Cowboys Game Plans: Week One - Scouting The 49ers Defense

waving monkey

waving monkey

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Week One
Opponent: San Francisco 49ers
Head Coach: Jim Harbaugh
Defensive Coordinator: Vic Fangio
Base Defensive Alignment: 3-4
Defensive Starters:
Base Run Fits: 2 Gap
Base Coverage: Quarters
The 2013 49ers defense is a fun group to watch. The play of ILB's Patrick Willis and Navarro Bowman is what really makes this defense tick, but the guys up front like OLB's Aldon Smith and Ahmad Brooks, as well as beastly DE Justin Smith, make life even more difficult for opposing offensive lines, in both the run and pass game. However, with Aldon Smith (suspension), Bowman (injury), and NT Glenn Dorsey (Injury) out for the game, there will be several very significant pieces the 49ers will be looking to replace in Sunday's game.

When I studied the 49ers defense, I wanted to learn a few specific things about the group. Rather than drawing up the base coverages (Cover 3, Cover 2, Cover 1, Quarters, Cover 10 etc) that every NFL team plays every week, and focusing on those types of things, I wanted to focus on somethings we've seen in the early stages of the season from Scott Linehan's offense, and how this 49er defense may react to them

link/http://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2014...ame-plans-week-one-scouting-the-49ers-defense
 
CCBoy

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Cowboys Game Plans: Week One - Scouting The 49ers Defense
By Joey Ickes
http://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2014...ame-plans-week-one-scouting-the-49ers-defense


Defensive Starters:
Base Run Fits: 2 Gap
Base Coverage: Quarters

Breakdown:
The 2013 49ers defense is a fun group to watch. The play of ILB's Patrick Willis and Navarro Bowman is what really makes this defense tick, but the guys up front like OLB's Aldon Smith and Ahmad Brooks, as well as beastly DE Justin Smith, make life even more difficult for opposing offensive lines, in both the run and pass game. However, with Aldon Smith (suspension), Bowman (injury), and NT Glenn Dorsey (Injury) out for the game, there will be several very significant pieces the 49ers will be looking to replace in Sunday's game.

When I studied the 49ers defense, I wanted to learn a few specific things about the group. Rather than drawing up the base coverages (Cover 3, Cover 2, Cover 1, Quarters, Cover 10 etc) that every NFL team plays every week, and focusing on those types of things, I wanted to focus on somethings we've seen in the early stages of the season from Scott Linehan's offense, and how this 49er defense may react to them.


Covering the slot...








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This is the start of a good article by Kegbearer, BTB's...but it does set a tone to how the Cowboys can both prepare and execute an edge gaining edge:

Pundits and analysts have completed their projections for the opening week of the NFL season and most do not believe the Dallas Cowboys will be able to overcome their opponent. The San Francisco 49ers have made it to the playoffs each of the past three seasons, including a Super Bowl appearance. It's easy to see why so many would consider a Cowboys victory an upset...

Each week, coaches around the NFL prepare for their upcoming opponents by creating a game plan that will help their team achieve victory. These coaches meetings must be some of the most interesting "think tanks" as the staffs search for opponents' weaknesses and tendencies to find ways to take advantage of them. While players executing plays on the field is vital, putting them in the best situation to succeed is paramount. Each week, NFL coaches prepare for an intricate game of gladiatorial chess, and it's my hope to present some of the possible discussions and game-plan considerations that occurred heading into the matchup versus the 49ers.


Fast Start

Obviously, a prime objective every week is to start the game on a high note by taking an early lead. But this becomes even more vital when your opponent presents one of the strongest and most intricate rushing attacks in the league. If the Cowboys hope to disrupt the game plan of the 49ers, they will have to take an early lead and sustain and increase it during the first half. It is always beneficial to create enough of a lead to make your opponent one dimensional, but it becomes even more important when your opponent's greatest strength is their ability to run the ball, and their greatest weakness is their (in)ability to win games through the air.

49ers QB Colin Kaepernick is a talented young quarterback. However, his athletic ability far outweighs his talent as a pocket passer. In 2013, Kaepernick had ten games in which he threw for fewer than 200 yards! However, due to the strength of the 49ers ground game and defense, not to mention Colin's ability to escape the pocket and run the ball, the 49ers lost only four of those ten games. Not surprisingly, his accuracy in those four losses was at or below 55%. In fact, Kaepernick had six games with this subpar completion percentage. The Cowboys best chance for success will be to take an early lead and force the 49ers to depend on Kaepernick to throw the ball while trying to play catch up.

The good news is that in 2013 only one team managed to score more often and more points than the Cowboys on their opening drives. That's right, the Cowboys ranked second in the league in opening drives resulting in points (9) as well as points scored on their opening drives (47). The offense has shown the ability to take early leads, but the onus will be on the defense to get some early stops to help that lead grow enough to make the 49ers one dimensional. But the bad news is that the 49ers were tied as the third best team in the league in scoring on their opening drives (8), though usually ending in field goals for a total of 36 points last season...

http://www.bloggingtheboys.com/2014...boys-guide-matchup-versus-san-francisco-49ers
 
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