John Cashman: What is up, Niners Nation? It is Victory Tuesday once again, second week in a row! Sunday, Sunday, Sunday. Tim. How are you feeling?
Tim Cashman: I’m always waiting for it. Your, your intro is like the Simpsons intro. I’m always seeing what nuances you’re going to put into that will make the podcast unique.
And we just got it Sunday, Sunday, Sunday. So, , how am I feeling? Well, Niners seven and three, , They won, uh, they won a little bit ugly at the end, but, uh, they are sitting atop the NFC West, , still two games back from the Eagles, , and a game back of the Lions, uh, in the Race for the Top Seeds in the NF uh, excuse me, in the NFC Playoffs, and we have got a huge game coming up this Thursday night, Thanksgiving night, against the always tough, formidable Seattle Seahawks, basketball in Seattle, which is one of the toughest venues to play in in the NFL.
But Niners are coming off, , a victory over, I would say, a, , a decent Bucs team. Baker Mayfield, , I thought played far better, , than I had anticipated. And defense coming up with a few plays, , a little bit of a luster off the wind and, , Hufanga, who unfortunately, , tore his ACL and he is out for the year.
But, uh, that is football and Brown stepped up and now we are going to prepare for the run to the playoffs, , after a 49er 27 14 victory over the Buccaneers and it is on to Seattle. But let’s pass it over to Brian.
John Cashman: Yeah, Brian Seahawks week, man. How you feeling? I’m
Brian Caynan: feeling good. It was, it was a great game to watch on TV.
Um, it’s great seeing the defense kind of come out, get, get some, , get some picks and turnovers, uh, their way. , the passing game looks strong as ever. , Yeah, it was just a great overall game to watch on TV. And as Tim said, , you know, not perfect, but you know, they got it done and , it was pretty formidable.
, also was excited to see our favorite opponent this week lose against the Rams. So that was always exciting to watch. Uh, a last minute field goal. So we missed ours. this year. I’m sorry, the Seahawks missed theirs too. So, , no, it was great. It was great. It was a great day overall. , it’s great to be here on Victory Tuesday to move forward.
John Cashman: Yeah. So for all those who are turning in, we’re three obsessed Niners fans. We get together weekly to talk. Football and Niners. This week we’re going to welcome our Seahawks fan Chris Grothkopp, but if you’ve got a moment, leave us a review, give us a like, follow us on Apple or on Spotify. But yeah, it’s, it’s Seahawks week.
, unfortunately the Eagles, , did actually pull one out last night against the Chiefs and really, really good game.
Tim Cashman: I think if Taylor Swift had, if Taylor Swift had been there, I think Chiefs would have won. Let’s just put that out there. It is.
John Cashman: If, if the guy caught the ball at the
Tim Cashman: end, well, that too.
Details, details. So, um,
John Cashman: so in catching up, , one of the bets that we had from last week was with Bosa or Young would plant the flag. And apparently now Bosa and Baker are friends. But when Chase Young sacked Baker, I’m like, do it, do
Tim Cashman: it, do
John Cashman: it. But he did not. So I owe you a Manhattan in Arizona when we do our little Niers talk road trip.
But beyond that, , Brian, what’d you think of the game? What were your overall impressions? I
Brian Caynan: think the game just was great. Um, um, sorry, I was bouncing, I was thinking about the Seattle, I’m sorry, the, uh, Kansas City Eagles game last night, so, Mm-Hmm. , um, yeah, that, that sc but ling, um, that, that missed throw that 51 yarder.
I thought, um, I had a flashback. Um, when you were talking about the John to the Jimmy G. No, that’s
Tim Cashman: what I was thinking. No, it was deep. No, no, don’t. Why are you going there? This is a
John Cashman: positive day of podcasting.
Brian Caynan: Well, I was trying to think to my head, which was a more catchable throw. The Jimmy G to
John Cashman: Manuel Sanchez.
The one that Bahoms threw last night. Yeah.
Tim Cashman: So, , why don’t we talk about the, why don’t
John Cashman: we talk about Richard Sherman tipping the ball? Wait, oh, we’ll get to talk about that later.
Brian Caynan: You know, going back to going back to the game overall. Yes. They, the game was great yesterday. I love on Sunday. It was just great seeing Iuke. , he had that, he had a couple, um. He had a hell of a game. , Kittle had a great game. , CMC got back into the end zone. So, just the offense overall was humming.
And then even Elijah Mitchell got in there and got some critical yards. So, overall
Tim Cashman: they looked good. Yeah, I mean, I felt like, uh, this game was… One where the 49ers, you just felt like at some point they’re going to separate or this they were on the verge of separating several times, , and particular when Kittle caught touchdown in the third quarter.
I think they went up at that point. It was 27 to 7. Uh, and you just thought it’s knockout time, but the Buccaneers, to their credit, they fought back, , and even though they never got in with a one score, , they were, the Niners offense, I think two things. Number one is that Baker Mayfield played a great game.
We gotta give credit where credit is due. He was accurate. He was, , being pressured, but he was throwing good balls. He threw a couple of balls that frankly should have been touchdowns. , and to, , the Niners fortune, and to the Bucs misfortune, uh, some bobbles, uh, and some knockaways. But, , the 49er offense got a little sloppy at the end, , so they weren’t able to deliver that knockout punch I think they could have had.
But, as John and I, you were talking, like, you know, sometimes… You know, winning a little bit ugly isn’t the worst thing in the world. , the 49ers had dropped some games where they were trying to win at the end, trying to win ugly, , and giving them a little adversity at the end, you know, isn’t always a bad thing.
But, um, you know, you take the win, , I mean, and of course we’re going to talk about this, but I mean, Brock Purdy’s quarterback rating, I, I, I don’t know why we continue to, why people continue to talk that he is some sort of a fraud. I think the 49ers hit powerball with Brock Purdy in the draft. Oh yeah,
John Cashman: , I thought the game was workman like, I think is the, kind of the best way I would put it.
. The Niners were obviously favored to win, , it would have been a huge upset if they hadn’t. , they did a good job on their defense of really bend but don’t break, , and Baker took advantage of that. I don’t know how many times Baker threw an out route.
Tim Cashman: . Oh, that timing off to the right?
John Cashman: Yeah, just…
And, you know, the Niners were giving it to them, and they, you know, were waiting for a mistake that never happened. You had like a 17 play drive at one point. Um, and then the offense looked, looked really special. Um, right up until just about the end when they, they could have salted it away and they didn’t.
Uh, but those were the, I mean, the only nits. Those are the things that, if you’re going to beat a team… , Like the Seahawks or the Eagles, , or getting into the playoffs, you got assault teams away. , so it’s, it’s good that they, they got the dub, , but there are some places for improvement. So, uh, going from there with our, our keys to victory is one.
We got back home, , and we scored more than 17. And Niners are very, very good at Levi’s, which, you know, you know, hopefully means some home playoff games. And so far, if they can get 17 or more points, we have yet to see this year a track meet. Um, they’re very hard to beat. So, Tim, any other, any other keys to victory that the Niners were able
Chris Grothkop: to execute on?
Um, well, I
Tim Cashman: think, you know, the turnovers, number one, we did not see any turnovers from the offense. , they produced, , two from, , the Bucs. They could have had, uh, they had shots at. A couple of more with some interceptions that I thought for sure were going to be picked off and I know we’ll get into that later.
But, , other areas, it’s just, um, you know, as you said, John, when they’re on, they’re really on. And I, I do like the fact that Shanann seems to be opening it up for the 49er offense on first down a little more. Particularly with play action, , you see teams have loaded up against the run.
, the five man fronts, the eight man in the box, and when Purdy does play action, I think that opens up quite a bit in the 49ers playbook. , Kittle seems to be the recipient of those play action, uh, passes, but, uh, that is keeping the defense, , on their heels. And I, I would suspect that we’re going to see a lot more of that, and it wouldn’t surprise me that, you know, when you do see, , teams coming out with maybe more of a 5 2 alignment, that’s when Shanahan’s going to come back with more of a CMC ground game.
So, I think he’s adjusted, I think he’s adjusted well from those three losses, uh, he’s putting, he’s spreading the ball around a little bit more, I think having Debo back out there, just to stretch the offense. I know that the, um, I believe the first play of the game was, um, was in a toss to Debo. And, uh, the 49ers, you know, granted, it only got, you know, I think he actually, I think he lost yards, but I think that gets, that gets a defense thinking like, Oh, they’re going to do that.
We have to account for that. They’re going to spread out. That’ll open up some spaces for, uh, some others, uh, there. So, John, I agree with you. You know, it was workmanlike, you know, it’s not always going to be pretty imperfect and a, and a blowout, but, uh, 49ers did. Did what they needed to do. The defense made the plays at the end.
