

12:48

sort of impact because of it. Deebo Samuel

12:50

gets the extra week of rest

12:52

with his shoulder as well, so it's

12:54

not like they're a hundred percent healthy, but they

12:56

seem healthy enough that they're all going to be

12:59

playing and that's probably an issue. We've

13:01

also said one of

13:04

Spagnolo's sort of best traits

13:06

I think is individual

13:08

game plans, you know, coming in with an

13:10

individual plan to stop a specific team. He's

13:12

got two weeks to work on this 49ers

13:15

problem, does he come up

13:17

with a completely different game plan specific

13:19

to that to try and stop

13:21

them or do they just rely

13:23

on having the horses on defense to be able to

13:25

match up in man coverage and if so, how's that

13:27

going to go? Yeah, the

13:30

other thing I've said about this Chiefs defense too

13:32

is like they'll play that man coverage and everything

13:34

and they I think generally do a

13:36

good job of taking away that intermediate 10 to 19 yard level

13:38

and they make you throw

13:40

the ball underneath or throw the ball

13:42

over the top and when you throw the ball over

13:44

the top and teams are playing, you know, physical press

13:47

man like we saw against Tyree Kill, there's not a

13:49

lot of those opportunities for the, you know, receivers

13:51

to get behind the defense. You might have a couple

13:53

here and there, so I think the Niners have to

13:55

find that balance of taking those shot plays, but I

13:57

think it's going to be a lot of Deebo Samuel

13:59

and Christian McCaffrey in this game,

14:01

both run game and through

14:04

the air. I do think McCaffrey has

14:06

that advantage against most linebackers in the

14:08

NFL anyway, but Drew Tranquill probably

14:11

get Willie Gay back who missed the AFC

14:13

championship, probably be out there. He's a very

14:15

athletic linebacker in coverage, but I still like

14:18

McCaffrey and the ability to move him around. I think it

14:21

could be one of those games where he has those six

14:23

to eight catches, but it's not

14:25

just check downs, it's those ankle routes, it's him lined up

14:27

out wide. And then Debo, I

14:29

think just has to be special in this game.

14:33

To me, that's the bottom line for the Niners though. Not

14:36

that Ayuk, Tittle, Debo,

14:38

and McCaffrey, they're not all going to light up the

14:41

stat sheet. Not every last one of them, but

14:44

when their time comes, when you have that

14:46

right matchup, whether it's Tittle, whether

14:48

it's Debo, whether it's Ayuk, they have to make

14:51

those plays. So if the Niners are going

14:53

to win this game, we wake up

14:55

Monday morning, head to the airport immediately

14:57

because we got an early flight. We wake

14:59

up Monday morning and we say, boy,

15:01

the Niners, the Niners were just

15:03

too tough to cover. No, no, no. We'll

15:05

be doing that on Sunday night after the game.

15:09

We'll be saying it Sunday night. Yes, you're

15:11

right. I use a generic Monday morning.

15:13

Yes, so that is what the people do need to know.

15:16

We will be going live right after

15:18

the game. And then the other, the storyline to keep

15:20

an eye on this week is whether or

15:22

not I'll get into the game. It's a big story. You've

15:25

got Taylor Swift. You

15:28

have me getting into the game. It's a

15:30

big story. Much like last year, the timing

15:32

of that will be limited to how long

15:34

it takes whoever's in the stadium to get

15:37

their ass back from there to the hotel.

