Coach - Steve Wilks thread

Originally posted by Giedi:
The front seven play has been bland, but he back seven disguises and zone rotations and zone pattern matching have been pretty good, in my opinion. Like you said, he has to mix it up, or change it up for the Superbowl. My hope is that he does a bit more stunting and blitzing in this next game, but still be able to hold them to 3's on those scoring drives instead of giving up 7's.

Another hope I have here that nobody is talking about I think, is that Mahomes being the self annointed God is likely not going to try and dice up the secondary with a million cuts.

Maybe he will, but I doubt it for the entire game.

I see maybe a little Rodgers in him wanting to go for the kill and getting taken down. If Wilks' rotating defenses can slow down his progressions just enough, maybe Bosa and Co can get home.

from Kyle Posey / Niners Nation:

The second half adjustments including Wilks playing more man coverage. That allowed the linebackers to get downhill and attack the run. The Lions only rushed for 34 yards after halftime.

Mooney believes the adversity the 49ers went through in both playoff games only strengthened the team's belief that this is their year.

Ward doesn't like the sentiment around Wilks:

"I love coach Wilks. Everybody else hates him. The media and a lot of people hate on coach Wilks for some reason. All the players, we love him. He's a great guy. A player's coach. Easy to get along with. Obviously, he helped me get to the Pro Bowl, be an All-Pro this year, so I love him a little extra. Coach Wilks is my guy. I love him 100 percent."

Ward was only targeted once against Detroit. The Lions made sure to avoid the 49ers best cornerback. Quietly, Mooney had a special season. It's not often that you see the most targeted cornerback in the top 15 of completion percentage allowed and passer rating against, but Ward did just that in 2023.

I went into re-watching the game thinking Wilks was the reason for the Niners' struggles, but that wasn't true. You can argue that Wilks outcoached Ben Johnson in the most critical junctures of the game.

https://www.ninersnation.com/2024/2/1/24058040/charvarius-ward-steve-wilks-ben-johnson-49ers-lions-nfc-championship

Originally posted by 49erFaithful6:
from Kyle Posey / Niners Nation:

The second half adjustments including Wilks playing more man coverage. That allowed the linebackers to get downhill and attack the run. The Lions only rushed for 34 yards after halftime.

Mooney believes the adversity the 49ers went through in both playoff games only strengthened the team's belief that this is their year.

Ward doesn't like the sentiment around Wilks:

"I love coach Wilks. Everybody else hates him. The media and a lot of people hate on coach Wilks for some reason. All the players, we love him. He's a great guy. A player's coach. Easy to get along with. Obviously, he helped me get to the Pro Bowl, be an All-Pro this year, so I love him a little extra. Coach Wilks is my guy. I love him 100 percent."

Ward was only targeted once against Detroit. The Lions made sure to avoid the 49ers best cornerback. Quietly, Mooney had a special season. It's not often that you see the most targeted cornerback in the top 15 of completion percentage allowed and passer rating against, but Ward did just that in 2023.

I went into re-watching the game thinking Wilks was the reason for the Niners' struggles, but that wasn't true. You can argue that Wilks outcoached Ben Johnson in the most critical junctures of the game.

https://www.ninersnation.com/2024/2/1/24058040/charvarius-ward-steve-wilks-ben-johnson-49ers-lions-nfc-championship

Yeah, I don't think anyone doubts his 2nd half adjustments. The biggest question I have is why did the defense start out so slowly vs Lions. Separately, the offense started out slow in both playoff games.

I like that Wilks publicly said the Niners D will fix their mistakes because honestly it can't get much worse. What's the worst that can happen, they come out flat again and give up 140 yds rushing the in first half? But if he actually does fix the defense, even a tiny bit, that will go a long way in the SB.

Originally posted by father49er:

Originally posted by 49erFaithful6:
from Kyle Posey / Niners Nation:

The second half adjustments including Wilks playing more man coverage. That allowed the linebackers to get downhill and attack the run. The Lions only rushed for 34 yards after halftime.

