Coach - Steve Wilks thread

Originally posted by LasVegasWally:
Agree.

Frustrating as hell when teams were 3rd and long and get what looked like an easy first down.

Hopefully Wilks is the missing piece to more success.

A function of not prioritizing the secondary enough sadly.

Originally posted by thl408:
https://www.yardbarker.com/nfl/articles/amp/one_way_that_the_49ers_defense_will_improve_under_dc_steve_wilks/s1_16712_38821606
One way that the 49ers defense will specifically see Wilks' element and even improve at is with blitzing. Last season with the Panthers, Wilks had his defense blitz on 33.5 percent of dropbacks, which was the sixth-highest rate in the league (h/t Ted Nguyen of The Athletic). In his last stint as a defensive coordinator with the Browns, Wilks had Cleveland's blitz rate at 38.2 percent, which was fifth-highest. Compare that to Ryans this past season where his blitz rate was 21.6 percent for No. 20 in the league, and you have yourself a drastic contrast.

"I think you have to embrace the success that they've had here," said Wilks. "I think it is a foundation that we all agree we wanted to keep and I think it is an opportunity as we go through the process, which we already have, to try to tweak things a little bit. I still think there's room for improvement. If you talk to the players, they would tell you the same, so when it's not broke, you don't really want to try to fix it and once again, we've had a lot of success around here and we just want to continue to build on that."
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I don't agree with the article's thought that more blitzing equates to better. There is a stat out there that quantifies blitz success rate - when you blitz, did it work (QB got pressured)? If a team blitzes and it's picked up, that was a bad blitz. Wilks said, "if it ain't broke...", well part of the success over the past few seasons for the 49ers defense is being conservative with blitzes. Saleh and Ryans were rookie DCs and so there was no track record of what they did. Wilks has blitzed often wherever he's been. It'll be interesting to see what the 2023 blitz rate is.

Great stuff!

I'm very curious about this as well. Every player Wilks has talked about (draft picks) and brought in (FA) he's described as having the resume and/or ability to blitz. It was the first thing Warner noted too.

That said, if the front 4 is getting there, why bother? Focus more on exotic coverages instead.

It'll be fascinating to track this as the season goes on. You know it'll be somewhere between 21% and 38%.

Originally posted by 9ers4eva:

Originally posted by LasVegasWally:
Agree.

Frustrating as hell when teams were 3rd and long and get what looked like an easy first down.

Hopefully Wilks is the missing piece to more success.

A function of not prioritizing the secondary enough sadly.

True.

Originally posted by 9ers4eva:

Originally posted by LasVegasWally:
Agree.

Frustrating as hell when teams were 3rd and long and get what looked like an easy first down.

Hopefully Wilks is the missing piece to more success.

A function of not prioritizing the secondary enough sadly.

I have always been of the opinion you build it front to back. If you can blow up their OL, what do you need a secondary for?

Also we are certainly not ignoring the secondary, imo, we draft a ton of DBs, including early, and we paid a good deal for Ward.

I am glad they aren't prioritizing DBs to be honest, prioritize the front, which they seemingly are.

Originally posted by 49erFaithful6:
I have always been of the opinion you build it front to back. If you can blow up their OL, what do you need a secondary for?

Also we are certainly not ignoring the secondary, imo, we draft a ton of DBs, including early, and we paid a good deal for Ward.

I am glad they aren't prioritizing DBs to be honest, prioritize the front, which they seemingly are.

We haven't taken a cb earlier than the 3rd round in ages. No first rounders since Ahmed Plummer and Mike Rumph.

Building front to back is great but the increasing importance of drafting back to front is only getting more urgent with the rules favoring passing, excellent qbs, quick passing as well as blatant offensive holding being allowed. Coverage it becoming more important

Originally posted by elguapo:

Originally posted by 49erFaithful6:
I have always been of the opinion you build it front to back. If you can blow up their OL, what do you need a secondary for?

Also we are certainly not ignoring the secondary, imo, we draft a ton of DBs, including early, and we paid a good deal for Ward.

I am glad they aren't prioritizing DBs to be honest, prioritize the front, which they seemingly are.

