Will the offensive line hold back the 49ers offense this season?

Originally posted by Oscar:
In this week's Better Rivals podcast we talk about the offensive line against the Houston Texans. Alex Smith was battered and took way to many hits against the first team defense leaving us wondering: Will the offensive line hold the 49ers offense back in 2012? What do you think?

Listen via iTunes

Listen via the web

Listening, as always, as we speak. Thanks for this. And the answer is "most likely."

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by Oscar:
In this week's Better Rivals podcast we talk about the offensive line against the Houston Texans. Alex Smith was battered and took way to many hits against the first team defense leaving us wondering: Will the offensive line hold the 49ers offense back in 2012? What do you think?

Listen via iTunes

Listen via the web

Listening, as always, as we speak. Thanks for this. And the answer is "most likely."

I know, I feel the same way. I watched A. Davis and Boone closely and they played up and down. I think the more important thing is how Alex Smith feels in the pocket. Does he get antsy because of the hits he takes? Who knows. But I know it looks like he reads low to high.

Mario being mugged... yep, how do you miss that call?

I have been very clear of my stance on the OL. I feel that our OL is the one aspect that will make or break our SB dreams. I have to hope for the best and believe that they have improved. I'm seeing improvement in blitz pickup already.. but in one-on-one pass-pro failures? I'm a little worried. They look like they will be dominant as run blockers... but keeping the QB healthy is gonna be the key.

I'd like to hear more about this alleged missed pull block from Boone on Gore's 2nd rush. Or how Boone was supposed to physically pass through his fellow OL's flesh to stay in front of a stunting rusher?

Overall, a good listen, as expected.

They'll be good run blockers but as usual we'll struggle in pass protection. There had better be noticeable improvement from last season though!! I still can't believe we won 13 games while giving up 44 sacks.

This is a silly podcast about the OL. Probably what frustrates Harbaugh when he says that reporters need to step up the game. I could come up with a million podcasts after every game.

Will the injuries to RB hold back the niners.

Will Alex Smith and the back up qb hold back the niners.

Will the WR's hold back the 49ers.

Greatest thing about technology, you have hacks doing podcasts, and the kid Cohn writing articles that show his lack of football knowledge, yet we all click on them because we want to see the train wreck.

Originally posted by Oscar:

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by Oscar:
In this week's Better Rivals podcast we talk about the offensive line against the Houston Texans. Alex Smith was battered and took way to many hits against the first team defense leaving us wondering: Will the offensive line hold the 49ers offense back in 2012? What do you think?

Listen via iTunes

Listen via the web

Listening, as always, as we speak. Thanks for this. And the answer is "most likely."

I know, I feel the same way. I watched A. Davis and Boone closely and they played up and down. I think the more important thing is how Alex Smith feels in the pocket. Does he get antsy because of the hits he takes? Who knows. But I know it looks like he reads low to high.

Thanks yeah, oldman9er and I agree (obviously). The both of us did a side-by-side analysis of the pass protection of the first string OL against the Texans (good measurable) on the first drive which is a nice microcasm of our issues last year against good DL's or defenses that can dial up good blitz schemes: Post #964

http://www.49erswebzone.com/forum/niners/125790-offensive-line-play-most-important/page65/

And we didn't even touch the run blocking but it sounds like you saw a few blown blocks in the running game as well.

And after you read/watch, you can SEE why Alex (or any QB) would not be looking high-to-low with the type of beating he is getting under 3 seconds. He's lucky to even get to a second read or if his first (hot read) option is open for a modest gain. That said, it was quite remarkable we were able to move from our own 25 to their 27 and got a 50-yard FG out of it.

I appreciate the listen...I've been quite concerned about our pass blocking for years and am thankful Alex hasn't had another serious injury. I'm not sure why others are dismissing it so quickly as it's the KEY to winning a SB and evolving in year 2 of the WCO and utilizing all of our new "weapons." If we want to be a dynamic offense, we need to have a dynamic OL...picture Brady, Brees, etc. sitting back in the pocket with all the time in the world to throw. Must be nice...

Alex needs to step up, plain and simple

I'm worried about davis. Was he ever tried out at guard? he seems like a perfect fit there.

No. I thought for about the first 4 games last year, but for the rest of the other games, the line stepped up and play well in general. They need to be more consistent in run and pass blocking. I feel good about them this year. For a shorten offseason they did a fine job towards the middle and end of the season.

No, we will dominate the run game, we will be fine in pass pro, and we will kill with the boot, we are better than last year, and last year we were fine. The breakdowns in the Houston game were Alex's, he took the blame like a man.

Offensive line looks excellent to me. The QB is the biggest ?

Originally posted by DirtyP:
Offensive line looks excellent to me. The QB is the biggest ?

Stop ripping on Kaepernick! He may have thrown another two near-INTs and had a couple overthrows with no touch, but he's still learning!

Originally posted by oldman9er:
Mario being mugged... yep, how do you miss that call?

I have been very clear of my stance on the OL. I feel that our OL is the one aspect that will make or break our SB dreams. I have to hope for the best and believe that they have improved. I'm seeing improvement in blitz pickup already.. but in one-on-one pass-pro failures? I'm a little worried. They look like they will be dominant as run blockers... but keeping the QB healthy is gonna be the key.

I'd like to hear more about this alleged missed pull block from Boone on Gore's 2nd rush. Or how Boone was supposed to physically pass through his fellow OL's flesh to stay in front of a stunting rusher?

Overall, a good listen, as expected.

The stunt was what worried me the most as it indicated a break down on a simple DT stunt. Boone blocked down (his left) and when the RDT came around on the loop Boone was out of position. Yes, you can argue that these kinds of things will be addressed over time, but nevertheless it's worrisome to think that one of the "top 5 linemen" on the team can't handle a preseason stunt.

On the second Gore rush, I'm not sure what the assignment was. When I watched it the first time I thought I could make out the scheme since Miller went out and blocked the same guy that Boone did. Upon re-watching, it's possible that Miller missed the block and not Boone.

This group has been geared to run first. The line had its ups and downs in pass protection last year. As for this years preseason games the team is lacking Frank who cleans up lots of mistakes. Judging this unit by size and athleticism no reason why it can't excel in pass coverage.