The Jets' defense will be put to the test in Week 1 when it matches up with 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan, who has earned the reputation for being one of the best and most-innovative play callers in the NFL.
Shanahan, who is beginning his eighth season as San Francisco's head man, has guided the Niners to three top-6 finishes in points per game over the last five seasons, including two top-3 finishes in 2023 and 2019 –seasons in which they went on to play in the Super Bowl.
"[Shanahan] puts a lot of stress on your defense," All-Pro LB C.J. Mosley said. "I would say all the stress for us is just to make sure we communicate. As long as we all on one page, then we're going to be good. They get teams when they caught off guard, not ready, not expecting motions and those type of things. So long as we stay on the same page, you know we're ready to go when they're ready, then you know it's about executing after that."
Kyle Shanahan, the son of Hall of Fame head coach Mike Shanahan, began his professional coaching career as an offensive quality control coach for the Buccaneers in 2004. He worked his way up and became the offensive coordinator for Washington (2010-13), Cleveland (2014) and Atlanta (2015-16), before joining the Niners in 2017.
The defining characteristics of Shanahan's offense have been the use of play-action passes, wide-zone runs and most notably pre-snap motion. Last season, the 49ers were No. 3 in points per game (28.8), No. 2 in yards (6,773), No. 1 in points per possession (2.7) and used pre-snap motion on 75.4% of plays, second-most in the NFL behind the Dolphins.
"He is going to do a lot of things to mess you and mess with your eyes, especially in the middle of the defense," Mosley said. "A lot of moving left to right, a lot blasts and a lot of motions and doing a lot of different things to mess with your keys. But at the end of the day, it is about the final formation."
Jets head coach Robert Saleh spent four seasons as San Francisco's defensive coordinator under Shanahan. There's a mutual respect between the two, who have maintained contact since Saleh's departure in 2021.
Mosley and All-Pro LB Quincy Williams have leaned on Saleh and the entire coaching staff to help the defense prepare for Shanahan's complex attack.
"The game planning starts with our coaches laying it out for us and helping us understand how Shanahan is going to attack our defense," Mosley said. "Then we practice that style and make sure we know all the beaters. It will really come down to everybody studying and being on the same page. Once we get out on the field Monday night, our coaches will have done a great job putting us in the right position and it will be on us to communicate and make the plays when needed."
Williams said added: "We have started practicing different body types lined up all over the field. Wide receivers in the backfield and running backs out wide and players everywhere that can do anything at any given time. The whole training camp we have been preparing for that."
By communicating and limiting mental errors, Mosley is confident they will be ready to slow the Niners' offense Monday night, and in turn get the ball back to their offensive genius, a healthy Aaron Rodgers, and their talented skill group headlined by RB Breece Hall and WR Garrett Wilson.
"You can't really anticipate what play you are going to get because they never run the same play out of the same formation twice," Mosley. "They have so many different formations to work out of. You can't get over eager, you have to make sure you're in the right spot and making sure you're doing what you have to do and not letting you beat yourself."
