Lead up to Super Bowl LVIII thread

[Harry Palmer]

Personally speaking, Vegas holds zero appeal for me. Everything there seems so…disposable.

[zman1]

It will be fascinating to see how strategy plays out for our offense. Everybody and their brother are going to think that Kyle will be focused on establishing the run to keep the ball away from Mahomes. Will Spags too and focus on stopping the run? That's what I expect. I think Kyle will let Purdy throw it and cross them up. Seems like he has been doing that most of the time since Purdy took over. And I can see it working and getting some chunk plays to kittle and deebo.

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[Jikkle]

I posted a version of this in another thread, but this KC run defense has not been great. Bizarrely, Baltimore barely tested them in that area, and I think there's a strong argument that that led to their loss. They had six rushes to their RBs, which is insane for a team that led the league in rush attempts at almost 32 per game. They only had a few called runs to Lamar. Between the pass attempts, sacks, and scrambles, I think they called about 45+ pass plays vs. only 11 or 12 run plays. In a game they lost by seven. It's crazy.

In terms of the passing game, it looked to me like Lamar had some open guys, but either didn't throw it or, when he did, he missed the throw. Even with some of those deep misses, Lamar still threw for 272 yards in a fairly shaky performance.

This defense is pretty legit, but if we stay in our wheelhouse, I think we can put up points on them. But we can't let them force us to play to their strengths. And Brock needs to start games more decisively than he has lately. I really feel since the Ravens loss that he's been hesitant. There's no room for that in this game. We've got to come out locked in and guns blazing.

KC's defense made the correct call and put everything into stopping the Ravens' running attack and dared Lamar to beat them from the pocket because despite being better in the pocket Lamar isn't a refined pocket passer.

KC will almost certainly do the same to us because the biggest win condition for the 9ers is if CMC puts up a performance that wins him the Super Bowl MVP. And certainly Spags will watch the Lions' film of the interior of our offensive line sitting on Purdy's lap telling him what they want for Christmas most of the game and know his guys can do that but better.

Purdy will have to have some success throwing the ball but fortunately, I think this could be like the Eagle's game where they can get off quick throws, get guys in space, and get some YAC since KC's defense is more power than speed.

[Jikkle]

The game I'd say to key on for us on offense is the Chiefs vs Packers.

Packers to me are the most similar to the 9ers on offense and while they didn't really blow them out they were able to stay consistently in control of the game the entire way and that was without Aaron Jones.

Love was fantastic that game so while trying to pull data from a different team months ago it does at least suggest that Shanahan's offense can have success against the Chiefs' defense.

[SK21209]

It's incredible how perfect Mahomes has been in the playoffs. They aren't getting the huge chunk plays to prime Kelce and Hill anymore, but Mahomes pretty much never puts the ball in harm's way. Two years ago the 2-high safety thing really bothered him because he was too impatient to trickle the ball down the field. Now he's perfectly happy to do so and will still manufacture big plays out of nothing.

I think we'll need to play more man against these guys, like we did after halftime against the Lions. Mahomes is too good to just sit back and play zone against. They still don't really have anything after Pacheco (who isn't a big threat to catch out of the backfield), Kelce and Rice. When we are playing man, maybe we see some of the old Belichick formula. Double the #1 (Kelce), put our shutdown corner on the #2 (Rice).

[CrimsonCrew]

It's incredible how perfect Mahomes has been in the playoffs. They aren't getting the huge chunk plays to prime Kelce and Hill anymore, but Mahomes pretty much never puts the ball in harm's way. Two years ago the 2-high safety thing really bothered him because he was too impatient to trickle the ball down the field. Now he's perfectly happy to do so and will still manufacture big plays out of nothing.

I think we'll need to play more man against these guys, like we did after halftime against the Lions. Mahomes is too good to just sit back and play zone against. They still don't really have anything after Pacheco (who isn't a big threat to catch out of the backfield), Kelce and Rice. When we are playing man, maybe we see some of the old Belichick formula. Double the #1 (Kelce), put our shutdown corner on the #2 (Rice).

Mahomes over his career in the playoffs has been pretty amazing. He's played 17 games. He has a 14-3 record, 67% completions, 4,802 passing yards, 39 TDs, and seven INTs. Those numbers would be in the running for MVP in any regular season.

Two areas stand out a little in terms of areas for our D to focus on. He's taken 32 sacks and has fumbled nine times (though amazingly only lost one). So teams can get to him and he will put the ball on the ground. Though he's only taken two sacks and no fumbles this postseason. As said previously, Nicky needs to come to play against these relatively weak OTs.

[Pattersonca65]

It's incredible how perfect Mahomes has been in the playoffs. They aren't getting the huge chunk plays to prime Kelce and Hill anymore, but Mahomes pretty much never puts the ball in harm's way. Two years ago the 2-high safety thing really bothered him because he was too impatient to trickle the ball down the field. Now he's perfectly happy to do so and will still manufacture big plays out of nothing.