Um, and they’re sitting at seven and three, which I think all of us, if you would ask the beginning of the season, would you take seven and three going into late November, of course we would.
John Cashman: Yeah. Brian, any other keys to victory that we had talked about last week? Yeah,
Brian Caynan: well, we also talked to it as Tim was just talking about the O line and the D line.
So, I think the O line played pretty well. I mean, they did, they did, , get 100 yards in rushing. So, I think CMC had close to 80. , Elijah Mitchell had over 20. So, yeah, I think that opened up the lantern. They could be doing a little better. I think, you know, CMC obviously is, is capable of getting more.
, I think his yards per… Carry was, I don’t know, maybe three or four. So it’s not as explosive, I think, as we’re used to seeing. , but generally, I think they played fine. The D line, you know, we expected them to step up too, but they also, you know, um, uh, Seattle, I’m sorry, , Tampa’s defense got in pretty, pretty good there in a couple of times.
So it caused, , just more scrambling, I think, than you wanted to from Purdy. You know, , you know, we don’t like those scramble modes and, and, you know, there’s gotta be times, I think there was a couple of plays where Purdy was scrambling and then maybe he should have slid, , instead of going for it head first.
, but I think, you know, that’s something that, you know, the coaches will probably work with him on. But, uh, yeah, I think overall O line and D line. Probably could have played better, but enough to win the game. So, yeah, that was, yeah.
John Cashman: , another one we had, , was to stay healthy. , and unfortunately, we did not get this keto victory.
It was really sad to see, , a funga go down. You could tell it was a non contact injury, , just the way his knee buckled. Uh, from what I heard, though, it wasn’t. Any meniscus tear? It was just an ACL tear and, you know, they, they were able to repair it and he’ll be back next year. Um, it sucks for him because I think it was a contract year that he could have come up with.
So, you know, hopefully next year, I’m sure the Niners will pick, pick up his, his fifth year option. Um, but, you know, that’s gonna get kicked out of the… We wrote a year. And unfortunately, both starting guards are a little banged up. Burford has something wrong with his knee, and Aaron Banks has turf toe, um, Fluciano has done a pretty decent job filling in, so, , we will see what happens, , this week with the Seattle and the quick turnaround.
But yeah, I thought, , for the most part, the Niners hit on, on the, on our keys to victory, not straight across the board like they did with Dallas or Jacksonville, but enough to get the job done. But as, , we like to go, this is, uh, stars of the game. Ryan, who is your star of the game? ,
Brian Caynan: well. I’m going to go with the receivers or the, the, the persons who caught the ball.
So I’m going to go first with Brandon Ayuk. , I know I talked about him earlier, but 156 yards, five, five catches. , he had that big 76 yard, um, reception, um, where he basically just walked into the end zone. , he took a good angle from the, uh, Tampa defender. , but he had a monster game. Um, I, he just looked good.
George Kittle as, as Tim was also saying, , he is opening up more, , on the, uh, uh, those middle routes, those, uh, right at, right deep down the middle when, um, on those, uh, just a lot of those plays from Purdy. So he looked good. He had that touchdown. , he did the double dab when he scored that touchdown.
, so no, he, I’m going to give props to the receivers. They had a good game. Oh, and I got out there with CMC. Even though he didn’t rush in for a touchdown, he, uh, he got that, uh, receiving touchdown. So, that’s, that’s where my Stars of the Game is. And sorry I picked three, but, uh, I just thought that the receiving
Tim Cashman: four, they deserved them all, so.
Listen, I’m thankful that you picked three. I mean, we’re in the spirit of giving, so pick three, be, you know, get, get, get, get your grub on with, yeah, get your grub on with your picking three. Yeah, uh, I’m gonna go, I mean, I know who the obvious one, we all know the obvious one is going to be, but I’m going to talk about, , Travarious Ward.
Um, and I, you know, I thought the guy had a great game. , he had a couple of pass breakups, one of which I thought was really key. , 49ers, they went in at halftime and they’re leading 13 to, , 13 to 7. Uh, and the Bucs get the ball in the first half, and you felt like they were starting to, you know, they wanted to get into a little bit of the rhythm, and on third and three, Mayfield threw down the, , the right sideline, he was trying to hit Palmer, and Palmer has the ball literally in his hands, , which looked to be, it was going to be, um, you know, a huge completion, uh, I think a huge momentum swing over to Tampa, and Ward gets his hand in there after the ball, after he Catches it for a moment and jars the ball loose.
Yeah. And that was an enormous play because when you consider what happens, , next is that, you know, the Bucs punted and pinned the Niners, uh, deep. And then, uh, I think two or three plays later, that’s when Purdy hits Aiyuk for that 76 yard touchdown. So, you want to talk about just how momentum can swing on just a couple of, uh, plays.
But that play I thought was… One of the key to the game, uh, Ward just makes a great play, uh, they stymied the Buck’s effort to get, you know, really get back into the game, and I felt at that point, when the Niners went up 20 to 7, that they were gonna start to
John Cashman: roll. Yeah, especially with that kind of quick strike.
Yeah. , well I have to be Mr. Obvious, or Captain Obvious. . I’m going to go with Brock Purdy. I mean,
Tim Cashman: well, color me shocked.
John Cashman: Yeah. First perfect quarterback rating since Montana in 89. When I was first, , to say it earlier in the podcast is that Brock’s a little Montana esque. So I thought that was fitting.
, he played lights out. , the thing that really separates him from Jimmy G Is the way he is able to put these throws over a layer of defense into a receiver who is traveling at full speed. And he keeps doing it again, and again, and again. And some of the throws, I’m like, you just see they just kind of arc in there perfectly, and then, oh, there’s Kittle, and then he catches it, and he’s off to the races.
So there’s Bebo, he’s off to the races. It’s really special when he sees to do it. And the other thing is he just doesn’t seem to have any fear of making a mistake. So, you know, he’s down on the 10 yard line, he uncorks and hits, you know, Iuke for a 76 yarder. , you know, last week before in the Jacksonville game, he throws into a crowd and hits Iuke.
So, , just. Really playing at a, at a really cerebral level. , I’m kind of glad that all the prognosticators have them under the radar right now. And, oh, Dak Prescott is the best. The only guy I see in the NFC who’s, who’s right up there with, with Purdy is Jalen Hurts. And Jalen Hurts just finds ways to win.
Like he did last night against Kansas City. And that covers my homes as my homes. But from watching what Purdy is being able to do. He’s really making a case as an elite quarterback right now. I mean, and he’s, this is year two. So, we just, you know, hope that he’s able to keep this, this ball rolling.
Tim Cashman: And, you know, I think there, there was, I mean, I, I know at the beginning of the season when we first started talking about, you know, what his potential could be, , I voiced the opinion, well, I, I voiced the possibility that he could have a sophomore slump.
Uh, that he was going to come out and he was just going to sort of, just kind of level off in terms of ability. And we’ve seen quarterbacks, , you know, who’ve had a great rookie, uh, year. Uh, come, come back and just not be themselves, but he continues to impress, , and I, and I know, you know, you, you’re talking about, I just, I just want to read the statistics.
I mean, pretty 21 to 25. 333 yards, , three touchdowns, , and he’s also sacked four times in the game. And, you know, that, that tells me, and, and he was pressured on several more occasions, but that just shows you the kind of player he is. I mean, when you watch him on the field, There’s no fear. He’s looking downfield.
He’s going through his progressions. He’s stepping up in the pocket. He’s trying to, you know, see, hey, what can I do to make a play? And there was one in particular he threw to Iyuk in the first quarter where he was pressured, stepped up in the pocket, , and hit Iyuk for an enormous game. I think eventually less than the 49ers first touchdown.
But you look at his, just his overall, just… Composure. , there’s no deer in the headlights. There’s, I, you know, hey, I, I know where my receivers are. I’m waiting for him to break off and I’m going to deliver the ball. Yep.
John Cashman: Brian, do you have any other stars of the game?,
Brian Caynan: well, I was going to say, I’m, I’m leaning towards Jair Brown.
I know you put that on the list here, John. So, um, he, he definitely stepped up. I know that once he got into the game, Tampa, Tampa Bay was definitely going to target him right away. And you saw that. And he, he gave up a couple of first plays. I think there was one where he kind of, um, his, his angle on his body was a little off and he gave up a, a big play.
