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00:00All guests on 95.7 The Game appear on the River Islands Guest Line.
00:05Isn't it time for you to discover the islands?
00:07River Islands in Lathrop.
00:09On the line right now, Odyssey NFL insider Ross Tucker.
00:13Insider calls are brought to you by Hellman's Real Mayonnaise.
00:16Mayo Game Day.
00:17Be delicious.
00:18All right, Ross.
00:19How you doing, buddy?
00:20Hope your holiday was great.
00:22I am doing awesome, likewise to you guys, and yes, I already know what questions are
00:29coming.
00:30No, you don't.
00:31I think I do.
00:32Okay.
00:33It's not going to be a question.
00:34It's going to be a Steinmetz statement, and you can react off it.
00:36The more I think about it, the more I think about Brock Purdy and his contract, it's not
00:41about the number, Ross.
00:44It's about the date.
00:47It's about when it gets done.
00:49I don't care what the number is.
00:51I don't care if it's 40.
00:52I don't care if it's 60, but get them in here for OTAs.
00:58That's my feeling.
00:59Here's what I think is so interesting about that, and I wanted to discuss this with you.
01:08I didn't click on the article, but I think I saw some quote from Brock saying, I hope
01:18we get it done as soon as possible so that I can be there for the off-season, correct?
01:24Yes, absolutely.
01:25Okay.
01:26Okay.
01:27So that is very, very interesting because that, to my knowledge, is the first time that
01:35Brock Purdy's kind of bowing up a little bit, and people are acting like he's a free agent.
01:42He's not a free agent.
01:44He's under contract for another year on the four-year deal that he signed as a seventh
01:51round pick.
01:52Okay?
01:54So what he's basically already saying is, if we don't get the deal done before OTAs,
02:03I'm not showing up for them.
02:06I'm not going to be there for the off-season program.
02:10And I was a little bit surprised to see that coming for him.
02:14Now, he's had a bunch of success, no doubt, the first two years, obviously, in particular.
02:21This year, not so much.
02:23But I wasn't exactly sure what his posture would be, you know, going into this negotiation.
02:33But to already put that out there is bold.
02:39And maybe he's earned it, you know, with the way he's played the last couple years.
02:44I just, let's put it this way, you know, I started a decent amount of games my second
02:49and third year.
02:51I wouldn't have said that publicly.
02:52Now, I wasn't Brock Purdy, I wasn't starting quarterback, all those things.
02:56But he's already kind of put it out there and bowing up on the Niners a little bit,
03:03saying, because, like, is he going to skip the mandatory minicamp?
03:06Is he going to skip training camp?
03:09And then they could find him?
03:10He is under contract.
03:13So I thought that was very, very telling that Brock is already putting that out there, that
03:19he wants it done, or else he's not going to attend the OTAs, even though he's under
03:26contract.
03:27Wow, Ross, happy New Year, man.
03:30And I just told Stiney, before you hopped on the phone, I wish I knew how much the Niners
03:34love Brock Purdy.
03:35And I'm asking you right now, today, after a 6-11 campaign, did your opinion of him change,
03:42just from a personal standpoint, at the quarterback position after this season, as opposed to
03:48the last two, where he was stellar?
03:50Yeah, I think a little bit it did.
03:56I think, number one, you have to take into consideration now he's suffered a couple of
04:01different injuries.
04:02I think that's something that's notable.
04:07And you know, I think what he proved this year is that he's not a guy that's capable
04:18of carrying a team to success.
04:22He can be part of a lot of success, but he can't will a team, or isn't talented enough
04:31to take a team to success like it feels like some other guys do around the NFL.
04:39Now, that's not a surprise.
04:42I think we all sort of knew that, right?
04:45I don't know that we're like, surprised by that.
04:50But this year proved it, you know, like before it was kind of an open question.
04:55Now it's not really a question anymore.
04:57Now we have the answer.
05:00And the answer is that Brock Purdy isn't really, you know, what do they say, like, there's
05:07guys that you can't win with.
05:12There's guys that you can win with.
05:15There's guys that are the reason why you win.
05:19I don't know.
05:20I don't know if Brock is the reason why the 49ers win.
05:26But I think that's kind of what was shown on some level this year.
05:32Ross Tucker, joining us on 95.7 The Game, insider calls are brought to you by Hellman's
05:36Real Mayonnaise.
05:37You can purchase Hellman's at your local Walmart, Kroger, or grocery store to add extra deliciousness
05:42and creamy flavor to your game day dishes this football season.
05:47Ross, a lot of 49er fans are talking about the Eagles in this way.
05:54Two years ago, the Eagles went to the Super Bowl, and then last year they faded down the
05:59stretch.
06:00Now they went to the playoffs, but they were one and done.
06:03This year, they're kind of back on top again.
06:05A lot of 49er fans are saying, you know, this year could be the equivalent to what happened
06:10to the Eagles last year, and boom, we can get right back into things next year.