We haven't taken a cb earlier than the 3rd round in ages. No first rounders since Ahmed Plummer and Mike Rumph.

Building front to back is great but the increasing importance of drafting back to front is only getting more urgent with the rules favoring passing, excellent qbs, quick passing as well as blatant offensive holding being allowed. Coverage it becoming more important

Wilks is a DB expert, so you put him with Womack, Lenoir, Thomas, Brown, Luter, and we will see real results here, is my guess
the Ward signing was a great one, I'm comfortable with him on an island, DK notwithstanding, heck that's DK and you aren't gonna win every battle..

Originally posted by 9ers4eva:

Originally posted by LasVegasWally:
Agree.

Frustrating as hell when teams were 3rd and long and get what looked like an easy first down.

Hopefully Wilks is the missing piece to more success.

A function of not prioritizing the secondary enough sadly.

Amen brother.

I hope he picks up the A gap blitzes. Saleh and DR tend to like the long ass safety or CB blitzes over just sending a LBer up a gap. Let Dre and Fred tee off.

Originally posted by lamontb:
I hope he picks up the A gap blitzes. Saleh and DR tend to like the long ass safety or CB blitzes over just sending a LBer up a gap. Let Dre and Fred tee off.

I agree. I also think this is the reason they drafted Dee Winters, who is a pretty damn good blitzer. I think our LB's are going to cause even more havoc this season because of Wilks. He had that Panthers D humming for a stretch, and we have way more talent than they did last season.

Originally posted by elguapo:

Originally posted by 49erFaithful6:
I have always been of the opinion you build it front to back. If you can blow up their OL, what do you need a secondary for?

Also we are certainly not ignoring the secondary, imo, we draft a ton of DBs, including early, and we paid a good deal for Ward.

I am glad they aren't prioritizing DBs to be honest, prioritize the front, which they seemingly are.

We haven't taken a cb earlier than the 3rd round in ages. No first rounders since Ahmed Plummer and Mike Rumph.

Building front to back is great but the increasing importance of drafting back to front is only getting more urgent with the rules favoring passing, excellent qbs, quick passing as well as blatant offensive holding being allowed. Coverage it becoming more important

Agreed. And it's been 7 off seasons. Technically they could have built up both units by now.

Originally posted by Nastastical:

Originally posted by lamontb:
I hope he picks up the A gap blitzes. Saleh and DR tend to like the long ass safety or CB blitzes over just sending a LBer up a gap. Let Dre and Fred tee off.

I agree. I also think this is the reason they drafted Dee Winters, who is a pretty damn good blitzer. I think our LB's are going to cause even more havoc this season because of Wilks. He had that Panthers D humming for a stretch, and we have way more talent than they did last season.

The thing with using Warner/Greenlaw to blitz is it takes them away from what I think they do best - cover. I'd rather blitz the slot CB or Huf, but I understand the need to change things up and be unpredictable with who the 5th rusher is. Wilks said he'd use the LBs more aggressively. Most likely it means they are used to blitz, it could also mean having them play more man.
"At times, do I want to be a little bit more aggressive with the talent and athleticism that we have at linebacker? Yes."
-SW

Originally posted by elguapo:

Originally posted by 49erFaithful6:
I have always been of the opinion you build it front to back. If you can blow up their OL, what do you need a secondary for?

Also we are certainly not ignoring the secondary, imo, we draft a ton of DBs, including early, and we paid a good deal for Ward.

I am glad they aren't prioritizing DBs to be honest, prioritize the front, which they seemingly are.

We haven't taken a cb earlier than the 3rd round in ages. No first rounders since Ahmed Plummer and Mike Rumph.

Building front to back is great but the increasing importance of drafting back to front is only getting more urgent with the rules favoring passing, excellent qbs, quick passing as well as blatant offensive holding being allowed. Coverage it becoming more important

Gotta look at the picks. There are some cases where you could argue for DB (Samuel over Banks maybe), but then O-line is neglected. Your argument aids building front to back IMO. There are no shut down corners. Guys getting 15 million + are still getting beat. If your Dline can't apply pressure, eventually a QB will carve you up. I'll take elite Dline + average or even below average secondary over an elite secondary + average or below average D-line. No secondary is going to hold these receivers forever..

