49ers impress in all three phases with SoFi statement vs. Chargers

Matt Maiocco and Jennifer Lee Chan discuss how the 49ers bounced back from their bumpy joint practice to beat Jim Harbaugh and the Chargers.

49ers impress in all three phases with SoFi statement vs. Chargers originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

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Jennifer, you are at SoFi Stadium, just a few miles from where these teams, the 49ers and the LA Chargers, met on Tuesday, and it was completely different showing on Thursday night.

Absolutely.

It was almost like the practice on Tuesday woke everybody up, and they realized, "Okay, we actually need to play some football here," because they got on the field and were much more serious, much bigger sense of urgency.

It even felt like it as they came onto the field during early warmups.

The energy was just different than it was on Tuesday, and it definitely showed up on the field throughout the game.

Well, it probably helped the 49ers defense that Justin Herbert only played three snaps too.

That, that probably had something to do with it.

But, you know, the 49ers, they- Absolutely I mean, they did hold him to a three and out in that one series.

And then, the 49ers took over.

And, you know, some of the highlights, and, and there's a lot to discuss, but let's just start with, with Brock Purdy and that combination, he and Dejon Stribling, and Brock Purdy handing it off to, to Kalon Black.

I mean, heck, the 49ers had three third down conversions on that drive.

One of 'em was a running play to Kalon Black, the third round draft pick, and the other two were Purdy to Dejon Stribling.

And dare we say it, Jennifer, I'm sure everybody's saying it now, but third and Dejon.

Yep.

It, it is the case.

When we talked to Brock after the game, he definitely said that, you know, getting into the rhythm of things, it felt like a real game scenario, 'cause it was get to third down, have to convert, get to third down, have to convert, over and over again.

So while he was only on the pl- on the field for, you know, less than a dozen plays, it did feel like a real game scenario.

So it was good for him to kind of have the pressure of needing to convert in the game.

And yes, Dejon Stribling, both he and Kalon Black had a really nice showing in the game.

Yeah, St- Stribling had the, you know, it just from the beginning, he picked up where he left off, had that good game against the Titans in the 49ers first game, and then played a couple of series, had the, what did he have?

Four catches for 46 yards.

I guess you could say he let one get away.

You know, there was a really good throw from Mac Jones that would've been a touchdown.

So, th- there's, there's stuff for him to work on.

But as Kyle Shanahan explained after the game, Mac Jones had to make that throw earlier than he wanted, so the pass was right on Stribling when he turned around.

Didn't have a whole lot of time to make that adjustment, but, he didn't make the catch, and it gives him a little something to, to shoot for and, and look to improve on as this preseason moves on, moves on toward that week one game, 49ers and and the LA Rams.

But, so it's kind of interesting where the 49ers are right now with that offense.

Yeah, Dejon Stribling talked about it after the game.

He said it was just one that he, he didn't get his hands completely on.

He had a chance to get it, considered it a drop, but said, "Hey, it's the preseason, you know.

I'm going to work harder at it.

I'm gonna take my coaching notes."

And Brock Purdy said afterwards they were all hyped up on the side, because they were like, "Oh my gosh, he's gonna get it."

Brock Purdy even said, "Yeah, he's gonna catch that pass, touchdown, and make it into the 49ers Hall of Fame already."

So the, the whole team is just really excited to see Dejon Stribling and how he's been getting his timing down.

He's, you know, playing all three receiver spots.

I think he's going to make a huge difference for this offense when you compare it to last year, where they just couldn't rely on the receivers to stretch the field at all.

You can already see it now.

Defense are gonna have to play them differently, and Dejon Stribling is going to make that, make that happen.

Yeah, you know, the f- the 49ers have some interesting competitions, and I, I do think that, you know, the top three guys at the wide receiver position have certainly separated themselves.

You know, it's Mike Evans.

He, he doesn't even need to practice, and he's gonna be, you know, one of their starters.

You know, Deebo Samuel has had a really good camp, and, th- that has continued in practices.

And of course, Stribling, who just hasn't done anything really negative at all, and shows why the 49ers had such a high of opinion, high opinion of him in the first place.

But, it was interesting how this game started with that Chargers three and out, because who was back there to field the first punt of the game?

It was Deebo Samuel.

He's never returned a punt in his NFL career, and it kinda looked liked it, like it when, he got back there.

The first one bounced in front of him.

The second one, he fair caught it and, probably shouldn't have.

But the guy that really stood out when it came to the punt returns And it wasn't perfect for Jacob Cowing all the way around.

I know he lost the first one in the lights.

You know, he, he could've made a, a play as a wide receiver.

But what did Kyle Shanahan say about, Jacob Cowing?

He, he said, that the competition for the punt returner isn't settled, but what Shanahan wa- said was, "I like that he's making it an easier decision."

So, a huge night for, for Jacob Cowing, with the 83-yard touchdown return.

And it's remarkable because of what he went through last year.

He told us that he tore his hamstring- four separate times last year.

So he made his way back, tore it again.

Made his way back, tore it again, and it's his right hamstring, so just getting in and out of the car was a challenge.

Driving was a challenge.

So for him to make it through that, I mean, I, there was really just a moment of kind of thinking about all of that after he made it to the end zone, and then all of the congratulations.

He said it felt so amazing to have You know, they got a penalty, but to have all of his teammates rush out to meet him on the field, you know, after all of what he's gone through emotionally, physically, it really was a nice release for him.

Yeah, and, and again, you know, that, that's the spot where, you know, it was August 21st of last year where the 49ers did not have a punt returner, and they went out and they traded for Skyy Moore.

And so August 30- or August 20th of this year is a Thursday night game where maybe Jacob Cowing took that job back.

And, and the thing that, that separates him from all the others is that he's actually done it.

He's done it for a full season in the NFL.

And as I mentioned, Deebo Samuel has never returned a punt in the NFL.

You know, some of the other candidates for that job, Will Pauling and Jordan Watkins, they've never You know, they weren't punt returners in, in college, and to try to make that adjustment in the NFL seems like that's a very difficult chore.

So I, I did not have Jacob Cowing on my last f- projected 53-man roster simply because he wasn't practicing.

He had the hip flexor that kept him out for a while.

But I can assure you, he'll be, he'll be on my next, 53-man roster projection.

And another guy who might be on that list is, Sincere McCormick, because Isaac Guerendo, he hasn't practiced yet.

He has that, that pec injury, and I think he's getting close to return.

Patrick Taylor had an injury, was placed on injured reserve.

And Sincere McCormick, who was part of the 49ers practice squad last year, he looked really good.

He looked explosive running the football for the 49ers on Thursday night.

Yeah, they have a lot of choices right there for running back right behind Christian McCaffrey.

And now I did see Christian McCaffrey here at the stadium.

He was walking around.

His dad, Ed McCaffrey, was here because Max McCaffrey is on the Chargers coaching staff, so he was here to see both of his sons.

But the running back situation, yes, I think, you know, they've got to make sure that they have a solid back for Christian McCaffrey.

I think honestly right now it's Christian McCaffrey, it's Kayla Black.

You look at him and how he can receive, he can run as a receiver.

But then after that, like where, you know, where do they go?

When is Isaac Guerendo going to be back?

Sincere McCormick really made a case for himself today running as hard as he did.

And, you know, part of what is really important for them also is, how are they blocking?

How are their blitz pickups?

That was one thing that Brock Purdy said about Kayla Black, is it was really efficient in that.

And Kayla Black said, "Hey, gotta protect the million dollar man."

So that's definitely a focus for these running backs.

And I, I do think that, you know, Jordan James, I think he'll have a, a spot on the roster.

And I just looked back to last year when the 49ers had Jordan James as a rookie.

Isaac Guerendo last year was a second-year guy who played a lot as a rookie, but, you know, as the season wore on, Jordan James leapfrogged over Isaac Guerendo on the depth chart.