15:39

Correct. That took a while last time. So

15:42

the other thing we're going to keep an eye on, if I

15:44

don't get in, how many wings am

15:47

I going to eat? Last year,

15:49

I think I ordered 40. Surely

15:52

50. I may have gotten 50.

15:55

This year, another year. new

16:00

me yeah we can do 75 75 yeah we do 75

16:02

wings especially if you're at the game

16:05

and you take a while to get back you know and

16:08

more time how many wings could you eat in

16:11

a sitting depends on the size of

16:13

the wing you know what the chicken they're

16:15

all like vaguely the same places have those

16:17

monster you know but like a normal size

16:19

chicken wing that everybody pictures when they say

16:21

how many wings could you eat I mean

16:23

I could do it of a normal

16:25

size good size 50 50 I

16:29

feel like I guess I used to go to this place in

16:31

college that was 10 cent wings or whatever it was at the

16:33

time but they knew they were doing sent 10 cent wings so

16:35

they were like they were mini sign wasn't 10 bucks for 50

16:37

it was 5 cent wings

16:42

maybe whatever it was 10 cent wings either

16:44

way 10 what

16:48

it doesn't make mathematical sense was

16:51

it maybe it's 25 whatever they were I

16:54

would eat a 50 wings I would get 50 every single time

16:56

sometimes I got 10 you know 10 more when I was done

16:58

but they were tiny yeah forget what the

17:01

price was that's what's messing me up I just remember like

17:03

dropping 10 bucks be like give me all the wings for

17:05

10 bucks you know give me all the stuff but

17:07

they were tiny like they knew they're they're you know

17:09

sending them out in bulk yeah some places they're bigger

17:12

I don't know well I'm gonna

17:14

eat a lot this week you'll you'll all kinds

17:16

of fancy Vegas watch parties I keep getting emailed

17:18

about you could go hit up one of those

17:20

I haven't been emailed about any watch parties you

17:22

know you have a credential you have a game

17:25

invite and a watch party invite well I places

17:27

like you know circa with their giant stadium

17:29

swim TV and stuff I do I do

17:32

know the owner of circa I'm sure I could get some

17:34

sort of a some some sort of hookup and you'll need

17:36

to otherwise it's gonna cost some money

17:38

yeah I have to go talk to Derek anyway

17:42

yeah Niners offense first the

17:44

chief's defense Charles and many who's out remember

17:46

he got injured in the AFC championship game

17:48

we thought that potentially I remember

17:51

at the time they didn't think it was a season

17:54

ending but it was so a many who's out that's a big

17:56

loss Joe Tuni should be back on the other on the other

17:58

side of the ball but This

18:00

Chiefs defensive line. I think the other the

18:03

other thing here about the the Niners The

18:05

grades have said all year the pass blocking is

18:07

not great in San Francisco other than Trent

18:10

Williams And you have Chris Jones who

18:12

we know will move around the formation He'll

18:14

go find Colt McTivits on a few of

18:16

those key downs and it always seems to Always

18:19

seems to show up in these big games whether it's

18:21

a bad pass a sack whatever it might be That

18:23

is one place I think the Chiefs could have the advantage with

18:26

their defensive line It really is his ability

18:28

to time that up is kind of insane. I mean

18:30

even TJ wattish Think

18:33

about the Ravens game where remember they were

18:35

backed up in their own one-yard line

18:37

Baltimore And they went on that big

18:39

drive that ended in the

18:41

Lamar Jackson turnover, but the very

18:43

first play of that drive Chris Jones

18:46

blasted his way through the middle

18:48

of that offensive line and only

18:50

a blatant uncalled tripping Penalty on

18:52

the running back stopped him

18:54

from creating like a safety immediately

18:56

Right that one play of the game and

18:59

that that's the game right there Like if

19:01

that's a safety and they kicked the ball away back to

19:03

Kansas City that's game over like Chris

19:05

Jones timed that up and it didn't really get

19:07

noticed because You got tripped and

19:09

didn't get to make the play but his ability to go Okay,

19:12

right now is the highest leverage time. I

19:15

need a sack. This is the

19:17

play I'm just gonna wreck the game is kind

19:19

of crazy Like there aren't many defensive players that

19:21

are able to do that TJ watt you mentioned

19:23

the Aaron Donald did it in the Super Bowl

19:25

Yeah, where he's like, right. That's it. No more

19:27

game over. I'm gonna make the plays and the

19:29

game's done I mean Jones can

19:31

genuinely do that and okay losing a man who's

19:33

a big loss because it's another player that can

19:36

make those Not necessarily those

19:38

plays but impact plays Karloff this is

19:40

definitely been better this year That

19:44

49ers offensive line you've been

19:46

saying it all year long It is a weakness

19:48

on paper and most teams haven't been able to

19:50

turn it into weakness In

19:52

reality like on the on the field Chris

19:54

Jones is the type of player that can do that and

19:57

also It's been better

19:59

through the play playoffs in recent weeks,

20:01

whatever, this is the type of

20:03

defensive front that can sort of send it back to

20:06

being where it was more of a weakness earlier in

20:08

the year. And then when

20:10

I watched the Chiefs defense, I'm

20:12

watching Spaggs call the game and

20:14

it just seems like he has a really

20:16

good feel for when to send the extra

20:18

rusher, when to speed up, heat up the

20:21

quarterback, right? When to sit back and play

20:23

coverage and there was

20:25

other issues with Lamar Jackson

20:27

and the Ravens, but you saw that level of

20:29

indecision with Lamar Jackson. He would drop back and there

20:31

was so many plays where he would just try to buy

20:34

time, buy time. The first read wasn't there, second read wasn't

20:36

there. Lamar was trying

20:38

to, as he always does,

20:40

go through his reads, go one to two to three and

20:42

nothing was open. And whether that was,

20:44

you know, they had too many

20:46

pass blockers, they were ready for a pressure and

20:48

the Chiefs dropped out, there was indecision in Lamar

20:51

Jackson and Spaggs seems to

20:53

be really good at that. The other psychological

20:55

aspect I'll add to this, Brock

20:57

Purdy has started slow the

20:59

last two weeks and we blamed the rain

21:02

two weeks ago, but last week it happened as

21:04

well in clear weather. And I

21:06

always joke about the mid

21:08

90s Brett Favre games where John Madden

21:10

would be calling a game and

21:13

he would just like chuckle because Brett Favre would always

21:15

drop back and like throw his first pass into the

21:17

third row and Madden would be, oh,

21:19

you know, he's always fired up,

21:21

he's so excited, you know, and he misses

21:24

his throw. And there was this

21:26

psychological aspect of Brett needed to kind of settle

21:28

in. I don't think

21:31

Purdy can afford to do that in this

21:33

game, in part because Kyle

21:35

Shanahan's a great game planner, right? You always talk about

21:37

that first 15 and the

21:40

beginning script, Purdy can't afford

21:42

to miss those throws. And

21:45

so he started slow the last few weeks. Is

21:47

that a nerves thing? Is it just getting settled? This

21:49

is the game? I don't think Purdy can afford to

21:52

do that this week. No, I mean, whether it's starting

21:54

slow or whether you simply characterize it as he hasn't

21:56

played very well in the playoffs outside of right at

21:58

the end of the game. you know just

22:00

enough to kind of pull it out of the fire however

22:03

you want to describe

22:06

that dynamic the point is I don't

22:08

think he can have a game like

22:10

that and win against the Chiefs like

22:13

you know that we're gonna get onto Mahomes in a bit Mahomes

22:16

as he said the big difference

22:18

between him in the postseason and him in

22:21

the regular season is he just doesn't make

22:23

mistakes like almost none it's insane actually the

22:25

level of mistake free football he's been playing

22:27

in the postseason and generally for his career

22:29

plays in the postseason if he does that

22:31

again in the Super Bowl and you get

22:33

like the best version of Mahomes you

22:36

can't have Brock Purdy muddling

22:38

his way through for two quarters and then trying

22:40

to turn it on late in the game it's

22:43

not gonna be enough like they're already gonna be

22:45

out of sight and you're unlikely to make that

22:47

kind of comeback against the Patrick Mahomes Andy Reid

22:50

Spagnolo coached type of

22:52

team it's not I don't think it's gonna happen so if

22:55

the 49ers want to win this game that

22:58

group of playmakers that we talked about before they're

23:00

going to need Brock Purdy to be the facilitator

23:02

and to get them the ball and not screw

23:04

it up all right anything

23:06

else to add to this side of the ball I

23:09

think my quick summation is I can't

23:11

wait to see the battle between Kyle Shanahan and

23:13

Spaggs you know game plan oriented

23:15

defense the the

23:18

Trent McDuffie going up against Deebo

23:20

Samuel and Lageria Snead going

23:22

up against Brandon Ayuk the individual matchups

23:25

to me though because those corners have been so

23:28

good I think it's gonna be the moving around

23:30

of Deebo Samuel to get away from Trent McDuffie

23:32

in the slot but moving Deebo around getting

23:35

the ball to him in space McCaffrey catching the

23:37

ball out of the backfield and

23:39

whatever they get with George Kittle I think they can

23:41

attack maybe Kansas City's linebackers a little

23:43

bit more than the corners and

23:45

I do think the Niners have to run the

23:47

ball I think they need to stay in some

23:50

level of rhythm because McCaffrey will break off the

23:52

38 yarder like he did the

23:54

other day in against the Packers he will break those

23:56

big plays I think they have to stay within

23:59

their game plan Yeah, I mean this is

24:01

the interesting side the most interesting side of

24:03

the ball I think because The

24:06

49ers offense has been extremely good this season

24:08

It's been virtually unstoppable and then only a

24:10

couple teams have been able to cause it

24:12

any kinds of problems and most of the

24:15

time that's happened It's been

24:17

because they were missing people right because Deebo went

24:19

down or Trent Williams went down or both of

24:21

them went down When they have had everybody out

24:23

there and everybody healthy

24:25

reasonably healthy They've

24:27

probably been the best offense in the NFL and they're

24:30

gonna be going up against one of the best defenses

24:32

in the NFL and Certainly the best defense that's ever

24:34

been paired with Patrick Mahomes That's

24:36

a real strength on strength matchup if

24:39

they get if the 49ers get Brock Purdy

24:41

Bouncing back and playing you know his

24:43

better game all the way through Then

24:46

I do think that this is a real sort

24:49

of Titanic matchup like that 49ers offense has been

24:51

amazing and when Brock Purdy's on It's

24:53

so hard to stop all components of that

24:56

Chiefs defense has given up 41 points

25:00

and they you know Romo kept saying the other day

25:03

Haven't given up more than 27 in

25:05

a game. They'd be one of the first teams in

25:07

history I think to never give up 30. Yeah, they

25:10

could do it again team with this number of games.

