A defensive coordinator that is hot, cold, hot again, where are you coming out on this?
When The San Francisco 49ers gave up a first quarter touchdown in Week 1 to the New York Jets, it may have felt like nothing much had changed for the defense; 3rd down conversions, missed tackles, some strange coverages. After that initial drive, things clamped down. The defense adjusted, the Jets offense made some terrific catches against ridiculously tight coverages.
It seemed like a breath of fresh air for Week 1. Then the 49ers’ defensive woes returned the following week against Minnesota. None more definitive than helping form an atrocious 3rd down conversion percentage. It didn’t get much better the following week against the Rams; as the game went on, the 49ers defense had more difficulty getting off the field. Special teams miscues certainly didn’t help.
Then, along came the New England Patriots. The 49ers, through three quarters, held the Patriots to an average of 2.8 yards per game—something you didn’t see that much at all (actually ever in the Kyle Shanahan Era). That number went up thanks to late game yardage gains (READ: Garbage time), but even for an offense as bad as the New England, 2.8 yards is pretty phenomenal.
So we’re four games in with highs and lows. What do you think of 49ers Defensive Coordinator Nick Sorensen? Those of you familiar with these parts know after bad defensive performances I bring out the Heat-O-Meter to gauge what you think—and what you think the status is— of the defensive coordinators job.
I still maintain that Sorensen is a breath of fresh air, though remain undecided on what I “think” of him. Looking through the history of 49ers defensive coordinators, you’d see they all started out rough. Robert Saleh needed a couple years (though talent was an issue), DeMeco Ryans took half the season to become the juggernaut he is now. Sorensen may be going through the same growing pains. Yes, the 97-yard touchdown in Minnesota infuriated me as a fan, but two things remain:
1: It was Sorensen’s second game.
2: It wasn’t Cover-0 at the end of the half.
Furthermore, if you really watched the 49ers in their dominant start to 2023, you’d see the cracks in Steve Wilks’ scheme almost immediately (two minute drills and scheming miscues were the big one).
What are your thoughts on the 49ers defensive coordinator so far?