Needless to say, the 49ers did not live up to the expectations they set when Kyle Shanahan became head coach on Opening Day. Notorious for his offensive prowess, Shanahan failed to led the 49ers offense to a touchdown and lost to the Carolina Panthers 23-3. Now, heading up north to face the Seahawks, the 49ers outlook may out-gloom Seattle’s forecast.
“They’ve gone up there [Seattle] the past six times and lost and I’d say the first four times, including the NFC championship game, it was a much better team that the 49ers had,” 49ers beat writer Matt Maiocco said on Murph & Mac Thursday. “I believe the spread is two touchdowns and that’s where it should be.”
Yet, the glimmer of hope that shines through the Seattle fog is Shanahan’s admiration and familiarity of Seattle’s defensive design.
“One of the interesting things is, when Kyle Shanahan was putting together his staff and putting together what he wanted from the defense, he looked up north. He said, ‘I want something from that Seattle mold,” Maiocco said.
Earlier this season, Shanahan sought out Gus Bradley to join his staff as the defensive coordinator. Bradley worked as the defensive coordinator for the Seahawks from 2009-2012, during which time they made two playoff appearances. Despite Shanahan’s efforts, Bradley joined the Los Angeles Chargers as their defensive coordinator in January.
Instead, Shanahan hired his next-best option in Robert Saleh, who is also quite familiar with the Seattle’s style of defense. After working along side Bradley in defense quality control with the Seahawks, Saleh was hired to work with the linebackers by Bradley in Jacksonville.
“The 49ers offense will not be fooled at all by what they see from the Seattle defense,” said Maiocco. “But Seattle has much better players on defense than the 49ers do on offense.”
This familiarity gives the 49ers a slight edge over their opponent, which they could use to potentially best the Seahawks in Seattle for the first time since 2011. However, to do so, the 49ers need to pressure Russell Wilson and do their best to take advantage of every opportunity to score against Seattle’s defense.
“I think with Seattle’s offense not being very good, they still have Russell Wilson and they don’t have the weapons at running back, they don’t have the wide receiver anymore. With Russell Wilson, all it takes is one hiccup, one play where, you name the 49er player, Arik Armstead gets a free shot or Russell Wilson gets away, he looks down field and motioning for a guy to go deep and gets behind the secondary. That’s all it takes with Russell Wilson.”
To listen to the full interview, check out the podcast below and skip to 3:36 for Maiocco on Shanahan.