Greg Roman, is he really good?

Originally posted by dtg_9er:

Originally posted by NCommand:
Paste isn't copying over well...here are the last two plays:
• AR2 @ 2 4 WR set (3 right, 1 left). Pass (too low) underneath to Crabtree while both Boldin & VD are already blocking for him. Offensive P.I. called. I'm OK with the call but the ball was almost in Crabtree's hands and Boldin was blocking well under 5 yards off the LOS. Hmmm.
• AR1 <3 3 WR set (2 right, 1 left) VD starts on the right of the OT, rubs across the formation, CK hits him for a TD

Works better if you save it as a jpeg or gif and then download. Have to do this with spread sheets or it turns into mush.

Thanks for the post NC...a lot to consider and will be rewatching if I can find time. It's nice to have something like your run down while watching.

Oh good suggestion!

Yeah, please let me know what you think. The good thing about analyzing these passing plays is that it's easy to fast forward to JUST the passing plays, slow down, freeze, rewind, etc. It's not very time consuming.

Originally posted by thl408:
Good stuff, NC. I'm kind of seeing different though. I'm not quite getting what the time to pull the trigger on a pass has to do with whether it is a college style one read play, or a pro style passing play. My take is that if Kap goes with his pre-snap primary read, the read he is making as the shifts are occurring at the LOS, the ball will come out fast. If his primary read is wrong, he will have to start his progressions. I'd like to go over some of the plays you referenced in your breakdown.

I think we have a slight difference in opinion on this one key concept. If all passes are under 3 seconds, that is a good indication the AR has been pre-determined in the huddle (with, what appears to be a little more freedom for CK to change at the LOS based on his read). You call this AR the "primary read" and I call him the "Annointed Receiver." While it essentially is the exact same thing initially, the difference is after that...IMHO, there are no real 2nd or 3rd receiving options (i.e. no "progression reads") EXCEPT when the play is Pro-Style. Why? B/c the non-AR's are all playing their part in getting the AR the ball; they are doing their part in executing the "team passing play," whether that's running routes away from a vacated area for the AR, picking defenders off or even blocking for them pre-pass. It's a team passing game. It's essentially as simple as this for CK: 1) Choose the best AR passing play at the LOS; 2) Hit the AR in under 3 seconds and if covered or if you don't pull the trigger 3) It instantly becomes an ad lib play so make sure to scramble, buy time with your legs and either ad lib pass or run. Done.

The key in this team passing AR system is that everyone must execute their part (esp. the AR beating his man 1on1). If that AR is covered or CK doesn't pull the trigger, it THEN becomes an ad lib play where at that point, everyone is scrambling to make a play. In the AR offense, CK himself, is nothing more than an extension of the passing play called himself. There are no true progression reads where if the primary target is covered, look to the secondary, thrid and then check downs. We only see this when we run a true Pro-Stle (PS) passing play.

Now, IMHO, if it's a PS passing play as noted above (and I do believe we'll see more and more of these as CK grows his football IQ), we typically run 3 or 4 WR's out and even the TE and RB's are true receiving options. There "may" be a primary read but essentially, every route run could genuinely be a receiving option. That's the key difference vs. our AR team passing plays.

In PS, CK takes the snap in shot gun (usually) and his job is to scan the field and hit the most open man under 3 seconds. It appears when we run a PS play, it's more similar to a Spread passing play (left-to-right; vice versa) vs. a WCO (high-to-low with built in progressions). This is what you see with Brady, standing back there in shot gun for 8 seconds at a time, scanning, waiting to see who his best option is. And like I said, there "may" be a primary read here as well but it's not critical as ALL receivers are true receiving options. Someone like Brady, via his experience, would probably KNOW who has the best matchup and who will most likely win his battle but a primary receiver or even progressions are not critical here; the open man is. And the fact that there are multiple options and the entire field is being used, it makes it easier to sit back there with confidence. The WCO is different, as you know, as not only is every receiver on the field a real receiving option on every single play but the routes themselves are designed to open up at different times in sync with the QB's drops (3, 5, 7-step drops, etc.); not just the primary read.

While this AR "team passing" game can work with top notch talent (like we now have), it does put a ton of stress on the AR beating his man 1on1 the majority of the time and it also may be affecting CK and his growth of a QB as his football IQ may be getting capped off (plateauing). Until we start to incorporate more and more PS passing plays or even some WCO route trees, other than pre snap reads, there isn't much to "think about" as the AR has already been pre-determined...he just has to exceute it!

