Getty Arik Armstead, 49ers defensive lineman
You might think that, after watching a hapless NFL quarterback get knocked around for 10 sacks in a game, after seeing him chuck two more interceptions to run his league lead to six, and after seeing him held to a paltry 67.2 quarterback rating on Monday Night Football, with the nation watching, there might be a tendency toward compassion and empathy.
Maybe for some. But not for 49ers defensive lineman Arik Armstead, who watched Daniel Jones—that very Giants quarterback San Francisco faced in Week 3—flounder helplessly in Week 4 against Seattle, allowing the Seahawks to beak a franchise record for sacks in the Giants’ loss.
Armstead wanted to know where that version of Jones was last Thursday. The Jones the 49ers saw was so intimidated by the team’s fearsome defensive front that he repeatedly winged the ball out quickly to keep from getting hit. San Francisco logged two sacks on Jones in their matchup.
As Armstead wrote on Twitter: “Daniel Jones I am so disappointed in you… why would you would throw the ball so quick vs us and then let these people have a career day ? ….. why weren’t we deserving?”
Daniel Jones I am so disappointed in you… why would you would throw the ball so quick vs us and then let these people have a career day ? ….. why weren’t we deserving ? 😂😂😂😂
49ers D: Few Sacks, But Great Pass Rush
Indeed, as good as the 49ers defense has been this season, allowing 58 points, which ranks third in the NFL, and 1,137 total yards of offensive, which ranks fifth, the sack numbers have been elusive. The 49ers have logged nine sacks in four games, which is only 22nd in the NFL.
But sack numbers are only one component of the pass-rushing performance of a team’s defensive front, and the 49ers are a sterling example of that. Star edge rusher Nick Bosa, for example, led the league with 18.5 sacks last year but has been held to just one in the early part of this season. The only 49ers with multiple sacks through for games are Drake Jackson and Javon Hargrave—and both of them have been able to put up numbers, in part, because of the attention opponents put on Bosa.
Pass-rushing stats are better measured in the full context. Pro Football Focus, which grades players and units based on play-by-play performance, has the 49ers’ defense carrying a grade of 90.6 for their pass rush, which is the best in the league. They’re pressuring the quarterback, even if they’re not necessarily awash in sacks.
PFF Had 49ers With a 91.0 vs. Giants
That’s what happened in the game against the Giants. Despite only getting two sacks on the night, the pass rush against New York graded out at a 91.0, the highest the 49ers have had all season in that category. They did not get many sacks, but they continually forced Jones into quick and ill-advised decisions.
And back then, too, they let Jones hear about. Jones’ four-year, $160 million contract extension from the Giants was very much a topic of discussion for the defense, especially after shutting him down throughout the game.
After the game, San Francisco Chronicle columnist Michael Silver quoted anonymous 49ers calling Jones’ contract a, “travesty,” and, “ridiculous.” Linebacker Dre Greenlaw said, “A lot of people who make all that money don’t even deserve it. I think they took a chance (when they paid him). I mean, he’s not bad. And if you ain’t got nothing better …”
Jones, as Greenlaw saw it, was, “nothing better.” Now, 10 days later, Jones is still struggling. And Armstead is still letting him hear about it.
Comments
49ers’ Arik Armstead Still Trash-Talking Hapless Giants QB