But do they trust Hardman to do it?

Just like the Lions first TD on the huge sweep run.

They should IMO.

I'm mostly just playing Devil's Advocate. I refuse to believe this is gonna be some easy cakewalk. I expect to win but there are reasons to fear the Niners.

They also peaked early in the year, they haven't been very good their last 6 games.

Fear is the mind-killer.

We ran the ball well that game. 112 yards at 5.3 per carry. Hardman had a carry go for 25. Also hit a couple deep shots to MVS.

Brock Purdy is honestly not in the top 5 of what the defense should be defending.

1. CMC
2. Kittle
3. Debo (YAC)
4. Aiyuk

But honesty number 1 has to be the Shannahan scheme. The bootlegs, the window dressing, the run angles they create. If they can counter that and stop the run and limit YAC then that offense is in major trouble

You defend the scheme first and the rest takes care of itself..

Be in position, tackle, try to take the ball away.

Not to oversimplify, but you can't double all those guys. So just do what the scheme calls for. Look at what Baltimore did this year as well.

The toughest opponent for the Chiefs is probably the Chiefs offense. Dumb turnovers by Mahomes or whoever else. Dropped passes. Penalties to take TD's off the board. Failed 4th down attempts. Stack enough silly mistakes like that into a single game and you probably lose, which was the case for all of KC's 6 losses this season. They gotta find a way to play as clean of a game as possible in all 3 phases of the sport.

They've done well in the Playoffs, but still shot themselves in the foot at times. Hardman fumble on the goal line against Buffalo. Multiple penalties to take TD's off the board against Miami & Baltimore. A failed 4th down deep in Baltimore territory. The receiving group has mostly cleaned up the drop problem, which is great. Mahomes is avoiding those dumb throws into double or triple coverage, which is nice to see from him. They cannot revert back to the stupid shit we kept seeing in the regular season.

Considering the 49ers propensity to just sit in zone and suck against the run this game is setup for the Chiefs to march up and down the field in 5-8 yard chunks.

Does anybody remember the stat from last week about the Chiefs only allowing one scramble when blitzing (IIRC) all season?

Not the least bit worried about Purdy scrambling. Blitz his ass when the situation calls for it.

Post #1031

Ahh beat me to it.

I'm thinking Spags sets up in 2 high and put Pennel or Farrell next to Chris on early downs (I think he's gonna put Chenal at DE sometimes due to strength and speed) while formulating blitzes on mostly 2nd downs to get them in 3rd and longs