49ers' interior defensive line dominance an excellent sign for 2023 hopes
The 49ers have turned the page from their dominant Week 1 win over the Steelers and are focused on maintaining their excellent start to the season against the Rams in Los Angeles. If San Francisco's defensive line performs at anywhere close to the same standard as it did in Pittsburgh, the Niners will likely be […]
The 49ers have turned the page from their dominant Week 1 win over the Steelers and are focused on maintaining their excellent start to the season against the Rams in Los Angeles.
If San Francisco's defensive line performs at anywhere close to the same standard as it did in Pittsburgh, the Niners will likely be celebrating another victory.
The strength of the performance up front was one of the immediate takeaways after the Niners' crushing 30-7 win, and it was even more impressive when watching the tape back in greater detail. Before joining the Niners in focusing purely on the Rams, here are my observations from that tape. If you missed my offensive observations, you can find that article here.
Stunts, stunts and more stunts
The 49ers' defensive line has long since been one that continually stunts its front. Those stunts were a pre-eminent feature of the 49ers' defensive gameplan in Week 1, and they were remarkably effective against the Steelers.
Drake Jackson, the 49ers' second-round pick from a year ago was the primary beneficiary of that approach, with two of his three sacks coming on plays that featured stunts.
His second saw him chase down Kenny Pickett after interior pressure caused by a stunt from Javon Hargrave and Arik Armstead, the former USC edge rusher displaying the fruits of the weight he added this offseason with a powerful forklift move.
His third sack was a product of a stunt between Jackson and Armstead, the former displaying his lateral quickness to win as the looper and again get to Pickett.
It doesn't appear Jackson has lost any of his athleticism after adding weight, making it more likely he will be able to sustain his red hot start to a breakout year.
The odds of him doing so will improve if Hargrave and Armstead continue the create the havoc they wreaked in Pittsburgh. Hargrave was as advertised after joining the 49ers in free agency on a four-year, $84 million deal. Yet it was the performance of Armstead that was arguably most encouraging coming off an injury hindered 2022.
Interior intrigue
The lack of disruption caused by the interior of the defensive line was a huge issue for the 49ers last season, one which prompted the significant investment in Hargrave,
But getting Armstead back and healthy was just as important as finding him a top-level running mate in the heart of the trenches, and the longest-tenured member of the 49ers illustrated why as he matched Jackson for total pressures, finishing the game with five.
Yet the most glaring demonstration of his pass-rush upside came on a play that officially did not count.
On Pittsburgh's only scoring drive, Armstead used a two-hand swipe to breeze by right guard James Daniels and then showed the ability to turn the corner and flatten to the quarterback, knocking down Pickett. However, the play and incompletion was negated by a dubious illegal contact penalty on Deommodore Lenoir.
Still the Niners were thrilled with the production they got from both starting interior linemen against Pittsburgh.
Defensive coordinator Steve Wilks said on Thursday: "We were really killing them inside right there with the rush. Those guys on the outside are going to benefit from that."
Elite defensive play like they Niners delivered in 2022 is hard to sustain, but Armstead and Hargrave infusing an element that was sorely missing last season is a factor that can ensure Wilks' unit stays atop the league.
No settled nickel
The 49ers appeared to have settled on a plan of Lenoir moving inside on nickel downs after Isaiah Oliver, listed as the starting nickel corner, failed to impress in preseason.
But in the season opener, it was Oliver who played more snaps at nickel. Oliver played 30 snaps at inside corner, compared to 22 for Lenoir.
Oliver got the higher percentage of snaps after Lenoir had played nickel in the first half, with head coach Kyle Shanahan on Wednesday opting not to enlighten reporters on what forced the change.
“Things dictate the change," said Shanahan. "We thought they’d all play in the game, but stuff happened in the game that has us adjust."
Defensive coordinator Steve Wilks has previously said the Niners would play the matchup game at nickel, and Shanahan described Lenoir's first game rotating between the outside and the nickel as "solid". However, they might prefer to have one of Lenoir or Oliver take a firm grip on the role in the near future.
Schematically, there was little change in the secondary in Wilks' first game as coordinator, with the 49ers relying predominantly on quarters and Cover 3, but the still unsettled slot competition is an unknown worth monitoring as teams search for any holes they can find in this vaunted defense.
All-Pro Fred already in All-Pro Form
It would be difficult to review any 49ers defensive tape and not be blown away by All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner.
Warner is the emotional leader of the 49er defense and the team overall, and he led by example in the series opener, playing a crucial role in stymieing the Pittsburgh passing attack.
On the first third down of the game, Warner's instincts in coverage came to the fore as he took away an underneath crossing route with his eyes before swiftly pivoting to put his body in the way of a potential connection between Pickett and his tight end.
Later in the game, Warner easily carried third-string tight end Connor Heyward in man coverage, deflecting the pass from Pickett straight into the grateful arms of safety Talanoa Hufanga.
These are the kind of plays that at this point in his career look to come remarkably easy for Warner, who stands alone as the best linebacker in the game.
The NFL season may only be in its infancy, but Warner is clearly already in midseason form.
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Featured Image Credit: Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports
