24 Hours Later: Injury Island + Ezekiel Ansah: What does he bring to the table?
There is no understating the disaster that was yesterday.
Kyle Shanahan Press Conference - San Francisco 49ers/YouTube
Disaster. Unlucky. Shipwreck. Apocalypse. All these words can be used to describe yesterday, which had players on the flight home “venting and cursing”, per David Lombardi of The Athletic.
The total list of injured players seems to grow by the hour, and we now know much more details about what has transpired over the past 24 hours. Start with the good news.
Jimmy Garoppolo: high ankle sprain - Originally thought to miss serious time, Shanahan reported today that the injury was not severe and Garoppolo will be day to day. A massive break, although Jimmy likely won’t play on that cursed field on Sunday.
Raheem Mostert: sprained MCL - Mostert exited at halftime, and while he walked fine - it was more under the surface. He will miss Sunday vs. the Giants but will be back after that.
Dre Greenlaw: thigh contusion - Got bruised up pretty badly on a return yesterday. He is questionable for Sunday.
DJ Jones: ankle - Didn’t hear about this in game but Shanahan/beat reporters have reported he had an injury yesterday. Fortunately, he is also questionable for Sunday and will likely play.
And… for the bad news. These are confirmed.
Nick Bosa: torn ACL - a gut punch, Bosa was our best EDGE rusher and best defensive player. It will be tough to replace even a percentage of his production, and this sets him back a year in his development. After surgery, he will have two surgically repaired knees.
Solomon Thomas: torn ACL - Heartbreaker for the 2017 1st rounder, Thomas’ 49ers career is likely over. Though this team does not hesitate to resign injured players, (see Blair, Ronald), Thomas is a much better fit in a 3-4 scheme and will likely get an offer from another team that hopes to utilize him to his fullest. Thomas had a great camp but was only getting started this season.
Dee Ford: back - As I suspected, his neck injury “is more of a back injury”, per Kyle Shanahan. Not good. Not good at all. Ford looked slow and out of shape in Week 1 while playing less snaps, and this just makes his future outlook worse - Ford has dealt with a herniated disc in his lower back before. Shanahan did not provide a timetable but from what I can decipher from the beat reporters, Dee Ford is likely a long term injury.
Tevin Coleman: knee sprain - Coleman is out “multiple weeks”. While nearly not as impactful as Thomas or Bosa, Coleman should be back this season and is not a key player. However, Raheem Mostert also being injured catapults Jerick McKinnon into the starting position he once was destined for. Coleman will be out for a while and is destined for short-term IR under the new COVID-19 guidelines.
Updated previous injuries:
George Kittle is still week-to-week with his MCL strain, and likely will not play vs. the Giants.
Richard Sherman is progressing with his calf strain. He can be activated off IR in Week 5.
Deebo Samuel also is nearing a return from the Jones fracture he suffered during the offseason, the earliest he can return is Week 4, off the IR.
Richie James Jr had a hamstring injury, and will likely return in Week 5, again, off the IR.
Jason Verrett is on track to practice by this week. He also dealt with a hamstring.
And of course, long-term injury news:
Jullian Taylor continues to recover from a torn ACL (Aren’t you tired already of seeing that word) and is on track to return off the PUP list in Week 7.
Ronald Blair, maybe the new key for the EDGE rush, also continues to rehab from his own torn ACL (bored yet?) and is also projected to return at the earliest by Week 7, off the PUP.
Weston Richburg also nears his return, coming back from a torn patellar tendon. He also is scheduled to return Week 7.
Enough of the depressing stuff though. The biggest news today was that the 49ers got some EDGE help - maybe the Ansah? In all seriousness, Ezekiel Ansah is better than you guys think. The 49ers had tried to sign him multiple times over the past week or so, but after finally agreeing on a price point, they brought in the oft-injured pass rusher for 3 million dollars on a 1 year deal. Frankly, I’m surprised he even got that much, but regardless - he is here.
Ziggy is a really talented EDGE rusher when healthy. Problem is, he never is. His best season came in 2015, where he notched 14.5 sacks - and his coach was Kris Kocurek at the time. That bodes well. But Ziggy has not played 16 games since. So what is the reason for optimism, especially since his play has dropped as well?
He played for Seattle last season and did not get much opportunity, to say the least - but I like the move a lot. In 2018, he played very well although, as you will notice, he got injured after 7 games. Take a look at what PFF has to say about him.
While Ansah hasn’t played a full season since 2015 due to a myriad of lingering injuries, he hasn’t slowed down, and his impact on the field shouldn't be overlooked. In his 2018 season, which was cut short due to a shoulder injury, Ansah mustered just 146 snaps (110 of which were pass-rushing snaps), but in that limited time, Ansah produced an impressive 20 pressures which translated to a pass-rushing productivity of 11.9 — first among qualifying edge defenders.
The BYU alumnus has maintained a high level of pass-rushing production throughout his career despite his nagging injuries, ranking in the top-10 among edge defenders in pass-rushing productivity in three of his six seasons. In his last two healthy seasons (2014 and 2015), Ansah generated pass-rushing productivity scores of 8.9 and 10.2, which ranked tied for 10th and sixth, respectively.
