What's up with our Defense???

Allows 1 TD all game, makes a goal line stand, makes another important stop on 4th down, has an interception....


WHAT IS WRONG?!?!

Originally posted by lazy:
Whitner great leader?

que MIke.... Your the best arrrrrround..... Nobody is ever gonna bring you downnnnn

Originally posted by cciowa:

Originally posted by verb1der:

Originally posted by cciowa:

Originally posted by verb1der:

Our defense is going to be pretty average this year that's what's up!

hoe in the world can you possibly come to that conclusion when the first string defense has not been on the field together at all here in the pre season and if they were yesterday it was for about 60 seconds. this is just nuts. we have now determined we are going to be average on defense based on three pre season games. good lord. its like you are buying into the wishes of the media like buck, aikman, collinsworth, etc. we have more than enough depth to take up any slack caused by bowmans and smiths loss,, and we,,,,,,, oh just never f**king mind

Stop trying to downplay it. We lost our best middle linebacker, Donte Whitner who was a leader back there, and our secondary is far from gelling. Manning and Rivers picked us apart with their eyes closed and they did not even have to game plan anything.

whitner was a liability and took over goldsons role of drive extending penalties for the other team. we are set and will be good in regards to the safety spot. in regards to the corners,,, were you really happy with their play last year? it can not be worse and will probably be better. in the short term we can survive bowman , now I know everyone has blown goats for the northwestern railroad in pre season but if you can get past that,, our linebackers have done a good job and have a good track record. michael w did the job last year and we got a couple of kids and skuta who can make up for his loss for however long he misses. you can say i am down playing it,, i say some of you are just blowing s**t way out of proportion

You are definitely downplaying the loss of Bowman, but other than that, I agree with you.

Last year, Wilhoite stepped in and did well - next to Bowman. NaVorro has proven capable of masking any deficiencies the guy next to him might have. As good as Patrick Willis is, he has yet to prove the same. I'm not saying he can't do it, I'm just saying we don't know whether he can or not.

Also, losing Aldon for any significant amount of time is going to hurt, not only because we lose the best pass rusher in the league, but because it will be coupled with the loss of the best inside linebacker in the league.

I still think the defense will be a top 10 unit even with Aldon and Bowman out. It will go back to top 5 when they return. By the time the playoffs roll around, it'll be the top defense in the NFL.

Craig Dahl is whats up with our defense, as much as some people are saying it was PWillis fault that Gate scored.. It was Dahls job to cover the top and he wasn't even close to being in position to do that. Craig Dahl sucks!.. The 49ers needs to cut his ass and keep LJ McCray.

Originally posted by Hoovtrain:

Originally posted by thl408:

Originally posted by T-9ers:

Originally posted by lamontb:
But it was incomplete b/c the WR dropped the ball. Hit the wr right on his hands then Cully tipped the ball away after that.

yup. it wasn't the greatest pass either, if he was lead more it would have been 6.

Ohh is that what happened? I thought Cully got a finger on that to tip it.

i'm a little confused. the ball hit the TE on his hands and Cully stripped it away. seemed like a good play to me.

If he caught it then Cully is toast. Cully didn't strip the ball away. The guy dropped the pass.

Originally posted by 49ersOnMINE:
Craig Dahl is whats up with our defense, as much as some people are saying it was PWillis fault that Gate scored.. It was Dahls job to cover the top and he wasn't even close to being in position to do that. Craig Dahl sucks!.. The 49ers needs to cut his ass and keep LJ McCray.

yup. i have been a dahl apologist but would be shocked if he is on the roster come next week

Originally posted by Empire49:
Last year, Wilhoite stepped in and did well - next to Bowman. NaVorro has proven capable of masking any deficiencies the guy next to him might have. As good as Patrick Willis is, he has yet to prove the same. I'm not saying he can't do it, I'm just saying we don't know whether he can or not.

In the SB he made that backup safety look like a hero on the fake FG. Last Sunday Wilhoite made possibly his best play as a pro on the goal line stand. On both plays Willis did the same thing: sniffed it out, blew up the blocker, let the guy next to him make the tackle.

