Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Yes, sir. Car Seat Chronicles. Dieter Kurtenbach back in the beater car.
[00:00:05] Make a model and year in the comment section below.
[00:00:10] And we're not talking about Graco, baby. We're sneaky. Sponsored by Graco. Chaotic day with the 49ers. Chaotic day. A little bit of a surprise. As well as CJ west goes on ir. This is not a Cam Latu situation, if you will. Though I do think we might have one of those and we'll get into it a little bit later.
[00:00:30] This is bone chip in his knee, which sounds awful and is going to require surgery and is going to put C.J. wetzel. He's already on the IR. He's on the IR.
[00:00:42] So in comes Naquan Jones. Naquan Jones is a true one technique. He is a true 0/1. This man comes in on first and second down. He is there to be massive. He is there to bull rush if the situation to rush arises. He is here to hopefully for the 49ers, actually anchor against a double team because they haven't had anyone do it all year long. They haven't had anyone do it in training camp. I don't know. I have to go back and check the playoff tape. They sure as hell weren't doing it against the Seattle Seahawks.
[00:01:18] Maybe they did it against Philly. But I would say in the calendar year of 2026, no one has yet anchored against a duo run, which is all the rage in the league, as we well know. What Sean McVay did the year before, everyone else copies the next year and the Niners have just been gashed by it. Gashed whether it was Alfred Collins in the preseason, C.J. west here in the regular season, they have not had a viable zero or one technique on this team.
[00:01:46] And with five man fronts and some of the responsibilities shifting from what we have known to be the 49ers defensive front, which is wide nine classic wide nine. Chris Kaserek. A one technique, a three technique, a five technique and a nine with very little variation. Now we're mixing and matching, bringing in somebody who is maybe more of a true 3, 4 nose, which I do believe CJ west bulked up. It's the kind way of putting it. I certainly have done it many times in my life. Bulked up to play.
[00:02:19] Can't think but can't help but think that there might be some connection there to his knees not doing so hot. I know that when the big boy here balloons up to close to 4 hundo, as I've done a couple times in my Life like the joints ain't too happy and some stuff gets loose and boy it's, it's tough for cj. He was not playing well, but it was better in Week two. Maybe that's just playing the Dolphins compared to the Rams.
[00:02:45] And the Niners were counting on him. They were going to keep playing him. They were planning on him continuing to improve, continuing to feel out maybe a little bit of a heavier body. The new responsibilities are now done and that will lead to some interesting conversations down the line. Naquan Jones is in. McKinley Jackson is on the practice squad. Kevin Givens, who is a three technique gap shooter in the line of a Grayson Halton who has played great so far this season, is on the practice squad as well.
[00:03:14] They brought in five guys and got rid of Bryson Eason onto the 53 man roster.
[00:03:21] They have two of them left, Halton and Osa Adigizuwa, who is not a run defender to the point where the Dallas Cowboys traded them away because they were going to a front that was more aligned towards stopping the run.
[00:03:36] So that's where the Niners run defense is. It has not been good and now Naquan Jones and I would imagine McKinley Jackson, though it could be Givens are going to be asked to make it better. Should also be noted that Valami Fayoko, let's try that again. Valami Fayoko out of San Jose State, someone who actually had a pretty good third preseason game. Niners brought him in kind of last second at the end of the preseason and I thought he was pretty good in the third preseason game that the Niners played.
[00:04:05] He is a bigger bodied strong side defensive end. He can play a three technique maybe on early downs just to give you a little bit more heft in the middle. They are winging it. They're winging it right now because they weren't good and now they have injuries to the guys who weren't good and maybe that's a good thing. Maybe this is the cleansing fire. But you are in a situation where you are having to add at a vital position, at a position that is the first line of defense in run stopping. And I am firmly of the belief that if you cannot stop the run you cannot play high level defense in the NFL or really at any level.
[00:04:43] They are just having to pick dudes up off the street and hope that they could be the solution to the problem. Chris Kuceric deserves the benefit of the doubt with that. He has done it before, though I would argue not necessarily a defensive tackle. You can find your strong side defensive end though. Boy, can he. He has run through the the just an unbelievable hit list of strong side defensive ends. Now having to find a true nose guard.
[00:05:07] We're gonna find out. Raheem Morris is going to have his work cut out for him here this week. Chris Kaserek has his work cut out for him this week. Along those lines so now CJ west is on the ir. That is seven players that the Niners have on ir, with two more who could very well and very easily be added to IR by the end of the week. And you might say, of course, Dieter, it's the 49ers. They have nothing but guys on the IR at all times. To which I say, yes, of course, we're very familiar with this. The Niners are going into their third game of the season. They're going into week three of the NFL season and if even one of James Thompson or DeMarcus Robinson goes on IR, they could have theoretically already used up all eight of their designated to returns for the year.
