The San Franscico 49ers have morphed into one of the most dominating defenses in the league, especially in the trenches. Over the last three weeks they have allowed zero second half points and have also allowed the second least amount of yards per play, 4.5, per teamrankings.
Joey Bosa, Fred Warner, Dre Greenlaw and Talanoa Hufanga are the heart of this defense. They have been playing like an absolute unit and they are all lead by second year defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans.
Ryans’ prides his defense in getting to the ball quickly. He was asked about tackling after last Sunday’s 13-0 win over the New Orleans Saints, here is what he had to say: “We want all eleven guys, as fast as they can, shooting their gun, it doesn’t matter if you miss a tackle, there should be two or three guys there to clean up. That’s just our mentality, a swarm mentality. tracking inside heel, being in proper leverage, and when you get there, there is no hesitating”.
The 49ers defense registered only one missed tackle against the Los Angeles Chargers per Pro Football Focus, and they had a similar performance in week 11 against the Arizona Cardinals.
Let’s dive into the film to diagnose the swarm mentality they have in all three levels of the defense!