Divisional Round: Thoughts after rewatching the game...

I wanted to throw some love at P52! I thought he looked lightning fast out there and after rewatching the game I was even more impressed! He was noticeably faster than Bowman in this game and usually its very hard to tell them apart. Even if the stats don't support it I thought he stood out amongst the LB's. He was all over the place. Terrorizing Rodgers, flying to the ball carrier, and was all over the TE's in coverage. I think Willis had been playing hurt or something and we are now seeing a healthy and recharged #52 heading into the championship game! Thank you Minnesota. Really believe that first round bye was huge!

Originally posted by pasodoc9er:
Another Marvin "espectacular" . Well done, my man. One thing 3 days later still puzzles me. SEA had the Kap option read figured out. Both OLBs, held their positions and did not attack past LOS. Kap's runs were virtually negated. To see the GB packers not have a way to defeat Kap's option read, is mind blowing. Only thing more impressive is that they didn't make one change during halftime. What was that about.
Oh, one other thing on NFL network tonite: P52 talking to Bowman of Brooks: "Man , I didn't know Kap was that fast" . It sounded funny coming from one of our own guys. Aaron Rodgers , clay matthews, and a DL were overheard saying the same thing. For the record, he IS fast. On the seal play around rt end for the TD, there finally was one CB who started even with Kap, took him stride for stride, yet he crossed the goal line about 10 yds behind Kap. His extreme height and length make for strides 1.5 to 2 x guys trying to catch him. Same # of steps, just one guy havning a 2 foot longer stride than anyone else. That tends to get you from pt A to pt B a lot quicker.
Again, Marvin thanks for your hard work and observations.

I re watched.both games. Its really a tactically flaw that they didn't prepare their line backers more for the option. I see GB run a a lot of 5 man fronts which I think is vulnerable against the read option because your lb has to push the strongside out of position and ultimately neither of GBs LBs were disciplined enough nor comfortable. GB d is really aggressive. I guess having Clay Matthews and Raji will do that but man coverages and aggressive fronts our asking for it. Atlanta wont do that.They're going to try disguise coverages and confuse kaep. They also have a better positional awareness when it comes to their lbs and the read option. Theyre mike played a couple of yards backs and to the side of their sam cutting off the middle gaps while the sam also helped with the rb read but was mostly spying the QB.

Kaep does looks quicker. I heard they have about the same 40 but it seems like he gets there quicker. Our line is going to be huge this game and I really hope their prepared because if this battle is in the trenches Atlanta loses....hopefully.

Excellent post as always.

I live 20-25 minutes from Reno, and I've watched Kaep beat my Cal Bears and dominate like no one QB I've seen in college football for a year in person. He was one of my favorite players in college in 2010 and I said the day we drafted him that we have found our franchise QB.

I've had no problem at all with Kaep starting over Alex. There is no question in my mind that Kaep is a better player and that has been apparent to me since his game against Saints. I've said it a few times that the debate between who should be starting is pointless because Kaep is playing at a high level and he is a player that can go out and win games by himself more often than Alex was willing to. They are different QBs with different personalities.

The skinny post to Crabtree for a TD you mentioned - was a great pass. But, I can not say that Alex would not make that throw when Alex did make that throw last year in the same round against Saints to Vernon Davis...with the game on the line. I can not say that Alex can not win games by himself, because he did that in January last year.

Yes, Crabtree is a legit no.1 WR in the league...but IMO - he was playing good last season and great this year even before Kaep became the starter. The difference you see in production is - he is the primary target now, and with Alex - it was Vernon. Vernon's numbers are down, and Crabs numbers are up. With Kaep, Crabtree is getting more opportunities, but to me - he was playing like no.1 WR earlier in the season as well. He was just a less preferred weapon by Alex.

BTW - I'm so glad Crabtree is the preferred target. IMO - a weapon outside the numbers is more effective than a weapon inside. It stretches the defense and opens up the running game. One of my criticism of Alex was - he didn't attack outside enough.

IMO - Alex vs. Kaep argument is long over. It's Kaep's team and we can go all the way with him. That's why Harbaugh made the decision. With high calculated risk comes a chance of high reward and that's what our coach went for. I'm glad for it and it was the right decision. I just think ppl are forgetting what Alex has done and it's weird - because what Kaep did against Packers (win the game on his own) - Alex did pretty much the same (in a different way) against the Saints last year.

