Niner Noise
FanSided

Top 5 lessons 49ers hopefully learned from Week 13 loss vs. Ravens

By Chris Wilson

San Francisco 49ers defense vs. Lamar Jackson #8 of the Baltimore Ravens (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
San Francisco 49ers defense vs. Lamar Jackson #8 of the Baltimore Ravens (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
2 of 6
Next
49ers Raheem Mostert
RB Raheem Mostert #31 of the San Francisco 49ers (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /

Raheem Mostert is one of the 49ers’ top RBs

49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan demonstrates a rare loyalty toward the players on his team — often to a fault — and particularly to those who establish themselves as one of “Shanahan’s guys.”

Running back Tevin Coleman, a player the Niners’ coach fought hard to draft during his time with the Atlanta Falcons, is one of “Shanahan’s guys.”  So it was no surprise when the 49ers signed the veteran dual-threat back when Coleman hit free agency over the offseason.

However, Coleman is far from a no-talent coach’s pet. The University of Indiana product is a burner with 4.3-speed, and a running back defenses must always account for as a runner and a pass-catcher out of the backfield, although Coleman has failed to fully showcase his receiving prowess during his first 10 games in a 49ers uniform:

49ers RB Tevin Coleman NFL Rushing & Receiving Table
Games Rushing Receiving Total Yds
Year Age Tm Pos No. G GS Rush Yds TD 1D Lng Y/A Y/G A/G Tgt Rec Yds Y/R TD 1D Lng R/G Y/G Ctch% Y/Tgt Touch Y/Tch YScm RRTD Fmb AV
2015 22 ATL rb 26 12 3 87 392 1 14 46 4.5 32.7 7.3 11 2 14 7.0 0 0 10 0.2 1.2 18.2% 1.3 89 4.6 406 1 3 3
2016 23 ATL 26 13 0 118 520 8 25 55 4.4 40.0 9.1 40 31 421 13.6 3 16 49 2.4 32.4 77.5% 10.5 149 6.3 941 11 1 9
2017 24 ATL fb/rb 26 15 3 156 628 5 27 52 4.0 41.9 10.4 39 27 299 11.1 3 13 39 1.8 19.9 69.2% 7.7 183 5.1 927 8 1 7
2018 25 ATL RB 26 16 14 167 800 4 36 65 4.8 50.0 10.4 44 32 276 8.6 5 15 39 2.0 17.3 72.7% 6.3 199 5.4 1076 9 2 8
2019 26 SFO RB 26 10 7 120 454 6 23 48 3.8 45.4 12.0 27 20 173 8.7 1 9 37 2.0 17.3 74.1% 6.4 140 4.5 627 7 0
Career 66 27 648 2794 24 125 65 4.3 42.3 9.8 161 112 1183 10.6 12 53 49 1.7 17.9 69.6% 760 5.2 3977 36 7 27

Provided by Pro-Football-Reference.com: View Original Table

Coleman’s efforts as a runner have been lackluster as well, as the RB ranks last among the 49ers’ running backs with just 3.8 yards-per-attempt on the ground. In addition, much of Coleman’s production, including five of his seven total touchdowns, came in two blowout victories. Removing his statistics from those two games, the former Atlanta change-of-pace back has averaged just 2.7 yards-per-carry in 2019.

After Coleman amassed just six rushing yards on five attempts against the Ravens, Shanahan turned to special-teamer and part-time running back Raheem Mostert to carry the load for the remainder of the contest. Mostert, who leads the team with 5.9 yards-per-carry, was up to the task, and negotiated the wet M&T Stadium turf with ease en route to 146 rushing yards and a key 40-yard score:

Although the Ravens stacked the box with at least 8 defenders when they knew a running play was coming, they couldn’t stop Mostert from cruising to a career-high day on the ground. Representatives from Zebra Technologies, the official on-field player tracker for NFL’s Next Gen Stats, provided me with the following information of note regarding the RB’s breakout performance: “Mostert saw a stacked box on 26.32 percent of his carries, but still totaled 146 yards and 1 touchdown.”

Coleman is blazing fast, but Mostert provides San Francisco with even more speed out of the backfield. The former member of the Ravens may not be a ready for an immediate role as a feature back, but given his production as a runner over the past two seasons, Mostert should provide the team with a dangerous secondary option at the position once running RB Matt Breida returns to action.