I want to say it was two. I don’t know, Arden or Evans. Um, but I think after that he kind of stepped up. Um, he obviously had that, had that pick that we’re going to talk about later in the game. And I think he had a lot, he had like three or four passes deflected. So, um, you know, it’s a loss that, uh, Hufang is going to be out for the rest of the year, but, uh, It was great to see, you know, the, obviously the mentality, quote, unquote, next man up, , he was there and he, , he’s probably been waiting in the wings, practicing like mad on the sidelines and in practices and everything.
And, uh, I was really happy for him, , that he showed up and he, he played, he played really well. Yeah.
John Cashman: Yeah. I’ll be interested in the upcoming games. , obviously with Seattle coming up and then the Eagles, if the Niners do any kind of adjustments, because, you know, fun goes kind of all around, always around the line of scrimmage and then sometimes they play cover two and, um, if they do anything, it’s a little bit different where they do, um, more single high safety with GIP and, and things like that.
But I, I was really impressed. I mean, he came in, he played well. Uh, you know, he had the past breakups and he had, uh, and he, the good, the good thing is he’s got a very wise veteran who’d be playing next to him in safety. , I imagine Gibbs got one or. Maybe this year and maybe next year, but you know, he and Hufunga could be a pair for a long
Brian Caynan: time.
So, you know, in addition to that, John, like, as we’re talking about, you know, the corners and the safeties, like with, with, , Ambry Thomas is really playing well at the other corner position. So it’s definitely, , who did they move from Lenore over to? What is it? The, the nickel. So, yeah. So that whole.
Safeties and corners, they’re all really like shifting well together and kind of this new scheme. , I don’t know if it’s, uh, Wilk’s coming down the sidelines, but I think kind of overall, they’re all just kind of like gelling kind of at the right moment. And, you know, with Hufanga going out, , I think it’s definitely, you know, they’re, they’re definitely showing, , you know, their true potential at this time.
John Cashman: Cool. Tim, any other
Tim Cashman: stars? I think we gotta go with Fred Warner. , the guy just, I mean, maybe for Fred it’s just like, hey, it’s just another day at the office. But, uh, you know, again, key play, first quarter, , Baker’s getting, uh, Baker Mayfield’s getting pressured. He’s being sacked by, , by Bosa, and Warner comes in, jars the ball loose.
Niners got a key turnover in the first half, uh, excuse me, first quarter, uh, which, uh, you know, eventually, uh, leads to a Jake Moody, uh, field goal, but, , he had a couple passes, uh, batted down, one, he came very close to intercepting, , but the guy is just, he’s all over the field, um, a couple of plays, uh, when they tried to run a, uh, I think a jet sweep, , and he just tracked it down for, you know, he just, he, he is so fast in that middle linebacker position from, from sideline to sideline.
Yeah. , making that play, but, um, you know, again, he’s having another All Pro season. Well, and Fred
John Cashman: also, you can start to tell, like, especially in the fourth quarter, Fred was, we’re gonna win this game. Like, like, there’s no, we’re not letting these guys win. , he does have that, that mentality. , the other one, the last star of the game, uh, I do have to say, I thought Baker Mayfield probably played the best I’ve seen him play in a really long time.
, he was, you know, 29 of 45 for 246, had one TD, one interception, but he, he should have had more. , there was a couple of drops in the end zone, uh, but he was the reason that that team was in it. , we talked about it earlier, there’s a ton of outroutes, uh, I give the Bucks credit for looking at the adjustments and just saying, hey, they’re gonna give it to us, keep taking it, keep taking it, , you know, no one’s gonna break something, um, and then…
You know, when Brown came in, and the Bucks were really on the ropes, and, you know, he hits a, that seam to Chris, to Mike Evans, and then boom, three plays, they’ve scored a touchdown. I’m like, okay, it’s not over yet. I want to text ballgame to you guys,
Tim Cashman: but I can’t do it yet. So, so
John Cashman: yeah, kudos to Baker. I thought he, I thought he played, he played well.
Yeah. , I think, I think the Buccaneers will win the NFC South. Uh, yeah. Provided they just
Tim Cashman: do it. That’s anyone’s division at this point. Yeah. . Except for the Panthers. So, yeah. It’s
John Cashman: the worst head coaching job in the , well, speaking of worse things, so, uh, it’s not all sunshine, lollipops, it’s, it’s Sci Time.
Tim Cashman: Ugh. Have you copyrighted that phrase?
John Cashman: No, I haven’t. It’s lollipops
Tim Cashman: and… It’s not all sunshine. Sunshine and lollipops. Sunshine and rainbows, yeah. Sunshine and rainbows, lollipops, what is the phrase, Sean? It’s not all
John Cashman: sunshine and lollipops. Okay. But then I also said, now it’s sci time, like, ugh.
Tim Cashman: So, I’m just curious, when in your youth did you have a lollipop in the sunshine?
John Cashman: Maybe a few times.
Tim Cashman: It wasn’t foggy all the time in San Francisco. I don’t remember you ever having a lollipop in the sun.
John Cashman: Oh, I’m sure at some point I had a Tootsie Pop because somebody had
Tim Cashman: to count to the center of the stupid square. I got up to four. In the sunshine now. Yeah. There’s no sunshine in the summer in San Francisco, John.
It’s foggy. Or would you rather talk about the game? Beyond that,
John Cashman: um, so, uh, so, Tim, since you’re so loquacious,
Tim Cashman: um,
John Cashman: places you think the Niners
Chris Grothkop: can improve?
Tim Cashman: , I think I gotta start with the O Line, , the, I mean, uh, they allowed four sacks, , And, uh, I, I think, you know, they, uh, the, the Buccaneers were getting, , pressure on them and there was a couple of, uh, I mean, Yaya Diaby had two sacks, , one of which was, uh, just beating his man up.
The other one, it just looked like a miscommunication. , Trent Williams, uh, was blocking down and just like I either he was expecting help or there’s some sort of a misalignment. But, , that’s a concern and I think, you know, more so with, , Banks still being out, you know, I, I very doubtful, uh, that he’ll play on Thursday.
Uh, but Buford being out, that interior line is a question mark right now in terms of health. And, , you know, are they gonna be able to, um, to dominate the line of scrimmage, You know, as I think they’ll need to against Seattle. So they need to improve in that department. Okay. Brian?
Brian Caynan: Uh, I kind of, uh, felt like the third down, , defense was, I was just always, I don’t know the actual stats on this, but I think I want to say at one point.
The, the bucks were really, I mean, maybe seven for 14. I’ve got to probably look up the stat, but I remember hearing
Tim Cashman: that during the game. You were absolutely right. They were seven for 14. Oh, okay. Yeah.
Brian Caynan: Maybe I absorbed that watching the game, but they, they felt like the Niners always seemed to give too much cushion to the receivers on, on third down.
And they always, it was either was a, it was a, , a comeback route or maybe some sort of out route that the Niners didn’t have good position on, but they always seemed to give it up. Um, , you know, 50 percent is probably not, obviously, you want to get off the field, uh, if you’re the defense, but they always seem to be giving up some of these bigger plays, , and that’s kind of happened a little bit in the previous games, like to obviously the Minnesota, , Bengals kind of killed us with that, but, um, you know, you saw it again here.
So that’s kind of something I think they need to work on a little bit, , just making sure that they can get off the field on third down.
John Cashman: Yeah, and for me, and I’ve talked about this before, , this has kind of been one of those things that’s been Kyle Shanahan’s Achilles heel, it’s just closing games out.
And I think, I was thinking about this, rather than, you know, thinking about work, or my children, or something like that, but, uh, you know, I think, generally it’s like, he gets away from being himself and being just… Keeping the foot on the gas and it’s like dude stop like it seemed like in the bucks thing They just got down to this like ground and pound kind of offense when it’s like man Our offense was humming like just keep doing that.
, and that’s the thing that gets me a little bit concerned about closing out some of these games. It’s like, don’t get away from what’s working, just keep doing it. , so hopefully we’ll see that improve, , in the weeks ahead as we get closer and closer to playoff, uh, time. So. Tim, any other places you think the Niners can get a little bit better?
Chris Grothkop: Well, I
Tim Cashman: mean, it’s not for lack of trying, but they, I mean, when I went back and re watched the game today, , I saw three opportunities for interceptions, , that, you know, either would have closed the game out early or just given the Niners another scoring opportunity. , I mean, Drake Greenlaw in the third quarter.
He just, he had it in his hands, , Fred had an opportunity in the fourth quarter. Gibson, I thought, had the interception. The only problem was he ran into Tarverius Ward on the play and dropped the ball. You know, the ball ended up, uh, coming out. So… You know, that, that I think is just, , you know, you have that many opportunities.
And the foreigners did, you know, Fred forced to fumble, as I said, on Baker Mayfield in the first quarter, and then Brown gets a pick in the, uh, in the fourth quarter. So they were able to, , get those, , key turnovers. It’s just, you saw, like, oh, if we had gotten that, it could have been.
