NFC Notes: Nick Bosa, Marvin Harrison Jr., 49ers, Cardinals, Rams

49ers

49ers DL coach Kris Kocurek said Nick Bosa‘s being critical of his hand placement in 2023 is a fair assessment, but pointed out that missing time in last year’s offseason program due to his contract situation may have held him back. This offseason, they have a lot more time to train. 

“I would agree with his assessment of himself. He’s always been a really dominant run player for us on the edge — his ability to reduce run lanes with his edge setting and the ability to close ground on the back side and get to plays,” said Kocurek, via Matt Barrows and David Lombardi of The Athletic. “And then the instinctual stuff in the run game that people don’t really see. I thought it was the best he’s had since he’s been here. And in the pass rush, it’s difficult with the contract stuff to miss everything. And he does a lot of that honing-in stuff in camp where he gets the reps versus Trent (Williams) and the one-on-ones versus Trent. Those are really valuable reps for him going against the best of the best daily. And he wasn’t able to get that. And I think we hit the ground running with him with a walk-through and then three days later he’s in the game. Even when you’re the best in the world at doing what you do, that’s a difficult task to ask. So just the timing of things will be more honed in this year.”

Cardinals

Cardinals QB Kyler Murray and first-round WR Marvin Harrison Jr. are looking forward to building chemistry and what they can accomplish during their first season together in Arizona.

“I think that takes us to another level,” Murray said of Harrison, via ESPN. “When you got a guy out there that is capable of winning one-on-ones, obviously he’s got to go do it and he knows that. We all know it, but as far as manipulating coverage and stuff like that, you got a guy out there that can do that and even if he’s not open, he’s open. I’m excited to be able to build that with him, but when he does what he does, yeah, I fully expect our offense to be top of the league.”

“I didn’t want to come in here with a big head,” Harrison noted. “I knew I had to earn everything, so just simple things like that. Let them go in front as they rightfully deserve. And then they kinda allow me to go in front now because they understand what I can bring to the team.”

Rams

While he admitted past years had been tough on him, Rams HC Sean McVay has found new life going into the 2024 season. McVay believes the new group around the organization has helped him rediscover his appreciation for the game. 

“I feel like these last couple of years, there’s really just been a real renewed purpose and perspective that reminds you what a blessing this is,” McVay said, via the Rams’ YouTube. “You kind of had lost that a little bit in the midst of the journey, especially things going well and then obviously, the challenging year in ’22.”

“There’s a lot of cool things that have gone on with the people that I’m around, the coaches, but having that little guy too is a real easy reason to keep appropriate perspective and to make sure you’re being the man and the model and what it looks like for him every day.”