IMHO, this AR passing game CAN work with the personnel we have now and some of these schemes are great and can create some favorable matchups and I esp. like how we're using more and more of the RB's as real receiving options now for CK if the AR is bottled up. With all the added attention to Crabtree, VD, Boldin & Manningham and with the intermediate and deeper (outside) routes we tend to run, we could start REALLY exposing teams with the likes of Hunter, Gore, Miller, James and esp. McDonald in the short, middle, underneath areas of the field (esp. on delayed pass blocking routes).

Adding more and more Spread-like PS (or WCO) passing plays for CK and hitting these shorter targets if the AR is covered up instead of scambling to ad lib throw/run, coud be the next phase in his evolution/growth as a QB. HaRoMan could help CK with scheme (like how we currently use Miller as the AR, we could use the aforementioned [other] weapons as the AR's as well in this short area) and coaching (fundamentals; eyes) here as well. Teach him to stay in the pocket and if he can't hit his AR under 3 seconds, look down to your check-down options instantly for big, positive gains, esp. on first down. This will at least get him thinking about using the entire field and keep him clean/safe and will help open up the playbook on 2nd and 3rd downs (b/c we'll have made positive yards on first downs).

Go Niners!

Originally posted by Mr.Mcgibblets:

Originally posted by thl408:
Was curious to see how the 49ers went about attacking the SEA secondary. Here are the pass plays from the 1st half.

Very cool to see, thanks. Looks like mostly multi-route reads for Kaep, mixed with a designed single AR1 (#21) and single AR2 play (#19).

This is what I have been feeling we typically do in our offense... but admit, I haven't been reviewing as much as I used to.

Just the opposite actually but still can be effective even against a very good (and illegal) defense!

Wow, that's a significant amount of AR sets. So what does this mean? Is this a reflection of HaRoman's ultra conservative mistake-free offensive philosophy? Or does this show that the coaches have little confidence in Kap going through multiple reads or reading defenses efficiently on his own (disturbing)? Which ever the case, do you guys feel that this could change and we could move on to a more PS offense as Kap mature and improves and we can get better weapons around him? I'd hate for this to continue, as I believe it hinders the development of the non ARs (Baldwin, McDonald) and ensures there's never any fluidity in the passing offense.

Originally posted by NeonNiner:
Wow, that's a significant amount of AR sets. So what does this mean? Is this a reflection of HaRoman's ultra conservative mistake-free offensive philosophy? Or does this show that the coaches have little confidence in Kap going through multiple reads or reading defenses efficiently on his own (disturbing)? Which ever the case, do you guys feel that this could change and we could move on to a more PS offense as Kap mature and improves and we can get better weapons around him? I'd hate for this to continue, as I believe it hinders the development of the non ARs (Baldwin, McDonald) and ensures there's never any fluidity in the passing offense.

I honestly think it is just how Roman's offense works. He likes to shift players around to get the best matchup and try to exploit that. I believe this is why it looks like Kap is a "one read" QB. The primary read is put in a position where he should be able to make a play against whatever the QB reads the defense to be. Roman's offense is all about the presnap read with very little coming after. I think Kap is being coached this way.

Even with Alex Smith under center we saw much of the same shifting, the same issues with first downs being unproductive, the hot reads effectively being eliminated, etc.

Originally posted by NeonNiner:
Wow, that's a significant amount of AR sets. So what does this mean? Is this a reflection of HaRoman's ultra conservative mistake-free offensive philosophy? Or does this show that the coaches have little confidence in Kap going through multiple reads or reading defenses efficiently on his own (disturbing)? Which ever the case, do you guys feel that this could change and we could move on to a more PS offense as Kap mature and improves and we can get better weapons around him? I'd hate for this to continue, as I believe it hinders the development of the non ARs (Baldwin, McDonald) and ensures there's never any fluidity in the passing offense.

