We won’t speak about vibrations, energy or mood.
We won’t call out curses, snake bites, or good luck.
No, we're going to speak about just a few “X's” and “O's” here, because clearly there's something unsuitable with this 49ers team that may't just be a matter of culture or temperament.
These are the 4 biggest issues facing the 49ers on the sphere at once and my thoughts on how this team can fix them – before it's too late:
You haven’t any last line of defense
» The 49ers have 4 safeties on their energetic roster.
None of those are free security.
That, friends, is an enormous problem for a team that supposedly desired to play more single-high safety looks.
To do that, you wish not only free security, but good security.
And yet Ji'Ayir Brown has proven unable to take care of that role consistently – he was relentlessly attacked in the primary three weeks of the season – and the triumvirate of George Odum (on the bench), Talanoa Hufanga (injured, on the bench). ) and Malik Mustapha (rookie) should all be considered strong boxing safety. (Maybe Mustapha has more, but that's a tall order at this point in his profession.)
If my belief that safeties are fate is indeed correct, I don't just like the outlook for the 49ers. We often speak about how the very best quarterback in a game often wins the sport. Well, the Niners have been beaten on the back end of defense during the last 4 weeks – they’re 1-3 in those games.
How can the Niners fix this? A trade for a good free safety could be good, but given the market, the Niners' current roster state, and the necessity to hold onto draft picks (which is their only source of low-cost labor going forward), that's a tall order.
From a tactical perspective, switching to a two-tier security system could prove helpful because the young security guards can keep the sport in front of them and shoot downhill against the run. This will not be a panacea, nevertheless it could reduce the damage under the circumstances.
It's time to desert idealism and turn out to be pragmatic.
They don't rating touchdowns within the red zone
» The Niners cannot rating within the red zone. Is this an early-season blip – something that can naturally correct itself over time – or a symptom of a bigger problem?
Can I say it's a bit little bit of each?
The Niners will not be an incompetent offensive team, despite what some people may foam on the mouth to say. They rank second within the NFL in red zone opportunities and have enough talent to attain contained in the opponent's 20-yard line.
Yet here they’re, shooting short field goals as in the event that they counted twice and scoring a touchdown on just half of their goal-to-goal streak this season – thirty first within the league and a far cry from 83 percent touchdown clip they scored last season. (Kudos to ESPN's Nick Wagoner for first coming up with these stats.)
So what's happening?
Christian McCaffrey's absence is important. He was a man-to-man cheat code in a team of space-breaking weapons – a necessity in close combat.
Combine him with Deebo Samuel and you’ve gotten a cheat code put to the test. These are two players that defenses construct their game plans around. A player's movement before the snap gives Purdy the zone-or-man indicator he needs, and the second player's movement counters that defense.
So far, the Niners only have one, and that's with no legitimate pass-catching threat within the backfield (let alone one which may be deflected wide) and an offense that requires far less stretch-play motion as a consequence of the elevated shotgun formations away from the momentum of the Offensive. It's all about guys against guys in close quarters, and that's not the sport of Kyle Shanahan or the 49ers.
So what may be done?
McCaffrey can heal and play. That could be huge.
But the Niners must also think about using Samuel – a la 2021 – more often within the backfield, now particularly near the top zone. That can throw the defense off a bit. How a few shovel pass? Just one.
Purdy said Sunday he needed to be more aggressive when throwing the ball within the red zone. That will surely help.
And if McCaffrey doesn't come back, finding a real pass-catching back — a third-down, scat-back type, a la Jet McKinnon — could do wonders. I don't think Isaac Guerendo is the reply, but you’ll be able to at the least try it within the meantime.
They cannot win against man coverage
» Samuel doesn't separate himself from the urgent man-to-man coverage. This has never happened before and never will. Jauan Jennings can only do it if he goes against off-man coverage that he sees within the slot. George Kittle has to dam snap after snap to enable the running game outside the zone.
On Sunday, the Niners ran third down with each Ronnie Bell and Trent Taylor on the sphere. I'm sure the Cardinals weren't too nervous about getting burned on this snap.
Of course, Brandon Aiyuk may win away from the road of scrimmage, and he did so repeatedly on Sunday with 147 receiving yards, including nearly 100 in the primary quarter when Arizona played almost exclusively in man-to-man mode.
It underscores the bet the Cardinals made on Sunday. It's the identical thing the Chiefs did within the Super Bowl – and that the Rams and Patriots copied earlier this season:
If you're playing man-to-man against the 49ers, in a time-based offense you’ll be able to mess up the receivers' timing because they don't have natural separators. And yes, Aiyuk can escape man-to-man coverage, but the danger these teams have taken is that he won't be at full speed because the No. 1 prospect this season (Arizona discovered the hard way Aiyuk is definitely back). Form) and No. 2, that the Niners' offensive line isn't adequate to offer Purdy the time and window to make the most (that's how the Chiefs won).
So yes, the Niners could get 15-, 25-, or 35-yard plays with Aiyuk, but those might be the exceptions. Man-to-man systems also allow teams to stack the box to sell out against the run — something that was evident early Sunday.
Purdy saw all of it coming. When asked this week what he sees from opposing teams.
“I feel like there might be a theme of men’s reporting,” he said. “We just have to beat the guy in front of us, and then as quarterback I have to handle the ball accurately and execute.”
“This is football at its best… I have a feeling we might see a little bit more of this, but at the same time you never know.”
But now the Niners know. Not every team will wish to play man-to-man against San Francisco, however the principles might be the identical: If you force the Niners right into a boom-or-bust offense, they’ll often go bust.
How can San Francisco fix the issue?
It feels ridiculous to place pressure on rookie wide receiver Ricky Pearsall, but he looks like someone who could make an impact on the NFL level. His addition to the lineup would give the Niners two such receivers and potentially change the paradigm for defense.
Otherwise, Purdy might want to proceed channeling his inner Russell Wilson and increasing plays together with his feet to offer receivers more time to search out some separation and himself more time to search out it.
You can't stop the run
» Short of trading for a defensive tackle to fill two holes, the Niners could have to make do with what they’ve on the defensive position.
But swapping linebacker De'Vondre Campbell for Dee Winters seems smart. The latter may not know what he's doing on the market, but he makes up for it with aggressiveness and speed. The opposite is true for Campbell, whose lost steps are repeatedly attacked by opposing offensive coordinators. It doesn't matter if you happen to know what to do if you happen to can't.
Since there is just one practice before Thursday's game in Seattle, I don't think you’ll be able to make the switch now, however the mini-bye before the sport against Kansas City is the proper time to make the switch.
Originally published:
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