Kevin Harlan on the Seahawks, 49ers, Rams and the NFL's Biggest Storylines

0:00Tim Ryan here with your Bay Area team and Ford. Now get a California Explorer annual day use pass with your purchase or lease of a brand new Bronco or Bronco sport. It's got goat mode like your players driving to the game or off-roading. There's seven available modes. Ford is America's number one for new vehicle quality among mainstream brands. Visit your California Ford dealer today proud partner of California State Parks. Named by JD Power 2026 US Initial Quality Study Award. Information visit JDpower.com slash awards awards based on 2026 model year. Listen to the sports leader anytime anywhere. Tell mode KNBR. The sports leader app. Murphyn Marcus continued live from the Casino Matrix Progressive Jackpots Studios. Casino Matrix. Progressive Jackpots are here. Where are you? Just drop in 1-800 gambler. Kevin Harlan is the greatest. He's our buddy and he's of course Colin the NFL season opener. We'd rather have nobody else than him do it. He'll be on 680 and 1050. Let's get right into it because he's got a meeting

1:00coming up. Kevin great to have you back in San Francisco with your buddies Murphy Marcus Brian Murphy Marcus Boucher happy NFL season Kevin. How are you? Hey Kevin. Happy NFL season. I know I'm glad it's here. We've agreed the same story. So for the same players and same teams for 10 months. Let's get going. And it's kind of funny. Help me out. I don't really recall a Super Bowl rematch. Usually the Super Bowl champ gets the opener, but a rematch is a little unusual. We're going to see the same game we saw in February. Kevin. How do you feel about that? Well, it's okay. We've done it nine times and we've had it before. I don't know. The these are different teams. The these are completely different teams. They've the back end of the roster is Seattle has changed. Although they've got most of their starters and offense and defense pay treats. They've got 24 new players on their opening day roster. The 53. So the every team has got to continue to turn and turn and develop and evolve.

2:01And I think these two teams didn't rest on their laurels and thought that let's let's let's make another run tough to repeat. But but but let's continue to keep this thing fresh and moving forward in ascending. As opposed to getting stuck in a gear just hoping it can recreate itself from what happened last season. Kevin, this is a Super Bowl rematch, but it feels like the Seattle see ox are almost not being treated as a Super Bowl defending champion. The 49ers are taken on the Rams down in Australia and everybody is praising the Rams for their all season moves. Do you think the Seattle see ox are being overlooked as a defending Super Bowl champion? I do. I think that this team has has beefed up where they need to. They've got the same basic philosophy. They've lost a couple of coaches is all good teams do head coaching jobs, but what really stands out is that even with the Super Bowl MVP now in Kansas City, they have filled that slot, which is what the NFL is all about. It's all about just continuing to find what fits in your program. Kyle

3:04has done it well, clearly McVeigh has done it well in Los Angeles. The problem with Seattle is that it's so hard to get out of their division and so difficult week to week just to survive in the league, then to deal with the teams that are so good. Niners and Rams twice a year makes everything in that division kind of up in the air. I mean, you just really don't know. The Rams were probably the best team in football last year, but when it mattered most, you know, Seattle took over and they wanted and it could be the exact opposite this year. The division continues to be the biggest, I think, stumbling black for all the teams there because it's so difficult to emerge and to have momentum going to the playoffs. Tim Ryan here with your Bay Area team and Ford. Now get a California Explorer annual day use pass with your purchase or lease of a brand new Bronco or Bronco sport. It's got goat mode like your players driving to the game or off-roading. There's seven available modes. Ford is America's number one for new vehicle

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5:09that makes it even easier to get started. Go to highpebble.ai before it's gone. That's high ppl.ai terms and conditions apply. Hi, this is Dave Roberts. Heading into summer without a medical emergency kit, that's a risk. Summer colds can linger and getting sick on vacation can derail everything. That's why everyone needs a medical emergency kit. It includes doctor medications to treat common and serious illnesses. So if you wake up sick, at home or on the road, you already have what you need. It's like having an urgent care and pharmacy at home. Say $45 with code blue at urgentcare kit.com slash blue, urgentcare kit.com slash blue. Yeah 49ers play the C.OX October 11th up in Seattle and November 29th here in Santa Clara. So couple of looming Seahawk battles on the other side, the Patriots surprised to see them in the Super Bowl last year. They took advantage of this weird year. We're all the big AFC quarterbacks didn't appear, although Josh Allen tried all of a sudden they are they almost a trendy pick to

6:13regress. Mitalie Kevin. Is that the word? It kind of feels that way because they were the exact opposite record the year before and then they won the 14 games. Last year the division wasn't white as strong Miami fell off Buffalo lost some juice and and New England just kind of took advantage of a pretty good defense and had to just kind of limp the rest of the way with an offensive line that really put pressure on Drake May. So they rebuilt their offensive line this past this past off season and they got a great all pro left tackle in Vera Tucker and Compton is healthy. They can protect May. They have completely revamped the receiving core and they've got two terrific receivers now. Diggs is gone but they got H.A. Brown and they get Romeo Dubs. So they've got now something at receiver that really may couldn't work with last year. He was he had a booty who's now in Houston. They had Diggs who was always double and triple teamed.