Well, this is why I have always said this passing offense is grounded in a poor "philosophy" to begin with. It requires all parts of a chain to work and be strong together at once and after that, true chemistry between your QB and WR's in ad lib. It can still work. It can still be effective. In theory, it COULD involve others such as Patton, Manningham, Baldwin, McDonald, Hunter, James and Gore in the passing game BUT HaRoMan would need to call plays where the aforementioned are the AR's or CK is taught to hit these guys instantly if that AR is bottled up. It puts a LOT of pressure on Roman to scheme properly as well and at the right time. Essentially, it takes much of the responsibility off the QB and puts more (control) on the OC/Coaches; and that is WITH 6 different coaches contributing to play calling throughout the game and game plans. It's not a QB-centered passing game where HE is running the offense up and down the field. He is merely executing the play call IMHO. What we don't know is if this is just the beginning phase of the offense, the foundation, and from here, it will involve into a more PS (or WCO) passing attack where we see less decoy routes and more true receiving options on every play called. Like thl408 suggested, perhaps this passing attack has been scaled back d/t CK's developmental level. At the same token, we may need to brace ourselves for the fact that this just may BE our offense. Period. But even if it is, like I noted earlier, it can still work and be effective (obviously). But we're going to continue to see many of the same patterns/issues we are still concerned about (now, under 2 QB's). Roman and coaches will need to evolve themselves and become more proficient and experienced while CK and the receivers develop more and more chemistry.

Originally posted by NinerGM:
NCommand

While this AR "team passing" game can work with top notch talent (like we now have), it does put a ton of stress on the AR beating his man 1on1 the majority of the time and it also may be affecting CK and his growth of a QB as his football IQ may be getting capped off (plateauing). Until we start to incorporate more and more PS passing plays or even some WCO route trees, other than pre snap reads, there isn't much to "think about" as the AR has already been pre-determined...just exceute it!

Ah! The weakness of the AR Passing Offense...

Not only does it put stress on the AR beating his man 1-1, but it also requires a believable decoy. This is why I've dubbed it the Decoy-based Anointed Receiver Passing Offense. Why was it so dysfunctional early in the season after the Greenbay game? Because teams quickly figured out the only viable ARs were Davis and Boldin. Manningham isn't healthy enough to be an effective AR and never quite had the tools to beat guys in press coverage 1-1; he was more of a speedster. Now that Crabtree is back, of course his "presence" is being felt because defense MUST acknowledge he's a bona fide AR "option".

It's purely based on execution and not receiving options. AR "hardwires" the receiver in Kaps head and it simplifies the read. So Dilfer was correct in a sense when he said the AR offense was "remedial" to a degree. It is "training" offense. However if everyone doesn't execute perfectly, Kap scrambles and it becomes ad lib. I don't mind this at all, it's just that we have to teach our receivers how to break routes off when they notice the AR play has broken down.

100% agree esp. with the bold. Coaching is a critical element (obviously) in all of this and can't be ignored.

Originally posted by pasodoc9er:
Is this going to change to PS once kap learns to read Ds better and call plays better? Also that assumes he can find different receivers that are NOT ARs. Is this AR playcalling due to kap's limitations, or JHs philosophy?

I guess if kap can't find receivers well, then AR is a good fallback position. Is that what you see?

These are the million-dollar questions we don't know yet. One way to tell is to use this Seattle game as a baseline. If next game, we start to see more and more PS (maybe, even WCO), one could reasonably assume HaRoMan are bringing CK along and we're migrating more and more into a PS passing offense. I think the Spread offense as a foundation would end up being much more effective for CK in the end, maybe even over the WCO (esp. in the short term).

Originally posted by NCommand:
I think we have a slight difference in opinion on this one key concept. If all passes are under 3 seconds, that is a good indication the AR has been pre-determined in the huddle (with, what appears to be a little more freedom for CK to change at the LOS based on his read). You call this AR the "primary read" and I call him the "Annointed Receiver." While it essentially is the exact same thing initially, the difference is after that...IMHO, there are no real 2nd or 3rd receiving options (i.e. no "progression reads") EXCEPT when the play is Pro-Style. Why? B/c the non-AR's are all playing their part in getting the AR the ball; they are doing their part in executing the "team passing play," whether that's running routes away from a vacated area for the AR, picking defenders off or even blocking for them pre-pass. It's a team passing game. It's essentially as simple as this for CK: 1) Choose the best AR passing play at the LOS; 2) Hit the AR in under 3 seconds and if covered or if you don't pull the trigger 3) It instantly becomes an ad lib play so make sure to scramble, buy time with your legs and either ad lib pass or run. Done.

The key in this team passing AR system is that everyone must execute their part (esp. the AR beating his man 1on1). If that AR is covered or CK doesn't pull the trigger, it THEN becomes an ad lib play where at that point, everyone is scrambling to make a play. In the AR offense, CK himself, is nothing more than an extension of the passing play called himself. There are no true progression reads where if the primary target is covered, look to the secondary, thrid and then check downs. We only see this when we run a true Pro-Stle (PS) passing play.

