Drive Time - Know the Enemy: San Francisco 49ers

of Miami Dolphins football. And on today's show, we are back into the No the Enemy series as we are taking a look at the Dolphins Week five opponent, a team that had a Lombardi Trophy in its sites last year, the San Francisco forty Niners, as we'll take a look at how they get back to the big game this year, Kyle Shanahan's greatest strength, the expectations for Jimmy Garoppolo and the team, who was the biggest unsung star on that team. All of that and more as we detail this Week

five matchup with Brian Peacock on this too. Was day July, the fourteenth edition of the Drive Time Podcast, and this is installment number six of the Know the Enemy series.

About halfway Home, as we're discussing last year's NFC champions the San Francisco forty niners and one of my favorite stories last year in football because I was always such a big fan, a big supporter, a big believer of Kyle Shanahan, even before that incredible season where he and Matt Ryan in Atlanta put together pure magic that year. And I think the thing I love most about Shanahan is that he knows exactly who he is and if he's going down, he's gonna go down his way, and

that's going down swinging. He is aggressive and aggressive play caller. Also has the continuation of the greatest running scheme in the history of football for my money, from his father Mike Shanahan, filtered through coaches like Gary Kubiak and so many others after him and before Kyle and now really perfect did by Shanahan in the Bay Area with that forty nine running game he has. And I once upon a time wrote a piece on my own independently owned

website third and ten dot com. It is no more, but I used to grade quarterbacks and talk about the play caller quarterback relationship and break down some film and the general idea was to grade every single drop back of every single quarterback. And I started that after the Steen season and talked about how I thought Shanahan would find a way to win in San Francisco as he was paired at the time with Brian Hoyer, going back to some of the concepts and some of the designs

of his plays in his offense with the Browns. I think it was with Brian Hoyer, and now off the heels of a Super Bowl appearance last year, the Niners give Kyle Shanahan his big extension and they have to feel really good about where they are at the coaching

position for now and heading into the future. But I think the start he had in San Francisco those first two years really make the story and his path even more I guess and chanting to follow along with, because the Niners had a couple of tough years there in the win lost column in his first two years, but there were circumstances around those win lost totals that I thought didn't tell the whole story about the team and the program that he and John Lynch were building there.

And so to see them rip off thirteen wins last year, two more victories in the postseason in rather convincing fashion, and come within one quarter of lifting a Lombardi Trophy. I'm just a big fan of all the easy plays and easy yards that Shanahan helps create, both in the running game and the passing game. On top of the fact that they are littered with star players across that roster, one of the more entertaining and intriguing teams in the

entire National Football League. So with that, let's go ahead and dive into this next edition of the No the Enemy series. The Week five opponent. It's October eleven at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, up against the San Francisco forty nine Ers. It's a four oh five Eastern kickoff. Let's go ahead and welcome in my guest, Brian Peacock and riding Shotgun on Today Drive Time podcast. He is the host of Locked on NFL co host and Locked on fourty Niners. You can find him on Twitter at

b D Peacock, the Silky Smooth voice himself Brian Peacock. Brian, Welcome in, my friend, Travis. How are you man? It's great to be here with you. I was gonna say, I gotta get caught up on on what you're doing now, because I know you've kind of expanded your scope of work within the Locked On network, and I wanted to ask you how's that going now that you're joining Matt Williamson there as the co host of Locked on NFL, and just how is Locked on life in general? How's

it going in that world? Locked On Life has been great, man, and I think we've been pretty lucky covering the NFL that things cross your fingers, knock on wood, whatever you'd like to do, that it stays that way and we we stay on the path here and training camp is able to get going and the season is able to start on time because that will be huge for what we do covering this sport. And I think it's been a lot more difficult for some folks that cover some

other sports. So it's been great. It's been fun covering the four Niners all offseason long has been planning to talk about there. Of course, the NFL has been much of the same, and it's been fun co hosting with former NFL scout Matt Williamson and I can't divulge everything, but keep a look out. There's something special coming with Mattilliamson and I with our podcast on it Locked On NFL.

So that news to come expert of teasing. We both learned that with Locked On, I think because that was one of the things I was always so proud of myself for teasing certain events and certain aspects. Yeah, man, it's it's fun to watch you guys continue to grow and and uh, you know, I was always such a big supporter and big believer in what we were doing when I was with Locked on the Lockdown podcast network.

