Niners-Patriots matchup a dream for football nerds
Sunday’s 49ers-Patriots game has a chance to be soul- crushingly boring, by conventional viewing standards.
That’s what happens when you have two offenses that are one- dimensional, at best, going into the contest.
But I think it could be the most interesting game the 49ers play all season. Why? Coaching.
No one, except nerds like me, tunes into games to see the tactical matchup. No, the selling point of sports is the athletes — the playmakers. But the play designers and callers should take center stage in Foxborough on Sunday.
When it comes to that side of the game, this contest is as good as it gets.
And while I’m certainly interested to see how 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh — no slouch — matches up with Patriots’ offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels — one of the best to ever do
it — the really intriguing coaching matchup in this game is between Kyle Shanahan and Bill Belichick. Because, yeah, of course, it is.
The two have a history — we all know that — but what has stood out to me over the years is the clear admiration they have for each other. In a league full of fake geniuses and wannabe strongmen, they see worthy adversaries in each other. Now, it’s not surprising that Shanahan respects the guy with six Super Bowl rings, but reading between the lines, Belichick sees Shanahan as his offensive counterpart.
“Offensively, he does as good a job as anybody that we’ve faced through the years game planning, creating problems and conflicts with the defense... What they do from week-to-week depends on what the defense does and how they feel like they can create positive and advantageous matchups,” Belichick said Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Belichick is the greatest defensive mind in the history of the sport. At this juncture, that point isn’t up for much debate.
“I watch other people every week,” Shanahan told KNBR last year. “A guy like Belichick... that’s a team I watch almost every Monday.”
Shanahan knows exactly how to attack an opposing defense and will not stop pressing the soft spots for 60 minutes. Belichick’s defenses are so sound and versatile that he can tailor make them for the opposing offense.
These two are worthy adversaries.
How Shanahan attacks Belichick and how Belichick attacks Shanahan will be gospel for the rest of the NFL this year. If you’re a coach that’s playing either team this season, the 49ers-Patriots film will be the first one you watch on game week. It is a copycat league, after all, and every offensive coordinator wants to be Shanahan and every defensive coordinator Belichick.
I’m no coach, but I’d imagine the Niners will try to move the Patriots defense — no matter what base formation they show — sideline-to-sideline on the field, as they have end zone-to- end zone defenders who are almost always in the right place. Knock those defenders off their latitudes, and there should be plenty of space to run.
At the same time, the Patriots defense is likely to commit to stopping the 49ers run game and short passing game, the bread and butter of their offense. George Kittle is likely to be double-teamed all contest — in both the passing and run games — because bracketing is a Belichick staple and forces the opposing team to “play with their left hand.”
And at the center of all of this — the pivot point in this elite tactical battle — is a quarterback who Belichick drafted and coached and arguably groomed to be the successor to Tom Brady, only to trade him to San Francisco this time three years ago in a move that was built off Belichick’s admiration for Shanahan.
“It’s one of those situations where you’re not able to keep all the players based on the system that is set up, which is understandable,” Belichick said Monday of trading Jimmy Garoppolo. “I’m glad that it worked out for him in San Francisco. I hope it doesn’t work out on Sunday, but otherwise, I’m happy that he had the opportunity to play for a great coach and a great organization and play on a great team. I think he deserves that. He certainly has worked hard and earned it. Happy for him and his family.”
Garoppolo’s mercurial play has earned him a big contract but also has seen him protected by Shanahan— for the sake of winning the game — in last year’s NFC Playoffs and in two games so far this year.
How will Belichick attack his former quarterback? Five-man fronts? Four-linebacker zone blitzes? Will he decline to send deliberate extra pressure and see if he’ll selfdestruct on his own?
And will Shanahan try to protect him in the 49ers offense? Can he do that and have San Francisco win, or does he have to let him rip it in Massachusetts?
This is some high-level game theory — I know that you know that I know that you know sorta stuff. Ultimately, it’s far too advanced for me, but that’s what makes this fun.
Sunday’s game is probably going to be an ugly slugfest — the wise guys in the desert are only expecting 44 total points in the contest — but I can’t wait to watch it.
If you like the details that make football great, this is the game of the year, bar none.