Now, IMHO, if it's a PS passing play as noted above (and I do believe we'll see more and more of these as CK grows his football IQ), we typically run 3 or 4 WR's out and even the TE and RB's are true receiving options. There "may" be a primary read but essentially, every route could genuinely be a receiving option. That's the key difference v.s our AR team passing plays. In PS, CK takes the snap in shot gun and his job is to scan the field and hit the most open man under 3 seconds. It appears when we run a PS play, it's more similar to a Spread passing play (left-to-right; vice versa) vs. a WCO (high-to-low with built in progressions). This is what you see with Brady, standing back there in shot gun for 8 seconds at a time, scanning, waiting to see who his best option is. And like I said, there "may" be a primary read here as well but it's not critical as ALL receivers are true receiving options. Someone like Brady, via his experience, would probably KNOW who has the best matchup and who will most likely win his battle but a primary receiver or even progressions are not critical here; the open man is. And the fact that there are multiple options and the entire field is being used, it makes it easier to sit back there with confidence. The WCO is different as you know as not only is every receiver on the field a real option on every single play but the routes themselves are designed to open up at different times in sync with the QB's drops (3, 5, 7-step drops, etc.).

While this AR "team passing" game can work with top notch talent (like we now have), it does put a ton of stress on the AR beating his man 1on1 the majority of the time and it also may be affecting CK and his growth of a QB as his football IQ may be getting capped off (plateauing). Until we start to incorporate more and more PS passing plays or even some WCO route trees, other than pre snap reads, there isn't much to "think about" as the AR has already been pre-determined...he just has to exceute it!

IMHO, this AR passing game CAN work with the personnel we have now and some of these schemes are great and can create some favorable matchups and I esp. like how we're using more and more of the RB's as real receiving options now for CK if the AR is bottled up. With all the added attention to Crabtree, VD, Boldin & Manningham and with the intermediate and deeper (outside) routes we tend to run, we could start REALLY exposing teams with the likes of Hunter, Gore, Miller, James and esp. McDonald in the short, middle, underneath areas of the field (esp. on delayed pass blocking routes).

Adding more and more Spread-like PS (or WCO) passing plays for CK and hitting these shorter targets if the AR is covered up instead of scambling to ad lib throw/run, coud be the next phase in his evolution/growth as a QB. HaRoMan could help CK with scheme (like how we currently use Miller as the AR, we could use the aforementioned (other) weapons as the AR's as well in this short area) and coaching (fundamentals; eyes) here as well. Teach him to stay in the pocket and if he can't hit his AR under 3 seconds, look down to your check-down options instantly for big, positive gains, esp. on first down. This will at least get him thinking about using the entire field and keep him clean/safe and will help open up the playbook on 2nd and 3rd downs (b/c we'll have positive yards on first downs).

Go Niners!

Nice post NC. I'll quote some of the many points you touched on in italics.

If all passes are under 3 seconds, that is a good indication the AR has been pre-determined in the huddle (with, what appears to be a little more freedom for CK to change at the LOS based on his read).
- Why is it that when the pass is thrown under 3 seconds, it means that the primary target must have been decided in the huddle? To me, if a pass is thrown under 3 seconds, it means Kap's first look was 'correct' (in his mind), so he went with it. The manner in which he determines his first look is pre-snap analysis of the defense, at the line of scrimmage. The elite QBs get rid of the ball very quickly because their pre-snap read is usually correct and they are harder to fool with disguised coverage.

You call this AR the "primary read" and I call him the "Annointed Receiver." While it essentially is the exact same thing initially, the difference is after that...IMHO, there are no real 2nd or 3rd receiving options (i.e. no "progression reads") EXCEPT when the play is Pro-Style.
- When I refer to primary read, I mean the targeted route that Kap has in mind at the snap. It can be any one of the routes going out. You mentioned that if the determined target is not open, then in an AR play, things will break down, there are no other options. I agree that's what happens when a one-read play has its AR covered. My take, and this is where we differ, is I don't think that is the case on many of the passing plays. It seems Kap has options all over the field should he choose to throw to them, based on his read of the defense.

