SANTA CLARA – Kyle Shanahan calls it “real football,” and it’s finally here.
Seven months since losing Super Bowl LVIII in overtime, the 49ers are done working remotely and ordered back to their Silicon Valley office of Levi’s Stadium. Ding, dong, a numbing offseason is done, from contract disputes to a death-defying shooting to their top draft pick.
The 49ers’ emotional whirlwind, however, won’t suddenly stop. Not with them being on the “Monday Night Football” stage. Not with Frank Gore being honored for his 49ers’ Hall of Fame enshrinement. Not with incumbent stars back in uniform before a soldout home crowd of 68,500 fans. And never with Aaron Rodgers strutting into town clutching a two-decade grudge.
Shifting all their focus to Rodgers and the New York Jets makes for a treasured test.
This star-studded 49ers roster strongly resembles the version that won the NFC last January here. That cast, though, got blinded in the prime-time lights by the Baltimore Ravens on Christmas night, then twice rallied to stave off playoff elimination en route to their fateful Super Bowl date with Kansas City.
This season’s Super Bowl: Feb. 9 in New Orleans. “I don’t think you can ever make an assumption that you’re ready for a Super Bowl. You’ve got to earn that every year,” general manager John Lynch warned. “Nothing is given in this league. We have a very talented team. We have a very proven team that’s won a lot of games. But this is a new team.”
These are the five keys to successfully starting a new season:
1. PASS-RUSH PRESSURE
Nick Bosa’s newest pass-rushing ally is Leonard Floyd. That tandem will be in hot pursuit of Rodgers once they get past the Jets’ new tackles, veterans Tyron Smith and Morgan Moses. “The whole feel is different. That’s what happens when you bring in a couple of older guys,” Rodgers told Jets’ reporters of his new linemen. “There is a stability mentally that comes with that.”
Four plays into last season, Rodgers tore his Achilles when sacked by Floyd, who was then with the Bills. While that was Floyd’s 10th career sack of Rodgers, Bosa is no stranger, having sacked Rodgers twice in a January 2023 playoff comeback in Green Bay. Rodgers went 0-4 against the 49ers in playoff games with Green Bay, 6-3 in regular-season action with losses in the 2012 and ’13 openers.
“He’ll be wearing a different uniform but it’s definitely still him,” Bosa said of the Chico native who grew up rooting for the 49ers up until they bypassed him atop the 2005 draft.
Rodgers, a four-time NFL MVP, is attuned to the 49ers’ revamped defensive front, which brought in not just Floyd but Maliek Collins and Jordan Elliott on the interior to complement Javon Hargrave and Kevin Givens. Depth at defensive end became a concern with Yetur Gross-Matos’ knee injury in the preseason finale.
2. COACHING MATCHUP
As they did for four seasons in practice, Kyle Shanahan will match wits against Robert Saleh, all while each has a great idea of what play is coming. Saleh …read more
Source:: The Mercury News – Entertainment
