49ers need better from their defensive unit in the NFL's remaining weeks

It's never a bad feeling when you win, but there were some worrying signs in the San Francisco 49ers' Sunday win over the Tennessee Titans that could bite the team in the season's closing weeks.

And it's all down to a unit that, on paper, looked like one of the team's strongest.

Robert Saleh's return to the Niners this offseason was greeted with much fanfare and delight, to the point where it was almost like a Presidential visit. I may have been one of the lone voices who was not altogether convinced by Saleh's hiring, something that's nagged at me ever since.

I'm often made to look like an idiot; Saleh has defied injuries to defensive lineman Nick Bosa and linebacker Fred Warner to lead his young unit to some truly excellent performances, including clamping both the Carolina Panthers and Los Angeles Rams in nationally viewed primetime games, something that's only enhanced his reputation.

It's true to say he's done a great job at times this year. When he accepted the job, he couldn't have predicted the amount of youth and attrition that he'd need to deal with. However, I still have some of the same misgivings about him and his defense, and they showed up in a pretty big way in Sunday's game.

Let's start with the run defense. I know the defensive line is somewhat depleted, but allowing 134 yards on the ground to Titans rusher Tony Pollard on only 14 carries is a dreadful effort. In all, the Titans averaged almost 7 yards per carry on the ground, and that won't get it done most weeks in the NFL.

That it did this week is a testament to quarterback Brock Purdy and the offense, who continued to put up points and take time off the clock throughout the game.

It's hard to get your depleted pass rush any help when you fail to win the early downs on defense. That's exemplified by this game, another no-sack performance that was largely assisted by some weird miscues by Tennessee's offense unit.

Similarly, that puts strain on the secondary, although no one there covered themselves in glory either, with cornerback Deommodore Lenoir often out of position in coverage and safeties Ji'Ayir Brown and Malik Mustapha showing absolutely no ball skills, dropping a couple of turnovers and allowing some big plays.

That's been a continuation of some poor recent indicators, as Niners Wire's Kyle Madison points out:

All of which is to say it's not a huge surprise the 49ers defense unit currently finds itself ranked in the lower reaches, statistically, in the NFL. It's fine to say they're missing key players, and they are, but too many fundamental things are going wrong for it to be purely about absences, as I've banged on about all season.

Poor tackling, missed assignments in the secondary and a lack of intensity are not talent-based. They're either effort-based or, in the case of secondary assignments, scheme-based. I've always had something of a problem with Saleh's scheme, particularly as it relates to pass rush, because it seems he can only generate it with genuine top-tier talent like Bosa, DeForest Buckner, Dee Ford and Arik Armstead.

It's genuinely pained me all year to hear how Saleh is "dealing with having no pass rush" as though it's not his job to find a way to make the defense generate some pressure even without Bosa (as an aside, Bosa is now the only 49er who I'd call a pure pass-rusher missing from the defensive line... and it still sucks).

Saleh still has Cle Ferrell, Keion White and Bryce Huff to work with, yet Huff has almost gone into witness protection after a strong start, and Ferrell and White flash for a handful of plays a game. Where are the answers from everyone else? Why has Robert Beal not developed? Why can't Saleh scheme some blitzes to work against the quarterback?

I'll give him something of a pass, as I think the defense will noticeably uptick when Yetur Gross-Matos, Tatum Bethune and Sam Okuayinonu return, which is hopefully sooner rather than later. Matos can make some noise as a rusher, while Okuayinonu is an excellent edge-setter. Bethune, meanwhile, will replace the beleaguered Curtis Robinson, who looks over his head trying to hold the defense together.

Let's hope I'm right, because the Niners defense is creaking just when fans need them the most. With three much harder games against the Indianapolis Colts, Chicago Bears and Seattle Seahawks to close the season (and with the likely need to win two of three to make the playoffs), Saleh's unit is going to need to make some plays down the stretch, with opposing stars like Jonathan Taylor, Caleb Williams and Sam Darnold all on the docket to face.

Let's see if they can.