The 4-12 San Francisco 49ers watched the NFC West champion Los Angeles Rams fall to the New England Patriots 13-3 in Super Bowl 53. The victory gave New England their sixth Super Bowl ring Solomon Thomas Jersey , surpassing the 49ers’ five and joining the Pittsburgh Steelers as the only two franchises with six Lombardi Trophies.49ers general manager John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan, in Year 3 of their rebuild, now set their sights on the start of free agency on March 13th, and the NFL Draft, beginning April 25th. But in 2019, a new offseason dynamic enters the fray — the Alliance of American Football, and there’s a few reasons 49ers fans should tune in.First, and perhaps most important, football no longer ends in February. The AAF has given those that continue to crave the gridiron two more months of potentially quality football leading right up until the NFL Draft.The AAF is a brand new, eight-team professional football league with the intent of becoming both a complement and developmental system for the NFL. The inaugural season begins this Saturday, February 9th, at 5 pm PST on CBS. You can view the complete schedule here. The regular season lasts two months, concluding on Sunday, April, 14th. There are four games every weekend — two on Saturday and two on Sunday (except for one Friday game on April 12). The AAF will feature a four-team playoff similar to college football, concluding with the championship on Saturday, April 27th in Las Vegas.The NFL and NFL Network have already committed to broadcasting 19 AAF games in 2019, airing two games per week on Saturday and Sunday night. The first game of the season will air on CBS, CBS Sports Network will air one game per week, TNT will air one regular season game and one playoff game, and Bleacher Report Live will stream a game each week.A shorter play clock, the absence of TV timeouts, required two-point conversions, no kickoffs, and a college-type overtime are just some of the reasons the AAF should give fans a new and worthwhile viewing experience. Games are expected to take 150 minutes, rather than 180 in the NFL.In addition to the on-field adjustments, the AAF is releasing a mobile app this weekend that is expected to bring with it a suite of innovative and intriguing features. Free livestreaming, an animated and interactive recreation of the game in real-time, fantasy football and all-things betting are expected to be integrated into the AAF app over time.The eight inaugural AAF teams are as follows: Arizona Hotshots, Orlando Apollos Ahkello Witherspoon Jersey , Atlanta Legends, Birmingham Iron, Memphis Express, Salt Lake Stallions, San Antonio Commanders, and San Diego Fleet. Roughly 70 percent of the rosters consist of players that have spent time on an NFL team. Among them are dozens of players that, at one point, spent time on the 49ers’ roster, giving fans a chance to check in on some familiar faces.Receiver Quinton Patton (Iron), quarterback B.J. Daniels (Stallions), cornerback Keith Reaser (Apollos), quarterback Scott Tolzien (Iron), defensive tackle Mike Purcell (Stallions), receiver Dres Anderson (Stallions), safety Chanceller James (Stallions), and guard Andrew Tiller (Apollos) are among the over 20 names of former 49ers that are spread across the AAF. Kirk Larrabee of 247Sports did a fantastic job breaking down the former 49ers on each team’s roster, as well as their time spent in San Francisco.Former 49ers head coaches Mike Singletary (Express) and Dennis Erickson (Stallions) were also given chances to once again lead a professional football team. Other notable coaches include Mike Martz (Fleet) and Steve Spurrier (Apollos). Rick Neuheisel is coaching the Hotshots, and you might recall he interviewed for the 49ers head coach job in 2003 while lying to his then employer (University of Washington) about it. Fun times!In addition to former 49ers players and coaches, there’s a good chance you’ll also be watching future NFL players in the AAF. Quality players that slip through the cracks of NFL roster cuts will be given another chance to display their talent in the hopes of another shot in the league.The 49ers’ front office over the past two years has shown an ability to identify players that may have been overlooked through the draft process. Running back Matt Breida and receiver Kendrick Bourne both went undrafted and have now developed into starters on the 49ers’ offense. It won’t take long before AAF players are given tryouts to join an NFL roster. Every player in the AAF is given an out in their contract in case of promotion.The AAF begins its inaugural season on Saturday with the Fleet facing off against the Stallions in San Antonio, and the Legends versus the Apollos in Orlando. On Sunday, the Express face the Iron in Birmingham, and the Hotshots host the Stallions in Phoenix. Will you be watching?C.J. Beathard talks turnovers, running back pass catchers, George Kittle’s freakishness When you look back on the game Sunday and the turnovers, what do you do, what do you focus on moving forward to try to eliminate those?“Any way you can help, not having those turnovers happen, you work on and try to improve. Any little thing that can help, that’s what you try to work on.” Is it easy to do? Is it an easy fix?“Yeah, it’s not rocket science. It’s just little stuff. It’s a game of inches. One is when I step up in the pocket two inches more DeForest Buckner Jersey , the ball doesn’t get taken out of my hand. With the one interception off the end of [WR] Pierre’s [Gar莽on] hands, that’s a game of inches. Obviously the fourth-and-20, you’ve got to make a play. But, it’s nothing that can’t be fixed. It’s just little stuff.” When you look at the Packers defense, I assume you go back to the last few games of the season. Do you go back over the past few years? How far back would you go?“We watch most of everything from this year and then in games in the past when Atlanta has played them when [head coach] Kyle [Shanahan] was there. But, I mostly stick to stuff from this year.” You guys are a lot more efficient in your passes to the running back than you were last year, there were a lot of incompletions, drops. Can you account for that? Is it different personnel that’s more efficient in year two?