06:15What were the two or three key things that the Eagles did to turn their season around
06:23from last year?
06:25And is it comparable to what the Niners could do?
06:28Yeah, yeah, that's easy.
06:32They got two new coordinators who were significant upgrades over what the Eagles had ended the
06:39year before with, and then they hit on an inordinate amount of off-season additions,
06:49right?
06:51Their first two picks were Quinion Mitchell and Cooper Dejean, who were both starting
06:57corners, and they're not just starters.
07:00They're good.
07:01Like, they are good starting corners.
07:04And then think about the addition they brought in.
07:06Daquan Barkley, you might have heard of him.
07:09He's had a pretty good year.
07:13That's the one that people know.
07:14What about Mekhi Becton, bringing him in from the Jets, and he's been an above-average starting
07:20guard.
07:22Or bringing in Zach Vaughn on a one-year not-much-money deal from the New Orleans Saints, and he's
07:31going to the Pro Bowl.
07:32He and Fred Warner are the Pro Bowl linebackers, so they hit on a bunch.
07:37Now, not all of them.
07:38They paid a lot of money for Bryce Huff, and he did nothing.
07:42So it's not like, oh, you know, every one of these guys has a batting average, and Howie
07:49Roseman, historically, has been very, very good.
07:53It just has been.
07:54And this year was the perfect example of that, where it felt like almost everything he touched
08:01almost turned to gold.
08:04Ross, Christian McCaffrey told a reporter, I'm paraphrasing, that if the Niners had a
08:09playoff game, he'd think he might be ready to go.
08:13What's your gut tell you, and how concerned should the Niner fans be about him being his
08:17old self coming into next season?
08:22Yeah, that's a good one.
08:29I don't know.
08:30I would like, I don't know enough about the injury.
08:33It sounds like he'll be 100 percent well, well before the season would start, and that's
08:42obviously what they need.
08:44You know, his dad, Ed, came on my show, The Ross Tucker Podcast, earlier in the season
08:51when Christian was out and called it an overtraining injury, an overuse injury, the initial one
09:00with the Achilles tendonitis.
09:03And so, you know, the goal or the hope or the need is that Christian has learned from
09:12that and, you know, will be able to dial it back a little bit this offseason.
09:18I mean, I think he said it.
09:20I know Ed said it.
09:21He's going to have to really take a long, hard look at his training regimen.
09:27You know, I love the fact that he's the type of person that wants to outwork everybody
09:32else and that that's been the biggest reason for his success, and it has been.
09:38But I think sometimes you get to a stage in your career or your age or whatever where
09:45now I think he has to kind of train smarter, not necessarily harder.
09:51And of course, Ross Ed McCaffrey, a standout basketball player from Allentown Central Catholic
09:56in Pennsylvania.
09:57By the way, let me throw this one at you.
10:02Kyle Shanahan obviously calls his own plays, and you know, there's been some criticism
10:07out here about, you know, maybe he should give that up.
10:11On Sunday against the Cardinals, Clay Kubiak did call plays that particular game.
10:18Now obviously the game didn't have a lot of meaning, but is it possible that that means
10:26something maybe going into the future, or is it not that crazy for a head coach in a
10:31game like that maybe to give a guy a crack at doing something that he may end up doing
10:36down the line?
10:39Yeah, that's an interesting one.
10:43I think he was just doing a solid for Kubiak.
10:46I cannot envision a scenario where Kyle Shanahan gives that up.
10:52It's the biggest reason why you want Kyle Shanahan as your coach, is what he does as
10:57a game planner and as a play caller.
10:59I don't know that he's like a culture builder or a motivator or whatever other things you
11:04want to say.
11:05I think he's kind of in my mind been like arguably the Andy Reid of the NFC in terms
11:13of play design, game planning, all those things.
11:17So that would surprise me if he gave it up, I think he was probably trying to do Clint
11:21a solid.
11:22Hey, what are your thoughts on Nick Sorensen, excuse me Ross, the defensive coordinator
11:30for the Niners?
11:31They let go of Brian Schneider, their special teams coordinator last night and Bosa had
11:36nine sacks and it starts to me and ends with him.
11:40But do you think, and I told Stiney this and I don't know Kyle personally, but Ross I feel
11:45like it takes a big man to admit that he made two mistakes rather than fire Sorensen and
11:52bring somebody in here as opposed to have the bad look or stain of having two defensive
11:57coordinators one and done.
11:59Do you think that thought might cross Kyle's mind and Sorensen could be the benefactor
12:05of that?
12:06Yeah, I mean, well, first of all, do you want to fire your D coordinator two years in a
12:12row?
12:13Do you want to fire your D coordinator and your special teams coordinator?
12:17And since you are essentially the offensive coordinator, you're basically saying it's
12:21everybody's fault except for mine.
12:25I would also say Sorensen was a first time defensive coordinator.
12:31So you have to, like you have to give him some grace, right?
12:37I mean, you have to give him some room to improve.
