The Write Zone

LP. Two letters that can strike hope into the hearts of every Forty Niners fan. I was doing my usual injury report look through today when I saw those two letters next to a player’s name who I hadn’t expected to see on that list. The one and only Fred Warner. I had a mini celebration in the front seat of my car because of it. 

Limited participation in practice may not seem like a big deal, but for Warner– who’s been out for over 3 months– it means the world. But there’s two sides to this: One, they bring him back for Seattle and risk him injuring himself again. Losing Warner for even more time would be absolutely devastating, and the fact that they have him practicing right now is nothing short of a miracle. Side two, HC Kyle Shanahan waits one more week and risks losing to the Seahawks, and potentially not even having Warner come back again this year because they’d be eliminated. It’s a hard choice to make for the Niners, choosing the potential NFC Championship or your star defender. Warner is ready to be back on that football field, and with how our defense has been playing recently, adding him would be a boost of confidence and coverage for the lagging Niner’s team. 

Fred Warner played for a total of five and I’d say a half games. How many tackles did he have? Fifty one. (28 solo, 23 assisted) That’s about ten sacks a game. An average middle linebacker has about 80-120 in their entire season– Warner only played a third of the season and racked up 51! He’s crucial to the defense of the Niners.

Here’s the deal with the game against the Seahawks – Christian McCaffrey is 3-0 in Seattle, and Brock Purdy is 4-0 there. If both of those phenomenal players have never lost a game in Seattle, it gives me some serious hope. Let’s add the fact that Shanahan either makes it to the NFC Championship with the Niners, or doesn’t make the playoffs at all. Basically he has never lost a divisional or wild card game with San Francisco. The things that Shanahan has done with the Niners this year is nothing short of incredible. His ability to take backups or or third resorts and turn them into people who brought this team to what it is now is just mind blowing. Imagine what he could do in this game – or the NFC Championship – with Fred Warner, who’s arguably the best linebacker in the league. 

The Seattle offense has some pretty major threats – like Zach Charbonnet or Jackson Smith Njigba. Not to mention that whatever team makes it to the NFC championship opposite the 49ers or Seahawks– either the Rams or Bears– has incredible offensive players as well. Matthew Stafford, Puka Nucua, Davante Adams, and Kyren Williams make the Rams offense what it is. Caleb Williams, DJ Moore, Colston Loveland, and Rome Odunze create the Bears offense. But with the skill and technique that Fred Warner holds would create one more obstacle for these teams to get past. 

In short, getting Fred Warner back was like being handed the best power up in a video game. Even just having him suited up for Seattle would provide a major morale boost to the teams. Our defense becomes so much different when you have that man leading the team. And sometimes a little different is all you need to walk out on to Levi’s Stadium’s field for Super Bowl LX.

See you at the next snap,

Tatum