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The Zimmer Report - 49ers Bring The Pain
Be warned, it wasn't pretty for the Cowboys.
Bob Sturm
Oct 30, 2024
Here we go. Our objectives today will be:
We should acknowledge, again, that analyzing this 2024 defense requires consideration of the facts. They don’t have their key players, and while that’s part of football, we still have to recognize that comparing Mike Zimmer’s defense to Dan Quinn’s is a bit unfair. One had Micah Parsons, DaRon Bland, DeMarcus Lawrence, Sam Williams, Dorance Armstrong, Stephon Gilmore, Jayron Kearse, and Johnathan Hankins, and the other did not.
At the same time, one defense was largely effective, while the other is posting historically bad performances, making games difficult to win against any team with a strong offense.
Yet, heading into this game, we saw that the 49ers were in bad shape. They didn’t have their key players, and the ones they did have were fresh out of the hospital or limping around. Maybe Dallas could do a decent job here, right?
Well, as you know, they put up a reasonable amount of resistance in the early going. The 49ers' offense lacked some confidence, but it’s worth noting that their worst drive in the first half on Sunday still generated 23 yards to the Dallas 43. So, how bad was that drive?
In other words, San Francisco wasn’t scoring, but they had drives of 55, 26, 23, 39, and 36 yards. If you have 214 yards of offense in a half, that’s 7.6 yards per play over 28 plays—you’re doing just fine. The Cowboys weren’t really stopping them; they were just falling short by a small margin.
For reference, the league average is about 336 yards of offense per game, meaning 168 yards per half is considered “average.” So, 214 yards isn’t going to alarm Kyle Shanahan.
Here is the drive chart:
As you can see, after that 214 yard, they had an even bigger second half with 255 yard in the second half as they started hitting on 3rd downs, running the ball with ease, and ending drives in the end zone.
By the end of the night, Dallas had conceded another brutal night of production. Yes, they were probably rested off the bye week, but no, they had no idea how to get off the field or to stop a run play. They just aren’t able to do what needs to be done right now and those names above would help. Of course, those names above have been present for many trips to San Francisco and, well, you know how that has often gone.
I took the liberty of offering a look at these first seven games. We have four different games where the defense conceded at least 432 yards and at least 184 on the ground.
Now, those are very arbitrary numbers, I admit. 184 and 432 are specific to this Cowboys campaign, but let’s use Stathead and see how many games in the entire NFL hit that criteria where a defense gives that up.
I searched it and the answer is 11. 11 games in the entire league hit that barrier.
Do you know how many defenses find themselves on this list multiple times?
Only one defense. This one. And they appear on this list FOUR TIMES.
Arizona, Cleveland, Kansas City, Los Angeles Rams, New Orleans, Seattle, and Tampa Bay are all there once and then Dallas is there four times.
I don’t know how we possibly can take this team seriously and spend so much time talking about the QB and offensive scheme while this defense makes winning football games nearly un-winnable. In fact, you might notice up there that the league is 1-10 when getting gashed like this and the one exception was that opening Thursday Night win where Patrick Mahomes still figured it out against the Ravens.
Yesterday, we showed you how the offense is 32nd in rushing and now we will do the rushing defense and see it is 31st.
However, before you celebrate too much that Carolina is 32nd, I should tell you that it is now by just a fraction. Carolina also concedes 154.6 per game so Dallas can move below them this week if Bijan Robinson gets loose a small bit.
But, wait, it does get worse. They also are a defense that gets no takeaways. Now, if there was one thing Dan Quinn’s defenses did, it was to get takeaways. Often at the risk of playing sound defense, but they generated more than anyone.
And now, with a defense that warned us there would be fewer takeaways but also fewer unsound tactics, we see that they delivered on the first part of that promise:
Yikes. A drop from tops in the league to near the bottom. In fact, there is just one game this year where they had multiple takeaways — Week 1 in Cleveland.
So, you basically went from 31 takeaways to on pace for just 12. Do you know the effects that has on how your offense operates? It is beyond bad.
All the bad stuff is true, but we should at least point out that late in the game they were able to make a few plays late that got the ball back and I don’t want to make everything negative. So here is a beautiful blitz off the edge that might have been the play that won the night if DeMarvion Overshown could have got the ball out when he blind-sided Brock Purdy with time running out.
4Q - 3:25 - 2-3-SF 37 - B.Purdy sacked at SF 30 for -7 yards (D.Overshown).
