David and Oscar preview a Halloween matchup that makes us want to cover our eyes, when the 49ers travel to Chicago to take on the Bears. Topics include the struggling Bears offense, what we’ve seen from Justin Fields so far this season, how a banged up Bears defensive line opens the door for the 49ers offense to find their way, and thoughts on Jimmy Garoppolo trade rumors. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

David and Oscar react to everything that went wrong for the 49ers against the Colts on Sunday Night Football, and try to figure out where San Francisco goes from here. Topics include what was different about the offense’s opening drive from the rest of the game, the Colts’ plan for third-down success against the 49ers defense, and whether this team has any hopes of making a playoff run. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

David and Oscar return from a bye-week break to get you ready for a game the 49ers have to have against the Colts. Topics include how concerned should the 49ers be about a 2-4 team, the difference in Carson Wentz from the last time we saw him, whether a struggling Colts defense is actually a bad matchup for San Francisco’s offense, and what happens if the 49ers lose. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

David and Oscar detail all you need to know from another close 49ers loss, including what to make of San Francisco’s offense in Trey Lance’s first start, Kyle Shanahan’s sudden fourth-down aggressiveness, and an inspired performance from the 49ers defense against a Cardinals offense that had been firing on all cylinders. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

David and Oscar get you ready for a difficult divisional matchup with the undefeated Arizona Cardinals. Topics include takeaways after watching the all-22 of Trey Lance’s first significant action of the season, what the 49ers need to do to have a hope of slowing down Kyler Murray and the Cardinals’ explosive passing attack, and whether the 49ers will break out of their third-down shackles on offense. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

David and Oscar talk through it after a rough loss to the division rival Seahawks, looking at how the 49ers were unable to capitalize on their early dominance, whether Trey Lance’s performance justifies Shanahan’s decision to stick with Jimmy, the brilliance of Deebo Samuel, and what you should be most worried about after this loss. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

David and Oscar dive deep into all you need to know about the 49ers’ first divisional matchup of the season, including Russell Wilson being the anti-Jimmy, how the new-look Seahawks offense matches up with San Francisco’s defense, and why the stars look aligned for Garoppolo to have a bounceback performance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

David and Oscar react to all the major storylines coming out of the 49ers’ heartbreaking SNF loss to the Packers, including Green Bay’s offensive game plan to negate San Francisco’s pass rush, Jimmy Garoppolo’s shaky performance, and whether there’s someone to blame for these woes.  tickpick.com/rivals Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

David and Oscar get you ready for the 49ers’ primetime battle with Aaron Rodgers and the Packers. Topics include Brandon Aiyuk’s rough start to the season and whether things will get turned around this week, who starts at CB if Emmanuel Moseley is healthy, whether San Francisco’s pass defense can continue outperforming expectations, and where the 49ers offense will be able to attack a struggling Packers defense. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

 David and Oscar breakdown everything you need to know following the 49ers’ narrow 17-11 victory over the Eagles, including how DeMeco Ryans and the defense rose to the occasion, the offense’s struggles on first down, and Jimmy Garappolo’s lackluster performance that was much worse than the box score would lead you to believe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

 David and Oscar dive deep on on the 49ers’ issues in run defense against the Lions, whether they’ll be able to fix those issues in time for the Eagles’ wide open offense, and what DeMeco Ryans will need to do to contain Jalen Hurts and an explosive group of young wideouts. All that, plus quick thoughts on San Francisco’s latest roster additions and how the loss of Dre Greenlaw impacts the linebacking corps. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On this week’s game recap episode of the Better Rivals podcast, the 49ers fend off the fighting Dan Campbells to hold on to their season-opening victory. What had San Francisco’s offense clicking on all cylinders? What were our first impressions of new defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans? And how worried should you be about near collapse late?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On this week’s episode of the Better Rivals podcast, it’s time to preview the 2021 season! Is the environment set for the 49ers to have a rebound year? How will they look to dictate offensively and where do they need to improve to do so more effectively? And what sort of tendency changes will we see from San Francisco’s defense under the leadership of DeMeco Ryans? All that, plus the 2021 breakout player, more superlatives, and the importance of dessert on the Bourbon Trail.  Learn more about...

On this week’s episode of the Better Rivals podcast, the preseason is officially at an end and we offer up our takeaways from the 49ers’ final preseason action as well as the final 53-man roster. Which position did San Francisco unsurprisingly load up on? Were there any roster moves that left us scratching our heads? And how much of that 2QB system do we expect to see when the games start counting? All that, plus how the offense looked in that 2QB system, Trey Lance’s continued development,...

