Chris Simms thinks the Niners have a chance to be pretty good on that side of the ball
Chris Simms, who has been working with NBC Sports, was doing a mailbag and was asked about who he thought the top 5 defenses in the league could be next year:
“I’d watch out for the San Francisco 49ers. With Dee Ford and Kwon Alexander, and now having the number two pick coming up. I think that they’re a team that I would go “they’re very much capable of being in that conversation. Again, people gotta remember, the 49ers were like the 10th or 11th best defense in football last year. I don’t think the public gives them enough credit.”
Okay, so there’s a few things to take in here. The 49ers were 13th in total yards per game last year on defense. If your way of ranking anything involves total yards, you’re doing it wrong. I don’t mind yards per play—at least adjust for something—where the 49ers ranked 10th. Everyone reading this knows the Niners were not the 10th best defensive unit in football last year.
Using Football Outsiders’ DVOA—measures a team’s efficiency by comparing success on every single play to a league average based on situation and opponent—the 49ers were the 12th best team against the run, but the 27th best team against the pass. The value in being great against the run just isn’t there. I think we’re seeing that reflected with the 49ers free agency additions.
They added speed at every level. That’s how you take the ball away. Whether turnovers or forcing the other team to punt. Who they add during the draft will be key, obviously. Assuming the 49ers get a quality pass-rusher in the first round, I’m interested to see what positions they value the most on their roster.
What would the team have to do to get into that top 5 defense conversation? Last year that was the Bears, Bills, Ravens, Vikings, and Broncos.
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