San Francisco 49ers Defense Commentary Week 6

Unlike many journalists, I can actually admit when I'm wrong. I was wrong last week when I argued that if the 49ers would attack from various angles, disguise their blitz packages, and stop playing basic coverage on third downs, they would be much better off. I was also wrong when I said their scheme predictability was the main reason why the Niners had struggled on defense for the majority of the season. For the record, this is what I said: When the 49ers have the opposing offense at third down and five or more, they drop into zone coverage and rush only three or 36 Bettis Black Jersey
four nearly every time. This works to the other team's advantage ... that is a big part of the reason why San Francisco is ranked 24th against the pass and is allowing its opponents to convert over 46 percent of their third-down attempts for the year.What I failed to notice was that all season long, the 49ers' coaching staff has been more concerned with avoiding big touchdown plays than forcing the other offense off the field quickly. They don't mind if teams convert on third downs. They would rather play basic defenses and force the opposing offense to sustain long drives down the field to generate points. Total yards be damned, it's the total points they're concerned with. Upon this realization, it became obvious that the Niners' defensive philosophy is bend-but-don't-break (typed as BBDB from now on). All the blitzing in the world would do very little to help the Niners' defense. In fact, it would contradict the entire concept of the scheme and hurt the unit in the long run. You don't want to run a Jekyll and Hyde type of team. You want to pick what you believe would fit your squad the best and stick with that.Teams with exceptional talent like the Baltimore Ravens, Denver Broncos, Chicago Bears and Philadelphia Eagles are best-suited to the attacking philosophy. Talented and experienced units such as those are able to create favorable individual matchups with their talent in the secondary and linebacker positions, then use their strength and skill on the D-line to overwhelm the offense. The 49ers, however, do not have that luxury. Not only is their defense young, but their talent level is average (or worse) at many key positions. Their defensive line has proven that they are not effective enough to sustain any type of consistent pass rush against decent offensive lines. Their linebackers are either young (Lawson) or just not that talented. Their entire secondary is average at best, and occasionally veers toward below average in both talent level and field awareness.Mike Nolan and the rest of the coaches obviously know this, and have decided to use the BBDB style. Rather than attacking, the BBDB defends. When run correctly, it uses all 11 players as one cohesive unit to mitigate the talent advantage an offense might have with individual matchups. The goal of 2010 pro bowl Vikings 4 Brett Favre jersey
the BBDB is to force the opposing offense to be patient and put together long drives to move the ball down the field and put points on the scoreboard. The longer the drive goes on, the more of a chance there is for a mistake by the offense, be it a turnover or penalty. Holding the other team to a field goal is considered a win in the BBDB scheme, but obviously forcing turnover is more conducive to victories. Imagine it as an umbrella during a rain storm. If there are no holes in the umbrella, the person standing underneath is usually not going to get wet, right? It's the same way with the BBDB. As long as there are no lapses in coverage (holes in the umbrella), the other team is usually not going to break through.The Niners' personnel are still adapting to this style of defense, and they have struggled early in the season because of it. As I mentioned last week, the Niners have consistently allowed big pass plays on third down, and against the Eagles they were burned on several big plays. Most of this has been a result of all the new faces on the unit. A group of players can't just step in and play well together. It takes time for a team to develop chemistry -- to know what to expect at all times from your teammates. But the 49ers are coming around; of that I can assure you. Just look at the Oakland game.One of the keys to measuring the success of a BBDB defense is to look at the long drives allowed that either resulted in a field goal or no points. In their first four games of the season, there were seven drives of eight plays or more that resulted in a field goal or less:vs. ArizonaTen plays for 63 yards: FGThirteen plays for 68 yards: FGvs. St. LouisThirteen plays for 44 yards: missed FGSixteen plays for 66 yards: FGTen plays for 42 yards: FGvs. PhiladelphiaNine plays for 57 yards: FGEight plays for 47 yards: fumblevs. Kansas CityNone, though there were two seven-play drives (of 38 and 46 yards) where they forced a punt.Against the Raiders, there was significant improvement, with three drives of eight plays or more resulting in a field goal or less: Eight plays, 50 yards: interceptionEight plays, 39 yards: interception Eleven plays, 59 yards: FGHere's the rub: in order for the BBDB to work, the offense can't turn the ball over and allow the other team's offense to start with a short field. It negates the entire idea behind the BBDB and puts the defense at a serious disadvantage. So far this season, the 49ers have given up 24 scoring drives by the opposing offense. Out of those 24 drives, eight began inside the Niners' 45-yard line and resulted in 37 points -- 1/3 of the scoring drives allowed. (Just for the record, their combined score thus far this season is 146 to 105. I'm just saying....)Another problem is that the 49ers are giving up entirely too many touchdowns. As I mentioned earlier, holding a team to a field goal is considered a win for the BBDB. However, of the 16 drives of 55 yards or more this season, the 49ers have allowed 12 touchdowns to just four field goals. In 10 Santonio Holmes White jersey
order to maximize the success of the defense, this figure needs to flip-flop.All in all, the Niners' defense is getting better. The only question is, Can the unit develop the oh-so-important chemistry that makes a defense great and start holding teams to field goals, or will it continue to give up big plays and allow touchdowns in the red zone because of mistakes? Judging by what we witnessed against Oakland last Sunday, I'd put my money down on the former.