The 49ers’ defense can’t use the absence of Jimmy Garoppolo, or the slew of other injuries on offense, as an excuse for its struggles early in 2018.
Missed tackles, the inability to take down opposing quarterbacks and not forcing turnovers have played significant roles in the 1-4 start and ranking 29th in scoring defense.
The 49ers are going through a youth movement. They have first- or second-year players at five of their 11 starting spots on defense while Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch’s new regime wades through its second season.
The average of age their 11 defensive starters is 25.