25:12

Yeah, obviously well Yeah,

25:15

and then one of the best

25:17

playoff runs in history as far as points allowed

25:19

go for the for the defense so

25:22

It is it is gonna be a fascinating side

25:24

of the ball and then again the psychological aspect

25:27

if the Niners are up a Score in

25:30

the fourth quarter as the Eagles were last year as

25:32

the Niners were in 2019 Finding

25:35

that balance and coming down to game

25:37

management Cal Shanahan's game management in addition

25:39

to his play calling with the lead

25:42

Has been in question for years. It's been it's

25:44

been a thing How much is

25:46

he gonna adjust how much has he learned? How much

25:49

does he? You know remember the

25:51

old, you know Matt Ryan taking a sack to

25:53

lead to the 28 to 3 How

25:55

much does that affect Play calling here

25:57

in the fourth quarter if they have a lead gonna

26:00

keep an eye on? That yeah, I mean Shanahan? Shanahan.

26:02

Was scarred by that twenty eight three

26:05

Super Bowl loss right? Like how he

26:07

actually handles the game. I think people

26:09

individually his ah reaction debt to this

26:11

game might be the most interesting of

26:13

anybody in the in the game in

26:15

addition to I think it if it

26:17

was in the Superbowl that your to

26:20

there were very conservative before the house.

26:22

Just. As they were two weeks ago against the

26:24

Packers right, they tried a they just played for the

26:26

field goal missed the field goal. Can't.

26:29

Do that against the Chiefs no matter how like the

26:31

Chiefs office has been Cook in here in the I'll

26:33

post and I know the only scored seventeen points last

26:35

week, but they've been doing a good job of moving

26:37

the ball generally. You. Can't. Just.

26:40

Rely on feel bulls. plus you have a

26:42

a rookie kicker and Jake Moody. It's also

26:44

an interesting dynamic because the Forty Niners are

26:46

favored like that. line didn't swing back towards

26:49

Kansas City, it's unable to fact if anything

26:51

without the other way and go on one

26:53

and a half. When we first talked about

26:55

it coming out of game have to So

26:57

it it briefly swung in the direction of

27:00

the cheese and then went back am so.

27:02

You. Know you were going to. I think

27:05

we're going to eat Vaguely similar in

27:07

terms of how we describe this game,

27:09

but you like you're facing Andy Reid,

27:11

my home's Kelsey Spagnuolo. That defense? You're

27:13

facing those teeth in the Superbowl. You

27:15

have to play. Like. Your the

27:17

underdog, but they're not like. They're. Actually favored

27:19

for the game so you know there's

27:21

there's cover if he wants to play

27:23

conservatively and be like now I'm a

27:25

wasn't taken chances on this planet by

27:27

the numbers, you know. Yeah.

27:30

That's what's interesting about football, right on Christmas Eve?

27:32

And. Christmas Day was only about

27:34

six games ago for both of these teams. The

27:36

Niners last pretty bad to that for eight Ravens,

27:39

but the Chiefs blast badly. To the

27:41

Raiders. And I but that's a different.

27:43

Teased him for the had a bad all sides

27:45

and mom's worst game of his career. We've seen

27:47

anything like that throughout the playoffs here so I'll

27:49

go to the other some sort of on a

27:52

minute organ be about robots talk about my homes

27:54

and you can be to with prize packs that

27:56

with patch of homes free square for home throws

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for one or more you. The. You.

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We have taken advantage of the free square with

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my homes on the find. it really quick here.

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I'm. Homes more than a half passing yards.

28:10

That's part of our line up here. We've got

28:12

branded I, You've gone more than sixty two and

28:14

half receiving yards we have as a of attack

28:16

or going more than a half. Rushing or receiving

28:18

touchdowns are either one works there. Is

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also decided to add up Patreon homes and

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property don't more than thirty and a half.

28:25

rushing yards Chris Jones gone more than a

28:27

quarter of a sack so the half sachs.

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28:32

Mccaffrey gone more than ninety and half. Rushing

28:34

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Start with the other side of all possible homes

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in the Chiefs against this Forty Niners. do

30:01

Last time we saw them was the regular season last

30:03

year, and my initial

30:05

instinct is the Chiefs offense

30:08

is going to move the ball the same way they have the

30:10

last few weeks. They move the ball fairly

30:13

easily against the Ravens early in the game, definitely

30:15

got shut down in the second half. But

30:19

when we talk about the mental state

30:21

of these teams, I think

30:23

one of the biggest challenges in beating the Chiefs the last

30:25

few weeks is they just came out firing. They came out

30:27

and scored on their first drive against the Dolphins. They

30:30

came out and looked unstoppable

30:32

against the Bills. And they

30:34

came out and looked unstoppable against the Ravens on

30:36

their first two drives. And the Ravens were

30:39

supposed to be their biggest challenge defensively.

30:41

I think they were. I mean, that

30:43

Ravens defense did a fantastic job against

30:47

the Chiefs offense last game. OK,

30:49

the first drive, not so much.

30:51

Kansas City went down, scored, basically

30:54

slapped them in the face. But after that, they

30:56

did a really good job clamping down on the

30:58

offense, making everything difficult. And the Chiefs

31:00

did just enough to keep the ball moving, keep

31:02

drives extended, and put up enough points, and

31:05

obviously turned the ball over. I

31:11

think we credit Baltimore's defense and the amazing job

31:13

that they did, and say even despite that, Kansas

31:18

City made enough plays. So

31:20

again, I go back to last

31:22

year's game when the

31:25

Chiefs offense was much better last season from

31:27

start to finish. But the last

31:29

time they played was week seven. Chiefs won 44 to

31:31

23 against the Niners. And

31:34

the Niners were hot at the time. They weren't as

31:36

hot maybe as they got hotter, I

31:38

think, as the season went on. And

31:40

the points in this particular season where they looked like

31:42

the best team, where they just ran through the Eagles

31:45

and some other teams, and

31:47

they just established themselves as the best team until

31:49

the Ravens took them down. But

31:52

44 to 23 in last year's game. My

31:55

big takeaway from that game was the way

31:57

the Chiefs made Nick Bosa in

31:59

the Niners. offensive line just

32:01

irrelevant basically. And Bosa in

32:03

particular, it felt like the

32:06

Chiefs just did, just made him wrong on

32:08

every play. And Andy Reid

32:10

and the Chiefs have a really good feel for

32:14

taking pass rushers out of the game. And this

32:16

is a quick hitting passing attack. Mahomes just gets

32:18

rid of the ball as fast as possible. It's

32:21

a yak driven attack. And

32:23

I think that does negate what

32:25

the Niners built as an advantage on that defensive

32:27

line. Bring it in Chase Young and bring it

32:29

in Javon Hargrave in this offseason. Can

32:32

the Niners actually get any pressure? I don't know that

32:35

they can because of how quickly Mahomes and the Chiefs

32:37

get rid of the ball, put the ball into the

32:39

hands of their playmakers. Yeah, I mean, that's certainly going

32:41

to be the goal. It's

32:43

worth noting that it's a worse Kansas City

32:45

offensive line than it was a year ago.

