Steve Young is one of my favorite people in the world.
I say this, while also adding that Steve wouldn’t be able to pick me out of a lineup, but I watched how he made my 14-year-old son feel while he questioned Kevin on where he went to school and what were his favorite things to do?
I got to introduce Steve to Kevin because he was a guest on the 49ers Playbook weekly highlight show. More recently, Steve has revealed some of the struggles he endured during his career, insights us mortals didn’t know accomplished and liked people such as Steve Young needed to confront.
I get to listen to Steve each Wednesday on KNBR as part of the Tom Tolbert and Adam Copeland show. A couple weeks ago, after the 49ers lost to the Denver Broncos, Young was bemoaning how the team looked out of sync and that they were looking too much outside of what they could do.
It was an accurate insight from a Hall of Fame member.
Thing is, Steve interpreted the uncertainty in the San Francisco organization as a negative, and from my perspective, where I’m looking for teams at the bottom, the 49ers were in a perfect spot to excel.
And they did.
Beating the Los Angeles Rams by two touchdowns and blowing out the Carolina Panthers on the road, 37-15.
Following those two results, Steve was back on the air last Wednesday talking of the upbeat attitude around the team and the swagger that returns when a team knows they are good and can win.
Uh oh.
Tim Ryan is also a guest on the Tolbert show, he comes on right before me on Fridays. Last week, he talked about what a great time the team was having while they stayed at The Greenbrier resort in West Virginia in preparation for their game against the Atlanta Falcons. A highlight of Ryan’s segment was his stated appreciation for the best golf on the planet and how he was almost alone on a spectacular course.
I suspect a few of the players on the 49ers also got in a few rounds of golf, and I would expect the banter was more upbeat than any legitimate fear that the Falcons could give them real trouble this week.
Turns out, they could. And did.
The Falcons doubled up the 49ers on Sunday, bolted to a 14-0 lead and after San Francisco pulled even, Atlanta scored two more unanswered touchdowns en route to a 28-14 win over the favored 49ers.
San Francisco players go from celebrating a win at a resort on the road to coming home to all that life has to serve up on that front while reeling from a stinging defeat.
They probably don’t like how they feel, but I love it.
I love it because it feeds motivation and who do they meet this week?
This makes it even better. They get the full frontal challenge presented by Patrick Mahomes and his dynamic Kansas City Chiefs. Losing two in a row is a rarity for a high quality team, and what we have in this matchup is two high quality teams coming off losses. We know why the 49rs lost in Atlanta, but how does the Chiefs home loss last Sunday to the Buffalo Bills prepare them for their next game?
The Chiefs have an out, they can attribute their loss to having been defeated in a close game against the anointed best team in football, the Buffalo Bills. That creates a soft spot on the normally strong positive motivator for a quality team coming off a loss.
That works against Kansas City, while the 49ers defeat in Atlanta offers no back door.
The bookmakers don’t make mistakes, and their job is to get the public on the wrong side of the proposition. In this one, it creates a chasm between the true odds on who is poised to win this game and what team the spread favors.
Tomorrow, I get to listen to Steve Young on KNBR, and my guess is he is going to reveal a somber 49ers squad knowing they have a real challenge in front of them. On Friday, I would expect Ryan’s report won’t include any golf critique, and also reflect the sudden call to action for the home team this Sunday.
The best thing about winning straight-up with an underdog is you always win the wager.
Qoxhi Picks: San Francisco 49ers (+3) over Kansas City Chiefs