Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Arik Armstead, 49ers excited to work toward Super Bowl return, improve as a defense
Aug 10, 2020 at 12:34 PM
•
San Francisco 49ers defensive lineman
Arik Armstead and his teammates were eager to get back to work after an unusual offseason filled with virtual meetings and training on their own. The goal has remained the same since February: Return to the Super Bowl and, this time, emerge as champions.
"We all have that engrained in our brain, and it's all motivating us and pushing us to get back there," Armstead told reporters on Monday via a video conference call. "I think we had such an amazing year last year, and we want to continue to get better and move forward. So, I know we're all excited to get back to work and try to get back to a Super Bowl and win this time."
Armstead confirmed that he would continue to play along the edge in base formations and then move inside to rush the passer in nickel situations. At least, that is the plan right now. He and his teammates, however, want to build on last year's impressive defensive performance. They want to be even better this season.
"One thing we talked about: We were tops in a lot of categories except run defense — we were middle of the pack," Armstead explained. "Definitely looking to get better in that aspect."
The 49ers defense ranked No. 1 in pass defense and No. 2 overall, but No. 17 against the run.
More San Francisco 49ers News
49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk says he has "a lot of room to improve" after NFL debut
By Kirk Larrabee
Sep 20, 2020
Rookie wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk made his NFL debut for the San Francisco 49ers against the New York Jets on Sunday and came away with an experience that left him with some positives and some negatives.
Aiyuk notched two catches for 21 yards in Sunday's 31-13 win over the Jets after missing the season opener against the Arizona Cardinals while recovering from a hamstring injury he suffered in training camp. His first catch was a bit of an odd one, as he came away with the ball in his hands after running into wide receiver Kendrick Bourne:
Here is Brandon Aiyuk's first career NFL catch
The 49ers' New Path to the Super Bowl
By Brian Renick
10 hrs ago
Alright, now the sky does feel like it's falling a bit. After the final whistle blew last week against the Jets, the 49ers hobbled to the locker room, heads spinning from the sheer volume of injuries that occurred to key players. Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo went down with an ankle injury, superstar edge rusher Nick Bosa was lost for the season with a torn ACL, two plays later defensive line cog Solomon Thomas was also lost for the season with a torn ACL, running backs Raheem Mostert and Tevin Coleman both left with knee sprains, defensive lineman D.J. Jones suffered an ankle injury, and linebacker Dre Greenlaw suffered a deep thigh bruise. Add all of those to the list of players who were already sidelined: George Kittle, Richard Sherman, Dee Ford, Deebo Samuel, Weston Richburg, Jason
49ers eager to get back to work after loss to Cardinals, says Mike McGlinchey
By David Bonilla
Sep 16, 2020
The San Francisco 49ers entered the offseason motivated by February's Super Bowl defeat. Maybe that wasn't enough because the team gained some extra motivation the hard way on Sunday after the Arizona Cardinals pulled off the upset 24-20 win at Levi's Stadium.
The loss forces San Francisco to play catchup with the rest of the division. It is the only NFC West squad that suffered a defeat during Week 1.
The 49ers are back to work this week and beginning preparations for their two-game road trip to the East Coast, where they will face the New York Jets and New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in back-to-back weekends.
The team's focus remains on the opponent