You know, we could, we could have, , separated from the, from the Buccaneers, I think a little bit earlier there, but, uh, I think sometimes the football gods are just going to say, Nope, you’re gonna run into our various ward and drop the ball. And that’s what happened in that case. So,
John Cashman: yeah, I mean, all again, it’s, it’s.
We’ve only had one perfect game this year where there was, , where it was Sunshine and Lollipop, so we’ll have to strive for that again. So, which brings me to my favorite section, one of my favorite sections of the show, it’s Niners Trivia Time with Brian. Now, is it going to be Thanksgiving themed, or Seattle themed, or a sprinkling of
Brian Caynan: both?
, this one’s gonna be more Seattle esque this week, so… Okay. Alright. , I didn’t want to bring up the bad. Memories of the, , Seattle Thanksgiving
John Cashman: game. There’s some good ones! Oh no, not that game.
Tim Cashman: No, no, that, that John I watched going, we are so overmatched in this game. And yeah, seeing, seeing Russell Wilson and Sherman eating turkey on the iris.
Oh, and we just, ,
I am not going to blame, I’m not going to blame the 49ers, uh, I’m not going to blame Sherman or the 49ers. I’m going to blame Trent Baalke for that debacle because it was the start of the end. So, Baalke, it’s all your fault.
Brian Caynan: I know you love to hate him.
Tim Cashman: Question
John Cashman: number one, who does Tim Haines play for? All
Brian Caynan: right. Number one. , so the NFL brought Seattle, uh, an NFL franchise and that was in 1975, 1976. Who was the lead family and what was their local business? In the Seattle area that brought football to Seattle. Oh,
Tim Cashman: Lord. Uh,
Brian Caynan: You’ve heard of them. I will guarantee you’ve heard of them.
And you’ve probably been there within the last, I’m going to guess within the last year. I don’t, I’m just going to guess. The
Tim Cashman: Boeing family. I flew on a plane that was a Boeing and Mr. and Mrs. Boeing bought a seat in it. Okay, uh, I’ll give you a hint. I don’t know. You guys want a hint? Sure. Yes. Okay,
Brian Caynan: , retail.
That’s all I’ll say.
John Cashman: All I can think of is the Nordstroms and… Oh. That’s the only one that comes to mind.
Tim Cashman: They obviously do… Seattle Retail? The Partners force. Then I think John might be right. I think it might be Nordstrom. I think.
Brian Caynan: Final answers?
Tim Cashman: Sure. Sure. Okay. I love how Brian closes like, okay. Just that little subtle okay.
John Cashman: I can’t believe you guys got that. Alright,
Brian Caynan: let’s move on. Alright, number two. , name three of, actually I should say this. Name two of the three tenants. Pro teams to also play in the kingdom as we previously noted as the former home of the Seattle Seahawks.
So name two of the three pro teams that played their home
Tim Cashman: games. The Mariners, the Seahawks and the Supersonics. Super Sonics play in the Kingdom? I think so, for a couple years.
Brian Caynan: Any stabs at the, , the last pro team? Probably
John Cashman: the Seattle Sounders for, , soccer, if that was even, if they were part of it, so.
Tim Cashman: Tim? I’ll, I’ll stick with the Sonics.
Brian Caynan: Let’s move on. Number three. I think you guys are gonna like this question. Name three players on the 94 Super Bowl team for San Francisco to play for Seattle after leaving San Francisco.
There are three players that I found.
Tim Cashman: One is Jerry Rice. Hmm.
Ricky Waters.
John Cashman: Didn’t one of the guys from the offensive line come over? Are you thinking Ayupati?
Tim Cashman: No, I’m kidding. That wasn’t Ayupati. That was in 94. He
was, uh. Merton Hanks never went over, did he? I’m sorry, Brian, were you giving us a hint? I
Brian Caynan: was just, I was gonna say something, but I kinda felt it might be too obvious, so I’m not gonna say it anymore.
Tim Cashman: So. No. I’ll go with Merton Hanks, I think. Yeah, I think Merton Hanks.
Brian Caynan: All right, , so you say Ricky, Merton Hanks, and Jerry Rice.
All right, last question, , the Niners are wearing, , one of our favorite jerseys, the 94 throwbacks, this Thursday on Thanksgiving. What year did they, did that original throwback derive from, give or take five years? I’ll let you guys… Give a zone. I’m gonna go 19. That throwback from 94 is actually a throwback of a previous jersey from another time.
John Cashman: I’ll go
Tim Cashman: 1954. I was gonna say 1950 when they first joined the NFL
Brian Caynan: final answers. Okay. 1554. I’ll write that down. All right, let’s move on. All
John Cashman: Alright, as we’ve been doing for the last several weeks, we’d like to have some opposing fans join us on Niners Talk. And I’m happy to welcome my friend, , Chris Grothkopp. I’ve known Chris for 20, uh, years? 25? Long time. , but yeah,
Chris Grothkop: welcome Chris! Thanks for having me. I’m, you know, I might as well talk about the game.
I’m going to struggle watching it, but I’ll enjoy talking.
John Cashman: Well, we all struggle watching it. Yeah. , So, dude, tell us, how’d you become a Seahawks fan?
Chris Grothkop: , good question. I think we landed here in, , around, I think, 1988. So, like, a day of, like, you know, all the throwback jersey stuff we’re doing now is kind of when I came into the Seattle area.
I actually was a Chargers fan for a bit, because we had moved up from down in San Diego. But I think getting back here, when I got here in 88, I was a middle school kid. You know, they’re the local team. They have sweet looking jerseys with the Seahawks. It was like Steve Largent, Paul Scanzi, you know, that whole,
Tim Cashman: , You wanted to fit in with the popular kids.
I get it. Middle school.
Chris Grothkop: Totally. Yeah. I was a new kid. Yeah. Just throw a jersey on me. I don’t even know who this team is.
Tim Cashman: But Kenny Easley, he’s always been my favorite. Absolutely.
Chris Grothkop: I think I, yeah, I basically, you know, I started watching him just because I wanted to just be miserable watching sports. And I figured why not?
Tim Cashman: amazing
John Cashman: that you took up rowing
Tim Cashman: as a sport. Yeah.
John Cashman: So, so you started in middle school and then got the bug and obviously the Seahawks had some success with. Pete Carroll and Russell Wilson, and that pretty much helps solidify things.
Tim Cashman: I have to say, if you were a Seahawks fan in the 80s and during the 90s, you had some hope with home grin, you know, you go and do the Super Bowl against the Steelers, you had some bad calls go against you, I think the refs just decided that game that Bill Cowart was going to get his one Super Bowl, you know, , and you know, that, that was just the way to do it.
, so you had some hope in the Holmgren years, but yeah, then Pete Carroll come in, came in around, I think 2011. So he is now, what in his 12th year of coaching? Yeah. Um, and they’ve been contenders, , every year.
Chris Grothkop: Yeah. It’s been an interesting run of it. I, I agree. Yeah. Like the Holmgren stuff was great, you know, and I think that Pittsburgh one was just a, you know, that was a stab.
The stab in the heart. We were watching that game. I think I broke about three or four hats chucking them at things. There he is. There he is in the room. And it was actually funny. A good friend of mine was with us at the time. I remember that distinctly. We were sitting in my buddy’s place in Green Lake and completely outplayed the Steelers in every sense of the word.
I think Rathalos won that game with like a 12 QBR.
Tim Cashman: Truthfully, I think his QBR was
Chris Grothkop: 12 and they won. , yeah, so that game was rough, but then I, I, I did get to attend the Super Bowl. Uh, was it 48 in, uh, New
Tim Cashman: York? Awesome.
Chris Grothkop: Cause my brother works for the Hawks. So I was like tagging along for all the Super Bowl runs, those last couple.
So yeah, it was fun. Well,
Brian Caynan: what does your brother do for the Seahawks and, , tell us about the Super Bowl too. I love to hear them, both of those things.
Chris Grothkop: Yeah, he’s, , he actually just left the Hawks. But he’d been there for 15 years. Yeah. He worked in, , corporate sponsorships. , so he got to travel around and pick up different clients, uh, you know, that did sponsors, which was funny for him because being there 15 years, you know, prior to Carol getting there and the winning really kind of picking it up, it was a tougher gig, right?
Like, Hey, Spend money and go advertise this team and they’re like, you know, and then eventually when Pete got here and they went to the Super Bowl and was that year two or something of, of Russ being around and, yeah. And then they’re like batting people away, you know, everyone’s just showing up and people who didn’t want to talk to him were there.