Originally posted by eonblue:

Originally posted by pasodoc9er:
Another Marvin "espectacular" . Well done, my man. One thing 3 days later still puzzles me. SEA had the Kap option read figured out. Both OLBs, held their positions and did not attack past LOS. Kap's runs were virtually negated. To see the GB packers not have a way to defeat Kap's option read, is mind blowing. Only thing more impressive is that they didn't make one change during halftime. What was that about.
Oh, one other thing on NFL network tonite: P52 talking to Bowman of Brooks: "Man , I didn't know Kap was that fast" . It sounded funny coming from one of our own guys. Aaron Rodgers , clay matthews, and a DL were overheard saying the same thing. For the record, he IS fast. On the seal play around rt end for the TD, there finally was one CB who started even with Kap, took him stride for stride, yet he crossed the goal line about 10 yds behind Kap. His extreme height and length make for strides 1.5 to 2 x guys trying to catch him. Same # of steps, just one guy havning a 2 foot longer stride than anyone else. That tends to get you from pt A to pt B a lot quicker.
Again, Marvin thanks for your hard work and observations.

I re watched.both games. Its really a tactically flaw that they didn't prepare their line backers more for the option. I see GB run a a lot of 5 man fronts which I think is vulnerable against the read option because your lb has to push the strongside out of position and ultimately neither of GBs LBs were disciplined enough nor comfortable. GB d is really aggressive. I guess having Clay Matthews and Raji will do that but man coverages and aggressive fronts our asking for it. Atlanta wont do that.They're going to try disguise coverages and confuse kaep. They also have a better positional awareness when it comes to their lbs and the read option. Theyre mike played a couple of yards backs and to the side of their sam cutting off the middle gaps while the sam also helped with the rb read but was mostly spying the QB.

Kaep does looks quicker. I heard they have about the same 40 but it seems like he gets there quicker. Our line is going to be huge this game and I really hope their prepared because if this battle is in the trenches Atlanta loses....hopefully.

Running the ball inside the tackles effectively makes all the difference. Against Seattle - we couldn't run the ball inside. Not only that, we abandoned running the ball inside very early on and that makes defending the read option a LOT easier.

If Frank and co. are running the ball effectively against Atlanta - then their LBs don't have an option but to bite inside. The fastest way is to run straight and if Frank Gore and James are gashing you inside - they will HAVE to be aggressive...and if they are not - Kaep will continue handing the ball to Frank and James.

Originally posted by 49ersMyLife:
Running the ball inside the tackles effectively makes all the difference. Against Seattle - we couldn't run the ball inside. Not only that, we abandoned running the ball inside very early on and that makes defending the read option a LOT easier.

If Frank and co. are running the ball effectively against Atlanta - then their LBs don't have an option but to bite inside. The fastest way is to run straight and if Frank Gore and James are gashing you inside - they will HAVE to be aggressive...and if they are not - Kaep will continue handing the ball to Frank and James.

Exactly running the ball is so important for this team. I means it important for all teams but its crucial that we keep our defense fresh and keep the falcons offense off the field as much as possible. Our offensive line is sooo good. The first quarter of the GB game was some of the best blocking and pocket protection you can get. They were taking the GB 5 man front and single blocking with barely any penetration. Kaep has to get rid of the ball quicker though. His most valuable ability is the way he can turn something into nothing but he cant expect his line to single block without a RB on pass protection. Its really risky and the only sack came from that scenario in the 1st. That being said and I may be cocky but I think GBs front 7 is stronger than the Falcs. I didn't see any pressure until the play reached 4-5 secs. They needed a lot of time to make something happen. This leads me to think we can wear them down. We wore down GB. Their whole team looked completely done and frustrated half way into the 4th. Lets just hope they don't bust into an early lead or were going to have alter the game plan a little.

Originally posted by eonblue:

Originally posted by 49ersMyLife:
Running the ball inside the tackles effectively makes all the difference. Against Seattle - we couldn't run the ball inside. Not only that, we abandoned running the ball inside very early on and that makes defending the read option a LOT easier.

If Frank and co. are running the ball effectively against Atlanta - then their LBs don't have an option but to bite inside. The fastest way is to run straight and if Frank Gore and James are gashing you inside - they will HAVE to be aggressive...and if they are not - Kaep will continue handing the ball to Frank and James.

