Niners Nation
Kyle Shanahan shares final updates ahead of 49ers-Eagles Wild Card matchup
“On Wednesday you were less optimistic about Jacob Cowing playing, but after watching the last few days, any change of mind there?
“No.”
Does Ricky fall into the boat of a player who didn’t practice this week who could have a chance to go on Sunday?
“Yes. Yep. Ricky’s been doing this this year. Jake’s just different. This was his first practice this year was this week. He didn’t get any in training camp either.”
49ers’ improved special teams reflect Brant Boyer and the man who helped save him (paywall)
“And that means they are also a reflection of Ted Boyer. He was a World War II veteran who was wounded at Iwo Jima and helped instill qualities such as toughness and discipline that now define Boyer.
Brant Boyer has a strong relationship with his parents, but they divorced when he was young, a reason he had a difficult childhood filled with constant moves. At 13, it was agreed that he would live with his grandparents, who could provide stability on their mink ranch in Henefer, Utah (population 838), to a seventh-grader needing direction. Idleness wasn’t a thing with Ted, a rancher who was also a heavy equipment operator and built and remodeled homes in his spare time.
And Brant stayed busy when he wasn’t playing sports or attending school. He baled hay, trained dogs and poured cement and worked a jackhammer on construction crews. There wasn’t much sleeping in: He was routinely stirred awake at 6 a.m. by the sound of his grandpa’s cowboy boots descending to his basement room. During those rare times when Brant lazed at home, perhaps sprawled on the couch after a workout, his grandmother might hurriedly hand him a vacuum if his grandpa was pulling in the driveway.
His grandparents, devout Mormons, were also passionate about service. They regularly took mission trips to Albuquerque, N.M., where they developed a close connection with the Navajo people.
“That’s what grounded me so much,” Boyer said. “I wouldn’t be where I am without my grandparents. I learned how to work and how to, hopefully, be a good person. Thank God for those people.”
His grandparents provided an anchor, and Brant also provided a life-changing gift. Shortly after he came to live with them, Ted and Thea’s youngest son, Chad, 27, died in a car accident when he was struck in an intersection.
“Brant was their world,” said Boyer’s wife, Melissa. “Obviously, nothing will ever get you over losing a child. But I think, during that time, they needed Brant as much as Brant needed them.”…..Boyer’s ability to lead and connect is a big part of his coaching success. Special-teams coordinators are tasked with getting a disparate group to commit to a common goal. That includes rookies who were college stars along with past-their-prime veterans who aren’t thrilled about running down on punts after running with the starters.
Asked how Boyer gets buy-in, Neal discussed how his...