[00:05:53] Now the way that this works, and forgive me, this is going to get real boring real fast.
[00:05:58] Don't turn it off. I'll try to be as quickly as get through this as quickly as possible. Let's just go through the guys on ir. You have Nate Hobbs. He has a groin injury. You have Christian Kirk, he has a calf injury. He was designated to return at the end of training camp. That's important. Nick Martin has a hamstring injury. He was kept on the 53 man roster and then put on IR a day later as to avoid the designated to return thing. Austin Pleasance has a knee injury. He was designated to return. Those are both of the designated TO returns that you get coming out of training camp. Used up on Kirk and Pleasants, though you don't actually have to bring them back.
[00:06:32] Sam oh has a foot in theory, he's designated to return as well. He's a very good player. Dijon Stribling has an ankle on the ir. You could maybe bring him back, maybe not. CJ west now bone chip knee. Kyle Shanahan seemed optimistic that he'll get back into the fold.
[00:06:47] It almost would be a bad sign if they want to bring him back into the fold. And then Marcus Robinson has an ankle injury that's going to keep him out several weeks at the minimum. And then James Thompson has a high ankle injury as well. And with the way that dts are, maybe they just don't even bother. But here's how designated to return works. Coming out of training camp, you have to designate two guys for return. The guys that they didn't designate for return at the end of training camp, one being Nick Sakel. He can't come back. Brett tothe on IR cannot come back. You only get to bring back two guys in season if you put them on IR at the 53 man cut down. Which is why again the next day they do Martin and they put him on and I believe Hobbs as well. They put him on IR a day later. He had to be carried on the 53 man roster. Now here's the deal. The designated return doesn't really matter at this point. It was just a procedural thing out of training camp. So now you are allowed to bring back eight players. You do not have to bring back Christian Kirk. You do not have to bring back Austin Pleasants. The they would count against that eight, but it is a nebulous eight. And so guys like Stribling who might not be coming back until November, do you want to keep that spot open or do you want to just concede the season for Dejon stribling now as to allow yourself to use somebody earlier. These are the questions that the 49ers have to ask three weeks into the season. Do we want to burn a designated for return on a guy? Like let's just use Nick Martin for an example. He might be a prime LATU candidate which is you have a hamstring injury. Sure, that's the reason we put you on IR after we carried you on the 53 man roster. But with nine guys in theory now who could go on IR and seven who are on IR including Martin, with only eight allowed to return.
[00:08:35] Do you want to use a return on Nick Martin whenever that hamstring is fine? And by the way, no one has said anything about him at all. I haven't seen him in the locker room. I haven't seen anything.
[00:08:46] If I had to guess right now and things will change, things might change by tomorrow. But if I had to guess right now the 49ers are not viewing Nick Martin as somebody who's going to get back into the fold this year. They're not going to use up one of the eight because again are players like Austin Pleasance who they are definitely going to want to have to maintain a return spot for should something happen to Trent Williams or Colton McKivitz or Vedarian Lau or even at guard because Austin Pleasance did play a little bit of guard. Sam O is a player that they value a lot. I'm certain that they're going to Depending on his recovery time and if it gets a little bit later and the recovery isn't going as well, okay, that makes the decision for you. But if everything goes swimmingly and he's back halfway through the season, they're going to want him back.
[00:09:28] It gets a little bit trickier with Stribling now because we're at the very end of the season. Should also be noted you get to return two additional players for the playoffs. But again, it's week three and we're talking about, hey, maybe use one of the two designated the returns in the playoffs. That's the level of chaos we have going on here right now. Do they want to bring back West? Has somebody played so well that, okay, we're fine without west at this point, it'd be very hard to argue. You don't bring back a defensive tackle, even one that's played poorly. But maybe in a couple of weeks things have solidified to where you're not so worried about it. I don't know. Demarcus Robinson, if you put him on IR now, you're definitely going to use up one of those return spots.
[00:10:09] Do you just keep them around for a couple weeks? I mean, this is the way I was talking to Matt Mayoko in the 49ers media room today and I appreciate Matt kind of helping me solidify these thoughts. And again, you should have heard it before I started solidifying the thoughts with Matt.
[00:10:23] Do you just keep DeMarcus Robinson around to make him inactive for a couple weeks so that you don't have to put him on IR and don't have to burn a designated to return? Do you do that with James Thompson? Like, do you just keep a dead spot on your roster for the next couple of weeks as we wave bye bye here to the black minivan?
[00:10:42] Do you just keep a couple of guys who are clearly injured on your roster? Play with 52, play with 51, and that's what you can play with each week and not have to worry about the designated to return. That's where we're at right now. It's week three.
