Much digital ink has been binarily (it's a word) produced about the 49ers' ability to make opposing defenses one-dimensional. For the most part, it's fantastic. Our front seven has just decided to yell "you shall not pass" at every RB they've faced.
I do agree with the conclusion that most writers have proposed when contemplating this fact: it is one of the reasons why this defense is so dominant.
But, we must also understand the cost of making an offense one-dimensional, and it is perfectly summed up by the fact that Patrick Willis spent a lot of time on the sideline versus the Packers. To compensate for how much it sucks to run against us, the opposing teams must pass the ball. Like, a lot. This necessitates nickel and dime packages - i.e. oodles and oodles of DBs.
What does this mean in the context of Sunday's game? It means that Chris Culliver needs to have another great game. I mean, that defended pass to end the game against the Packers? Ugh, just perfect. Culliver, by and large, had a great game. Jordy Nelson was essentially useless all game.
This is, of course, in contrast to both James Jones and Randall Cobb, who had pretty big games for the Packers. If I remember correctly, too, much of this was against Perrish Cox. Don't get me wrong, for a first game in quite a long time, Cox did quite well. This is especially true when you consider the fact that he is our fourth CB.
But still, on Sunday, Cox needs to have another solid game. We ought not to expect him to be as lock down as Carlos Rodgers - or even Culliver for that matter. But, we have already seen that the Lions are not afraid to just chuck the ball up willy-nilly. That can be easily defensed by means of some solid defense. Let's hope that Cox is up to the task.