Sewell should have an advantage is funny stuff. I’m not sure Penei, after whiffing a dozen times in preseason is stancing up against Bosa and thinking “Yeah I got this”.
The only advantage Sewell may get is if Bosa’s juice order got delayed at the border because of the thing that cannot be named here.
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I think the 9ers run all over us , I think our pass rush will be good but our run defense will not. On offense I think realities will hit , Holmes thinks our WR are good he also thinks our safety are good I disagree on with both. Between Goff and the WR situation and the fact I don’t believe the run game will be as strong as most here. I think it will be along day filled with excuses about how they just need time.
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Yup - they have a better roster, have been in the system for awhile, and will be all settled in and ready to go. Our best chance is to create havoc and turn it into a fist fight. We must disrupt their QB and create turnovers, or we’re toast.
If they had a better QB, that’s a SB roster, from what I see.
Our DL needs to eat their friggin lunch, or we’re gonna get beaten. The guys need to position Fox to win this one for us.
I think they have a Super Bowl head coach who puts his guys in the best position to succeed. When it comes to coaches I have a bit of a mancrush on Kyle Shanahan. He was born and bred to do this. As far as the roster I view it a little different…because of how I view Shanahan. The roster has some issues. The RB room isn’t the strongest but Kyle schemes them into great production. Raheem Mostert was a nobody until he got with Kyle. Just in a season and a half (2015 and halfway thru 2016) Mostert had played for the Eagles, Dolphins, Ravens, Browns, Jets and Bears. The WR room is filled with hope and unknowns. People have alot of love for Brandon Aiyuk but the reality is his production in his 1 year of action looks kind of like Tyrell Williams. The next guy is a gadget player Deebo Samuel who had less than 400 receiving yards last season. After those 2 guys is a bunch of unknowns and a guy named Muhammed Sanu. Their corners are also highly suspect.
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I am using a delay on this reply so it will post 3 months from now when Brandon Aiyuk has fully launched into his all-pro season.
Whoops it didn’t work
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I almost mentioned Mostert the other day when the 53 man cuts were being made.
He is quite the poster boy for hoping a waiver wire add turns out to be productive.
I trust your football insights, knowledge, and instinct better than mine. I was a fantastic Middle School/High School coach, but I’ll be the first to admit that I am clueless, compared the the football knowledge you have. My football “blind spot” is WAY bigger than yours. LOL.
I see our coach as a born leader. Im hoping his coordinators and assistants can help to compensate for some of Coach Dan’s football blind spot. Right here, right now, today, with this roster, I don’t see it coming together yet. I was a “leader of people” type coach, and even then, my football knowledge wasn’t as good as most of my peers…we just won because we were inspired (not motivated), and we won because we didn’t make mistakes. Highly focused and disciplined. I’m hoping Dan is what I did…on steroids…on more steroids…on steroids. I think he is.
Love getting your insights, bro. Can’t wait to see our team grow. I love people who teach “strength of the human spirit.”
One of the players I coached in back in the late 90s reached out to me and told me he never would have gotten through medical school, if not for the things he learned from me. He said the biggest thing he ever learned from me was, “Most of the time you can win, just because you want it more.” That’s EXTREMELY microwaved, but that’s the message and the gist of it.
Can’t wait to see how this regime pans out. I do think this Sunday’s game could potentially get ugly in the wrong direction. Hoping to see some magic, and see our DL create a couple of turnovers. Maybe a rook can get a big punt return for a TD?
Aside from a few plays like that and unbiased officiating, we’ve got a mountain to climb next Sunday!
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I think that is the expectation for the kid. But just giving an honest assessment and looking at things thru the same lens as we have with our own roster and other discussions…he hasn’t done it yet.
I think he’s also a good example of how much fit matters. He’s a great fit for Kyle’s system but for the other teams he played for he was not worth much more than being used as a kick returner. What he lacks is something you don’t need much of in Kyle’s scheme.
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You hear players on winning teams say they can’t wait to get to the building each morning because its another chance to be part of The Win and they know any contribution they make gets that W.
But how do you get that critical mass of players buying into the FUN of winning?
So much is made of the name brands on the roster or the playcalling genius of the coaches. But anyone paying attention sees most teams line up, snap the ball and run the same plays. And if you really look at the players, it’s not a huge difference in athletic ability most of these guys are studs in a combine situation.
So how does a team come from nowhere and get enough secret sauce of selflessness, trust and belief and put their game performance over the top?
@BigNatty don’t just stand there. I’m talking at you.
“Shut up when I’m talking to you. You hear me? Answer me!” - Eminem (Criminal)
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Not to be contentious because it really doesn’t matter, but Bosa rushes from RDE at least half his snaps and probably closer to 75% of the time on 3rd downs. (He’s officially listed as their RDE also). Regardless, I realize more than ever that stuff is pretty interchangeable in today’s NFL…
As you rightly pointed out, Bosa is adept rushing from either side and SF will have seen Sewell’s considerable struggles with speed off the edge in the preseason. They will certainly line Bosa up there to test the Rookie early and often.
