Steve Wilks finds positives in 49ers’ uninspiring effort vs. Raiders

The San Francisco 49ers turned in an uninspiring effort during Sunday's preseason opener against the Las Vegas Raiders, losing 34-7. Speaking to reporters after Tuesday's practice, defensive coordinator Steve Wilks was critical of the overall performance.

"It definitely wasn't the standard, on Sunday, on how we play defense, regardless of who was in there," Wilks admitted. "As I told the unit today, ones, twos, threes, it doesn't matter, the standard is still the standard, and we didn't play to that on Sunday.

"We've got to do a much better job of stopping the run and just really owning our issues. We know the over routes, as we call them, the special, the boots, we had dirty eyes. We weren't patient enough with our key reads and those kind of things."

Positives from Sunday

That's not to say Wilks didn't find positives in the preseason outing. The coach offered unprompted praise for some of his players.

"But it was encouraging to see individuals do certain things," Wilks shared. "[CB] Ambry [Thomas], I thought, did a tremendous job in some of the things that we saw on tape, particularly also during the game, coming up strong on that fourth down play and then having a PBU (pass breakup).

"Same thing with [CB Samuel] Womack. I think, critical situation on the toss. We pride ourselves at the corner position, coming up, making tackles, and it was great to see those guys doing that.

"Other young rookies that flashed, in my opinion, was [LB] Jalen Graham. He showed up. And then also, you know, one of my favorites with the safety position, [Tayler Hawkins], he showed a lot of promise in the things that he was doing, as well as [S] Ji'Ayir Brown. Hawk has always been one of my favorites throughout training camp, and it was great to see him get in the game and show some flashes."

Why is Hawkins one of the coordinator's favorites?

"Just the mere fact of how he practiced, and I've seen the improvement from OTAs and minicamp to really translating it into a game-like situation, and that's what I was waiting on," Wilks responded. "So I thought he had some great plays. Most importantly, I thought he played within the defense. So I was excited to see that."

The nickel spot

On Monday, head coach Kyle Shanahan stated that the nickel cornerback job is an open competition, and Isaiah Oliver hasn't been guaranteed anything. Wilks reiterated that on Tuesday.

"I think everybody is still trying to fight for certain positions," Wilks said. "Oliver, along with certain others, I think just the consistency that we're looking for. And I think once you get in the game, it's about opportunities and taking advantage of those opportunities and making plays."

The 49ers are keeping their options open regarding the nickel job.

"It's just really a rolodex of players, to be quite honest with you," Wilks said. "And we did some things today where we put [D'Shawn] Jamison inside. We moved [Deommodore Lenoir] back inside a little bit, certain reps. AJ. [Parker] has been doing a great job inside at nickel as well.

"So we just really continue to try to find the mix. We love the competition, and [we're] trying to make sure guys continue to get better."

Nick Bosa's absence

Nick Bosa's holdout continues as the reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year awaits a new contract. What has it been like coaching the defense without its best defensive player?

"Not really a lot of challenges," Wilks admitted. "It was great for me ... to go through the process of really calling the game with these guys, really trying to get a feel for what we do up front. One of the things, probably had a little bit too much movement at times, and I'm chasing the lead draw.

"But our guys up front, man, when they come off the ball, they're dominant. And we've got to settle the guys in a little bit and let them go play. We're just going to allow those linebackers to be able to play off of them. So that's critical."