[00:10:59] I mean, that substation, it's really kicking their ass, isn't it? Okay, let's talk about Brandon Cooks. We talked about this yesterday. I did a little video on it. So some people didn't quite get where I was going. That's on me. I should be very clear and concise and straightforward with my thoughts, opinions and analysis. Here's how Kyle Shanahan put it today.
[00:11:23] Brandon Cooks is on practice squad. Okay? He is coming in off the couch. He had other opportunities. I believe the Baltimore Ravens were very interested in his services, but given the situation they had going there, he didn't feel that was great. He's a Stockton kid, so there's something, you know, spent some time in California before there was something there. This was an appealing offer. And it sounds like the Niners made him a pretty clear case of, hey, you'll get an opportunity to play here, if not this week, surely in the weeks to come. Because who knows how many people are still going to be healthy after this game against the Arizona Cardinals. So Mike Evans didn't practice today with the hip injury.
[00:11:57] No one really knows what the hip injury is. A bunch of veterans rest today.
[00:12:01] Tomorrow's the more interesting day on Mike Evans.
[00:12:04] Romello Height didn't practice today with a hand injury. I would be stunned if Romello Height is playing on Sunday. His arm is braced, it is in a cast. He ain't playing. It is unsafe for him to play with that hand. Now. You could cast it up like nobody's business and I guess he could use it as a club and beat someone over the head with it. That is a level of toughness that CJ west, to his credit, did do last year.
[00:12:29] Maybe you take the week off.
[00:12:31] Just a thought back to Cooks.
[00:12:35] The Niners frankly only have three wide receivers positions to play with here. And this is how Kyle broke it down. He said that you really only have three and that four and five are typically special teams players. Okay, you have Kadero Hodge. He is a important special teams player. That's not just me saying it. That is Kyle making that note in his press conference today. And the other is obviously Jacob Cowing, their punt returner, who they have a very high opinion of in the building.
[00:13:01] I've never aligned with it personally, but it's their decision to make. They think that he can be a really, really good punt returner. And to be fair, there is some evidence to that. Just not enough to where it's and separates him to where you can't, you know, have a conversation about cowing. Sounded to me reading between the tea leaves here or reading the tea leaves and reading between the lines. One of the two that cowing is just locked in every week because of punt return in the same way Sky Moore was last year. So that gives you three wide receiver spots to play with.
[00:13:32] Three.
[00:13:34] One of them's going to Mike Evans if he can play. The other one's going to Debo Samuel. Who's your third wide receiver.
[00:13:42] It could be Brandon Cooks. It could be Jordan Watkins.
[00:13:46] I repeat what I've said yesterday. I repeat what I've tweeted. If Jordan Watkins, who is now in his second year in the NFL, who is somebody who has been in this system now for two years, if Jordan Watkins isn't trusted enough to play this week, and I'm just talking this week, if they decide Brandon Cook, straight off the couch, hasn't played in the NFL since the end of last year, 13 years of tread on the tire at 5 foot 9 and maybe 180 pounds.
[00:14:16] If they decide that guy is a better option for them this week against the Arizona Cardinals than Jordan Watkins, then we have a grade A roster malpractice from John Lynch, Kyle Shanahan and everyone that 49ers front office grade A roster malpractice because they gave Jordan.
[00:14:38] Jordan Watkins had every opportunity in camp to do something, to take a job, to solidify himself as an option, a depth option, but an option for this team this year, he did not do that. And he was the only one who seemed to be out there damn near every day. He didn't do it. Not as a punt returner, not as a special teamer, and not as a receiver straight up playing in the late second half of preseason games. He maybe did a little something then, but he was playing up against dudes who are literally selling insurance right now. I can think of two exact cases of guys who have already moved on from the NFL. So that's who he was going up against.
[00:15:13] And you think about cornerback depth in this league in general, at the high end, what's it like in the second half of preseason games? Who's playing corner? I mean, it's cousins and guys pulled from the stands. So, yeah, okay, he did a little bit of work then in practices, in the portion of games that mattered. He didn't. They kept him on the roster anyway because they were too afraid. And there's no other way to phrase this, they were too afraid of showing that they were wrong. They wanted to give him one more shot, baby, just give me one more chance, okay? Pushovers. They wanted to do it. They get rid of Bryson Eason, who, for whatever Bryson Eason was worth, undrafted free agent out of Tennessee. He had a little something to him. He was going to be more of a project for this team. They got rid of him on the basis of, we got to keep Jordan Watkins around. Okay? Okay. And listen, when. When you're down as many receivers as you are, there's a level of logic to that, right? You just think oh, man. We got Mike Evans, we got Debo. He's, you know, older guys.