In San Francisco, this is the rookie RB missing the green-dog LB who was making a play. Isaac Guerendo made very favorable impressions but then gave it all back with a few minutes left if this ball comes loose. DeMarvion Overshown is a ray of sunshine in this band of misfits, so if we focus on the best things of 2024, he is very high up the list. He just didn’t get the ball out.
So, next play:
4Q - 3:22 - 3-10-SF 30 - B.Purdy pass short middle to K.Juszczyk to SF 36 for 6 yards (M.Hooker, E.Kendricks).
Next play, the Cowboys hit the Cover 0 blitz again. They were pretty aggressive on Sunday and called this concept several times. If Purdy can wait another second, maybe Chris Conley gets the ball down near this sideline and is gone, but he dumps it to his fullback and Malik Hooker rallies to get to him.
Dallas’ defense got its stop. If the offense marches down the field, we would probably be singing a different tune about the 4th Quarter.
Alas, like the Baltimore game, the hole that was dug was too deep.
The 3rd Down Problem
Only one team in 2023 had eight third-down conversions against Dallas, and I bet you wouldn’t guess it if you had five chances, so I’ll just tell you.
Geno Smith and the Seahawks worked over the Cowboys on third down last season. Before that, it was Tom Brady in the playoff loss to Dallas in 2022 who hit the eight third-down conversions mark, on a night we recall he was poor. Eight is a huge number, and San Francisco hit it. Six came in the second half, where they made Dallas deal with even more issues as the game progressed, including some rub routes, the mesh concept, and Purdy’s scrambling.
Let’s see a few.
1Q - 10:15 - 3-6-SF 17 - B.Purdy pass deep right to D.Samuel to DAL 36 for 47 yards
This is scheme. The 49ers have a WR grouping here of Ronnie Bell, Chris Conley, and Ricky Pearsall. So, two backups and a rookie. The Cowboys have them all in man coverage on third down against their best three cornerbacks. Meanwhile, Deebo Samuel will line up as a RB and motion out to ID man coverage (which we already knew) and more importantly, to ID that his man coverage man will be a LB Eric Kendricks. Then, the two WRs on that side will run to the middle of the field to clear it out like a basketball play so that Deebo may isolate against a linebacker in space on a wheel route where Purdy can throw a practice field fade ball to him and watch him run. Candy from babies and such. Too easy.
2Q - 9:19 - 3-7-SF 37 - B.Purdy pass short right to R.Pearsall to 50 for 13 yards
I am showing this 3rd down for one reason. It is to show how an anticipation throw is one of the most beautiful things in our sport. Hit pause when Purdy lets the ball go to his rookie Pearsall and look at where Pearsall is in his route. His back is to the QB and he is not even to his break. By the time he turns to look, the ball is 10 feet from him. It is almost caught in self-defense and that is a rookie WR who missed the first six weeks. Some things are not defendable and a throw like this – which happened right in front of my vantage point at the stadium – was beautiful to behold. There is no question Purdy is better than I thought he would ever be.
Now, to the second half where the 49ers put on a clinic of 3rd downs.
3Q - 7:16 - 3-2-DAL 2 - B.Purdy pass short right to G.Kittle for 2 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
I admit I have been traveling, but has the league said anything about this play? Because unless I am still perplexed how this was a legal play and an over-ruled flag. For the guys on the field and the NBC officiating expert to assure it was purely a legal play made me a little crazy. But, how easy will this make red-zone offense from now on!
3Q - 2:32 - 3-7-DAL 25 - B.Purdy pass short middle to D.Samuel to DAL 9 for 16 yards
By this point, Dallas was spinning in circles. 3rd and 7 and a stop here would be huge. It is 20-10 and they just have to force a field goal. Zimmer calls a 3-man rush with Overshown spying Purdy now (a bit late of an adjustment as the damage has been done) and with 2-man behind it, the 49ers run a simple cross for Deebo on what looks a bit like “mesh” and there is no rub or pick. He is just able to run away from Amani Oruwariye and then refuse to get tackled. Deebo is special because he can be used in so many ways.
Purdy wins with his feet
But, for me, the weapon of choice that changed the game in the 2nd half was Purdy and his feet. This montage shows the damage he did as it was quite a performance that really altered the offense dramatically.
Sometimes they spied him and he still got lost. Other times, he waited and squeezed out. He is very crafty back there and it really made a difference. And yes, his 8 carries for 56 yards and a touchdown would have easily led the Cowboys. It was enough to suggest he changed the game without having to do too much with his arm.
