The Secondary

1. Manning threw some amazing passes where only his WR could reach it i.e. Manningham TD
2. Our DL did not get enough pressure on Manning hats off to Giants OL
3. Statistically our pass defense will always come across as being poor because we are giving up "a lot of yards", however teams cannot run against us so they are forced to pass.

4. Ultimatley all I care about is our pass defense in the red zone and not giving up TD which we are #1 in the league in that catagory

Carlos Rogers had good game against the Giants with the 2 key INTs. Giving us 10pts. The only thing that drove me crazy is when a receiver caught the ball on him he let up a step instead of continuing to run to the receiver to make the tackle. He has to be more aggressive to the ball.

We have a true bend but don't break defense. And that goes with the secondary also. They may get a bunch of yard between the 20s but it will take a perfect throw and catch to beat this secondary. I'm all good with that. I'm not worried.

Originally posted by dtg_9er:
The 9ers DBs played pretty well yesterday. Receivers were covered but Manning was putting the ball on the button, making it impossible to defend.

This is a great point. Manning played an outstanding game and even if the Giant's receivers were a bit banged up, those fellows are tough assignments. Having seen the game only in real time, I was left with the impression that the secondary had a pretty good game and they didn't get as much help from the front seven as we'd like to see--Manning was getting rid of the ball quickly and was able to extend plays quite effectively (his pocket awareness has come a long way).

On the whole I think the secondary arguably had its best performance of the year, especially when you consider the opposition and the level at which Manning was playing. Again, having only seen the game in real time, if I were to critique our defense's performance, I'd be asking why the secondary didn't have more support from the pass rush. It seemed that Manning was under consistent but manageable pressure and, in the end, that was good enough. But I was left with the impression that it was just barely good enough and that it left the secondary having to pick up a bit more slack that we'd like to see. So, over all, I'd say the secondary had a pretty damned good game.

Originally posted by GORO:
I believe we have good depth with Spencer and Brock. But I believe that Fangio has kept Bowman and Willis in on all passing downs, so we have not been in a traditional nickle formations. If the 49ers do meet the Packers in the playoff then Fangio will have to decide to keep Bowman in or replace him with another db.

All in all I believe that the pass rush is what gives the Niners a chance against good passing team, especially if it comes from 4 man pressure.

All this is correct. Good post. The biggest advantage the niners D has right now is two awesome anti-run MLBs that play also play on all passing downs. No other team in the league has that combo. It makes our nickle package nearly as good as our base in terms of anti-run, and gives us tons of flexibility. Most every other team in the league has to declare pre-snap, via its personnel package, whether it's choosing to defend run or pass.

Our biggest concern going forward is not, IMO, who our nickle CB is. No, we don't have 3 lockdown CBs. Neither does anyone. (And don't say the Jets, unless you think that Brady going 26-39, for 329 yds and 3 tds, is getting locked down.) At present, there's one thing our secondary has going for it - they almost never make a schematic or mental error. (Culliver letting Mannigham get behind him on a post for the near TD in the 4th was the one glaring exception I can recall. That, by far, was the worst play the secondary made all day - not any of the TDs.)

No, our biggest concern IMO is whether we can keep Willis/Bowman on the field on passing downs against a Rodgers/Brees/Brady type attack. If we're forced to concede defeat by pulling NaVorro out, we're in trouble.

Originally posted by dtg_9er:

Agree and would like to see them draft DB and WR in early rounds. FAs might be better as they would be more NFL ready. The 9ers DBs are pretty young with Rogers and Williams being the only guys thirty or over. So, it's possible that there is enough talent but usually CBs talent is visible right away. Spencer is getting up there and I wonder why he hasn't played much since his recovery seems complete. Any idea?

Goldson, Whitner, Smith and Brown are all mid-20s; while Brock, Culliver, Holcome and Jones are all early 20s.

I would like to see Spencer and Smith play more but that is my prejudice of going with guys who have been here a while and wanting to see them perform under this new coaching.

I think Spencer is going to have to earn his job back. Meanwhile, we are seeing what Brown can do for us. He isn't as bas as some feel, the position has been castrated by all the rules to enhance the passing game. I think Samuels wants out of Philly and he would make for a good second cb. There might be a bunch of guys cut from Philly in the offseason, I am thinking they might blow up the dream team if they keep playing like they are.

Originally posted by johnnyredneat:
All this is correct. Good post. The biggest advantage the niners D has right now is two awesome anti-run MLBs that play also play on all passing downs. No other team in the league has that combo. It makes our nickle package nearly as good as our base in terms of anti-run, and gives us tons of flexibility. Most every other team in the league has to declare pre-snap, via its personnel package, whether it's choosing to defend run or pass.

Our biggest concern going forward is not, IMO, who our nickle CB is. No, we don't have 3 lockdown CBs. Neither does anyone. (And don't say the Jets, unless you think that Brady going 26-39, for 329 yds and 3 tds, is getting locked down.) At present, there's one thing our secondary has going for it - they almost never make a schematic or mental error. (Culliver letting Mannigham get behind him on a post for the near TD in the 4th was the one glaring exception I can recall. That, by far, was the worst play the secondary made all day - not any of the TDs.)

No, our biggest concern IMO is whether we can keep Willis/Bowman on the field on passing downs against a Rodgers/Brees/Brady type attack. If we're forced to concede defeat by pulling NaVorro out, we're in trouble.

I beleive Culliver had his worst game. I read somewhere on twitter that he had a relative sick or something, so I was worried he might not play as good as he had been playing prior to this game.

Originally posted by johnnyredneat:
All this is correct. Good post. The biggest advantage the niners D has right now is two awesome anti-run MLBs that play also play on all passing downs. No other team in the league has that combo. It makes our nickle package nearly as good as our base in terms of anti-run, and gives us tons of flexibility. Most every other team in the league has to declare pre-snap, via its personnel package, whether it's choosing to defend run or pass.

Our biggest concern going forward is not, IMO, who our nickle CB is. No, we don't have 3 lockdown CBs. Neither does anyone. (And don't say the Jets, unless you think that Brady going 26-39, for 329 yds and 3 tds, is getting locked down.) At present, there's one thing our secondary has going for it - they almost never make a schematic or mental error. (Culliver letting Mannigham get behind him on a post for the near TD in the 4th was the one glaring exception I can recall. That, by far, was the worst play the secondary made all day - not any of the TDs.)

No, our biggest concern IMO is whether we can keep Willis/Bowman on the field on passing downs against a Rodgers/Brees/Brady type attack. If we're forced to concede defeat by pulling NaVorro out, we're in trouble.

Bingo. That's gonna be a tough dilemma. Especially when the Saints and Packers 4th wide out will be Graham and Finely. Both guys are too big for any Db but too fast for any linebacker.

We're thin. How do we not get exposed later on down the line?

Bump.

Originally posted by NinerGod:
We're thin. How do we not get exposed later on down the line?

Bump.

these guys need reps. Dal and Chi will give them a lot of experience against pass first teams.

Will we or should we pick up a waiver wire guy, what with all our concussed CBs. Anyone out there worth looking at?

What's up with the DBs? Didn't get to see the game and was wondering what happened to em. All I saw was Cully and Brock both left with injuries.

Originally posted by TheChozen:
What's up with the DBs? Didn't get to see the game and was wondering what happened to em. All I saw was Cully and Brock both left with injuries.

Those and Ward got injured late.

Originally posted by VaBeachNiner:

Originally posted by TheChozen:

What's up with the DBs? Didn't get to see the game and was wondering what happened to em. All I saw was Cully and Brock both left with injuries.

Those and Ward got injured late.

That sucks. Hope they're ok. We'll need em next week for sure.

very thin, going against two very good wrs next weekend too. great bump from a 2011 thread btw

Cox

Johnson was decent for a rookie debut.

Would have wished we dressed Cook.