THOUSAND OAKS — The 49ers offense is banged up, but the Rams' gameplan remains the same: Stop the run no matter what personnel is -- or is not -- on the other side of the ball.
Even with the loss of Joe Staley, Mike McGlinchey and Kyle Juszczyk on the 49ers offense, the Rams are completely aware of what they will be facing on Sunday at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
“They are professional athletes,” Rams All-Pro defensive end Aaron Donald said. “They get coached up to do their job to find ways to slow us down. So the film we get, you break it down to a ’T’ as best as you can. Try and find weaknesses and strengths that they have so when it comes time, if it’s in the run game or in the pass game to go against them, you’re at your best to find ways to dominate.”
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The 49ers lead the league in rushing yards, amassing 800 yards on the ground in their four games. They have used four different running backs to get the job done, with Matt Breida leading the league with an average of 6.5 yards per carry. Raheem Mostert isn’t far behind, ranked sixth with 5.8 yards per carry. Tevin Coleman, in only limited time, is averaging 5.5 yards per run.
“They are making a lot of plays,” Donald said. “They are the best running team in the National Football League right now. So, we got our hands full with that. We got to be disciplined when it comes to being gap sound and get after it.”
Rams defensive coordinator Wade Phillips knows that Kyle Shanahan will prepare to take advantage of any personnel mismatches. Phillips sees a similarity between the 49ers head coach and Rams coach Sean McVay in how they manipulate the game with their offensive schemes.
“[Kyle is] similar to Sean in that they really take advantage of what the other team is trying to do and personnel-wise,” Phillips said. “They attack certain personnel really well.”
San Francisco 49ers
Phillips expects to see the 49ers protect their inexperienced tackles on the offensive line with their scheme. He believes his defense has to respect the run game no matter who is lined up on the other side of the ball.
“Their running game is really going to test you,” Phillips said. “They’ve run the football well since Kyle got there, but they’ve had a couple running backs that have been hurt. I think we played Breida once. McKinnon never got well. Now they’ve got Coleman who is a really good back.”
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The Rams are looking to break their two-game losing streak with a division win at home. Phillips knows this could be the kind of win that makes a statement of the team’s ability going forward.
“This is the kind of challenge that tells you if you’re improving or not.”