It's essentially as simple as this for CK: 1) Choose the best AR passing play at the LOS;

- This statement really made me realize what we are discussing here. That Kap can go to an AR play when he sees a certain coverage. So there is still a lot of thought process that goes into Kap knowing when to call a certain AR play. Good point. Up till now, I hadn't considered that it was Kap that decided when to call an AR play. Just that it was given to him by the coaches to "run it now". I certainly cannot be sure one way or the other. I know Kap is given freedom to call the play he feels is best based on his analysis of the defense.

Big agreement with you on the bolded from your post. There are two ways to set up a passing play. There is a progression read play and there are coverage read plays (sorry if you knew, just putting it out there). Progression reads are given at the time the play is drawn up on the white board. As a QB drops back, he knows his progressions, for that play, and goes through them during the dropback. Perhaps you are referring to this kind of progression in a pass play and don't see it much. I agree.

Coverage read plays are where the QB must read the defense, and based on what the defense is doing, the QB will know which area of the field to attack (since he knows what routes are being run). There are route concepts that beat zone, and route concepts that beat man coverage (and some that try to beat both). The QB has an idea of the defense pre-snap. Then once the ball is snapped and the coverage starts to play out, it either confirms his pre-snap read of the coverage, or tells him his pre-snap read is wrong. The reason I mention this is because I don't think this 49er passing attack is a progression read attack. It is primarily a coverage read attack, what you mentioned as going left to right. The lines can blurr, but I am just stating it as polar opposites to show the difference between them. No team is/should be 100% a certain way.

Looking at the plays in the 1st half, play #1 hints at a coverage read play. If it's zone coverage, the 49ers have flooded the right side of the field. If it's man coverage, then Crabs is a possible target in a 1 on 1 matchup. Play #2 has hi-lo crossers (man coverage beater) that Kap could have went to (it was man coverage in the middle of the field and one of the crossers was open), but he again chose a 1 on 1 situation with Ham on an island.

To your point about how many plays seem to break down when the primary read isn't there. I feel this goes back to how Kap is slow in diagnosing coverage. If he is quicker to come off his reads, the second read/route may not have broken down by the time he gets to it. I just don't feel that this is an AR "system". There are plays that are AR, but it's only seen on a few key 3rd downs and redzone situations. The other routes are there for him to use, he just needs to find the best option on any given PS play.

Originally posted by thl408:
Nice post NC. I'll quote some of the many points you touched on in italics.

If all passes are under 3 seconds, that is a good indication the AR has been pre-determined in the huddle (with, what appears to be a little more freedom for CK to change at the LOS based on his read).
- Why is it that when the pass is thrown under 3 seconds, it means that the primary target must have been decided in the huddle? To me, if a pass is thrown under 3 seconds, it means Kap's first look was 'correct' (in his mind), so he went with it. The manner in which he determines his first look is pre-snap analysis of the defense, at the line of scrimmage. The elite QBs get rid of the ball very quickly because their pre-snap read is usually correct and they are harder to fool with disguised coverage.

You call this AR the "primary read" and I call him the "Annointed Receiver." While it essentially is the exact same thing initially, the difference is after that...IMHO, there are no real 2nd or 3rd receiving options (i.e. no "progression reads") EXCEPT when the play is Pro-Style.
- When I refer to primary read, I mean the targeted route that Kap has in mind at the snap. It can be any one of the routes going out. You mentioned that if the determined target is not open, then in an AR play, things will break down, there are no other options. I agree that's what happens when a one-read play has its AR covered. My take, and this is where we differ, is I don't think that is the case on many of the passing plays. It seems Kap has options all over the field should he choose to throw to them, based on his read of the defense.

It's essentially as simple as this for CK: 1) Choose the best AR passing play at the LOS;

- This statement really made me realize what we are discussing here. That Kap can go to an AR play when he sees a certain coverage. So there is still a lot of thought process that goes into Kap knowing when to call a certain AR play. Good point. Up till now, I hadn't considered that it was Kap that decided when to call an AR play. Just that it was given to him by the coaches to "run it now". I certainly cannot be sure one way or the other. I know Kap is given freedom to call the play he feels is best based on his analysis of the defense.

Big agreement with you on the bolded from your post. There are two ways to set up a passing play. There is a progression read play and there are coverage read plays (sorry if you knew, just putting it out there). Progression reads are given at the time the play is drawn up on the white board. As a QB drops back, he knows his progressions, for that play, and goes through them during the dropback. Perhaps you are referring to this kind of progression in a pass play and don't see it much. I agree.

