San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh missed Richard Sherman hauling in a Jimmy Garoppolo-thrown pass intended for Pierre Garçon during one-on-one drills on Tuesday. He was busy observing the pass rush. But the two did have a chance to discuss it later during practice.
"I know Sherm and I were talking about it during special teams," Saleh said on the inaugural episode of the No Brakes podcast with The Athletic's David Lombardi and Matt Barrows.
A big fuss was made of Marquise Goodwin getting the better of the veteran cornerback during Sunday's practice. Before the interception on Tuesday, it looked as though Garçon was giving Sherman the same treatment having beaten him twice on deep routes. The first resulted in a catch with the football being overthrown in the second.
Saleh reminds people that the 49ers cornerbacks are just barely getting back to practicing their normal press and bump coverage so you shouldn't automatically assume the worst when you see Sherman, or any other cornerback, get beat deep this early in training camp. If it's just a foot race, it's tough to go up against a former Olympic track and field athlete like Goodwin.
A lot of hand-wringing about Richard Sherman getting beaten by Marquise Goodwin yesterday. Noteworthy that #49ers D has been playing very little bump coverage, its strength. Working on zone and off coverage so far in camp.
— Matt Barrows (@mattbarrows) July 30, 2018
"During OTAs, you're not allowed to press and bump," Saleh explained. "Guys will press, but you can't actually get your hands on them. You get into training camp, and we do want to get up there and press. And guys get used to what they do in OTAs. They create habits. That's one of the negatives to the CBA ruling on OTAs.
"Kyle's offense is built and designed to keep corners from getting their hands on receivers. That's the whole objective there. Their motion, in and out, and they're always condensed in their splits. They're always creating stacks in bunches. They keep corners off so they can get their free release."
This time, it was Tuesday's interception that made headlines. In his second padded practice since suffering a ruptured Achilles last November while with the Seattle Seahawks, Sherman looked like Sherman.
People are quick to forget that the All-Pro cornerback was medically cleared just last week to fully participate in practices. Before that, he only took part in individual drills during a minicamp in June. Between Sherman's injury and that minicamp, he was an observer and did his best to play the role of an unofficial assistant coach for the young defensive backs. It's just going to take some time for him to return to form.
"He's going to come back," Saleh said. "When we first signed him, I mentioned to people if there's anyone that can come back in the entire league, it's Richard Sherman. He's made of the right stuff, his mindset, the way he's driven. All those little social media plugs, all they do is fuel his fire. He's on a mission. People who say he can't do something, he's out to prove that he can.
"So we're excited to have Sherm. He's an unbelievable teammate. There's no doubt in my mind that he's going to get back to him."