So, you know, I think the, the three top guys are, you know, and we'll throw Kyle Juszczyk in there too as the fullback, but I, I do think that the t- top three guys are pretty well set.

Jordan James has the, the ribs fracture that he's coming back from.

I see him working out, so he's getting close, but, you know, it's McCaffrey, it's Kayla Black, it's Jordan James, and then that last spot is going to be somebody that, I think is wide open.

You know, and I did think that Patrick Taylor had a good opportunity just because of his special teams contributions, but, I can sincerely say that Sincere McCormick is very much in the picture.

That's it.

The dad joke for the oppso- episode.

That's it right there.

Yeah, I think there's the int- it's interesting, the competition there, and then also where are the wide receivers at after, you know, where you were talking about Jacob Cowing.

Is Jordan Watkins You know, who are the guys that are going to pick up that last spot on the wide receivers group?

It's, it, it's gonna be a lot of eyes on this last game to kind of figure out what those final spots are going to be.

Yeah, and you know, one of the guys, you know, the 49ers signed Christian Kirk to a one-year contract.

He's a veteran.

He's been around.

He didn't have a highly productive season last year, but he did play well in the postseason for the Texans.

But again, he hasn't been on the field, and you know what they say, you can't find a spot on the club if you're in the tub.

What's the other one?

What's the best ability, Jennifer?

Availability.

Yeah, exactly.

So you- you know it's gonna be Mike Evans and Deebo Samuel and Darian Stribling.

It looks like, Jordan Watkins, he's earning a spot.

You have Jacob Cowing now, very much inserting himself into the picture at punt returner.

And then, you know, there's DeMarcus Robinson, there's Christian Kirk.

You know, I've liked Will Pauling, what he's shown as a rookie.

So there is some competition at wide receiver too, and there's plenty other competitions that Jennifer and I are gonna talk about, including how a three-way competition suddenly, and maybe even temporarily unfortunately, turned into a four-way competition, and we'll talk about that when we return We are back on 49ers Talk, brought to you by your locally owned Toyota dealers.

Toyota, let's go places.

Okay, so the 49ers injury report coming out of this game against the LA Chargers, a 41 to 17 victory for the 49ers.

The injury report and, some kind of significant ones here, especially your Renardo Green had a hamstring injury.

He was removed in the first half of that game.

Kyle Shanahan said that they'll have some imaging done when they get back to the Bay Area on Friday, and they'll figure out the extent of that hamstring injury.

Nick Martin, who had a very impressive showing as a linebacker and a special team player, he had a hamstring injury late in that game.

So 49ers, man, their, their depth looks good at, at linebacker.

Maybe we can talk a little bit about that later.

But, Austin Pleasants, who last year was a swing tackle, he kind of, you know, surprisingly I think, because the 49ers have had three guys competing for left guard, now make it four.

Austin Pleasants was out there, and he played left guard, and there's a point when I saw him for the first time, I thought, "Oh my gosh, he's gonna be the starting left guard to open the season."

But then he goes down with a knee injury.

Shanahan said it's not an ACL, but he didn't seem altogether certain of the extent of it.

Again, he'll have imaging done, an MRI, to figure out how severe that is, but it, it's not looking great for the 49ers at left guard.

Yeah, that was a- another one that went down that he looked really serious because he was on the ground for quite some time.

He did walk underneath his own power to the blue tent, and then he was, instantly ruled out.

There were a couple other injuries that I just wanted to tell you before I forget.

Deommod Lenoir had a bag of ice on his shoulder, in the locker room after the game, so I don't know if anything happened there.

We'll hear, probably, you know, when we talk to Kyle Shanahan again what happened there.

But I did see Mike Evans running on the field, 'cause I know he was He left practice a little early on Tuesday, so he was running on the field.

I saw Dominic Cooney running on the field.

C.J.

West had traveled.

Nick Bosa was here.

Mykel Williams, that crew was here.

