49ers' slot corner solution will receive a litmus test in Week 11 vs. Buccaneers
The San Francisco 49ers made several changes to their defense for Week 10 and reaped the rewards as they held the Jacksonville Jaguars to just one field goal in a 34-3 rout last week. Beyond the addition of Chase Young to the defensive line at the trade deadline and the increased variety Steve Wilks added […]
The San Francisco 49ers made several changes to their defense for Week 10 and reaped the rewards as they held the Jacksonville Jaguars to just one field goal in a 34-3 rout last week.
Beyond the addition of Chase Young to the defensive line at the trade deadline and the increased variety Steve Wilks added to the gameplan up front and in the secondary, arguably the most significant change the 49ers made was to essentially bench slot corner Isaiah Oliver, who played only three snaps.
They reverted to a previous plan of playing Ambry Thomas on the outside on nickel downs with Deommodore Lenoir kicking inside to the slot. San Francisco previously went with that approach to start the season, only for an injury to Thomas in Week 2 to force Oliver back into the starting lineup.
Oliver's porous display in Week 8, which saw him give up 71 yards and two touchdowns in a loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, led to the switch, which yielded tremendous results.
Terrific Thomas
Thomas gave up only two catches for 14 yards and held up extremely well in man coverage. While Lenoir gave up five receptions for 54 yards when lined up in the slot, there were no signs of the communication breakdowns that were evident during Oliver's previous start.
A third-round pick out of Michigan, Thomas has endured a rollercoaster career with the 49ers, but he drew effusive praise from defensive coordinator Wilks, particularly for the fumble he forced in the red zone in the third quarter. Thomas returned it for a touchdown that was chalked off for a penalty for members of the 49er sideline inadvertently entering the field of play.
"I felt that Demo played well inside. Ambry just brings a different element when he can play outside," said Wilks on Thursday.
"I love his man-to-man technique. I think he’s quick in and out of his breaks and he’s physical. He steps up and he tackles, and I love the way he took the ball away in plus territory when those guys had three points, we took points off the board."
Yet both Wilks and Shanahan have indicated their approach to the slot corner problem is far from settled and will likely remain a fluid one the rest of the way.
Wilks said of Oliver: "Oliver, I thought has helped us win a lot of football games early on. He’s going to continue to help us win games. This league is all about, each week is matchups and different things."
That echoed the sentiment of Shanahan, who when asked on Monday if the long-term plan is to have Lenoir inside on nickel downs replied:
"I mean, we don’t think anything long-term. It’s always week-to-week. So, I liked how it went last week. We’ll see when we watch film here for these next 48 hours what we think the best is on Wednesday. I know there was at least one play in that game, maybe two, Demo had to come out. Isaiah went right in, didn’t miss a beat. I think Isaiah played some real good ball for us this year too, so we’ve got some options. It all depends on who we’re playing and we’ll see how this settles. But, we’re looking into it each week.”
A stern test of whether Lenoir inside is a viable tactic for the remainder of the season and the playoffs will come on Sunday when they welcome the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to Levi's Stadium.
A 'scary' challenge
Tampa Bay is an 11.5-point underdog for the Week 11 matchup but boasts a pair of veteran wide receivers who figure to have significant advantages going against Thomas and Lenoir.
Mike Evans and Chris Godwin both spend time as the inside receiver and are two of the most physically imposing 'power slots' in the NFL who can dominate nickel corners in large part because of their size.
Evans already has 737 receiving yards and six touchdowns this season and will undoubtedly be extremely confident of getting the better of Thomas and Lenoir, though Charvarius Ward should present more of a challenge on the outside.
Shanahan this week described Evans as being "as scary now as he was 10 years ago", but the threats extend beyond him and Godwin, with rookie Trey Palmer another receiver who can cause San Francisco problems with his speed from the slot.
The mix of the physical presence of Evans and Godwin and Palmer's ability to accelerate away from defenders may mean the 49ers are forced to play the matchup game and mix in Oliver in the slot more often.
But the Niners got a glimpse last week of how effective the trio of Ward, Thomas and Lenoir can be on nickel downs. Yes, they received significant help from a rejuvenated 49ers pass rush, however, there were several plays against Jacksonville on which the coverage forced Trevor Lawrence to hold the ball and gave the rush more time to get home.
Preserving continuity figures to be key to the 49ers achieving similar results in the secondary down the stretch as they look to try to beat the Philadelphia Eagles and Detroit Lions to the number one seed in the NFC.
As such, the motivation to sporadically disrupt the connection between the triumvirate that impressed in Jacksonville may well be low, and the odds of Oliver playing consistent snaps will continually decrease the more Thomas and Lenoir shine in their respective new roles.
Consistently reshuffling in the slot is unlikely to be something the 49ers will want to do as they prepare for games with the Eagles, the Seattle Seahawks and the Baltimore Ravens down the stretch, and their faith that the slot corner solution they have switched to is the right path will increase exponentially if Thomas and Lenoir can help keep Evans, Godwin and a still dangerous Buccaneers offense quiet.
Final 49ers injury report for Week 11, vs. Buccaneers
They’re very healthy.
