Best of Pod - the evolution of the 49ers defense

By Scooter_McG

While things are currently slow in the football world, there have been some very interesting podcast episodes in recent weeks that pertain to the 49ers. 

Cubus recently linked a podcast episode of Flying Coach with Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan which was excellent, and provided some great insight into the minds of both coaches. I highly recommend giving it a listen if you haven't already. Some of the main things that stuck out to me were:

• Kyle Shanahan confirmed he was interested in Matt Stafford. Based on the disucssion it doesn't sound like they were ever close to getting a trade done and never made a formal offer. However, it sounded like the 49ers were going to make an offer but he was traded to the Rams before it happened.  
• Both Kyle SHanahan and Sean McVay indicated they have great respect for Jon Gruden, who they both worked for at the Bucs. Sounded like working for Gruden was an outstanding learning experience and Gruden's knowledge of football was unparalleled. 
• Both of them worked as quality control (QC) coaches for Gruden (at different times), and McVay worked as Shanahan's QC in Washington. Shanahan really highlighted the importance of and reliance of the OC/HC on the QC coach, as they are the ones that break down the film. It makes me think it will be worth following the coaching career of former Shanahan player Leonard Hankerson, who was recently hired to be an offensive QC coach by the 49ers. 

Another podcast I listened to recently was a Locked on 49ers podcast, where they discussed an episode of the The Athletic Football Show regarding how defenses are evolving. It is worth listening to both the Locked on 49ers episode and the Athletic Football Show episode they discuss, as it helps explain some of what we are seeing with the 49ers. 

One of the key things noted in the episodes is that offenses have evolved to combat and attack the cover 3 defense specifically, given the proliferation of that defense in the NFL. Coaches see the cover 3 defense as primarily a run stopping defense, as it provides 8 men in the box. So defensive coaches like using it on first and second downs. The Seahawks made it popular by also changing a few of the rules of the defense and the types of players they look for to help against the pass.

What was noted in the podcast episodes is that offenses have been targeting cover 3 defenses with deep crossers and over routes, and routes that then work off these routes, as that is the areas of the field the cover 3 is typically weakest against. Offenses are also moving towards focusing on a limited number of concepts but multiple ways of running those concepts - including lots of motion. This helps simplify things for the QB, makes defenses declare their coverage, and creates confusion on defenses as it becomes harder to recognise/ diagnose a play based on personnel and where players line up. Part of this evolution on offense in recent years has also been more heavy personnel packages, with TEs, RBs and FBs that are all also threats in the pass game. I'm sure we can all recognise these are things Shanahan in particular uses a lot of, and it is gaining traction in the NFL as more and more coaches from the same coaching tree become HCs and OCs.  

Mobile QBs that provide a threat from boot action have also been part of the reason for this shift, as these types of plays make it more important to start with some depth on defense and not over commit to coming forward, while still keeping eyes in front to see if the QB runs. 

Defenses are now starting to move away from cover 3, not just on passing downs but also first and second downs, as offenses are finding more and more success against it, especially with explosive plays between the LBs and safety. They are moving towards more quarters and 2-high coverage to defend the big plays against the deep crossers and over routes that attack cover 3, which the Shanahan offense uses a lot of, by keeping an extra safety deeper. 

Anyone that has been following the 49ers closely over the past two seasons will recognise the 49ers are one of the teams leading this change to use more quarters/ 2-high on early downs. Vic Fangio of course has been running it forever. Quarters/ 2-high provides more flexibility for a defense, however, it can be more susceptible against the run. Despite this, defensive coaches are becoming increasingly content with allowing a slightly higer average yards per carry in order to defend the explosive pass plays.  

As teams move away from 8-man boxes, the body archetypes are also changing for defenders. Again, we can see this evolution occuring with the 49ers. 

Quarters/ 2 high doesn't require the long, athletic CBs as much as the cover 3, so teams can play with smaller guys that are more versatile. There is also a greater need for safeties that are high IQ guys that are more interchangeable and have the skills to play any type of coverage and diagnose plays quickly. A guy like Jimmie Ward, and also Tartt when he can stay healthy, can be seen as important peices for the 49ers. 

The LBs also need to be smarter and quicker so they can diagnose quickly and cover a lot of ground. This is what makes Fred Warner so important to the 49ers. Greenlaw also provides a nice, balanced skillset.  

A key change that is happening, and we can see quite clearly with the 49ers, is an increased need for a strong DL that can hold up against the run, as you no longer have the extra man in the box. As the hosts on the Athletic Football Show outlined, you can live with a 290lbs DE that is more of a run defender than pass rusher, as you need guys that can plug gaps more than elite penetrating guys. Of note, on the Athletic Football Show they said teams are starting to move more towards being fine having just one or two really good pass rushers and a bunch of bigger guys that can defend the run. 

They may as well have been discussing the 49ers when talking about the DL. All of a sudden the 49ers moves at DL in recent years make more sense. Bosa is an excellent pass rusher, but also a very good run defender. The team is happy keeping Armstead at DE most downs, as that 290lbs DE that plugs gaps. And the team was happy to trade Buckner, a highly penetrative 3T, and replace him with a big, powerful DT in Kinlaw. The 49ers have remade their DL to first and foremost stop the run, to allow the back seven to focus on stopping explosive pass plays. 

Another interesting tidbit from the podcasts was an expectation of the hosts that pressure packages will evolve and change to compensate for teams that don't have multiple excellent pass rushers. They expect to see lots of stunts, games and blitzes, disguising where the pass rush is coming from and designed to free up the better pass rushers as much as possible. They also expect cover 1 usage to increase. For the 49ers, this is interesting as it appears to already be in motion - this increased aggressiveness is something that 49ers players have said DeMeco Ryans will be bringing in this year. And the CBs the 49ers have been bringing in recently are players that are more suited to man coverage.

The evolution of offenses, and how defenses are changing in response, also helps provide some further insight to why Trey Lance was the guy the 49ers wanted. A pure pocket passer can be great, but will limit what you can do on offense and allows defenses to defend 10 players. A pocket passer than is also a threat running the ball makes teams play 11 on 11, and allows the offense to continually evolve to take advantage of where defenses are weakest.