{"id":310783,"date":"2025-08-23T08:56:14","date_gmt":"2025-08-23T08:56:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/310783\/"},"modified":"2025-08-23T08:56:14","modified_gmt":"2025-08-23T08:56:14","slug":"49ers-coach-believes-moodys-game-winner-could-change-his-career","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/310783\/","title":{"rendered":"49ers coach believes Moody’s game-winner could ‘change his career’"},"content":{"rendered":"

The following release is courtesy of the San Francisco 49ers<\/p>\n

Reporter: Are you looking at both where the ball lands and the hang time of those? And if so, how has K Jake Moody done in both?<\/p>\n

49ers Special Teams Coordinator Brant Boyer\u2019s Answer: \u201cHe\u2019s doing a nice job. I think that hang time really doesn\u2019t matter anymore depending on what kind of kicks you\u2019re kicking. So obviously we work on a ton of kicks, different kicks and I think he\u2019s done a good job of trying to place them where we\u2019re asking him to place them. But at the end of the day, we\u2019re not going to show any of this stuff. Obviously, it\u2019s a very vanilla game plan, everything that we\u2019re doing, just because you don\u2019t want people to know what you\u2019re doing. They can see steps and all that stuff like that, we all study versus our opponents.\u201d<\/p>\n

How big a moment was that for him, for Moody the other night?<\/p>\n

Boyer: \u201cI mean, it could change his career. It\u2019s one of those kicks where, what I really liked about his response from the 52-yard miss, I believe. He showed a lot of character in that moment where he came back and hit two clutch ones. The one to tie it, and the one to win it. I think he showed the moxie he has and the confidence he\u2019s starting to gain. I think it was critical for him. It was awesome to see the kid and how he rebounded in that moment. I think what\u2019s even better is how his teammates reacted around him. I think that that is really cool. I think what a lot of people forget is that he was injured a lot last year, and he went through a tough time. Things like that happen in this league, and it\u2019s a matter of how you respond. He faced some adversity and he dug himself out of it and he\u2019s doing a really nice job.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of those sacrifices he had to make when switching to the two-step was maybe a little bit of distance, but 59 yards would indicate that maybe he\u2019s getting more comfortable there. What have you seen in terms of his comfort level and distance with the two-step?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Boyer: \u201cI think maybe he is lost a little bit, but I don\u2019t think it\u2019s a ton. I think he\u2019s done a really good job. I think he\u2019s 90-plus percent since we\u2019ve been here, and he\u2019s responded well to the situations we put him in. We try to create situations for him, and I really think that the two veteran guys that are snapping and holding for him have helped him a bunch too. As a group, they\u2019re responding. Obviously, there\u2019s some things to clean up as far as the three of us go, the three of them go, and it\u2019s something that we can do better all the time. So, it\u2019s just a matter of helping him, putting him in good situations and seeing how he responds. He has done a great job so far.\u201d<\/p>\n

WR Skyy Moore had a big punt return recently. Any expectation for him to be utilizing the punt return on special teams?<\/p>\n

Boyer: \u201cIt\u2019s so new that it was last night. I\u2019m excited to have him obviously, because he\u2019s a really talented guy. I evaluated him when he was coming out, and there\u2019s a reason why he went, I think the second round, right? Everything I hear about him is that he\u2019s a good kid, a pro and he\u2019s a worker. Obviously, he had the big return last week for the touchdown. Anytime you can get a guy back there with a bunch of juice, you like it. So, we\u2019ll see how this game goes, where it fits but I look forward to working with him for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

What kind of conversations are you having with Jake when he\u2019s going through that rollercoaster of a game?<\/p>\n

Boyer: \u201cI put my arm around him and I said, \u2018hey man, we\u2019re going to come back to you and you\u2019re going to win this game and put that one away.\u2019 I think that\u2019s what any good kicker, you know, that\u2019s a lot of pressure, and when you miss one early, you never lose confidence because the kid missed one kick. I think it was 52-yarder or something like that too. So, like I said, I think he responded really well, but it\u2019s more trying to keep their confidence up and saying, \u2018hey man, one miss doesn\u2019t define you.\u2019 So, rebound, let\u2019s see what you got here and dig yourself out of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

This morning president of football operations and general manager John Lynch said on KNBR that Skyy Moore\u2019s a dual returner. With the new rules, is it getting more difficult to find guys who can excel at both kickoff and punt return?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Boyer: \u201cIt is. I would expect probably 70 to 75-plus percent are kick returns this year. It\u2019s going to be a big difference from last year. As we go to try to find two guys that can really do it, there\u2019s a lot of stuff to clean up that we\u2019ve been running some really, really basic stuff just we can see who can play. I haven\u2019t been happy with the blocking that we\u2019ve been doing. That definitely needs to improve. Doesn\u2019t seem like those guys have a lot of places to go, but we\u2019re also not running a ton of schemes that we\u2019ll run in the season. So, we\u2019ll see how that goes once we get there.\u201d<\/p>\n

What are the adjustments for a college returner coming into a different return situation?<\/p>\n