But, most of what he did was just get the ball to the great George Kittle.
3Q - 13:38 - 1-10-DAL 47 - B.Purdy pass short middle to G.Kittle pushed ob at DAL 4 for 43 yards
This will be known as the play that made Trevon Diggs and Mike Leslie cement their spot in Cowboys football lore. But, it is another easy read of a Cowboys blitz as 55-Carl Lawson is lined up as a potential Kittle defender but then runs by him to blitz. Purdy almost always throws into the blitz direction because Kittle becomes “hot” and his actual defender is 6-Donovan Wilson who is several yards away. The throw is quick and short and something most of our readers could have delivered. But, Kittle is faster than Wilson and Wilson now needs to try to catch Kittle. It did not go well. And, back to Diggs and his friends, 28-Malik Hooker, 50-Kendricks, cannot or do not help. There is no universe where this should be a 43 yard gain. But, of course it is.
3Q - 4:42 - 1-10-SF 45 - B.Purdy pass deep left to G.Kittle pushed ob at DAL 28 for 27 yards
This one is more complex for Purdy because the Cowboys are in a Cover 4 zone. Motion and play-action set the scene for a big-time throw to Kittle who has two men on him. A more careless throw brings Kendricks into play for an interception. But, Purdy puts it right on the money. Gorgeous offense and QB play.
The most depressing snap of the season
Finally, I leave you with this to summarize the run defense.
This is the touchdown to open the second half.
Cowboys are in what appears to be a bear front where they have three tackles playing over the guards and center. What happens next is so demoralizing against that group that we cannot even offer thoughts of advice or alternatives. When you get smoked that badly up front, you might just need to start over.
This snap is so depressing that I am failed to offer words. As a form of protest, I am going to let you know we have kept the splash plays and updated the leaderboard, but it feels odd to hand out any awards or recognition, so they are presented without comment. Thanks to Kevin Utz for his hard work this week.
Splash Plays
This defense has to figure out how to show some resistance for 10 more games and I don’t even know where to begin. I suppose getting their injured players back is a good start.
Be warned, it wasn't pretty for the Cowboys.
Bob Sturm
Oct 30, 2024
Here we go. Our objectives today will be:
- Evaluate the overall defensive effort vs 49ers
- The disappearance of takeaways
- The 3rd Down Problem
- Purdy wins with his feet and his arm
- The most depressing snap of the season
We should acknowledge, again, that analyzing this 2024 defense requires consideration of the facts. They don’t have their key players, and while that’s part of football, we still have to recognize that comparing Mike Zimmer’s defense to Dan Quinn’s is a bit unfair. One had Micah Parsons, DaRon Bland, DeMarcus Lawrence, Sam Williams, Dorance Armstrong, Stephon Gilmore, Jayron Kearse, and Johnathan Hankins, and the other did not.
At the same time, one defense was largely effective, while the other is posting historically bad performances, making games difficult to win against any team with a strong offense.
Yet, heading into this game, we saw that the 49ers were in bad shape. They didn’t have their key players, and the ones they did have were fresh out of the hospital or limping around. Maybe Dallas could do a decent job here, right?
Well, as you know, they put up a reasonable amount of resistance in the early going. The 49ers' offense lacked some confidence, but it’s worth noting that their worst drive in the first half on Sunday still generated 23 yards to the Dallas 43. So, how bad was that drive?
In other words, San Francisco wasn’t scoring, but they had drives of 55, 26, 23, 39, and 36 yards. If you have 214 yards of offense in a half, that’s 7.6 yards per play over 28 plays—you’re doing just fine. The Cowboys weren’t really stopping them; they were just falling short by a small margin.
For reference, the league average is about 336 yards of offense per game, meaning 168 yards per half is considered “average.” So, 214 yards isn’t going to alarm Kyle Shanahan.
Here is the drive chart:
As you can see, after that 214 yard, they had an even bigger second half with 255 yard in the second half as they started hitting on 3rd downs, running the ball with ease, and ending drives in the end zone.
By the end of the night, Dallas had conceded another brutal night of production. Yes, they were probably rested off the bye week, but no, they had no idea how to get off the field or to stop a run play. They just aren’t able to do what needs to be done right now and those names above would help. Of course, those names above have been present for many trips to San Francisco and, well, you know how that has often gone.