So for him, he had a pretty good gig. , but yeah, that Super Bowl was, it was a, I mean, it was one of those deals where it’s like, I have to be at
John Cashman: this thing.
Chris Grothkop: I have to be at this deal. Like I, I, you know, I didn’t go to Detroit. I really wasn’t in a position to, but now I can. So I flew over there. So I think I was there for like a week and, you know, soaked up all the pre pre event
Tim Cashman: stuff, like I need to address a rumor here, Chris, that it’s rumored that you actually, a 49ers fan put you up with lodging, even though he had lost the NFC championship game.
Is that rumor true? Put me up with lodging. , prior to the Superbowl. I hear rumors that someone in New Jersey… That is true.
Chris Grothkop: That’s right, John. I did see you on that trip, didn’t I? That was a great date. That was one of
Brian Caynan: my highlights. You fed him too? Oh my gosh.
Tim Cashman: Yeah, you know.
Chris Grothkop: This
Tim Cashman: was after the epic battle where, you know, Richard Sherman made, you know, the play of his career.
That
Chris Grothkop: was the tipped
John Cashman: pass. Yeah.
Tim Cashman: Yeah, of course. Kudos. Kudos to you, John. I don’t know if I would have done that. I’m just that bitter, but…
Chris Grothkop: You know, I was focused mostly on the Super Bowl. Yeah, but it was, uh, it was cold. It was super, super cold.
I remember being worried, you know, that MetLife’s outdoors, so it’s like, we’re gonna freeze our ass off. But the weather ended up being pretty good that game. , and it’s funny, right, getting back to the Hawks, the Hawks mentality of like, just being miserable because we’re never gonna win anything. It’s like, I’m a Mariners fan too, so I mean, I might as well.
At least the Hawks went to the Super Bowl a few times, right? I remember at halftime, right, I think we were up, I don’t know, what was it, 20… Two to zero maybe or something like that. I think at halftime it was a huge lead and none of us, we’re all sitting there going, well you know what the storyline is going to be.
Peyton Manning has the biggest comeback.
can see it tomorrow in the New York Times. Like, you know, none of us were, none of us were, uh, were comfortable on the slightest. And then Percy Harvin returns the, the opening kickoff of the second half for a touchdown. And then we just kind of drank the
Tim Cashman: Yeah, so
Brian Caynan: at least we got another question for you. I got another question for you, Clint. Tell us about, tell us about the following Super Bowl the next year. Yeah.
Chris Grothkop: What
John Cashman: happened,
Brian Caynan: like, give it to Marshawn or, , throw that past.
Chris Grothkop: I mean, 100 percent give it to Marshawn Lynch. I think we were like, what’s, I mean, we were all already kind of celebrating this thing’s over.
We’re on the, you know, one, one yard line here. We can do kind of whatever we want to do. And then, yeah, when that happened, I think we were all kind of spinning around going, is that. Did that happen? Was there like a rift in time? Was there like
Tim Cashman: a pause?
Chris Grothkop: Like, can we just jump backwards, rewind, you know? , yeah, that was a, that was just a torturous Super Bowl.
Honestly, at the time, when we were driving down, I thought that, you know, alright, you know, this is dynasty time. You know, after all those years, 20 years of being a fan, like, we’re gonna be entering the land of the Patriots. , or actually early Niners, right? Like Super Bowl, like Super Bowls and runs all the time.
And then once that loss happened, it’s like the team ate itself.
Tim Cashman: Yeah.
John Cashman: Yeah. , so this year, how are you feeling this year about the, , the Hawks? They’re off to a pretty good start and they’re So we got a winning record.
Tim Cashman: I mean, the Hawks, if I could just chime in, the Hawks just sort of, I mean, they start off the season, they lose to the Rams.
, and then they, you know, they beat the Lions, and they’ve sort of had this kind of Jekyll and Hyde look to them this year. Um, and even last week, uh, with Gina going out and coming back in, I was expecting them to come down and kick the game winning field goal. I just felt like they were just going, they were in, you know, prime position, uh, to win it.
But, , I haven’t been able to get a, I think that Seattle has a good young team. But it’s just sort of been, you know, which team is going to show up a week in and week out. Is it going to be the one against the Lions or is it going to be the one against the Ravens? So I can’t put my thumb on this, but I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to steal Chris’s analysis.
I’m not trying to be Chris Grothaupt. It’s tough to be. It really is.
Chris Grothkop: Yeah, you know, it’s funny with the Hawks. I was just talking to some friends about this. Um, I have struggled, truthfully struggled, to sit down and watch the Seahawks games from probably the last two or three years of Russ’s time there to the last two years, you know, with Gino at the helm.
And I think the reason is because we don’t suck. If we sucked, we just know we suck. And then you can just kind of turn the game on and eat and drink and be like, Oh, we won. Yay. And if you suck, you’re like, yeah, we suck. You know, and you just kind of move on. It’s kind of like Cougar fans up here in Washington.
They kind of usually they just know they suck and they still watch the games. Like, the
John Cashman: apple cup. It’s, it’s on one in 25. Oh, we won the Apple cup.
Chris Grothkop: We did it. We did it. Yeah. And, , but we’re not, you know, like we’re not dominating, like, you know, the Niners have been doing, the Eagles have been doing like other teams, like they just, they go into those games.
They dominate or the Hawks did back in 2013. Like that game you watched and you just kind of had fun watching it because the defense was good and the offense is good. And I think I’ve struggled because I usually expect them to do worse. Then they surprise me and do a little bit better than you expect, and then they regress to the mean.
And so it’s like, it’s like this rollercoaster ride, like I, you know, six, I, you know, six and three is a great record going into that Rams game. It’s like, okay, great. If you asked me to start a season, when I take six and three for the Hawks, I’d be like, absolutely. I mean, there’s plenty of games you could lose on that list, right?
Leading up to that. But then you watch the Rams game, you’re like, what? I mean, I had to get up and leave and go clean the garage for a minute. I mean, I just, I couldn’t just.
Tim Cashman: That sounds like a pretty tall order. I mean, you didn’t say make the bed. You didn’t say fold the laundry. You said, I’m going to clean the garage.
That’s like a seasonal job. It is.
John Cashman: I get a leaf blower out and everything. Cannibal coming. Um, so you’re going to be at the game on Thursday on Thanksgiving. Yes, correct. So my biggest question for anybody who goes to a Thanksgiving game is Do they have Thanksgiving dinner there? Or is it just like
Chris Grothkop: hot dogs and beer?
We’re gonna find out. I bet you they have turkey legs. They usually have those turkey leg things. But, , I don’t know. You know, it’s funny. I went to the whole family. Because my brother was working there, you know. And the Hawks, because they’ve been Pretty good under Carol have gotten more of those time spots and that was a year like probably four or five years ago where they had the Christmas Eve spot so we all went there’s like 25 of us or something like the whole family all my siblings and nieces and nephews and parents and grandparents everybody went to the game so and that game they didn’t have anything special.
So, I don’t know what special you do on Christmas Eve, , but, uh, we’ll see. Maybe, maybe they’ll have turkey. I don’t know. I will have had a Thanksgiving breakfast, but I will not have had turkey and mashed potatoes and stuffing before I go to this game. So, yeah, we’ll see. We’ll find out.
Tim Cashman: Well, one of the things we always like to ask, uh, folks, , is, you know, if you talk about, when we talk about, you know, how you became a , a Seahawks fan, uh, but also, you know, one of your, you know, uh, better memories of growing up, and, and John and I and Brian have, have talked about, you know, growing up for us, it was, you know, family being around the television, you know, a whole bunch of food, or…
John and I are working a summer job so we could afford season tickets to go see Joe Montana at Candlestick and so forth. So, , just curious, what are some of your fondest memories, uh, growing up and watching the Seahawks? Or even, you know, later when Pete Carroll, uh, you know, when they had the Legion of Boom and did, you know, win the Super Bowl?
Yeah, I mean, it’s a
Chris Grothkop: good question. I think, I mean, I liked, when I was a kid, I liked watching it for Largent and Skanzi. I just liked watching the receivers. And so, and I always thought of myself, even though I’m a large person now, back then I was pretty crummy. And so I always… You know, Skanzi would always come across the middle and get destroyed.
So I always liked kind of that mentality. I like watching those games. , I think the Super Bowl loss, you know, you remember the losses, that Pittsburgh one, it’s out of my mind for sure. , and then a couple of the ones is actually the Niners game here. Not that one with the, the tipped interception. , it was, I think the year after, I think the Niners went to, it might’ve been 20.
