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It’s time for another dose of Dan’s Web Whispers. Today we have notes on the San Francisco 49ers’ Front Seven, Reuland, Grimes, Wilson and more. Check it out . . .
The San Francisco 49ers’ Front Seven might be the best in football.
Don’t get too caught up in their surprising loss to the Minnesota Vikings last week.
Remember, this 49ers defense curtailed Green Bay’s Aaron Rogers and Detroit’s Matt Stafford in Week’s One and Two.
The 49ers have the best 3-4 ILB combo in football – Navarro Bowman and Patrick Willis.
The right side combo of 3-4 end Justin Smith, and outside linebacker Aldon Smith, is a lethal pair.
Left side OLB Ahmad Brooks has finally turned into the prospect people thought he would be coming out of UVA.
In February, Brooks was rewarded with a six-year contract extension worth $44.5 million, with $17.5 million guaranteed.
Mark Sanchez’s best chance against this group is to follow the blueprint of what Minnesota Vikings’ Christian Ponder did last year.
“We knew that turnovers were huge for them,” Ponder said. “They were number one in turnovers last year, so just play smart and not force anything.”
Expect the Jets to use a lot of max-protection against this dangerous Front Seven. Expect tight ends Konrad Reuland and Jeff Cumberland to stay in a lot.
“[The 49ers’ Front Seven players] have speed, power and moves,” Cumberland said. “They can use the bull rush, the speed, all the power moves. They won’t accept anything other than the sack. It’s that simple.”
Reuland has been a great resource for the Jets’ preparation for the 49ers. He blocked a lot of these Front Seven players while on San Francisco’s practice squad last year, and in training camp this summer.
He feels technique is huge for the Jets’ this week.
“Physically we have to match them – our technique has to be perfect,” Reuland said. “It’s very important that we take the right angles in our blocking. Physically they’re so good that the angles become more important.”
The 49ers have an outstanding defensive coordinator in Vic Fangio, who will have a lot in his bag of tricks this Sunday. So the Jets’ offensive coaches will need to tweak their approach on the fly.
“We have to be ready to make adjustments – recognize them and respond,” Reuland said. “We can’t leave anyone coming in that we haven’t picked up.” . . .
From what we hear, the Houston Texans did not want to lose tailback Jonathan Grimes from their practice squad, but they are so deep at tailback, they had to let him walk.
Not only can Grimes help the Jets in the backfield, but there is no question the information he will supply next week in preparation for the Houston game, will be invaluable . . .
Media relations mean very little when it comes to winning and losing on Sunday, so I don’t want to make too much of this, but isn’t it kind of strange that Kyle Wilson is on a media schedule.
The Jets aren’t going to make him talk every day. They are only going to make him speak on certain days.
Hey, just because you take over for Darrelle Revis, doesn’t mean you deserve a media schedule, just like the best corner in football.
But there is some merit to what the Jets are going with Wilson. While he doesn’t deserve to be on a media schedule based on his resume thus far, it’s probably smart for the Jets to limit his access. He’s got enough of a challenge replacing Revis, without reporters hammering him every day, and getting into his head . . .
September 27, 2012
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