Happy Monday, Niner Gang! Hope everyone had a great weekend and was able to watch preseason game 2..or maybe just some highlights. Or maybe, you’re saving your football watching for the regular season, in which case you can simply get everything you need to know from my blog post here 🙃 
Let’s take a look at the last couple days in review and recap preseason game 2:

Weekly Updates

• You wanted conclusions to the Brandon Aiyuk and Trent Williams contract situations?

• The next preseason game is Friday vs the Raiders. Kyle Shanahan says Purdy and more of the starters will play.

• Jauan Jennings did not play in the preseason game due to an oblique issue, but he’s not expected to miss much time.

• Jordan Mason did not play in the preseason game due to hip soreness. It was a bummer to not see Mason again who looked so good in preseason game 1.

Random Tidbits From The Week

• Rookie safety Malik Mustapha was rocking a Ronnie Lott jersey Sunday when he showed up to Levi’s. When asked about it, Mustapha said: “Big fan of his. Obviously that’s the GOAT. Met him the other day, you know just a dream come true, meeting an idol like that”.

  • If Malik can be half as good as Ronnie was, we’ve got something special.

• Former-49er Randy Gregory was released by the Buccaneers this week. Apparently, Gregory just didn't show up for training camp and head coach Todd Bowles didn't know why.

  • I was excited when the 49ers acquired Gregory last year, but, man, he really did NOTHING for us.

• Speaking of ex-49ers, Chase Young is now a member of the Saints and was excited to be back at Levi’s and see some of his former teammates.

Preseason Game 2 Recap

What’s the most important rule of preseason? If someone is playing well, then it will definitely carryover into the regular season…and if someone isn’t playing well, then it’s just preseason.
Just kidding. Preseason rule number 1: it’s PRE-season, so take everything with a grain of salt..or 1,000 grains of salt. My (salt-filled) takeaways:

• Two words: Jacob. Cowing. WOAH. We hadn’t seen much of the rookie WR Cowing yet due to a hamstring issue during training camp, but he jumped off the screen in this game! One thing that isn’t fluky even if it’s a preseason game is speed, and Cowing has real football field speed.

  • Cowing ran a 4.38 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine (which is blazing fast), but you never know how that will translate to the field. It definitely translates for Cowing.

  • The 49ers have lots of great skill players, but speed isn’t really the calling card for any of our weapons. Jacob Cowing brings something different that this team doesn’t currently have.

  • I posted all his highlights below - my particular favorite is the end-around where he burned down the sideline for a big gain!

• In addition to Cowing, Josh Dobbs was electric. Dobbs used both his legs and arm to dice up the Saints defense.

• Whereas in game 1 Brandon Allen was the first QB into the game, Josh Dobbs was the first QB in (after Purdy) in this game.

  • Shanahan still hasn’t given us anything official on who the backup QB is currently

• The rookie offensive linemen looked awesome again:

  • Dominick Puni allowed 1 pressure in 30 pass-blocking snaps

  • Jarrett Kingston allowed 1 pressure in 40 pass-blocking snaps

• It’s very, very, very early, but how can you not love what you’ve seen from this 49ers draft class so far. I’ve already discussed Cowing, Puni, and Kingston - rookies CB Renardo Green & S Malik Mustapha also have had good moments so far..AND we still haven’t seen 1st rd pick Ricky Pearsall yet. This draft class will be fun to look back on 5 years from now 🍿 

FOUR-ty Niners Graphics

FOUR-ty Niners Facts

1) This year the 49ers drafted 2 of the top 11 players with fastest NFL combine 40-yard dash times: RB Isaac Guerendo (5th fastest of all players) & WR Jacob Cowing (11th fastest of all players).
As I mentioned earlier, elite speed hasn’t really been a part of the 49ers offense recently, so you wonder if that was a priority this year.

2) The 49ers have had 3 different stadiums in team history: Kezar Stadium, Candlestick Park, & Levi’s Stadium

3) The 49ers have the most playoff wins of any NFL franchise (38)

4) The 49ers are the 10th oldest franchise in NFL history

Highlight of the Week

Seeing Terrell Owens on Fred Warner’s shirt reminds me of one of the wildest moments in NFL history when Terrell Owens ran to the Cowboys’ midfield star logo to celebrate his touchdowns. After the second time doing it, he was subsequently blasted by a Cowboys player who didn't take kindly to the celebrations. I will never know why T.O. thought this was a good idea 🤣. I don’t really blame the Dallas player for decking him! Just one of the amazing moments in 49ers-Cowboys rivalry history.

That’s it for today, hope everyone has a great week! The 3rd and final preseason game is Friday vs the Raiders, and then the next game is FOR REAL! See y’all again on Friday to preview that game.

Please feel free to respond to this post and let me know your thoughts and any suggestions for improvements!

Bang Bang Niner Gang!