Why are we so bad in the Red Zone??

Originally posted by dtg_9er:

Smith will have to trust his receivers and let the ball fly before their cut. Just the way it is in the NFL...have to try and hopefully keep the ball away from the defender as much as possible, but these guys are pros as well. Hitting Edwards on the hip is a statement I enjoyed! When people argue he can't make that quick throw...they are wrong.

The best throw that describes what you're talking about is ...., when we played the Eagles last year in SF, we were playing from behind and drove into the redzone. Smith hits Davis on a slant in the endzone in between 2 or maybe even 3 defenders.

Where the f**k is that Alex Smith?

It was before Davis even looked for the ball; Smith released with perfect timing, but its very rare.

Originally posted by SFL49ER:

Originally posted by dtg_9er:
Smith will have to trust his receivers and let the ball fly before their cut. Just the way it is in the NFL...have to try and hopefully keep the ball away from the defender as much as possible, but these guys are pros as well. Hitting Edwards on the hip is a statement I enjoyed! When people argue he can't make that quick throw...they are wrong.

The best throw that describes what you're talking about is ...., when we played the Eagles last year in SF, we were playing from behind and drove into the redzone. Smith hits Davis on a slant in the endzone in between 2 or maybe even 3 defenders.

Where the f**k is that Alex Smith?

That was a confident Alex Smith. Defenses took away his best option force him to go somewhere else. His next best option was Morgan. He's injured. Next option Crabtree. Took him away sometimes. Next option....? Wait he just ran out of time cause the O-line can't block the blitz. Now Smith is not confident cause he has this ticking clock in his head thinking they are coming from all sides.

It will take Smith and the whole offense to cure this. If people think it's just Smith, they are wrong.

Originally posted by SFL49ER:
It was before Davis even looked for the ball; Smith released with perfect timing, but its very rare.

On passes to VD in the flats, so many times, smith holds onto the ball so long that by the time he finally throws it, Davis has no where to run but out of bounds. When there is no real reason as to why he doesn't throw it sooner to allow VD to turn up field. It drives me fkn nuts!

Originally posted by ChazBoner:

Originally posted by SFL49ER:
It was before Davis even looked for the ball; Smith released with perfect timing, but its very rare.

On passes to VD in the flats, so many times, smith holds onto the ball so long that by the time he finally throws it, Davis has no where to run but out of bounds. When there is no real reason as to why he doesn't throw it sooner to allow VD to turn up field. It drives me fkn nuts!

Or VD didn't give himself enough room to the outside at the beginning of the route. Receivers sometimes make that mistake, especially lazy route runners or inexperience one. DB will try to force him towards the sideline also for this reason.

apparently walker said that they arent lined up fast enough in the red zone (due to many personnel changes) therefore unable to read the defense due to lack of time

^ In reference to this post:

Originally posted by OnTheClock:

Interesting Article: Alex Smith Not to Blame for RedZone Woes?

Quote:

You've been doing this for a while – is zone pressure a big deal as opposed to man-to-man pressure? Is that something that can really throw off an offense?

WALKER: Not at all. One thing that throws us off is the blitzes. You've got to pick the blitzes up. You've got to give Alex enough time to throw the ball and make the right decisions. So this week we're going to hurry up to the line of scrimmage and get set. We've been a little slow in the last past weeks of getting in the huddle and getting the play and getting to the line of scrimmage. We've got to give Alex a chance to see the defense so he can make the calls and get a better opportunity to see what's going on before we snap the ball. I think that's the biggest key.

Q: Giving him a chance to audible if he needs to?

WALKER: Yeah, and that's one thing on the players part. Coaches have been getting the plays in, but as players we've been getting to the line of scrimmage slow, so we're going to pick that up and make sure we get to the line of scrimmage faster so Alex can have a chance to read the defenses and make the audibles.

Q: Are you guys getting out of the huddle late because Alex is calling two plays in the huddle?

WALKER: No, it's not that. We have a lot of personnel so it's just switching in and out. We've just got to really hustle getting back into the huddle.

LOL at some of the comments below

Originally posted by Prime Time:

Now the player themselves are making excuses for Alex! Geez loiuse, can anyone get it right when saying that its all Alex's fault. Substitutions, playcall, getting to the line of scrimmage, making sure everyone knows their assignments, picking up the blitz. Alex can and should do these things all by himself!!! No excuses!

Speaking of Tight Ends, could our TE's be too fast to the point where they run themselves into coverage? Gronk ran a 4.68 forty which is slightly faster than Joe Staley. These guys' most important attribute is to find the zone and sit after it clears out.

Does a super fast TE allow for things to get cleared out?

Originally posted by Joecool:

Speaking of Tight Ends, could our TE's be too fast to the point where they run themselves into coverage? Gronk ran a 4.68 forty which is slightly faster than Joe Staley. These guys' most important attribute is to find the zone and sit after it clears out.

Does a super fast TE allow for things to get cleared out?

Maybe not, which is honestly why I feel like they are being misused there now. Vernon has scored a multitude of TDs on the drag route. Short drag over the middle, or a deeper one across the back of the end zone to the corner on a roll out would work well. Protection would have to hold for the latter, but seriously, this new quote by Walker does make things make a lot more sense now as far as some of the issues.

I mean frick, Vernon is the same size as Braylon only BIGGER at 250, and he runs the fade better than Edwards. The personnel use, Ginn, Walker and Braylon instead of Vernon, Williams, and Crabtree .. is just plain idiotic. And the wildcat with Hunter on third downs? WTFRICK? No wonder we aren't scoring more TDs.

Well, at least now we are devoting another day to the RedZone, from two to three.

That should help to be better prepared!

At least we hope.

