Photo by Derick E. Hingle of USA Today Sports
3 things the 49ers should take away from Stanford-Oregon
Videos are auto-populated by an affiliate. This site has no control over the videos that appear above.
Jim Harbaugh has been away from Stanford for almost 3 full seasons, yet his fingerprints are still all over the Cardinal football team. Watching a Cardinal game on any given Saturday is like watching the 49ers play in different uniforms. The plays, the personnel groups, the philosophy is the same. I bring this up as the 49ers prepare to take on the New Orleans Saints this Sunday because the game Stanford played on November 7 against Oregon should serve as a learning tool for how the 49ers should approach this game.
There are few teams that are more different in their offensive approach than Stanford and Oregon, one grinds it out on every snap with extra linemen and bruising running backs while the other tries to spread out the defense and play at light speed. One can draw those same similarities between the 49ers and Saints and just like the week leading up to that game on The Farm, very few experts give the 49ers a shot to win on Sunday.
With that as the backdrop, let's take a look at 3 things the 49ers should take away from how Stanford approached that game.
1) Dictate tempo - The 49ers need to keep the ball away from Drew Brees and the New Orleans offense as much as possible. Fortunately, their biggest offensive strength happens to be the biggest weakness of the Saints defense. The 49ers rushing offense comes into the game 4th in the NFL with an average of just under 148 yards per game, while the Saints are tied with Kansas City for the worst average yards per rush against at 5.0.
If the 49ers can get back to what they did over their 5 game winning streak when they ran the ball on 65% of their plays and move the sticks, their offense could become their best defense. All signs point to them being able to make this happen. Over their 5 game win streak, the 49ers were able to average over a half yard more per carry than the average given up by their opponent. If that holds true on Sunday, the 49ers will be able to average 5.5 yards per carry.
2) Keep up the pressure - Against the 49ers last season, Drew Brees put up his worst QBR total of his career at 26.2. A big reason for that lack of success was the pressure put on him throughout the day by a 49ers front 7 that sacked him 5 times an registered 18 total pressures on the day.
The 49ers defense appears poised to make Brees have a long day once again. Last week against a much more mobile quarterback in Cam Newton, the defense was able to put pressure on 47% of his drop backs.
Another performance like that could go a long way in slowing down the Saints high powered passing attack.
3) Play a full 60 minutes - As the 49ers found out firsthand during their playoff matchup with New Orleans after the 2011 season, no lead is safe against their quick strike offense. To defeat the Saints in the Superdome, San Francisco must do something that they have done only once all season and that is play at the top of their game for a full 60 minutes.
This is the type of game that the 49ers have proven in the past that they can win. If they can do the 3 things listed above an upset might just happen.
Jack Hammer is a writer for NinerChatter http://ninerchatter.blogspot.com
The opinions within this article are those of the writer and, while just as important, are not necessarily those of the site as a whole.
More San Francisco 49ers News
No Huddle Podcast: 49ers Take Down Giants 30-12 on TNF
(Episode 270) - Al Sacco and Brian Renick recap the 49ers' thorough performance in a win over the Giants on Thursday Night Football, including Brock Purdy running this offense like a pro, the play of George Kittle and Christian McCaffrey, why Brandon Aiyuk is so important to how the offense flows and the masterful job the coaches are doing of making adjustments.
The audio for the show is embedded above. Don't forget to subscribe!
You can listen to the latest "No Huddle Podcast" episode above, from our dedicated podcast page, on
49ers mailbag: Is Christian McCaffrey being overused? Should Spencer Burford be benched? Is Steve Wilkes who the defense needs? When is Nick Bosa going to show up?
The San Francisco 49ers are 2-0 to start off the 2023 season. In 2021, the 49ers won their first two games but then lost their next four. A win Thursday night, in the home opener against the New York Giants, would be the 49ers' first 3-0 start since 2019. That season, the team started out 8-0 before going on to win the NFC West and cruise through the NFC playoffs on their way to a birth in Super Bowl LIV.
I can't seem to remember how that game turned out, though. It's like it's been blocked from my memory.
It doesn't matter, because we've moved on to the current season. And to celebrate the 2-0 start, we've opened up the mailbag to answer those questions burning a hole in your mind. So let's get to it.
Marc, what did ya think of CMC channelling
Should the 49ers play WR Brandon Aiyuk in Week 3?
By Rohan Chakravarthi
Sep 20
The San Francisco 49ers are getting prepared for their home opener on Thursday Night Football against the New York Giants, who will be without a number of key players, including star running back Saquon Barkley and left tackle Andrew Thomas.
Meanwhile, the 49ers are entering the game relatively healthy, save for one tough, game-time decision to make with WR Brandon Aiyuk, who is currently nursing a shoulder injury that he sustained during his first catch last week.
Aiyuk has been listed as limited on both Monday and Tuesday, earning him a questionable designation heading into the Thursday Night matchup, and a resolution likely comes only 90 minutes before game time.
Should the 49ers play Aiyuk in Week 3, given the
Several former 49ers named among 173 nominees for Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2024
The Pro Football Hall of Fame named the 173 nominees for its Class of 2024. Several former San Francisco 49ers players are on the list, as Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports Bay Area pointed out.
Pro Football Hall of Fame nominees include ex-49ers Jeff Garcia, Ricky Watters, Charlie Garner, Brian Westbrook, Anquan Boldin, Justin Smith, Dana Stubblefield, Ted Washington, NaVorro Bowman, Takeo Spikes, Patrick Willis, Lee Woodall, Julian Peterson, Merton Hanks, Tim McDonald.— Matt Maiocco (@MaioccoNBCS) September 19,