32:49

The tackle change,

32:51

I guess you would say, in the offseason.

32:54

It hasn't worked. I mean, both those spots are weaker

32:56

than they were a year ago now. They've been able

32:58

to make it not a problem. But

33:02

one of those guys is blocking Nick Bosa on pretty

33:04

much every play. That's harder than it was

33:06

a year ago, even if you're still able to create some of

33:09

the same plays. So

33:11

I think that that is a different dynamic

33:13

here. The other element is going to

33:15

be the whole blitzing component

33:17

of it. Are the 49ers willing

33:20

to get aggressive and come after

33:22

Mahomes for multiple different

33:24

reasons? Number one, it's always been, you

33:26

don't do that to Mahomes. He's too good. But

33:29

the last couple of weeks, now, the Dolphins

33:31

did it basically by necessity because they ran

33:33

out of pass rutchers. Baltimore did it for

33:35

different reasons. But teams have been coming after

33:37

Mahomes more in the last few weeks. It's

33:39

also, remember, didn't they? The 49ers,

33:41

now, this is another one of those ones where now

33:44

most of these people weren't playing that game. But in

33:47

that Super Bowl, Wasp, they blitzed,

33:49

right? That was, they blitzed the hard play. My man,

33:51

maybe. Right. They came after him on that play. And

33:53

he just backed up and then made the play anyway.