I think Willis deserves the benefit of the doubt.

Originally posted by Wu-5Rings:
Nothing, they just need to work and create chemistry with the "Youts"

Exactly. Watch the preseason through this lens and you will not only see what the coaching staff is trying to achieve, but it makes for a more enjoyable viewing experience.

The key to our defense this year is that several young guys need to step up and contribute. This preseason has essentially been an about getting these guys up to speed as pros.

Let's see...this thread is about our defense not being up to par because a back up and a rookie missed some plays in preseason games? Hmm...

Originally posted by cciowa:

Originally posted by 49ersOnMINE:
Craig Dahl is whats up with our defense, as much as some people are saying it was PWillis fault that Gate scored.. It was Dahls job to cover the top and he wasn't even close to being in position to do that. Craig Dahl sucks!.. The 49ers needs to cut his ass and keep LJ McCray.

yup. i have been a dahl apologist but would be shocked if he is on the roster come next week

Fangio also confimed that the TD was Dahl's fault. So excited to keep this guy!

And I don't know if anyone's paid attention but Fangio has been playing our secondary WAY off...zero press thus far and he's had our SS so deep it takes him 3 seconds just to flash back in the screen after a tackle.

The only real concern I have about the defense is the NT spot and when we face another power running team that focuses between the tackles. We certainly don't have any beef inside or that one wide-bodied clogger to free up the rest of the DL and LB's. We, obviously, can get pushed backwards and this can wash out the LB's. Fangio said he wanted to see much more of Williams but had to pull him b/c he was tightening up some and they were taking precautions. We'll see how we do with McDonald - Williams - Justin in there. The NT won't be needed much if we continue to play nickle against passing teams (which is a lot esp. with the new rule changes...why WOULDN'T YOU PASS ALL DAY?).

I've only been able to watch bits and pieces of games this preseason so not sure about who is doing well...especially given the varied ability of the other teams back ups. Does it seem the teams are playing the starters much less than in the past? They don't seem concerned to have the number ones in sync when the first game rolls around.

That said, I agree with you NC about the NT postion...but that's been a source of wonder for me for three years. I have ocncluded that a true monster at NT is too expensive for the Baalke position/cost benefit method. So they fill the position with good all-around DLmen and rely on the MLBs to fill gaps and keep middle runs short. Also, they have used J Smith to control the right side of the DL and he does that really well.

Fangio has always written off the preseason games and used them to evaluate and tune up general play. The only blitzes would be to decide if a young player could be instinctive or know when/how to react. So it seems the niner players who shine on defense in preseason are more legitimate play makers (Lynch/Borland) who have really good instincts. Not sure the same can be said for the offense where it takes players a bit longer to be instinctive...they have to think too much.

I agree w/ NC, the biggest concern is: NT.

Ian Williams was out for a year, and has played in exactly one preseason game. I hope he'll round into shape and fill the role, which is crucial to the ILBs and their play. Without Bowman next to Willis, Williams' play becomes even more crucial to the D on running downs.

That said, there are some big bodies available: Dial, Jerrod-Eddie. But they're not very experienced at the NT position.

I just hope Dorsey heals quickly.

people seem to forget that one of our huge advantages is having coaches with the ability to out gameplan most coaches that stand across the field from them. Once we implement a gameplan it will cover up our " weaknesses" thats what good coaching is.... Calm down people we haven't had Singletary for 3 years now :)

Originally posted by prhyme:
people seem to forget that one of our huge advantages is having coaches with the ability to out gameplan most coaches that stand across the field from them. Once we implement a gameplan it will cover up our " weaknesses" thats what good coaching is.... Calm down people we haven't had Singletary for 3 years now :)

It's also important to remember that these coaches are very good teachers and will get more out of these guys than their past teams did. Donatel has done that consistently, aside from Asomuagha. If they keep a lot of young guys it may seem a bit rough in the early part of the season but may be worth it in the long run.