The San Francisco 49ers improved their pass rush this offseason — at least on paper. Injuries have sidelined the two most prominent impact players added, edge rushers Dee Ford and Nick Bosa. When healthy, the defensive front should be significantly better than it has been in recent years.
An improved pass rush will be a benefit for the 49ers secondary, which won't have to keep up with receivers as long if opposing quarterbacks are under duress. Still, even with the added pressure, the defensive backs know they have to do their part. They can't just rely on the big men in the trenches.
"At the same time, as the secondary, we've got to look to execute at the end of the day," safety Jaquiski Tartt said Tuesday afternoon on KNBR. "They can bring all kinds of pressure on the QB, but if we don't execute, the ball's going to be thrown over our heads."
The 49ers had a record-breaking defense last season. And that isn't a good thing. San Francisco ranked last in the NFL last year when it comes to turnover differential. The defense set a new NFL record for forcing the fewest turnovers in a single season. They had just seven total, which was four fewer than the previous record. Included in that were two interceptions, also a new single-season record for the fewest.
"As a defense, that's our main goal. We don't want three-and-outs. We want turnovers," Tartt said on the "Tolbert, Krueger and Brooks" show. "That's one of the major things looking back to last year, that's something we always preached on, and in the game, it just didn't happen.
"It's not like we didn't want picks. We had opportunities where we dropped them. The ball just wasn't bouncing our way sometimes. At the end of the day, we've got to try to keep working hard and change that this year."
As for Tartt, he is grateful the 49ers believed in him enough to not try and upgrade the position. There was, after all, a lot of speculation that San Francisco might target a safety during the offseason. Not only did it not, but the team also didn't do much to upgrade the secondary at all outside of adding cornerback Jason Verrett. Instead, the 49ers focused on improving the pass rush.
"The past two years, I've been injured," Tartt said. "For them to still believe in me is a great thing. For the rest of the secondary, we're young, but at the same time, we can play ball, and that's what we plan on doing this year — showing everybody we can actually play."
You can listen to the entire interview with Tartt below.