And one of my favorite things we ever did when I was there, and you guys did it again this year was the Draft Show. I mean, that is the comprehensive coverage you get from Locked on Sports is It's so good and so in depth, and and you get good local experts every single day talking about your team. So definitely check it out Locked on Dolphins. Kyle Crabs. You guys all know who he is. He does a great job taking over for me on the Locked On

Dolphins podcast. There, let's go ahead now and get into the brass tacks of why we have you on here. Brian talk about some San Francisco forty Niners, and I want to start with a topic that maybe is a little bit sensitive, but it always fascinates me. The Super Bowl hangover, Right, I'm sure you've heard about it and talked about in countless times, and I know media are gonna ask coach about it. Are the Niners and Shanahan and those guys? Are they acknowledging it? Like addressing it?

And what do you think the potential pitfalls are of coming so close to that ultimate prize but then coming up just short of getting the championship trophy? Yeah? I think there's a few things. One, it's just hard to get to the super Bowl, so just getting back is difficult anyway. So I think part of it is that, Okay, you got the super Bowl, people expect you to get right back. You look here after year, things fluctuate so much. One twelve months a calendar year in the NFL is

an eternity. So it's just hard to get their period and be as good as you were the year before. And some things have to go right to get to the Super Bowl. The other thing is I think maybe the way this offseason is gone, with COVID and and and everything else in the world, I think maybe it's made for a different environment for a team than normal in a post Super Bowl loss offseason. And the other thing with the Fortins and and I can't remember it being this way in the past with past forty Niners

teams or really any teams. They've been so amped up to get right back. I wonder if that might be the hangover that you are too ready to go the day after the Super Bowl. You can't keep up that intensity all the way through the season into next February. You almost have to let it go. You have to. You have to. You just have to reset everything in the organization, come back fresh, and then hit it hard again.

I almost wonder if teams grind too much for those off months before the season starts after Super Bowl, and if that could wear on a team. So I'm thinking maybe the psychological aspect of it that might be where a super Bowl hangover comes in, is you can't win the super Bowl the next year starting the day after this super Bowl. You have to wait till the season

starts to get going. And maybe that uh, maybe you run your your engine a little bit dry over the course of the off season thinking about it and trying to get back to work and running it back too quickly. Yeah. See, that's that's exactly what I'm talking about. How it's such a fascinating ideology that maybe maybe there is something to

kind of taking some time away and resetting. I know, for content creators like yourself and myself, it's always helpful to get away for like a week right in the middle of the summertime step away and you come back refresh and you feel better than ever. And maybe that maybe the fact that the team was away from the facility, like you mentioned, is a built an advantage in that way. We can only find out on Sunday's coming up here

in September and beyond in the fall. And I would like I like to liken it to like a video game analogy. When you're playing a game where you get to the final level, maybe you don't make it, you don't beat the ultimate boss. The next game you restart, you always die right away, right because you're so anti to get back and you just can't quite like get

yourself composed and make a good effort at us. So bad analogies aside, One of my favorite things about this team, and I talked about it in the open, is the way that Kyle Shanahan creates opportunities on offense for guys to have easy decisions and to make plays that way. And I'm a big Jimmy Garoppolo fan, have been since his time at Eastern Illinois and that week he had

the Senior Bowl that year. What do you think he has to do this year to progress upon what he was last season his first real full healthy season with San Francisco, And what would it look like for him to really validate his position as the long term answer for Niners fans to say, Okay, we definitely have our guy.

I'm with you two. I love Jimmy Garoppolo coming into the draft and starting with that Senior Bull week, and and the more I watched his tape and as a small school guy, but man, he was a great prospect and and I think we nailed that one. He was somebody I really liked coming out. So I've been a fan of Jimmy Garppolo for a long time. Was surprised

with the trade to the forty Niners. And you saw right away when you jumped in with he has no problems reading defenses and going through his reads and making progressions. The forty Niners were a team that couldn't win a single game, and Jimmy Garoppolo rolls in and wins five games in a row in a dumb down system. So I think it's mostly about that system and getting a full season worth of reps in the off season and

the regular season, which he's never had. With the forty nine, he came in after Halloween and then jumped in starting

with a paired down system. For the fort teen, he had the full off season with Kyle Janni, and then he tears his a c L, so then he's rehabing an a c L. Before last year, starts the full slate of games, sixteen games for the first time in his career, takes the team to the Super Bowl, and you thought, okay, cool, Finally Jimmy Garoppolo gets a full season as a starter, and he's gonna have a full off season coming into another year, and we'll see another bump in his uh in his ability, and I think

we still will see that. But then now we've seen another little hiccup here where they haven't been able to go through the off season program as normal. They've gotten a lot more classroom work, a lot less on field work. So reps is really the one thing that he's needed throughout his career. He hasn't been able to get those game reps and um, he's had some offseason reps, but we'll see if he's able to take that next step.