33:55

So that's always an interesting element

33:57

when you're playing Mahomes, is do you want to

33:59

get. aggressive and try and force the

34:01

issue knowing that he'll

34:04

beat you every now and again. Yeah,

34:06

and I like to always

34:08

reiterate too, like beating the blitz is not

34:10

just the quarterback, it's the quarterback plus receivers

34:12

being on the same page and having outlets. And

34:15

I think the, like Travis Kelsey has looked like

34:17

Travis Kelsey. I mean, this whole season, there's

34:21

been points where he looked a little bit

34:23

older, he looked banged up, he was dropping

34:25

passes and all of a sudden he's there,

34:27

right? And he's slaloming through the secondary and

34:29

finding the open spot. So they're back. But

34:31

I do wonder, and Rishi Rice has continued

34:33

to just be on the same page with

34:35

Mahomes as that outlet. Yeah, he has. But

34:38

I do wonder if the general dynamic of

34:40

those Chiefs receivers are why teams are coming

34:42

after Mahomes a little bit more is now

34:44

last year, you don't want to do that because he'll find

34:47

the right place to go with the ball and they'll make

34:49

a play. Now it's like what we've seen most of the

34:51

season of those guys not making a play, even

34:53

when Mahomes has put the ball in the right place, maybe

34:56

we don't trust them to make the play anymore. Maybe

34:58

we're willing to go and leave a guy on an

35:00

island against any one of these receivers because we don't

35:02

actually trust them making the play at the end of

35:04

it. Most of the time,

35:06

like Travis Kelsey, except, excepted maybe,

35:08

and now Rishi Rice is putting

35:10

himself into that conversation. But I

35:13

wonder if defenses are looking at this

35:15

Chiefs offense and saying, it's

35:18

actually easier to be aggressive

35:20

now than it used to be. We can take

35:22

some more chances because we're not 100% convinced

35:24

they will burn us if we do. The

35:27

one other aspect here is the run game

35:29

for the Chiefs, the Niners run defense. You

35:32

know, they definitely weren't good against the Packers

35:34

in particular. And they had some

35:36

struggles against the Lions for for much of the

35:38

game last week as well. Run

35:41

defense grade last week of 44 for the

35:43

for the Niners run defense grade of 53

35:47

against the Packers. And I reiterated

35:49

what Craig Olson said during the broadcast, hey, the

35:51

Niners have given up the fewest rushing yards, but

35:53

it's not because they're great at run defense at

35:55

the game flow thing. That's, you know, they face

35:57

fewer rushes when teams have run the ball against

35:59

them. struggled and I feel

36:02

like I say this a lot about the Chiefs you know

36:04

is this the week where they actually rely on the run

36:06

game a little bit more they're still gonna be pass

36:09

heavy in neutral situations they're still

36:11

gonna be pass heavy but

36:13

I don't think this is one of the games where

36:15

Patrick Mahomes has 30 dropbacks and Pacheco has just three

36:18

carries I think it'll be more balanced from

36:20

a Chiefs perspective because their offensive line is

36:22

good run blocking up front and

36:26

they might have that advantage against the

36:28

Niners I just think they have the

36:30

Chiefs have those answers to

36:33

keep the defense off balance the

36:35

Niners have good linebackers well

36:37

if you keep them honest with the run

36:39

game they won't get as good depth as

36:42

far as coverage goes the Chiefs have the

36:44

screen game and again every it was like

36:46

everything that Nick Bosa in particular was doing

36:48

in the last matchup as soon as he was starting to get

36:50

a beat on the pass rush they're throwing

36:52

a screen so he looks like he's winning and they're

36:54

softening and letting him go they just had him like

36:56

on a string and I could see them doing that

36:58

with the entire Niners front seven

37:01

here run game screen game yak plays and

37:03

then Wilma Holmes hit those shot plays they

37:05

have they had not hit shot please all

37:08

season I get his passer rating throwing the ball

37:10

20 plus yards was like what in the 30s

37:13

or something this season but

37:15

in the playoffs he's hitting those right he hit

37:17

Mark was Valdez scaling behind the defense to seal

37:19

it he's hit some of those passes against

37:22

the Bills and against the Dolphins when they needed them I

37:26

think that's why teams are blitzing is they're

37:28

trying to say hey go yeah go try to hit one over

37:30

the top you haven't done it all year but in the playoffs

37:32

they have been yeah at least a

37:34

couple of them I I

37:37

think that 49ers run defense is

37:39

vulnerable on the edges

37:41

particularly against explosive players like they gave up

37:43

plays to Aaron Jones who was playing out

37:46

of his mind they gave up plays to

37:48

Jamir Gibbs who played really well they were

37:50

spamming off till a fumble right that kind

37:52

of thing yeah those those toss we plays

37:55

those sort of pin pull the general outside

37:57

zone stuff trying to get around the edge

38:00

Which I mean the Chiefs can

38:02

definitely do that but Pacheco is a very different

38:04

running back to You know those two

38:06

that we mentioned in particular Jones and Jamir Gibbs

38:09

now David Montgomery had some success as well So

38:11

it's not like you're strictly limited to that style

38:13

of player, but you know, I wonder if we

38:15

start to see some more of those Meekle

38:19

Hardman type jet sweep tri-pays like let's

38:21

let's achieve the same thing by a

38:23

slightly different route Let's go even

38:26

or even Rishi Rice can do those kinds of things Let's

38:28

give a run Let's give a wide receiver a

38:30

jet type of motion to try and get around

38:32

the corner rather than Trying to

38:35

get Pacheco running east west as opposed to

38:37

north south. That's definitely I think an

38:39

element that the Chiefs can Lean

38:41

on I think their running game has been a

38:43

really important part of their like offensive sort of

38:46

resurgence or success late in the season But

38:49

we need to talk about Just the

38:51

level of mistake free football that Mahomes is

38:53

playing Timo Riske put out

38:55

a tweet that sums it

38:57

up really well Number one Mahomes

38:59

has zero turnover the play so far in the

39:01

playoffs That itself is

39:04

insane his career turnover the play rate

39:06

is 1.7 percent I

39:08

think which in any given year

39:10

would be either leading the league

39:12

or right around leading the league figure, right? So

39:14

once you get to the postseason Against

39:16

theoretically the best teams in the NFL when

39:19

his team needs him the most he becomes

39:21

the most Unlikely quarterback in the

39:23

NFL to put the ball in harm's way. That's pretty

39:25

crazy But as

39:27

Timo points out he also led the

39:30

regular season with the lowest rate of

39:32

negatively graded dropbacks So he's

39:34

not just avoiding big mistakes

39:36

He avoids small mistakes better

39:38

than any quarterback in the NFL and

39:41

then during the playoffs That

39:43

number has come down four percentage points to

39:45

six point three percent So he was already

39:47

leading the league in terms of being the

39:49

least likely quarterback to just make an error

39:51

of any kind and now He's

39:54

gotten four percentage points better that in the

39:56

postseason in addition to you know Kelsey

39:58

stepping up his game and all those kinds of

40:00

things. So it's like

40:02

dealing with vintage

40:04

prime Tom Brady, which is they're

40:07

unlikely to give you anything.

40:09

You're going to have to go and take this yourself.

40:12

You are going to have to play mistake-free

40:14

football because they probably are. And

40:17

that somewhat includes just the negative

40:19

plays from sacks. We know that Mahomes

40:22

avoiding sacks is as good as it

40:24

gets and historic type of runs over

40:26

these last couple years. So

40:29

that's the issue for

40:31

the Niners. If you watch these plays,

40:33

I mean, if you highlight real

40:35

for Mahomes in the playoffs,

40:38

there's five or six pretty good plays

40:40

in there, but it's the consistency. I

40:43

try to remind people every year about quarterback

40:45

play when we're talking about the draft. And

40:48

I get caught up in the can-do and he can

40:50

do this and he can do these high-end things. He

40:52

can do stuff out of structure, but Mahomes' superpower, the

40:55

last couple years in particular, definitely on this playoff

40:57

run, has been everything that you highlighted. It's just

40:59

the consistency. When I got a five-yard hitch, I'm

41:02

putting it on the guy, and five

41:04

turns into seven and we're on schedule and we're

41:06

not taking negative plays. Then I think

41:08

back to last year's Super Bowl. And I

41:10

thought that the Eagles defense, which wasn't, it was good,

41:12

not great. It was a good Eagles defense last year.

41:15

But I thought maybe they're equipped against

41:17

this Chiefs team and a Mahomes who had

41:19

a banged up ankle. Maybe they're

41:21

equipped because they had eight pass rushers who

41:24

could get after the quarterback. And there

41:26

was a field issue. The field

41:28

was very slippery. But the Eagles

41:30

with Hassan Riddick and Fletcher Cox and all

41:32

the guys that they had, they couldn't get

41:35

pressure. They couldn't do it against the Chiefs

41:37

because of the release being so

41:39

quick. And of course, when you get pressure on Mahomes, he knows

41:41

how to find the escape route and get

41:43

out there to scramble or whatever he's got to do. So I

41:46

just don't know if

41:48

the Niners with Nick Bosa and Eric

41:50

Armstead and Jevon Hargrave and Chase Young

41:54

in Randy Gregory, I don't know if they

41:57

can get the type of pressure that's needed to slow

41:59

down the game. down the Chiefs offense. I don't know

42:01

that they can because the

42:03

Chiefs have offensive answers. They've

42:06

got that play calling feel for when to screen

42:08

it, when to get, you know, when to soften

42:10

the pass rush and then you have Mahomes

42:12

with his sack avoidance and his mistake free ball he's gonna get rid

42:14

of the ball. So I think that

42:16

the Chiefs offense negates

42:18

a lot of what the Niners love to do defensively

42:21

which is get pressure with that front four. Yeah

42:23

absolutely. Like I think

42:26

that whole element is is

42:29

a big part of this game. The 49ers rely

42:31

on that front four being nasty being able

42:33

to get after you. But like

42:35

Mahomes is Mahomes. He's not

42:38

being impacted by that as much

42:40

as other quarterbacks. He's not gonna take the sacks

42:42

and apparently he doesn't make mistakes off the back

42:44

of it either. So even

42:46

just whether or not they're

42:48

able to get pressure the impact of that pressure

42:51

against Mahomes is less than it is against other

42:53

quarterbacks. Individual matchup

42:55

wise, you know, we're gonna see a

42:57

little Fred Warner going up

42:59

against, you know, Travis Kelce. The Niners

43:01

play, you know, from a

43:04

cover one perspective. They're at the bottom, bottom half

43:06

of the league. They're not gonna play a ton

43:08

of a ton of man coverage. I'm

43:10

always curious if teams try to man up

43:12

against the Chiefs a little bit more because

43:15

Mahomes has become that he's, Romo

43:17

again, you know, that zone killer, right? He he

43:20

has gone from, you know,

43:23

natural playmaker who's kind of, you know, learning the game

43:25

and feel to yeah, I'm just gonna I'm gonna go

43:27

to the right place with the ball at the right

43:29

time. And when you face zone after

43:31

zone after zone, it's

43:34

gonna be a challenge to to slow down Mahomes.

43:36

I do wonder how much the Niners try to

43:38

man up a little bit. Do they have some

43:40

reps with Travarius Ward going up against Travis Kelce?

43:42

Do they try to mix that up when teams

43:44

have had success against the Chiefs? They

43:47

do put two and three players in and

43:49

around Travis Kelce. And sometimes that is zone, right? You

43:51

have two linebackers in the field. He's gonna run to

43:53

the middle of the field. You're just gonna pinch him

43:55

and make them go somewhere else. Kelce

43:57

was tearing it up last week.

