49ers vs. Packers: 3 ways San Francisco stops Aaron Rodgers

No. 1: 49ers must deploy more Cover 2 defensive looks

One of the things Hall of Famer and now-ESPN2 “color analyst” Peyton Manning pointed out on the Monday Night Football broadcast of the Packers’ win over the Lions was how Cover 2 looks can force quarterbacks to rely solely on short and intermediate passes without the luxury of being able to go deep against one-on-one coverage.

Too frequently, Detroit allowed for those one-on-one opportunities, which presented Aaron Rodgers all the chances needed to hit star wide receiver Davante Adams eight times for a whopping 121 yards.

The Niners don’t exactly have a proven cornerback to match up against Adams one on one. This, despite rookie corner Deommodore Lenoir’s strong start to his pro career.

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So, instead of relying on Cover 1 and Cover 3 looks with a single-high safety, DeMeco Ryans would be wise to use a more traditional Cover 2 look with safeties Jimmie Ward and Jaquiski Tartt each responsible for providing over-the-top help on each side of the field.

This would guard against a player like Adams getting beyond Lenoir. True, it might open up other chances for Rodgers to target others like Robert Tonyan, it’s certainly best to force Tonyan to be the X-factor instead of Adams.

And, heck. It might even frustrate Rodgers, too, if San Francisco’s pass rush is doing its job.