Is he right?
Former NFL linebacker Bart Scott is known for his “Can’t Wait” postgame interview with the New York Jets. Scott shared his thoughts on Super Bowl LVIII, where he spoke about Brock Purdy, the 49ers chances, and their defensive line.
Scott believes the 49ers are better equipped to beat the Kansas City Chiefs this time around because “Shanahan has a more reliable quarterback, one that he feels can make the throw.”
The last time these two teams played, the Chiefs won 44-23. The 49ers had the ball on the goal line down 14-13 before the half, but Jimmy Garoppolo threw a fadeaway, and his pass was intercepted. San Francisco never recovered from that turnover.
Scott thinks the Chiefs will win. Given his Super Bowl history, he’s reluctant to side with Kyle Shanahan: “Let’s see if Shanahan can finish one. We love this San Francisco experiment. It’s beautiful. They win a bunch of games, but they haven’t cashed in yet, and you have to ask yourself, at what point are we going to start calling these guys, guys that just can kind of get there and can’t finish?”
Scott acknowledged that the Chiefs aren’t better than the 49ers but compared them to the New England Patriots teams of old, as Kansas City doesn’t beat themselves and is as good as it gets in situational football.
While Scott had nice things to say about Purdy and the 49ers in general, he wasn’t as kind when it came to the defensive line’s performance during the playoffs:
“The most disappointing group in all the playoffs, in my opinion, is the D-line of the San Francisco 49ers. Why are we paying $20 million to all these dudes, and we’re not wrecking shop?”
“You look at Skipper. If it wasn’t for Skipper last week, Penei Sewell was kicking everybody’s ass, including Bosa.”
“If Skipper wasn’t out there as an extra tight end, he wouldn’t have those sacks. Chase Young is getting railroaded on run downs and it’s like, man, hold up, because next year they have to pay Chase Young because they gave up a first round draft pick.”
“You mean to tell me this is what I get out of a unit that makes over $85 million annually? Four guys. Nah, I’m going to need a rebate on that.”
And this is where being out of touch comes into play. The 49ers gave up a third-round pick for Young. They are in no way obligated to pay him. Plus, there has been an overreaction to what I’d classify as two to three “bad” plays from Young against the Lions.
Those clips circulate the internet, and now people believe Young had a bad game when that wasn’t the case. He made just as many plays against the run as he did when he got washed.
The Lions’ offensive line is a tier or two better than the Chiefs, who will likely be without their All-Pro caliber left guard. It’s true that the pressure hasn’t been where it needed to be in two playoff games, but Kansas City’s offensive line isn’t in the same class as Detroit’s or Green Bay’s.
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