[00:16:15] We got a rookie and Stribling. Kirk's already on ir. Okay, maybe we. We keep the flexibility at wide receiver. Would you have preferred some flexibility at defensive tackle?
[00:16:25] Hard to argue. You wouldn't. Especially when you're picking up a dude off the street. And he could very well play over Jordan Watkins this week.
[00:16:32] Brandon Cooks. If it's not Brandon Cooks, it could have been Marquez, Valdez, Scanling or Ray Ray McLeod. Though to be fair, someone in the comment section. I appreciate this. Noted. Raymond McLeod might not be welcome back in the 49ers locker room. I had spaced that out. It was a very good point. There was some back and forth with Lenore. I had to go back and forth with Lenore today. We'll put it in a column, but just roster malpractice. Jordan Watkins has to be active this week because they need a top three receiver. And if Brandon Cooks is determined to be a better top three receiver for this 49ers team going into week three, coming off the street, then just cut Jordan Watkins now. Just get rid of him. Because who else wouldn't play over him? If Brandon Cooks, and I like Brandon Cooks. Brandon Cooks is a good player. He's a very polished, professional wide receiver. Kyle's like, I've been a fan of him for 10 years. Of course you are, Kyle. He is the epitome of everything you've ever wanted in a receiver, save for the fact that you're about nine years too late, save for the fact that Brandon Cooks was going to be here for a good time, not for a long time.
[00:17:38] If Brandon Cooks plays this week, John lynch has some splaining to do and Kyle Shanahan has some splaining to do. And I'm going to make him explain it right after that game. Hell, I might make John lynch splain it before the game when the inactives come out, I'm going to be making a beeline down to the field and being like, hey, John, why'd you keep Jordan Watkins?
[00:17:57] I'm rooting for Jordan Watkins.
[00:17:59] I'm rooting for him. This is going to be his last opportunity. These next three days are going to be his last opportunity with this team, someone else might pick him up. But with this team, and I have clearly, I'd like to think clearly, made the argument that he didn't even deserve this shot. So I'm rooting for the underdog story. I'm rooting for him to make the most of this last opportunity because Brandon Cooks will always be around or someone like Brandon Cooks will always be around. But Jordan Watkins might not get another go at this. So I'm rooting for him. I'm rooting for him. I want to see young players succeed. I want to see people live out their dreams. I want to see good football.
[00:18:36] And maybe Jordan Watkins has that in him to provide that for the 49ers on Sunday so that I don't have to be thinking, man, how do I say Brandon Cooks looks old and washed without saying that because. Because that's mean, right? Or Brandon Cooks comes out and has an unbelievable game and of course they went with him over Jordan. Jordan Watkins. In which case, then there's another conversation to be had with a lot of the same tentacles that we have already laid out there.
[00:19:00] Other than that, Other than that, not a lot to get to. Great talk with Marquis Siegel and d' Amador Lenore and Jake Brendel who is just becoming a go to in the locker room today. Jake and I will talk about all of those conversations that I had. Jake and I have been deep into the Arizona tape. They got something now. They got something. There's some players on Arizona.
[00:19:24] You think, oh, Arizona, Miami, they're the same thing. The hell they are. I don't know if Arizona is going to be any good, but they are echelons, echelons better than the Miami Dolphins and they can give you a game. We, we all agree that the car or the.
[00:19:39] We all agree that the Chargers suck now after watching two games of them. But they kind of kicked the Chargers ass. And yeah, Seattle kicked the Cardinals ass last week.
[00:19:52] That's Seattle.
[00:19:54] I mean, Seattle.
[00:19:58] Reports of their demise greatly overstated that defense is still all time. That offense can really move people off the line of scrimmage. JSN is as good as it gets at any position in the league. Just any player. I mean a true Madden 99 and Drew Lock, the pride of the University of Missouri, putting on the backpack. Baby can get it done. He can get it done. I don't know if he can win a Super bowl with him, but he can get it done for the Seattle Seahawks as currently constituted. So don't read too much into the ass kicking that the Seahawks put on to the Cardinals last week. The Seahawks gonna be doing that to a lot of teams and the Niners have their work cut out for them this week. Week they should win. I believe they're favored by 8 and a half at least. That was the opening line.
[00:20:43] I would take the points as it stands currently. But Jake and I will break it all down on Friday. Larry and I will talk theoretically. Saw Larry today. He didn't mention anything of the sort. But we should have a standing date for Thursday nights. Heaven forbid I go and ever see my wife. No, I got to talk to Larry for two and a half hours on a Thursday night and plenty more between now and kickoff Sunday here at the stadium. I can stare at. And there's some rust stains.
[00:21:08] Some rust stains no one wants to get out the white paint.
[00:21:12] Whatever. Maybe I'll just do it. We'll talk to you asap.
