Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] All right, time for the chronicles. Dieter Kurtenbach, 49ers practiced on today, August 23rd.
[00:00:07] More importantly, George Kittle sort of, kind of practiced. And Christian McCaffrey definitely practiced and even Keon White was out there today. So this feels like go time for San Francisco, which is not at all surprising giving given that in a week and a half or so they're like on a plane to Australia. They got, they got two and a half weeks until they start their season. And let's just get into the kiddo thing.
[00:00:36] The smart money doesn't look so smart. The smart money says that's a year long injury. The smart money says that it's 18 months before he looks like his old self. The smart money rolls their eyes and goes, yeah, good. A good Achilles tear. Oh boy, whatever that is. It's like a fun commute in the Bay Area.
[00:00:57] And maybe that all comes to pass. The fact of the matter is this. George Kittle has never made any damn sense. This doesn't make any damn sense.
[00:01:05] Par for the course. He's out there and he has looked really good.
[00:01:11] From the very little that we've been able to see working on the sidelines and such, the reviews from folks around the team. And they could couch their praise, they could duck away from the questions. They've been effusive in their praise, probably in part because it doesn't make any sense. But as I've said many times on this channel and in other places like the Greats don't make any sense.
[00:01:37] Right. And I'm sure we could come up with some very viable reasons as to why recovery in the year 2026 is happening at a faster rate than perhaps five or ten years ago. We can absolutely come up with those ideas. And I'm not going to tell you you're wrong about those ideas. The fact of the matter is he's on the field and he practiced, albeit not in 11 on elevens. And they have two and a half weeks until a game.
[00:02:06] And he's got a shot.
[00:02:08] He's got a shot.
[00:02:10] I don't know if he plays against the Rams, but he's got a shot. He's off the PUP list, so they don't have to wait until October to play him if he's ready. It is a question of sooner rather than later, which is exactly what he has been telling people. Which is exactly what the team's been telling people. But it was so difficult to believe and I was open minded to it at the same time. You probably, you know, the Niners as we have seen throughout the years, and in particularly this year, have been very keen to be slow on the return. Right? We're gonna, we're gonna play it right. Even think about last year in George Kittle's injury in week one, we're gonna play this, we're gonna play the long con here. We're gonna really wait this one out.
[00:02:53] So I thought that might be the case. This go around. And not that it's my, my thing, but power of positive thinking, all that. You gotta say what you gotta say. Whatever you need to do to get through the monotonous, horrible rehab that is Achilles rehab. Whatever you got to say, George, like it was a good Achilles tear or, you know, we're gonna get back for week one. You do you, buddy. You do you. And yet here he is, the power positive. No one had, no one had the correct line to tell George Kittle that he couldn't do this. So he's doing it in the same way that no one had the right mind to tell George Kittle that he shouldn't be a Hall of Fame caliber tight end. And so he just went out and did it. It's. It's really incredible stuff and it's a big boost. I mean, he's a caffeinated golden retriever.
[00:03:35] So I called him in my column today. And him being out there, it's inherently optimistic, even if he's not playing elevens.
[00:03:43] On the flip side of this, Christian McCaffrey was back today. Christian McCaffrey indeed practiced with the elevens. Christian McCaffrey looked exquisite. Christian McCaffrey looked like someone. Christian McCaffrey looks great when he is dog tired. Imagine what he looks like with fresh legs. Well, that's what we saw today. And he was, he was exceptional. In fact, I would argue that him and Kalon Black were both exceptional today. And I thought Jordan James was very good.
[00:04:08] So the running back room has a real shot to be awesome, like legitimately awesome this year. Because Jordan James isn't, isn't the flashiest player, right? He doesn't look fast. He might not even be fast. And yet no one can seem to catch up to him.
