The 49ers surrendered 521 yards and the final 10 points of Monday night’s 33-30 loss to the Packers and those developments led to questions for head coach Kyle Shanahan about defensive coordinator Robert Saleh after the game.
Shanahan’s team has lost four games in a row and they held leads in three of those games, but Shanahan said on Monday night that he remains a believer in Saleh’s approach.
“Saleh is very good at what he does, and I have a ton of confidence in him and I have ton of confidence in our scheme,” Shanahan said, via NBC Sports Bay Area. “They made the plays to win at the end that we didn’t.”
Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers hit wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling for a 60-yard gain on Green Bay’s first offensive play of the game a week after the offensively challenged Cardinals had a 75-yard touchdown to open their Week Six win over the Niners. Cornerback Richard Sherman said after the game that scheme can’t cover for players failing to execute.
“At the end of the day, if you call the perfect call and they don’t run the play the way you called it, what else can you do?” Sherman said. “A guy has man, and you don’t take the man, and it’s going to lead to a big play. Aaron would find him if he was covered.”
Sherman was also flagged for a crucial illegal contact penalty and Rodgers had success picking on backup Greg Mabin after Jimmie Ward left the game with an injury. Schemes can only do so much to guard against such developments and the total package left the 49ers just short in Green Bay.