2016 Defense

DE - Arik Armstead, Glenn Dorsey, TJE
NT - Ian Williams, Mike Purcell
DE - Quinton Dial, Tank Carradine

OLB - Aaron Lynch, Corey Lemonier
ILB - Navorro Bowman, Michael Wilhoite
ILB - Myles Jack, Gerald Hodges
OLB - Ahmad Brooks, Eli Harold

CB - Tramaine Brock, Dontae Johnson
CB - Kenneth Acker, Keith Reaser
Nickel - Jimmie Ward

FS - Eric Reid, LJ Mcray
SS - Antoine Bethea, Jaquiski Tartt



If Jack is there when we pick, I'm sure the Niners will take him....On paper this Defense is actually pretty good, I'm okay with Baalke not going out getting anyone on D. This team still has a lot of talent its just young talent that needs more experience

Aaron Lynch (breakout year)
Arik Armstead (becomes starter)
Kenneth Acker (continues to improve)
Keith Reaser (continues to improve)
Dontae Johnson (continues to improve)
Jaquiski Tartt (continues to improve)
Mike Purcell (continues to improve)


My main concern is our new Defensive Coordinators gameplan, with the team being as young as it is, the one thing on the teams side is how young they are and that they have so much room to improve...if the gameplan ends up better than Manginis then I feel we could surprise a lot on the defensive side of the ball this year, but we'll just have to wait and see

Originally posted by 707Niners:
DE - Arik Armstead, Glenn Dorsey, TJE
NT - Ian Williams, Mike Purcell
DE - Quinton Dial, Tank Carradine

OLB - Aaron Lynch, Corey Lemonier
ILB - Navorro Bowman, Michael Wilhoite
ILB - Myles Jack, Gerald Hodges
OLB - Ahmad Brooks, Eli Harold

CB - Tramaine Brock, Dontae Johnson
CB - Kenneth Acker, Keith Reaser
Nickel - Jimmie Ward

FS - Eric Reid, LJ Mcray
SS - Antoine Bethea, Jaquiski Tartt



If Jack is there when we pick, I'm sure the Niners will take him....On paper this Defense is actually pretty good, I'm okay with Baalke not going out getting anyone on D. This team still has a lot of talent its just young talent that needs more experience

Aaron Lynch (breakout year)
Arik Armstead (becomes starter)
Kenneth Acker (continues to improve)
Keith Reaser (continues to improve)
Dontae Johnson (continues to improve)
Jaquiski Tartt (continues to improve)
Mike Purcell (continues to improve)


My main concern is our new Defensive Coordinators gameplan, with the team being as young as it is, the one thing on the teams side is how young they are and that they have so much room to imprive...if the gameplan ends up better than Manginis then I feel we could surprise a lot on the defensive side of the ball this year, but we'll just have to wait and see

I was hoping he'd have made an attempt to fix the Oline in FA and enrich the D w/the draft.

C'est la vie!

Originally posted by LasVegasWally:

I was hoping he'd have made an attempt to fix the Oline in FA and enrich the D w/the draft.

C'est la vie!

Still a lot of solid starters out there, hopefully he makes some moves before weeks end

What if we shift to a suddent to a 4-3 based 46D (shown below) every now and then??

WDE - Tank

DT - Dorsey
NT - Williams
DT - Dial

OLB - Brooks
OLB - Lynch

MLB - Bowman

LCB - Aker
RCB - Reaser

SS - Tartt
FS - LJ

Originally posted by 9moon:
What if we shift to a suddent to a 4-3 based 46D (shown below) every now and then??

WDE - Tank

DT - Dorsey
NT - Williams
DT - Dial

OLB - Brooks
OLB - Lynch

MLB - Bowman

LCB - Aker
RCB - Reaser

SS - Tartt
FS - LJ

I think we'll see some 46 at times next season. JoN learned under Pettine, who learned under Rex Ryan, who incorporates elements of the 46. Looking at your lineup above, I'm not sure why you wouldn't have Lynch as a DE. As a 4-3 OLB he will be dropping back into coverage on most downs. LJ McCray over Reid? Just because he's a good gunner doesn't mean he can play safety (ex: CJ Spillman)?

Originally posted by 707Niners:

Originally posted by LasVegasWally:
I was hoping he'd have made an attempt to fix the Oline in FA and enrich the D w/the draft.

C'est la vie!

