Kawakami: Kittle next to McCaffrey — the heart of the 49ers’ locker room culture (paywall)
“When I asked Bethune for an example of some wise words he’s received from Kittle or McCaffrey, he couldn’t wait to tell me.
“I remember Christian told me not to eat right before I go to sleep because your body can’t digest it, sleep and recovery at the same time,” Bethune said.
Have you followed that advice, Tatum? “Oh yeah,” Bethune said, in a tone that suggested that ignoring some McCaffrey advice would be
stunningly stupid.
Morstead, meanwhile, had a more veteran viewpoint of life next to two superstars.“
Veteran linebacker Eric Kendricks becoming comfortable in new role with 49ers
““I don’t know what I envisioned,” Kendricks said on Wednesday. “I took a leap of faith, as far as the organization was concerned. I just had a gut feeling. I didn’t want to jump on anything too early that didn’t feel quite right.
“I didn’t play for a whole, so nothing really felt right. I got this opportunity, and it felt right…
NFL playoffs: Key matchups to watch in each NFC wild-card game (paywall)
“Jalen Hurts hasn’t run as much on designed runs and scrambles, which has hurt the Eagles shotgun running game, so they’ve run the ball more from under center, where they get most of their explosive rushes. However, they don’t pass much from under center (30th in dropbacks from under center), which makes them predictable.
Last season, the Eagles only had one game under 100 rushing yards, in Week 18, when they rested their starters. This season, they’ve had nine games under 100. Notably, they struggled to run the ball against some of the league’s worst run defenses, such as the Washington Commanders, Buffalo Bills and Dallas Cowboys. As mentioned, the 49ers run defense has struggled in the last few weeks, but it has a shot at stopping the Eagles run game. The Bills did so by confusing their blocking schemes with line games and run blitzes, and 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh did the same to the Seattle Seahawks in Week 18 after getting gashed on the ground early in the game. Still, anytime you have Saquon Barkley in the backfield, the threat of the big run always looms.
The Eagles faced the seventh-highest rate of two-deep safeties, which limited Hurts’ ability to throw outside to A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. Despite all the two-high shells they faced, they struggled to run the ball consistently. 49ers cornerback Deommodore Lenoir has struggled as of late, and Renardo Green is just coming back from injury. If the 49ers are forced to play one-high coverage because of the run, it’ll be a lot to ask Lenoir and Green to cover Brown and Smith one-on-one, especially with their nonexistent pass rush. With right tackle Lane Johnson possibly returning from injury, it’ll be even more difficult to get to Hurts and make the run game a bigger threat.
Although Saleh is a single-high coach, he has shown a willingness to go to two-deep coverages in certain games, as he did early against the Seahawks. With the star receivers that the Eagles have on the outside and their inconsistencies running the ball, the better choice should be to start the game in two-high and see if you can disrupt the run game without an extra defender in the box.“
49ers LT Trent Williams returns to practice; LB Fred Warner runs on side field (paywall)
“Williams was officially questionable but ultimately did not suit up Saturday as the 49ers lost to the Seahawks, and with it, the No. 1 seed. He and wide receiver Ricky Pearsall’s availability to play the Eagles on Sunday in Philadelphia remains TBD.”
49ers rookie Upton Stout playing his best ball for a defense in need of a bright spot (paywall)
“Late Wednesday morning, Upton Stout could be found seated at the edge of his locker, an iPad in one hand and a notebook in the other. His rounds of media interviews had just concluded. There were more than usual after the San Francisco 49ers rookie nickel back played perhaps the best game of his young career the previous week. Soon enough, Stout sank away from the cameras and recorders to review some film. The southpaw meticulously penciled and erased notes, unhurried and unbothered, in a manner that seemed to mirror his approach to the season.
The Niners drafted Stout in April with hopes he could play right away in September. Opponents took advantage. But he kept his cool.
“Realizing you can’t be great on everybody else’s time,” Stout told the Chronicle in October. “Walking around the locker room, I see a lot of great players but, like, how long did it take them to be great?….Growing up the way I grew up, and just being in situations in high school, realizing you can’t be that size, you can’t be that small,” Stout said this week. “So just knowing my strengths and weaknesses … I try to maneuver through as much wiggle room as I could.”
The night before every game, Stout tries to visualize who he wants to be the next day, based on what film study during the week revealed about himself. Early struggles presumably muddled that process. Having very little of his own Niners tape to study did not help in the opening stages of his rookie campaign.
But watching his mistakes back eventually helped Stout course correct, in time for his first career playoff game.
(paywall)
Ravens request interview with 49ers’ Robert Saleh for head coaching gig
“The request brings the total number of teams interested in Saleh to four. The Arizona Cardinals, Tennessee Titans, and Atlanta Falcons have also asked to speak with the 49ers’ defensive coordinator.”
Why 49ers DC Robert Saleh supports Eagles’ controversial ‘tush push’ play
““I’m for it,” Saleh said on Thursday. “I think if you do something good, and the rest of the league hates on it, that’s a good thing, right?
“They’ve mastered it. If it was easy to do, every team in the league would be doing it. Teams that have tried to duplicate it struggle.”…..So how can the 49ers best defend the Eagles in short-yardage situations? Saleh said the most effective answer is to take care of business on first and second downs.
“I’m for keeping it, but as far as stopping it, we’ll give it our best shot and see what happens,” Saleh said. “The best way to stop it is to not give them third and 1.”
Saleh, Kubiak, Purdy preview 49ers-Eagles Wild Card matchup
Are you saying that in a short week, you can’t have that full Thursday big practice that you typically have?
“Yeah. You’re thinking about your guys and they’re coming off a game a few days ago, and are you going to make them go out there and run full speed and are you going to put them through the normal Thursday practice routine? And we have to make decisions about whether we’re going to prioritize rest and getting our guys legs or prioritize full-speed reps. And last week for sure, it was one where we looked at, our guys need rest, they need to get their legs back. And so, you sacrifice the full-speed practice reps.”
How much more preparation can you get done when you have eight days between games as opposed to six?
“You can get more done. I think a lot of it comes down to is your brain kind of re-energizing a little bit too and getting that extra day to kind of okay, digest the game, wipe it and then get two full days of game planning, to me, is always helpful. You can really study the defense and then come back the next day and just have a real clear mind about what you want to do. When you’re packing it into one day, you’re jamming it all in there. And so, it’s different. It’s better to have more time. But, that’s the NFL. Every team faces that every week. Everyone’s always going to have short weeks. You deal with it and we’ve got to play better. It’s just not an excuse.”