12, maybe? , I don’t think it was a Super Bowl season. It might have been the season, the first season of, of Russ, , where the Niners had gone to like the NFC Championship a bunch of years in a row, or, and been to a Super Bowl, and was kind of the, the cream of the crop in the NFC West, and came up to Seattle, and we had been losing all the games, and then we finally won that game.
It was like, I forget, like 24 to 3
Tim Cashman: or something like that. Oh, I think I remember that. That was like week 2 of 2013, a big win against the Packers. Yeah. And that was like, oh, Seattle’s for real. Yeah. Yeah. And it was,
Chris Grothkop: yeah, deafening loud. Mm-Hmm. at, uh, I think it was, oh, I can’t keep track of the names. I don’t know.
Quest
Tim Cashman: Field, let’s call it. Yeah. Or whatever. , whatever it was called. It’s Lumen Field now, right? It’s lu It’s
Chris Grothkop: just, yeah. The CenturyLink and Quest. It’s always, you know, broadband providers, I suppose.
But that game, I remember like, I mean, I went into the, I went into like a tunnel where there was nothing like, you know, some breezeway or something like that. And there’s no one around, and my ears were just completely ringing. So that was a fun. That was a fun game. Um, I, I like the events where you can kind of get into it.
And back then, the Hawks had really not been great. It was kind of the start of Pete kind of trying to bring this thing back up. And so you had a lot of pent up excitement, right? Like I’ve been to some games in the, you know, recent years and big games and maybe Niners games and stuff, but nothing’s compared.
I don’t think to that noise level. That was, uh, Deafening noise level.
Tim Cashman: Well, I’ve only been to Lumen Field once, and that was in 2022. , and the 49ers were up, and then Russell Wilson did what Russell Wilson always does. Yeah. Uh, you know, staged a great rally. But, , I’d say one, yeah, I mean, the, the noise level is unlike anything I’d heard.
But secondly, it’s a gorgeous stadium, and it’s, it’s in a perfect location in downtown. , and, you know, I happen to work for a certain tech company out in, you know, Seattle there. So, uh, Seattle is just, you know, it’s a gorgeous, gorgeous city. And, you know, when they designed that stadium, they did it. They definitely did it right.
So, and I cut Brian off, so I don’t want to go back
Brian Caynan: to him. Yeah, question for you, Chris. So, , you know, I’ve looked at the jerseys and they always look pretty nice. Like their color schemes always look nice since inception. Do you have any, uh, one, do you have any jerseys in your closet and what’s your favorite one to wear to a game if you got one?
And number two, can you tell us about life in the kingdom? Did anything ever fall on your head, uh, sitting over there?
Tim Cashman: The
Chris Grothkop: kingdom. Yeah, the kingdom. It’s actually, yeah. Okay, so the jersey thing. So I did, I had a Sherman jersey. That was the one during the Super Bowl runs. Wore it to the, wore it to the, , to the Super Bowl win.
So that one, I actually wanted to figure out how to get signed by Sherman, if I can figure it out. I have some, I have some connections who work with them pretty closely. I’m hoping they can. , although I have a Bobby Wagner throwback now, so I have the new throwback Jersey with the Bobby Wagner. So I think that’s my new favorite just because I like the throwback.
And I actually have an old Hasselbeck Jersey in the, in the thing too. The ugliest back when the color scheme, they kind of strayed from the, the more, the newer stuff, which I like, but there was a between time. It’s kind of like the old Mustang, right? The Mustang is cool now. And it was cool a long ago and somewhere in the eighties and early nineties.
Is it just
Tim Cashman: me?
Chris Grothkop: Like something along those lines like yeah, there was some years there so I have
Tim Cashman: quite a few that is the best analogy I have ever heard Yeah, oh I know the Mustangs yeah the A’s you kind of That’s probably
Chris Grothkop: fall into that thing too and then yes, I mean the kingdom was great I mean I We just kind of ran around that place as kids for Mariners games or for Seahawks games, and I never had any tiles fall on my head, although that story I do remember.
, the only, you know, the sound in there, it’s tough for me to, like, compare it because it’s different kind of being a kid and adult, but like, just the way that that stadium was constructed, like you had to kind of go into it. You know how now stadiums you can kind of be everywhere and see kind of what’s going on?
Yeah, and going inside of that concrete You know, wart on the city.
Tim Cashman: Okay. Yeah,
Chris Grothkop: it was cool. I mean, it was loud. I think it, you know, it was like it just thinking back and it reminds me of the eighties cause it had that hard, uh, astroturf. Remember like the Astro Turf on concrete, you know, now the turf is like grass and back then you might as well have just been playing out in the street.
, but the noise there, I mean, it echoed off and, you know, you had your big, uh, the big screen and out in, , what would have been left field for baseball that Big Mac hit his home runs off of when you come up here and play. And so I think for me, it’s mostly. It just reminds me of how old I am primarily, but…
And I do prefer all the current stadiums, but it was good memories back then. I mean, it was kind of, as a kid growing up, especially back in the 80s, really 90s, just kind of run around those places and just kind of had free reign, kind of go, you know, coming in and out. So it was good.
John Cashman: Cool. Any other questions for
Chris?
Tim Cashman: No, I think I, I do want to throw this out. I think just the entire group, somebody, , I think I was reading on X or maybe bleacher report, but, , we are coming up. I think it’s been nine or maybe even 10 years. Uh, it is coming in January when the 49ers and Seahawks met in the championship and played that epic game where Sherman, you know, tip the past from Kaepernick.
Um, yeah. But somebody said, you know, if you pose a question to 49ers fans of who they have fonder memories of, is it Richard Sherman or Michael Crabtree? And just about every Niners fan now is like, Richard Sherman. So. Really, look at that. Yeah. Well, it’s just, well, because, I mean, Sherman came into the Niners in 2018, you know, he only, he was only with the Niners really for two years, , he, uh, was injured most of 2020, but, uh, he brought, , such, uh, leadership and, , just veteran, , He just set the tone of the defense and set the tone of the locker room, , just both on and off the field.
And I mean, still to this day, I think Fred Warner and others credit him for bringing in that just kind of mentality of how you play the game and what you need to do to get yourself ready for football. So, , I mean, you still see 49ers Sherman jerseys, um, you know, throughout the stands. So it’s, it is amazing.
Chris Grothkop: Well, I mean, him going there, you know, and that being the jersey I have, I was like, Oh my God, now I got to wear a jersey of a guy who’s with the Niners.
Yeah, so that was troubling. And actually, you know, last year I was at the Thursday night game. My sister in law, I mean, John, you know this, Chris, she’s doing the game. So we’re like, oh, we’ll go watch her do the game, you know, it’ll be fun. And that game, we just got rolled over. And then, of course, we want to stick around, you know, and say hi to her and wave at her down when they do the post game thing.
But… The Niners just romped all over the Hawks. So like, there’s no Hawks fans. It’s just, I am standing with my wife and kids in a sea of Niners. Trying to get, you know, hey, are feeling themselves right now. You know, it’s like kiddos coming out and, um. I forget who they brought out with him, but whoever this is.
Probably Purdy. I think it was, I think it was, I think it was Purdy because he had only been quarterback at that point for maybe two or three games, I think. After the deal, so yeah. Yeah, it was, it’s, it was something else. I’m like, okay, we can survive this. Just stand here and smile.
Brian Caynan: Well.
John Cashman: Chris, man, it was good catching up.
, we wish you the best this weekend. Uh, happy Thanksgiving. Have a great Thanksgiving. Yeah. And , you know, good luck the rest of the way, except for on Thursday.
Tim Cashman: Yeah. And the, and the, and the two Sundays after that. Yeah. Yeah. We
John Cashman: have, we have all birds. It’s all birds for the next three weeks.
Chris Grothkop: If we happen to limp our way into the playoffs, you guys won’t have anything to do with us anyway.
You’ll be cruising off to some, like, buy
Tim Cashman: me plus whatever else. I’m not saying a word. I’m not saying a word. Just no. Come on, Tim. Jump into this thing. I would love to jump into this thing, but as, you know, I tend to be a skeptic. Like, you know, the coin toss. Like, that’s it. It’s over. It’s over. But I go with what works.
The more skeptical I am, the better they seem to do. So don’t break the mojo. And
Chris Grothkop: the heartburn stays under control,
Tim Cashman: understandably. That too.
John Cashman: Yeah, when the, when the schedule came out, we looked at Seahawks Thanksgiving, my daughters were like, Are you serious?
Tim Cashman: What
John Cashman: was daddy? No, it’ll be actually, we’ll be in, we’ll be at pie time by then, so, but all the people in Seattle are like, So it’s okay. I can watch the game in my lap, right?
Tim Cashman: Yeah. Oh, that’s right.
