On Sunday evening in Minnesota, first-year 49ers’ defensive coordinator Robert Saleh did what few defensive coordinators for the team have done in the past decade.
Saleh took a healthy NaVorro Bowman off the field.
When San Francisco adjusted to its dime package and put six defensive backs on the field at once, Saleh removed Bowman, his Mike linebacker, from the field, and kept rookie Will linebacker Reuben Foster in the game.
Though Foster is clearly faster and becoming a more capable player in coverage than Bowman, the decision raised eyebrows because Bowman considers himself a three-down linebacker and he’s played a critical role in the heart of San Francisco’s defense since 2010.
On Tuesday, Saleh spoke with reporters about the personnel in his dime package, and instead of focusing on Foster and Bowman, he explained why he’s taking a linebacker off the field in the first place.
“I say this a lot up here, but it’s not an indictment of any of the linebackers as much as it is a testament to (Jaquiski) Tartt, who is a pretty darn good football player,” Saleh said. “Again, it’s our job to try to find a way to get him onto the football field so our matchups are clean.”
Tartt, a former second round draft choice out of Samford, missed the first half of the preseason with a rib injury that precluded him from factoring into the Saleh’s defensive game plans. A backup safety who can play both strong and free, but hasn’t mastered either spot, Tartt gives the 49ers an additional experienced defensive back who can mix and match coverages alongside starting safeties Eric Reid and Jimmie Ward.
Right now, Tartt is working at free safety, which is where he’s better suited to play in Saleh’s 4-3 single-high safety defense, but once Ward is completely healthy, Tartt will likely return to a backup role. In the meantime, though, Tartt is using his opportunity to force Saleh’s hand, and prove he’s capable of serving as a coverage asset when the 49ers are defending in obvious passing situations.
“He did good, Tartt has been performing very well over the course of the preseason since he’s come back from his injury and he’s deserved every right for us to think hard to try to find ways for us to get him onto the football field,” Saleh said.
As for Bowman and Foster, Saleh said he wanted to give the rookie a chance to take reps on passing downs against Minnesota. The 49ers’ new defensive coordinator said that he wouldn’t necessarily always have Foster in on dime downs, and that during halftime of the Vikings’ game, Bowman was sharing his ideas for how to make San Francisco’s dime package more effective.
“That won’t be all the time,” Saleh said. “It’s preseason, wanted to try some new things. Wanted to give the rookie another opportunity to take some reps. Thought the package looked cool. It could easily be Bowman in there. It could be Reuben (Foster). They could rotate, but again, it’s our job to make sure that we get the best 11 on the field at all times. And yeah, he’s (Bowman) a major competitor. At halftime, he was giving me some good ideas at how to make that thing evolve even more. I love Bowman. That is not something that is set in stone.”