Coverage read plays are where the QB must read the defense, and based on what the defense is doing, the QB will know which area of the field to attack (since he knows what routes are being run). There are route concepts that beat zone, and route concepts that beat man coverage (and some that try to beat both). The QB has an idea of the defense pre-snap. Then once the ball is snapped and the coverage starts to play out, it either confirms his pre-snap read of the coverage, or tells him his pre-snap read is wrong. The reason I mention this is because I don't think this 49er passing attack is a progression read attack. It is primarily a coverage read attack, what you mentioned as going left to right. The lines can blurr, but I am just stating it as polar opposites to show the difference between them. No team is/should be 100% a certain way.

Looking at the plays in the 1st half, play #1 hints at a coverage read play. If it's zone coverage, the 49ers have flooded the right side of the field. If it's man coverage, then Crabs is a possible target in a 1 on 1 matchup. Play #2 has hi-lo crossers (man coverage beater) that Kap could have went to (it was man coverage in the middle of the field and one of the crossers was open), but he again chose a 1 on 1 situation with Ham on an island.

To your point about how many plays seem to break down when the primary read isn't there. I feel this goes back to how Kap is slow in diagnosing coverage. If he is quicker to come off his reads, the second read/route may not have broken down by the time he gets to it. I just don't feel that this is an AR "system". There are plays that are AR, but it's only seen on a few key 3rd downs and redzone situations. The other routes are there for him to use, he just needs to find the best option on any given PS play.

Perfect! I was starting to quote certain parts when I quickly realized that ALL of it is... well, perfect.

playcalling in the redzone sucks. gotta improve that if we want to win the superbowl.

Originally posted by hondakillerzx:
playcalling in the redzone sucks. gotta improve that if we want to win the superbowl.

good thing we don't have retard Akers anymore

Originally posted by sincalfaithful:

Originally posted by hondakillerzx:
playcalling in the redzone sucks. gotta improve that if we want to win the superbowl.

good thing we don't have retard Akers anymore

its still not gonna cut it with just field goals in the playoffs. gotta get touchdowns. luckily our defense played amazing otherwise we wouldve lost last week.

Originally posted by hondakillerzx:

Originally posted by sincalfaithful:

Originally posted by hondakillerzx:
playcalling in the redzone sucks. gotta improve that if we want to win the superbowl.

good thing we don't have retard Akers anymore

its still not gonna cut it with just field goals in the playoffs. gotta get touchdowns. luckily our defense played amazing otherwise we wouldve lost last week.

yup agreed...against Carolina we got stuck with 2 FG's they turn around and put together one good drive and we're behind

Well written as expected (very clear). Mind if I bold to my points to your comments? I'll only cover the areas where we may not see eye-to-eye fully.

Why is it that when the pass is thrown under 3 seconds, it means that the primary target must have been decided in the huddle? To me, if a pass is thrown under 3 seconds, it means Kap's first look was 'correct' (in his mind), so he went with it. The manner in which he determines his first look is pre-snap analysis of the defense, at the line of scrimmage. The elite QBs get rid of the ball very quickly because their pre-snap read is usually correct and they are harder to fool with disguised coverage. - Why? B/c that is HaRoMan's M.O. Control. My best guess is that they call in two AR plays (typically) in the huddle the mass majority of the time. CK "appeared" this game to call a few more audibles. CK, at the LOS, chooses the best one for the coverage he's seeing. But make no mistake about it, in an AR play, that AR "knows" he's getting the ball and the non-AR's all know "their role" in helping him get the ball as Moss/Boldin both mentioned...sometimes it means Boldin is the primary AR for a game plan and sometimes he's more of a decoy/blocker for that AR. Either way, he assists the offense in this "team passing" concept. The first passing play is a perfect example:

1Q @ 9:38: AR2 @3 VD sprints a Go-route off the left side of the OT taking two defenders with him, Boldin lines up wide left and then runs towards the left OT blocking out Miller's LB (#51). Miller sprints out of the backfield and is looking back to CK all the way (b/c Miller knows he's the AR) on the edge/flat where Boldin/VD had cleared that space for Miller. 7 yard gain. CK is hit as he throws the ball.

I considered this an AR2 b/c Boldin physically blocked out Miller's man. An AR1 would have been simply, Boldin sprinting from left to right taking #51 with him (or making him hesitate for a second) while Miller beats him to the same spot and gets RAC. Same concept.