Exactly running the ball is so important for this team. I means it important for all teams but its crucial that we keep our defense fresh and keep the falcons offense off the field as much as possible. Our offensive line is sooo good. The first quarter of the GB game was some of the best blocking and pocket protection you can get. They were taking the GB 5 man front and single blocking with barely any penetration. Kaep has to get rid of the ball quicker though. His most valuable ability is the way he can turn something into nothing but he cant expect his line to single block without a RB on pass protection. Its really risky and the only sack came from that scenario in the 1st. That being said and I may be cocky but I think GBs front 7 is stronger than the Falcs. I didn't see any pressure until the play reached 4-5 secs. They needed a lot of time to make something happen. This leads me to think we can wear them down. We wore down GB. Their whole team looked completely done and frustrated half way into the 4th. Lets just hope they don't bust into an early lead or were going to have alter the game plan a little.

I think the 49ers need to sustain some drives early on to keep the crowd from pumping up the Falcons. Colin has shown the ability to sustain drives down the field so we are in a good position. Remember, the 49ers are playing in Atlanta for a reason. All the CK hype aside, this is going to be a tighter game than many here seem to think. There will be a lot of pressure on Culliver, Brown, and Bowman/Willis to match up against the Falcons passing weapons. The one weakness of the 49ers D is that the corners can be beat deep on the edges, right where Matt Ryan likes to go with the ball.

Originally posted by bzborow1:

Originally posted by eonblue:

Originally posted by 49ersMyLife:
Running the ball inside the tackles effectively makes all the difference. Against Seattle - we couldn't run the ball inside. Not only that, we abandoned running the ball inside very early on and that makes defending the read option a LOT easier.

If Frank and co. are running the ball effectively against Atlanta - then their LBs don't have an option but to bite inside. The fastest way is to run straight and if Frank Gore and James are gashing you inside - they will HAVE to be aggressive...and if they are not - Kaep will continue handing the ball to Frank and James.

Exactly running the ball is so important for this team. I means it important for all teams but its crucial that we keep our defense fresh and keep the falcons offense off the field as much as possible. Our offensive line is sooo good. The first quarter of the GB game was some of the best blocking and pocket protection you can get. They were taking the GB 5 man front and single blocking with barely any penetration. Kaep has to get rid of the ball quicker though. His most valuable ability is the way he can turn something into nothing but he cant expect his line to single block without a RB on pass protection. Its really risky and the only sack came from that scenario in the 1st. That being said and I may be cocky but I think GBs front 7 is stronger than the Falcs. I didn't see any pressure until the play reached 4-5 secs. They needed a lot of time to make something happen. This leads me to think we can wear them down. We wore down GB. Their whole team looked completely done and frustrated half way into the 4th. Lets just hope they don't bust into an early lead or were going to have alter the game plan a little.

I think the 49ers need to sustain some drives early on to keep the crowd from pumping up the Falcons. Colin has shown the ability to sustain drives down the field so we are in a good position. Remember, the 49ers are playing in Atlanta for a reason. All the CK hype aside, this is going to be a tighter game than many here seem to think. There will be a lot of pressure on Culliver, Brown, and Bowman/Willis to match up against the Falcons passing weapons. The one weakness of the 49ers D is that the corners can be beat deep on the edges, right where Matt Ryan likes to go with the ball.

Yeah, the thing that worries me is they can go deep on both sides of the field. Our safeties and cover lbs will have to play very well in this game.

Originally posted by Marvin49:

Originally posted by Mr.Mcgibblets:

Originally posted by pwillis52beasty:
I agree Smith may have not made those throws, but don't say he can't. Because he has made similar throws in his career. What I'm simply saying is that there is no reason to even mention Smith and make an argument that he couldn't have done this or couldn't have done that. Why even do that? It's not necessary. You can't say that Alex Smith couldn't have won these games as well. We went 13-3 and also got to the NFC championship last year during a lockout year in the first year under the offense with Smith. Smith was only improving. We don't know what would be happening with Smith, so you can only assume that the decision was absolutely correct if we get farther than we did last year.. because that way you have improved on your total circumstances from last year. Also, Crabtree was coming on in the beginning of the year with Smith at qb. He has gotten even better as the year went on. He has been Kaps primary target, where smith spread it around a bit more. I just think we should keep smith out of it and not state that he can't do this or that and let's appreciate what is going on.

