Defense wins with talent, whereas Offense wins with strategy. Bill Walsh said this many times during his years, and I agree whole-heartedly. Look at the offense under Norv, Hostler and Martz -- same core group of players, but very different results.

On defense, it's not so much the coaching, the 49ers are simply lacking talent on defense. By my count, they only have four above-average players:
-- a pair of solid veteran CBs.
-- a terrific All-Pro middle LB.
-- a tough, consistent all-around DE.
And that's it. Everyone else (OLBs, FS, SS, ILBs, DEs, DTs) are average at best, and many of them should be backups in the NFL.

More specifically, the core of the problem lies in the D-line. Without a solid D-line, the rest of the defense will always look bad. No pass-rush from the linemen means the backers and safeties have to blitz, which leaves the corners vulnerable to the big plays (Saints and Pats games).

Is that Nolan's fault? Well, in a sense, yes. Nolan has stubbornly insisted throughout his tenure to make the D-line his lowest priority. That was the mistake that led to this debacle, imo. Remember the mantra, "The D-line just needs to be space-eaters. They don't have to do anything special, just take up space. Let the LBs make the big plays."

It goes completely against my belief that the defense all starts with the D-line. The line applies the pressure and stops the run. Look at all the top teams throughout the years, almost all of them have a terrific D-line. It all starts with the line. And yet, for some inexplicable reason, Nolan has made the d-line the LOWEST priority. ScotyMac finally reversed that trend by drafting Balmer this year, but it was too late.

You can't build a good defense with a weak line. Just can't. It just doesn't work that way. It's like building a house on top of a weak foundation. No matter how much scaffolding you put up, it's still vulnerable.

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