7:17They had no wiggle room. Now they got two elite receivers and that's going to help out made. The running game is set. Line is better. Patriots and they're demise that people are predicting. Maybe a little premature. I think I don't know that they'll win 14 games but they'll definitely I think see double digits. Kevin circling back to your comments about the NFC West. I was fascinated when the C.O.X. made a decision to hire Mike McDonald from the Baltimore Ravens and bring him in with that defensive mindset because when you look at the NFC West of course we talk about Sean McVeigh and Kyle Shanahan and those great offensive minds but now that Mike McDonald has a super bowl victory. How would you compare him in the hierarchy against guys like Sean McVeigh and Kyle Shanahan and his different approach that he takes to these games? Yeah and through Ben Johnson in there you're that's a great point because it met with Florent Green Bay and and a kindle up in Minnesota and I mean go right on down the list. These are all now we've got a couple defensive minded coaches. Ed coaches, Dimeco, Ryan's and Houston and then clearly what they've got in Seattle and how McDonald's is done up there and it really

8:22becomes more a matter I think of the managing of and he's calling the plays in Seattle. He's still doing the defense and Dimeco is calling the plays in Houston so they're singing in their lane but I think they just feel such great confidence in whoever is running their offense and that clearly has been one of the things that I think has made a difference and we've seen you know it work now with two teams that are really going to be in the hunt and it shouldn't surprise anybody if those are the two teams that play in Los Angeles in mid February because right now Houston is the hot pick in in the AFC and and clearly as a defending champion everyone's going to be gunning for Seattle so we're top two teams may be led by defensive minded coaches it says maybe there's a little shift now sea change in terms of how owners how GM's look at their head coach and think it can't just be an offensive guy it's got to be the guy whether he's offensive defense.

9:26Tim Ryan here with your Bay Area team and four now get a California Explorer annual day use pass with your purchase or lease of a brand new Bronco or Bronco sport it's got goat mode like your players driving to the game or off-roading there's seven available modes. Ford is America's number one for new vehicle quality among mainstream brands visit your California Ford dealer today proud partner of California State Parks. named by JD Power 2026 US Initial Quality Study Award information visit JDpower.com slash awards awards based on 2026 model year. My name is Shandon Maldonado I'm the founder of Yahweh a gift shop from the lens of artists and handmade objects. I chose Shopify because when I was testing other platforms it was definitely one of the most user friendly it was important to me to think about where we would be in the future all of the tools for reading your sales like planning inventory they're just right there on your dashboard for anyone starting a small business the biggest thing I can tell you it doesn't have to be perfect Shopify can help you build upon it start your free trial on Shopify.com Hi this is Dave Roberts heading into summer without a medical emergency kit that's a risk.

10:30Summer colds can linger and getting sick on vacation can derail everything that's why everyone needs a medical emergency kit it includes doctor prescribed medications to treat comment and serious illnesses so if you wake up sick at home or on the road you already have what you need it's like having an urgent care and pharmacy at home say 45 dollars with code blue at urgent care kit.com slash blue urgent care kit.com slash blue. We know you got a boogie Kevin but last one is on an offensive minded head coach Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers against another offensive minded head coach Sean McVeigh in the Rams which is why the league is reacting right because of the Shanahan McVeigh influence but I don't know if your legendary broadcasting career has brought you to Australia or if you have an opinion on the different travel strategies by the 49ers in the Rams or on this matchup given the news that Aaron isn't playing and then the Niners just lost the starting detacled Alfred Collins to a Pateler tendon so right. What's the Kevin Harland Australia download and have you been there Kevin?

11:30I have I you know when I went there I went there for the good real games with Turner Broadcasting 2001 and I landed in the States the day before 9-11 oh man so there were a lot of people from Turner that were stuck in Australia and we're flying back on the morning of 9-11 and we're escorted in by fighter jets into either LA or SFO coming back from Australia so I remember it vividly and that that was but listen you know we're going to get a real look here at the travel of these two teams they're so incredibly different this is going to be a very pivotal way the teams are going to view Europe and view playing in Brazil and and this is going to this is a real test pattern here I'm anxious to see how the Rams come out on paper it looks like Shanahan and the Niners have made the smart choice but you know what these are smart guys do a lot of

12:34research think a lot about this day at the night thinking about this stuff I'm just curious to see how it's going to turn out and who's got the most vitality on the field tomorrow night well you travel so much is jet lag a thing for you as your body just immune no I I tried I drink a lot I try to see hydrate that that's and just it gets as much sleep as I can on off days so that when I've got a weird night and last night was we're joy coming out of oh here here to Seattle and and and and gotten in the wee hours in the morning and and and now we're off and running here today but but getting that sleep on off days is huge and staying hydrate we got jerks like us calling waking you up so well let's go you know you have a meeting we always appreciate you you will be heard on our airwaves 680 and 1050 here in the Bay Area so have a great call Kevin we'll chase you down the road thanks Kevin thank you so much great to be out you guys take care the great Kevin Harland