Mooney believes the adversity the 49ers went through in both playoff games only strengthened the team's belief that this is their year.

Ward doesn't like the sentiment around Wilks:

"I love coach Wilks. Everybody else hates him. The media and a lot of people hate on coach Wilks for some reason. All the players, we love him. He's a great guy. A player's coach. Easy to get along with. Obviously, he helped me get to the Pro Bowl, be an All-Pro this year, so I love him a little extra. Coach Wilks is my guy. I love him 100 percent."

Ward was only targeted once against Detroit. The Lions made sure to avoid the 49ers best cornerback. Quietly, Mooney had a special season. It's not often that you see the most targeted cornerback in the top 15 of completion percentage allowed and passer rating against, but Ward did just that in 2023.

I went into re-watching the game thinking Wilks was the reason for the Niners' struggles, but that wasn't true. You can argue that Wilks outcoached Ben Johnson in the most critical junctures of the game.

https://www.ninersnation.com/2024/2/1/24058040/charvarius-ward-steve-wilks-ben-johnson-49ers-lions-nfc-championship

Yeah, I don't think anyone doubts his 2nd half adjustments. The biggest question I have is why did the defense start out so slowly vs Lions. Separately, the offense started out slow in both playoff games.

The slow start on defense is partially due to the slow start on offense. It's no secret that they put up their best numbers when Kyle had the offense scoring on their first possessions and forcing the other team to pass more. I like Kyle's tendency to defer the kickoff and lap the opponent at half time, but if they go down fast to LC, it could be a long day.

I question the mentality of some on our D. Seems like some are more interested in podcasting than laying the smack down on their opponents.

I don't question Dre or Bosa though, they know what is best in life

Originally posted by Silky:
I like that Wilks publicly said the Niners D will fix their mistakes because honestly it can't get much worse. What's the worst that can happen, they come out flat again and give up 140 yds rushing the in first half? But if he actually does fix the defense, even a tiny bit, that will go a long way in the SB.

we have to set the tone, dictate what we're trying to do. Not watch and react like how it's been all season..

Wilks better have the gameplan of his career. I need him to get weird and creative. Deny kelce the ball!!

lol. Ward calling it out that everyone hates Wilks 😂

The one thing that I have found frustrating over a number of games in the last part of the season, especially, in the two postseason games, so far, is the 9er's slow start! That is, looking a little flat with much less intensity than their opponents. Are they Sr. citizens that need to pace themselves? They need to get their asses in gear right out of the gate! And I'm mainly directing this to the defense, and mostly the D-Line! They have not been doing that! Why not?!! What's their problem?!! They need to be reminded of that repeatedly!! Their slow defensive starts and adjustments are putting them in the hole!!

Originally posted by DrEll:
lol. Ward calling it out that everyone hates Wilks 😂

Huh?

A big part of our run game is the safety's not stepping up. They are not rushing in and when they do they hit the wrong gaps. Pretty sure even Kyle talked about the gap control.

Steve Wilks is playing soft defence so that he does not get burned with the deal ball. He is playing for his next job and does not want to look bad.

I heard that this upcoming Superbowl will have the same head referee in the same Super Bowl when Niners played KC in 2019. The ref. refused to throw the flag on holding calls. Bosa was being held on numerous occasions. Kittle was thrown a flag for offensive pass interference. This is concerning.

He better get ready to answer the 3 TE sets the Chiefs use often.

I'm not so sure that the run D problem is with Wilkes, in terms of scheme. Lots of poor play on tape... blown assignments, bad technique, missed tackles, not setting the edge, poor effort (cough cough Chase Young). Niners HAVE to stop the run this time. Making miracle comebacks are possible against GB and Detroit, but KC is too good and too stout to mess around.

I think Wilks coming down from the Booth at Lincoln Financial Field helped 'assassinate' the Eagles' season.