Minnesota Vikings Opponent Breakdown: The San Francisco 49ers’ defense

The Mighty Sherman Arrives

Back in March, the 49ers front-office made a bold move in signing former Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman to a three-year contract to play in San Francisco, his NFC West rival for numerous years.

Following the move, NFL Network’s Kyle Brandt boldly stated that the Sherman signing would, “put the teeth,” in the 49ers’ pass defense, also near the bottom of the league in yards and touchdowns allowed in 2017.

But let’s not rush to assume that.

Sherman is now 30-years-old, and although that is far from ancient in the NFL world, he exists in the cornerback arena, which has always proven chronologically discriminating to athletes.

Add to the fact that Sherman will be recovering from a 2017 mid-season Achilles tendon tear and that’s some weight to bear.

If he does indeed “put the teeth” in what must be considered a bite-less San Francisco pass defense, they will be with teeth that are longer than most.

Also, to add in the general reference to “biting”, it’s important to understand that in the infamous Seahawks’ “Legion of Boom”, Sherman contributed very little “boom” at all.

The veteran corner did indeed did supply the first team All-Pro coverage to allow that “boom” to happen, but alas, defensive tackle Michael Bennett, linebacker Bobby Wagner, and safety Kam Chancellor didn’t come along for the ride from the Seattle to the Bay Area with Sherman.

There is no reason to believe that the Vikings’ number one and number two receivers, barring a game execution breakdown seen very rarely in Mike Zimmer’s tenure as Minnesota’s head coach, will not have solid days left, right, and down the center of the field on Sunday.

In fact, this might be a nice opportunity to see Laquon Treadwell have a blow-up game.

If the the Vikings’ passing offense fails somehow, there are several things that still do not bode well for the 49ers pulling off what would be a considerable upset.

Minnesota Vikings

The first is Minnesota running back Dalvin Cook returning to play on the speedy field turf of the Vikings’ home field at U.S. Bank Stadium. There is little that flashes from film on the San Francisco defense that convinces a viewer that they have the talent (or the coaching stratagem) to bottle Cook up.

The dude is ready to blow it up for the home folks (and himself).

Second is the Minnesota fans themselves, who shall be easily provoked to high volumes, early and often, and most likely intimidate a young 49ers defensive unit with an average age of just 26-years-old.

Third will be the counterpart reality of defensive coaches Mike Zimmer and Robert Saleh. Zimmer doesn’t just know how to coach defense, he also studies his opponent’s defense and has a good idea of what they’re capable of.

Saleh may be a very smart guy, but on Sunday he’s going to be outgunned in the player department and competing against a guy who’s 20 years ahead of him.