Robert Saleh effect on display as 49ers' second-string stymies Bo Nix-led Broncos
Robert Saleh, welcome back.
The San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator made second-stringers look like starters, if only for a quarter and some change. The Broncos won 30-9, but no thanks to Nix, whose series ended with a punt, a safety and a field goal.
'Shout out to them for getting the W, but I think that we put a stain on their first-team offense for a little bit,' said Niners nickel back Chase Lucas, a fringe 53-man roster candidate.
While the only probable Week 1 starter in Nix's way was 49ers linebacker Dee Winters, the third-place finisher for AP Offensive Rookie of the Year voting a year ago quickly found out Lucas, an unheralded 2022 seventh-round pick, was also on the field. Saleh made sure of it. A strong-side blitz by Lucas with Denver at its own 14-yard line sent Nix into panic mode, throwing the ball away to no one while backed into his end zone. A flag appeared for intentional grounding, triggering a safety.
It was the second time in three plays that Saleh blitzed Lucas. The first one resulted in an inaccurate, incomplete dump-off attempt from Nix to running back R.J. Harvey.
'Coach Saleh told us during the week, because I knew I was going to be playing the whole game at nickel, he was like, 'Man, be prepared to blitz,'' Lucas said.
Aggressive blitz packages were not necessarily part of Saleh's identity during his first stint in Santa Clara. He much preferred to pressure opposing quarterbacks without rushing an extra guy. And really, he often had the front four to pull it off.
But as Saleh hinted in the offseason, he's since added some new tricks.
'You're always trying to stay two years ahead of offense,' Saleh said in May. 'When we were with the Jets, there was a lot of different things that we started to do.'
Saleh's final win as head coach of the New York Jets featured a blitz-happy approach that left the New England Patriots frazzled en route to a lopsided 24-3 final score. Per NFL Next Gen Stats, the Jets blitzed on 40% of Patriots pass plays — a single-game record for Saleh during his time in New York.
The evolution of Saleh even seemed evident to Broncos head coach Sean Payton.
An esteemed offensive mind, Payton noted after Thursday's joint practice the 49ers surprised his group with a fresh set of blitzes.
'We had some good pressure looks that we hadn't seen,' he said. 'That's always the first thing. You're trying to walk through a couple different things, and so on the fly you're trying to sort through your protections. … I would say the pressure looks we got were challenging.'
Nick Bosa, Fred Warner and Deommodore Lenoir were among San Francisco's incumbent defensive starters who did not suit up, allowing for plays to be made by guys such as Lucas and cornerback Darrell Luter Jr.
Luter had found himself on the short end of some very big plays during 49ers training camp. But when matched up with Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton, fresh off of 1,081 receiving yards last season, he rose up to knock away Nix's shot to Sutton in the end zone. Denver was subsequently forced to settle for three, and Nix did not take another snap.
After the Broncos tore through Chiefs backups to punch the franchise's first ticket to the playoffs since 2015 in January, a first-team unit of similar resemblance recorded only 47 yards and four first downs against Lucas, Luter, Dallis Flowers, Luke Gifford, Jonathan Garvin, Kalia Davis — you get the idea. Niners players have echoed the same sentiment since Saleh re-entered the building: Play fast, think less.
A near starter-less unit showed Saturday what that could mean for Saleh's second act alongside Kyle Shanahan.
'That's the type of guy I'm starting to see that coach Saleh is, is being aggressive by first-, second-down blitzes,' said Tatum Bethune, who started at linebacker alongside Winters and special teams staple Gifford. 'I kind of like it. I love it actually. … He let us go hunting.'
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