Our Passing game has been the reason for our success

OK we all know what happened against Seattle, but that was just two big runs by Gore. Think about it: We didnt get anything going in the Arizona game until Hill threw that 50 yard pass to Bruce in the second quarter. And then in the 4th quarter, Hill drove us 80 yards down the field to score the winning touchdown.

Today: The run got stuffed again. When Hill threw the football, we drove down the field and scored touchdowns.

So once we finally take the lead, we run 3 straight run plays, get stuffed and punt the ball.
Our defense stops them and we get another chance to put the ball away. But we run another 3 run plays and get stuffed again.

We wouldnt have even been in this game if it wasnt for our passing game, yet our O Coordinator still doesnt have enough confidence or common sense to throw during those last 2 drives. Why not some place action!?!?!?!?We complete a first down, we win the game. But instead, we play not to lose, instead of tryin to pick up a first down and killing the clock. I mean, it seemed like we didnt even try to pick up a first down on those last 2 drives. "We hit people in the mouth". Sure didnt seem like we did that on our last 2 drives of the game. We were just trying "Not to lose".

I agree. We need to open the offense up for Shaun Hill. Hopefully this week against the Rams we'll let the ball start flying down field and build on that. Perfect opponent to try stuff on. The Rams are the worst team in the league and we're at home.

We just need a good mix of playcalling like we had when Singletary took over and reigned in Martz towards the second half of last season...that seemed ideal.

Originally posted by Leathaface:
I agree. We need to open the offense up for Shaun Hill. Hopefully this week against the Rams we'll let the ball start flying down field and build on that. Perfect opponent to try stuff on. The Rams are the worst team in the league and we're at home. We just need a good mix of playcalling like we had when Singletary took over and reigned in Martz towards the second half of last season...that seemed ideal.

yeah it would be a good opportunity to work on the passing game. but whenever raye has an opportunity to work on it he doesnt take it. just look at the qb competition in preseason. he wanted to find out if hill could take over or smith could do it, supposedly. then shaun and alex throw a combined 9 passes in one half vs denver, and vs dallas when we were supposed to be getting our starter comfortable we run the ball a bunch and waste 4 or 5 downs with the mild cat aka taser. the 2nd half against seattle we were up and couldve put the game away by opening it up vs a banged up defense and we went conservative. this is bull.

I hope we come out passing early against the Rams & don't let them hang around at all.

Originally posted by PatrickWillisHOF:
OK we all know what happened against Seattle, but that was just two big runs by Gore. Think about it: We didnt get anything going in the Arizona game until Hill threw that 50 yard pass to Bruce in the second quarter. And then in the 4th quarter, Hill drove us 80 yards down the field to score the winning touchdown.

Today: The run got stuffed again. When Hill threw the football, we drove down the field and scored touchdowns.

So once we finally take the lead, we run 3 straight run plays, get stuffed and punt the ball.
Our defense stops them and we get another chance to put the ball away. But we run another 3 run plays and get stuffed again.

We wouldnt have even been in this game if it wasnt for our passing game, yet our O Coordinator still doesnt have enough confidence or common sense to throw during those last 2 drives. Why not some place action!?!?!?!?We complete a first down, we win the game. But instead, we play not to lose, instead of tryin to pick up a first down and killing the clock. I mean, it seemed like we didnt even try to pick up a first down on those last 2 drives. "We hit people in the mouth". Sure didnt seem like we did that on our last 2 drives of the game. We were just trying "Not to lose".

There is a reason our OC goes out of his way to limit the number of passes atempted. There is little to no faith in Hill. The ONLY time Hill is allowed to pass regularly is when there is no other choice. We will have Hill pass on 4th and 1, but not when there are seconds left and a SINGLE 1st puts the game away?

Singletary and Raye know Hill sucks and they figure the more they keep him reeled in the less likely he is to make a mistake. Said it before and will say it again. If we had a compitent QB, our team would be friken dominant.

Free Shaun Hill!!!

It is easy to be an armchair OC. The reality is that it is common practice to attempt to run the clock out by running the ball, even if you don’t convert. While I don’t like the results, anyone who knows the game can’t argue the play calling (at least calling a run play). The first two runs were a no-brainer. We needed to use up the clock or get them to use up their timeouts. The last run makes sense as well. We had not had a third down conversion all game, we forced them to use their last timeout, and the defense had played well all game and we would be able to force them to march 80 yards in just over a minute to have to score a touchdown. You throw in that situation and don’t convert and you are in the same situation or you have an incomplete pass and not only do you punt but they have an additional timeout to give them more time.

Granted, they have Farve who has worked miracles in his time but you have to play the odds. I agree with Sing, in that had we won, no one would have questioned the call and we were very close to doing so. That said, if Hill had been handling the pressure on 3rd down at all during the game, it makes one wonder if they may have gone with a pass.