On this week’s episode of the Better Rivals podcast, we’re bringing the hype episode back! There are a lot of players getting hype after two weeks of preseason, but which hype should you be buying? Can one of the rookie DBs really carve out a starting role? Is Trent Sherfield the answer as the team’s third wideout? And which new pass rusher should you have your eye on? All that, plus what we learned from the preseason win over the Chargers, the Trey Lance roller coaster continues, and living...

On this week’s episode of the Better Rivals podcast, we’ve got actual football to talk about! We focus in on Trey Lance and the rest of the newcomers’ performance in the 49ers’ first preseason game before getting into a mini Scheme Month on Shanahan’s shot plays. Which young players broke the shackles of their priors? What should you take away from Lance’s first NFL action? And how has Shanahan looked to dial up deep throws during his time in San Francisco?  Learn more about your ad choices....

On this week’s episode of the Better Rivals podcast, real football is right around the corner and it’s time for Scheme(mini-)Month! We go deep on the QB run game and how we might see the 49ers’ offense change in both the short- and long-term with Trey Lance . What makes QB runs effective? How can you identify option plays? And where did Lance have success as a runner in college? All that, plus Lance camp buzz, odds of trading Garoppolo, and Mike McGlinchey’s offseason transformation.  Learn...

On this week’s episode of the Better Rivals podcast, real football is right around the corner and it’s time for Scheme(mini-)Month! We go deep on the QB run game and how we might see the 49ers’ offense change in both the short- and long-term with Trey Lance . What makes QB runs effective? How can you identify option plays? And where did Lance have success as a runner in college? All that, plus Lance camp buzz, odds of trading Garoppolo, and Mike McGlinchey’s offseason transformation.  Learn...

On this week’s episode of the Better Rivals podcast, Training Camp is officially under way! David pays real close attention to the interior of the 49ers defensive line, Kevin Cole joins to provide an outsider’s perspective on the 49ers fantasy football prospects, and we try to answer the age old question: Which 49ers running back should you draft? All that plus Aiyuk’s breakout, how high is too high to draft Kittle, and an Arnaz Battle sighting.  Submit your Blue Wire Hustle application...

DOWNLOAD AND WATCH THE GAME BEFORE LISTENING On this week’s episode of the Better Rivals podcast, it’s another blast from the past as we rewatch Jerry Rice’s final home game in a 49ers uniform. How did the 49ers offense compare to the game from our previous rewatch against the Cowboys? Were the Bears even trying on offense? And should the NFL have a “Rice Rule” similar to Bird Rights in the NBA? All that, plus Fred Warner becomes the league’s highest-paid LB, John Madden’s brilliance, and the...

On this week’s episode of the Better Rivals podcast, we pull a game from the vault and rewatch the T.O. star game. There were some memorable fireworks, but how does this game hold up over 20 years later? What fun wrinkles did we see from the 49ers offense that are extinct in today’s game? And which forgotten players had us feeling nostalgic? All that, plus Kyle Shanahan’s appearance on the Flying Coach podcast, Ump Cam, and the intricacies of soccer penalty kicks.  Learn more about your ad...

Eric Eager, data scientist at Pro Football Focus, joins to discuss his head coaching rankings, why he left Kyle Shanahan out of the top 7, and what makes a good play caller. All that plus old school 49ers, the best 49er bet, and the poops per day metric.

On this week’s episode of the Better Rivals podcast, OTAs are a wrap and we run through the top storylines as we enter the NFL dead zone. How worried should you be about the early injuries? Should the 49ers have been willing to meet the asking price for Julio Jones? And will they be able to get enough production at WR after their top two options? All that, plus lots of off-topic rambling on TV shows, dad stuff, and being Champions of Europe. 

On this week’s episode of the Better Rivals podcast, we wrap up our draft scouting reports with San Francisco’s pair of new running backs, Trey Sermon and Elijah Mitchell. How do these two players differ stylistically? How well do they fit within the 49ers’ running game? And where do we think they need to improve as they transition to the NFL? All that, plus follow-up thoughts on Aaron Banks, interesting articles we read this week, and Oscar yelling at the youths.

On this week’s episode of the Better Rivals podcast, our scouting reports on the 49ers’ draftees continue with a look at Aaron Banks and Jaylon Moore. Banks is a large human, but does he play that way on tape? What does a successful rookie season look like for the second rounder? And will Moore be the next 5th round success story for Lynchahan? All that, plus early thoughts on the schedule, answering Patreon questions, and vacation beers.