SANTA CLARA https://www.49ersfanshop.com/Adrian-Colbert-Jersey , Calif. (AP) — When it comes to stopping opposing offenses from moving the ball, the San Francisco 49ers defense has fared all right early this season.When it comes to generating the game-changing takeaways that so often determine who wins in the NFL, no team has been worse so far.There are many reasons why the 49ers are off to such a disappointing start with one win through five games, with the season-ending knee injury to quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo the most notable.But a defense that has generated a league-low three takeaways for the fewest total for the franchise after five games since 1977 is a major reason why.“We just have to find a way, that’s all it comes down to,” cornerback Richard Sherman said. “Takeaways are kind of more of a ball bounces your way, you get tips sometimes. Last week, we limited them pretty good. We have to be more violent in tackling and can’t miss when the quarterback throws into coverage.”Turnovers often come because of the pass rush and the 49ers have struggled there with no consistent edge rusher. They rank in the bottom half of the league in both sacks and quarterback pressures despite allowing the ninth fewest yards per play at 5.31.The only takeaways so far this season have come when Sherman recovered a fumble in the opener at Minnesota, Cassius Marsh recovered one after a strip sack by Elijah Lee against Detroit in Week 2 and Antone Exum had a pick-six on the third play from scrimmage two weeks ago against the Chargers.The team has generated no turnovers in the 113 plays on defense since then.“We’ve had our opportunities this year,” defensive coordinator Robert Saleh said. “There’s an old cliche saying that, ‘Catch the ones that are thrown to you.’ We’ve had our opportunities, especially early in the year where I think we’ve dropped about three or four interceptions this year. We’ve gotten the ball out. We’re taking shots at the ball. There’s great intent. Takeaways come in bunches, they do. … I know it’s a result-oriented business, but the result is a product of the process that you go through within every play, within every day. If we keep attacking the ball the way we have and the D-Line keeps pressing the pocket and getting after the quarterback, I’m very confident that eventually they’ll come.”Trying too hard for turnovers can back fire, however. On the first play of a loss to Arizona last week, free safety Adrian Colbert jumped up in coverage anticipating a throw over the middle to Larry Fitzgerald.Instead, Cardinals rookie Josh Rosen targeted Christian Kirk deep and the play turned into a 75-yard touchdown because cornerback Ahkello Witherspoon didn’t have the deep help he expected from Colbert on the play.The Cardinals gained just 145 yards the rest of the game but it proved to be enough in a 28-18 victory, especially because the defense provided no short fields for the offense, which began each of its 13 drives inside San Francisco’s 40-yard line.“When people feel like they need to do more than what they’re being asked to do, that’s when bad things actually happen,” Saleh said. “Right now, that first play, and A.C. will tell you, he’d love to have that play back Dante Pettis Jersey , but the way they responded after that play and the way they came out and played and executed the defense all the way through, I thought was really good on their part to remain composed and to continue to fight all the way through the game.” Beginning with Alex Smith going to Washington when the league’s new year starts next month and Jimmy Garoppolo agreeing to a record-breaking deal with San Francisco on Thursday , several quarterbacks will find new riches and many teams will land new QBs in 2018.Tom Brady may have been denied another championship but not his coordinator, and some believe Josh McDaniels’ sudden change of heart this week in spurning the Indianapolis Colts was related to doubts about Andrew Luck’s health.Either way, McDaniels is staying in New England to help the Patriots bounce back from their 41-33 loss to Philadelphia in Super Bowl 52 .The Eagles aren’t just celebrating their first championship since 1960, but also an abundance of talent at the position in franchise QB Carson Wentz and Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles.Should Wentz’s recovery from knee surgery go well, the Eagles will have a huge bargaining chip to help restock their roster.Wentz’s injury rehab will