49ers defensive player-by-player review

Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio employed a philosophy similar to what he showed the previous week against the Arizona Cardinals.

But Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco was not as confused by the coverages as was Cardinals quarterback John Skelton one week earlier. Flacco completed 15 of 23 passes for just 161 yards and one touchdown. He did not throw any interceptions, and the 49ers failed to force a turnover for only the second time this season.
And after reviewing the film, 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh said he had no problem with the defensive approach."I thought our defense was effective with the scheme we were using," Harbaugh said.The 49ers' defense kept the ball in front of them. There were times while the Ravens converted six third downs in the second half that the 49ers missed chances to tackle a Baltimore receiver short of the sticks but failed.On Flacco's 23 pass attempts, the 49ers rushed three men on four occasions. They rushed four men 18 times. Once they brought five pass-rushers. (The 49ers also brought five on another play, and Flacco scrambled for 6 yards on a third-and-7 play.)Here is the entire defensive player-by-player review from the 49ers' 16-6 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Thursday:Defensive linemen
90-Isaac Sopoaga: Started at nose tackle and played nearly 30 snaps, as the 49ers went with their base defense for most of the game. . . . He had a strong game at clogging up the inside, as he was credited with six tackles. . . He helped limit the Ravens to just 2.6 yards per rushing attempt.
91-Ray McDonald: Started at left defensive end and played every defensive snap. . . He had seven tackles in the game and generally played very well. . . . Right tackle Michael Oher made a block on him that opened the hole for Ricky Williams to gain 12 yards and get into position for the final field goal - that gave the Ravens a 10-point lead late in the fourth quarter.
93-Ian Williams: Inactive (coaches' decision). (Follow on Twitter @IWilliams95
94-Justin Smith: Started at right defensive end, and recorded five tackles and one quarterback hurry. . . . Got blocked by left tackle Bryant McKinnie to open hole for Ray Rice on 10-yard gain on first drive.
95-Ricky Jean Francois: He saw limited action in the 49ers' base defense. He was not credited with any tackles. (Follow on Twitter @Freakyjean95)
96-Demarcus Dobbs: Saw limited action on special teams.Linebackers
51-Blake Costanzo: Played on all the special teams and came up with two solo tackles. (Follow on Twitter @BlakeCostanzo51)
52-Patrick Willis: Started at middle linebacker and recorded eight tackles with one for a loss and a pass broken up. . . . Closed hard to drop Rice for 1-yard gain after completion on first drive of the game. . . . Leveled Williams out of the backfield after he had already dropped ball on first drive of the game. (Follow on Twitter @PatrickWillis52)
53-NaVorro Bowman: Started at inside linebacker and tied with Willis for team-high honors with eight tackles. . . . Went high as teammate Donte Whitner went low to stop Williams for a no gain on third-and-1 in the fourth quarter to force a punt. . . . In coverage against Rice, who picked up 17 yards on a swing pass to convert a third-and-4 on the drive that ended with the field goal that gave the Ravens a 10-point lead. (Follow on Twitter @NBowman53)
54-Larry Grant: Played on special teams. (Follow on Twitter @LarryGrant54)
55-Ahmad Brooks: Started at left outside linebacker and recorded three tackles and one quarterback hurry. . . . Was in coverage against Anquan Boldin on 16-yard reception on first drive of the game. . . Diagnosed Joe Flacco's quarterback draw in second quarter and controlled right tackle Michael Oher to the point where Flacco had no options on either side of him. Flacco was dropped for no gain. . . . Got good pressure against Flacco to force incomplete pass and end Ravens' first series of the game. Ravens kicked a field goal.
56-Tavares Gooden: Played exclusively on special teams.
98-Parys Haralson: Started at right outside linebacker, and was credited with two tackles as he played on all the base downs, mostly defending Ravens run plays.
99-Aldon Smith: He played fewer than 20 plays, as he entered the game in nickel situations. . . He was credited with three tackles. . . He ran over Oher and got in Flacco's face to force a second-quarter incomplete pass to force a punt. . . . Good penetration and stacked up Flacco on QB draw at the 5-yard line in the second quarter. . . Got inside of McKinnie to stop Rice for 1-yard loss on a third-and-5 just before Ravens' final field goal. (Follow on Twitter @AldonSmithJETS)Defensive backs
20-Madieu Williams: Played exclusively on special teams. (Follow on Twitter @MadieuWilliams)
22-Carlos Rogers: Started at left cornerback, and was credited with two tackles and a pass defensed. . . He gave receiver Anquan Boldin the inside on a slant that went for 22 yards on a third-down play on opening drive of the game. . . Tight coverage on Boldin to break up third-quarter pass. . .
25-Tarell Brown: Started at right cornerback and was credited with two tackles. . . . Had deep coverage on speedster Torrey Smith. He was called for pass interference for not allowing Smith to get both arms up to go for the ball. The 50-yard pass-interference penalty nullified Brown's interception in the second quarter and led to a Ravens field goal. . . Gave Smith way too much cushion on a third-and-4, allowing Smith to catch an 11-yard pass for a first down in fourth quarter.
26-Tramaine Brock: Played on special teams. (Follow on Twitter @T26Brock)
27-C.J. Spillman: Mostly played special teams, but came in as part of the 49ers' goal-line defense. He avoided block of tight end Ed Dickson and threw Rice for a 4-yard loss on a second-and-goal from the 1. . Was called for an offside on 49ers' second kickoff of the game. . . (Follow on Twitter @CJSPILLMAN27)
29-Chris Culliver: Played as the 49ers third cornerback, and was credited with five tackles and one pass broken up. . . Broke up pass to Torrey Smith in the end zone at end of the third quarter. . . (Follow on Twitter @Cullyinthehouse)
30-Reggie Smith: Saw limited action as part of the 49ers dime package. He was not credited with any tackles. (Follow on Twitter @superreg30)
31-Donte Whitner: Started at strong safety and played every snap. . . He recorded six tackles. . . On one of the 49ers' few blitzes, he came up to stop a Flacco scramble for a 6-yard gain on third-and-7. . . Made open-field tackle of Rice for a 9-yard gain to save a touchdown at the SF 6-yard line. . . Missed tackle of Lee Evans short of the sticks that turned into a third-down conversion on the opening drive of third quarter. . . . Tight end Dennis Pitta worked in front of him to catch 8-yard touchdown from Flacco on first play of the fourth quarter. . . . Went low while Bowman went high to stop Williams on a third-and-1 play to force a punt in the fourth quarter. (Follow on Twitter @DonteWhitner)
36-Shawntae Spencer: Inactive (coaches decision).
38-Dashon Goldson: Started at free safety and recorded three tackles, but did not make any plays in the passing game. (Follow on Twitter @thehawk38)
43-Colin Jones: Played exclusively on special teams. . . .Called offside on opening kickoff to give the Ravens a 5-yard boost.Specialists
2-David Akers: Made field-goal attempts of 45 and 52 yards. He is now 6-for-6 on attempts beyond 50 yards this season. (Follow on Twitter @DavidAkers2)
4-Andy Lee: His leg was feeling good, as he averaged 57.6 yards (48.0 net) on five punts with one of his punts landing inside the 20. (Follow on Twitter @Andy4lee)
86-Brian Jennings: He handled all the long-snapping duties. (Follow on Twitter @Jennings141)