It’s been a long NFL season, but the postseason is finally here. Now, you probably didn’t get to study the entire playoff field in-depth during the regular season. No worries. We’ve put together guides that will help you become an instant expert on all 12 teams making up the field.
These guides will tell you how each team uses its personnel on both sides of the ball, what its strategic tendencies are and how efficient the team is based on several advanced metrics.
In this guide, we’ll be looking at the San Francisco 49ers, who won the NFC West and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs with a 13-3 record. Let’s get to know them…
49ERS OFFENSE
The midseason injury to Kyle Juszychyk may have had an effect on this, but we’ve seen a slight shift in Kyle Shanahan’s personnel usage. In 2018, the 49ers based out of 21 personnel, but they’re playing with three receivers on the field more often in 2019. They are certainly deeper at receiver this year after drafting Deebo Samuel and trading for Emmanuel Sanders, so the change makes sense. With that said, the key to this offense is still two non-receivers in George Kittle and Jusychyk.
The Shanahans are known for their rushing attack, but it’s been Kyle’s exquisitely-choreographed passing game that has done most of the heavy lifting this season. Unsurprisingly, the 49ers are using a lot of play-action and using those play fakes to take shots downfield. No team has done a better job of scheming up open receivers deep. Shanahan has also leaned heavily on RPOs and packaged plays to keep defenses honest. If a team is going to load up the box to stop the run, Jimmy Garoppolo has the option to throw a quick slant behind an overly aggressive linebacker.
Shanahan is still calling his fair share of outside zone — a family tradition — but the 49ers’ run game has been more diverse this season. We’ve seen more counter and trap schems that play off Shanahan’s more traditional runs. San Francisco rotates its backs but their runners (Tevin Coleman, Raheem Mostert and Matt Breida) all have one thing in common: Speed. If any of these guys get to the edge, it’s usually six. But defenses can’t overpursue or they’ll leave open cutback lanes. That’s the beauty of the Shanahan system.
49ERS DEFENSE
The 49ers will rotate their pass rushers but the back seven typically stays the same through a game. San Francisco will match personnel for the most part. If an offense comes out with only two receivers, the 49ers will match with base defense. If an extra receiver is out on the field, they’ll be in nickel.
Like all Pete Carroll disciples, Robert Saleh plays a lot of zone coverages. He does, however, play more two-high coverages than you’d typically see from those coaches. But, for the most part, the 49ers are a Cover 3/Cover 1 team that relies on a stellar four-man rush to get homes before the offense can find a hole in the zone or beat their man coverage. San Francisco typically saves its blitzes for third down, when Saleh can get more exotic with his calls.
Outside of a brief rough patch when injuries took their toll on the depth chart, the 49ers pass defense has been stellar. And their season is made more impressive by the fact that they haven’t been overly reliant on turnovers, as top defenses typically are.
The secondary is led by Richard Sherman, who is back to his old ways shutting down the left side of the field. The other members of the secondary have been solid. as well. Fred Warner is the best linebacker you’ve never heard of and has a good argument for being the best linebacker, period.
The crown jewel is the pass rush, though. The 49ers front office has poured a ton of resources into the defensive line, and it’s paying off. There is a lot of first-round talent at Saleh’s disposal, including rookie Nick Bosa, who has already established himself as the team’s most consistent pass rusher.
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