The 49ers defensive coordinator offered a different perspective on the team’s defensive philosophy.
The San Francisco 49ers are inching closer and closer to a playoff berth, getting the chance to clinch their spot in the postseason with a win over the Indianapolis Colts on Monday Night Football in Week 16.
To do so, they’ll have to get through Jonathan Taylor, who has been the NFL’s best running back this year, and Shane Steichen’s offense, which has been one of the most efficient in the league so far.
San Francisco’s defense has seen its ups and downs this year. While the 49ers are below average in several key categories, they’ve somehow been a good scoring defense, ranking 11th by allowing 20.9 points a game.
Is there concern from defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, especially considering the strength of the 49ers’ last three opponents and how the run defense has looked lately?
“For sure,” Saleh said about the run defense’s struggles. “There has been some good, some bad. Didn’t like the way we finished last week. I take responsibility for that fourth quarter. We’re up three scores with nine minutes to go, playing more pass defense than run defense, and I think they got about 57 yards on that last drive and a little over 50 yards in the run game. But, it’s definitely got to be firmer.”
“Every week is a challenge. Obviously, all three teams, if you throw Seattle in that mix, they’re very good at running the football. So, every game you go into, you’ve got to be able to stop the run. You’ve got to be able to try to make teams one-dimensional, but it’s especially true this week with Jonathan Taylor and their offensive line and the way they do things. They’re pretty darn good at running the football, and we’ve got to be good.”
However, Saleh doesn’t get too caught up in stats apart from one: points.
“I gave up on yardage a long time ago,” Saleh continued. “It’s about winning football games, keeping points down, doing whatever you can from a schematic standpoint and a play-calling standpoint to make sure that the other team’s not in the end zone. And if it means you give up yards then so be it.”
And that’s where the 49ers defense has exceeded expectations, despite dealing with a number of key injuries, including season-ending ones to Fred Warner and Nick Bosa. The 49ers aren’t a great pass-rushing team. They don’t stop the run at a high level. Yet, they somehow keep opponents from scoring points.
Now, with a big-three game stretch ahead of them and the No. 1 seed in the NFC on the line, the 49ers just need to get lucky and opportunistic at the right moment to capitalize on the ceiling of this current team.
That starts with this weekend against an Indianapolis team that played the Seattle Seahawks close in an 18-16 loss last weekend. Should the 49ers win, they’d maintain the No. 5 seed in the NFC and remain one game behind the Seahawks with two weeks left in the regular season, including the awaited Week 18 rematch against Seattle.
Category: General Sports
