Two weeks into the season, the San Francisco 49ers’ rushing defense sits 17th in success rate and 12th in EPA per rush. Both the Rams and Dolphins have stretches where they got whatever they wanted to on the ground.
Injuries have zapped the Niners’ depth. Part of the reason Los Angeles and Miami moved the ball was due to the players the 49ers put on the field.
Raheem Morris probably felt good about where the team was at with Sam Okuayinonu and Alfred Collins. Sam O is an underrated defender, while
Collins, paired with CJ West, looked to build on their rookie campaigns.
Collins was recovering from a torn labrum that required offseason surgery. It kept him out of the first block of training camp practices. Then, right before the season, a torn patellar tendon cost Collins his season. Okuayinonu broke his foot the day before.
Those injuries led to the 49ers needing to scramble. Khalid Kareem went from the Falcons’ practice squad to a defensive-line contributor. When your depth is depleted, the plan to use Romello Height goes out the window. Now, he’s an every-down player instead of a designated pass rusher.
All-Pro linebacker Fred Warner explained some of the early-season struggles against the run:
“I think the run game right now, you’ve got to remember, it’s a new system. New things, techniques, schemes are being put into place. It’s a new group, guys kind of meshing together trying to figure out where does everybody fit. I think the thing that has helped a ton is the style of play, but it’s something that will continue to get better as we go on.”
We’re a couple of weeks away from Mykel Williams being eligible to return from the PUP list. The domino effect of that is you don’t have to play Kareem, Ogbo Okoronkwo’s snaps become limited, and Keion White can be used exclusively inside — not to mention Height can play on obvious passing downs.
Warner continued:
“I’m not sitting here saying I’m complacent with it at all. Selfishly, I want us to be dominant in all areas, especially in the run game. But the No. 1 thing the offenses want to do is create explosives. They want to get the run game going to get guys biting up to ultimately take shots down the field. So everything got to be complementary. It’s something that we’re looking at and something we’re looking to get better in all areas.”
If you can limit big runs and find a way to get one stop per series, it all but shuts down the running game for that drive. The 49ers have done just that.
The Niners have allowed only three carries of 10+ yards through two games, tying for the second-fewest in the NFL. Their 11 stuffs rank 14th, but average is good enough when you consider how well they’ve defended the pass.
Players like Nick Bosa, Fred Warner, and Upton Stout have single-handedly ruined drives. It may not be a sustainable way to win against the run, but it’s worked so far, and the way that each of those three has won, there’s no evidence to suggest it will stop.
It won’t get any easier, as the loss of West and James Thompson Jr. means the Niners will lean on a couple of other players who were not on the roster heading into Week 1.
Naquan Jones and McKinnley Jackson’s conditioning will be tested. They’ll need to play, simply because there are no other bodies after Osa Odighizuwa and Gracen Halton. Morris’s five-man fronts in Week 2 consisted of all defensive linemen. Perhaps he goes back to the Week 1 version, where he used Jaden Dugger on the EDGE.
We know Raheem will adapt to his personnel. He’s shown that through two weeks. The best weapon on the 49ers’ defense is on the other side of the ball, with the offense scoring at an absurd clip and forcing opponents to keep pace.
