49ers need help to beat Rams – not just at QB
I’m having a hard time seeing how the 49ers are going to beat the Rams on Sunday.
L. A. is a really good team and the 49ers — well, you saw what they did last weekend.
But this is the NFL, and anything is possible on any day. And lest we forget the Niners are a team that went to the Super Bowl in February.
Believe it or not, I still believe the talent is on hand in Santa Clara to win in Week 6 and beyond.
If San Francisco’s turnaround is nigh, these are the three players — the obvious option, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, not included — that will need to up their game on Sunday Night Football:
1. KcN hARLANb >> I do not envy Garland this week. No sir, not one bit. Not only is the backup — now starting — center a key in getting this disjointed, poorly communicating offensive line on the same page for the first time this season, he also has to do it while going up against arguably the best player in football, Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald.
It’s a matchup that I have an exceptionally hard time seeing him win. But it’s a matchup that he simply must win if the 49ers are to take their first game at Levi’s Stadium this year.
Now, there’s no doubt that right guard Dan Brunskill is currently the weak link for the Niners in pass protection so far this year. He, more than anyone else, needs to step up his game. But Garland is being singled out because of his additional responsibilities, and I don’t think he’s been markedly better than Brunskill in pass protection this season.
The book has been out on Garland for a while — he’s not particularly strong or well-balanced, making him susceptible to power moves — and Donald has certainly read it.
Given the clear-cut mismatch, there’s no doubt in my mind that
San Francisco will doubleteam Donald with Garland and Brunskill on nearly every snap. That might slow down Donald a bit.
But those double-teams require exceptional communication across the line — both before the game and in the heat of the moment. We haven’t seen that from San Francisco this season. The Niners’ offensive line has been flummoxed by both the basic and the complex. Some of that falls on Garland.
There’s a reason Kyle Shanahan values the center position so highly in his offense. And while Garland wasn’t Shanahan’s first choice, he needs to start playing as if he is the right choice in the middle.
2. ARIK ARMSTEAD >> Armstead has by no means played poorly this season, so it seems unfair to ask him to do more.
But if the Niners are going to win Sunday — or any other day of the week — Armstead needs to be a game-changer at strongside defensive end.
That’s a tough ask — that’s a position that lends itself more to all-around competence than dominance — but that’s where San Francisco is. And such is the responsibility of being the highest-paid defender.
The Niners’ defense is predicated on having an elite pass rush, but with all of the injuries across the defensive line, San Francisco is 24th in the NFL in pass rush win rate, per ESPN.
Obviously, that won’t get it done, and defensive coordinator Robert Saleh, in an effort to create some pressure — the same kind of pressure San Francisco could produce last year with four linemen — is blitzing like crazy in 2020.
It’s hard to blame him, but it’s gotten to the point where it’s downright predictable when he’ll bring pressure. That’s what happens when you don’t have the dudes.
For instance, if you’re the Rams, you know that on third downs Sunday, the Niners are blitzing and playing man-toman behind that. And in the NFL, when an offensive team knows what’s coming, the players and coaches are typically competent enough to capitalize against it.
Sean McVay is certainly competent, and this season, quarterback Jared Goff has been a revelation.
He’s taken a step forward.
Armstead can change that calculus. If he can win a bunch of one-on-one matchups early — if he can force McVay and Goff out of their plan in an effort to account for him — Saleh can add some unpredictability to the Niners’ defense.
But without a pass rush that can win one-on-one, the Niners will have to resort to a formula. They’ll be sitting ducks.
3. KYLE JUSZCZYK >> If the 49ers are going to win, they’re going to do it on the back of running back Raheem Mostert. There’s really no two ways about it.
Mostert’s game is already at a high level, though.
But his fullback’s? That’s leaving something to be desired.
Shanahan clearly wanted Juszczyk to be more of an offensive weapon earlier this season — he was fixing to make his fullback a viable fantasy football option. That plan, of course, has fallen by the wayside in recent weeks.
But Juszczyk’s blocking hasn’t reached the usual level of effectiveness amid the script change.
A fullback is going to miss sometimes — that’s a given — but far too often so far this season defenders are beating Juszczyk to spots. They’re the aggressors, which negates most of the value of having a fullback. It’s not like they’re built like offensive linemen.
The Rams are susceptible on the ground.
The 49ers can only effectively move the ball on the ground. (And that’s limited to when Mostert is on the field.)
If the Niners are to win, it’s going to require brute force.
Juszczyk needs to become a battering ram once again for San Francisco to beat L.A.