[00:04:26] Kalon Black had a cut today, a jump cut today that made me exclaim, which I'm never proud to do. But I whoa, that's not normal. He is way more athletic than he looked on his tape at Indiana and he looked pretty damn athletic there. And then Christian McCaffrey is still just Christian McCaffrey. Oh, and by the way, for anyone who was pedaling that absolute nonsense. That Christian McCaffrey was doing some sort of contract holdout.
[00:04:53] It's exactly as I told you. This was all part of the trainer's plan. They took two weeks off in the middle of the season. I didn't think it would be two weeks, to be fair, but it was.
[00:05:04] Ramp up, cool down, don't get injured. Ramp up again. Today we started the ramp up again. All part of the plan. But at least no one showed their bare ass in public over the course of about two weeks when he was out, because I believe August 8th was his last.
[00:05:19] His last practice with tightness. As if they weren't giving away the game by calling it tightness. The vaguest term known to man. Tightness. What the hell is that? Even where everywhere. His entire body's tight. That seems like a major medical emergency. Oh, it's not that. So you're just making up an injury. That's fine. They shouldn't have been practicing them anyway. But in the absence of any good information, which they were never going to give you, because they're not going to say we're holding them out for two weeks.
[00:05:47] We're just going to come up with some vague injury so that you go do what you want with that.
[00:05:53] At least, you know, people didn't absolutely embarrass themselves in that prospect by. In that process by, you know, making up stuff. Just making up stuff.
[00:06:02] It's fine. But. Oh, no, we were just asking questions.
[00:06:05] Give me a break.
[00:06:07] Keon White was back today. I. I didn't see him make much of an impact.
[00:06:11] Romello Height was not there today. We do not know why he was not there today. Lenore and Stribling returned to practice. They were wearing no contact jerseys. Both participated in 11 on 11, which between McCaffrey, Lenore and Stribling all being out there, all not really being well, two of them wearing jerseys that indicate. Do not hit these guys, right? Lenore, like, don't go in there and tackle anybody. Stribling, please do not hit Stribling. They got shoulder injuries. It's great that they're practicing, but you want to be careful with them. And then McAffrey out there, and he looked incredible. I'm not couching this at all, but McAffrey out there and every player, because they're not tackling the ground. Every player out there being like, I don't know, should I touch him?
[00:06:56] I. I don't want to get Christian McCaffrey injured. I don't want to do anything. So it's kind of like that indecision that you see from defenses when, like a Lamar Jackson or a Josh Allen is running in the open field. And they're like, he could slide at any moment. Do I even try to tackle him or does he just slide? I don't know. An indecision is death on defense. So I. It was not a good day for the defense. I'm not really going to play the whole, you know, who won today because tomorrow it changes. I'm more concerned about the personnel of all of it. And I thought that both teams got their licks in. By the way, Fred Warner. You got to tone it down a bit.
[00:07:29] He cloth lined Kalon Black today, clotheslined him. I know that the defense wasn't having a good day, but, you know, maybe don't clothesline the rookie they absolutely hit the crap out of to the point where I'm like, oh, great, he injured Kalon Black. Now Kalon Black's a tough dude. He took the next snap but absolutely clotheslined him. It felt like the music stopped at practice when that happened. So that's how Fred Warner do, but maybe don't do that anymore. Fred, I understand that, you know, you gotta. You got a standard to upheld. You got.
[00:08:03] You play the game at 110 at all times, but, boy, that was. That was.
[00:08:08] That was a dangerous moment. So a weird day of practice altogether, but a day that I think is the start of a new block, in essence. I know that they have their practice blocks, they have the way that they're, you know, scheduled it all out, but today felt like the real start of the regular season in a way, and they'll play on Thursday. And it is kind of sort of an elimination game for some players. Like Cowing versus Watkins is going to be huge on Thursday. Willis versus who is the other damn tackle? Colby is going to be huge on. On Thursday. There's a lot of spots that are not entirely up for grabs because it's not as simple as that. There's practices and other games and all that, but these would be really great data points if you were trying to make a team. And so we. We'll find that on Thursday, but we're kind of down to brass tax with that. They're going to have to have a roster decision by Monday.
