Steve Wilks Sizes Up the Ravens Offense

SANTA CLARA -- The 49ers' biggest weakness is their run defense, and on Monday they'll face the second-best rushing attack in the NFL. How can the 49ers slow down Lamar Jackson and the Ravens' ground attack?

To find out, I asked 49ers defensive coordinator Steve Wilks. Here's what he said, courtesy of the 49ers P.R. department.

Q: What makes Lamar Jackson different and perhaps more difficult to defend than the other more mobile quarterbacks you've seen the last couple weeks?

WILKS: "I think just his ability to make guys miss in space. He's very elusive. And to be honest, I think, he's playing so much better from a standpoint of the passing game as well, which I think creates other elements of his ability to be able to scramble when things aren't there. So, he's really playing good football, not turning the ball over which is a key for them. And again, we’ve got to do a much better job than we did last week from a standpoint of tracking the ball carrier and most importantly, tackling."

ME: Why is the Ravens run game so efficient and what's the key to slowing it down?

WILKS: "Just really all the gap scheme, then the zone read, Lamar with his ability to be able to pull it at any time. This is going to be a very disciplined football game. A lot of times you see talent on both sides of the ball, but it's a team that's real disciplined in their assignments. When you take the dive, take the dive. When you have a quarterback, have the quarterback, vice versa. So, we’ve got to do a great job communicating on every snap as we did today and yesterday and be very detailed in our assignments."

Q: How particularly tricky is that for the nickelback, whether he's watching the quarterback and also has a pretty good slot receiver to chase around?

WILKS: "It’s definitely a difficult task. I think [DB Deommodore Lenoir] Demo is up for it. We can't put everything on him. That's why based off the call you always have different assignments in, putting him in a situation to where if he's part of the run game, he’s got to execute that. Then there's times where he's not a part of and he has to play pass first. So again, I think it just goes back to being disciplined and executing your assignment."