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Originally Posted by A8bil
Yep. I would say that the 49ers DL gets pretty thin once you get past the main 4-- too many injuries this year at that position. Because I haven't watched that many KC games this year, how good are these guys at stringing out plays along the line? Other KC fans have said that the 49ers and Titans run a similar run scheme, but having looked at that a bit, I'm not sure it is true...the 49ers seem to force more East-West movement (than the Titans) before their backs cut. Henry seems to run more right off tackle with straight away blocking.
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Chiefs had struggled without outside zone but have really turned that around a bit with Ragland being shifted into the starting role. As far as the DL is concerned I have little concern at all with their ability to keep the line moving East-West. Where my concern really comes is whether or not Hitchens can flow along with the play and remain aggressive enough to keep from getting hung in the wash.
He isn't a premier athlete so slowing him down a bit can be enough to take him out of a play and open a running lane. He has to really fight through the mess in the middle to ensure we remain gap sound and give the DBs (who are all very physical) enough time to hem the 9er RBs in. Ragland is showing better maneuverability this year but it will never truly be a strength so if you can find a way to have him attacking the line early enough in the play to clean some of that wash out for Hitchens to move freely, that could help.
The DL as currently constructed is criminally underrated. They aren't the weak sisters that their early-season performance against the run. You have to remember that fans and eventually their own teammates put these guys on blast for freelancing along the DL in week 5-6. From that point forward, when Mathieu called them all out publicly for playing for themselves, they've played exceptionally responsible football and it's led to massive improvements against the run.
They can still be beat off-tackle because the LBs just aren't that athletic, but the 49ers will have to execute and even a very good running team has 'negative' plays that only yield a yard or 2 when they're trying to run laterally. Especially when guys like Jones and Clark are able to penetrate early at times.