[00:09:00] They're on a plane next Wednesday.
[00:09:02] They're going to have to have their roster decision by Monday, if not a little bit beforehand, so that they can get in, get on with their roster chicanery, right? So that they can get the right people on the plane. That means that you Got to spend the day or two that guys would have to clear waivers and then bring them back. Or are they on the practice squad? Because they're taking the. They're taking everybody. They're taking anybody who has a roster spot and the practice squad guys. So they got to figure out, to my knowledge, I could be wrong about that. I would take the practice squad guys, seeing as you're practicing, but no one's told me they haven't.
[00:09:31] So we're just going to go with yes.
[00:09:34] They got to get all that dealt with, all of that dealt with. And it's a little bit trickier because it's a little bit of an earlier time frame than everybody else. And I just wonder how that's going to work for them. And, you know, maybe John lynch would answer my text just. Just saying that'd be nice.
[00:09:51] Evans, Tonjas. Tonjas was very good again today.
[00:09:55] Tanjis has been so impressive. I think I mentioned this yesterday. If I didn't, you know, forgive the redone. If I did forgive the redundancy.
[00:10:02] We're just, we're just hanging on by a thread over here. But Ton just has looked so much better as a blocker on film in practice. It's noticeable as well. And boy, can he catch the football. Tanjis is a dude.
[00:10:14] I'm not out here telling, you know, advocating like, go get Tonjas and fantasy drafts because George Kittle's back and might play in week one and that's not fantasy land. That is something that with two and a half weeks before week one, like, it's all lining up for that possibility.
[00:10:32] Possibility.
[00:10:34] But Tonjas just looks awesome. And if Kittle can't go, Tonjas feel very good about tonsis, put it that way. I didn't see any differentiation today between Colby and we Willis.
[00:10:49] I would still say that it's Willis's Willis's job. There's no reason to say against that.
[00:10:55] Having Trent next to him makes him a better pass pro guy, gives him less room to work with and that makes him a little look. Look a little more comfortable.
[00:11:04] He is a mauler in the running game. He's awesome in the run game. They're going to be able to run the ball left if Carver Willis is their left guard. There's no question about that.
[00:11:13] Oh, and I buried the lead. James Thompson's the first string defensive tackle. Now. We've been telling you this inevitability was coming to pass for a long time.
[00:11:23] At a certain point, the tape wins out and you can't do the politics anymore. And you can't have the wishful thinking anymore. At some point you just have to play your best guy. And Thompson's their best guy. It's not even debatable. If you've watched any of these practices and if you've watched these games, he's been their best guy. Does it make any particular sense also? No. Another thing with this team that doesn't make any sense, but it works. All he does is win. And I remember the first day of practice I was standing next to the defensive lineman. They're doing their, you know, their drills right before everything kind of gets going with 11 on elevens and Karek was leaning in to Thompson, telling him to get his pad level lower.
[00:12:04] I don't think his pad level's been up since there was one play where he got duo blocked into oblivion against the the Chargers ever said outside of that, I mean the pad level has been immaculate. Immaculate. Like teach tape pad level to pair it. And great drive with it too. Despite not having an overtly, you know, big ass or you know, heavy tree trunk legs. He's an upper body guy. So he has that initial punch that nobody else on the team can match, including CJ west who is all punch baby.
[00:12:33] And also just this great drive based on technique. This is an all time find. It's not a question on if he's going to make the team or not.
[00:12:44] It's not a question like he is not just making the team. He might be starting in week one and you might go, he's an undrafted free agent. How is that possible? Well, there's a little bit of everyone else not being good enough and a lot of him just absolutely kicking ass every time they've given him a chance. And it's the classic just, well, he was fourth string and then he's third string and now he's second string and oh, here he is first string and they still mixed in Alfred Collins and they still had C.J. west out there. And it's not as if he's exclusive and he's going to be on the field for 55 snaps or anything, but he's the first string defensive tackle. It was the case in one on ones today. It was the case when they went to 11 on elevens today.
