4 burning questions for the 49ers heading into the playoffs

During today’s episode of The Shanaplan, we pit the 49ers' offense and defense against each other in a series of questions. Akash and I gave our answers to four questions. Let’s get into three of them, and you can share your answers.

1) Who deserves more credit for the season as a whole: Kyle Shanahan or DeMeco Ryans?

Talk about splitting hairs. DeMeco Ryans was the best defensive coordinator in football during the 2021 season, which continued in 2022.

The 49ers' defense was expected to take a step forward this season thanks to Arik Armstead moving inside to defensive tackle full-time. Armstead and Javon Kinlaw were supposed to be a force to be reckoned with, while an improved secondary gave up next to nothing.

Armstead, Kinlaw, and Emmanuel Moseley combined to only 20 games. That’s three valuable starters that missed the majority of the season. And that’s ignoring the shuffling along the defensive line and other injuries that forced several starters in and out of the lineup all year.

The 49ers didn’t miss a beat. The team finished first in defensive DVOA, average rushing EPA allowed, plus success rate, and second in average passing EPA allowed. Of course, it helps to have a pair of All-Pro players, but this unit proved to be dominant all season, despite the injuries.

Then, you go to the other side of the ball, where Shanahan is on his third quarterback. The All-Pro from last season, Deebo Samuel, missed four games. But, again, you’d hardly notice.

Since Week 10, or after the 49ers' bye week once Christian McCaffrey became familiar with the playbook, San Francisco finished second offensively in DVOA. They were first against the pass by 11 percentage points and second on the ground. Only the Chiefs and the Lions had a higher EPA per play, with the 49ers finishing fifth in success rate.

2) Which unit do you have more confidence in going into the playoffs?

More recency bias will be involved with this answer than the others. The offense has scored at least 33 points in five of their past six games. It’s not as if the defense has struggled outside of the Raiders game. There have been hiccups, but DeMeco’s bunch also gifted the offense short fields a handful of times.

Akash and I disagreed. He took the offense. While there are no wrong answers, you wouldn’t be faulted for betting on the team with George Kittle, Brandon Aiyuk, McCaffrey, Deebo, and Shanahan calling plays.

I went with the defense. Las Vegas was the wake-up call that unit needed, and they showed it against the Cardinals.

I’ve seen this defense against Seattle. It’s easy to project them shutting down the Giants or Vikings. We have evidence of how San Francisco matches up against Tom Brady. The Eagles and Cowboys are more potent, but the coaching mismatch and the Bosa factor/effect cannot be ignored.

Which unit do you want on the field with one drive left to win

Which unit would you want on the field with one drive remaining to win the game?

Under Jimmy Garoppolo, the 49ers were excellent in two-minute situations or drives where they were in “must score” mode. The unknown led me to select the defense. I’m not putting it past Purdy. Knowing the opposing offense is one-dimensional, I’m confident the defense would get off the field.

The defense makes you earn every yard, and when the line can pin their ears back, it’s consistently led to mistakes. We haven’t been able to classify a 49ers defense as opportunistic, but they’ve generated turnovers at an incredible rate.

Regarding the Niners' offense, I don’t have enough data points involving Purdy in true dropback or hurry-up situations. He’s faced adversity once this season. And even though Purdy answered the bell, it’s easy, for me at least, to have more confidence in the side of the ball that’s “been through it.”

So, yes, I picked against the unit averaging nearly five touchdowns a game during the previous month and a half. Akash did not. What say you?

You can listen to the episode in its entirety below to hear our reasoning:

The fourth question was asking the fatal flaw on each side of the ball.