I think we'll need to play more man against these guys, like we did after halftime against the Lions. Mahomes is too good to just sit back and play zone against. They still don't really have anything after Pacheco (who isn't a big threat to catch out of the backfield), Kelce and Rice. When we are playing man, maybe we see some of the old Belichick formula. Double the #1 (Kelce), put our shutdown corner on the #2 (Rice).

Mahomes over his career in the playoffs has been pretty amazing. He's played 17 games. He has a 14-3 record, 67% completions, 4,802 passing yards, 39 TDs, and seven INTs. Those numbers would be in the running for MVP in any regular season.

Two areas stand out a little in terms of areas for our D to focus on. He's taken 32 sacks and has fumbled nine times (though amazingly only lost one). So teams can get to him and he will put the ball on the ground. Though he's only taken two sacks and no fumbles this postseason. As said previously, Nicky needs to come to play against these relatively weak OTs.

This team has the talent to win. The defense has the talent to be really good they just haven't been consistent. The dline needs to come to play four quarters this week.

[CrimsonCrew]

Probably not a huge deal, but Patrick Mahomes' father was picked up on DWI charges, and is potentially facing a pretty significant sentence. Could be something of a distraction this week, though I'm not betting on it. On the flip side, the Niners are not happy with the field at their practice facilities.

[thesack12]

Probably not a huge deal, but Patrick Mahomes' father was picked up on DWI charges, and is potentially facing a pretty significant sentence. Could be something of a distraction this week, though I'm not betting on it. On the flip side, the Niners are not happy with the field at their practice facilities.

Mahomes has long had to deal with his brother doing dumb stuff, so I don't know how much of a distraction his dad's arrest will be.

But the 49ers not being happy with the practice field, is absolutely a distraction and a concern they just don't need to be dealing with right now. Last I heard they weren't sure if they were going to have to uproot and go elsewhere to practice, have some kind of time split with KC on their field, or just deal with it and stay.

Ultimately it may not be be that big of a deal, but it damn sure isn't helping them right now.

[CrimsonCrew]

Probably not a huge deal, but Patrick Mahomes' father was picked up on DWI charges, and is potentially facing a pretty significant sentence. Could be something of a distraction this week, though I'm not betting on it. On the flip side, the Niners are not happy with the field at their practice facilities.

Mahomes has long had to deal with his brother doing dumb stuff, so I don't know how much of a distraction his dad's arrest will be.

But the 49ers not being happy with the practice field, is absolutely a distraction and a concern they just don't need to be dealing with right now. Last I heard they weren't sure if they were going to have to uproot and go elsewhere to practice, have some kind of time split with KC on their field, or just deal with it and stay.

Ultimately it may not be be that big of a deal, but it damn sure isn't helping them right now.

Yeah, kind of BS that one team gets the fancy NFL digs, and the other is relegated to a subpar college program's facilities.

[CrimsonCrew]

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/39464972/49ers-displeased-super-bowl-practice-field-sources-say

Pretty absurd. Hardness should be well into the 70s, and this field is in the 50s. Seems like there could be concern for soft tissue injuries, moving and cutting on a soft field.

They were discussing a potential practice field issue on the radio last week. Pretty inexcusable that the NFL didn't anticipate this and address it. Hopefully it fires the guys up rather than serves as an impediment.

[SK21209]

It's incredible how perfect Mahomes has been in the playoffs. They aren't getting the huge chunk plays to prime Kelce and Hill anymore, but Mahomes pretty much never puts the ball in harm's way. Two years ago the 2-high safety thing really bothered him because he was too impatient to trickle the ball down the field. Now he's perfectly happy to do so and will still manufacture big plays out of nothing.

I think we'll need to play more man against these guys, like we did after halftime against the Lions. Mahomes is too good to just sit back and play zone against. They still don't really have anything after Pacheco (who isn't a big threat to catch out of the backfield), Kelce and Rice. When we are playing man, maybe we see some of the old Belichick formula. Double the #1 (Kelce), put our shutdown corner on the #2 (Rice).

Mahomes over his career in the playoffs has been pretty amazing. He's played 17 games. He has a 14-3 record, 67% completions, 4,802 passing yards, 39 TDs, and seven INTs. Those numbers would be in the running for MVP in any regular season.

Two areas stand out a little in terms of areas for our D to focus on. He's taken 32 sacks and has fumbled nine times (though amazingly only lost one). So teams can get to him and he will put the ball on the ground. Though he's only taken two sacks and no fumbles this postseason. As said previously, Nicky needs to come to play against these relatively weak OTs.

This team has the talent to win. The defense has the talent to be really good they just haven't been consistent. The dline needs to come to play four quarters this week.

