Hello, and welcome to the forty nine Ers First and ten Podcast, ten minutes of the most up to date forty nine Ers news, First thing in the morning. I'm your host, Brionna McDonald, and I'm joined by forty nine Ers team reporter Lindsay Polares. As we work our way closer to training camp. Today we're talking forty nine Ers defense.
San Francisco's defensive unit is going to look a bit different from last season as Demiko Ryans, the former forty nine Ers defensive coordinator and twenty twenty two Assistant Coach of the Year, departed shortly after the end of the season for a head coaching position with the Houston Texans, and that's where Steve Wilkes steps in. We've heard a lot about the type of flair Wilkes wants to bring to the team, and he's explained what his specialties are.
But what have you heard from other members of the forty nine Ers about the type of coach Steve Wilkes is and how he fits in with the team.
Yeah, Brie, I think a lot of what we heard is that on the forty nine Ers side, they didn't want to have a drastic change from Demico Ryans, and that doesn't mean just in defensive philosophy. What we've heard since the very first time that general manager John Lynch addressed the media regarding Steve Bolts higher, there's a heavy diving into his personality. And one thing that I really like and that I've talked about with him is this notion of him being a leader of men and more
importantly a leader of people. That he is a player's coach, and one of the first things he wanted to do was come in and establish personal relationships with the players because that way he has a respect built with the players he's working with day to day, and I do feel from what we've heard from the players that that
mutual respect is already forming. We heard from linebacker Fred Warner who said it's been a seamless transition, which I think is just a really heavy endorsement, because Fred Warner absolutely love and respected Demiko Ryan, So to get that from him is really great.
You know.
I think Steve Wolks mentioned coming and doing a lot of just team bonding exercises, and I do think it's working. We also heard from defensive lineman Eric Armstead just calling out that he is a great leader. He's come in, you know, and ready to take control of that defense. And that's what you want. You want the endorsement of the leaders and the veterans on that defensive unit, and then also obviously just the effort that's been put forth to create those relationships.
The forty nine Ers also hired a few other new faces to the team during the off season, including offensive passing game specialist Clint Kubiak and defensive quality control coaches Jake A. Webster and Cameron Brown. For more information on them and a complete list of the forty nine Ers coaching staff, check out the latest installment of the twenty twenty three roster breakdown on forty nine ers dot com. Now.
The team's motto for the defense heading into the season is that it starts upfront, and the forty nine Ers have built a stacked defensive line over the off season that highlights one of the team's biggest playmakers, Nick Bosa. NFL dot Com named Bosa a top ten franchise building block. Can you explain exactly what that means and how Nick Bosa is a fit for that title? Absolutely?
Brief So this was an interesting ranking system that happened because when you say franchise building block, the analysts Bucky Brooks and Daniel Jeremiah wanted to zero in on players that are still young and coming into the prime of their careers, and that means underage twenty six one of the big specifications for them, so that the teams that they're a part of will continue to build rosters around them.
So Nick Bosa checks every one of those boxes. He is under twenty six and is coming off a year in which he was named the ap NFL Defensive Player of the Year. We all know his stats, but all refreshed people's memories a little bit. Eighteen and a half sacks, led the league in sacks, fifty one total tackles, nineteen tackles for loss, forty eight quarterback hits, a pass defended, two forced fumbles. Just absolutely a career year for Nick Bosa.
And on top of that, we've gotten to just hear how much players respect him and just his commitment to continue fine tuning his craft. And that is why he came in at number two. He was just behind Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons. Just an elite player and as you've seen and we've seen this free agency and off season is that the forty nine ers are building that defensive line around the talent that they've already got established.
You've got Nick Bosa and Rick Armstead already there. They brought in Javon Hargrave to make that interior absolutely unstoppable. There's the development of Drake Jackson, and then you've got Carrie Hider Junior coming back as well. That is absolutely going to be a formidable defensive line in twenty twenty three, or at least that's what the team is hoping, and Nick Bosa is absolutely an anchor of that defensive line.
Like you mentioned, Nick Bosa had an incredible twenty twenty two season en route to an NFC Championship game. He led the league in sacks, He earned a Pro Bowl nod, and was honored as the Defensive Player of the Year. And something that stuck out actually in his acceptance speech for that award was that he's not done. What's the ceiling like Nick Bosa and how is he constantly elevating his game over each season.
I think there is no ceiling for Nick Bosa.
And we got to see.
Him for the first time this off season when he came back with the rest of the veterans for Mini camp. He looks as if he's in mid season for he didn't practice. I guess I'm just talking about physical appearance. And you know, I don't know if anybody saw the funny meme creation that our creative team made of somebody photoshopping Nick Bosa's thighs onto George Kittle. He's absolutely built.
He continues to look that way. And one thing that I remember head coach Kyle Shanahan said is that Nick Bosa is not a guy that you have to worry about. He spends most of his off season in South Florida
with his brother, Joey Bosa. They work out together. These are not a couple players that are taking any days off, And in fact, Nick Bosa said that in the off season he's had to just learn to work in alternative forms of working out so that he can actually give his body time to heal, rejuvenate and get back to one hundred for the upcoming season and get ready for that big twenty twenty three season low that they're hoping to have. So I think he is absolutely got no ceiling.
Expect more from him in twenty twenty three and I think a lot more good things to come for Nick Bosa, who is still on his first pro contract.
Just behind that defensive line is a linebacker corps that we've seen is ready to go full speed after each snap. This year, San Francisco's linebackers rank at the top of the charts for Pro Football Focus. Tell us a little bit more about that ranking from PFF.
Yeah, so PFF is taking into account just the many boxes that the linebacker role fills, which is both in coverage and against the run, And from what we've seen from the forty nine ers linebacker corps is that they can handle it all. And of course that position group is headlined by All Pro Fred Warner and also Dre Greenlaw, who I think is just continuing to build year over year. He just wrapped up his third season with the team, and they're absolutely the dynamic duo of the linebacker corps.
So I don't think it's a coincidence that it's number one and two in tackles on the team right there, as he's al Shier was also part of that linebacker corps. Of course, he departed to the Tennessee Titans in free agency, so I think it's a great opportunity for someone like an Orin Berks and a Demetrius Flannigan Fowls, or a Marcelena McCrary ball or a Curtis Robinson or even some of the rookies De Winners and Jalen Graham to step up.
There's going to be a lot of opportunity to continue and to grow in their careers because of that personnel change. But again, just an absolute force on the defense. Two hundred and fifty seven total tackles between Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw. They earned a ninety point seven grade as a core against the run and eighty eight point five
mark from PFF in coverage. They are absolutely I think we've heard this a lot, but the linebackers and particularly Fred Warner are the heartbeat of the defense, and I do think that is something that's pretty widely known on the defensive unit for the forty nine Ers.
Things are definitely looking bright for the forty nine ers defense in twenty twenty three, But that will do it for today. Be sure to look out for all of the forty nine ers off season content on forty nine ers dot com. Thank you so much, Lindsey for joining me in this off season update. Don't forget to follow First and ten on Spotify and Apple podcasts. Be sure to turn on the notifications so you're in the know when we post any breaking news updates. And thank you faithful for tuning in
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