Boyer: \u201cWell, I think that NFL kickers are so much better than the college guys, for one. They have all the kicks from right to left and right on the sidelines. They have the aim right to pull left. They have the banana kicks that they aim over here, the ball spins and it\u2019ll drop really quick. They have so many kicks. It\u2019s crazy. They\u2019re not used to seeing those, then you play a guy like last week where he\u2019s hitting 5.4 hang times in practice to us. The leg talent is quite a bit different than you see in college. So, it\u2019s a big adjustment coming from college to the pros with all the different kicks you get. It\u2019s a huge adjustment for those guys back there. But [WR Junior] Bergen\u2019s done a really good job back there catching them and he\u2019s only had two opportunities to even return. One\u2019s a 28-yarder or whatever it was the first week, and last week he had a guy right in his lap as soon as he caught it so he didn\u2019t have an opportunity. But I think that\u2019s one part of our game, our return phases, are what I want to see improve based on what I\u2019ve seen the last couple and definitely the blocking has to get better for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

What about the format of the kickoff return? Are the holes different? Is the vision different? The timing different?<\/p>\n

Boyer: \u201cI think so. Obviously from what it used to be, for sure, but I think the guys are starting to get a pretty good feel for it the more reps that we take and stuff like that. I always say that the returner is the best blocker that you have, and we\u2019re trying to teach them how to set those blocks up and everything like that. I think that\u2019s critical for any young player to learn that. One of the best guys I\u2019ve ever had is [Houston Texans WR Braxton] Berrios and [former NFL WR] Andre Roberts that that would set their blocks up really well and then make their cuts off of that. And it\u2019s no different than [RB Christian] McCaffrey doing it on offense. They press and cut and things like that. So, it\u2019s very similar in both ways.\u201d<\/p>\n

CB Derrick Canteen is an undrafted rookie guy, but he\u2019s flashed at a couple points on special teams, is he a guy that can steal a spot on the 53 if he shows well here?<\/p>\n

Boyer: \u201cI don\u2019t know how this is all going to shake out, but Canteen, I thought with several other young kids, have showed up really well. He is a smart kid. I\u2019ve moved him around everywhere. I taught him \u2018PP\u2019 in three or four days, and he went home and studied it and stuff like that. That\u2019s hard to do. He got in there in a tough situation in the fourth quarter where we had to go in and play because we had injuries and things like that. He got in and did a good job with it. He is a very heady guy and he\u2019s a tackler and he can run. So, I think he has a future in this league at some point. I really do.\u201d<\/p>\n

What makes DB Siran Neal such a good special teamer? It seems like he was brought here to do that role and it\u2019s hard to see if he\u2019s running with ones or twos. What makes him a good special teamer?<\/p>\n

Boyer: \u201cWell, that\u2019s a really good question. I\u2019ve played against him because he was in our division the whole time and we couldn\u2019t block him. And I think his overall mindset, it\u2019s kind of the mindset that we\u2019re trying to get here is that he knows what butters his bread, so to speak. He knows that special teams has been his ticket for his career, plus a little defense here and there. He is doing a really nice job, and he is learning the things that we\u2019re teaching him. So, it\u2019s a little adjustment for him. I think he\u2019s a Pro Bowl caliber guy in the regular season. I\u2019ve had a Pro Bowl gunner that had some really big problems with him, couldn\u2019t get away from him when he was blocking our gunners and stuff like that on the other side. He\u2019s so big and he\u2019s long and he\u2019s fast, he\u2019s strong. He has been a leader so far in our room. So, it\u2019s been good to get him here and happy to have him on our side for sure instead of competing against him.\u201d<\/p>\n

More San Francisco 49ers Coverage on Sactown Sports<\/p>\n

Dealing with an onslaught of injuries to its receiving and running back core, the San Francisco 49ers have made a move to bolster their offense as the preseason winds down.<\/p>\n

According to ESPN\u2019s Adam Schefter, the 49ers have acquired running back Brian Robinson Jr. from the Washington Commanders in return for a 2026 sixth-round pick.<\/p>\n

Robinson, 26, is entering the final year of his rookie-scale contract after being drafted with the 98th overall pick in the 2022 NFL Draft out of Alabama.<\/p>\n

The Commanders and Robinson were heading for a split as training camp and preseason rolled on, and now a resolution has been reached that will make the two-time College Football National Championship winner Christian McCaffrey\u2019s backup in Santa Clara.<\/p>\n

Read More:<\/p>\n

San Francisco 49ers acquire RB Brian Robinson from Commanders<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Upcoming San Francisco 49ers Schedule<\/p>\n

Preseason<\/p>\n

Saturday, August 23rd\u00a0\u2013 vs. Los Angeles Chargers \u2013 5:30 PM PT<\/p>\n

Regular Season<\/p>\n

Sunday, September 7th\u00a0\u2013 @ Seattle Seahawks \u2013 1:05 PM PT\u00a0\u00a0*Season opener*
\nSunday, September 14th\u00a0\u2013 @ New Orleans Saints \u2013 10:00 AM PT
\nSunday, September 21st\u00a0\u2013 vs. Arizona Cardinals \u2013 1:25 PM PT
\nSunday, September 28th\u00a0\u2013 vs. Jacksonville Jaguars \u2013 1:05 PM PT
\nThursday, October 2nd\u00a0\u2013 @ Los Angeles Rams \u2013 5:15 PM PT<\/p>\n

Thank you for reading\u00a0SactownSports.com<\/a>. Follow us on\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Google News<\/a>, and subscribe to our\u00a0YouTube<\/a>\u00a0channel.<\/p>\n

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