Even better, for the role that he fills as a 3rd down EDGE rusher and speed guy - he fits the bill. Very well.
Looking at how Ansah compares to edge defenders in this decade, it becomes apparent how impactful he can be when he's at the top of his game. Among edge defenders with 500 or more third-down snaps since 2010, Ziggy Ansah has managed a 77.1 pass-rushing grade, 5.3 snaps per pressure, 13.0 snaps per knockdown and a robust 18.6% pass-rush win rate. The latter three marks all rank inside the top-10 among qualifying edge defenders, demonstrating that Ansah has been one of the most effective third-down rushers in the league.
Injuries can often slow a player down, limit their production and impact when they are on the field – all of which can be reflected by their overall grade. This is not the case for Ansah, however, who has been very consistent in his career in spite of his plethora of ailments. He has produced a grade of 65.0 or higher in every season of his career and a grade of 70.0 or higher in four of those six seasons.
Ansah isn’t known for being a world beater against the run, but he’s no slouch in that department, either. The Seahawks’ new defensive end has produced a run-defense grade of 65.0 or higher and 10 or more run stops in all but one season. His best season against the run came in his career year in 2014, where he was able to generate a run-stop percentage of 12.0% that ranked second among edge defenders. However, one area where Ansah could stand to improve on is his tackling consistency, as he has two seasons with a tackling grade of less than 40.0 and just two with tackling grade of greater than 60.0.
Now, these stats ignore the past down season for Ansah in which he got less than 30 snaps per game. But in a 4-3 defense with other IDL like Javon Kinlaw, Arik Armstead, and hopefully but not likely, Dee Ford - he can make an impact. The most encouraging thing about Ansah is even with injuries, as mentioned, his play level has not dropped outside of this past season - he is consistently a good EDGE rusher and above average run defender. He is big, lanky, and fast - and reunited with his old coach, in Kris Kocurek. It may be naive to expect him to even slightly fill the gap that Bosa filled, but he can be an impact player.
With Ansah in the mix, possibly by next game, the 49ers have some relief at the DL spot. But there are issues there and elsewhere, so let’s take a look at some moves we can make.
Cameron Wake, DE
He is the definition of ancient - but that may be what we need. Proven commodities are hard to find - and with Bosa gone, we don’t have many. Our biggest need is a base 4-3 end, which is exactly what Wake is. He may not be able to play many downs due to his age, but he can definitely do something.
Clay Matthews, DE/LB
I know as 49ers fans this would be tough to swallow - but Matthews both knows the division and can produce. And has added versatility, can play ILB in a pinch. He had 8 sacks for the Rams last season, and would provide, again, a proven commodity which we sorely need.
Jabaal Sheard, DE
I still don’t know how this has not happened - Sheard is a consistent 6 sack guy and can play on base downs. Baffling.
As for other positional needs, we can look at:
DeMaryius Thomas, WR
He surprisingly produced quite well for the Jets last season, with 433 yards on 36 receptions and a TD. Red-zone threat? Check. Good hands? Check. I’d like to see him over Sanu, but he is not a instant plug-and-play like Sanu is because Sanu knows the playbook.
Dante Pettis -> Washington
Bryce Love -> San Francisco
With Tevin Coleman out for a while, as well as Mostert - the 49ers are relying on Jerick McKinnon and Jeff Wilson. Who both are injury prone. Likely not a recipe for success, another guy needs to step up - and while that might be Hasty, I think this trade would be perfect. Bryce Love, the Stanford standout and former Heisman candidate, has been buried behind a talented RB group in Washington. Meanwhile Dwayne Haskins is throwing to nobody but Terry McLaurin. This trade would be a win-win, and Love, who has legit track speed, could become the fastest player on our roster - he is a perfect, perfect, perfect fit for this one-cut, zone running scheme. I would be excited to see him get a chance here.
Leave a like and comment to support us if you like the article and our content, or if you have criticism, or simply for discussion. Check out our best content, including Part 1 and Part 2 of an in-depth look into Jimmy Garoppolo, where we look at what his issues were last season, and a in-depth look into the Kittle vs. Kelce argument.
If you want to submit your own fanposts, email us! Check our about page for details! Spread the word about For The Niners if you like our content and mission here!
If you want daily email updates with our best articles, click the button below to subscribe to our daily newsletter.
Moves this week?
Wave Compton, keep Grasu on the 53. Dress Ansah? Promote Daniels and Jordan?
I like the idea of signing Wake personally. I get his age, but the guy's in stupidly good shape and still plays younger than his years.
So I was out with my daughter this morning, she is 4. But we all live on a cul-de-sac where everyone knows everyone. My good buddy pulled up behind us, the one I usually go to Niners games with, and he’s had a hell of a year.
Long story short, his wife died recently. She was 44. And that was about a month ago.
So me and him are just talking about this season, hoping that we had respite from the insanity, and where we are. Dead in the water after week two
Fuck 2020. Fuck it to hell.