Brandon Staley explains how the 49ers can emulate defense that gave them huge problems last season

"The best players in the league, the best coaches in the league, pre-snap if they know what’s happening then you’re multiplying the chances of being successful. You’ve got to try to make them operate post-snap. It’s such a scheme world now where every play is on a can, and there’s a reason for that so they can call plays against ideal looks. 

"You’re trying to present different looks, if you’re gonna do that, if you’re gonna play different stuff whether it’s front-coverage-pressure, you’ve got to make sure it’s tied together. The only way that’s gonna happen is if, as a unit, you have command over it. You’ve got to be able to teach conceptually and you’ve got to do what your guys can handle. All the scheme in the world isn’t going to help you on Sunday, you’ve got to be a technique-oriented team, and that’s something our program is known for is style of play. That’s what we’ve got to focus on always is our style of play."

Staley's comments about everything being tied together serve as an inadvertent reference to one of the key criticisms of Sorensen's predecessor. During a midseason dip for San Francisco, it was regularly claimed the 49er defensive front was not tied to the coverage.

But in a more macro sense his words echo those of Sorensen, who in his first press conference earlier this month said of potential innovations:

"You know, you try something and it may not work. And I’m not saying that with this, but we had that plenty of times in Seattle, a couple times in Seattle as well where we might be evaluating something and Pete would say, ‘hey, maybe we need to try this,’ and you might spend a practice or two in the offseason and try and iron it out and see if you want to use it. And you may or may not. It just depends on, for me it’s is it going to slow the players down? You don’t want that, not the way our players play. So, if it can fit our system and our players can still play fast and it gives us a competitive advantage, I think everything is geared towards can it help us win games and play good defense.”

The 49ers would be extremely wise to take advantage of Staley's expertise to develop some new pitches in their defensive arsenal. However, even if the Niners do have designs on doing similar things to the 2023 Ravens, both Staley and Sorensen appear to be in lockstep that any potential tweaks will not compromise their ability to do what they do best and execute the defensive scheme that has helped them be so successful under Kyle Shanahan.