Next up: improving technique
Asked about his favorite play of his rookie season, 49ers inside linebacker Reuben Foster cited a short-yardage tackle of Arizona running back Adrian Peterson in November.
“I did something exciting,” Foster said, “and the team rewarded me for it.”
How did the 49ers reward Foster?
“Just by jumping up with me, getting crazy with me,” Foster said, “So they rewarded me so I didn’t look like a nut job by myself.”
Foster doesn’t merely celebrate wildly; he plays with a reckless abandon that has made him an All-American, a first-
round pick and future Pro Bowler based on his first nine starts.
The problem: Foster’s fling-his-body-around style could shorten his promising career.
This season, Foster has missed five games with a high ankle sprain, one game with a broken rib and received on-field medical attention on at least five other occasions for various ailments. On Sunday, in a win over Jacksonville, he twice went down with stingers to his neck and shoulder area — once when he launched himself into 228pound running back Leonard Fournette — and played 57 of 86 snaps. Foster also sustained a stinger the previous Sunday in a win over the Titans.
On Monday, head coach Kyle Shanahan said the 49ers need to work with both Foster and rookie safety Adrian Colbert, who has dealt with a broken thumb and sprained shoulder, on better tackling technique without robbing them of aggressiveness.
On Thursday, defensive coordinator Robert Saleh struck the same note: “That’s something that (Foster has) to work on through the offseason is how to tackle the right way, because when you see him, he just throws his entire body in there.”
It’s clear Foster has received the message: “I need to learn more technique. Anybody wants to blow through somebody. I’ve got to learn the fundamentals.”
If he stayed healthy, Foster (67 tackles) would be on pace for a 119-tackle season and would lead all rookies in stops. He has been impressive when he has played, partly because of his fearless style, which begs the question: Can he be the same player with a different technique?
Saleh said Foster could become even more of a menace.
“This is going to sound ludicrous in a way, but I think he can be even more explosive and more violent when he hits with proper technique,” Saleh said. “When he learns to run his feet through contact, he’s going to destroy people without hurting himself.”
Foster didn’t miss a game at Alabama, but he finished his career with a torn rotator cuff that required surgery before the draft. There were reports, which proved inaccurate, that he would require a second surgery, and his medical file partly explains why the top-10 talent slipped to No. 31 overall.
This week, both Shanahan and Foster said his stingers this season weren’t connected to his surgery. Foster said he will not require a procedure in the offseason.
Foster also nearly slipped out of the first round because of off-the-field concerns. However, after he failed a drug test at the combine and was eventually kicked out of the event for arguing with a hospital employee, he has impressed coaches and teammates with his enthusiasm and passion.
Inside linebacker Brock Coyle, a four-year veteran who was undrafted and began the season as a backup, has bonded with Foster. The defensive playcaller doesn’t possess Foster’s ability, but he has vast knowledge of the 49ers’ 4-3 scheme after spending his first three seasons in Seattle’s system. He says Foster eagerly soaks up information.
“A lot of rookies, they could look at someone in my position, and say this guy was undrafted, or wasn’t a starter, or whatever,” Coyle said. “But Reuben wants to be great. I think he respects that this is my fourth year in this defense and I can pass some things along.”
Along with knowledge, Foster has been eager to collect the NFL’s Defensive Rookie of the Year award, despite missing six games: “I want that. I need that. Give it to me,” he said.
Asked about missing 40 percent of the season, he didn’t back down.
“I hope they don’t base it off that,” he said. “You can’t control when somebody gets hurt. All you can control is their stats and where they end up, you feel me?”
Not exactly. Looking ahead, however, the 49ers hope Foster can learn tackling technique that will make him feel better and running backs feel even worse. Briefly: The 49ers did not list a player on their injury report in advance of Sunday’s game at the Rams . ... Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was named the Castrol Edge Clutch Performer of the Week for the second straight week.
“When he learns to run his feet through contact, he’s going to destroy people without hurting himself.” Robert Saleh, 49ers defensive coordinator