Golden Nuggets: Welcome to the Bay, Kyzir!

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49ers signing LB Kyzir White ahead of playoff showdown with Eagles
“Over eight NFL seasons, White has compiled 618 total tackles, including 34 tackles for loss, along with 20 quarterback hits, 7.5 sacks, six interceptions, 23 passes defensed, two forced fumbles, and one fumble recovery. He has appeared in 93 games, making 73 starts.”

‘It’s greatness:’ The true meaning behind Nick Rallis naming son after Cardinals’ Kyzir White
“[AZ DC] Rallis named his son after Cardinals starting MIKE backer Kyzir White.

And for good reason.

“Kyzir specifically, I can tell my son ultimately what stands out about him and why he’s a captain is he’s the ultimate teammate, ultimate team-first guy,” Rallis said. “The model for accountability. There’s so many stories I could probably list to you, but the guy shows up every day with a smile on his face ready to go to work.

“Takes a lot of ass chewings from me to be honest and he’s phenomenal with it like, ‘Yeah I like that! You make me better!’ It’s that kind of player that I have a lot of respect for.”

Baldy reveals the key to 49ers success vs. Eagles in Wild Card matchup
“I think it starts with McCaffrey,” Baldinger said. “If he gets 30 touches, it’s going to be a great sign. That means they’re possessing the ball—he’s going to get 22 carries and eight catches. It’s going to be a great sign if he gets to 30 touches. If he’s at 15 touches at the end of the game, they’re going to lose. Now, I think it’s just that simple. The ball will get spread around, but the offense goes through McCaffrey.

“And so, if they’re having success running the football, they’re just going to keep feeding him. And he’s got the energy and the talent, the whole thing, to do it. So, to me, that’s the whole key. You get McCaffrey 30 touches in this game, it’s going to be a hell of a game. It’s going to come down to probably the final possession.”

What’s the best head-coaching fit for Robert Saleh? 49ers mailbag (paywall)
“Which 49er is most likely to step into Dre Greenlaw’s former role of picking a fight with Big Dom? — Jimmy B

I love this question as I was wondering the same thing. Here’s the list, in order:

1. CB Deommodore Lenoir. With Deebo Samuel and Greenlaw gone, Lenoir takes over the title of “49ers player most likely to get into a pregame, postgame or in-game scrap,” which he nearly did several times Saturday against the Seahawks’ Jaxon Smith-Njigba.

2. WR Jauan Jennings. Jennings sometimes blocks opponents so vigorously that they wind up in the Gatorade cooler section of the sideline, which is Big Dom’s domain.

3. CB Upton Stout. The 49ers rookie is about an 8.89 on the Feisty-O-Meter. Which is why coaches like him so much.

4. OT Trent Williams. If the game gets chippy in the fourth quarter — and there is high potential for that Sunday — it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Williams start tossing Philadelphia defensive backs as if they were made of straw. Just like he did in the 2022 playoffs.

5. LB Garret Wallow. This is not a joke. That Wallow is a newcomer hasn’t stopped him from physical, chippy, chirpy play on kickoffs and punts. Keep an eye on No. 49.

Is there a realistic chance receiver Jacob Cowing plays against Philly? Because the 49ers desperately need the speed. — Mario M.

No, I don’t think so. Of course, he’d be an option if the 49ers win while also running into injury issues at receiver. But I think it’s similar to opening quarterback Kurtis Rourke’s window last month — it gives the players some momentum heading into the offseason.“

49ers are trekking to Philadelphia in January. What weather will greet them? (paywall)
“The forecast for Philadelphia, in January, is bordering on balmy before the sixth-seeded 49ers visit the No. 3 Eagles in a wild-card game at Lincoln Financial Field. Weather would likely have been an issue if it was one of the NFL’s two wild-card contests on Saturday, but rain should be a rumor when the 49ers and the defending Super Bowl champions kick off at 1:30 PST.

