The Los Angeles Rams and the San Francisco 49ers have decided seven of the last eight winners of the NFC West. In a rivalry dating back to 2017, the year both Sean McVay and Kyle Shanahan became the head coaches of their respective franchises, both Los Angeles and San Francisco went about reinventing offensive football in their own unique ways.
McVay's scheme was all about pre-snap manipulation in order to stretch the defense, exploiting holes through a proper balance of run and pass.
Shanahan's scheme is all about physicality. Dominating the line of scrimmage to manufacture running lanes between the tackles through a zone blocking scheme that opens up yards after catch opportunities for the receivers once the 49ers decide to pass.
That thought process was reflected in their defensive coordinators with the Rams' continued use of a base 3-4 defense under Wade Phillips, Brandon Staley, Raheem Morris, and Chris Shula manipulating the opposition's offensive line to shift, resulting in advantageous matchups, leveraging the strength of the defensive interior for their linebackers to maintain gap integrity with ease.
On the other side, Robert Saleh's 49ers defense was about loading up the defensive line with a fresh rotation of pass rushers who would bring the boom, allowing Dre Greenlaw and Fred Warner to cover ground faster than any other linebacker duo in the NFL through a physically punishing attack of offensive linemen.
Saleh's scheme helped guide the 49ers to Super Bowl LIV, a game they lost to the Kansas City Chiefs and to the 2022 NFC Championship Game that the Rams almost lost if not for a dropped interception.
Saleh would take the Jets head coaching job but after being fired during the 2024 season, Saleh is back with the 49ers with tight end George Kittle issuing a warning to the opposition.
"Violence is coming is what I would say," Kittle responded on The Rich Eisen Show, via Niners Nation.
"He's really good at his job, and I'm really excited that we somehow convinced him to be our defensive coordinator again," Kittle said. "He knows what he's talking about, he's inspiring, he gets the boys fired up, and he just happens to also be really, really smart. So, I'm pumped to have him back in the building, just hanging out with him a little bit, talking about stuff. You can just tell he's ready to roll this year, and he's gonna get the boys fired up."
The 49ers spent their top draft capital on defense, essentially handpicking players for Saleh.
During Saleh's time with the 49ers, his team and the Rams would get into physical scraps virtually every time they played each other, leading to what was the most intense rivalry in football.
The Rams are talking their talk. It seems the 49ers are doing the same. With the NFC West in the balance, the Rams have been warned. Violence is coming. Expect a prompt response once the sides meet in pads.
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