Today during the press conference, all the 49ers said something similar about the Arizona Cardinals’ defense. They all mentioned two things: how Arizona swarms to the ball and how much they’re shifting/rotating their looks. Of course, you have to take everything players say to the media with a hypertension-inducing-sized grain of salt. It’s a game within the game. Still, I went ahead and read up on what DC Nick Rallis has been doing with the Cardinals.
The first article linked gave a nice, clear breakdown
on how they’ve been deploying Cover 6. The scheme’s sheer complexity can work against it, especially considering that Arizona’s starting CBs are hurt right now. I’m curious to see how Kyle Shanahan and Brock Purdy will try to exploit that.
The Cardinals Are Suddenly Leaning on the NFL’s Most Confusing Defense
“Cover 6 is a combination of Cover 2 on one side of the field with the other half playing Cover 4. It operates with two high safeties and has one boundary corner rolling deep to ultimately create three deep zones while the opposite corner stays in the flat…Rallis isn’t inherently aggressive in nature. The Cardinals ranked near the middle of the table in blitz percentage last season while Week 1 saw him send pressure on just 20% of plays, which ranked second to last on Sunday.
By no means is he Brian Flores, but he opts for confusion post-snap, and that’s where the heavy Cover 6 comes into play….Defenders can show vastly different alignments before the play and by splitting the field into two entirely different looks post-snap, progressions are much harder to successfully move through.
The data backs that up, too. According to Sumer Sports, Cover 6 had the highest interception rate of any coverage last season….Perhaps the biggest issue lies within its strengths. It’s tough for an offense to diagnose Cover 6, but it’s equally tough on the defenders running it. The amount of football IQ, communication and recognition it takes to successfully implement Cover 6 is high.
One of the biggest complaints around Rallis’ defensive units is the amount of missed assignments, where communication breaks down and guys are left open…From an x’s and o’s standpoint, Cover 6 has weaknesses in the flats and the “hole” between the boundary corner and safety. Deep ball success isn’t often against Cover 6, though running a seam/streak and post pattern attacking the Cover 2 side can create problems as well.”
49ers Week 2 Trench Grades: Unexpected optimism (paywall)
“This was a big day for Nick Bosa almost getting home. Also a big day for Osa-Keion White stunts. That’s going to be a big theme going forward, and those stunt pairings will be interesting to track….I’m increasingly liking what I’m seeing from Gracen Halton. Even in the run game, when he’s one-on-one and initially gets displaced, he’s often able to anchor and use an immense amount of torque to shed blockers. His low center of gravity is a clear benefit there. He needs to work on how to run stunts as the pick player, but he’s got speed to get through as a looper.”
Raheem Morris, Klay Kubiak, Brock Purdy share updates ahead of 49ers-Cardinals
“In general, has [Gracen Halton] surprised you? Watching the tape at Oklahoma, I think a lot of people didn’t realize he played as well against the run.
“I think I said this before, but his movement was not the surprise. He had great movement and things like that in Oklahoma. His natural ability to move around and kind of stunt and do some things like that. We thought we would get like this guy that can really help out in the pass rush. We knew that right away. But, when he got here, really shocked us with his ability to use his hands and played well in the run game and be able to be stout and do some real cool things there. I forget when we kind of got that revelation. I think it was sometime in camp, we put the pads on for sure, but his ability to go out there and play the run for us is really good as well. We’re excited about that with him going forward.”
NFL fines 49ers’ Kyle Juszczyk for imitating ‘chugging a beer’
“Niners coach Kyle Shanahan informed Juszczyk of the fine during practice Wednesday afternoon. At the time, Juszczyk said he thought perhaps it was a prank.
“I thought maybe he was just messing with me, but it’s real,” Juszczyk said. “My hearing is on Tuesday and hopefully something changes.”
Fred Warner opens up about the 49ers’ run defense struggles
“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.”
49ers star Nick Bosa lands on injury report with calf issue before Week 3 game
“Bosa did not practice Wednesday, but it was a scheduled rest day and not injury related. This one is different.
Bosa sustained a torn ACL in the 49ers’ third game last season, and he was back in time for the regular-season opener two weeks ago in Australia. He has been managing his knee condition since the opening of training camp, and now he is dealing with an unspecified calf injury, too.”
Who gets the best locker in the San Francisco 49ers’ locker room? It’s complicated (paywall)
“The north wall might be the worst place to be. It’s certainly the loudest. That’s because there’s a regulation-height basketball hoop (the room has 20-foot ceilings) directly across from those lockers with a 3-point contest — with multiple balls in use — going on at all times.
Conduct an interview at that end of the locker room and you risk having your recording device knocked from your hand or not being able to decipher key words because they coincided with a ball clanking against the rim or a shout of joy/despair over a made/missed shot…..Though the area around it might not be a desirable neighborhood for a locker, the hoop has some gravity. Players tend to stop by for a shot — or two, or 75 — while strolling by on the way to the showers, which are in the northwest corner.
The locker room lost one of its best shooters when wide receiver Jauan Jennings left for the Minnesota Vikings in free agency this offseason. Greenlaw is also known for his 3-point ability, while the offensive linemen — including guard Dominick Puni, whose locker is directly across from the hoop — are better than one might expect.”
