Will secondary moves help 49ers pick up ground?

By Chris Cluff  |   Tuesday, June 05, 2007  |  Comments( 43 )

San Francisco 49ers
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If the San Francisco 49ers are to pass their rivals in the NFC West, they know they will have to stop the pass.

All three of the 49ers' divisional foes have potent passing attacks -- the St. Louis Rams behind their Pro Bowl trio of Marc Bulger, Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce, the Seattle Seahawks with Pro Bowl quarterback Matt Hasselbeck and his quality quartet of receivers, and the Arizona Cardinals with rising young quarterback Matt Leinart throwing to Pro Bowl targets Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald.

With so many explosive offenses in the division, every team seems to understand the importance of shutting down opposing aerial attacks. At least their offseason moves said they do.

With the exception of Arizona, every team brought in at least five players to help stop the pass. The Cardinals, who were 30th in the league against the pass last season (231 yards per game), only brought in safety Terrence Holt and cornerback Rod Hood.

But the Rams, who had the best pass defense in the division last season (partly because their run defense was so terrible), added four secondary players -- safety Todd Johnson and cornerbacks Mike Rumph, Lenny Walls and rookie Jonathan Wade -- and two ends, James Hall and first-round pick Adam Carriker.

The Seahawks, who ranked 16th versus the pass in 2006, have new starting safeties Deon Grant and Brian Russell, second-round cornerback Josh Wilson, and new ends Patrick Kerney and Baraka Atkins (a fourth-round pick).

Not to be outdone, the 49ers did their best to keep up in the West. On the first day of free agency, the team signed cornerback Nate Clements to a blockbuster deal and added safety Michael Lewis. The 49ers then re-signed Pro Bowl corner Walt Harris to a two-year deal and drafted three more pass defenders -- pass rusher Jay Moore and safety Dashon Goldson in the fourth round, as well as cornerback Tarell Brown in the fifth. They also signed pass-rushing linebacker Tully Banta-Cain.

The 49ers are hoping those additions improve a pass defense that ranked 26th in 2006, giving up 223 yards per game, and also surrendered 25 touchdown passes (fourth most in the league) and a 63.9 completion percentage (third worst in the league).

Clements, who received $22 million guaranteed, will start at left cornerback, and Lewis is expected to replace Keith Lewis as the new strong safety alongside Mark Roman. Harris is expected to start at right corner, but Shawntae Spencer, who started opposite Harris last season, could push him.

The 49ers' moves should help them in the pass-happy West, where they actually weren't too bad in 2006. The Cardinals were the only team that really hurt the 49ers through the air. In Week 1, Kurt Warner threw for 301 yards and three touchdowns in Arizona's 34-27 win. And at the end of the season, Leinart and Warner combined to complete 18 of 26 passes for 267 yards and a score in Arizona's 26-20 win, which eliminated the 49ers (6-9) from playoff contention.

The 49ers actually held Bulger in check -- with the exception of one huge drive. In Week 2, the 49ers sacked the St. Louis quarterback six times and held him to 185 passing yards and one touchdown in San Francisco's 20-13 win. They also shut him down in Week 12 -- until the final drive, when he completed all nine passes for 66 yards, including the winning 5-yard TD toss to Kevin Curtis with 27 seconds left that gave the Rams a 20-17 victory.

The team the 49ers picked on the most was the Seahawks. While Frank Gore was gouging the three-time division champions for 356 rushing yards in the Niners' two wins, the defense intercepted five passes. In Week 11, Seneca Wallace threw for 252 yards and two touchdowns, but the 49ers also picked off three of his throws in a 20-14 win in San Francisco. And in Week 15, the 49ers held Hasselbeck to 20 of 37 for 220 yards and one score, intercepting two passes in the a 24-14 win in Seattle.

As important as the continued development of quarterback Alex Smith and dominance of Gore are in 2007, an improved pass defense is paramount if the 49ers are to contend for the division title. Opposing teams cannot continue to complete over 60 percent of their passes, and the 49ers have to cut down on the number of touchdown passes they allow.

It all starts within the division. Clements and the other new pass defenders need to help shut down the Seahawks and Rams again. And if the new-look 49ers can figure out how to stop the Cardinals' high-flying attack, it would go a long way toward helping San Francisco pass everyone in the wild, wild West.

Keep track of the San Francisco 49ers secondary at RealFootball365.com

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About Chris Cluff

Chris Cluff spent 10 years as an editor and sportswriter for The Seattle Times. He was a key figure in the newspaper's coverage of the Seahawks, particularly during their Super Bowl run in 2005. He also has written two books on the Seahawks: "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Heart-Pounding,...
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CommentsComments: 43  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
Mad Mardigan		11:51 AM
06/05/2007
Clements is one of the few cornerbacks in the league that can shutdown Boldin and Fitzgerald. That's why we got him. Holt and...
No.2
Mike		11:58 AM
06/05/2007
As mentioned before, if TBrown could emerge as a solid CB & stay out of trouble that would be a great bonus. It would mean we are...
No.3
ShadyRaider		12:19 PM
06/05/2007
Listen up ladies, as long as I keep seeing 34-20 and knobber bob posting in the Raiders forums, I will continue to remind you all...
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