Our prize pick better have ratcheted everything down considerably over the past 2 weeks leading up to the opener or it could be a bloodbath against Armstead, Bosa, and Warner. Run game success is imperative. Problem with hanging our hopes on that is the Niners are as stout a front as you’re going to find in the NFL.
This will be a massive test. If they pass it, and compete, and give themselves a chance in the 4th quarter, it will be a considerable harbinger of good things to come I think.
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How dare you be pretentious and contentious you SOL lover!
No but in all seriousness, thanks for pointing that out but I could’ve swore he was a Left end
As humans, our identity doesn’t like to be challenged and it’s very uncomfortable. When ppl can have fun, it’s easier to learn, attach “mistake free” to our task at hand, and identify with the process, and the growth associated with it.
In this case, identify with the growth…as a football player…as an NFL football player, and more specifically, as a DETROIT LION.
They are becoming part of the brotherhood. They are like all other humans, and will be driven by pain and pleasure. Part of emotional intelligence is ability to be driven by pleasure INSTEAD OF pain. People who are purely driven by pain will not be as happy. As for winning, less mistakes made, when feeling a different type of pressure.
It’s about wielding both dark and light energy in healthy ways.
Examples of wielding dark energy consciously.
“If I miss my block, I’m protecting my brother, the RB from injury. This dude is trying to hurt my brother. I’m going to plow his ass into the earth…right…■■■■■■■…now.”
OR
“If I don’t make this block, we get tackled behind the line, have to punt, coach is pissed, and I’m a failure.”
"It’s fun to kick ass and win, while winning this street fight with my brothers. It’s a healthy, legal way to channel reside within my primal energy that creates something good, instead of making trouble.
VS
“I have to work my ass off, or I can’t do my part, the team will lose, and I’ll be fired.”
Whaat are you focused on? Coach Dan is very much wired like I am. Not the tear them down and mold them style.
He will lead his troops into battle. They will be wired for battle. He will give them focused energy, intensity, discipline, etc.
The strategy side is more controlled by the coordinators. I think they’re highly competent and can do their jobs well. With the philosophy and wiring they get from Dan, the X’s and O’s become easier to get right. It’s not like “Here we go with this shit again…have to go to work.” It’s seen more from a standpoint of being grateful for an opportunity.
I think they’ll win. I think they’ll get it right.
Also - When you are a winner as a human being, it makes it easier to be a winner as a football player, as a neighbor, as a husband, a son, a father, etc, etc.
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Who is covering Kittle?
Hock and Kittle should have to cover each other. That would be fun to watch.
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Will we have some Kittle-Corn going on?
or did corn get cut?
such a good idea!
Two buddies “covering” eachother. What’s the worst that can happen?
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I strongly disagree that this is a major differentiator at the pro level. High school? Absolutely. College? Less so, but it’s still a factor.
In the NFL, it’s nothing but competitive nutjobs who all work harder on a daily basis than most of us have ever worked. Sure, you can parse small differences, but I would say “want to” or commitment is rarely the difference between winning and losing.
Same thing with overall roster talent level. The league is set up for parity, and that’s the overall result. Outliers are rare, especially over time.
I would submit that coaching is the single biggest variable. Good coaching staffs provide a consistency in vision and execution while simultaneously putting the players they have in the best position to succeed from a schematic standpoint.
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These things are general principles. Of course, I can’t beat Mike Tyson because I want it worse than him. Talent and athleticism matter.
That said, an entire roster that clearly wants it more will win, far more frequently. You have seen me say repeatedly I dont expect us to be chalking up many wins, this season.
You have also seen me say repeatedly, that we will be more inspired and mentally wired for winning than other teams.
In the NFL, it’s about winning at the margins.
All of these dudes can run a 4.4 and bench press a Volkswagen.
The primary difference is between the ears.
We will have the edge there, and as we get a roster that is more on par with NFL caliber players, we will win in that margin, far more often than not.
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I think even at the pro level players separate themselves amongst eachother in how much they work and just as importantly how effectively they work.
I think in the NFL long term success requires players being bought in and a part of the coaching process. This also requires veterans who know how to be a pro to help the younger guys develop. The coaches can only influence so much. As Patrick Willis likes to tell it…alot of his best pro habits came from his brief time with Takeo Spikes. Starting with the time he was getting ready to head home after practice and Takeo told him to get in the cold tub with him. Patrick said “why? I feel fine?” Then Takeo broke down the lesson in preventative maintenance of the body.
Bart Scott said he learned by watching Ray Lewis and some of those guys (they didn’t take him under their wing like Spikes did Willis). He immediately started copying their habits instead of doing like some of the younger guys who didn’t make it. Ray also went the extra step of throwing “film parties” at his house where a group of guys would go over and watch film together instead of driving thru Wendy’s naked or whatever guys on other teams do with their time. 
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