Great post. There was no reason to throw Alex into the OP and try to minimize him. Doing that just lessens your whole post, and makes all of your "positive" remarks of # 11 (new or old) look shallow and empty.

Ck7 is a whole different animal, and much props to him for that. He's really good, and much better than I expected at this point. So really... he doesn't need you to cut down the other guy in order to prop him on your shoulders.

Dude. Chill.

Seriously.

As long as there are people here who say that Alex should remain the starter, I'm going to draw the comparison. Illustrating the difference between the two isn't "minimizing him". Its taking a look at the reasons Harbaugh made the switch.

If you think my defense of Alex was "hollow and empty" then you simple don't have any clue what I'm talking about. It "lessens the post"? Then move on and read a different one. I'm really kinda tired of peeps making this same argument every week that I am throwing Alex under the bus by making the comparison. No. The comparison of both players play on the field is what is throwing him under the bus. If Alex could live up to the comparison, then we wouldn't have an issue and he would still be the starter.

I like Alex. I always have. He has ALWAYS been a much better player than most people gave him credit for. That doesn't mean tho that I didn't recognize his limitations as a player. It doesn't make me a "hater" or mean I'm throwing him under the bus. It means I am capable of admitting that I was WRONG initially when I thought that Kaep should sit for at least another year. It means I am capable of admitting that I was WRONG when I said he was too raw.

Too often peeps in this forum grab ahold of their position and then will stubbornly defend it...forever. Even in the face of insurmountable evidense, they will defend their position because they don't want to be wrong.

So...let me say that again. I was WRONG about Kaep (especially in the preseason). When I write these posts I am still explaining WHY I was wrong.

You don't like how I do that? Move on.

Well quite frankly you can post whatever you'd like. I was wrong about Kap too. I didn't think he was the right guy to put in at this point in time. I thought it was a gamble that we didn't have to make. So far, Harbaugh and Kap have proven me wrong and I'm very glad about that.

Again though, there is no reason to mention Alex Smith. There is no reason to mention his limitations and say he simply can't do these things. I don't think anyone at this point in time is calling to start Alex Smith now. All you are doing by mentioning Alex Smith is antagonizing his fans and in a way 'rubbing it in', like "See Alex Smith could never do that. He simply doesn't have the skill set and couldn't make these throws".

When you said that teams now say "oh s**t they have a quarterback now too", that is in a way bashing Alex Smith by implying he really isn't much of a qb. Alex Smith can't break off those runs, but he is a good quarterback and has made great throws himself. Let's just leave him out of it as he didn't play in the game. I know you've stated time after time that you have always been an Alex Smith fan, so out of respect for him let's praise Kap and leave Smith alone. By mentioning Smith and saying he can't do this or that, you just rile the Smith supporters up. We have two very good quarterbacks, let's be happy with that!

Like I said though, you can post whatever you'd like, I just don't agree with having to draw out these 'comparisons' and saying that Smith can't do some of these things that Kap can and saying things like teams fear us because we actually have a qb now. I don't think this is necessary. I think we should talk about the positives and also the negatives of players that have played in the game each particular week. I don't think anyone is saying to put Alex Smith back in there now. We should also appreciate what we have with our qb situation. Just my opinion.

Originally posted by 49ersMyLife:
Excellent post as always.

I live 20-25 minutes from Reno, and I've watched Kaep beat my Cal Bears and dominate like no one QB I've seen in college football for a year in person. He was one of my favorite players in college in 2010 and I said the day we drafted him that we have found our franchise QB.

I've had no problem at all with Kaep starting over Alex. There is no question in my mind that Kaep is a better player and that has been apparent to me since his game against Saints. I've said it a few times that the debate between who should be starting is pointless because Kaep is playing at a high level and he is a player that can go out and win games by himself more often than Alex was willing to. They are different QBs with different personalities.

The skinny post to Crabtree for a TD you mentioned - was a great pass. But, I can not say that Alex would not make that throw when Alex did make that throw last year in the same round against Saints to Vernon Davis...with the game on the line. I can not say that Alex can not win games by himself, because he did that in January last year.

Yes, Crabtree is a legit no.1 WR in the league...but IMO - he was playing good last season and great this year even before Kaep became the starter. The difference you see in production is - he is the primary target now, and with Alex - it was Vernon. Vernon's numbers are down, and Crabs numbers are up. With Kaep, Crabtree is getting more opportunities, but to me - he was playing like no.1 WR earlier in the season as well. He was just a less preferred weapon by Alex.