“A warm storm system moves through on Saturday, and even with accounting for some timeframe changes, it won’t be a factor for the game on Sunday,” Chronicle newsroom meteorologist Greg Porter said. “Sunday itself looks like a typical Northeast day following a warm winter storm. Mix of sun and clouds, temps in the low to mid-40s and winds out of the northwest at 10 to 20 mph.”

49ers overreactions: Kyle Shanahan had worst game as head coach vs. Seahawks
“Their best chance at a SB was 2 years ago. That window is shut. (@MG0879)

Overreaction? Yes.

While the 49ers’ best chance at a Super Bowl was two years ago — because they actually made it to the Super Bowl and were just one fourth-down stop in overtime from the victory — the window is not shut. They proved the window is open with the fact that they took the field in Week 18 with a chance to earn the No. 1 seed.

The window is a year-to-year thing. The window still is open as long as they remain alive in the postseason. And if they lose, the window closes for the season.

But guess what? It re-opens next season.“

Kawakami: Maybe the 49ers can embrace this lighter, lower-stakes postseason run (paywall)
“Could Dre Greenlaw and Leonard Floyd help the 49ers’ defense right now?

How about Talanoa Hufanga and Maliek Collins?

No, they’re all gone — discarded in the great salary and roster purge of March, replaced in most cases by younger, cheaper players but not necessarily healthier ones.

I’ll stipulate that the 49ers succeeded with this strategy this season in a far greater way than I anticipated when I criticized the extent of the overhaul while it was happening. I think the 49ers probably surpassed most of their own expectations after that reset. Credit to everybody in the organization for this. They’re well set up for the future.

And it would’ve been too expensive to keep all of these players with Purdy’s $265 million deal looming and extensions due for Warner and George Kittle. I’ve agreed with that. The 49ers did well with the roster they had, even through the injury decimations, no matter what happens in Philadelphia this weekend.

I had zero problems with the 49ers trading Deebo Samuel or even the cold war after they paid Aiyuk, which started with the bitter negotiations more than a year ago.

But the 49ers had the dollars to keep some of these other guys. That they made a late effort to adjust their offer and keep Greenlaw before he bolted to the Broncos tells us the 49ers had some extra money lying around.

Why not keep as many options on hand as reasonably possible? Why did they go so far with this that they obliterated their defensive depth chart? Didn’t they know this might come back to haunt them if they were good enough and lucky enough to get into the playoffs?

I’m not saying this was a fatal mistake. Just getting into the tournament after what they went through this season is justification for almost everything the 49ers did. And there was no way for them to be whole once they lost Bosa and Warner.

But they could’ve been better. They could’ve been deeper. They could’ve been more prepared for the natural attrition of a long season.

If they’d kept, say, Greenlaw and Floyd, they could’ve felt good enough about their roster to be more aggressive at the trade deadline and maybe outbid the — guess who? — Eagles for pass rusher Jaelan Phillips.

It did not have to be about either keeping everybody or dumping almost every veteran they could dump. The 49ers could’ve cleaned out a lot of their roster and still kept a few of those veterans — who might’ve made this run a lot more interesting.

That’s what I was saying in March. That’s where they are now.“

Why 49ers are facing worst-case scenario in Philadelphia wild-card game (paywall)
“Shanahan told the broadcast crew in a pregame production meeting that the showdown with Seattle came with playoff stakes, even though his team had clinched a postseason berth two weeks earlier.

“When we met with Kyle Shanahan, he said our best chance to win a Super Bowl is to win this game. This one tonight,” Buck said. “And he said in some weird way it’s almost more important than the next one.”

49ers practice and media schedule ahead of Wild Card playoff matchup vs. Eagles
“Wednesday, January 7
11:15 a.m. – Kyle Shanahan press conference
1:05 p.m. – Practice

Thursday, January 8
9:30 a.m. – Robert Saleh press conference
Following Saleh – Klay Kubiak press conference
11:05 a.m. – Brock Purdy press conference
12:40 p.m. – Practice

Friday, January 9
12:00 p.m. – Practice
After practice (approx. 1:10 p.m.) – Kyle Shanahan press conference”

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