But I think it's a good sign that we saw, Mike Evans running sprints during the op- like, during the warmups today.

Renardo Green was on the field still after he was, listed as questionable with a hamstring, so he was there.

He didn't have any wraps.

He didn't have any ice on his hamstring, so I think that's a good sign, that he was walking around.

And then I did see him walking around the locker room.

Again, nothing on his legs, no support of any kind, and then he I saw him walking out of the locker room as well.

And then the, a couple things, kinda leftovers.

I don't, I'm not sure we talked about Mykel Williams much, but, you know, he had the ACL injury and surgery last season, and he's making really good progress.

But Kyle Shanahan did say that it was a long shot that he'd b- be available for week one.

But, you know, as I look at that defensive line, you know, th- they need him, right?

I mean, they, He's a guy that that versatility up and down the line, you know, with, with Bosa coming back, Mykel Williams at some point coming back, you know, the addition of Osa Diguiza, you know, the addition of Romello Height, you know, there are some players there to work with.

And, you know, not to mention Alfred Collins and C.J.

West.

So that's gonna be something to kinda keep an eye on.

So Mykel Williams, we don't know if he's gonna start the seg- the season, the regular season on PUP, and if he does, that means he has to miss the first four games.

As we noted on the last 49ers Talk podcast, George Kittle says he's not going to be starting the season on PUP, but week one against the Rams in Australia, that remains to be seen.

Adam Schefter was, was reporting on Thursday that while he was in Southern California, George Kittle visited Dr. Neil Elatrash, who had the surgery, performed the surgery, and everything is looking good, and they're certainly not ruling out week one.

But, it certainly sounds to me if it's not week one, it's probably gonna be week two.

And, you know, how m- how much difference can a week make?

Well, it's 10 days later, and it's, what, 36 hours or 32 hours of, of flight time that he would be skipping- Less, yeah by not, yeah, less by not going to Australia.

Absolutely.

Good to see George Kittle out here.

He was out here coaching up his tight ends during the warmups.

He's been very, very present during team drills.

We saw him at the practice on Tuesday.

If anyone can get back for week one, it's George Kittle, but of course they wanna be ex- make sure that that's the bigger picture, I think for all of the players, whether it's Nick Bosa, whether it's George Kittle, Mykel Williams, all of those guys.

It's about the big picture.

They don't wanna force them or hurry them, rush them back into week one.

They want them to be ready and be able to play the entire season.

So if they miss a game early in the year, it's that, because it makes it better for them in the long run.

I think that's what the 49ers goal is, to have them out there for as many games as possible, and if week one is rushed and causes them to miss more time, that would definitely not be advantageous.

So it's always better to be patient with these guys coming back from these major injuries.

And, and Christian McCaffrey, remains out of action.

Again, it, it remains to be seen.

The way Shanahan was talking on Tuesday, it sounded like he's very close to return to practice from, quote-unquote, "tightness," whatever that means.

For soreness for Nick Bosa, we found out that that was basically tendonitis in that surgically repaired knee.

But, Christian McCaffrey, Kyle Shanahan says it has nothing to do with the contract situation.

The 49ers are just being smart with him.

But in the meantime, Kalon Black, you know, he returned to practice on Tuesday.

He ran hard in practice.

He ran hard in the game on Thursday night.

The only thing he didn't do, and I was kinda hoping we'd see it, was him escaping the, the backfield and, and catching some passes.

But, really good showing from Kalon Black.

Eight carries, 33 yards.

And I think the thing that And again, it's pre-season, so let's not get overboard here, Matt.

But, you know, when, when you see a guy like Dejon Stribling and a guy like Kalon Black looking so polished and, and good and explosive on the practice field, and then you see it also carry over into a pre-season game, it just kind of reaffirms what you thought about the player.

And I do think both of those guys, you know, Stribling more than Black, because Black has, M- McCaffrey in front of him, but those two guys really I think have a chance very early in their careers to be significant contributors to the 49ers.

How close is the outside world to giving the 49ers a pass on their drafting Dejon Stribling and Kalon Black?

