It might not gain the attention Patrick Peterson once had for playing in all three phases of the game, but Daniel Munyer is here to do whatever the Cardinals need him to do.
The backup offensive lineman did triple duty on Sunday in San Francisco -- four plays on special teams (normal), seven plays on offense (filling in for the injured Mike Iupati) and three plays on defense (not that normal). Turns out Munyer was the goal-line go-to because defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche was inactive with a foot injury. Munyer had been told he'd be in the goal line package if Nkemdiche was down, and there he was for three straight stuffs in the fourth quarter.
Munyer, who did have one defensive snap against Chicago as well, hadn't really played defense since high school. But he's practiced there a little on Fridays with the Cardinals.
"I'm talking to Corey Peters, he's like, 'Yeah, just stay in the 'A' gap, use your hands, go straight,' " Munyer said with a smile.
In the three plays he was in on defense, the 49ers could not score -- "I almost had a tackle," Munyer notes -- but he came out on fourth down when the 49ers ran a spread formation. After scrambling, C.J. Beathard threw the one-yard touchdown pass.
Munyer said his time as an offensive lineman did help him in play recognition. On a bootleg, the offensive lineman was "trying to reach me and I feel him let up and I'm like, 'OK, this is a pass,' " Munyer said. "Little stuff like that. Now you are reacting to everything as opposed to on offense. Getting that in my head was a little different. but it was fun."
