It's been a long slide from the top for the San Francisco 49ers defense.
Ranked No. 1 in total defense last season, the 49ers have hit bottom this year, giving up one big play after another. The dramatic downturn has even puzzled the opposition."It's crazy. It doesn't make any sense," said New Orleans coach Mike Ditka, whose Saints (3-1) play host to the 49ers (3-1) on Sunday.
San Francisco defensive coordinator John Marshall quipped it's gotten so bad, he's even getting the cold shoulder from his golden retriever, Sandy.
"Somebody told my dog we're 30th in the league and she won't even come around me anymore," Marshall said. "That's really bad. I tried to give her a bone the other night and she wouldn't even take that."
Even though the defense has struggled, the 49ers have been able to outscore opponents on the strength of their high-powered offense, ranked first in the league.
But the defensive concerns are mounting, particularly after last week's 26-21 loss at Buffalo in which San Francisco's vaunted attack was shut down for most of the game before breaking through for three fourth-quarter touchdowns.
"Eighty percent of the time, we're playing great defense," Marshall said. "We're making some outstanding plays and our guys are working hard. But there's about 20 percent of the plays where some things are getting through. We're just not playing totally right and we've got to get to that point."
San Francisco began the season with three new defensive starters in tackle Junior Bryant, linebacker Winfred Tubbs and cornerback Antonio Langham, who has been struggling.
But the 49ers are running the same scheme and they retained the core of last year's group, which held opposing teams to an average of 250.8 yards and 16.6 points while generating 41 takeaways.
In four games this season, San Francisco has given up an average of 377 yards and 21.5 points while producing just eight takeaways, seven fewer than last year at this time.
In addition, other teams have regularly gashed the 49ers for long gains. San Francisco has given up 19 plays of 20 yards or longer, including six that went for 40 or more. Last season, the 49ers surrendered only nine plays of 20-plus yards through the first four games.
"There's been a few big plays that have added up to yards and points," coach Steve Mariucci said. "If we can eliminate those big plays, then we're back to where we should be."
Bryant, a backup last year, has played well in place of Dana Stubblefield, the defensive player of the year last season who left for Washington as a free agent.
Tubbs and Langham both joined San Francisco as free agents. Tubbs, who replaced the retired Gary Plummer, has been solid if unspectacular, but Langham has become a focal point of the lapses.
Langham has been beaten for three touchdowns in four games and has a team-high seven penalties. The 49ers considered benching him this week, but with Marquez Pope still sidelined by a back injury and rookie R.W. McQuarters the only other available cornerback, the team decided to stick with Langham.
"He's going through a slump. We're going through it with him," Mariucci said. "He feels as badly as anybody about the penalties and balls being caught on him. He is a conscientious guy and he'll work until the sun goes down to try to correct it. We're giving him that opportunity."
Linebacker Ken Norton Jr. added it would be a copout to fix blame for the breakdowns on Langham or the other newcomers.
"It's not just the new guys that are making mistakes. It's all of us," Norton said. "If we want to make this a special season, we have to turn it around. If we don't turn it around, it's just going to be another year."