Because all we heard about right after the draft was how they reached for Dejon Stribling, how they shouldn't have drafted a receiver so high, how they shouldn't have drafted a running back so high.

How long before the general public, are believers in that the 49ers draft strategy is not so far off as they thought?

I, I You know what?

I think that's already happened, you know, just because of the reports and, and also, you know, when you start to hear around the league and, you know, reports about how highly other teams or the league in general thought of Dejon Stribling, and you hear that kinda with Kalon Black as well.

Now, the, the reason I, I pump the brakes is because we haven't seen them do it in a regular season game, and that's, you know, that's where the proof is.

But I, I would say this, that if the 49ers or the NFL redrafted, the 49ers wouldn't take two other players in those spots.

And, and maybe if they knew that, you know, I don't know that they would take the chance again of trading back as many ti- as many times as they did, and still get Dejon Stribling.

But we've talked about this.

I mean, they had multiple opportunities to trade out of 33 overall and move back, but they were concerned that if they moved any further back, Stribling wouldn't be there for them.

But he, he does definitely look the part.

And again, not perfect, you know?

Not perfect.

You know, the blocking still, I think he's going to be a really good blocker.

But, you know, there's, there's stuff for all these guys to tighten up.

You know, I mentioned him earlier.

Jordan Watkins a year ago, he looked good.

You know, in the very first pre-season game, he had that 50-yard catch against the Broncos first team defense and, and then he was injured and never really recovered from that.

Boy, he's im- I, I think I've been really impressed by him.

You know, the, the catches he made, the, the touchdown reception from Adrian Martinez, and that was a really nice threw- throw that he made too, in rhythm, in a tight window.

Jordan Watkins has done some good things blocking as well.

So, and we talked about the, the competition of wide receiver.

I, I don't know if I'd go so far as to say that Jordan Watkins has locked down a roster spot, but I kinda think he's locked down a roster spot.

Yeah, if he hasn't, he's very, very close.

He's looks like he has much more command of the offense.

He understands what he's supposed to do.

It was, you know, a little up and down last year.

Leonard Hankerson said he came in kind of I don't know whether it was overconfident, but he definitely thought he could do things his way, and I think he's realized, you know, it's after the injury, getting back into it, he missed that time during training camp, and I think it really affected his growth in the NFL.

Now, a, a whole year underneath his belt, going to do that extra work with Brock Purdy and Matt Jones in Nashville, all those things are adding up, and you're seeing the effect on the field.

Okay.

The, the 49ers defense had a rough time on Tuesday against Justin Herbert and the, the Chargers.

Things were considerably better.

The, the injury to Greenardo Green is concerning, although Jack Jones continues to play well.

He made a play, could've been a penalty in the end zone, but if the flag doesn't come out, it's not a penalty.

But depending on Greenardo Green's hamstring, and you mention it with Jacob Cowling, you gotta be careful with those things, or it's something that could last and last and last.

I'm, I'm telling you, Jennifer, I think there's a very strong possibility that Jack Jones is the starting cornerback for the 49ers week one in- Wow Australia.

I mean, but, but Jack Jones has played like a starter in training camp.

Right.

And he has been a starter, you know, with the, the Dolphins, with the Raiders, the past two seasons.

So that's, that's something to keep an eye on right there, what Greenardo Green's situation is.

And, and the other thing that kind of stood out in this game for me were the linebackers.

Garrett Wallow is really making a bid for a spot on the 53 and being a core special teamer.

Nick Martin, his hamstring is concerning, but same thing with him.

Tatum Bethune.

So I think right there, I mean, those three guys are, have done pretty well, and throw Jayden Dugger into the mix.

And then you take into account the two guys who didn't even play in the game Thursday night, Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw.

I, I guess I would think that the 49ers are pretty happy with their linebacking core.

Yeah, so far, but don't jinx it.

You, you had that tweet about Austin Pleasants, and then he had a knee injury.

So Yeah, very true.

