SANTA CLARA — While everyone was focusing on the performance of the 49ers defensive line, safeties Jaquiski Tartt and Jimmie Ward quietly played a solid game in Week 5.
The two defensive backs haven't spent much time together on the field recently but their history together is the main reason why they were able to gel so quickly.
Tartt and Ward have known each other since they played together at Davidson High School in Mobile, Ala., well over a decade ago. When you ask them about each other there is usually some sort of verbal jab that indicates how close the two really are.
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They attended separate colleges. Ward left the area for Northern Illinois and Tartt stayed, playing for Samford. But that is obviously not the end of their story. Ward declared for the draft in 2014 without playing his senior year and then the two defensive backs were reunited on the other side of the country in Santa Clara one year later in 2015.
Even though they are going on their fifth season on the same roster, Ward and Tartt have spent a minimal amount of time on the field together. Both have battled the injury bug and missed several games as a result. Still, because they know each other so well, Monday night’s 31-3 rout of the Browns was just like old times for the Davidson High products.
“We go back to high school,” Tartt told NBC Sports Bay Area Wednesday. “It’s lovely just knowing that we’ve been together for so long, being able to play this game together and it’s just fun having him back there.”
“Yeah,” Ward said of their history. “I got to argue with Tartt after the play, before the play, but at the same time we are brothers and we love each other. So we both try to work to play better.”
San Francisco 49ers
The 49ers' run defense has been the star of the first five weeks of the season but the team has not been lacking in their pass defense either. They have only allowed an average of 175.8 passing yards per game which ranks them second in the league, right behind the Patriots.
Part of coach Robert Saleh’s defensive scheme is for Ward to be the “eraser,” stopping anything that gets past the defensive line. He sees Ward’s hard-hitting style as a vital quality for the job. Tartt confirmed that his teammate has been the same since high school and how at first, it came as a surprise.
“He’s very physical to be so small,” Tartt said with a smile. “He always played like he was 6-foot-8 or something, but you can see that he loves the game of football. So it’s good just to see Jimmie flying around out there.”
When Ward was informed of his teammate’s comment a look of surprise washed over his face, and then a smile emerged.
“He said that?” Ward said with a laugh. “Yeah, thank you for the compliment. Really, I just put my heart our there. I play with heart and I play fast, so speed is what I use. Speed and strength.”
While Ward has always been a bruiser on the field, but Tartt revealed that his teammate’s coverage skills haven’t always matched the level of his hitting abilities. Tartt said the transformation happened in college.
“Actually the first game of the season in high school, I was the strong safety and they moved me because Jimmy was playing free at the time and he really couldn’t cover,” Tartt said. “He was more of a hitter. He gave up like three touchdowns. But after the second game, they moved him to strong safety and he tore it up.
"I don’t know what happened in college because he became a lockdown. He improved his coverage skills. So credit to him, but he’s always been a hitter. You never have to worry about Jimmy being physical and being able to tackle.”
Ward remembered things a little differently at first but then acquiesced. He explained that he didn’t need to depend on his coverage skills as much in high school because of his position.
“Nah man I was pretty good,” Ward said with a chuckle. “He was late. My senior year I didn’t catch as many picks because we switched positions. I ended up playing strong safety and he ended up playing free. I only ended up getting one pick and he got three. But my junior year, that’s when I caught five picks. That’s when he was a basketball player or something."
A few moments later Ward smiled and admitted that his strength was his hitting ability.
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“My coverage was a little suspect because I didn’t have to do it too much so I could work on my tackling skills and we used to play quarters and cover two more. Basically I was a strong safety and I was moving from a linebacker position. So he might have been a little right.”
Ward and Tartt have a big task ahead on Sunday defending Jared Goff and the Rams who have been averaging well over 300 yards of offense through the air in five games. Goff has thrown for 1,649 yards, ranking him third in the league. Luckily for the 49ers their chemistry on the field will not be in question.