I still think there is a ceiling for Jimmy Garoppolo, and I think if he plateaus or gets worse, then there's some difficult decisions to make for the next offseason because the contract is structured in a way that they can get out of it. I don't foresee that happening. I don't think they're gonna want to get out of that contract. I think they're gonna probably want to add years to that contract this time next year, and I think we will see the next level of Jimmy Garoppolo.

And really for the fort that's probably the number one key, because a rising tide lifts all boats, right is that saying something like that? And I think Jimmy Garoppolo getting a little bit better makes the entire team a lot better now, Brian, I am guilty as anybody of kind of being sensationalistic at times. I always talk about how things fascinate me, how I'm intrigued by these certain things, and I already use it up once in this podcast, but I'm gonna use it again. The thing you mentioned

there about what Jimmy G brings to the offense. It really does fascinate me because I think that one thing we look at with quarterback play is right now, there are so many guys that offer these tangible traits, right Like Lamar Jackson's athletic ability is tangible. It pops off the tape right when you watch him every single time. Kyler Murray, same same train of thought there, Patrick Mahomes, Russell Wilson, all these guys with these elite physical tools.

And that's how to say it. Jimmy G doesn't have physical tools. He is more of a traditional pocket passer and he's very very good in that sense. But I think that what he does intangibles in terms of executing Shanahan's offense is just he's the right guy for that job. You agree with that, Yeah, I think it misses well

with what Kyle Shanahan likes to do. He's really good at firing the ball over the middle of the field, short and intermediate stuff, and Shannihan loves dialing up those type of things that Shannihan loves to have receivers that

can run after the catch. Um, I would say that they could grow beyond that, though, and that's where there could be a ton of growth in this offtense offense is bigger plays, getting the ball down the field, more air yards I think that are past blocking from the offensive line, you know, as they add more playmakers, more players that are a little bit better getting down the field, and they can start to do some or of that type of thing, and that would help just open things

up over the middle, which is where they want to work. They want to run the ball, they want to feed George Kittle a lot. But teams are gonna stack the box. Teams are gonna be putting their safeties down inside and putting extra eyes on George Kittle and saying, Okay, let's see if you can beat us outside. And so the Forts are gonna have to prove that they can do that a little bit to open things back up inside to do what they want to do in the run game and throw the ball over the middle and hit

George Kittle. But Jimmy Garoppolo, I will say he does have one elite trade and it is his release. He has one of the quickest releases I've ever seen, and he's had that all the way back to college, and I think that really helps him get the ball out quickly. He gets the ball out as quick as just about anybody in the NFL. I think it was Garoppolo and Drew Brees were one two and they were kind of

going back and forth all season long. And Tom Brady is really good to getting the ball out very quickly too. And um, that's that's really perfect for what Kyle Shanahan likes to do. Get the ball out early, let the playmakers make plays. Yeah, that's That's exactly what I was going to reply with. Is that that's why I think he makes such a good fit there with Shanahan, because he makes quick decisions and gets the ball out quickly. And that's the design of the Shanahan offense. And you

talk about trying to get the vertical game involved. Of course, I'm sure Niners fans will see that deep shot in the Super Bowl in their nightmares for years to come. But the games before that, in the playoffs, they were carving teams up. I remember watching the Vikings game with a buddy of mine, my best friends, a big time Vikings fan, and the way they were just pre pre snap shifting and motioning and creating gaps and just the

slightest movement of linebackers to create passing lanes. It's so fun to watch them be surgeon like in that in that way in their offense. So that passing game is based upon a quality running game that just seems like it's transportable across any personnel you want to put out there. And that's where I go to here, Brian, is the backfield for the Niners looks like Raheem Moster? It should be the starter. You still have Tevin Coleman in in the fold. Is this running game just basically going to

be successful no matter who's back there? And what does that backfield look like this year without Matt Brita and coming back with us Check, Moster and Tevin Coleman. Yeah, I think the running game is gonna be fine no matter who's back there. But the strange thing is is Kyle Shannon has still put a lot of resources into

