The NFL is a small world — a high school reunion with shoulder pads.

Guys are shuffled around the deck of 32 teams year in, year out. And all too often, they end up staring across the field at someone they used to game plan with.

That’s what’s happening this Sunday in New Orleans. Kyle Shanahan and his San Francisco 49ers will be in town, and on the other sideline, waiting for them, will be Saints defensive coordinator Brandon Staley.

And Staley, who was an assistant with vague assignments for the Niners last season (he was certainly not the team’s shadow defensive coordinator), has a defense that’s an absolute nightmare for Shanahan’s wide-zone run game.

Yes, this game will be anything but Big Easy for San Francisco.

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