San Francisco 49ers: 5 biggest disappointments in 2018 so far
By Peter Panacy
No. 5: An Unimposing 49ers Defense
A year ago, the Niners finished with the league’s 25th-ranked scoring defense, giving up a total of 383 points on the year. Through five weeks, San Francisco is now ranked 29th in this same category, having allowed 146 points — an average of 29.2 per game.
San Francisco 49ers
In fairness to Robert Saleh, the 49ers didn’t exactly do a ton to address shortcomings during the offseason. San Francisco’s biggest free-agent ticket, cornerback Richard Sherman, has been as good as advertised. And while that’s fine, Saleh’s defense was supposed to be notably better.
Defensive end Solomon Thomas entered his second year and looked to improve upon a disappointing rookie campaign. Thomas was one of three former first-round NFL Draft picks along the defensive line, the others being Arik Armstead and DeForest Buckner. Out of that trio, however, only Buckner has remained a constant force.
And just like last year, there’s zero outside pass rush.
At the second level, the 49ers do have some promise. Linebackers Reuben Foster, Fred Warner and Malcolm Smith sound like a great crop. There are reasons to believe they will be too.
But this group has also missed a combined 15 tackles on the season. That’s bad.
With no reinforcements coming, all that’s left for the 49ers defense is either to execute better or continue to wallow along the same route we’ve seen for much of 2018.