the running back position. You would think that would be where they could go bare bones and maybe save some money, but they spent the second most, including fullback Kyle us Check and makes twice as much as the next fullback in the league, and he is the best fullback in the league, so you know he's earned that money. But they spent the second most money on their running back

group of any team in the league. And they don't have any household names at running back, but they have a lot of really good ones and I think they're gonna be just fine there no matter who's there. Even if Raheem most wants to hold out or wants to get traded, they would be fine. But I will say raheemstart is the best running back on that roster, and I think he proved that last year five point six yards per carry, And he does have legitimate right because

he's underpaid. If he's gonna get two hundred carries and Kyle Shanahan's offense this year, he's gonna go nuts. So maybe you should wait to cash in next year after he gets all those carries. But Raheem Moster is pretty amazing to watch him out run angles for defenders in the NFL. And Matt Brita, who just got traded obviously to the Miami Dolphins, or three guy Tevin Coleman runs a four three Jerick McKinnon is a four or four

flat guy. When you see Raheem Mostert make other players that run for threes look slow because of his first That's how you know he has a special ability there. So Raheemos starts burst is is something that is unique. And he's a former track guy, and it's really rare that you see someone break out this late in their career after being you know, a special teams demon his entire career. So he's being paid like a special teamer. He probably does deserve a bumping salary, but he still

has two years left on his deal. I don't know how that's gonna work out, but um man, Raheemos start. If he does get two hundred carries or more this year, lookout, you rattle off those speeds of those running backs. It's no mystery of what Kyle Shanahan wants for that outside and stretch his own scheme that he has there. That again, I just i'm I'm I watch it in marvel at how consistent, how good it is. And that's where you

go ahead and pivot. Here is the offensive line. The big change upfront this year is going to be going from Joe Staley to Trent Williams. Just this is what I think the blue blood organizations do. They find a way to restock the cupboards. And we'll get back into that exact same topic on the defensive line here in just one second. But talk about this offensive line and how they execute that scheme and what that swap out of Williams and Staley does for this Niners offensive line

this year. It's a really good group up front. They have been a better run blocking unit than a pass blocking unit last year. I think it would surprise people to see how mediocre they were actually as pass blockers in nineteen, but one of the best run blocking units in the NFL. And you know that's it takes eleven guys to run Kyle Shanahan's scheme and they work so hard on and you see the fruits of that, you know,

three years in now. Al Shane Hand's run game is just really dialed up last year and maybe you could even continue to improve, which is scary when when uh, you add someone like Trent Williams, who and it's hard, it's blasphemous to say that you could upgrade from Joe Staley, But I think at this point, just having a younger player that's as talented as Trent Williams, I think before the Niners are upgrading at left tackle after seeing and Joe Staley has been banged up over the last few years,

and and last year I think we saw it. He missed some games and when he came back, he had a really rough game against Jadeveon Clowney. He he wasn't playing like the old Joe Stalely that people remember, even though he was playing some pretty good ball. But Trent Williams, if he's fresh, I don't know if he'll be rusty, but he could absolutely be an upgrade at left tackle, so they could actually be even better upfront than they were last year. Mike McGlinchey was hurt a little bit

last year as well. He's coming into his third year. He's gotten better every season Western Richburg. If he gets healthy, forty Niners run game is incumbent on having a nice athletics center, which Western Richberg fits perfectly. It's why the forty Niners gave him a lot of money. But he's had a ton of injury problems. If he can be healthy, then look out. This could be a really good unit upfront. Forty and the X factor, they're a guy that could

start maybe at any position up front. He might battle for the starting right guard position. But he filled in really nicely for Joe Staley when he was out in Daniel Brunskill. It was an a a f player, a former tight end, and um, yeah, he might end up being a future starter at tackle at some point in the NFL, weathers with the forty nine or somebody else. So they do have a good unit up front and

could potentially be better than they were last year. We have Brian Peacock here Locked On NFL podcast and Locked on forty Niners podcast, all of that within the Locked On podcast network umbrella, we're talking about the San Francisco forty Niners. And on the Monday show here I'm Drive Time. I talked about the ESPN Insider uh NFL executives and scouts and coaches and players rankings they've been rolling out the last couple of weeks, and you mentioned Trent Williams

