Valuing T.O.P. - Time of Possession

So the 49ers are 2-0, with what Mike Singletary has described as "ugly" wins. Granted, I will agree with him that these wins are indeed ugly offensively, but they are by no means Hostler-ish ugly. That's a whole 'nother kind of terrible ugly we should all try to burry in the deep, dark recesses of our minds.

There are many 49er fans posting after today's win against Seattle about their disappointment in the offense. Some think Shaun Hill is barely getting us by. Some think Jimmy Raye should put more faith in Hill and let him throw more. Some just want bigger and better stats.

The thing I think a lot of fans are forgetting is how important ball security and time of possession is in this sport and to this team. Compared to last season, the 49ers are eating up much more clock by taking care of the ball and running more often than they pass. The 49ers are playing to their strengths on offense and not asking Shaun Hill to carry the team when he really doesn't need to.

My case in point... go back and watch the Patriots @ 49ers highlight from 2008.

LINKAGE.

Now, this will require you to watch JTO again, but stay with me here. In that game, the Patriots knew the 49ers could potentially out-score them quickly... the Niners even put up 14 points in the first ten minutes alone. But then two things happened.

#1 - One coach did not value T.O.P. and ball security... that coach being Mike Martz. Instead of putting the game in Frank Gore's hands when the 49ers had the lead, he trusted JTO to carry the 49ers and continued to pass. Turnovers then happened, and the 49ers barely had the ball in the second half. Bad decision.

#2 - The other coach highly valued T.O.P... that coach being Bill "Darth Hoodie" Bellichick/cheat. Billy Boy dinked and dunked us with short passes and runs for the rest of the game and refused to have Cassell throw the long ball in the second half. He was careful with the football and milked the clock. Good decision.

I only bring this up because I feel the 49ers are playing extremely SMART football this season. In week one, the 49ers could not get the running game going against Arizona, but they stuck to it even on 3rd and 8's and 9's. Why? Because Singletary knew (just like Bellichick did last year with Martz/JTO) that Arizona had the potential to score points quickly. If the 49ers could in any way limit the amount of possessions Arizona had in the game, that would be to their advantage... and it played a huge part in SF's win.

So for those of you that want Jimmy Raye to have Shaun Hill put on an offensive show, can I ask you why? Seriously, why force Hill to pass more often when he really doesn't have to? It's the same reason the Vikings are not asking Brett Favre to win their games for them with his arm- they don't NEED him to. They have running backs and a defense that carry their team, kind of like the 49ers (yes I know AP is the best back in the league, but the logic still works out).

So until the NEED arrives, and the time in the game comes for Shaun Hill to put the team on his back, why risk passing a ton when the strength of this club is in controlling the time of possession with the running game? We all know Hill is capable of such things (see the Jets game from 2008), but there's no reason to force it when it is smarter and safer to win with hard running and good defense.

excellent points. I love these long drives, especially in the 4th. It puts the pressure on the other team to do something and more often, they will make mistakes. This has been where Hill has made his money the last two weeks.

These 14, 15, and 17 play drives chew up about half a quarter and gives the D some good rest. Even if it doesnt produce fantasy stats, as long as it produces wins, i'm all for it.

don't get me wrong, there will come a time when hill will need to throw to decide the game and I do believe he will step up and succeed. The RT tho.....

GREAT THREAD!!!! totally agree.

I also posted this earlier about why some of our receivers are not getting deep passes, especially late in games....

I really believe it is planned out that Shaun takes these 5-8 yard underneath plays to drain the clock and stay mistake free.....even if there is one on one down the field.....I mean why take it if the sure play is available and it drains the clock.

Originally posted by Afrikan:
Hill was 19/26 and had Bruce drop 2 passes as well as Vernon drop one easy one. so it could've been 22/26

I don't know where yall get "hit or miss....more miss"

on the start of the 4qtr he helped drive down the field and took 9+ minutes off the clock.... 9 f'n minutes...

it must've been very frustrating for Seattle's offense to just sit and watch from the sideline, as the game slipped away

Originally posted by Afrikan:

Originally posted by BrianGO:


Hopefully.

But one thing I noticed was that there were several plays where Hill had all day to throw, but he either couldn't find an open receiver or he ran into a sack.

Hill seems to struggle when he is not in a passing rhythm.

I know we are just fans....but I wish the camera crew would show us different angles on replays so we can see if the WRs were covered or if Hill just missed some opportunities... it would make these threads alot more easier.. right now we are all just guessing.

but at the same time....if Hill missed some wide open receivers I would think they would show it and talk about it....

the only time they said he might have had someone open deep was when Hill completed the underneath pass for like 7 yards...and the color man said Battle was kinda open....but that time I believe we were winning and Shaun just wanted to take the high percentage play to keep us moving and a low chance of an INT.

I think Hill should run more....if no one is open after 3-4 seconds.....get some positive yardage....that is what he has done in the past.

Great thread & posts fellas! I haven't really thought about the TOP that much this season, but it is great too watch the team make those long drives to just drain the other team late in the second half. Hope the offense continues to dominate the TOP.

BUMP.