44:00

Against Baltimore. I do wonder how much the Niners

44:02

just say we're not letting that dude beat us

44:04

Let's look if our a velda's countless

44:06

scaling gets behind the defense again against

44:08

the every Thomas or something Let him let him

44:11

go right maybe he'll drop it So

44:13

I do wonder how aggressive the Niners will be man

44:15

up a little bit Cover

44:17

one with a double over Kelsey

44:19

or simply compressing their zones his

44:21

way remember when the the Chiefs

44:23

played the Giants When

44:25

they had Kelsey and Tyreek Hill

44:28

and the Giants Showed

44:30

up with this defensive game plan that caused them

44:32

all kinds of problems And this was like when

44:34

teams first started playing weird stuff against the Chiefs

44:36

Yeah When they still had both those guys I

44:38

was like oh what's wrong with the Chiefs offense

44:40

all of a sudden and they rolled in With

44:42

this game plan where they would show Like

44:45

two high safeties and then as soon

44:47

as the snap happened the

44:50

safeties would both Jump down to

44:52

like bracket Kelsey and Hill right there, so

44:54

they were ending up playing some kind of

44:56

weird version of like Bracket

44:59

cover zero right where they were essentially

45:01

leaving the top off the defense But

45:03

double teaming the only two guys that

45:05

the Chiefs were likely to throw to

45:07

and it caused them all kinds of

45:09

issues I kind of wonder whether

45:11

this version of the Chiefs is That

45:14

should be the game plan Maybe you just

45:16

focus on Kelsey and say whatever we're gonna

45:18

force the ball anywhere other than Travis Kelsey

45:20

right now because he has 27

45:23

targets so far in the postseason that's four more

45:25

than any other Kansas City player But

45:27

Kelsey and Rishi rice Have

45:30

27 for Kelsey 23 for rice nobody else

45:32

has more than nine so if

45:35

you wanted to do that and say What

45:37

if we just bracket both those guys on

45:39

every play and you know Maybe we'll

45:41

disguise it pre snap or whatever sure but that's the

45:43

game plan is we are those guys are gonna have

45:45

two people on them at all times then

45:48

Who else is beating you like you

45:51

okay Marquez Valis Cantling one-on-one?

45:53

For most of the game

45:55

is risky, but it's gonna take a

45:57

bomb for it to be a problem because he's not gonna

46:00

But he's not gonna get 10 catches for

46:02

150 and you know be responsible for moving

46:04

the chains consistently all the way down the

46:06

field It's gonna be does the

46:08

one big play you give up to him cost

46:10

you enough But you know if they

46:12

then have to go to Noah Gray Valet

46:15

Scantling to check Oh Justin Watson Michael

46:17

Hardman. I Wouldn't be

46:19

scared of that even if you are leaving them on

46:21

an island with your third corner or whatever Yeah,

46:25

I'm gonna be interested in that cat and

46:27

mouse game on that side of the ball

46:29

and again, let's get back to the the

46:31

psychological aspect if the If

46:33

the Chiefs get a hot start again and

46:35

look they can they could play from behind as well

46:37

from as any team in the league Right, they've made

46:39

plenty of comebacks and they did it against the Niners

46:41

in the Super Bowl But if the Niners

46:44

come out cooking again, and it I mean if the

46:46

Chiefs come out cooking again, and it's up They score

46:48

seven immediately. What are those

46:50

adjustments? How does that affect the

46:52

Niners offensively coming out of their game plan potentially again?

46:54

They did a nice job last week. They made a

46:56

nice comeback down 24 to 7 obviously But

47:01

they needed the Lions to make mistakes,

47:03

too Yeah, so I'm curious to see

47:05

what that start is for the Chiefs

47:08

and then You know

47:10

if the Niners have a lead Can

47:12

they keep it up because that back and forth

47:14

between Andy Reid Steve Wilkes? It's gonna

47:16

be a good one But that's the thing is if they

47:18

get in a hole against Kansas City

47:21

They're going to need the Chiefs to help them get

47:23

out of it because you know They're probably not going

47:25

to make those mistakes like they're going to need a

47:28

meek hole Hardman error or you know a fumble

47:30

front on a special teams play Because

47:33

the chances are my homes isn't putting the ball in

47:35

harm's way The chances are

47:37

Kelsey's not making a big mistake like they

47:39

are very very good at avoiding those critical

47:41

mistakes Even though that's

47:43

been their biggest problem all the way through the regular

47:45

season They like they need a total regression of

47:48

the rest of the Chiefs offense To that

47:50

kind of state for them to execute that kind of comeback So

47:53

as is the case with every Shanahan

47:55

game Their best chance

47:57

of winning this game is to stay

48:00

in a neutral game same script situation

48:02

where they're either tied ahead or only

48:04

down by a field goal at any

48:06

given moment. If the game starts

48:08

to get away from the

48:10

49ers, you do worry about their capacity to

48:12

hang in it. On one

48:14

to nine yard passes, the 49ers this year,

48:17

11th best EPA per play against.

48:19

So the short pass game, they're okay

48:21

at it. I don't think

48:23

the Niners, their defense has kind of been hit or

48:25

miss in recent weeks. They've had

48:27

these stretches where it's like, where'd they go? And

48:30

then other times where you feel that pass rush and

48:32

you feel a really good linebacker

48:34

Gordon Fred Warner and Drake Greenlaw and

48:36

you feel that, you know, Charverius Ward

48:38

and some playmaking safeties. I

48:41

don't know. It's certainly not as good

48:43

as the Ravens defense. And we saw, I

48:45

don't know if I'm too skewed by those first couple

48:47

of drives because the Ravens defense absolutely settled in and

48:49

gave them a chance to win. But

48:52

it looks like the Chiefs just had

48:54

their number for when they needed to

48:56

write the Baltimore defense. And

48:58

then it all comes down to me that

49:01

in-game decision making by the coaches and

49:03

for all the talk last Monday morning

49:06

about Dan Campbell and his reckless fourth

49:08

down decisions in the Chiefs

49:10

Ravens game, that where

49:13

only three touchdowns occurred across both

49:15

teams, two out of those three

49:17

touchdowns needed a fourth down conversion on

49:20

that drive to keep it alive on

49:22

a play that was not a slam dunk. Go for

49:24

it just six or seven years ago in the NFL,

49:26

especially the Ravens. They went for it on their own

49:28

30 on fourth and one Lamar had

49:30

the big run and that eventually set up their

49:33

first, their only touchdown. And then the

49:35

Chiefs go forward on fourth and two Mahomes rolls out

49:37

first couple of reads out there. He throws it

49:39

back to Kelsey and you know, we talked about just making every play

49:42

that was needed. That was a huge one between Mahomes and

49:44

Kelsey fourth downs of course, we'll have

49:46

a huge impact here in the actual

49:48

decisions there. Will Shanahan be aggressive

49:50

enough going up against the Chiefs if they fail?

49:52

It's risky when they fail, but I feel like

49:54

you got to keep, you got to

49:56

maximize points here both teams. Yeah. The

49:59

other thing that. we don't ever talk about but

50:01

I think it's probably relevant in this game. Oh

50:03

no! Special teams. Kickers!

