Is it time for a defensive rebuild?

Enough talent is there. Need a better coordinator.

Originally posted by Phoenix49ers:
Talk about being overly dramatic. Who thought that this team had the foundation for a dominant defense in 2010? Anyone? Bueller?

What really tied that defense together was acquiring a dominant edge rusher and adding better defensive playcalling. They didn't need to start from scratch, just add at the right positions.

I think with Buckner, Foster, Warner, Day, Thomas, Colbert, Tartt...etc, there is a nice collection of young talent but you need the outside pass rush element if you want to run what is largely a vanilla defensive scheme and have people be successful. More depth at CB and S overall would be welcome.

Pretty much anyone who watched the 49ers in 2010 knew that they had tons of talent on defense. The problem was coaching and a crappy offense, offense that relied on the run and captain check down. It might not totally show up in the stats, but that was definitely true. Mike Singletary was fired before the season ended and Tomsula took over as HC for a game. The bum was drinking wine on the sideline. What else do you need to know?

20th in total defens
22nd against the pass
14th against the run

We arent as bad as some of you think. Just need better coaching and a edge rusher.

Originally posted by Oakland-Niner:

Originally posted by Phoenix49ers:

Talk about being overly dramatic. Who thought that this team had the foundation for a dominant defense in 2010? Anyone? Bueller?

What really tied that defense together was acquiring a dominant edge rusher and adding better defensive playcalling. They didn't need to start from scratch, just add at the right positions.

I think with Buckner, Foster, Warner, Day, Thomas, Colbert, Tartt...etc, there is a nice collection of young talent but you need the outside pass rush element if you want to run what is largely a vanilla defensive scheme and have people be successful. More depth at CB and S overall would be welcome.

Pretty much anyone who watched the 49ers in 2010 knew that they had tons of talent on defense. The problem was coaching and a crappy offense, offense that relied on the run and captain check down. It might not totally show up in the stats, but that was definitely true. Mike Singletary was fired before the season ended and Tomsula took over as HC for a game. The bum was drinking wine on the sideline. What else do you need to know?

I dont know if I'd go as far to say we knew they had tons of talent. Willis and Smith were the only 2 proven commodities. Ray Mac, Brooks and Goldson hadn't made the jump yet, and from my recollection there were still plenty of questions around the latter 2. Bowman was a complete unknown. There were gaping holes at ER (and pass rush in general) and NT and holes in the secondary and LB (outside of Willis)

Originally posted by miked1978:

20th in total defens
22nd against the pass
14th against the run

We arent as bad as some of you think. Just need better coaching and a edge rusher.

Must admit this is surprising.

I think the huge leads at half time cause the other guys to go in clock burning mode.

Pretty sure our stats at the half would be 32nd 31st 32nd.

Originally posted by Phoenix49ers:

Talk about being overly dramatic. Who thought that this team had the foundation for a dominant defense in 2010? Anyone? Bueller?


What really tied that defense together was acquiring a dominant edge rusher and adding better defensive playcalling. They didn't need to start from scratch, just add at the right positions.


I think with Buckner, Foster, Warner, Day, Thomas, Colbert, Tartt...etc, there is a nice collection of young talent but you need the outside pass rush element if you want to run what is largely a vanilla defensive scheme and have people be successful. More depth at CB and S overall would be welcome.

Completely agree. This defense is bad mostly due to one reason and that's a clear-cut lack of pass rushing talent on the edges. Ideally you want two premier pass rushers on the ends with a quick slasher and a power force to both draw double teams. We have the nickel interior. We have nothing on the edge except Marsh, although he's not been as bad as some think. He's a good rotational piece who is playing more than he should due to no one being better than him.

We could certainly upgrade the secondary, but always.. ALWAYS the trenches come first in my opinion. That's where it all starts. The longer a quarterback has, the more chances for you to get burned, the more time for the refs to see contact and throw a flag, the more time per play players spend running around getting gassed, which in combination with that, the more time and opportunity for players to get injured.

I wouldn't be surprised if that's at least part of why our defensive players get hurt, getting worn down, or trying to do too much or more time spent getting hit each play and each drive. Time of possession won't tell you precisely what that time is since it's tied to the game clock but I wouldn't be surprised if this was tracked, that the Niners take longer to stop plays than almost anyone else.

Aren't we like in year 6 of a rebuild?

Originally posted by miked1978:

20th in total defens
22nd against the pass
14th against the run

We arent as bad as some of you think. Just need better coaching and a edge rusher.

We can't tackle to save our lifes. This defense is putrid

Theres plenty of talent on this defense, this team needs an edge rusher and a scheme that's going to allow everyone to showcase their talent. Cmon we have Solly whos a natural 3T and a dominant run stopper as our Edge. Everyone knows he's going to get his best pass rush when he plays inside, the coaches see it but think taking him off the field is better for our team. The scheme is the issue, not the players.

Beyond the well documented lack of a pass rush, the most alarming thing to me is absolutely horrible tackling. It was supposedly a point of interest during last week's practice...yet, we saw the same awful tackling in LA. We have to be among the worst, if not the worst tackling teams in the league. Opponents continue to turn short gains into long ones because we can't wrap up...our defense stays on the field and eventually wilts. If Saleh can't fix this, he deserves to be fired...it's among the most basic things in football at any level. Hit your opponent hard and then wrap them up.

How about start stock pilling talented players?
2017- Jamal Adams
2018- Derwin James

Could have been two huge pieces to the defense, instead of Solly and McGlinch. 💯

Originally posted by Phoenix49ers:

Originally posted by DonnieDarko:

yup. defense is mainly about acquiring/drafting talent and staying healthy. we still need another offseason of new talent, we just aren't there yet

Not just talent, talent at key positions. A consistent outside pass rush would open up more opportunities for guys like Buckner inside, would allow for more creative utilization of blitzes...etc, help the secondary in not having to hold up in coverage as long.


That is why I don't think the situation is really that dire once you can bring in a high quality edge rusher or two.


The coaching issues...that is a whole other matter. If the defense doesn't show some real improvement then I don't know that Saleh makes it to a third season.

I wholeheartedly agree to all the above , but would favor 2 ERs or a top flite ER and a good DE.

Originally posted by BigBug415:

How about start stock pilling talented players?
2017- Jamal Adams
2018- Derwin James

Could have been two huge pieces to the defense, instead of Solly and McGlinch. 💯

McGlinchey is a huge piece of the offense.

Originally posted by miked1978:

20th in total defens
22nd against the pass
14th against the run

We arent as bad as some of you think. Just need better coaching and a edge rusher.

And where are these going to come from?

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by miked1978:

20th in total defens
22nd against the pass
14th against the run

We arent as bad as some of you think. Just need better coaching and a edge rusher.

And where are these going to come from?

An offseason