The San Francisco 49ers, who come to MetLife Stadium on Sunday to face the New York Giants, are a team Giants fans might not be terribly familiar with. Sure, you know some of the big names. But, do you really know what kind of team the 49ers are?
To help us figure that out, we turn to Nicholas McGee of SB Nation’s Niners Nation to give us the inside scoop in this week’s ‘5 questions.’
Ed: The 49ers are 5-3, but coming off a bad loss to the Houston Texans. How would you describe the first half of the season for San Francisco?
Nicholas: Even with last week’s loss, it still has to be considered an impressive start to the season for the 49ers considering all the injury adversity they’ve been through. For the 49ers to have five wins with the players they’ve lost is a remarkable coaching job by Kyle Shanahan and defensive coordinator Robert Saleh. The worry now is that the injuries are simply becoming too much. Shanahan will never make that excuse, but the Texans game looked to be just one too far for this undermanned group. San Francisco deserves great credit for getting in position to make a playoff push, the challenge is now to get as healthy as possible and find ways to make sure the strong start doesn’t fade and result in a lost season.
Ed: You will get ZERO sympathy from Giants fans, but I know the 49ers have been impacted by a number of key injuries. Can you go through the most important ones and how they have affected the team?
Nicholas: The two most important losses have been Fred Warner and Nick Bosa. The pass rush has fallen off a cliff without Bosa’s presence off the edge, his absence exacerbated last week by Bryce Huff’s hamstring injury, while the injury to Warner has robbed the 49ers of the best linebacker in football. The removal of Warner as the green-dot wearer on defense has led to critical coverage breakdowns that were key to the defeat in Houston. The 49er defense is much weaker for the loss of Warner’s communication skills and his rare blend of athleticism and coverage ability. Unless the Niners can find a way to consistently compensate for the injuries to Bosa and Warner on defense, it’s going to need to be the offense that carries the team.
Ed: If you could take one player off the Giants’ roster and put him in San Francisco’s lineup, who would it be? Why?
Nicholas: Undoubtedly Dexter Lawrence. The 49ers have struggled to generate consistent interior pass rush for a while now and having somebody who can affect the quarterback like Lawrence can at his size would be transformative for the San Francisco defense.
Ed: If Brock Purdy plays this week, how much of a difference can he make for the 49ers?
Nicholas: If he’s healthy enough to be mobile in terms of escaping the pocket and extending plays, then I think it could make a huge difference. There’s no denying how well Mac Jones has played during this stretch with Purdy on the sideline, but his inability to make second-reaction plays was telling as the Texans’ defensive line dominated San Francisco last week. With the level of talent the Giants have up front, it would be huge for the 49ers to have the upside Purdy brings in terms of making plays outside the structure of the offense.
Ed: If you were game-planning AGAINST the 49ers, how would you attack their defense? What do you try to do to slow their offense?
Nicholas: With Warner out of the lineup, the way to attack the 49er defense at present is to challenge the linebackers and change their rules frequently. Use of motion, as much as they’re used to seeing it practicing against the Shanahan offense, is a must, while it would behove the Giants to lean heavily on plays where they leak backs and tight ends out late. The evidence from last week suggests the easy buttons will be there for Jaxson Dart if the Giants can put the second-level defenders in conflict.
On the other side of the ball, it’s about shutting down the run on early downs. The 49ers will be desperate to control the game on the ground as they did against Atlanta, as that makes the offense run much more smoothly. For the Giants, the plan should be to focus on shutting that down and then attacking an extremely vulnerable interior offensive line on passing downs. New York has the talent to get home with four, but pressure looks that target the three interior positions — and particularly the left guard spot — are a clear avenue to success on defense, especially if it’s Jones under center.
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