SANTA CLARA, Calif. _ Because I'm a sportswriter who boasts all the stereotypical pratfalls that are attached to the profession, I have Twitter open at all times when I cover football games.
After all, these free and fresh takes _ poorly comprised and comprised _ don't disseminate themselves.
And because I am fundamentally flawed and had that page open, at some point in the second quarter, I noticed that "Robert Saleh" started to trend.
Given the tone of most of those tweets, I'm surprised "Fire" didn't precede the 49ers defensive coordinator's name.
It's a new Christmas tradition for 49ers fans: as the season winds down, calls for the DC's job are sung like carols. And despite the 49ers having one of the best defenses in the NFL to start the season, there they were, ringing again.
The issue that put coal in everyone's stockings Saturday was that the 49ers couldn't stop the Rams' bootleg play in the first half.
Down key players at every single level of the defense and playing with a free safety (arguably the most important position on the field in a Cover-3 defense) that started the season on the practice squad, the Saleh had to make a Faustian bargain:
With the personnel the 49ers had on the field, they would have to give up something to the Rams and head coach/offensive coordinator Sean McVay in the proverbial chess game. Try to take away everything and you'd effectively letting the offense _ which will always have an advantage with the NFL's rules _ dictate the terms of engagement. That's no good.
So in the first half, Saleh's risk-mitigation plan _ according to 49ers defenders I talked to after the game _ was to try to stay stout against the run and dare Rams quarterback Jared Goff to beat them outside the pocket.
To Goff and McVay's credit, he took advantage of the scheme, throwing some absolutely elite passes en route to 14-3 and 21-10 first-half leads.
No, the bargain wasn't working and the tweets (and one can only imagine what else) were flying.
I'm a firm believer that players are more important than plays, but that's not to say that plays are not important. A lesser coordinator, seeing that things weren't working (though it should be noted that the 49ers had a halftime lead), would have continued to play the same game, hoping for a better result.
But instead of hopes and prayers, Saleh did something, adjusting the Niners' scheme to corral Goff in the pocket _ where he was seemingly unable to make throws to anyone but those directly in front of him _ and to concede opportunities to Los Angeles' star running back, Todd Gurley, who lacks vision, burst, and wiggle, but otherwise is pretty good.
That bargain worked.
"They didn't want him to get hit," Richard Sherman said of Goff and the Rams. "So they didn't go straight drop-back... Our D-ends were pushing them deep. Saleh made a great adjustment to let the d-ends go upfield and put some pressure in his face."
Goff led the Rams on a third-quarter touchdown drive _ he made a couple throws over the middle and escaped the pocket once or twice _ but in the second half, LA only mustered 10 points. They lacked the verve and rhythm that they had been able to manufacture in the first half. The 49ers defense wasn't dominant, but it gave the offense a chance to win the game _ which is about all you can ask for at this time of the year.
Yes, I'm sure all 49ers fans would prefer if the San Francisco defense was as dominant as it was in the early goings of the season, but that's an unrealistic expectation given the team's diminished depth on the defensive line and injuries in the second level.
But much like Jimmy Garoppolo's ability to lift his game in the game's biggest moments, Saleh's ability to adjust _ on the fly _ to what the opposition was showing him in a critical contest, even with a flawed roster, is a legitimately rare quality in a coordinator and an excellent harbinger ahead of the 49ers' biggest game in years and first playoff appearance since 2013.
So call for this guy's job if you want _ I can bet he'd have two dozen job offers (for more money, too) the second he hits the open market.