“I think just obviously it’s the second year in the system, you’ll be more efficient in that sense of getting check downs, getting the balls to the backs. We’ve got a lot of trust in our running backs to put a lot of plays in their hands to where we expect them to get open and make plays and we trust those guys to do that. I think we’re just better there than we were last year at that position and I think it’s showing.” Does it require chemistry between you and those guys? RB Alfred Morris hasn’t even been here a month, but he’s caught every pass that’s gone his way so far.“Yeah, I think some of it is chemistry. When they’re number one in progression, definitely, around choice routes and such things. But, on those check downs, it’s kind of just being in the right spot and getting them the ball and turning a five-yard gain into a 10-yard gain.” From a quarterback’s perspective, what really stands out about Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers’ game to you?“He’s just a baller. That’s what he does. He’s got a crazy, crazy arm. He’s got the quickest release, craziest arm that I’ve ever seen. It just looks like he’s throwing a nerf ball out there. We all have a lot of respect for him.” One more question about the turnovers. You mentioned a couple of times that it’s a game of inches. Do you feel like it’s just bad luck that is happening or is it a product of a lack of carefulness or discipline?“I don’t know. I think a lot of it is luck. It’s just tough to say. Some of those things don’t happen, we’re not talking about it. I don’t think it’s discipline. I think we’re a disciplined team and stay on stuff like that. But, I would just say some of it is just unfortunate events that have happened.” Going into Lambeau field, such an historic venue, do you look forward to going in and playing a game at a place like that? What are some of the keys to have success going into a ruckus environment like that and maybe trying to keep the crowd not so much of a factor?“It’s definitely something to look forward to and a great opportunity for us. A Monday night game in Lambeau, historic stadium. We’re playing a great team. It’s everything you ask for. We’ve just got to go in and handle the noise, handle the crowd and go out and execute and try to take care of the ball and just do the little things right. I think if we do that and play well and our defense plays well, special teams, we can give ourselves a good chance.” Is there anything TE George Kittle has done this year as a pass catcher surprised you or did you know that when you guys were teammates back in Iowa?“That doesn’t surprise me. I always knew George had, he’s one of the most athletic dudes that I’ve known. He’s a freak athlete and I’ve always known that, even at Iowa. I think everyone that’s been around him knows that and so he hasn’t surprised me.” Is there anything that he did at Iowa that was particularly freakish?“We’d always test our vertical jumps and our 5-10-5 and our 10-yard sprints. He just blew everyone out of the water. He has the tight end records there. We’ve got a tight end in there now that’s pushing those records because he’s an athlete too, but George just blew everyone out of the water in those competitions and records for sure.” You’ve touched on how things are slower for you this year in terms of being able to go through and see things. I’m curious Jimmy Garoppolo Jersey , when you were sitting and watching at the beginning of last year versus when you were sitting when QB Jimmy Garoppolo was playing, did the game look different to you, even then from the sideline after having that experience playing?“Yeah, I think so. I think just another offseason in the system, another camp in the system. Watching Jimmy’s first few games this year, even then, felt like it was slower and I could see things a little bit better. I would say definitely even then.” Are there any specific examples of something that you see and think, “Oh, this is way different than it was before?’“When you’re out there, I think even in the preseason, it just feels like things have slowed down. Your mind’s not going a thousand miles an hour like it was last year. You can feel defenses, feel rotations, feel pressures a lot easier. It’s just slowed down and you know where to get the ball and get it out of your hands.” A lot of quarterbacks say the difference from college to the NFL is that the windows are so much tighter. Is that the biggest thing to you or is there something else about transitioning in the quarterback role?“I think that’s a huge thing. The windows are a lot tighter. You’re playing a lot better players, but you’ve also got a lot better players on your team. So, that helps. But, I think more than anything it’s just learning a new offense as a new quarterback. That’s the toughest thing that any new quarterback is trying to deal with, learning a new offense and going out there and executing it and knowing where guys are going to be and what they’re going to be doing. I think that’s the biggest thing.” How challenging is it going out to practice today and you guys are going to be missing probably about seven, eight more would-be starters? What’s the harm in that in terms of setting up continuity?“Obviously it’s tough not having the guys that are going to be out there, out there with you practicing. But, it’s a great opportunity for the other guys to get in and get reps, like [WR] Richie James [Jr.] and guys like [WR Victor Bolden Jr.] Vic who haven’t been getting those reps, to get those reps and really get better chemistry with me and the team. So, it stinks, but at the same time, you take it as a positive and the guys that are getting the reps today will definitely get better from it.” How much does an X receiver benefit from having great speed and how much different is it when you have an X who isn’t WR Marquise Goodwin?“It’s different, for sure. Defenses definitely have to game plan for having a guy like Marquise in there. It changes your offense a little bit and what you want to do as a scheme, for sure. So, it’ll be nice to have him back this week.”