as a possible upgrade for Joe Staley. I found his ranking on that list to be very interesting because every one of these lists had so much volatility, where like Ronnie Stanley, for instance, I think was gread at number one by somebody, at number eleven by another another scouter executive and that volatility was so interesting to me. But Trent Williams I think was as high as two and

as low as six. So the fact that he still has that level of respect after missing an entire year just tells you how good of a player he has been throughout the course of his career. Now, you talked about one of the niners best players earlier in passing as we kind of pivot here to the skill players at the receiver and tight end position. Now, for my money, George Kittle is the best in the business. I think he was number one in those ESPN rankings. How does

this receiver group kind of take over? I guess I should say replace the production they're gonna lose with Emmanuel Sanders. And where's Deebo Samuel At heading into the season with the foot injury he just suffered. George Kittle coming back into the you know fold as fully healthy after missing some time last year. Talk about these skill players, Brian Emmanuel Sanders was the one question I had as far as off season moves with the forty Niners. They they

have basically the same group returning. They're adding a first round pick in Brandon iuk to that group now to try to replace Emmanuel Sanders hard four rookie wide receivers to make their way in the NFL. I mean, it's just difficult. This off sne is going to be even more difficult than for rookie wide receivers and someone who hasn't had a lot of big time defense Division one football like Brandon Iuk who was a junior college transfer and had really one year of production at Arizona State.

So the Emmanuel Sanders loss is big because they felt they needed to trade for a veteran last year and they're bringing back pretty much the same group but adding

a rookie. So how quickly Brandon i you can get up to speed and he might be a package player early in the season, and then maybe around October we'll see him maybe get a full compliment of starts, potentially in a full complement of snaps and start to play a lot better as Deebo Samuel did last year, which also kind of happened to coincide with the arrival of Emmanuel Sanders. Diebo Samuel had a broken foot in his workouts.

He might miss the beginning of the season. That would be a real downer for the forty nine ers who have a lot of question marks, but a lot of upside at wide receiver. Was seeing young players like Jalen Heard who missed all of last year and Dante Pettis who was in Kyle Shanahan's doghouse. So that wide receiver group is going to be the biggest training camp competition, maybe for two starting spots if Deebo Samuel does miss some time to start the season. And then you yeah,

you mentioned George Kile. I I agree with the ESPN list. I do disagree with some of the things on those lists that I've seen so far, but the one I do agree with is that George Kittle is the best tied end in the league. And it's not just because of his past catching ability. He's one of the best runners after the catch, not only a tied end but as a pure receiver period in the NFL. But it's his ability as a blocker which is really special. He

impacts every single snap of the game. The forty Niners rush for two yards per carry less when George Kittle didn't play last season. That's how valuable he is to the forty Niners offense. I had a chance to watch plenty of Niners tape this this summer because of Matt Brita and getting a look at some of the running

plays there. And I can't tell you how many times Brian that he puts someone on the sideline gets up clapping right in their face, and it's you just don't see guys celebrate blocks that way with the frequency what he did with which he does because he's always doing He's always putting guys on their back side. Now let's go ahead and flip it over to the other side of the ball, and the hits keep coming. For this

Niners roster that's just loaded. John Lynch has done such a good job of loading up the roster with talent. For Kyle Shanahan and for the defensive coordinator's name is escape Robert Sala, the two guys that are really getting a good job or getting a good crop of players to coach up for the Niners. And I think this defensive line is the best part of the team, maybe the most dominant unit in all of football. Nick Bosa,

Solomon Thomas, Eric Armstead, d Ford. And then they swap out this year DeForest Buckner essentially for Javon kin Law. Talking about Senior Bowl stars. There is that the expectation that Kin last steps into that role and is there any reason to think this front won't destroy people again up front like just like they did last season. Yeah, that was the other hard decision forty had to make this off season, letting Emmanuel Sanders walk and then trading

the Forest Buckner to Indianapolis. But once they saw that uh and he was willing to give up that number thirteen. Overall, I think forty Niners just had to do it. It was the It was the shrewd move for the fortys front office and John Lynch, and he said he wanted to keep a strength of strength. So that's why they flipped that first round pick and used it on another

defensive tackle in Javon kin Law. Javon kin Law, I don't expect him to play as much as the iron man DeForest Buckner did because Buckner just almost never came off the field and and he was a really good player for the forty Niners. So it might take a couple of years for Javon can want to get to that level. But he does have the ability. He's such a monster and he can dominate other grown men and put them on their back and put them into the

quarterbacks lap at the college level. So it's gonna be fun to watch his development and I'm sure he will be a big part of that forty Niners defensive line under defensive line coach Chris kusikause it's really just a play forward, play the run on the way to the

quarterback attacking defensive line. Nick Bosa was such a boost of one of the best young players in the NFL, and for my money, I think he's the most valuable player on the forty Niners roster right now seeing what he did as a rookie, and he's already playing at an elite level. If he could get even better, that's just scary for opposing offenses. And then you have Eric Armstead who can play the run as a defensive end.

