Daily Madden: Rumors of Discord, Rivalries Won't Faze Kaepernick And Smith On Sunday
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) — Coach Madden thinks the Week 5 matchup between the 49ers and the Chiefs on Sunday will be the best game to watch. Both teams are 2-2 and former 49er Alex Smith is set to return.
He says that the Kansas City, in their 41-14 victory over the Patriots on Monday night, looked as good as he's seen them in years.
"They could run the ball, they could stop the run, they played good defense, they have a lot of speed, they play quick, they play fast and they can be a real challenge. Having said that, I think the 49ers are a better team and I would think at the end of the day, they're probably going to be the winning team."
Madden also touched on reports of locker room discord among the 49er players and Coach Jim Harbaugh. During a press conference last week, Harbaugh dismissed the reports as unsubstantiated and a "bunch of crap."
"Every team in the NFL has over 60 guys, when you count the practice squad and everyone, and there's not any team that has every guy on the team is happy about what's going on," Madden says. "Whatever the 49ers have or don't have—they probably do, but everyone else has the same thing and this is a game about winning."
So is there a point when the discontent of the locker room becomes more than just a few players?
Madden says that can only happen when their losing.
"You can't draw a crowd if you're winning. I mean with that discontent. He can draw a crowd when you're losing, when things aren't going well because they tend to be bullies that jump on the pile and losing will open up a pile and people can jump on it. If you win, that pile is never open," Madden says.
Regarding the Colin Kaepernick-Alex Smith rivalry, both players have said their not playing against each other on the field and that the only thing that matters to them is winning. But does it mean it a little bit more?
"Of course it does. You still have to do your job," Madden says.
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With everything a quarterback has to do, cluttering their minds with other things won't let them do "justice to the job."
"Now you would like it when you have some downtime, you may think about it but doggone it, when you get there, there's only one thing you're thinking about and that's the job you have to do."
Listen to the John Madden segment live weekday mornings at 8:15 and Monday and Friday mornings at 9:15 on KCBS All News 740 AM/106.9 FM.