Scouting the Niners

Posted: January 26th, 2023 | Author: | Filed under: Philadelphia Eagles | 1 Comment »

Eagles fans love extremes. The opponent either sucks or is so good the Eagles don’t have a chance. Neither is the case with the Niners. They are a very good team. I don’t think they’re as good as the Eagles, but they can make a legit argument to being the best team in the NFC. They have an elite defense. They have dynamic skill players and a great play-caller. If not for the rookie QB, they might be the favorite to win it all. Rookie QBs just don’t have a good history in the playoffs. Purdy could change all of  that, but he’ll have an uphill battle.

Let’s talk more about SF. The Niners defense earned their #1 ranking. That group can play. They have tough, physical players. They fly downhill and hit like a ton of bricks. They tackle well. SF will be very different from the Giants defense the Eagles just ran over repeatedly on Saturday.

The Niners are also a smart defense.

You know the old line about “the whole being greater than the sum of the parts”…that’s the Niners defense. They do have some great players. Nick Bosa might win Defensive Player of the Year. Fred Warner is the best off the ball LB in the league. The Niners have really good players like DT Arik Armstead, LB Dre Greenlaw and FS Tashaun Gipson. But this group plays really well together. The pieces all fit together nicely.

They are gap-sound and play disciplined football. They don’t just chase blindly. They do their job and it all comes together within the scheme. I’m not an X’s and O’s guru, but it sure feels like they succeed more on execution than trickery.

You can see some of that by the info below.

It feels like a lot of what Jim Schwartz used to do with the Eagles. Keep it simple and let the guys play fast. SF is special because of the combination of Bosa and Warner. They have a guy upfront who can disrupt and then a guy in the middle who can do it all. Warner can stuff the run or cover WRs. He’s one of the rare ILBs that can truly be called a difference-maker.

The Niners were #2 in rushing yards allowed. They want to force you to be one-dimensional so they can attack you. They allowed a decent amount of passing yards, but have the 5th best pass defense according to DVOA. They also cover pretty well.

I do think they are vulnerable on the back end. Deommodore Lenior isn’t a shutdown corner. I think the Eagles can attack him.

SS Talanoa Hufanga had a terrific season. He’s fun to watch as he goes 100 mph all the time. Hufanga is better against the run than in coverage. I also think the Eagles can use his aggression against him.

I’ll get more into matchups and strategies in the next post.

*****

If you told me to choose one offense to watch aside from the Eagles, it would be the Niners. They have a creative run game and a really physical group of WRs and TEs. They feast on RAC yards in the passing game.

The Niners are different when they take the field. They run a lot of 21 personnel (FB, RB, TE, 2 WRs). That’s just not common in the NFL anymore.

This isn’t just old school I-formation football. The Niners have guys move around. FB Kyle Juszczyk might split out wide. WR Deebo Samuel might be in the backfield. RB Christian McCaffrey lines up all over the place.

SF also uses a ton of pre-snap motion. They get defenders looking at one thing and then do something unexpected at the snap. That can lead to big plays and open receivers.

The offense is a lot of fun to watch. The Niners finished 6th in scoring and 5th in yards so it worked well despite having three starting QBs and other injuries to deal with. They can move the ball. They can score.

CMC gives them a versatile weapon to use as a runner and receiver. He is a good RB, but is special out in space. He’ll be a tough matchup for the Eagles LBs. Saquon Barkley was good training for them.

Deebo is my favorite WR in the league. He reminds me a ton of Anquan Boldin, who I loved going back to his college days at FSU. Deebo didn’t post great numbers this year, but he is special when he’s got the ball in his hands. He more dangerous after the catch than AJ Brown, and that’s saying something.

WR Brandon Aiyuk is a player I was very high on coming out of college. He’s coming off his best season (78-1018-8) and makes the SF passing game that much more dangerous. Aiyuk is athletic and has good RAC ability.

TE George Kittle is a weapon when he’s got the ball. He is like a giant RB. He’ll run around you or over you. Kittle is also a good blocker and helps the run game to have a lot of success.

The man who is getting all the attention is rookie QB Brock Purdy. He’s 7-0 as the starting QB. His rating is over 100. Rookies aren’t supposed to get these kind of results in December and January. Wild.

I did not like Purdy coming out of Iowa State. He was too frenetic for me and I didn’t see a lot of upside. I’m glad for his sake that I was wrong. His NFL tape is worlds better than what we saw in college. He’s been given great coaching and there is a lot of talent around him. That has brought out the best in Purdy.

He is fearless. Some rookies look scared and overwhelmed. Purdy doesn’t show any of that. He doesn’t look nervous late in the game or in key situations. He will throw the ball into tight coverage. Some rookies want wide open receivers. Purdy will give his guys a chance to make plays. He’s pretty accurate. Arm is solid. He can run, but doesn’t have much speed.

Purdy wants to get the ball to his first read. When that’s not there, he will hold it. The Eagles can hurt him if they take away that first read. The pass rush will then have a chance to get to him.

The Eagles will have a chance to get a lot of inside info on Purdy.

How is that for a lucky break? The Eagles just happen to have who were with Purdy in college for multiple years. It will be interesting to see if that helps them at all or if they get all their answers off game tape.

The Niners OL will be key. Trent Brown Williams is probably the best LT in football. He can be beat in pass pro. RT Mike McGlinchey is a good run blocker, but is vulnerable in pass pro. The interior trio didn’t stand out to me when watching them. The Eagles have a favorable matchup DL vs OL. Then again, I thought Buffalo had an advantage over Cincy’s backup OL. You never know when a group will come together and plays lights out.

SF is a really good team. They have won 12 straight games. That’s not an accident. They almost made it to the Super Bowl last year. They did make it to the Super Bowl in 2019. This is a veteran team. They’ve been in plenty of big games. That’s an advantage over the Eagles. There are guys left from the 2017 Super Bowl, but also plenty of guys who are new to the team and a deep playoff run.

I feel good about the Eagles advantages, but I would say I’m cautiously confident. Nothing more.

*****

This is awesome.

https://twitter.com/Eagles/status/1618745606180143104

_


One Comment on “Scouting the Niners”

  1. 1 Eagles News: A.J. Brown poised to give the 49ers trouble said at 6:42 PM on January 27th, 2023:

    […] Scouting the Niners – Iggles BlitzThe man who is getting all the attention is rookie QB Brock Purdy. He’s 7-0 as the starting QB. His rating is over 100. Rookies aren’t supposed to get these kind of results in December and January. Wild. I did not like Purdy coming out of Iowa State. He was too frenetic for me and I didn’t see a lot of upside. I’m glad for his sake that I was wrong. His NFL tape is worlds better than what we saw in college. He’s been given great coaching and there is a lot of talent around him. That has brought out the best in Purdy. He is fearless. Some rookies look scared and overwhelmed. Purdy doesn’t show any of that. He doesn’t look nervous late in the game or in key situations. He will throw the ball into tight coverage. Some rookies want wide open receivers. Purdy will give his guys a chance to make plays. He’s pretty accurate. Arm is solid. He can run, but doesn’t have much speed. Purdy wants to get the ball to his first read. When that’s not there, he will hold it. The Eagles can hurt him if they take away that first read. The pass rush will then have a chance to get to him. […]