The old saying goes, "Defense Wins Championships." I first learned the true importance of defense not from football, but from basketball. That happened in 1955 and 1956 when my Uncle Al ("Big Frenchy"), a sports nut, took me to every one of Bill Russell's home games at USF. Bill just didn't guard the opposing center, he was so quick he would terrorize opposing forwards as well. In fact, the NCAA had seen this coming and had widened the lanes to try to stop it in advance, to no avail. Over that two-year period, Bill averaged 20 points and 20 rebounds per game, and USF won every game but one and back-to-back NCAA titles.
It really left an impression upon me that a supposedly honest organization in charge of supervising school championships would resort to changing the rules of the game in order to stop a defense. Bill Russell had proven their fear was correct. His defense stopped the offense -- period.
At this time, the defense didn't seem anywhere near as important in football. Uncle Al, and my Italian uncles, Bruno and Mondo, took me to 49ers games starting in 1947, just before I turned five. My initial introduction to football was influenced by the fabulous offenses that were regular features of the 49ers. For instance, in 1955, we had Tittle, McElhenny, Perry, (all in the Hall of Fame) and Joe Arenas in the backfield, and the great receiver Billy Wilson. The offensive line featured two Hall of Fame legends at the tackles, Leo Nomellini, and Bob St. Clair.
It was one little guy on defense, however, who woke me up to its importance. Leo "The Lion" Nomellini, the 10X Pro Bowler and Hall of Fame offensive/defensive tackle led the defense, but it was 6' 180 lb linebacker Hardy Brown who was easily the hardest hitter EVER to play for the 49ers, a group that includes my favorite, Ronnie Lott -- and by a long-shot.
Hardy was unfortunate enough to have seen his father murdered in front of him and his sister at age four. He grew up an angry young man in an orphanage and focused on football to release his rage. In one season, it was documented by the NFL that Hardy had scored 22 "knockouts," as in out cold. He did it with a vicious shoulder block under the chin, and the opponent was out (legal in those days). The Rams placed a $500 bounty on his head, and the 49ers banned him from practice to protect his teammates. They just rolled him out on Sundays. Hardy recalled with a smile that he had knocked out 75-80 players over his career.
Now back to DEFENSE. Some fans post on social media that the 49ers should go 15-1 with no problem. I decided to draw comparisons between the 2019 49ers and the best defensive team of all-time, including the 1985 Bears -- the 1984 SF 49ers. They finished the season 18-1, defeating the Bears 23-0 in the NFC Championship game, then Dan Marino's favored Dolphins in a ruthless Super Bowl smack-down, 38-16.
Their defensive coordinator at the time was George Seifert, who rotated his defensive line among names that will be very familiar to the Faithful: (1984 stats, time with 49ers, career stats with the team)
- Dwaine Board, 10 sacks, 1 FR. 6th of 9 yrs with 49ers. Career: 45 sacks, 10 FR.
- Michael Carter, 4 sacks. Rookie season of 9. *Hall-of-Fame* 1x All-Pro. Career: 22.5 sacks.
- Fred Dean, 5 sacks, 3 FR. *Hall-of-Fame* 2x All-Pro. 4x Pro Bowl. 49er Career: 2.5 years, 28 sacks.
- Gary "Big Hands" Johnson, 5 sacks, 3 FR. 4x Pro Bowl. 2x All-Pro. Career: 2 yrs/9 sacks/3 FR.
- Jeff Stover, 1.5 sacks. 7 years with 49ers. Career: 30 sacks.
- Jim Stuckey, 7 years with 49ers. Career: 7.5 sacks.
- Manu Tuiasosopo, 4 sacks. Career: 3 years, 7 sacks.
- Lawrence Pillers, 2 sacks, 1 FR. 5 years with 49ers. Career: 9 sacks, 2 FR.
A big, fast, and aggressive bunch.
LINEBACKERS: The 1984 team featured linebackers Keena Turner, Jack "Hacksaw" Reynolds, Riki Ellison, and Super Bowl #16 hero, Dan Bunz, as well as Todd Shell, Jim Fahnhorst, and Milt McColl.
Seven outstanding players rotated by the mad defensive genius of George Seifert. This is quite a bunch for the new linebacking unit of Alexander, Warner, and team to emulate.
SECONDARY? The 1984 secondary featured four defensive backs in the Pro Bowl, Ronnie Lott, Dwight Hicks, Eric Wright, and Carlton Williamson.
Richard Sherman has quite a task ahead of him, perhaps more as a mentor than as a performer. The 49ers secondary is capable, but to be great, it has to focus on the standards that Dwight Hicks and his Hot Licks set for it and they are the highest. The responsibility it now carries is huge. I hope the group treasures it.
The hardest thing to do when momentum is sudden and exciting is to avoid overconfidence, and this inevitably occurs with young players. If this team is truly bound for greatness, we will see its maturity start to reveal itself after the bye. Cleveland will provide a tough test for the defense, and will be a great preview to the showdown with the Rams the following week and how realistic these lofty predictions truly are.
PREDICTION:
49ers - 34
Browns - 24