5 Lessons the San Francisco 49ers Can Learn from the Super Bowl Champion Denver Broncos
By Peter Panacy
Playmakers Make Plays
The 49ers lack playmakers. The Broncos don’t, at least on defense. It’s really that simple.
Coaching staffs, schemes and game plans are critically important. But, in the end, the NFL is a player’s league. The best coaches get the most out of their talent available, but even an overwhelmingly under-talented group can’t be coached up enough to be a contender.
Look at what the Broncos brought to the mix in Super Bowl 50. This was a roster that included defensive standouts like defensive end Malik Jackson, cornerback Aqib Talib and linebackers Brandon Marshall, Danny Trevathan, DeMarcus Ware and Super Bowl MVP Von Miller.
That’s a stacked defensive roster by any viewpoint and, perhaps, reminiscent of some of the better Super Bowl defenses seen in NFL history.
San Francisco can hardly speak of such. True a good reason behind this was the mass exodus of talent that took place following 2014. But try and chalk up the Niners roster and identify their best talent on either side of the ball.
Linebacker NaVorro Bowman, defensive end Arik Armstead, linebacker Aaron Lynch, nose tackle Ian Williams, left guard Joe Staley and, maybe, running back Carlos Hyde and wide receiver Torrey Smith moving forward?
Not exactly an earth-shattering roster as used to be the case.
This puts pressure on 49ers general manager Trent Baalke. He’s armed with plenty of draft picks this offseason — as many as 12 — and will have a large amount of cap space to hit free agency.
But building a roster is just about as important as properly executing the scheme on the field.
Perhaps even more so.
Next: Defense Still Wins Championships