[00:13:22] He's been too good. He's been too good and he doesn't lose. He doesn't lose.
[00:13:27] Awesome standout in one on ones. Had a sack unquestionably in 11 on 11 today. James Thompson. Get yourself a 75 jersey. It'll tell Me that, you know, some ball he's been. He's been fantastic. And again, it does have a lot to do with. With Alfred Collins just not getting there. Has a lot to do with C.J. west missing time.
[00:13:49] Has a lot to do with a lot of other guys. But there's no question that Thompson is. This is not a win by default thing.
[00:13:56] This is not a. Carver Willis. Oh, we've run out of good. Everyone else has disqualified themselves. Come on, Carver. Willis.
[00:14:02] No, this is James Thompson just kicking ass all the way to the top of the depth chart. And here we are with a defensive line that is very much in flux. We still don't have a Nick Bosa out there, so have no idea if that is something that is likely for week one. Like if we all want to show our ass and wildly speculate about, like, I don't know, I don't know. Because at least they can attribute what his injury. Like, they can point to his injury. They can tell us that it's knee tendinitis. Now, Nick.
[00:14:33] Nick's a low key dude.
[00:14:35] He has presented optimism that he'll be there for week one. At some point he's going to have to practice. So I presume that's either Tuesday or after the game on Thursday.
[00:14:43] But again, they're on a plane on Wednesday. He'll be on the plane.
[00:14:47] Does he start practicing in Australia?
[00:14:50] That seems bold.
[00:14:52] But they might not have any choice because I don't know what the deal is with Romello. We'll find out, I imagine in the next 48 hours. They don't have enough defensive ends. They don't have enough defensive ends right now. And them having to do a roster cut down more or less before everybody else, that can make it tricky. They might be buying a Qantas flight for somebody to come on down. Come on down. Hey, can you get to Melbourne? Melbourne? Like I'm already in Florida. I can get to Melbourne. No, no, no. Australia. Can you get to Melbourne? Australia?
[00:15:24] We need a defense event.
[00:15:26] That's where this team's at right now.
[00:15:28] So a lot of good. A lot of good. George Kittle's back. Christian McCaffrey's back. They look fantastic. Brock Purdy and Fred Warner got into it today. We're having fun playing football. This is good stuff. This is good stuff. James Thompson moving number one on the depth chart. Good stuff.
[00:15:42] Still some serious questions, though. Still some stuff that needs to get answered and it can be answered in the affirmatively very soon or we could be asking questions all the way up to kickoff Friday morning 10:00am Melbourne, Australia I don't know. I don't know. Here's what I do know.
[00:16:00] Subscribe, like leave a comment get in on this fantasy football thing if you're already a sicko, it's going to be a great time. We got the teams. We're doing it. So now if you want to, if you were waiting, I don't know if they're going to do it and I don't need to be the person to kind of put it over the edge. I don't want to fully commit. Now's the time to commit. We're doing a draft on Tuesday night. Very excited for that indeed. So many other fun things coming your way in the coming days and weeks. We're going to get a lot more overarching NFL stuff coming.
[00:16:30] A lot of looks at other teams, a lot of trends that we're keeping track of, a lot of trends that we think are coming. A lot of names that you need to know for this season if you want to feel like you're in way too deep in the weeds when it comes to the NFL.
[00:16:45] Talking about D2 quarterbacks making an impact as a rookie.
[00:16:50] Y' all know what I'm talking about. You're all sickos. And we'll talk to you all tomorrow. Monday, Larry and I will be streaming. Tuesday, be here. We'll do some Carsey Chronicles. Jake and I will stream. We'll do our draft for college fantasy football and so very much more. As I said, for the Niners, it's go time. That means it is double go time for sickos football. The Dieter and Huck Show. We'll catch you in the next one.