He can bounce inside and rush the pastor another former first rounder in Solomon Thomas give you a little bit of depth there. The sleeper on the defensive line, those deep j Jones, who's a really good one technique defensive tackle for the forty Niners defense, and when healthy, he is really good and I think he might have a little bit more pass rushing in him as well, but he can take on double teams. He's explosive. He's a big, strong dude built load to the ground. So the forty

Niners have no shortage of talent upfront. And then oh yeah, you have d Ford coming off the edge, who's highly paid third down rusher at this point. Because of some knee problems, he only played about of the snaps last season, and he was so impactful in those snaps. He got a minor procedure done this year. If he can play of the snaps, that'll be huge because the forty Niners pass rush is dynamic when both Nick Bosa and d

Ford are on the field together. As we move on to the second level of defense and linebacker, I'm kind of going over my notes here and realizing does anybody in in the NFL benefit more from the Senior Bowl in the forty Niners? I mean, I mean, I know that trader for Jimmy Garoppolo, that was where really he became an on the scene type of guy at the

Senior Bowl. That yere in, Deebo Samuel same story last year, Javon kin Law this year, and another guy that I fell in love with at Senior Bowl week was linebacker, Fred Warner, does he have a case for you, Brian as the best off ball linebacker in all of football? And what does the rest of this group look like

around him? And Drake green Law as well. So the forty Niners have done a really good job of of scouting and finding good players at the Senior Bowl, and Fred Warner was one that I love that I found late in the process in eighteen and I thought, Okay, he's your outside linebacker, You're your will linebacker, and no, they plugged him in at middle linebacker from day one, put the green dot on his helmet. He's been calling

into place since he was a rookie. And uh, he's probably one of the lesser known, one of the most underrated players in the NFL right now. Fred Warner is so good. He's got range, he can cover, and he's a really smart player too, So um yeah, he's he's basically going to have to be one of those players that steps up in a captain's role, I think with DeForest Buckner now gone. He's so good and he's really

underrated around the league. But when you add the athleticism of Drake green Lawn there as well, he was a rookie fifth round find last years have been so good in that if six round area in the draft. And then Kan Alexander, who they spent a bunch of money on. He's been hurt a lot in his career, but when he's on the field, he's dynamic as well. Brings a

lot of energy and brings a lot of speed. So that's the key with that forty Niners linebacker group is the big guys up front do all the heavy lifting and then let those linebackers fly around cover and go hit people. Let's go ahead and move back to the final level of the defense here in the second dairy, and I think this group probably features the answer to a question I'll ask you here in just a moment

about the unsung star on the football team. But if you can just kind of riff on the second dairy, I'm most curious to know about what Richard Sherman meant to this defense because we know his style of play. He was the lynchpin of that Cover three defense in Seattle that was top ranked defense in the NFL for so many years there up in Seattle with Pete Carroll.

Did he really help kind of transition that same style of defense down to San Francisco from the rival and that cover three And how does that kind of benefit the entire secondary. Yeah, Richard Sherman was a big get, not just because his ability on the field, but I think having that veteran back there in the secondary. And he was even better in twenty nineteen than he was in twenty eighteen. He was coming off that achilles injury in eighteen, and he looked much better in twenty nineteen.

And and whether it's that he's still that guy or it's just reputation, he can shut down one side of the field still and and I think it is somewhat reputation, so the guys on the other side get heavily targeted as a result of Kello Witherspoon has shown at times that he's up to the challenge and then other times he has wilted. That left an opportunity for a really underrated player in Emmanuel Moseley to step in and start at the end of the season at right cornerback, and

I think he actually has solidified that position. And a lot of folks had the four Niners drafting cornerbacks in the first round of their mock drafts, and I think the four Niners like Emmanuel Moseley a lot more than people realize, So I don't think the fourty Niners saw that as an immediate need. Now next year they've got a bunch of free agents and things to figure out.