Chris Grothkop: That’s right, John. I’m not even thinking about that. That’s true. That game’s at five o’clock, right? So you’re going to be,
John Cashman: you might be asleep.
I’ll be tripped to fame. Someone tell me if we won. And then it’ll be like, well, you have to eat turkey and drink copious amounts of wine for every game. Cause that’s how they win. Cool, man. Well, thanks for joining us for this. This is awesome.
Chris Grothkop: Yeah, hey, thanks for inviting me on. Good luck and we’ll, uh, we’ll hopefully see you guys after the regular season’s over.
Tim Cashman: Alright. Alright. Thanks, Chris. Best to you, best to the family. Same to you guys.
Chris Grothkop: See ya. Take care.
John Cashman: Later.
cool. All right, well, we wanna thank Christopher being on Niners talk and now we get into Seahawks week. So Brian, initial thoughts. On beating the, , the Seahawks?
Brian Caynan: This is a game we all, like, circle on our calendars. … We all wanna, I mean, it’s just, this is the week, I think just like, see, just like the Dallas game, this is another team you gotta just get all riled up to watch, and the fact that it’s on Thanksgiving, , will have it in the background, , I’m excited to watch it.
I’m excited to see it. And, , you know, hopefully the Niners will take care of business that day. , what am I looking forward to? I think the one thing we always kind of recognize over there is that Seattle has a loud stadium. And I think the way that it’s built acoustically, , Yeah. But if they break the records, I guess, you know, all their teams that they play against in terms of crowd noise, but definitely you want to take them out of the game, , right at the instant.
Um, that was one thing I actually was going to put down on this list, but you had it there first. , definitely just get the crowd out of the game. , you know, if we can score the first touchdown, , I think we had a really good statistic at earlier that we were really good at our first touchdowns, , to start the game and our first possession.
Definitely want to do that right away. , so the crowd goes slow and, um, you know, it won’t be as, uh, intimidating, I guess. Uh, I don’t know if that’s the right word, but it definitely won’t be as loud. So.
John Cashman: I know you look forward to this game about as much as you look to, for
Tim Cashman: a root canal, world Root canal, world
Oh, jink. .
John Cashman: But it has to happen. It has to happen twice
Tim Cashman: a year. Yeah. It, it has to happen. And this year it’s happening, , on, on a Thursday holiday. , no, it’s, it’s Seattle. Uh, we know it’s gonna be a dog fight. , I, and you never look past the Seahawks ever. , even years they’ve struggled, they’re, they’re just a team that Pete Carroll’s gonna have ready and he’s gonna have them, uh, believing.
And I think the Niners, , offensive line, you know, with their, has some question marks about the health. How are they gonna perform in a loud environment? They’re gonna have to perform thena, uh, the silent count. And I think also, , with , uh, being out, the niners corners and safes are gonna be, uh, tested. , Seattle has got two great receivers and, uh, Metcalf and Tyler Lockett, and they’re.
Two tough physical receivers, , so Niners going to be tested on that, which means the pass rush has to get to Geno Smith, who I fully anticipate is going to play on Thursday night. I haven’t seen any reports that suggest, uh, otherwise, but, , the 49ers, uh, 49ers, uh, defensive line has got to get pressure on Geno Smith.
You know, if they can… Sort of repeat what they did last year where they got off to a fast start, built up a 21 3 lead, and were able to more or less coast to the end. I think that’ll be the key, uh, to the victory there, but I would say one other thing is that Pete Carroll, he is known for trick plays.
He is known for pulling something unexpected that you didn’t have on film. We saw that a couple of years ago in, , 2021 up in Seattle where Niners had stopped, uh, it was the opening possession. Four Niners had stopped him on what appeared to be a three and out and he ran a fake punt and nobody saw that coming.
So, , you got to be on your toes, uh, with this guy and it’s like, you know, if you get on him, you just, it’s like, you know, hitting a, what’s the expression? Hitting a flea with a sledgehammer. You cannot let up. , otherwise, , that team will come back. So. , it’s gonna be a dogfight, it’s gonna be on national television, huge implications, not only for MC playoffs, but for the division.
Yeah,
John Cashman: The quick turnaround is something that is causing this a little bit of like, okay, what exactly is going to happen? Because… , I watched a decent amount of the Seahawks Rams game, Seahawks had control of that game, Geno gets knocked out, all of a sudden the Rams come back, , Rams had a masterful drive to the end, to, take the lead, uh, and then, um, Geno gets them into the field goal range and Myers missed it.
, so there’s a lot of fight in that team. , It’s just a question of, okay, who’s gonna be available to play, both on the Niners and the Seahawks. , but yeah, I am, uh, I’m fully anticipating, , a battle, um, and they’re 6 4, we’re 7 3, and they’ve won some really ugly, grimy games and the Niners haven’t. Uh, Niners have been, when they’ve won, they’ve won, you know, by two scores or more.
, we could’ve gotten that Grimey game in Cleveland, but Jake missed, so, uh, I’m fully anticipating a battle, but it’s a battle I think the Niners can win. , we used to go into Seattle and be like, well, we have no chance, but, , this is one I think they can, they can win. And really, , Really get a two game lead, going into December, and then look to see where else they can improve their playoff position.
But, you know, how the Niners are going to do this, well, we have to get to our keys to victory. So, as Brian mentioned, we’ve got to get that crowd out of the game, , you know, I’ve been there, Tim’s been there, it is a loud crowd, and it is right over the field. So you get them out of the game, you make them think like, maybe I should go home and eat turkey.
That will, that will help. , so Tim, any other
Chris Grothkop: keys you see? I think the only
Tim Cashman: thing is that, you know, I was reading, I think David. Lombardia today on X, and he had talked about that, you know, the last three games, last season in, in 2022, uh, the 49ers had a substant I think the highest number of pressures, , against Seattle than they did against any other team, and, you know, we saw that, you know, in, in all those, well, I think, you know, in all three phases, you know, if you look at the, the game, uh, the two regular season games and the playoff game, , the 49ers were able to get out to a fast start and they were able to pressure Geno Smith, , effectively.
, there are some question marks along the Seattle offensive line. , so I think that matchup bodes well for the 49ers. , but, you know, as we’ve seen other teams do, , against the 49ers, they’ve run screens, they’ve run, you know, misdirections. They try to gash the 49ers on first down. , and that’s an area that 49ers are going to have to correct, so if they’re able to, you know, to win on first down, get Geno in second and ten, I think they’ll be more in position to pin the ears back, you can unleash Bosa, you can unleash, , Chase Young, you know, maybe Randy Edwards, Or, uh, you know, Farrell, who’s been, I think, has been playing very well the last few weeks, , can make the, make the difference.
So, I’m also gonna be, you know, I, like I said, I fully anticipate Geno Smith, uh, to play. We’re gonna, you know, obviously watch him closely to see what his accuracy is like from that arm, what his arm strength is like on that. , so it’s possible we could see, , drew Locke. Um, but you know, I think Gino’s a, Gino’s Gino is, um, he was comeback player of the NFL for the reason, for a reason last year.
He’s a fighter and, , I, I think barring any sort of horrific injury, he’s gonna stay on that field until someone pulls him off.
John Cashman: Yeah. And I mean, watching the Ram Seahawks game, I mean, he put himself back in and let them down and, you know, threw a dime to
Tim Cashman: Metcalf. It was Lockett or it was Lockett. I’m not going to remember who, but yeah, I remember that play.
Brian.
Brian Caynan: And then also, , you know. One other injury that’s, um, that we haven’t talked about is Kenneth Walker. He’s their running back who’s really, really good. And, , he’s supposed to be out, um, this game, , with an oblique injury. So I don’t, I don’t think there’s an expectation that he’s going to play, but.
You know, that’s something we have to worry about. We, when we see the Seahawks, like in two weeks, is he going to be back then? Cause he is a really good runner and I think, , he’s got over 600 yards for the season. So, , he’s someone we got to contend with, uh, in the future down the line.
John Cashman: Yeah. For me, one of my keys to victory is let Brock Purdy cook.
Um, you know, it’s, it’s again, I, I, I don’t know what quite, I’ll know obviously when we watch it, but, , as we talked about before, what he’s been very, very good at doing is, is throwing these balls, , over the layers of the defense into the spots, the perfect spots. Where we’ve seen the Niners have some issues is when they try to do the CMC show on 1st and 2nd.
So, you know, let, let Purdy do the play action, let him throw the, throw the ball over the lairs. Run your own trick plays. I remember last year there was that great Trick play with Kiddley, fake left, fake right, Kiddle down the middle. He was wide open. He was wide open, so I’d love to see, , something like that, but I think, um, you know, let, let Purdy cook.
