Originally posted by elguapo:
Originally posted by NYniner85:
Originally posted by thl408:
I am shocked that the 49ers played the most Quarters in 2019. I knew they played it more than they ever had under Saleh (compared to 2017/18), but most in the league? I trust Sharp's stats. Should have called Cover4 on 3rd & 15.
IMO the primary job for a safety, in a defense that is considered 'bend don't break' (Saleh's defense), is to prevent explosive plays. A 10 yard run can't become a 20 yard run. A 20 yard pass can't become a house call. That is the low bar and what should be expected out of a competent safety in a 'bend don't break' defense. Outside of their occasional man coverage assignments, Ward and Tartt have done well in this area (limiting explosives). INTs can't be forced or it compromises the ability to limit explosives.
A DC can trust a safety enough to give him the green light to take chances, but I think Saleh asked his safeties to stick to their assignment and that is one reason for the low INTs from Ward/Tartt. The other reason is they simply aren't ballhawk type safeties. Guys like Minkah Fitzpatrick and Honeybadger seem to have that knack - they are special that way, and their coaches will put them in the intermediate areas to find turnovers. With the secondary having many one year deals, there's a lot of uncertainty how that group will look in 2022. It's a chance to find some ballhawks if that's what the coaches decide to focus on.
Thank you for clearing this up…people act like those ballhawk types grow on trees, which simply isn't true. Like you said coaches also put them in a position to make those INTS.
for the most part both our safeties have done what the DC has asked them to do.
IMO I just think our FO and coaching staff would rather put resources elsewhere then spend up for that top end safety…overall the defense hasn't suffered.
Yeah thank you for cleaning this up as well. They are definitely not ball hawk type safeties in the least. Far from it. I wish they had better instincts that resulted in bigger impact plays not just interceptions. But, like you said, they are not ball hawk type safeties. Nobody expects a top safety on every team or a ball hawk, however I think more people should expect better safety play instead of settling for solid play IF they are healthy. I want safeties that not only can do whats asked of them but a bit more. I guess that's just wishful thinking! I hope the coaches will focus on upgrading this position. A great defense should have at least 1 very good safety not even great, just very good. It also wouldn't hurt if just one of the safeties was not injury prone
We literally had a top 2 defense in 2019 with Ward/Tartt as our safeties....I would expect a couple more INTs if, like THL said, both our safeties were put in a position to create those opportunities.
If there's a position you don't really need all-pro talent at it's safety. SF has put resources elsewhere and for the most part we've had a top end defense for a couple yrs now.
We will see what they do next yr because I think Tartt is most likely gone...doesn't seem like they want to spend top dollar on S though. They just want guys that do their job....take good angles, great tacklers, can play man coverage, and stop the deep ball.
[ Edited by NYniner85 on Jun 9, 2021 at 5:55 AM ]
