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The San Francisco 49ers are the favorite to win the NFC West. They, along with the Philadelphia Eagles, are the frontrunners to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl. Fred Warner and the 49ers defense believe they can deliver a sixth Lombardi to the Bay Area fans.
The 49ers finished last season with the top-ranked defense in the NFL. However, injuries prevented them from achieving their goal. The star linebacker feels the upcoming season can be different.
"I'll always say defense wins championships, so it's going to start and end with us," Warner said last week at the Dwight Clark Legacy Series event. "We take that on our shoulders, that responsibility, and we need to be better."
In January, the 49ers reached the NFC Championship Game for the third time in four seasons. However, both quarterbacks, Brock Purdy and Josh Johnson, were knocked out of the matchup, allowing the Philadelphia Eagles to cruise to a 31-7 win.
"To say that last year's ending was hurtful, it was," Warner shared. "It sucks the way that it ended. It felt like we never even had a chance to really compete in that game. But what are ways that our defense could have been better in that game? That's what I'm looking at, is how could I have been better for our team and our defense?
"And so I think we're for sure taking steps in the right direction right now. We're doing the tedious work right now of going out there on the field, and in the weight room, and putting the work in because you don't just snap your fingers and you're back in that game. You've got to take each step, one step at a time. And so that's what we're doing right now."
Sitting next to Warner, Hall of Fame defensive lineman and 49ers legend Bryant Young was asked what stands out about the team's current defense. He knows a thing or two about good defenses. Young was part of a Super Bowl-winning squad in 1994, his rookie season.
"What strikes me and stands out for this team is just how they play for each other," Young said. "There's a lot of passion, and love, and compassion for one another. We don't hear that word a lot in football. To be compassionate about each other, that's okay. And that's how the brotherhood is formed. You've got to have compassion for your brother next to you, and that has to mean something to you.
"So I see that. That permeates off the screen to me, and it speaks volumes how they play for each other, how they're accountable to each other, and they're just a fun group to watch."
Warner believes he plays a role in motivating the 49ers offense too. The linebacker is known for being tough on his offensive teammates, pushing them to improve. You might remember tempers flaring between Warner and wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk last year during a training camp practice.
"Honestly, you want to try to create such a competitive atmosphere in practice that when the regular season comes, and it's time to play these other teams, I want—we talk about Brandon Aiyuk, the Christian McCaffreys, the Deebo Samuels—I want these guys to be like, 'Man, Fred and them just been beating us up all camp. We're ready for whatever now.' Because when you have that competitive atmosphere where we're kind of giving it back and forth to each other, that's what breeds championship football.
"And I know we haven't gotten there quite yet, but we're so close. And I know that when you get a group of guys that they just love the game so much—and that's really why I do it, because I truly love what I do. When I go out there, and I go out on the practice field in the second, third week of training camp, when it's the hardest, that's where I thrive because I love it too much to ever get tired of it."
49ers' Kyle Shanahan, Fred Warner praise Deion Sanders for start at Colorado
By Rohan Chakravarthi
Sep 20
The San Francisco 49ers have been a frontline story in the NFL two weeks in, starting off the season 2-0, showcasing their top units on both sides of the ball.
But, they're not the only ones showing out, and the NFL isn't the only football league in the spotlight right now.
Instead, you could argue that the most popular football team in the country isn't even in the NFL...
That moniker goes to the University of Colorado Buffaloes and new head coach Deion Sanders, who have flourished early in Year 1 of the new regime, finding themselves within the AP Top 25 for the third consecutive week.
Despite the difference in league, the 49ers are definitely paying attention to what Sanders is building at Colorado, so much so that the entire team was
Brock Purdy, 49ers embrace "win the day" attitude amid Super Bowl mindset
By Rohan Chakravarthi
Sep 21
The San Francisco 49ers fell just short of their Super Bowl aspirations yet again in 2022, losing to the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC Championship Game after quarterback Brock Purdy suffered a torn UCL early in the first quarter.
Now fully healthy, Purdy is prepared for another potential Super Bowl run with a strong core around him, with the 49ers as motivated as ever, taking the process day by day.
"We have such a special group of guys, so much experience, the veterans on this team, and how everyone's professional in what they do," Purdy recently told Jennifer Lee Chan of NBC Sports Bay Area. "There's not a lot of selfishness or anything, ego, none of that. And so we all have the same mindset: to win a Super Bowl and do everything we can to be our best every
49ers mailbag: Is Christian McCaffrey being overused? Should Spencer Burford be benched? Is Steve Wilkes who the defense needs? When is Nick Bosa going to show up?
By Marc Adams
Sep 19
The San Francisco 49ers are 2-0 to start off the 2023 season. In 2021, the 49ers won their first two games but then lost their next four. A win Thursday night, in the home opener against the New York Giants, would be the 49ers' first 3-0 start since 2019. That season, the team started out 8-0 before going on to win the NFC West and cruise through the NFC playoffs on their way to a birth in Super Bowl LIV.
I can't seem to remember how that game turned out, though. It's like it's been blocked from my memory.
It doesn't matter, because we've moved on to the current season. And to celebrate the 2-0 start, we've opened up the mailbag to answer those questions burning a hole in your mind. So let's get to it.
Marc, what did ya think of CMC channelling
How the Giants defense made 49ers QB Brock Purdy uncomfortable in Week 3
By Rohan Chakravarthi
Sep 21
The San Francisco 49ers comfortably cruised to a 30-12 victory, opening their home slate with a win on Thursday Night Football to improve to 3-0 on the season.
Quarterback Brock Purdy passed for 310 yards and two touchdowns, but was on-and-off for portions of the night, struggling at times with his ball placement, but making it up with good poise and decision-making in the second half.
However, the 49ers signal-caller didn't seem as comfortable in the pocket as weeks past. What changed against the Giants?
The answer: defensive coordinator Wink Martindale, who is known for his high-pressure, man-coverage defenses that have yielded strong results in the past.
With the disadvantages that the Giants had defensively, Martindale elected to