What I don’t understand is why abandon your defensive game plan. They went from being aggressive to playing soft and giving up plays underneath on their last drive. Their success had come from an aggressive pass rush limiting Farves time. He has proven year in and year out that if you give him time, he will kill you. He did just that. I think we should have blitzed the hell out of him. Do what our guys know and play tough no nonsense smash mouth football right up to the end. We have good coverage DBs trust them to control the field for 3-4 seconds instead of doing what we did and giving Farve all day to throw, 10 seconds went of the clock on that last play…… he had way too much time…..

You do realize that our committment to the run opens the passing game, right?

We need to pass more often, especially on 1st down & 3rd down. 3 and Outs (with all 3 plays being runs) are crap. The last two drives yesterday cost us the game. Those were Raye's calls.

Hill & Davis are becoming a great combo.

Originally posted by Cuphalffull:
It is easy to be an armchair OC. The reality is that it is common practice to attempt to run the clock out by running the ball, even if you don’t convert. While I don’t like the results, anyone who knows the game can’t argue the play calling (at least calling a run play). The first two runs were a no-brainer. We needed to use up the clock or get them to use up their timeouts. The last run makes sense as well. We had not had a third down conversion all game, we forced them to use their last timeout, and the defense had played well all game and we would be able to force them to march 80 yards in just over a minute to have to score a touchdown. You throw in that situation and don’t convert and you are in the same situation or you have an incomplete pass and not only do you punt but they have an additional timeout to give them more time.

Granted, they have Farve who has worked miracles in his time but you have to play the odds. I agree with Sing, in that had we won, no one would have questioned the call and we were very close to doing so. That said, if Hill had been handling the pressure on 3rd down at all during the game, it makes one wonder if they may have gone with a pass.

What I don’t understand is why abandon your defensive game plan. They went from being aggressive to playing soft and giving up plays underneath on their last drive. Their success had come from an aggressive pass rush limiting Farves time. He has proven year in and year out that if you give him time, he will kill you. He did just that. I think we should have blitzed the hell out of him. Do what our guys know and play tough no nonsense smash mouth football right up to the end. We have good coverage DBs trust them to control the field for 3-4 seconds instead of doing what we did and giving Farve all day to throw, 10 seconds went of the clock on that last play…… he had way too much time…..

Ok ok I can maaaybe agree with your staement about running to use the clock, but IF you are going to be conservative on offense, you can't do the same on defense.

I do not agree with running to simply use clock tho. Why not keep the outcome in your control rather then placing it in your opponents control?

Originally posted by DesiDez:
You do realize that our committment to the run opens the passing game, right?

Ya well if we passed more it would keep teams from stacking 8-9 defenders in the box too....

Underutilization of the passing game has also been the team's Achilles Heel.

Originally posted by Cuphalffull:
It is easy to be an armchair OC. The reality is that it is common practice to attempt to run the clock out by running the ball, even if you don’t convert. While I don’t like the results, anyone who knows the game can’t argue the play calling (at least calling a run play). The first two runs were a no-brainer. We needed to use up the clock or get them to use up their timeouts. The last run makes sense as well. We had not had a third down conversion all game, we forced them to use their last timeout, and the defense had played well all game and we would be able to force them to march 80 yards in just over a minute to have to score a touchdown. You throw in that situation and don’t convert and you are in the same situation or you have an incomplete pass and not only do you punt but they have an additional timeout to give them more time.

Granted, they have Farve who has worked miracles in his time but you have to play the odds. I agree with Sing, in that had we won, no one would have questioned the call and we were very close to doing so. That said, if Hill had been handling the pressure on 3rd down at all during the game, it makes one wonder if they may have gone with a pass.

What I don’t understand is why abandon your defensive game plan. They went from being aggressive to playing soft and giving up plays underneath on their last drive. Their success had come from an aggressive pass rush limiting Farves time. He has proven year in and year out that if you give him time, he will kill you. He did just that. I think we should have blitzed the hell out of him. Do what our guys know and play tough no nonsense smash mouth football right up to the end. We have good coverage DBs trust them to control the field for 3-4 seconds instead of doing what we did and giving Farve all day to throw, 10 seconds went of the clock on that last play…… he had way too much time…..

At the risk of seeming like an armchair QB, I will say this. Conventional/conservative wisdom holds, that you run all 3 downs, if you happen to get a 1st down, GREAT, if not, punt and turn the game over to your defense. On the 3rd down, 3rd and 6 I think it was. I think they could have or should have dialed up a play action, read option, where Hill has the option of passing or running. There was absolutely no chance of getting 6 yards against the Vikes D when they were playing 9 in the box.

I think our defense is the reason for our success this year.

I cant believe some of you are turning a blind eye to the fact that the only way we moved the ball down the field yesterday was by passing. 6 straight runs on our last 2 possessions. We cant throw the ball once!? Play Action!? I am afraid that Jimmy Raye is too stubborn and he will just run the ball even if it is getting stuffed all game (Arizona and Minnesota). And someone said that Hill sucked yesterday? I'm pretty sure he drove us down the field and scored a couple touchdowns for us. He threw a pick because Delanie stopped on his route.