But I think the fourty nine is really like their starting unit of defensive backs, and that obviously is included in a nickel corner who I think should be considered starting players in the NFL the days in Kawan Williams, who's one of the best nickel corners in the NFL. Two is really good against the run and it flies around and makes plays. So the forty Niners have an underrated defensive backfield, I think. And then the safeties again

a couple of underrated players. I don't think they have a ton of ball production and they don't create a lot of turnovers. But Jimmy Wards uh someone who can drop down and cover people with his experience as a corner and has range in that deep middle of the field. And Jakoski Tarty is a big, rangy, strong safety who can cover and hit people as well. So it's a really good, solid defensive backfield, and you have the star

power in Richard Sherman. So you said the name there, and I want to see if it's the same one you're going to choose for your unsung player. Who is the player on this Niners roster that really makes the biggest impact. But maybe the national fan, the national casual fan doesn't know enough about this player. Who is the guy that we need to know more about on the Niners roster. I think one of them you mentioned earlier

is Fred Warner. I think people who know no but I think nationally still people don't quite realize how good of a player he is. And he'll probably start to get in the conversation of the best linebackers in the NFL, not just like, oh, look, here's a good young linebacker. Now he's one of the best linebackers in the NFL period.

But um, I'm thinking Kawan Williams is the guy that you think is underrated around the league because he's so good in the slot, and you just don't you know, nickel corners just don't get a lot of love in the NFL, but they're starting players and they're so important, and teams more and more target the slot more than

anything else. So I, uh, your number one receiver in your number one target when you're going three wide is playing the slot, and you gotta have a really good slot cornerback, and Kawan Williams has been that for the forty Niners, really underrated player around the league. Yeah, we're talking to your talking to a host of a guy that works for a team that drafted a cornerback in the first round after signing Byron Jones and having Exhabing Howard on the roster, so we know how important cornerback

play is down here as well as anybody. My last question for you here, Brian, and I've been asking my fellow host here are my guests on the podcast, what does this team have to do to get to the playoffs? But I think that would be a little bit selling it short for a Niners team that won thirteen games and fifteen and total if you count the postseason last year, the forty will get back to the super Bowl if fill in the blank. I think they just have to

continue to do what they're doing. I think they have to not all flat on their face. I think, you know, Jimmy Garoppolo can't get hurt again. I think that's the number one key I talked earlier about how a rising

tide raises all ships. So Jimmy Garoppolo getting a little bit better, I think is the number one key with this team, because teams that have the film teams, you know, defenses are so good and they'll have some ways that they want to attack the forty Niners and if they try to take away the middle of the field and they're able to stack the box and stop the run a little bit and maybe have an extra safety there in the middle of the field on George Kittle, forty

Niners have to win outside. So it's Jimmy Garoppolo and it's the young wide receiver group developing on the outside. I think that's the one thing that really needs to happen, and the development needs to happen fast. Someone needs to step up and be a playmaker outside of Deebo Samuel

at wide receiver, and that's what I'm looking for. Because on defense, I mean, they plug their hole with the best player they possibly could, Jabon Ken Law, and they're bringing everybody else back and it's such a great unit. I have no worries about the defensive side of the ball. So if that offense, can they continue to put up points and can they maybe even put up more points than they did last year because it seems like teams in this league are able to score more and more points,

have more and more speed on the field. Can the forty Niners keep up on offense? That will be the number one key I think to me to getting back to the super Bowl. It's a four oh five kickoff and week number five, the Dolphins traveled to San Francisco take on the Niners on October eleven. He is Brian Peacocky is the host of Locked on NFL and Locked on forty Niners. You can find him on Twitter at b d Peacock. Brian, thank you so much for joining us.

We learned a ton about your San Francisco forty Niners. Anytime, Travis pleasure chatting with you again. Pleasure is all mine. Be well, my friend, and there he goes Brian Peacock Locked on forty Niners, Locked on NFL podcast. Really good stuff there and a unique perspective on how the Niners will approach this season coming off a trip to the Super Bowl where they did come up just short, but again Dolphins will see them in week number five. As for today podcast, that is going to be my time

you all. Please be sure to subscribe to the podcast on Apple podcast, on Spotify, wherever you get your podcast from. Go ahead and leave us a rating, leave us a review. Follow me on Twitter It's at Wingfield, NFL. Follow the Dolphins at Miami Dolphins, check out the fish Tank and the Audible podcast, and of course Miami Dolphins dot com. Until next time, fins up.