I took the liberty of offering a look at these first seven games. We have four different games where the defense conceded at least 432 yards and at least 184 on the ground.
Now, those are very arbitrary numbers, I admit. 184 and 432 are specific to this Cowboys campaign, but let’s use Stathead and see how many games in the entire NFL hit that criteria where a defense gives that up.
I searched it and the answer is 11. 11 games in the entire league hit that barrier.
Do you know how many defenses find themselves on this list multiple times?
Only one defense. This one. And they appear on this list FOUR TIMES.
Arizona, Cleveland, Kansas City, Los Angeles Rams, New Orleans, Seattle, and Tampa Bay are all there once and then Dallas is there four times.
I don’t know how we possibly can take this team seriously and spend so much time talking about the QB and offensive scheme while this defense makes winning football games nearly un-winnable. In fact, you might notice up there that the league is 1-10 when getting gashed like this and the one exception was that opening Thursday Night win where Patrick Mahomes still figured it out against the Ravens.
Yesterday, we showed you how the offense is 32nd in rushing and now we will do the rushing defense and see it is 31st.
However, before you celebrate too much that Carolina is 32nd, I should tell you that it is now by just a fraction. Carolina also concedes 154.6 per game so Dallas can move below them this week if Bijan Robinson gets loose a small bit.
But, wait, it does get worse. They also are a defense that gets no takeaways. Now, if there was one thing Dan Quinn’s defenses did, it was to get takeaways. Often at the risk of playing sound defense, but they generated more than anyone.
And now, with a defense that warned us there would be fewer takeaways but also fewer unsound tactics, we see that they delivered on the first part of that promise:
Yikes. A drop from tops in the league to near the bottom. In fact, there is just one game this year where they had multiple takeaways — Week 1 in Cleveland.
So, you basically went from 31 takeaways to on pace for just 12. Do you know the effects that has on how your offense operates? It is beyond bad.
All the bad stuff is true, but we should at least point out that late in the game they were able to make a few plays late that got the ball back and I don’t want to make everything negative. So here is a beautiful blitz off the edge that might have been the play that won the night if DeMarvion Overshown could have got the ball out when he blind-sided Brock Purdy with time running out.
4Q - 3:25 - 2-3-SF 37 - B.Purdy sacked at SF 30 for -7 yards (D.Overshown).
In San Francisco, this is the rookie RB missing the green-dog LB who was making a play. Isaac Guerendo made very favorable impressions but then gave it all back with a few minutes left if this ball comes loose. DeMarvion Overshown is a ray of sunshine in this band of misfits, so if we focus on the best things of 2024, he is very high up the list. He just didn’t get the ball out.
So, next play:
4Q - 3:22 - 3-10-SF 30 - B.Purdy pass short middle to K.Juszczyk to SF 36 for 6 yards (M.Hooker, E.Kendricks).
Next play, the Cowboys hit the Cover 0 blitz again. They were pretty aggressive on Sunday and called this concept several times. If Purdy can wait another second, maybe Chris Conley gets the ball down near this sideline and is gone, but he dumps it to his fullback and Malik Hooker rallies to get to him.
Dallas’ defense got its stop. If the offense marches down the field, we would probably be singing a different tune about the 4th Quarter.
Alas, like the Baltimore game, the hole that was dug was too deep.
The 3rd Down Problem
Only one team in 2023 had eight third-down conversions against Dallas, and I bet you wouldn’t guess it if you had five chances, so I’ll just tell you.
Geno Smith and the Seahawks worked over the Cowboys on third down last season. Before that, it was Tom Brady in the playoff loss to Dallas in 2022 who hit the eight third-down conversions mark, on a night we recall he was poor. Eight is a huge number, and San Francisco hit it. Six came in the second half, where they made Dallas deal with even more issues as the game progressed, including some rub routes, the mesh concept, and Purdy’s scrambling.
Let’s see a few.
1Q - 10:15 - 3-6-SF 17 - B.Purdy pass deep right to D.Samuel to DAL 36 for 47 yards
This is scheme. The 49ers have a WR grouping here of Ronnie Bell, Chris Conley, and Ricky Pearsall. So, two backups and a rookie. The Cowboys have them all in man coverage on third down against their best three cornerbacks. Meanwhile, Deebo Samuel will line up as a RB and motion out to ID man coverage (which we already knew) and more importantly, to ID that his man coverage man will be a LB Eric Kendricks. Then, the two WRs on that side will run to the middle of the field to clear it out like a basketball play so that Deebo may isolate against a linebacker in space on a wheel route where Purdy can throw a practice field fade ball to him and watch him run. Candy from babies and such. Too easy.
