Niners Nation
49ers’ NFL grandmaster Christian McCaffrey has kept team from facing checkmate (paywall)
“A regular on Chess.com, his username is rather conspicuous. It’s his first and last name, followed by some random assortment of numbers. He isn’t sure if his Greek opponent knows it was the NFL leader in carries, touches and scrimmage yards who just checkmated his king. He is sure the win added eight points to his Elo rating. The Stanford graduate recently surpassed a rating of 1,000 — 1,070 to be exact — that put him firmly in the beginner-to-novice range, in striking distance of intermediate.
He has played a lot of games, and conceded his record could be better, but there’s nothing like online international chess to wind down from a day’s worth of football at Levi’s Stadium.
“It’s funny, if you’re playing late at night and you keep getting somebody from Greece, you’re like, ‘What time is it in Greece?’” McCaffrey said, “and you realize it’s midday. It’s an amazing game.”
How the 49ers’ battered defensive line is fighting through a season from hell (paywall)
““We’re trying to utilize our time with them the best we can and not waste meeting times on certain things that they’re not gonna see on Sunday,” Kocurek said. “So it’s basically geared down to that exact game plan for that Sunday and trying to get as much of that information to them as fast as possible.
“It’s pretty taxing on the players. They gotta have the right mindset to be able to do it, and they’re gonna put a lot of time in away from the building.”
It’s also relying on teammates to help you out — between plays, on walks to the locker room and during meals. Kocurek praised veteran defensive linemen Jordan Elliott, Sam Okuayinonu and Kalia Davis for helping the four rookie D-linemen (Williams, Alfred Collins, CJ West and Sebastian Valdez) and other newcomers all season.
“I feel like the whole (defensive line meeting) room has handled injuries well, and we’re only going to get better,” Davis, 27, said. “The new guys always have questions, and we’ll make sure they’re up to speed. Like Keion, walking through the plays with him … and he’s asking me the footwork on certain stunts and blitzes.
“It’s just always fun for me because I was that guy very recently.”
Five 49ers you should watch in key NFC West showdown vs. Rams in Week 10
“Shortly after waking up Monday morning, George Kittle’s wife, Claire, reminded him of the significance of the next seven days.
She told the 49ers tight end, “Hey, it’s Rams week; get your mind right.”
Kittle appreciated the reminder.
In order for the 49ers to show up with a strong performance on Sunday when they face the Los Angeles Rams at Levi’s Stadium, Claire knew there could be no shortcuts in the days of preparation leading up to kickoff.
“She’s done it for like seven years, and it’s been pretty awesome,” Kittle told NBC Sports Bay Area....