And to add, we are the one team making multiple deep playoff runs without a top 5 QB. There was never a time where coverage was minimized. Ideally I think its front 4, back 4 (or 5) and then your linebackers.

Originally posted by LifelongNiner:

Originally posted by Giedi:

Originally posted by Luckycharms:
Here you go THL (in the bold), I know you were wondering how much man or zone we were gonna run.
From Larry Kruguer:

Steve Wilks has a commanding presence. He spoke with us just now at #49ers rookie minicamp in Santa Clara. Among my Takeaways:
-He said he'll likely coach from the booth and not the sideline. There are pros/cons to it.
-He said that he believes that his defense in SF will be led by the pass rush up front.
-He said that JaVon Kinlaw has been here everyday and that he's working hard to get better. -Wilks added that Drake Jackson has also been a regular at the facility and has added needed weight to his upper body. How much? He didn't say.
-He indicated to us that he really likes the 2 rookie DBs Ji'Ayir Brown and Darrell Luter Jr.
-He says they'll play a lot of zone(likely a ton of Cover 3) but will definitely mix in some M/M
-He indicated that he's likely to blitz his LBs more than the 49ers have in the past to capitalize on their speed.

I'll be pissed if he's not a head coach in two years.

He's definitely going to be gone. The defense was already elite and making plays. Then we add Hargrave, the number 1 free agent. We added talent at every position on defense and we have an offense that can score. I don't expect the offense to score like it did under Brock (initially) with Trey, but we should be good for 28+ if he's improved any with his accuracy and willingness to trust what he sees/decision making. On paper, there are only 3 teams that should match up with us. Hopefully we can take the final step.

Pass defense is a combination of a pass rush and coverage. LB's (in my opinion) are a liability in pass defense unless they can cover. Our LB's can cover.

The draft definitely tilted to defense. 9 overall picks in the draft and five of them were defensive. Specifically, our highest draft capital in 2023 was spent on a safety and a cornerback. Clearly you have a defensive back minded coach being of influence in that front office drafting board. Add in Hargrave and Clelin and the defensive line and the DB's were bolstered (then later they bolstered the LB corps). Just looking at the draft capital spent, clearly the DB's were important and then the DLine, which is what I've always advocated for. This defense looks more like the Eagles defense - in a sense - with the LB's taking a bit of a back seat to the DLine and DB's.

I think if this draft 50% pans out, it's a Slam Dunk that Wilks is going to be a HC in two years. I think Nick Sorensen is the prime candidate that will take over Wilks job if Wilks gets a HC gig. Sorensen coached defensively with Pete Carroll and with Ron Rivera and has an offensive player's background. As a former QB, he's perfect to implement Wilk's zone blitz systems that screws up QB reads. The drawback of course, is that the run defense might suffer. Then again, a ball control offense (with Trey or Brock) is a great way to avoid the opposing team getting yards on the ground.

Originally posted by thl408:

Originally posted by Giedi:

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by thl408:

Originally posted by Luckycharms:
Here you go THL (in the bold), I know you were wondering how much man or zone we were gonna run.
From Larry Kruguer:

Steve Wilks has a commanding presence. He spoke with us just now at #49ers rookie minicamp in Santa Clara. Among my Takeaways:
-He said he'll likely coach from the booth and not the sideline. There are pros/cons to it.
-He said that he believes that his defense in SF will be led by the pass rush up front.
-He said that JaVon Kinlaw has been here everyday and that he's working hard to get better. -Wilks added that Drake Jackson has also been a regular at the facility and has added needed weight to his upper body. How much? He didn't say.
-He indicated to us that he really likes the 2 rookie DBs Ji'Ayir Brown and Darrell Luter Jr.
-He says they'll play a lot of zone(likely a ton of Cover 3) but will definitely mix in some M/M
-He indicated that he's likely to blitz his LBs more than the 49ers have in the past to capitalize on their speed.

https://www.ninersnation.com/2023/5/13/23722027/49ers-transcripts-steve-wilks-drake-jackson-javon-kinlaw

The phrases that stood out to me were:
"My background is diverse in zone as well as man, and I think it can change each week based off your opponent and who you playing"
"zone is still going to be a high element of what we do".
"I believe in zone eyes, I think that's how you make plays on the football, particularly from the underneath positions"

I did not hear anything about how Cover3 is what they'll play a ton of. I think that along with playing more zone or man, depending on the opposing offense, playing Cover3 or Cover2/Quarters should also be gameplan specific. For example, opponents that spread the field wide, don't use Cover3. I don't know if that's what Wilks' will do, but based off his comment, "I think it can change each week based off your opponent and who you playing", he will adjust accordingly and will not have a defensive identity as "predominant Cover3".