Originally posted by qnnhan7:
Or VD didn't give himself enough room to the outside at the beginning of the route. Receivers sometimes make that mistake, especially lazy route runners or inexperience one. DB will try to force him towards the sideline also for this reason.

i'm sure that happens, but i'm talking about where VD is as wide open as hes' gonna get early and smith holds onto the ball until the last second. Only thing I can think of is that he's looking down field for something else instead.

Originally posted by OnTheClock:

Originally posted by Joecool:
Speaking of Tight Ends, could our TE's be too fast to the point where they run themselves into coverage? Gronk ran a 4.68 forty which is slightly faster than Joe Staley. These guys' most important attribute is to find the zone and sit after it clears out.

Does a super fast TE allow for things to get cleared out?

Maybe not, which is honestly why I feel like they are being misused there now. Vernon has scored a multitude of TDs on the drag route. Short drag over the middle, or a deeper one across the back of the end zone to the corner on a roll out would work well. Protection would have to hold for the latter, but seriously, this new quote by Walker does make things make a lot more sense now as far as some of the issues.

I mean frick, Vernon is the same size as Braylon only BIGGER at 250, and he runs the fade better than Edwards. The personnel use, Ginn, Walker and Braylon instead of Vernon, Williams, and Crabtree .. is just plain idiotic. And the wildcat with Hunter on third downs? WTFRICK? No wonder we aren't scoring more TDs.

We REALLY need to get Vernon running some slants more. That big of a body and he can kind of run cut it so he won't lose speed would be a nice target, especially in the red zone. If Defenses wanna double it, then you just run a double slant or a TE out underneath.

Originally posted by Joecool:

Originally posted by OnTheClock:

Originally posted by Joecool:
Speaking of Tight Ends, could our TE's be too fast to the point where they run themselves into coverage? Gronk ran a 4.68 forty which is slightly faster than Joe Staley. These guys' most important attribute is to find the zone and sit after it clears out.

Does a super fast TE allow for things to get cleared out?

Maybe not, which is honestly why I feel like they are being misused there now. Vernon has scored a multitude of TDs on the drag route. Short drag over the middle, or a deeper one across the back of the end zone to the corner on a roll out would work well. Protection would have to hold for the latter, but seriously, this new quote by Walker does make things make a lot more sense now as far as some of the issues.

I mean frick, Vernon is the same size as Braylon only BIGGER at 250, and he runs the fade better than Edwards. The personnel use, Ginn, Walker and Braylon instead of Vernon, Williams, and Crabtree .. is just plain idiotic. And the wildcat with Hunter on third downs? WTFRICK? No wonder we aren't scoring more TDs.

We REALLY need to get Vernon running some slants more. That big of a body and he can kind of run cut it so he won't lose speed would be a nice target, especially in the red zone. If Defenses wanna double it, then you just run a double slant or a TE out underneath.

Vernon Davis leaps in to the air on slant routes, for no apparent f**kin reason

Originally posted by OnTheClock:
^ In reference to this post:

Originally posted by OnTheClock:
Interesting Article: Alex Smith Not to Blame for RedZone Woes?

Quote:
You've been doing this for a while – is zone pressure a big deal as opposed to man-to-man pressure? Is that something that can really throw off an offense?

WALKER: Not at all. One thing that throws us off is the blitzes. You've got to pick the blitzes up. You've got to give Alex enough time to throw the ball and make the right decisions. So this week we're going to hurry up to the line of scrimmage and get set. We've been a little slow in the last past weeks of getting in the huddle and getting the play and getting to the line of scrimmage. We've got to give Alex a chance to see the defense so he can make the calls and get a better opportunity to see what's going on before we snap the ball. I think that's the biggest key.

Q: Giving him a chance to audible if he needs to?

WALKER: Yeah, and that's one thing on the players part. Coaches have been getting the plays in, but as players we've been getting to the line of scrimmage slow, so we're going to pick that up and make sure we get to the line of scrimmage faster so Alex can have a chance to read the defenses and make the audibles.

Q: Are you guys getting out of the huddle late because Alex is calling two plays in the huddle?

WALKER: No, it's not that. We have a lot of personnel so it's just switching in and out. We've just got to really hustle getting back into the huddle.

LOL at some of the comments below

Originally posted by Prime Time:
Now the player themselves are making excuses for Alex! Geez loiuse, can anyone get it right when saying that its all Alex's fault. Substitutions, playcall, getting to the line of scrimmage, making sure everyone knows their assignments, picking up the blitz. Alex can and should do these things all by himself!!! No excuses!

Or how bout just catch the f**king ball when it hits your hands....?

Quarterback.

Please, please open your eyes (directed to the 49er fan base in general). Stop making every excuse for Alex Smith and expect everyone else to play a flawless game. A Quarterback can make his O-Line better, he can force defenses to respect the pass and not send 7 guys each time. Smith is terrible. Its scary how low the bar has been set here in San Francisco after years of bad QB play. Alex plays mediocre and everyone wants to resign him. The offense sucks on 3rd down, and in the redzone, because both are situations where running is often out of the question. Do any of you honestly think Jim Harbaugh needs Alex to succeed this way? he can pick up any mediocre QB and have the same results. The offense is so condensed and limited its not even funny, yet so many fans are completely oblivious to this.

Every pass he completes is high, always! Ive played quarterback for 10 years. Anyone with QB/coaching/football experience will tell you placing the ball on the numbers as opposed to high above the helmet is a huge difference in YAC. The WRs are in a bad position to turn upfield because they always stretch for the ball. Yet people disregard this and say, good job on the completion. Compare ball placement, dropback, and release among even average QBs in the league and you'll see (If you know what to look for) that Alex falls short in every category.