Armstead Beginning to Show Pass-Rushing Skills

There's a lot wrong with the 49ers right now, and things may get much worse before they get better.At 1-2, and coming off two consecutive blowout losses, the Niners' offense is out of sync and the defense – particularly in pass coverage – is regularly giving up huge chunks of yardage while allowing opposing receivers to run free.Now, the 49ers have a giant hurdle coming up this Sunday afternoon at Levi's Stadium against the 3-0 Packers of quarterback Aaron Rodgers – an even better quarterback than Carson Palmer or Ben Roethlisberger, who both shredded San Francisco coverage schemes.But in the midst of all the negative, there is at least one positive: No. 1 draft pick Arik Armstead appears to be improving at a rapid pace, and his emergence on the defensive line could give a big boost to the pass rush and help the shell-shocked secondary.Armstead, the 3-4 defensive end from Oregon, is getting more playing time each week. In three games, he played 12 snaps against the Vikings in Game 1, 14 the next week against the Steelers and 18 in the loss to the Cardinals in Week 3.He collected the first sack of his NFL career vs. Arizona, taking down Palmer, while also notching...