Yup, I don't buy that the defense is just mediocre now. A lot of it comes down to Armstead (who hasn't looked like himself the last two games) and Hargrave (who's just been disappointing). Good O-Lines can deal with 1 or even 2 good rushers if there's not much interior pressure. I'll never forget the Chargers/Pats divisional game in 2018, because I (stupidly) thought the Chargers were going to win in Foxborough. They had Bosa and Ingram playing really well that year, but play after play Brady effortlessly stepped up in the pocket, got the ball out quickly and completely shredded them. We need a viable interior rush to give Bosa the opportunity to get home.

If we can manage to get pressure with just 4, I like our chances. Teams have had success against the Chiefs this year when they're able to keep a 5th guy as a spy to snuff out those Mahomes runs for first downs.

[Samurai]

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/39464972/49ers-displeased-super-bowl-practice-field-sources-say

Pretty absurd. Hardness should be well into the 70s, and this field is in the 50s. Seems like there could be concern for soft tissue injuries, moving and cutting on a soft field.

They were discussing a potential practice field issue on the radio last week. Pretty inexcusable that the NFL didn't anticipate this and address it. Hopefully it fires the guys up rather than serves as an impediment.

Suffering a practice-field injury is the last thing we need. Sounds like they need to find an alternate location ASAP.

[CrimsonCrew]

Kind of a weird thing here. I swear that ESPN article I linked to mentioned that the NFL usually checks to make sure the fields are in good shape in December, but for whatever reason did not this year. But it appears that this was taken out of the current iteration of the article.

One possible reason is that they needed to lay sod down on top of the turf, but the sod won't grow on top of turf, so they couldn't very well put it on there early. Man, what a stupid, stupid thing for the league to mess up. Going to be some conspiracy theories about this, no doubt....

[CrimsonCrew]

From Maiocco:

At one point, it was even considered a possibility the club could take part in Opening Night on Monday at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, then travel back to the Bay Area to practice in Santa Clara, according to a source.

Now, it appears the 49ers' options are to stick with the unfavorable conditions at UNLV or change their normal routine to practice around the Chiefs' schedule at the Raiders' facility.

I would have LOVED it if they could just head back home and practice in Santa Clara. Stay focused and get some real work in (not that that has paid off the past two weeks). But now it seems all bad. Probably need to change their schedule to practice on the better field. I don't see how they can play on the UNLV field if the reports are accurate.

Don't want to sound breathless about this. Sometimes, disruptions like this can solidify a team's drive and resolve. But it's certainly not a thing you want to be focused on right now.

[thesack12]

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If you are the Chiefs and you don't have to, why would you change your schedule in order to help out the other team?

This is wild man, NFL really dropped the ball on this one.

Not entirely sure why KC got the benefit of being able to practice on the game field, and SF got relegated to the outskirts on a college field. I guess its maybe because KC is technically the "home" team.

[thesack12]

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/39464972/49ers-displeased-super-bowl-practice-field-sources-say

Pretty absurd. Hardness should be well into the 70s, and this field is in the 50s. Seems like there could be concern for soft tissue injuries, moving and cutting on a soft field.

They were discussing a potential practice field issue on the radio last week. Pretty inexcusable that the NFL didn't anticipate this and address it. Hopefully it fires the guys up rather than serves as an impediment.

Suffering a practice-field injury is the last thing we need. Sounds like they need to find an alternate location ASAP.

Man if somebody gets hurt on that practice field, we are talking a legitimate nightmare scenario. Not just from the 49ers perspective and their chances in the game, but it will be both a competitive balance and PR disaster from the NFL's standpoint.

[SK21209]

I kind of like how this is shaping up for us. Seems like a solid majority of the national media is picking the Chiefs to win this. Consensus seems to be that their defense will slow down our offense, and our defense won't be able to slow down their offense. Now this fiasco with the practice fields. I go back and forth on whether the "no one believes in us" stuff really matters, but I like that we're being underestimated everywhere except in the Vegas betting line.

[CrimsonCrew]

If I'm the Niners, and the Chiefs aren't willing to be flexible and the NFL won't force their hand, I'm like, "**** it, I'm out," and I take the team home until Saturday.

This is all assuming that the field is indeed in the 50 range and should be closer to 80. If it's like a 68, the Niners wouldn't have all that much of a leg to stand on. But if the field the NFL has provided is off by close to 30 "points," posing a legitimate danger to players, and the NFL can't provide an alternative, that's absurd and untenable.

I know playing on turf is far from ideal, but I wonder if it wouldn't be preferable just to pull the sod and go back to the original surgace.

[Harry Palmer]

This is pretty absurd. I don’t in any way think the NFL wants the Chiefs to win, but for those who do this is pretty good ammunition. But either way this might have a material outcome on the game and it should not be the Niners problem to solve, this should fall squarely on the league’s shoulders.