Brees, 1.5 seconds, and alex

http://www.nfl.com/videos/auto/09000d5d825cecbd/Brees-wild-card-masterpiece
"Brees Wild Card Masterpiece"

Brees had all day to throw.

LOL, Alex has a better passer rating than Brees playing on Grass. NO offense is going to be exposed as the indoor turf team they are. We probably wouldn't have nearly as much of a chance playin in NO but luckily that aint the case. Second seed never tasted so good.

Brees was picking their secondary apart, you don't just sit back in zone and hope Brees makes a mistake. And when they did blitz they got to Brees....HELLLO Schwartz you idiot!!!

This post must be sarcasm -- or its baloney. Give me a break - EVERY throw out in 1.5 seconds is the crazy first assertion; the second is that if you don't play just like someone else and also get EVERY throw out in under 1.5 seconds you will automatically fail. Ridiculous. Yeah, Brady fails when he doesn't get the ball out in under 3 seconds, he should just spike the ball at 1.6 seconds and give up. Comedy.

We'll verify this lame post on game rewind tonight.

We can dream all day long but getting rid of the ball quickly will NEVER let me repeat NEVER be Alex's strongpoint. Fact of the matter is that Alex will take a few extra seconds to make sure his receiver is wide open...not just open. Alex is conservative. He'll never have the ability to throw it out quick and trust his receiver to make the catch. Much of this pattern is reinforced by the conservative Harbaugh who is content to let Alex manage the game by keeping his interceptions low. So it's a low risk, low reward type of game plan but it works.

That said, I've always thought that we did a poor job of matching our receivers to Alex's tendancy to hold the ball. The starting receivers were Josh Morgan and Crabtree (prior to Morgan's injury). Both of these guys are great intermediate route receivers but they do not get much separation off the line. So we are adding insult to injury here. Inserting Kyle Williams helped quite a bit because he's a faster, shiftier receiver who CAN get fast separation off the line. But I think we can do ever better. Simply stated, we need a Wes Welker type of receiver to start.

Last but not least, we need to give Alex maximum time allowable. I'm not sold on Goodwin at center. Many times he gets pushed back and pressure comes up the gut. Although he's getting better of late, Alex does have a history of going into panic mode and the play breaks down via sack, errant throw or a chuck out of bounds.

Guarantee if we can get some speed on the receiving corp and obtain a stud at center, Alex will do just fine. But expecting him to release the ball under 2 seconds will NEVER happen as long as number 11 is here.

Originally posted by pete98146:
We can dream all day long but getting rid of the ball quickly will NEVER let me repeat NEVER be Alex's strongpoint. Fact of the matter is that Alex will take a few extra seconds to make sure his receiver is wide open...not just open. Alex is conservative. He'll never have the ability to throw it out quick and trust his receiver to make the catch. Much of this pattern is reinforced by the conservative Harbaugh who is content to let Alex manage the game by keeping his interceptions low. So it's a low risk, low reward type of game plan but it works.

That said, I've always thought that we did a poor job of matching our receivers to Alex's tendancy to hold the ball. The starting receivers were Josh Morgan and Crabtree (prior to Morgan's injury). Both of these guys are great intermediate route receivers but they do not get much separation off the line. So we are adding insult to injury here. Inserting Kyle Williams helped quite a bit because he's a faster, shiftier receiver who CAN get fast separation off the line. But I think we can do ever better. Simply stated, we need a Wes Welker type of receiver to start.

Last but not least, we need to give Alex maximum time allowable. I'm not sold on Goodwin at center. Many times he gets pushed back and pressure comes up the gut. Although he's getting better of late, Alex does have a history of going into panic mode and the play breaks down via sack, errant throw or a chuck out of bounds.

Guarantee if we can get some speed on the receiving corp and obtain a stud at center, Alex will do just fine. But expecting him to release the ball under 2 seconds will NEVER happen as long as number 11 is here.

i can think of many times his slant pass vs the eagles to morgan come as an example

Originally posted by 49ersalldaway126:
i can think of many times his slant pass vs the eagles to morgan come as an example

It's unfortunate that our slant routes disappear for so many stretches per game. Why do you think that is?

(really asking... don't know)

Originally posted by Kolohe:
Brees was picking their secondary apart, you don't just sit back in zone and hope Brees makes a mistake. And when they did blitz they got to Brees....HELLLO Schwartz you idiot!!!

Early on the Detroit D seemed more agressive but Brees chewed them up, as did the running game. In the first quarter NO averaged a crazy number for rushing. First Quarter runs were: 14, 8, 0, 31, and 9 yards (over 12 yards per carry). Good game plans tend to win games...as do good QBs and Ds and STs and...