Let's, let's not, let's not talk about, how deep the linebackers room is, especially after last year, where they went through so many injuries.

But yes, right now, as they stand, as long as Nick Martin's hamstring is not too serious, they do have a good group of li- linebackers, and you've seen how they've progressed.

I mean, obviously, it's clearly Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw as your starting two.

But yeah, Garrett Wallow has been, a guy who had He led the team in tackles on, Thursday night.

He's a guy who's been out there a lot, and I know Brant Boyer has been a fan of his for his special teams work.

And as long as he keeps playing the way he has, he's, he's been in the picture a lot.

You know, I think defensive coaches always talk about who's in the picture.

Garrett Wallow finds himself around the ball a lot when he's on the field, and that is always something that defensive coaches like to see.

Yeah, and you know, they, they have a, some spots there, at linebacker that have to be filled with guys who are core special teams players.

You know, last year they brought in Garrett Wallow during the season, and as I recall, he pl- he played pretty well in that game when there was an injury, coming into the playoffs against the Eagles.

Luke Gifford was the Pro Bowl player for the NFC on special teams, but he's been out with an injury.

And you know, it's kind of interesting to talk about a guy who was a Pro Bowl player a year ago, and now I'm not so sure, you know, he has wrapped up a spot.

So how many linebackers do they keep?

They can easily keep six.

Do they keep seven?

You know, do they maybe go with one fewer defensive lineman?

And you know, the, the defensive line, there's, there's some good competition there too.

There's a couple, three young guys on the interior give the 49ers, some options.

With, last year it was, The Hulk, Sebastian Valdez.

Well, he's back.

I thought he had a good game.

And also two of the undrafted guys, James Thompson Jr. As well as Bryson Eason.

So, you know what?

Last year, Jennifer, we talked throughout the season, because of all the injuries the 49ers had, that they had, like, sneaky good depth on the team.

You wouldn't have expected it, but they delivered.

And I kind of feel the same way.

It's like no one You know, when, when you have as many high price and notable and, and, you know, star players, veteran players that the 49ers have had, you don't necessarily think that they would have good depth, especially when, you know, some of their drafts have been criticized.

Certainly, you know, not having those picks with the Trey Lance trade and everything else.

But I, I kind of think the 49ers could have depth at some positions, maybe more on defense than maybe they're given credit for.

Yeah, I mean, like you mentioned it, if Leonardo Green goes out, Jack Jones is a guy who can start.

If, you know, if Fusian Prisak is a guy who is starting to show a little bit of promise as well, he's a guy that's a little bit more developmental, but they have him.

They, they've had a couple other guys.

Ashton Davis is a guy who, you know, has made some plays as well.

He's not necessarily their starter, but he could earn a spot because he adds depth to that room.

Linebacker-wise, you're right.

You know, there's definitely a couple guys who could do that as well.

I think they really like what Jaden Dugger has done, you know, being able to cross-train at both linebacker and defensive line, and I think they really like Nick Martin.

He just didn't get out there much last year.

But now again, guys in their second year that don't play much, they've had time to absorb it.

And again, it's a new defensive coordinator.

I think it's going to be a, a different chance for a lot of guys, you know, like Nick Martin, maybe Ji'Ayir Brown because it's four coordinators in four years.

Marquise Siegel in his second year.

There's a lot of depth on the defense if there are, you know, opportunities for them to get bumped up because of injury or because they start playing better.

I mean, at least there's depth.

I think that's, you know, something that the 49ers really need, especially considering what happened to them last year.

And Kyle Shanahan made an interesting point after the game.

He talked about, you know, the defensive front, the, the pass rush, and he did kind of You know, part of that equation are the schematics.

You know, playing that, that five down line like they have so often in training camp, it does kind of open up a lot of the toolbox that Raheem Morris has as far as dropping guys, bringing guys from different angles, creating some confusion, and this and that.

So, so kind of that.

You know, I don't know how many of those guys you would expect to just go out and win one-on-one battles repeatedly.

