NFL Matchup’s Executive Producer shares notes from his study of Divisional Weekend coaching tape: 49ers defense vs. Saints offense.
- Aldon Smith quick and violent hands as a pass rusher, Keeps his feet moving, Improved greatly as an outside rusher with ability to get low and bend the edge – Smith has deceptive strength, He’s much more powerful than he looks
- 49ers continued to play man coverage out of their nickel sub-package, When they went “man free” and Graham was split outside the numbers SS Whitner matched up
- Goldson jumped out immediately on film, He was instinctive and aggressive, Played downhill very effectively
- Goldson interception came out of nickel, Rogers slot blitz as part of zone exchange 4 man pressure; “Cover 3” concept in which Goldson rotated to single high, Brees did not account for Goldson
- J. Smith plays with great leverage and strength on the inside, He jacked LG Nicks a couple of times
- 49ers were comfortable with LB Willis and Bowman man-to-man on Sproles and Graham
- Thomas did not return after 1st series, Sproles played more snaps than game planned
- A. Smith 1st quarter sack came out of nickel “man free lurk”, A great coverage versus Saints given how many balls Brees throws between the numbers in 3rd down situations
- 49ers very multiple with their man coverage concepts out of nickel, There were snaps in which FS Goldson played Sproles man-to-man
- Graham 14 yd TD came out of “22” personnel, Sproles motioned out of the backfield to WR position; That created matchup of Graham on Willis inside, Brees great throw high and away from Willis to take advantage of Graham’s height
- My sense watching tape was the 49ers played more zone out of their base 3-4, more man out of their nickel sub-package
- 49ers continued to utilize stunts from their nickel DL, A. Smith excellent looping inside behind J. Smith – It’s a staple stunt for the 49ers
- There were snaps in which the Saints had 6 OL personnel with 3 WR, 49ers matched up both with base and nickel depending on down and distance and field position
- Colston 25 yd TD came versus “man free lurk”, Colston fade route beat Culliver; Saints nudge concept with Graham and Sproles in empty set
- 49ers more “man free” than “2 man”, Wanted lurk defender in the middle of the field to take away Brees strong tendency between-the-numbers throws
- 49ers a very disruptive 4 man pass rush, They got bodies around Brees
- 49ers put the burden on outside corners Brown and Culliver in their nickel sub-package, A lot of single high man coverage concepts – Brown and Culliver overall played better than the Saints WR
- Brown 2nd quarter interception came in man coverage versus Henderson with no safety help
- A. Smith played more than 50 snaps in this game, 49ers a lot of sub-package to match up to the Saints personnel and high percentage pass game
- Saints continued to utilize nudge concept out of empty to help OT Bushrod and Strief
- 49ers stunt as well as any team in the NFL, and they do it from a variety of fronts and alignments
- Sproles 44 yd TD came against “man free” with Goldson on Sproles offset in the backfield, Goldson tried to disguise the coverage and he was late to react to Sproles
- 49ers secondary was better than the Saints WR in this game; Saints did not take advantage of one-on-one matchups, Their receivers did not get open consistently
- 49ers blitzed selectively, Rogers off the slot was utilized a number of times
- Brees great seam throw to Colston early in the 4th quarter, A tough catch and Colston did not hold on – Would have been a TD
- J. Smith aligned in a 2 point stance in the middle of the defense is a featured part of the 49ers nickel sub-package
- Saints pass game had no rhythm despite Brees big numbers, They made a number of outstanding individual plays but they did not have that relentless feel to them that they normally have
- Graham 66 yd TD came against “2 man” with Willis on Graham, Unbelievable throw by Brees with quick pressure in his face and great athleticism by Graham
- Saints OT Bushrod and Strief struggled in individual matchups against A. Smith, Smith very strong hands and plays with great leverage
- 49ers pass rush was a factor all game, Brees was not as comfortable as he normally is
