Offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel now has the benefit of having his players practice against a San Francisco 49ers defense that appears to be nearing full strength. The unit is expected to be one of the better defenses in the NFL. Despite missing several key pieces, such as pass rushers Nick Bosa and Dee Ford, for most of last season, the Niners' defense still ranked fifth in total yards allowed last season, fourth against the pass, and seventh against the run.
Many of those missing pieces, like Bosa and Ford, are returning and should result in a much-improved defense.
McDaniel's offensive players haven't had to face Bosa most of the offseason. The team was easing the defensive end back from the ACL injury that cost him 14 games last season. Ford appeared in just one game last season before a back injury sidelined him. The Niners have had the veteran pass rusher on a conservative rep count, but he looks back to his pre-injury form.
Bosa returned to team drills this week, and on his first pass-rushing snap on Wednesday, recorded a would-be sack.
What's it like facing both Bosa and Ford again in practice?
"Yeah, it's a very conflicting feeling because you're excited, and it's also making your life miserable," McDaniel said. "So, you have to keep the common goal in mind where, 'Hey, good defense is great for us,' but as coaches, you're trying in the practice to do well.
"But really, when you sit back in the meeting room, and you're watching the players play, if it's a really good player beating you, at least you feel better about that. You definitely could feel it in the last couple of days, and I'm very excited for our team because of that."
There is a lot of talent on defense again. Last season, the unit never recovered from the losses of its two top pass rushers. Maybe 2021 will be different. Maybe the pass rush can return to its 2019 form that frustrated opposing offensive coordinators and quarterbacks, and lifted the team to a Super Bowl appearance.
"I mean, having Dee and Arden [Key] and Bosa and Samson [Ebukam], having all those guys available, we can do a lot of things," defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans said. "All those guys are very talented, and you have unlimited options with what you can do with all those guys. All of them are really great talents. All of them are awesome at rushing the passer. And we just want to utilize guys to their best ability. We want to be able to utilize them, utilize their strengths, to help us win games."
And the benefit isn't one-sided. The defense has gotten to face rookie quarterback Trey Lance during practices. That will better prepare it to face similarly athletic opposing quarterbacks. For example, Kyle Murray of the Arizona Cardinals has been tough to defend twice a season.
Ryans recalled trying to prepare for dynamic New Orleans Saints quarterback Taysom Hill potentially entering games.
"You know you're getting zone read. You know the quarterback run," Ryans explained. "All the plays you can get, you have to prepare for it. So, it's tough preparing for it when you haven't seen it all year. And I think that's the value that we have now of going against Trey and the problems our offense presents us with the quarterback run stuff. It's been really great work defensively."
Added Ryans: "I just love the mentality of our defense. Guys are swarming to the ball. They're doing everything we're asking them to do. They're playing fast, they're playing aggressive, and they're playing for each other. They're communicating really well. So, I couldn't ask for our defense to be in a better space than they're in now."