be closely watched this offseason, just like Aaron Rodgers ` repaired collarbone in Green Bay and DeShaun Watson `s torn ACL in Houston.Those teams figure to be contenders for Super Bowl 53 in Atlanta if their quarterbacks are healthy. A dozen other teams will either jockey for their next star or dole out big bucks to keep the one they have.Kirk Cousins and Drew Brees lead an exceptionally large group of veteran quarterbacks lined up for big paydays and possibly new opportunities that includes the Minnesota Vikings’ trio of Teddy Bridgewater, Case Keenum and Sam Bradford.Garoppolo, Brady’s longtime backup, got a five-year contract from the 49ers that will pay him a reported $137.5 million to keep him off the free-agent market without forcing the team to use the one-year franchise tag.NFL Network first reported the terms of the contract, which is worth $27.5 million per season to top the previous record set by Detroit’s Matthew Stafford last year by $500,000 per year — but presumably will soon be surpassed by Brees or Cousins.San Francisco acquired Garoppolo from New England before the trade deadline for a 2018 second-round pick. He led the 49ers to five straight wins to end the season, pushing his record as a starter to 7-0.Teams that miss out on one of the prized free agents can look to the draft, which features Baker Mayfield, Josh Allen, Sam Darnold, Josh Rosen, Lamar Jackson and Mason Rudolph.The quarterback carousel began in the days before the Super Bowl when Kansas City agreed to trade Smith to the Redskins.The deal, which cannot be finalized until March 14, spells the end of Cousins’ time in Washington and hands the Chiefs’ job to Patrick Mahomes III, the 10th pick in last year’s draft out of Texas Tech.So, Smith, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2005 draft, moves on to his third team just as he’s coming off the best season of his 13-year career.“I think Washington is getting a phenomenal player, a great leader Jimmy Garoppolo Color Rush Jersey ,” Rodgers said last week while discussing the league’s current quarterback commotion.“Now you’ve got Kirk Cousins, what’s going to happen with him? You’ve got probably five guys that are going to get drafted in the first round, Jimmy Garoppolo and his situation.“There’s a lot of moving pieces.”In the not-too-distant future, Rodgers could find himself one of them.Rodgers, 34, has two years left on his contract and if he stays healthy in 2018, he’ll be in line for a mega payday that could obliterate any of the deals that will be signed.Rodgers told the AP last week that he wants to play well into his 40s and might have to finish his career in another team’s uniform as Brett Favre did.“I think you have to be humble enough to realize if it could happen to Brett, it can happen to you,” Rodgers said.Among the teams looking for an upgrade are the Denver Broncos, who haven’t been back to the playoffs since Peyton Manning retired a champion two years ago.Super Bowl 50 MVP Von Miller said he trusts general manager John Elway to fix that in the next few weeks: “We have a Hall of Fame quarterback running the show who’s going to get the right guy,” Miller said.Miller has a tip for his GM, too.“No disrespect to Trevor Siemian or Paxton Lynch, but I would love to play with Kirk Cousins,” Miller said. “When Peyton came to Denver, we just took off. Kirk’s an elite starter, too. I could roll with that.”With eight trips to the Super Bowl and five rings, Brady is the gold standard of quarterbacks.Yet, this time he was outdueled by Foles, who showed just how important it is for teams to also have depth at the position.“To get in a shootout with that guy on the other team is probably not ideal for anyone — ever,” Eagles tight end Zach Ertz said. “The guy is the best quarterback to ever play the game. That team is phenomenal. They are coached amazingly.”Yet, the Patriots were beaten by a journeyman QB who contemplated retirement not long ago after he kept losing his starting job with his employers in perpetual search of a better option.Foles turned into a flawless fill-in after Wentz got hurt in December, stepping in to deliver Philadelphia its first Super Bowl title.Foles has one year left on his two-year deal, and his Super Bowl performance bumped his name up on the long list of coveted quarterbacks.“He’s amazing,” Ertz said. “The past three weeks he’s been playing out of his mind. People panicked when Carson went down. Nick, we had all the confidence in the world in him.”