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Arik Armstead, the 49ers’ $ 85 million defensive tackle, has played 99 snaps in two games this season and has three tackles and no sacks.
Horrible and overpaid, right? False and false. Armstead is silently on a sensational start. He’s second in the NFL with 15 presses from quarterback, two less than Raiders passer Maxx Crosby and one more than Rams All-Universe defensive tackle Aaron Donald, according to Pro Football Focus.
Armstead’s two-tackle performance in a 17-11 win over the Eagles on Sunday illustrated just how much impact he does without doing much damage on the stats sheet.
Consider two rooms. First, Armstead played a starring role in the biggest snap of the game, the Eagles’ failed “Philly Special” pass in the 4th and the 3-yard line goal in the second quarter. Armstead, lined up at left defensive end, stayed home as quarterback Jalen Hurts passed the baton to wide receiver DeVonta Smith, who pitched off Greg Ward, who, running to the right, saw Armstead instead of an open space. Armstead forced Ward back to 12 and had his hands in the face as Ward’s pass rolled out of the end zone.
The second game took place in the middle of the fourth quarter. The 49ers led 14-3 and the Eagles faced 3rd and 2nd in their 38th. The statistics sheet, game by game, describes what happened: “J. Hurts sacked at PHI 32 for -6 yards (N. Bosa).”
But it’s not to be noted that Nick Bosa’s end-of-workout sack came after Armstead collapsed in the pocket knocking down right guard Landon Dickerson and All-Pro center Jason Kelce in New Jersey. As a result, Hurts was pushed left, straight into Bosa, as Armstead punctuated the play by pinning Kelce to his back.
Other observations from Sunday’s victory:
• The 49ers expect starting cornerback Emmanuel Moseley (knee) to make his 2021 debut against the Packers on Sunday. And that leads to an interesting question: will rookie Deommodore Lenoir or Josh Norman debut alongside Moseley?
The case against Lenoir: He was nearly beaten for a 68-yard touchdown by Quintez Cephus of Detroit in Week 1, and he was roasted for a 91-yard catch by also unrecognized Quez Watkins in Philadelphia. Now is the fifth-round pick supposed to cover Packers All-Pro forward Davante Adams?
That said, Lenoir, who tripped over Watkins’ grip, was otherwise excellent. He had a textbook cover that forced Jalen Reagor out of bounds, wiping out a 38-yard touchdown. And Lenoir also had overall coverage on two deep incomplete passes to Smith, the No. 10 rookie pick.
The case against Norman: He received two penalties for passing interference in the first 24 minutes.
That said, Norman was not the target of another pass. And few would have been surprised if a flag hadn’t fallen on his first offense in the Eagles’ opening practice.
• Both goalies, Jimmie Ward and Jaquiski Tartt, pulled off touchdown tackles – and each prevented potential long scores in a head-to-head cover.
In the Eagles’ third game, Hurts matched Smith in one cover, but Tartt blocked a 54-yard touchdown pass with a break in the end zone. Later, Tartt wasted no time making the tackle on Watkins’ 91-yard reception, a save that set up the game-changing goal line position.
For his part, Ward was on his own to cover Hurts’ deep incompleteness at Reagor at the start of the fourth quarter. And with Hurts ready to take a read zone in the end zone, Ward stole to force him out of bounds on the 3rd and the 4th goal, the game before the doomed “Philly Special”.
“I think we have two sureties out there as good as anyone to do it,” said head coach Kyle Shanahan. “… The times they got caught on the pitch, there wasn’t any panic, they didn’t IP the guy. In fact, they played with the ball and did a hell of a job. “
• Shanahan’s most curious call? In the second quarter, with the 49ers leading 3-0 and facing 3rd and 8th of Philadelphia’s 39th, Jimmy Garoppolo, on shotgun, was handed wide receiver Deebo Samuel. The result: A gain of 1 yard and a punt.
Maybe Shanahan thought a 3rd and long run would cheat Philadelphia? Maybe he was trying to set up a long field-goal attempt? Or maybe he wasn’t overflowing with confidence in Garoppolo? At this point, Garoppolo had made 8 of 14 passes for 65 yards and had failed to connect with open receivers on at least four of his six incompleteness. On another incompletion, Garoppolo made a deep pass through the middle of wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk. In fairness, however, Garoppolo was pierced by passer Josh Sweat.
• The 49ers are 2-0, Garoppolo hasn’t thrown any interceptions in 55 attempts and there is no controversy over the QB. But would there be any rumbles if the 49ers were 1-1 because “Bad Jimmy” threw a pick-six that got the game going?
With the 49ers leading 7-3 early in the third quarter, Garoppolo threw a back float at Samuel while being blitzed on the 3rd and 6th of the Eagles’ 49. The pass was so bad that Samuel became a defensive back and struck away from cornerback Steven Nelson.
Shanahan noted Garoppolo’s mistake on Monday. But he said he didn’t have a problem with Garoppolo’s other throws that technically might not be a manual.
“I don’t mind that the guys don’t go into their throws, don’t fade away,” Shanahan said. “Jimmy, with the way he throws and the torque he has in his upper body, he’s almost like a JUGS machine. He can sit there with his feet flat and just kick his core all the way with the way his upper body turns and the way his hips turn. He can do almost any throw.
• Despite Trent Sherfield’s development as a wide receiver, the 49ers still use the former Cardinals special teams ace as a gunner on the punt cover.
Good choice.
Mitch Wishnowsky had five punts and Sherfield was instrumental in the last four. First, he made a tight tackle on a Reagor 2-yard return. Sherfield then accelerated down the field to force a good hold by Reagor. Then he was in position to catch Wishnowky’s punt on 1, but he took off his chest and was shot down on 3. Finally, he knocked down a punt on 7.
• Why was receiver Jauan Jennings so open on his 11-yard touchdown?
Jennings was lined up on the left with tight end George Kittle a few yards to his right. Kittle, a first-team All-Pro, rushed on the outside, cut inside and pulled three defenders towards him in the end zone. Jennings, a seventh-round pick in 2020, landed on the outside, cut on the inside and no one covered him, which allowed his first NFL catch and first touchdown.
Eric Branch covers the 49ers for The San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected] Twitter: @Eric_Branch
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