49ers Defense Exposed in Joint Practice with Chargers

Facing the offense of an AFC contender, the 49ers defense surrendered ten touchdowns in a joint practice with the LA Chargers. The drubbing raises concerns if the Niners are prepared for the season opener and if they made critical errors in the off-season construction of the defense.

Not ready for prime time?

The primary takeaway is that this defense just isn’t good enough without Nick Bosa. Charger quarterbacks had all day to throw and made the Niners pay for it. Bosa is hopeful he will play against the Rams in Melbourne, but that’s not locked in.

The defense registered 18 sacks in the 14 games without Bosa last year, the lowest sack rate in the league and one of the worst stretches in NFL history.

In addition, starting edge Mykel Williams may be a candidate for the PUP list, where he’d miss the first four weeks of the season.

One hope the 49ers have is that Bosa and DT pass rushing acquisition Osa Odighizuwa have yet to play together and should have a big impact as an inside-outside tandem. Odighizuwa had four pressures in the practice session.

Roster construction mistakes

Knowing that the Niners did not create pressure on the quarterback last year without Bosa, addressing the pass rush was a primary need in the off-season. Trading for Odighizuwa was the main move. In the draft, they turned to designated pass rusher Romello Height, a speed specialist with limited size and power at edge.

Recently they added former Cleveland edge Ogbo Okoronkwo. Together with Height, he can work as a counter to Bosa, but without Bosa drawing attention from the offensive line, the D line will struggle to create pressure.

Niner defensive coordinator Raheem Morris may look to add old favorite Leonard Floyd, who played for him in LA and Atlanta.

Morris making changes without having the personnel for it

Last year with the Falcons, Morris blitzed at nearly twice the rate of Robert Saleh and the Niners. However, Morris had the pass rushers upfront and the safeties in back, led by Jessie Bates, to dial it up often.

Now, he plans five-man fronts and frequent blitzing in Santa Clara, but he doesn’t have the personnel for a five-man front, and has the worst safety room in the league.

The Niners have given control of the defensive picks in the last two drafts to Saleh and Morris. The concern with that is Saleh is all-out run defense, bend don’t break and Morris is all-out pass rush, create turnovers. The upside is that builds a diverse skillset in the roster, the downside is that dramatic a strategic shift requires a transition in personnel beyond just a single off-season.

When Morris ignored safety in the draft, I thought that signaled a multi-year transition before he could shift to what he prefers to run. Now all indications are the shift is on, which makes kicking the can at safety inexplicably foolish.

The Niners had their choice of DB or safety and chose Ephesians Prysock, which could work well for them at outside corner. Some believe Prysock can move to safety, I hoped so when the pick was made, but his game is based on sitting in zone then attacking the ball, which is what the Niners want outside.

So, what can be done at safety? Nothing now. There is no talent left at safety in free agency, and trades are unlikely during camp at a position facing a supply and demand problem. A deadline trade for Jacksonville’s Antonio Johnson may be the best option left. If they choose to pursue it. At this point, I don’t think Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch would.

What are the consequences of that? Former Niner offensive coaches know the defense’s fatal flaw is at safety. Mike McDaniel just targeted them; new Seattle OC and former Niner TE Coach Brian Fleury will know to throw at the safeties too.

Every opponent with a strong-armed QB will go at the safeties. With this year’s schedule that’s more than half of the games. Ignoring safety in this year’s draft and the trade deadline may cost the Niners a playoff berth.

The 49ers and Chargers play Thursday night at 7 p.m. Pacific.

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