The San Francisco 49ers have invested enormous resources, including money and draft picks, to build a powerful
defensive line. This season, the team traded for defensive end Chase Young to compliment Nick Bosa, expecting
more sacks with the stronger unit.
The 49ers’ defense had 22 total pressures in this weekend’s playoff game against the Green Bay Packers, but they
were unable to bring down quarterback Jordan Love. This concerned former commentator and Hall of Fame
quarterback Steve Young.
“I think one of the things that makes the 49ers really hum is when those four guys are getting there, and then
everything cascades from there,” Young said in a recent radio interview. “And when they’re not getting there, we
open ourselves up to this madness that happened on Saturday.”
Head coach Kyle Shanahan spoke with reporters before Thursday’s practice, as the team prepares for the NFC
Championship Game against the Detroit Lions. When asked if he was concerned by the defense’s failure to record a
sack against Green Bay, Shanahan said playfully, “No.” I do not walk in there and say, ‘Look at these millions, look at
these zero sacks, this is wrong.'”
Instead, Shanahan evaluates the opponent and the game’s circumstances.
“If you got a four-man rush and people are chipping every time and the [running] back is staying in to help, which
means you have eight guys in protection, there’s one quarterback, there’s two guys out on a route, and seven guys in
coverage, probably not going to get many sacks,” he added. “But I don’t believe you’ll give up many points either.
“So there is a balance to it. Yeah, we want more sacks, but how will they play us? How are we going to do this? And I liked how our defensive line played.”
On Wednesday, Bosa underlined the team’s emphasis on influencing the quarterback rather than obsessing on numbers such as sacks. However, Bosa has not had a sack since December 17, the longest in-season absence of his career.
