49ers safety Jimmie Ward doesn’t see why his career day is still a big deal
Defensive coordinator Robert Saleh on Friday offered a 356-word answer when asked to describe what makes Jimmie Ward so good in coverage. His answer was preceded by cornerback Richard Sherman, again, calling Ward one of the best safeties in football. Scouting service Pro Football Focus gave Ward’s performance from the 49ers’ Nov. 29 win over the Rams the highest grade it’s given to a safety in two seasons.
“And I still didn’t even get any interceptions,” Ward said. “So I don’t even see what the big deal is.”
Ward is one of 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan’s favorite players. Shanahan once said he wish he could wear a Ward jersey on the sidelines. It’s been warranted because Ward has quietly been an invaluable piece of San Francisco’s defense since it joined the elite ranks last season, which coincided with Ward starting a career-high 16 games in 2019 after dealing with a novella’s worth of injuries to begin his career.
The effusive praise Ward has been getting this week isn’t all that new. The compliments coming from Sherman and Saleh have been made before, but they never came after a game like Sunday’s, which has validated the attention.
It was Ward’s first career two-turnover performance. He forced a pair of fumbles, one in the first quarter while tackling running back Malcolm Brown, and later bringing down Jared Goff in the second. He was also sound in coverage, allowing just three catches on eight targets and a 45.8 passer rating when targeted, according to Pro Football Focus.
“If they had freakin’ five clones of Jimmie Ward, then it’d be a hard defense to throw on,” Sherman said Friday. “They’d be in man coverage every play and it’d be very difficult. He’s that kind of player.”
Ward struggled to help 49ers defense
Ward still harbors the negative messages on social media he received from fans while he struggled to stay on the field. As a rookie, he suffered a Jones fracture, marking the second time he broke his foot dating back to the 2014 pre-draft process. He appeared in 16 games in 2015 for the only time of his career. Then, fractures to his forearm (twice) and shoulder led to missing 29 games over his first five seasons.
Many fans were against the move when Ward was brought back on a one-year contract for a sixth year in 2019. But his strong campaign anchoring the back end of the 49ers’ defense during its Super Bowl run led to Ward getting a three-year, $28.5 million deal in the spring.
“There’s still negative stuff out there. It will never be all positive,” Ward said.
Ward was responding to a question posed from a reporter about all the praise he’s received this week, which caused him to light up and offer a candid glimpse into his personality, which hasn’t always shown through during his news conferences. Ward is often business-like, but that was less the case Friday.
“To me, I still feel like it’s a lack of respect and it’s cool because that’s better for me and it gives me that fire, makes me go out there and give it my all,” he said. “Even though I got paid and that’s cool and all that, but that’s not all I want. I want everything. And that’s how I play, too. If you can’t tell, I play like I talk, I talk how I play.”
Then it started to sound like Ward enjoyed getting recognition, and was eager for a chance to back it up, which he’ll get next on “Monday Night Football” against the Buffalo Bills.
“Even just thinking about football right now, I’m starting to feel that fire inside of me. But other than that, you can just get to the next question because I’m feeling like game day right now,” he said.
The broadcasters during the Rams game noted that Saleh had called Ward one of the best cover men in the entire NFL. Saleh explained what he meant Friday.
“From a man coverage standpoint and it’s why he doesn’t get a lot of plays. That’s why he doesn’t get a lot of stats. The guy absolutely eliminates whoever he has in man coverage,” Saleh said. “If you just go back through the history of him playing all his man coverage reps, he doesn’t get action because it’s done. His press coverage skills are unbelievable. His off-catch technique is unbelievable. His foot speed is unbelievable.”
“I mean, he does everything. He is the ultimate utility knife, and he’s not one of those guys who just does a couple of things good, a jack of all trades. He dominates at everything he does. And because of that, he’s unique. He’s rewritten the book for us on what we want out of a safety moving forward.”
