Niner Noise
FanSided

3 ways 49ers manage to overcome Dee Ford injury

By Ezechiel Dezine

SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 07: Dee Ford #55 and Nick Bosa #97 of the San Francisco 49ers celebrates after a sack of the quarterback against the Cleveland Browns during the second quarter of an NFL football game at Levi's Stadium on October 07, 2019 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 07: Dee Ford #55 and Nick Bosa #97 of the San Francisco 49ers celebrates after a sack of the quarterback against the Cleveland Browns during the second quarter of an NFL football game at Levi's Stadium on October 07, 2019 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /
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SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA – NOVEMBER 11: Defensive end Nick Bosa #97 of the San Francisco 49ers runs on to the field before the game against the Seattle Seahawks at Levi’s Stadium on November 11, 2019 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA – NOVEMBER 11: Defensive end Nick Bosa #97 of the San Francisco 49ers runs on to the field before the game against the Seattle Seahawks at Levi’s Stadium on November 11, 2019 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /

No. 2: Moving EDGE Nick Bosa Around

During the offseason, many pundits crowned EDGE Nick Bosa as the most pro-ready prospect in the 2019 NFL Draft class. It did not take long for Joe Staley to find out this assessment was 100 percent accurate. During OTAs, Bosa consistently beat Staley in one-on-one team drills and proved that the hype surrounding the Ohio State product was real.

Though Bosa typically lines up over the left tackle, a player of his caliber is a chess piece Robert Saleh has at his disposable and will need to be strategic in how he deploys him. With Ford at right end, it’s basically a race to the quarterback, and the pocket almost always collapses. Saleh will have move Bosa to the strong-side end to take advantage of less-talented tackles, and potentially inside to use his athleticism to create pressure up the middle.

Another strategy Saleh can use is the end-tackle twist/stunt, which was made famous by former San Francisco defensive coordinator Vic Fangio with then-defensive linemen Aldon Smith and Justin Smith during the head coach Jim Harbaugh years.

If the 49ers are going to continue to dominate on defense, particularly in the pass rush, Saleh is going to have to get creative with how he uses Bosa while Ford is out.