Broaddus: Grading Weems' Tape & Other Top Thoughts From 49ers Game

RS12

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5. I am starting to get the feeling that with Damien Wilson, you are going to have to take the good with the bad if he is going to be the starter at one of these linebacker spots. There is no question of his ability to run and hit, but he will need to do that under better control. He is so aggressive, there are times where he takes himself out of the play and puts his team in a bad spot. The more he plays, the more he will learn, but we all need to keep in mind that he is just a rookie out there.

6. As critical as we all have been of Darrion Weems and his quest to line up as this club's swing tackle, his work against the 49ers was an improvement over what we saw from the Chargers game. The tape showed that Weems was much better with his overall technique -- especially in the passing game. His only real issue was a twist stunt that he and La'el Collins didn't handle well, which resulted in a sack. He is not going to be a power player in his pass sets, but he was able to keep his man along the line of scrimmage at times or ride him past the quarterback when necessary.

7. My post game thoughts from the radio booth were correct: these Cowboys receivers had a rough day trying to separate from these 49ers defensive backs. No matter how the routes were run, there was a defender either on the hip or coming from the middle of the field to help. Even when passing routes off, there was a defensive back right there waiting. It was as fundamentally sound a group as I have seen these Cowboys receivers work against in a while.

8. It's a shame that as hard as this team works on special teams, they gave up 105 total yards in punt return yardage -- but I have an idea why. Of the four returns that the 49ers had, I counted seven missed tackles by defenders that were in position to make a play but were unable to finish.

9. I was asking in my post game observations to see more of Geoff Swaim as a blocker, and on the tape, I was able to get a better understanding of what he can do. Swaim is not the type of player that is going to get big time movement or push at the point of attack -- instead he is going to get in the way by shielding and moving his feet to stay in position. He is always working to tie up his man, which allows the ball to work around him. He will also use this type of technique on special teams when he is asked to block -- which he was able to do on the kickoff return with some success.

10. It was good to see Ryan Russell have the type of game that he did -- both from the under-tackle and end spots. As active as he was, what was most impressive about him was that with the large numbers of snaps that he played in the game, he didn't wear down and become sloppy with his technique. As a matter of fact, there were times on the tape where he appeared to play stronger and faster as the game progressed. In my mind he has gone from a player that was potentially on the bubble to a player on the 53-man roster. There is some value to him as a rotational player from what I have seen.

11. I continue to watch the progress of Davon Coleman along this defensive line with the hope that he

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