50:07

The Chief. Chief punt game baby. Well,

50:09

and the actual Kickers. The Chiefs have

50:11

Harrison Butker who has a PFF grade

50:14

above 90 who made every single extra

50:16

point this season who has made

50:18

42, or sorry, 40 of 42 field goals this season who

50:22

is perfect 8 of 8 from 40 to 49 yards, perfect

50:25

6 of 6 from 50 plus. Butker

50:28

is one of the best Kickers in the NFL.

50:30

The 49ers have a rookie Kicker who they drafted

50:33

way higher than everybody was expecting who has missed

50:35

an extra point this year who from 40 to

50:37

49, that zone where it was like Dan

50:42

Campbell just take your points, like there's 3 points

50:44

on offer and you're turning them down. He's

50:47

missed 4 kicks. He's 5 of 9 from that area this

50:49

year. It's 55.6%. If

50:54

they're in a game where you have a

50:57

43-yard field goal attempt, I mean

50:59

Moody missed one in that game, like against the Lions. He's

51:01

the evidence of why you don't just take the points and

51:03

chalk up 3 because the Kicker could miss it from that

51:05

distance. The 49ers have unquestionably a

51:08

worse kicking situation than

51:12

the Chiefs do in this game and

51:14

that could be worth 3 points.

51:16

That could be worth a point. That

51:19

could be worth the game. Butker has

51:21

been absolutely money. He's got a

51:23

big leg. There was a point in

51:25

his career, like the last couple of years, he would

51:27

just randomly whiff on extra points here and there, like

51:29

you said. He didn't miss one all year, is that

51:31

right? No. And

51:34

it's funny because the Chiefs didn't score nearly as much this year,

51:36

but they had a bunch of games where it was like Buckter

51:38

had the 6 field goals, I think, against somebody.

51:42

That happened this year. Right.

51:46

Thank you. We had 5 against

51:48

the Dolphins, 6 against somebody. He

51:51

had a bunch of field goals. So they've

51:53

had to rely on Buckter more than they have in

51:55

the past. But now they're better in the red

51:57

zone, but when they need Buckter, especially 50-plus, He's

52:00

always been pretty good relative to

52:02

the rest of the league, so it could

52:04

be big there. Yeah, and it's, you know, Kicker,

52:07

we talk, whenever we

52:09

mention Kickers, we occasionally reference the idea

52:11

that that is probably one

52:13

of the most psychologically difficult positions in

52:16

football. A lot of psychology talk here

52:18

on the show. Because,

52:20

I mean, those guys, that's why almost

52:23

none of them become Justin Tucker and

52:25

just are this metronomic, you know, automatic

52:27

guy. Like, look at Brandon Aubrey, right?

52:29

We spent the entire season hearing about

52:31

this guy didn't even play football. He's

52:33

a soccer kicker and he's never missed

52:35

a kick. Right? Look at him.

52:37

Just keeps making kicks and making kicks and making kicks.

52:39

And then right at the end of the season, he

52:41

missed one and everything fell apart. Like the entire, all

52:44

his entire game fell apart, he started missing kicks all

52:46

over the place. Like, those guys

52:49

are like golfers where they won bad contact

52:51

and suddenly it's like everything they knew about

52:54

the game just fell out of their head.

52:57

Like, the Chiefs are in a

52:59

situation where their kicker has been there, done that,

53:01

has now ridden through those

53:03

periods and is in a fairly stable

53:06

part of his career where he's just nailing everything. The

53:08

rookie kicker hasn't been through, like he's

53:11

going through it, but he hasn't really been through

53:13

one of those periods where you

53:15

missed a couple of kicks and you've

53:17

sort of gone through a rocky patch and you come out the

53:19

other side of it and now you're playing really well again. Like,

53:22

he's just not been at that level

53:24

yet. And he's certainly never been

53:26

to a Super Bowl. He missed a kick

53:28

in the NFC Championship game, which luckily didn't

53:30

end up costing them. But like, that

53:33

guy, I don't imagine you're looking at him and

53:35

saying, I have bulletproof confidence in his ability to

53:37

put this ball through the uprights at any point

53:40

in the game. Well,

53:42

I'm getting fired up for the game. We got a whole

53:44

week to go because we started early with our preview. It

53:47

is still Niners by two as of

53:49

right now, record time Sunday afternoon, Monday

53:51

morning before the game. PFF

53:54

Green Line does actually have a slight edge

53:56

for the Niners. It

53:59

takes in all the data. And I think when you take in

54:01

all the data, I can understand

54:03

that. You know, the Niners have been a more

54:05

dominant team this year. Yes.

54:07

The Chiefs had issues

54:09

offensively this year, very inconsistent. The

54:11

defense was very good, but not

54:13

great against the run. When you add all that

54:15

up on paper, yeah, the Niners should be the

54:18

better team, but this is the Chiefs

54:20

that have just, again, to reiterate, mistake-free

54:22

football, their first three playoff games, can

54:24

they keep it going next week? Yeah,

54:27

what you were doing when you're sort of checking

54:30

the data versus your fields and this kind

54:32

of thing is you're basically asking the question,

54:34

have the Chiefs become a fundamentally different team

54:36

in the postseason than they were for most

54:38

of the regular season? The data would sort

54:41

of say, no, this is just variance, this

54:43

is what happens. You know, there's highs, there's

54:45

lows, ride it out and sort of stick

54:47

with the main path of

54:49

best fit. I'm starting

54:51

to believe, though, that the Chiefs are just

54:53

different once they hit the postseason in a

54:55

way that, you know, Tom Brady had the

54:57

ability to do. And Michael Jordan had the

54:59

ability to do. Like, when it matters most,

55:01

those guys go, right, that's enough of the

55:03

crap, we're gonna start playing better. Mahomes, it's

55:05

not just this year, it's his

55:07

entire playoff career. Once the

55:10

games matter more, he turns it

55:12

on and you get a different version of Patrick Mahomes

55:14

and that transforms everything. So I'm

55:16

buying into the Chiefs are a

55:19

different and better team than they look

55:21

if you just pull all of their data

55:23

for the year. Fair points, but are

55:26

the Niners a different team when the

55:28

game's on the line with Brock Purdy? Different than

55:30

they were with Jimmy Garoppolo, different

55:32

when you have the open post to

55:35

maybe seal the deal in the Super Bowl a few

55:37

years ago, Super Bowl live. Is

55:39

it different with Brock

55:41

Purdy now? You mentioned all that

55:44

man coverage that Kansas City might play. Brock

55:46

Purdy's been scrambling around doing Mahomesian types of

55:48

things this entire postseason. Is Purdy the guy?

