49ers still have the bones of a Super Bowl contender
Jason Fitz & Frank Schwab go back and forth on whether or not to buy in on the 2025 San Francisco 49ers, who, despite some veteran losses, still have one of the highest win totals in the NFL.
Hear the full conversation on 'Inside Coverage' - and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or wherever you listen.
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Video Transcript
You know, I, I'm gonna go with repeat because I look at the 49ers, and I've, I've done a 180 on them over the offseason.
I think a lot of regression factors are in their favor, uh, including the injuries, as you talked about, shorty, they were so beat up last year, and all of a sudden you come back into this year, and everybody's given up on them.
I, I think that, you know, everybody thinks the Rams are now they're they're gonna win the NFC West.
The betting market hasn't changed.
The betting market still thinks the 49ers are one of the best teams in football, and I looked into that.
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I was like, why, why would they?
49ers win totals 10.5.
I think only two teams have a higher.
total.
And I was like, why is that?
I, when I'm really looking at these previews and thinking about the 49ers, you look at, you look at the injuries and you look at the guys who are going to get back.
And yes, they didn't have a great offseason, but the, the bones are still there of that team that made a Super Bowl a couple of years ago.
Christian McCaffrey has been hurt before in his career, and bounced right back.
Yes, he's a little older, but Christian McCaffrey is such a difference maker that I'm not gonna sit here and predict that he's gonna get.
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Injured again because I think he had a bad year last year, just a flukey unlucky year with injuries as most of the 49ers did.
And yes, they lose Debo Samuel, but I think Ricky Pearsall was finished last season really strong.
I thought, I think Jauan Jennings showed I could be a difference maker receiver.
They still have talent and I still have a ton of trust in Kyle Shanahan.
I think he's one of the best coaches in the NFL.
Yes, their, their defense took some hits, but I thought they added a lot in the draft.
To the defense that's gonna help them, help them get younger.
I think adding Robert Sala to run the defense is a fantastic move.
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Say what you will about Robert Sala.
He was coaching in a clown show environment and the Jets still managed to produce great defenses out there.
So I think he's gonna have a positive impact on the 49ers defense.
Everything about the 49ers just leads me to believe they're gonna rebound, to what we thought they were going to be.
I think last year was a really, really unlucky season, and they're gonna be back to being contenders this year.
I, I do think this is just an interesting nugget, no matter how it goes down.
Kyle Shanahan has had 4 winning seasons as a head coach and 4 losing seasons as a head coach.
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And when they are good, they average about 12 and 5 as their record in those 4 good years.
In those 4 bad records, they average a record of about 5 and 12.
So they go from 12 and 5 to 5 and 12.
Like this is a, a weird, they've had 4 great years, 4 really bad years under Kyle Shanahan.
I I don't know y'all.
Like I, I, the, the amount of injuries stacked up, like, I think it's easy to retreat on the 49ers at this point because it's just, it's too much.
It, we saw too much last year and it's too much to get out of my brain.
I just wonder what all of that does.
Now they've paid Brock Purdy.
Uh, I mean, we've, we've sort of anointed Kyle Shanahan as somebody that always figures it out.
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He's about fifty-fifty right now and that, that this year will change a lot of that perspective.
That's all one way or the other.
I'm gonna retreat on the 49ers for the sake of having to do something on this.
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