Still a lot of solid starters out there, hopefully he makes some moves before weeks end

Got my fingers crossed

Our defense as it stands is average at best.

Zero pass rush, and no really solid DB's. To many if's on the current defensive roster.

Originally posted by glorydayz:

Our defense as it stands is average at best.

Zero pass rush, and no really solid DB's. To many if's on the current defensive roster.

MLBs unsettled as well

90%+ Jack and Bowman and I say that's a top 10 defense that will end up with the stats of a top 20.

I see zero pass rush which will allow opposing offenses to pick apart our slow secondary.

Originally posted by CityKing415:

I see zero pass rush which will allow opposing offenses to pick apart our slow secondary.

Part of that was Mangini didn't seem to use the dline to penetrate. If they are not attacking and simply reading and reacting it's easy for the extra protectors to help on the outside. I could be wrong but it seemed like Mangini only used his OLBs as primary rushers and the much telegraphed MLB gap blitz while the dline was asked to do a lot more reading play to play.

Originally posted by reasonable1:

Originally posted by CityKing415:

I see zero pass rush which will allow opposing offenses to pick apart our slow secondary.

Part of that was Mangini didn't seem to use the dline to penetrate. If they are not attacking and simply reading and reacting it's easy for the extra protectors to help on the outside. I could be wrong but it seemed like Mangini only used his OLBs as primary rushers and the much telegraphed MLB gap blitz while the dline was asked to do a lot more reading play to play.

Yea that what I see too. Maybe this group will improve with a simplified gameplan.

Originally posted by glorydayz:
Our defense as it stands is average at best.

Zero pass rush, and no really solid DB's. To many if's on the current defensive roster.

This. We need a pass rush!

Originally posted by CityKing415:
I see zero pass rush which will allow opposing offenses to pick apart our slow secondary.

Acker, Reaser, and Johnson have some speed. As does Brock. Ward and Tartt aren't slow either. But, they are young and inexperienced.

We draft Buckner. Baalke gets Chip's guy and also makes O'Neil happy. We run predominant base 3-4, some 4-6, some pre and post snap movements, some pattern matching especially with the ILB's, run both press and off coverages on the outside, etc.

Defensive Personnel:
ELEPHANT: Tank Carradine
RDE: Quinton Dial/DeForest Buckner; Tony Jerod Eddie
NT: Ian Williams/Mike Purcell; Garrison Smith
LDE: Arik Armstead/Glenn Dorsey; Kaleb Ramsey
WILL: Eli Harold; Marcus Rush & Ray-Ray Armstrong
TED: Gerald Hodges; Michael Wilhoite
MIKE: Navarro Bowman; Shayne Skov & Nick Bellore
SAM: Ahmad Brooks/Aaron Lynch; Corey Lemonier
RCB: Dontae Johnson; Kenneth Acker & Chris Davis
SLOT (S/CB): Keith Reaser; Kyle Sebetic
LCB: Marcus Cromartie; Tramaine Brock
FS: Eric Reid; L.J. McCray
SS: Jimmie Ward; Antoine Bethea
ROBBER: Jaquiski Tartt

This is the year Tank dropes down to 265 and becomes an edge rusher from the WILL and Elephant spots and he starts to have success.

Buckner and AA feed off each other. We remain a 6-man rotation up front with Ian Williams getting the most snaps at around 60%.

Bowman looks more and more explosive and Hodges rounds into his own and both are more effective in pattern matching and playing down hill more and continue to build chemistry together. Jaquiski Tartt moves into the Robber role on passing downs for either.

Neither Lemonier nor TJE will make this team this year. Marcus Rush has beefed up more and plays the Dan Skuta-role.

Ward is moved back to SS to pair with Reid. Reaser moves into the slot CB role for Ward.

Johnson and Cromartie win the outside cornerback spots with their physical presence and ability to jam receivers and support the run defense but Acker and Brock get a ton of time in the dime and nickel sets too.

Pass rush becomes a top priority. Don't be surprised if we add Greg Hardy and/or go pass rusher at #7.

Brooks remains with the team and plays base downs only sharing time with Lynch at the SAM to preserve Lynch's pass rush ability and back. Tank, from the WILL and Elephant spots and Harold from the WILL both take a leap forward in their development and Rush becomes a key rotational pass rusher for us.

Defense hovers around 10th in points and middle of the pack on TO's. We still struggle some against power running teams. We give up yards but not points.