55:52

Quiet the doubters here in this game. I mean,

55:54

maybe, but that only matters if they're still in

55:56

the game at that point. Which is potentially

55:59

the issue. So I'm with you. I'm going to

56:01

take the Chiefs to win and cover. I did think

56:03

the game would go closer to the Chiefs by game

56:05

time. It might still. And I think, I don't know

56:07

how big the line is going to move within a

56:10

week, but Niners

56:12

are favorite. Third straight time, the Chiefs are

56:14

going to be underdogs and they generally come

56:16

through in those situations. So

56:18

I'll go with the Chiefs to

56:20

win and cover. And then we're talking,

56:22

you know, what are dynasty and legacy

56:24

and all that fun stuff. Certainly after

56:27

last week, I'm just not betting against

56:29

the Chiefs. Like they showed last week,

56:32

at the minimum in my opinion, they

56:34

should not be underdogs going into any

56:37

game. Like, so yeah, I agree. It

56:39

would be easier to pick the Chiefs to

56:41

cover, but not to win. But

56:44

I think they'll win. Right. And therefore cover. Yeah.

56:46

I mean a two point game. Tough

56:48

to do both. All right. By

56:51

the way, to recap the season, I was at about 47%

56:53

hit rate. You were about 46. Wow,

56:56

that's bad. And then Harry, who

56:58

made his, I don't want to say his debut

57:00

on the podcast because he certainly has been roaming

57:03

around behind when

57:05

I recorded from home through the years. But

57:08

his official podcast debut last week, it was at

57:10

50% hit rate. You

57:13

know, right around break even. Yeah. Like the

57:15

kid has the same chance of getting a game

57:17

right, essentially flipping a coin. That makes a lot

57:19

of sense. You and I, it turns out, are

57:21

worse than just flipping a coin. There's all those

57:23

pushes. We had a lot of three point pushes

57:25

this year. Okay. That's what killed us. I

57:28

called those losses. You know? Yeah.

57:30

So we get a lot of that. I might give the kid

57:33

a bankroll next year. We'll see what happens. See

57:35

what happens. He beat me in our bowl pick

57:37

them too. Yeah. This year. Just pick a team's.

57:39

Is that legal to just give the

57:41

child a bankroll and send them

57:43

out there gambling? I was just, I didn't

57:46

officially do it, but probably not. Pretty sure

57:48

there's a agent. Laws against

57:50

that kind of thing? Yeah. Pretty sure. Somewhere

57:53

in that terms and conditions we've read out this year,

57:55

there's something against child gambling. It's got

57:57

to be. Let me

57:59

just clarify myself. statement I will not

58:01

be giving my eight-year-old money to

58:03

gamble next year thank

58:05

you allegedly

58:09

but the lawyers work overtime with us I mean really the

58:16

number of times we've had to you know

58:18

call our lawyers hmm make sure things

58:20

are things are

58:22

good am I supposed to talk about AG1

58:25

here it turns out you worry

58:27

yeah that's assuming you didn't

58:29

already I don't remember did you I did it well

58:31

it's tough to get the flow yeah it's

58:33

tough to get the flow when there's only one game

58:36

yeah there's only one natural split so

58:39

let's talk about our friends over at AG1 hmm

58:41

I imagine a bunch of the Chiefs and the

58:43

Niners are gonna be drinking AG1 this week you

58:46

know because they're you know it's trusted by

58:48

top athletes all over the world AG1 is

58:50

a simple and comprehensive foundational nutrition supplement for

58:52

whole-body health helps me fill

58:54

my nutritional gaps and fortify my body so

58:56

I could focus on the things that matter

58:59

most with its essential vitamins minerals and nutrients

59:01

to support daily performance and sustained sustained energy

59:03

AG1 is a powerful simple step

59:06

that you can take today for a better tomorrow even if

59:08

you're you know your spread for the

59:10

big game it isn't the healthiest you know your order

59:12

and some unhealthy stuff you can still ensure you're giving

59:14

your body the nutrients it needs

59:16

to thrive with AG1 each group of

59:18

AG1 contains minerals whole

59:21

foods whole whole food-sourced ingredients that

59:23

support gut health focus immune health

59:26

and much more AG1 is a game-changer

59:28

trusted by professional sports teams worldwide and

59:30

revolutionizing the way athletes approach their nutrition

59:33

AG1 isn't just a product it's a

59:35

healthy habit to elevate your lifestyle this

59:37

isn't just for athletes though anyone focused

59:39

on their health can benefit from this

59:41

unparalleled impact on endurance recovery and overall

59:43

well-being since I've been drinking AG1 I've

59:45

noticed that sustained energy I've noticed

59:47

that focus I've noticed that

59:50

I've got those nutrients getting me

59:52

through the day when I kick my day

59:54

off with AG1 so this football season let

59:56

AG1 be your secret weapon forget ordinary

59:58

supplements AG1 is a powerhouse central

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1:00:02

holistic approach to reaching your full

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potential. Alright, if there's one product

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I had to recommend to elevate your health it's AG1,

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that's why we've partnered with them for so long. If

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you want to take ownership of your health, start with

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when you first subscribe at

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www.drinkag1.com/PFF, that's www.drinkag1.com/PFF, go check

1:00:29

it out right now. But

1:00:31

K2 is a mountain? No,

1:00:34

it's also a nutrient in

1:00:38

that AG1 pack, along with vitamin

1:00:40

D3. How many, how many

1:00:43

glasses, bottles of AG1 would

1:00:45

you need to offset 75 wings? Oh,

1:00:49

probably eight to ten. It's

1:00:51

like every ten wings you probably need to reset

1:00:54

the mineral structure, right?

1:00:57

Yeah. I'm also, I'm not a nutritionist,

1:00:59

but yeah, I imagine you need to,

1:01:01

I'm getting that feeling, yeah. I will,

1:01:04

I will wash down my wings with, with AG1. Right.

1:01:06

I will bring it with me, wash

1:01:08

down my wings with AG1. Perfect. Sound good? Yeah.

1:01:11

Alright. Can

1:01:16

you order some AG1 for me? Get it delivered to

1:01:18

Vegas? Thank you. Like

1:01:21

my travel packs, I need the travel packs, I don't have

1:01:23

the travel packs right now. Alright, that's it for us today.

1:01:25

We appreciate everybody for tuning in. Remember, all week we're gonna

1:01:27

have four more shows. This is your Monday show, because we're

1:01:29

here on Monday, and then the rest of the week,

1:01:32

sometime Tuesday. You just never

1:01:34

know, just ring the bell, get the, the notification

1:01:36

going. Five, technically, if we, by the end of

1:01:39

the Sunday. And then Sunday night. Well, that's a

1:01:41

new week. So

1:01:43

the Super Bowl review show will be boom, Sunday, yeah,

1:01:45

Sunday's the start of a new week. Certainly

1:01:47

is. Sunday is the final day of

1:01:49

the previous week. It

1:01:54

is the final day. It's, it's part of

1:01:56

the week end. It's in the name. Yeah,

1:01:59

the week end. and it also starts.

1:02:01

Yeah, it starts on Monday, the next day.

1:02:05

It starts on the first day that is not part of

1:02:07

the week end. Sunday's the first day of the week. Look

1:02:10

at a calendar. You're out of your mind. Thanks, everybody,

1:02:12

for tuning in. We'll see you again sometime tomorrow with

1:02:14

more PFF, NFL podcast.