The trick is watching how quickly the AR comes off the LOS and esp., watch what the non-AR's are doing in aiding this team passing offense. As a result, the AR team passing game doesn't rely as much on pre-snap coverage reads as much (or at all) or progression reads (b/c there rarely are any) but rather, everyone executing their part. It relies heavily on the AR beating his coverage and just as much on the decoys/blockers.

The ad lib plays off these AR's have actually been very effective as of late...both TD's against the Rams and the big 27 yard catch to Boldin over Sherman as just a few examples.

When I refer to primary read, I mean the targeted route that Kap has in mind at the snap. It can be any one of the routes going out. You mentioned that if the determined target is not open, then in an AR play, things will break down, there are no other options. I agree that's what happens when a one-read play has its AR covered. My take, and this is where we differ, is I don't think that is the case on many of the passing plays. It seems Kap has options all over the field should he choose to throw to them, based on his read of the defense. - Absoluetly, I think this is our biggest difference in perception. I think our offense is founded in the AR team passing game and we rely heavily on every man doing their part on the play. After that, it's ad lib. I only saw 2 PS plays in the first half against Seattle and unfortunately both were incomplete. Given that HaRoMan called them back to back may be an indication he was trying them out. It was all AR after that IMHO. And I certainly haven't seen options open up all over the field...maybe AFTER they realize it's now an ad lib play but not as true progressions. That said, that isn't to dismiss the times when guys HAVE been wide open (even the AR) and CK didn't pull the trigger...CK is certainly green and is having many issues.

It's essentially as simple as this for CK: 1) Choose the best AR passing play at the LOS; - This statement really made me realize what we are discussing here. That Kap can go to an AR play when he sees a certain coverage. So there is still a lot of thought process that goes into Kap knowing when to call a certain AR play. Good point. Up till now, I hadn't considered that it was Kap that decided when to call an AR play. Just that it was given to him by the coaches to "run it now". I certainly cannot be sure one way or the other. I know Kap is given freedom to call the play he feels is best based on his analysis of the defense. - Now this is an interesting concept. I had never thought that perhaps HaRoMan call two plays and one is an AR and CK gets to choose his play at the LOS based on what he sees. If this is the case, then CK himself may feel more comfortable running these types of plays?

Big agreement with you on the bolded from your post. There are two ways to set up a passing play:

Progression read play and there are coverage read plays (sorry if you knew, just putting it out there). Progression reads are given at the time the play is drawn up on the white board. As a QB drops back, he knows his progressions, for that play, and goes through them during the dropback. Perhaps you are referring to this kind of progression in a pass play and don't see it much. I agree. - Spot on. To me, progression reads are true WCO passing plays. All those who run a route "can" be receiving option. It's very QB-focused. The timing of the routes are all in line with the QB's footwork.

Coverage read plays are where the QB must read the defense, and based on what the defense is doing, the QB will know which area of the field to attack (since he knows what routes are being run). There are route concepts that beat zone, and route concepts that beat man coverage (and some that try to beat both). The QB has an idea of the defense pre-snap. Then once the ball is snapped and the coverage starts to play out, it either confirms his pre-snap read of the coverage, or tells him his pre-snap read is wrong. The reason I mention this is because I don't think this 49er passing attack is a progression read attack. It is primarily a coverage read attack, what you mentioned as going left to right. - I agree in that it doesn't appear to be a progression based passing attack AT ALL. Coverage reads help determine which AR CK will audible to but it doesn't change the concept of the play at all. It just improves the probability of the play being successful higher. The AR is still the AR (and he knows it) and the non-AR's still have to execute their part in the success of that play.

To your point about how many plays seem to break down when the primary read isn't there. I feel this goes back to how Kap is slow in diagnosing coverage. If he is quicker to come off his reads, the second read/route may not have broken down by the time he gets to it. I just don't feel that this is an AR "system". There are plays that are AR, but it's only seen on a few key 3rd downs and redzone situations. The other routes are there for him to use, he just needs to find the best option on any given PS play. - I think you may be envisioning only my defintion of AR2 plays as the entire system itself. Really, the mass majority of the calls are AR1 plays. And truth be told, I have no issue with the ad lib plays if that AR is covered and/or CK doesn't pull the trigger. The ball SHOULD be out under 3 seconds. CK and the chemistry between he and his receivers seems to be getting better with each one...I just wish he'd check down quicker or we'd use the other guys more as AR's. That's all. Use the entire field and get everyone involved.