Quote:
The thing I think a lot of fans are forgetting is how important ball security and time of possession is in this sport and to this team.

football 101

Yeah, it's a great change from previous years. THIS is how we're gonna win with the talent on this roster. That 9 minute drive in the 4th quarter was f**kin' beautiful.

As I said last year, the year before that & the year before that. You can all you want about T.O.P. I agree we are taking care of the ball more. That's obvious. The real differnce is THE DEFENSE IS ACTUALLY GETTING THEMSELVES OFF THE FIELD. That's the biggest reason for the change in T.O.P. We've only had a few real drives in the 1st 2 games. So it's definitely not the offense that's changed T.O.P. It's the defense getting THEMSELVES off the field.

Originally posted by krizay:
As I said last year, the year before that & the year before that. You can all you want about T.O.P. I agree we are taking care of the ball more. That's obvious. The real differnce is THE DEFENSE IS ACTUALLY GETTING THEMSELVES OFF THE FIELD. That's the biggest reason for the change in T.O.P. We've only had a few real drives in the 1st 2 games. So it's definitely not the offense that's changed T.O.P. It's the defense getting THEMSELVES off the field.

Originally posted by Brazilian49er:

Originally posted by krizay:
As I said last year, the year before that & the year before that. You can all you want about T.O.P. I agree we are taking care of the ball more. That's obvious. The real differnce is THE DEFENSE IS ACTUALLY GETTING THEMSELVES OFF THE FIELD. That's the biggest reason for the change in T.O.P. We've only had a few real drives in the 1st 2 games. So it's definitely not the offense that's changed T.O.P. It's the defense getting THEMSELVES off the field.

When already up 10 in the 2nd half, a 9.5 minute drive resulting in 3 points is just as good, if not better than a quick 7. Limits the other team's chances, throws them into desperation mode much earlier than they would be otherwise, and, above all, gives the defense time to rest.

If you didn't notice, Seattle was forced into a 3 and out right after that, and I credit it to the defense being well rested. If my memory serves me correctly, Clements was all over the place on that 3 and out: the big stop in the flat and a huge PD on 3rd down.

So, while being up 17 would have been very nice, up 13 with 5-6 more minute taken off the clock can be just as good. Gotta figure that Seattle would have had at least one more possession if there was the "big play" that everyone is clamoring for from hill during that drive.

Only 1 turnover in 2 games so far, that's all I need to know. If you don't turn the football over, you're going to be successful in this league.

I don't care about being flashy, with Hill you can't be. But we can be smart, and we've done that so far.

Singletary has preached disciplined football throughout the preseason and we're seeing this.

Originally posted by krizay:
As I said last year, the year before that & the year before that. You can all you want about T.O.P. I agree we are taking care of the ball more. That's obvious. The real differnce is THE DEFENSE IS ACTUALLY GETTING THEMSELVES OFF THE FIELD. That's the biggest reason for the change in T.O.P. We've only had a few real drives in the 1st 2 games. So it's definitely not the offense that's changed T.O.P. It's the defense getting THEMSELVES off the field.

I don't know. We had the same defense the first 8 games as we did the second 8 games last year but a big difference was better ball control and lowered turnovers by the offense in those two sections of last year. It's a combination of both but TOP has proven to help out the defense as has the defense getting stops helps with wins and sustaining a lead.

Nothing demoralizes a team that needs scores than looking up and seeing 8 minutes of clock used up.

Originally posted by krizay:
As I said last year, the year before that & the year before that. You can all you want about T.O.P. I agree we are taking care of the ball more. That's obvious. The real differnce is THE DEFENSE IS ACTUALLY GETTING THEMSELVES OFF THE FIELD. That's the biggest reason for the change in T.O.P. We've only had a few real drives in the 1st 2 games. So it's definitely not the offense that's changed T.O.P. It's the defense getting THEMSELVES off the field.

yes but it is also because they have been well rested...and that has been our problem for the past 4 years...sustaining drives on offense to keep our defense well rested...not 3 and outs.

ever since Hill has been the starter our defense has played much better...it is not a coincidence......not directed at you Krizay more so, the Hill haters.

but I will say, our Defense is our most talented group.

Originally posted by Joecool:

Originally posted by krizay:
As I said last year, the year before that & the year before that. You can all you want about T.O.P. I agree we are taking care of the ball more. That's obvious. The real differnce is THE DEFENSE IS ACTUALLY GETTING THEMSELVES OFF THE FIELD. That's the biggest reason for the change in T.O.P. We've only had a few real drives in the 1st 2 games. So it's definitely not the offense that's changed T.O.P. It's the defense getting THEMSELVES off the field.

I don't know. We had the same defense the first 8 games as we did the second 8 games last year but a big difference was better ball control and lowered turnovers by the offense in those two sections of last year. It's a combination of both but TOP has proven to help out the defense as has the defense getting stops helps with wins and sustaining a lead.

Nothing demoralizes a team that needs scores than looking up and seeing 8 minutes of clock used up.

week 10 last year Defense on the field 31:37
week 11 31:44
week 12 34:43
week 13 30:30



Should I keep going?