Pass Rush

same thoughts here. We have some beasts on the D Line. Suh who? Suh-mi-th...THATS WHO.

Our pass rush has been a pleasant surprise for sure. Justin Smith deserves to be All Pro but he won't because he is a 3-4 end unless he gets 13+ sacks.

Before coming into the game, I felt that Ray Mac and Justin Smith was better than any of their best 2 combo. Now, Aldon Smith and Ice proved they can hang in that realm also.

We don't just have the best front 7, we may possibly have the best front 4 in the NFL.

Detroit i believe only gave up only 2 sacks coming into this game.

We sacked him 5 and one was a safety

/Thread

Agree with the OP wholeheartedly. Justin Smith is just a beast. And Aldon Smith? My god... what a pass rusher. Trent and Jim hit on this kid. What a pick.

The Lions had 6 sacks TOTAL coming in...we have 5 in one game. And the key was that these were not "coverage sacks" but KEY sacks that turned the ball over to our offense (3rd downs), confused and beat up Stafford (another crushed QB) and put points on the board (safety).

The best part is that we are JUST getting started with Fangio. We're still playing pretty vanilla on many levels (Brooks still playing straight up, Willis in coverage a lot, Spencer is not starting yet, etc.).

If Fangio continues to open up HIS playbook, this could be a very exotic defensive team by the end of the year.

beasting!!!!!!

So much better than last years, combined with our backers it makes our secondary look better.

Originally posted by NCommand:
The Lions had 6 sacks TOTAL coming in...we have 5 in one game. And the key was that these were not "coverage sacks" but KEY sacks that turned the ball over to our offense (3rd downs), confused and beat up Stafford (another crushed QB) and put points on the board (safety).

The best part is that we are JUST getting started with Fangio. We're still playing pretty vanilla on many levels (Brooks still playing straight up, Willis in coverage a lot, Spencer is not starting yet, etc.).

If Fangio continues to open up HIS playbook, this could be a very exotic defensive team by the end of the year.

When we're in nickel, and have a four man front/rush, its Aldon, Justin, RayMac and Brooks. The Smith's run a twist once in awhile on their side, and so do RayMac and Brooks. All four of those guys got at least a sack this past game, plus a ton of pressure on the QB on almost every play.

Add the very best, and fastest two MLBs, and you can see why teams don't get much in the run game.

Then the much improved defensive backfield completes the package. I thought Whitner quietly had a great game yesterday. A couple of very timely tackles.

And what can you say about Aldon Smith--except that he's playing great, and that it doesn't look like the OLB position is going to be "too big" for him. Same for Culliver. What a draft!

You're absolutely right (as you usually are): we're JUST GETTIN STARTED with Fangio!!

I was reading that the 49ers only blitzed 5+ rushers maybe once or twice against the Lions.

That's been a common theme for us this year. We're not blitzing heavy, and that's awesome. Kudos to Justin Smith, Ray McDonald, Isaac Sopoaga, and whoever the linebacker is at the moment for providing so much pressure this year.

Because we only need to rush 4, that's an extra person we can drop back into coverage. So awesome.

Originally posted by blizzuntz:
beasting!!!!!!

this

I think my overall impression thus far is this....

This team has had pretty darn good talent now for several years... (with all due respect to rookie Aldon Smith, who looks terrific)

It just took real detail-oriented coaches and good scheming to bring out that talent. Nearly all the players are saying that the difference between this year's team and one's of years past is the fact that they are finally getting good coaching. What is even more amazing is that with the lockout, Harbaugh and Co. have only been working with this team for 7 weeks!!

I'm excited to see what this coaching staff can do with the offense after an entire off-season, training camp, etc. I think the best is yet to come guys....

Good for Harbaugh, good for the players, and good for us.

Cheers!

Our defense ran out of bubble gum for reals this time.

Originally posted by verb1der:
Our defense ran out of bubble gum for reals this time.

haha nice !