2Q - 9:19 - 3-7-SF 37 - B.Purdy pass short right to R.Pearsall to 50 for 13 yards
I am showing this 3rd down for one reason. It is to show how an anticipation throw is one of the most beautiful things in our sport. Hit pause when Purdy lets the ball go to his rookie Pearsall and look at where Pearsall is in his route. His back is to the QB and he is not even to his break. By the time he turns to look, the ball is 10 feet from him. It is almost caught in self-defense and that is a rookie WR who missed the first six weeks. Some things are not defendable and a throw like this – which happened right in front of my vantage point at the stadium – was beautiful to behold. There is no question Purdy is better than I thought he would ever be.
Now, to the second half where the 49ers put on a clinic of 3rd downs.
3Q - 7:16 - 3-2-DAL 2 - B.Purdy pass short right to G.Kittle for 2 yards, TOUCHDOWN.
I admit I have been traveling, but has the league said anything about this play? Because unless I am still perplexed how this was a legal play and an over-ruled flag. For the guys on the field and the NBC officiating expert to assure it was purely a legal play made me a little crazy. But, how easy will this make red-zone offense from now on!
3Q - 2:32 - 3-7-DAL 25 - B.Purdy pass short middle to D.Samuel to DAL 9 for 16 yards
By this point, Dallas was spinning in circles. 3rd and 7 and a stop here would be huge. It is 20-10 and they just have to force a field goal. Zimmer calls a 3-man rush with Overshown spying Purdy now (a bit late of an adjustment as the damage has been done) and with 2-man behind it, the 49ers run a simple cross for Deebo on what looks a bit like “mesh” and there is no rub or pick. He is just able to run away from Amani Oruwariye and then refuse to get tackled. Deebo is special because he can be used in so many ways.
Purdy wins with his feet
But, for me, the weapon of choice that changed the game in the 2nd half was Purdy and his feet. This montage shows the damage he did as it was quite a performance that really altered the offense dramatically.
Sometimes they spied him and he still got lost. Other times, he waited and squeezed out. He is very crafty back there and it really made a difference. And yes, his 8 carries for 56 yards and a touchdown would have easily led the Cowboys. It was enough to suggest he changed the game without having to do too much with his arm.
But, most of what he did was just get the ball to the great George Kittle.
3Q - 13:38 - 1-10-DAL 47 - B.Purdy pass short middle to G.Kittle pushed ob at DAL 4 for 43 yards
This will be known as the play that made Trevon Diggs and Mike Leslie cement their spot in Cowboys football lore. But, it is another easy read of a Cowboys blitz as 55-Carl Lawson is lined up as a potential Kittle defender but then runs by him to blitz. Purdy almost always throws into the blitz direction because Kittle becomes “hot” and his actual defender is 6-Donovan Wilson who is several yards away. The throw is quick and short and something most of our readers could have delivered. But, Kittle is faster than Wilson and Wilson now needs to try to catch Kittle. It did not go well. And, back to Diggs and his friends, 28-Malik Hooker, 50-Kendricks, cannot or do not help. There is no universe where this should be a 43 yard gain. But, of course it is.
3Q - 4:42 - 1-10-SF 45 - B.Purdy pass deep left to G.Kittle pushed ob at DAL 28 for 27 yards
This one is more complex for Purdy because the Cowboys are in a Cover 4 zone. Motion and play-action set the scene for a big-time throw to Kittle who has two men on him. A more careless throw brings Kendricks into play for an interception. But, Purdy puts it right on the money. Gorgeous offense and QB play.
The most depressing snap of the season
Finally, I leave you with this to summarize the run defense.
This is the touchdown to open the second half.
Cowboys are in what appears to be a bear front where they have three tackles playing over the guards and center. What happens next is so demoralizing against that group that we cannot even offer thoughts of advice or alternatives. When you get smoked that badly up front, you might just need to start over.
This snap is so depressing that I am failed to offer words. As a form of protest, I am going to let you know we have kept the splash plays and updated the leaderboard, but it feels odd to hand out any awards or recognition, so they are presented without comment. Thanks to Kevin Utz for his hard work this week.
Splash Plays
This defense has to figure out how to show some resistance for 10 more games and I don’t even know where to begin. I suppose getting their injured players back is a good start.
