Originally posted by SofaKing:
Originally posted by thl408:
Originally posted by SofaKing:
My ideal rotations:
Base 3-4
RDE -- Justin Smith / Tank Carradine
NT -- Glenn Dorsey / Ian Williams
LDE -- Quinton Dial(Surprise!) / Arik Armstead
ROLB -- Aldon Smith
ILB -- NaVorro Bowman
ILB -- Michael Wilhoite
LOLB -- Ahmad Brooks
Nickel Defense
RDE -- Aldon Smith
DT -- Justin Smith/Tank Carradine
DT -- Darnell Dockett/Arik Armstead
LDE -- Aaron Lynch
LB -- NaVorro Bowman
LB -- Michael Wilhoite (Sub-in Jaquiski Tartt when we go Dime defense)
Comments: Quinton Dial is a surprise starter for me. He looked very stout against the run, which is something I want from that spot. Armstead is the future and will rotate in at times, but right now we start the 3rd year vet. Cowboy continues to get the majority of snaps, but Carradine will rotate in to keep him fresh.
I have Dockett strictly as an interior pass-rusher in Nickel defense. I know we paid him quite a bit of money to come here and is likely to win a starting position, but I'm a little worried about his run defense. He has consistently graded out very negatively against the run per PFF. Not sure if that's due to him, or the scheme in AZ. Possibly both, but I would prefer him as an interior pass-rusher. Just let him shoot the gaps and attack the QB. We play more Nickel than Base anyways. He's still practically a "starter".
I'm hoping we experiment with a little more Dime packages this year. This is where Jaquiski Tartt will factor in, especially against Seattle. I think he was picked with them in mind specifically to counter their addition of Jimmy Graham. Seattle loves their 11 personnel, and it gets even more dangerous with Graham, who is basically a giant WR. We need a hybrid LB/S like Tartt to cover Graham, but also be a factor against the run. Seattle loves to spread defenses thin and pound the rock with Lynch from 11 personnel. I expect to see plenty of Dime defense against Seattle to counter this.
That's exactly what SEA likes to do. In the past, the 49ers have stayed in their base defense to counter SEA's 11 grouping out of fear of the run (in non obvious passing downs). The 49ers lived with the risk of having a safety in coverage on one of the WRs. I'm still hesitant about putting Tartt in as LB to counter SEA though. He might be able to cover Graham better than Bow/Wilhoite, but I doubt he is a better run defender in the box than Wilhoite. The argument to this, is that Graham is a weak run blocker so perhaps it's okay to have a weaker box run defender in the lineup (Tartt).
Sofa, I'm taking your rotation and tweaking it a little because I see it very similar to you. I don't think Dial starting will be a surprise. I think Dockett starting would be the surprise because Dial is a better run defender, and to save Dockett for pass rushing downs. I have TJE beating out Armstead, at least to start the season. Of course, these are all pre pre-season predictions.
Base 3-4
RDE -- Justin Smith / Tank Carradine
NT -- Glenn Dorsey / Ian Williams
LDE -- Quinton Dial/ TJE
ROLB -- Aldon Smith
ILB -- NaVorro Bowman
ILB -- Michael Wilhoite
LOLB -- Ahmad Brooks
Nickel Defense
RDE -- Aldon Smith
DT -- Justin Smith/Tank Carradine
DT -- Darnell Dockett/TJE
LDE -- Aaron Lynch
LB -- NaVorro Bowman
LB -- Michael Wilhoite
Looks solid, thl 
Agree on Dial. He will open the year as a starter, Dockett will come in on passing downs. Would not be surprised to see TJE get in the rotation over Armstead. He's been solid and has the technique down. We have great depth on the d-line, so there is no pressure to rush Armstead a long. But I'd love to see him on the field sooner rather than later.
You make a good point with the matchup against Seattle. We don't want to go too small in the box where it prevents us from from stopping Lynch and their ground game. Graham is going to be a key player, but first order of business is to contain Lynch. I'm curious to see what groupings Seattle throws at us, and how we defend it. They could go 3 WR and Graham, OR 2 WR, Graham, and an in-line TE.
You mentioned we used to stick with Base defense in fear of their ground game. I could see us now going to Nickel, with Tartt as the slot CB in place of Ward. That could be what Baalke was referring to when he said Tartt allows us to do certain things that couldn't be done with Ward, and vice versa. One of them plays the slot depending on the matchup.
We'll see how it all plays out, but I'm really excited about the versatility we have this year. I think we can matchup with anybody.
Best posts of the day! Well done guys. Dial is a BADASS. He is going to have a monster year thanks to all those snaps he got at NT last year at 6'6". Learning that leverage (now automatic) and going back to his natural position of LDE? He's going to dominant. Don't be surprised if Brooks/Lynch's sack totals go up this year. Dial is a VERY hard worker and very driven.
The good thing about the DIME packages is that those are typically passing downs used to counter multiple WR sets. And, at least from the highlight, the way Tartt tracks, squares and blows players up, I'm not too worried about his ability to ability to tackle a RB on a delayed draw or screen pass. It's a great point though. Will he be able to pay off blocks better than Wilhoite?
That base defense you have thl...with Justin...is stout! If Dorsey is back to form, that is one hell of a run-stuffing unit. The front 4 of the nickel isn't even fair. 4 proven pass rushes alone plus you still have Carradine (excellent inside rusher) and Harold...and Brooks.
Playing Seattle, if you get Armstead in there as well, Wilson won't be able to see over all those tall trees running at him (AA, Dial, Dockett, Lynch, Tank, etc.). The shortest guy we have is our two NT's at 6'1." Screw it...just put in the 6'8" 380 pound Trenton Brown at NT!! Doooo it!
