The 49ers will activate Kwon Alexander for Saturday’s divisional round game against the Vikings, according to Matt Maiocco of NBCSportsBayArea.com. Still, it remains to be seen how much he’ll play.
When healthy, Alexander is an every-down linebacker for the Niners. However, he’s just nine weeks removed from pec surgery and only just returned to practice last week.
“I know Kwon will fly around,” coach Kyle Shanahan said. “He’ll hit. He’ll be energetic. He’ll get everyone going. I think everyone will feel his energy on the field. And we’ll see how it goes. We’re not going to throw him out there, just down-in and down-out. But we don’t have a plan, where it’s only going to be ‘this’ amount. He’s looked good in practice, but we’re also not laying people out in practice.”
Without Alexander in the second half of the season, the Niners used rookie Dre Greenlaw at the weakside linebacker spot. It sounds like Greenlaw will continue to see snaps, but the balance between him, Alexander, and the other LBs will be dependent on Alexander’s effectiveness.
“You got to wait to see how the tackling goes and how he feels,” Shanahan said. “(He is) someone we’ll be communicating with throughout the game.”
Alexander is undoubtedly eager to play. Even before the pec tear, the linebacker missed 14 games between the 2017 and 2018 seasons.
The 49ers Defense is completely different when they have Kwon, D.Ford, and Tartt in there.
I just hope come Saturday the 49ers are able to get everyone in game shape, knock off that rust in practice, and it’ll truly benefit the 49ers to have a full deck to work with against the Vikings.
Cousins and his play-action passing is a legit threat, and because of Dalvin Cook’s abilities, it makes for a tough task shutting that part of their game down. However, with Tartt and Kwon in coverage, and Dee helping the D-Line attack and get more efficient and persistent pressure, the 49ers should be much better suited to counter the Vikings PaP attack.
Kwon is excellent in coverage over the middle in zones, and limits opposing TEs, so having him out there will be huge just by hisself!!
Likewise, when Ford is in the game, the 49ers instantly increase their sack and pressure percentages immensely. Ford forces the 49ers opponents to shift their focus across the entire 49ers line, rather than just keying in on Bosa. Having Ford and Bosa on the outside, it also opens everything up, spreads out the o-linemen, and opens up gaps for the interior lineman like Arnstead and Buckner..
Getting these two back and healthy was why it was paramount for the 49ers to win the division and get that 1st round bye. Now, the 49ers go from a middle of the road defense that occassionally shines, to a stingy, downhill force that’s going to cause havoc in the backfield, yet thats also still disciplined enough to not get tricked, overrun their assignments, and give up big plays…
I cannot wait for this game now!! The Vikings are a very solid, well rounded team, much like the 49ers, so the two going head to head should be a heck of a battle and a ton of fun for all football purists to watch!!