More gold nuggets. Warner had some too. I think it's becoming more and more apparent on what Wilks' philosophy will be here with this personnel.

I also think another great nugget is that he'll be up in the booth and not on the sidelines like Saleh/Ryans. I think that's especially important when your specialty is coverage (e.g. Fangio).

This is what I liked the most about the Wilks hire.

We have to continue to build on that and the one thing that I'm emphasizing and talking about, we have to complement each other, so there's different layers to this defense and the backend has to do a great job."

What ticked me off about the 3rd down defense was that the front seven was great, but on 3rd downs, the back 4 weren't so great. That's been an eternal issue with the 49ers defense since Kyle's been head coach. That back end weakness. In 1984, the entire defensive secondary of the 49ers was all-pro. It was so weird to see all four pro-bowl DB's wearing 49er helmets in the pro-bowl game. It was surreal. During the Dynasty Years, we've always had great secondary players. We haven't had that during Kyle's tenure, as far as I know. I hope that changes big time with Wilks.

Agreed on the secondary. This front office has shown with their draft picks where they want to be dominant at. As long as Lynch is here, I doubt that will change. Honestly, if they hadn't lucked into Bosa, their high DL picks haven't panned out (tbd for Drake, but he wasn't top overall like Soloman/Kinlaw).

Thus far, the highest they've spent on a DB is 3rd rounder. Credit them for signing a good one with Mooney Ward, great find with Huf, and nice bargain bin find with Gipson. I think it's close as to which area of improvement would best help the 2023 team - the Edge opposite Bosa, or better coverage ability from Lenoir and the two safeties. Hargrave and AA should be one of the best pass rushing DT tandems in the league so that could have a ripple effect for the rest of the defense.

They definitely have been drafting/acquiring better talent on the DB side prior to Wilks. I think it took a bit of learning and growing on the DB side with Lynch and Adams learning (in a sense) which DB's will work with the Wide 9 and this particular defense. John Lynch was a hybrid safety/Linebacker when he played in the Tampa Two defense. Sorensen, the new coach under Wilks, is also in the same mould. The Wide 9 and with the new zone blitz innovations to be implemented by Wilks is going to be an interesting variant to the Pete Carroll/Seifert defensive coverages. I think the front four will be 💯% rushing the QB, and the safety/linebacker will be playing the Fred Dean/Charle's Haley screw up the QB's read - role. If they can find and develop that dominant John Lynch/Jeff Fuller hybrid safety/linebacker that can cover and blitz,
simple zone rotations (for example) is going to be a headache for opposing QB's to read.

Originally posted by LifelongNiner:
Gotta look at the picks. There are some cases where you could argue for DB (Samuel over Banks maybe), but then O-line is neglected. Your argument aids building front to back IMO. There are no shut down corners. Guys getting 15 million + are still getting beat. If your Dline can't apply pressure, eventually a QB will carve you up. I'll take elite Dline + average or even below average secondary over an elite secondary + average or below average D-line. No secondary is going to hold these receivers forever..

And to add, we are the one team making multiple deep playoff runs without a top 5 QB. There was never a time where coverage was minimized. Ideally I think its front 4, back 4 (or 5) and then your linebackers.

While I agree with most of that the reality is the 49ers are the only team in the entire NFL that hasn't used a 1st or 2nd round pick on a DB during the Shanahan era (Commanders were the only other prior to this past draft). When you are the ONLY team doing something it suggests more than just the player we liked weren't available. It's a conscious decision.

Secondary and QB have been the biggest factors in not succeeding to the level we all want IMO.