12:41If he would have been flawless from the start, that probably would have been pretty strange.
12:48Very strange.
12:49So I think, um, I think there's probably some thought of that, but I also think he
12:56recognizes how many guys were kind of in and out of the lineup on that side of the ball.
13:02All right, Ross, 49ers Super Bowl window closed or they will bounce back next year and absolutely
13:10be in the mix for a Super Bowl again.
13:14Bounce back next year, absolutely be in the mix for a Super Bowl again.
13:18I'd be surprised if they're not.
13:19All right.
13:20Now I got to ask you why?
13:23I just have a lot of faith in the core of the team.
13:28And I know that some of those guys are getting older, blah, blah, blah.
13:32I don't think they're done yet.
13:35I think Trent plays, I think, you know, they get IU back and when they do, they're loaded
13:42to that receiver to the point where they'll probably be able to trade one for something.
13:48I thought the offensive line, Puny had a good rookie year.
13:51I think the O-line will be fine.
13:53I think Kittle has another year in him.
13:55I think McCaffrey comes back healthy.
13:58I think that they will be in the mix next year.
14:01Now, look, I could be wrong.
14:03It could go, it could go bad.
14:06But too many good players, too many guys that I respect as people and as players, really
14:13at every level.
14:14I think they have a major bounce back here.
14:17Ross, two things before you let us go.
14:19Let us know if you're doing any playoff games coming up because this is one of the greatest
14:23weekends in the NFL.
14:26But I'm looking at the playoff field, Ross, and I got to tell you, man, I'm looking at
14:30the Rams like how in the hell did they bounce back and win the division?
14:33But just looking at the field in both conferences, who's Shokshin and who do you got going to
14:38the Super Bowl?
14:40Yep, so I am doing two games actually this weekend, which is wonderful.
14:48My TV days are over for this year, but I'll be on the sideline in Baltimore Saturday night,
14:55which is an hour and 15 minutes from my house.
14:59And then I'll be in the booth on Sunday for Packers-Eagles, which is an hour and a half
15:06from my house.
15:07So no planes, no hotels.
15:12It's like a dream weekend for me to be able to call both those games.
15:18And as for, you know, who I think ultimately, you know what?
15:26I always when someone asked me that, I always go by like what I would do if I was actually
15:31if someone was betting on it, what I think is most likely and what I think is most likely
15:37is I think the Chiefs and the Lions.
15:39I think the number one seed is an absolutely gigantic edge.
15:45I think it's hard for the other teams to overcome that.
15:49And we haven't seen many overcome it.
15:52You know, it's been the number one seed in the NFC the last couple of years in the AFC.
15:59It had been until last year, but that was the Chiefs who are kind of their own, their
16:04own deal.
16:05So I would say Chiefs, Lions, if it, you know, I really don't see anybody from the NFC other
16:12than the Lions or maybe the Eagles and in the AFC, if it's not the Chiefs, it's the
16:19Bills or the Ravens, whoever wins that game.
16:21So I guess in my mind, there's only five teams I can realistically see getting to the Super Bowl.
16:27Yeah, I got to believe doing sidelines for a radio broadcast is about as easy as it gets.
16:38Why do you say that?
16:39Well, first of all, you don't have to worry about the camera, you don't have to look into
16:44the camera.
16:45You can just, you can read right off your notebook.
16:49I got to believe sidelines for radio, you can almost mail it in there.
16:54Wait a second.
16:55Do you think I bring a notebook while I'm on the sideline?
17:00You better bring something.
17:01No.
17:02Come on!
17:03Is this amateur hour?
17:04Wow!
17:05I'll have the flip card.
17:06And then other than that, it's observation.
17:07That's the beauty of it.
17:08I'm there to observe if a guy's heard or not.
17:09And then also to observe, you know, what I see on the field.
17:21Hey Ross, I got to do this since you and Stiney are Pennsylvania buds, and you kind of answered
17:27my Rams question without answering it because you don't have them going too far.
17:32What's going on in Pittsburgh with their offense?
17:34Is that Russell Wilson?
17:36What is, when you watch that, it's just, I don't know, it's evaporated.
17:40I don't know what's happened.
17:43Really really bad.
17:45I'm not exactly sure.
17:47They had a great thing going.
17:49They played some really good teams in a row and got smoked by them and it's like they
17:56lost all their confidence or something and it's both sides of the ball.
18:00It's the defense too, which is what's supposed to be good.
18:04They would have beat the Bengals if George Pickens didn't have one of the worst things
18:09by a receiver I've ever seen.
18:11I mean, they got a lot of issues and I'd be surprised if they get it corrected in time
18:16for this Ravens game Saturday, but I'm hoping they do.
18:20I like close games.
18:21All right, Ross.
18:22Have a fun weekend, buddy.
18:23Take it easy.
18:24Hey, great talking with you guys this year.
18:27Really appreciate it.
18:28Absolutely, my man.
18:29We'll catch up at some point down the road.