, That just opens up, you know, a lot more for CMC to do his, his deal, , when they hand him off the ball. , Tim, any other keys that you can see for us to have a happy end to Thanksgiving?
Tim Cashman: We win. That’s a
John Cashman: very Eric Dickerson way of you to say it,
Tim Cashman: like, let’s cheat a victory, or you win. No, I think, you know, this is, this is, hey, you’re a Super Bowl, if you’re gonna contend for the Super Bowl, these are the games you gotta win.
Brian?
Brian Caynan: , you know with, uh, another thing that that’s on this list here is is both with Hufanga being out and I was thinking about this too. It’s like who’s gonna, who are the Niners gonna bring into Blitz? , you know, I know, um, Isaiah Oliver hasn’t really played All that well. And that’s why he’s kind of been removed as some of the, as one of the, um, safety scoring positions.
But yeah, if you bring him in there to blitz, I think that, and I think the Niners did that a couple of times kind of in the last game, so you’d like to see that happen again. Obviously you can’t do that all the time, but, um, yeah, he, he’s, he’s, I think that’s, that’s definitely going to happen. I’m going to see that somewhere shape or form Wilks is going to squeeze that play in there a couple of times, um, just to put some extra pressure on, , on Gino, on Gino for the day.
John Cashman: Yeah, yeah, I think, um, I think you’ll see the Niners get after. I like the idea of Isaiah Oliver kind of taking the Huff role of, of Blitzinger being around the line, , and then, you know, seeing what they can do with J. R. Brown and, and Lenore. , and then, the last thought, now that we’re a little way off of the Seahawks, , what do you guys both think about Jason Verrett potentially becoming a Niner again?
Tim Cashman: ,
I mean, he, we obviously, we know him, he knows the system, uh, I don’t think Wilkes has done anything, um, that he wouldn’t recognize coming in, um, maybe the Foreigners could just, I think Foreigners could, could probably use the help, , but we shall see.
Brian Caynan: You know, and the times that he’s played, John, I remember he’s been really, really good and, but, um, you know, and, and he’s got, he’s injury prone, um, and he’s, he seemed to be getting, he seemed to be getting hurt every, like once a year, um, he’s kind of like, I don’t know, like Emmanuel Mosley always seemed to be getting hurt and that’s the only concern I have, but I mean, I know he’s a good person.
He sounds like a great player, a great teammate. He knows, he knows the coaching staff and I’m sure he’ll fit. Um, but I guess there’s really no downside this late in the season to be bringing somebody in, um, at his caliber, , since he just, you know, left Houston.
John Cashman: So, yeah, I mean, he was on the Houston practice squad.
I don’t see him making the 53 man roster, but you never know, or he might get called up, but it would be a nice storybook ending for him to be part of, of this team and kind of come full circle. So, uh, but it is a business and you know, we’ll see. So well, Brian, we are thankful for your trivia. So you want to give us the answers so we can see this was a little harder than most weeks.
I gotta say. Well,
Brian Caynan: let’s see. Let’s see if you got these ones, right. So number one, who was the lead family and what was their local business, , that brought football to Seattle in 1975, 76. And I gave you guys the hint of retail and both you guys said. Nordstrom. You are absolutely correct. It was the Nordstrom family.
All right.
Tim Cashman: All those years of going out to the Marin mall, village, whatever they call it. The village. The only Nordstroms I’ve ever been in. You know, all those years paid off. Thank you, John. You’re
John Cashman: welcome. There you go.
Brian Caynan: , let’s see. Name two of the three tenants. Other than the Seahawks, to play their… Pro tenants, I should say.
To play their games at the Kingdom. So, you guys said… The
Tim Cashman: Mariners, Seahawks, and Supersonics. Right. And
John Cashman: the last team… I said also the Seattle Sounders. You guys got it.
Brian Caynan: Four for four. That’s absolutely right. There you go. So, , I think NASL was the league, but precursor to the MLS. So the Seattle Sounders were part of that.
And, , so they’re absolutely right, John. And then the Sonics, they were there for maybe six or seven years in the late seventies, early eighties. And I think they, they didn’t win the championship. In that facility, but their championship winning team played there that year. So good call. All right. Number three, name three players on the 94 team to play for Seattle after leaving San Francisco.
So, , I think right off the bat, Tim, you got you and you and John got, uh, the
Tim Cashman: great Jerry Rice and rookie waters.
Brian Caynan: Okay. And, , who’d you guys say was the last one? Merton Hanks. Absolutely right. He did play there, I think, in his last season. It was either 99 or 2000. He played there for one year. Um, but it’s , was it, I felt like that was always like the, after somebody got cut from the Niners, they were going up to Seattle for some shape, way, or form.
They were headed up there. But you’re right, Merton Hanks.
John Cashman: Kind of like the Dolphins now, I mean, how many ex Niners are on the Dolphins? Yeah. , cool.
Brian Caynan: Alright, but I actually, I found, I found that one, actually I found that question really interesting because you could just talk how many players today, like Carlos Hyde, um, Julian Peterson, , all these guys, going back and forth.
Okay, last one. , Niners wearing the 94 throwbacks this Thursday, uh, for Thanksgiving. What year did they originally… Get that throwback from, um, I’ll give with you guys within a five year period. , but John, you said
John Cashman: 1954. Okay.
Tim Cashman: Tim? I said 1950.
Brian Caynan: , you guys were both within the five years. It was actually in the nine, the 1955, , team, so yeah.
All right. There we go. There you go. Hopefully that’ll bring good luck.
Tim Cashman: So,
John Cashman: um, I’ll leave you with my final thought and I’ll let you guys, uh, I was watching an interview with Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw, , where, , Dre Greenlaw was talking about getting recruited by Paul, Pete Carroll. And he’s like, all that guy was doing was chewing gum and told me a cool story and then
Chris Grothkop: left.
I didn’t think they were going to
John Cashman: draft me. He said, you know, the next year was his rookie year with the Niners. And Fred was like… You know, the tight end went across Fred, Fred was like, Oh no, it’s touchdown. Russ is throwing it. And Fred just said, I just heard, wow, turn around. There’s Drake Greenlaw stopping that guy short.
And I remember to this day, it was, it was New Year’s Eve. We were downstairs in Tim’s basement and watched that game. I don’t think he got in. I don’t think he got in. Play the replay
Tim Cashman: one more time. I don’t think he got in. I still look at that replay. I’m like, no, this time they’re going to score.
John Cashman: Yeah. , that was such an epic, that was an epic, epic game.
That was crazy. , so that’s my final thought. , it, that’s a good, if you guys see it, Fred and Dre on, on there, Fred talks about that play and, , that day Dre Greenlaw, and of course. Brought back the next, , you know, cause they were the number one team. Two weeks later, Dan Bunz comes and rings the horn, , to get it going cause there’s number 57.
So Brian, final thoughts for the week for Thanksgiving week.
Brian Caynan: Well, Thanksgiving, we always, , it’s, I don’t remember the last Thanksgiving game. Do you guys?
Tim Cashman: The
John Cashman: Ravens. Was it the Ravens? I thought it was, ..
Tim Cashman: Oh, no, you’re right. It was the Seahawks. We’re just forgetting about that game. I’ve just chosen to forget that.
Yeah,
Brian Caynan: that was Harbaugh’s first year. I remember.
Tim Cashman: Yeah, the Ravens
John Cashman: was the first year.
Brian Caynan: Um, I’m looking forward to this game. , you know, as we always say, Thursday Night Games. You want to win those because you don’t want to stew over a loss for 10 days. So just get this win. They’re, uh, it might be high, but they’re seven point favorites right now.
, but let’s just make sure they just come out with the victory. Um, you know, they’re a better team on paper. Uh, so knock on wood, hopefully they’ll, they’ll, uh, show their true colors and, and take care of business, , on Thursday.
John Cashman: resident Seattle hater and pessimist. I will leave you with the final, final thought.
Tim Cashman: Happy Thanksgiving. About the Niners. It could be a happier Thanksgiving if they win. I’ll be thankful for that.
Brian Caynan: So on that note, uh… If you win this game, we’ll be up two games, right? So…
Tim Cashman: Don’t say that. Don’t say that.
Brian Caynan: You said it.
I thought someone said that. I
Tim Cashman: said if they win. If they win. Don’t mess with the mojo.
John Cashman: , anyway. , all I just want to say to everyone who’s, uh, been listening for the last… this is our 21st podcast, , which is hard to believe. , thank you and for tuning in and listening. , we really like doing this and, uh, we’re really thankful to have you all as a fans and followers and listeners.
So thank you, , everyone out there. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving and go Niners and keep the faith and we’ll talk to you in December.
