SANTA CLARA -- The 49ers nearly lost the NFC Championship Game simply because their defense didn't play hard.
Their offense had to erase a 17-point halftime deficit. The Detroit Lions steamrolled a 49ers defense that was jogging around the field during the first half. Just a shameful performance by a unit that was the best in the NFL in 2022.
The players have to take responsibility for their effort and make sure they play harder this year. Fred Warner spoke about that Wednesday at minicamp.
Q: When Kyle Shanahan hired Nick Sorensen, one of the things he said is that he wanted to do was get back to what made you guys you with DeMeco Ryans and Robert Saleh. How has that shown up in terms of scheme and energy?
WARNER: "The thing we've always prided ourselves on is the style in which we play. We can talk about scheme all day long and sureing up the little things and the details we operate in our scheme, but style has to show through every single play. Obviously right now in OTAs, we can't show off that physicality and violence we play with, but the effort part is something we have harped on since the beginning of OTAs, and I've loved seeing everybody running to the football. That's the standard. It always has been the standard, but you have to be reminded of that every single year or else it fades if it's not continued to be a focus. I think everybody is going the right direction right now."
