Niners Nation
Kawakami: Kittle next to McCaffrey — the heart of the 49ers’ locker room culture (paywall)
“When I asked Bethune for an example of some wise words he’s received from Kittle or McCaffrey, he couldn’t wait to tell me.
“I remember Christian told me not to eat right before I go to sleep because your body can’t digest it, sleep and recovery at the same time,” Bethune said.
Have you followed that advice, Tatum? “Oh yeah,” Bethune said, in a tone that suggested that ignoring some McCaffrey advice would be stunningly stupid.
Morstead, meanwhile, had a more veteran viewpoint of life next to two superstars.“
Veteran linebacker Eric Kendricks becoming comfortable in new role with 49ers
““I don’t know what I envisioned,” Kendricks said on Wednesday. “I took a leap of faith, as far as the organization was concerned. I just had a gut feeling. I didn’t want to jump on anything too early that didn’t feel quite right.
“I didn’t play for a whole, so nothing really felt right. I got this opportunity, and it felt right…
NFL playoffs: Key matchups to watch in each NFC wild-card game (paywall)
“Jalen Hurts hasn’t run as much on designed runs and scrambles, which has hurt the Eagles shotgun running game, so they’ve run the ball more from under center, where they get most of their explosive rushes. However, they don’t pass much from under center (30th in dropbacks from under center), which makes them predictable.
Last season, the Eagles only had one game under 100 rushing yards, in Week 18, when they rested their starters. This season, they’ve had nine games under 100. Notably, they struggled to run the ball against some of the league’s worst run defenses, such as the Washington Commanders, Buffalo Bills and Dallas Cowboys. As mentioned, the 49ers run defense has struggled in the last few weeks, but it has a shot at stopping the Eagles run game. The Bills did so by confusing their blocking schemes with line games and run blitzes, and 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh did the same to the Seattle Seahawks in Week 18 after getting gashed on the ground early in the game. Still, anytime you have Saquon Barkley in the backfield, the threat of the big run always looms.
The Eagles faced the seventh-highest rate of two-deep safeties, which limited Hurts’ ability to throw outside to A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. Despite all the two-high shells they faced, they struggled to run the ball consistently. 49ers cornerback Deommodore Lenoir has struggled as of late, and Renardo Green is just coming back from injury. If the 49ers are forced to play one-high coverage because of the run, it’ll be a lot to ask Lenoir and Green to cover Brown and Smith one-on-one, especially with their nonexistent pass rush. With right tackle Lane Johnson possibly returning from injury, it’ll be even more difficult to get to Hurts and make the run game a bigger threat.
Although Saleh is a single-high coach, he has...