You know, certainly, Osodehi Nzuo would be one.

Nick Bosa would be another.

Beyond that, I don't know who else.

But if they can kind of keep that, y- you know, sleight of hand a little bit where, the pass protection for the opposing offense doesn't know where the, the pressure's coming from, that gives the 49ers a, a tactical edge.

Um- A, a couple things.

The, the quarterbacks, I saw Trey Lance show maybe some of the flashes that the 49ers saw in him when they moved up to number three overall in the 2021 draft to take him.

Man, he is a long strider, and, so he showed that he, he is fully capable of making some plays with his legs.

The question for him is just the consistency and the accuracy of also making plays that are there with his arm.

I thought it also showed how the 49ers defense still has trouble.

It's been the Achilles heel of this defense to try and corral a mobile quarterback.

You saw those missed tackles.

You saw broken coverage and plays.

I know if, if Tuesday was a wake-up call for them on their defensive backs, maybe this is a wake-up call to show, "Hey, don't forget about mobile quarterbacks," 'cause they're gonna face several of them this season.

They gotta make sure they have that dialed up and sealed up before the season starts.

Yeah, Trey Lance was the Chargers leading rusher.

He had two carries for 42 yards in this game.

And then o- on the other side for the 49ers, Adrian Martinez, the door, you know, is open for him to play a lot this preseason.

He had a touchdown run.

He had that nice touchdown pass to Jordan Watkins, but also threw, threw a couple of picks.

And you have some news on Curtis Rourke.

Curtis Rourke was here at the stadium.

He had some broken ribs, but I know it sounds bad to say just broken ribs, but I know there was serious concern about Wow, that one was loud.

Serious concern about whether there was organ issues or whether there was, you know, whether there was any lung issues, but it really is, thankfully for, Curtis Rourke, just broken ribs.

Enough that he could travel on a plane to come to Los Angeles.

He was at practice on Tuesday.

He was at the game today.

Saw him walking around.

Obviously, he's not going to play for quite some time because he's got the broken ribs, but at least there's no other complications from it.

It's nothing else more s- you know, more serious, which is good for him.

Okay.

Bottom line, Jennifer, you're, you're there at the game.

You saw the practice on Tuesday.

How do you think the 49ers are feeling about where they are right now after playing two of their three preseason games and, you know, that trip to Australia looming in the future and a big, big week one game against the Rams?

How, how do you, how do you think the 49ers are feeling about where this team is right now?

Well, I mean, you- like you said, Justin Herbert was only out there for three plays.

If Justin Herbert had been out there for a 10 or 12 play series, or he went out there for another three and out, maybe I could see the 49ers being even more confident.

I think they feel good about this performance, 'cause there were a lot of strides that they made, a lot of improvements over Tuesday's practice, but still not enough to give them total confidence going into week one yet.

There's still a lot of work to be done, and I think the good thing is that the rookies that were here that spoke after the game understand that there is work to be done.

Yes, there were some good plays, but there's still things that they have to learn.

Dejon Stribling, I think, is such a good example about, you know, being mature and polished.

He said, "You know, I still have a lot to work on."

I mean, for him to admit that after having the two games that he had speaks to his maturity and the fact that he's going to keep working hard.

That's all I've heard from other players and staff members about him, is that he just is a hard worker.

So if he can keep improving the way he has over these past few weeks through training camp, I think the 49ers have made a really good pick in him.

All right.

The, the rookies showing up.

Dejon Stribling, Kalon Black, f- m- Jacob Cowing, not a rookie, but, making a move to, win that punt return job, and, more indecision and uncertainty at left guard.

So, it was a full 49ers Talk podcast, coming off their victory over the LA Chargers, a complete 180 from what we saw on the practice field on Tuesday when those teams got together.

So for Jennifer, I'm Matt, and we'll be back at you real soon with another edition of 49ers Talk as we continue to march on through the preseason, through training camp, with all eyes pointing to week one when the 49ers face the Rams.

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