49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh’s preparation for Week 4 won’t be limited to replacing defensive end Nick Bosa’s production or devising strategies to hold Jaguars like Brian Thomas and Trevor Lawrence in check.
Saleh will also be making sure that the team’s signals are well-disguised. Saleh complemented Jaguars head coach Liam Coen and his staff for putting themselves into “good situations” offensively by picking up the signals that opposing teams are sending and adjusting. Saleh noted that there’s nothing “illegal” about it and that Rams head coach Sean McVay and Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell — Coen worked for McVay and Jags offensive coordinator Grant Udinski worked for O’Connell — are also adept at it.
“They’ve got legally, a really advanced signal stealing type system where they always find a way to put themselves in an advantageous situation,” Saleh said, via a transcript from the team. “They do a great job with it. They formation you to just try to find any nugget they can. So, we’ve got to be great with our signals and we’ve got to be great with our communication to combat some of the tells that we might give on the field. They’re almost elite in that regard.”
The 49ers have played well enough over the first three weeks to pick up three wins. Running their record to 4-0 will require them to be sharp on the mental side of things as well.
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