Not surprisingly dtg picked up on the important part. Alex is going to have to be throwing with 1 or no steps, because the N.O. line of scrimmage is going to look like a pizza house where pizzas are free. Like in preseason, they will gang up on LOS UNTIL we get them to back off with quick slants, outs, and quick screens. Only when they back off can Coach go to his game plan. But until that happens, we can't run nor can we throw anything taking over 2 seconds.

As for Brees, rushing 3 is a non starter. Rushing four won't work. We will have to have 3+3 plus ALL DONE moving around each play PLUS a CB or SS blitz to have any effect on Brees. Anything else he will just cut our D backs to shreds. His recognition of where and who is open is preposterously fast. 5 guys are going have to come to upset his rhythm. As noted above, with Detroits wide DL splits, Pierre Thomas and Sproles racked up over 100 yds, also due in part to Suh taking himself out of the play. Suh is NOT as fast as Aldon so that will be very interesting to watch. Also when we bring 5 (and I sure hope we do), p-52 right up the gut should be very successful.

Re: alex and what this means for him: Well I don't expect to see any 40 yrd passes thrown up for grabs with 3 INTs , all turned into TDs. Getting rid of the ball within 2 seconds will be a must, and if we see him drop back with a box 8, then roman is calling the plays, not Coach H. I am hoping Coach calls the plays, because he gets it. Once the ball is snapped, it has to be gone. Payton has seen the tapes, and revisited the preseason game, and I bet has a box 8 until we dink and dunk him out of it. Also, a taste of their own medicine, the 2 minute drill would be a nice touch, as alex has good feel for that.

Detroit not only had stafford throw 3 INTs, but their DBs dropped 3 sure INTs. That is a possible 6 turn around TDs, which makes one heckuva difference. Our guys will snag those balls and alex is not throwing it up for grabs. Also, we never saw N.O. punt, to my recollection. We get no benefit from punting exchanges and field position if the Saints never punt. What I would really like to see is how to make the 9ers make stops on 3rd and short or long, and on 4th and short. Seems N.O. converted everyone of those puppies. We have to be able to defensively scheme in those situations. Those situations were especially important for brees getting the ball gone pronto. On 3rd and short or long, again, I would like to see Coach call those plays, because to date, we just have not had the proper D set to hold an opponent on 3rd and anything. Our best bet is being inside our Red Zone, but i hope not to see that.

I never saw all day, any of saints WRs get bumped at LOS. We just haven't done that all yr but this sure seems like a good time to do it. Bump 'em and rock 'em. Brees knows his receivers moves so well, he frequently had the ball gone long before the WR looked for the ball. That is a tough pass to stop.

Yeah, I saw brees jump and move around on really deep stuff but the overwhelming majority of his passes were indeed gone in 1.3-1.5 seconds. And you all are right, stafford got rid of it just as fast. For alex, the O calls just have to be 2.0 seconds or less slants and outs, some screens, maybe a shovel pass up the middle, but it better be quick. In preseason game, roman was calling for 3,5, 7 step drops which predictably caused 11 sacks, 12 knockdowns, and 11 hurries. I truly hope Coach H is calling plays next week. If the Saints ever move off the LOS then Coach can go to his game plan, which undoubtedly will call for ball control/keep away.

So. Make him throw it before he wants to. Time doesn't mean anything. If he has to throw it before the timing routes are open then the Niners will be fine. Conversely, if the routes are not open because coverage is good then that is good too. Also, if the Niners take away Brees's first read then The Smith Pain and AssociTes will be all over him.

Ok we need to realize that he is not a big time mobile QB, let him force the ball sometimes into 7-8 man coverage.

Perhaps your stopwatch needs calibration

Ok we need to realize that he is not a big time mobile QB, let him force the ball sometimes into 7-8 man coverage.

Originally posted by Magzarillious:
Ok we need to realize that he is not a big time mobile QB, let him force the ball sometimes into 7-8 man coverage.

Agree but think the 9ers need to be unpredictable! Brees is too good just to blitz every down but mixing it up and getting off balance can slow him down...I hope!

We can't compromise coverage by rushing 5 or more. Brees will exploit a matchup. The trick will be to get pressure w/ 4 rushers. I noticed in the last 2 49er games, our D line have new formations designed to overload a side of the line. I see this type of scheme being played on the Saints. The Lions D did a decent job in the first half, they just didn't take advantage of the opportunities. The Lions lost because its D wore down in the 2nd half, especially in the 4th quarter, this won't happen with the 49ers D. The 49ers D have been playing this way the entire season - giving up the short plays and forcing offense to make the mistake.

On the offense side, Alex threw quite a few 2.5s range quick slants and outs against the Rams and has had consistent success against the blitz in the 2nd half of the season. We'll move the ball against the Saints. It seems the offense has been slowly improving throughout the season, even with the carousel at the receiver position.