BTW - I'm so glad Crabtree is the preferred target. IMO - a weapon outside the numbers is more effective than a weapon inside. It stretches the defense and opens up the running game. One of my criticism of Alex was - he didn't attack outside enough.

IMO - Alex vs. Kaep argument is long over. It's Kaep's team and we can go all the way with him. That's why Harbaugh made the decision. With high calculated risk comes a chance of high reward and that's what our coach went for. I'm glad for it and it was the right decision. I just think ppl are forgetting what Alex has done and it's weird - because what Kaep did against Packers (win the game on his own) - Alex did pretty much the same (in a different way) against the Saints last year.

Good Post. It's useless to draw these comparisons anymore. And it is not right to say Alex Smith can't or would not make these throws when he has done so before. It just isn't necessary to bring up Smith and talk about how he can't do different things.

Originally posted by Godsleftsock:

Originally posted by 5times:

Originally posted by Godsleftsock:
Awesome seeing Bruce miller at DE again

What quarter did he play DE?

No I was mistaken and apparently blind

Easy mistake to make...They both have a 4 in their number and physically they look like twins.

Originally posted by pwillis52beasty:
Good Post. It's useless to draw these comparisons anymore. And it is not right to say Alex Smith can't or would not make these throws when he has done so before. It just isn't necessary to bring up Smith and talk about how he can't do different things.

It's all for the sake of discussion when kept respectful. People just attach too much emotion in terms of hero-worship. Hopefully in the future posters remember one thing... In Harbaugh we trust!

No matter the player in question, posters will never know as much as our coaching staff and front office, see: Franklin, Mays, Baas, Boone, CR, turning defensive players into fullbacks, etc... We finally found a coach that strikes gold with his decisions more often than he strikes out. So while discussion is fun and interesting, instead of getting emotional allot of posters should just feel comfortable that these decisions are being made by professionals who are the best in the business at the moment, it will keep us all from early heart attacks.

Originally posted by 49ersMyLife:

Yes, Crabtree is a legit no.1 WR in the league...but IMO - he was playing good last season and great this year even before Kaep became the starter. The difference you see in production is - he is the primary target now, and with Alex - it was Vernon. Vernon's numbers are down, and Crabs numbers are up. With Kaep, Crabtree is getting more opportunities, but to me - he was playing like no.1 WR earlier in the season as well. He was just a less preferred weapon by Alex.

I don't think that VDs lack of production has to do with whoever is play QB. Even though even VD himself tries to make it seems so. People forget that this topic was a point of discussion for at least three games before the QB change. VD had just disappeared. Roman was saying that maybe defenders were concentrating on him more, etc. You know . . . coach-speak.

VD is not at the same level of RELIABILITY as a receiver as Crabtree is. I'm sure that the coaches recognize this and their evolving game-plan incorporates this thinking. It's not as simple as VD was the other QBs favorite and Crabtree is this QBs favorite. Even if there had been no QB change, we would have seen a trend towards Crabtree.

The Niners are still trying to find that one great TE with a COMPLETE skill set. Maybe this off-season.

Originally posted by pwillis52beasty:
Well quite frankly you can post whatever you'd like. I was wrong about Kap too. I didn't think he was the right guy to put in at this point in time. I thought it was a gamble that we didn't have to make. So far, Harbaugh and Kap have proven me wrong and I'm very glad about that.

Again though, there is no reason to mention Alex Smith. There is no reason to mention his limitations and say he simply can't do these things. I don't think anyone at this point in time is calling to start Alex Smith now. All you are doing by mentioning Alex Smith is antagonizing his fans and in a way 'rubbing it in', like "See Alex Smith could never do that. He simply doesn't have the skill set and couldn't make these throws".

When you said that teams now say "oh s**t they have a quarterback now too", that is in a way bashing Alex Smith by implying he really isn't much of a qb. Alex Smith can't break off those runs, but he is a good quarterback and has made great throws himself. Let's just leave him out of it as he didn't play in the game. I know you've stated time after time that you have always been an Alex Smith fan, so out of respect for him let's praise Kap and leave Smith alone. By mentioning Smith and saying he can't do this or that, you just rile the Smith supporters up. We have two very good quarterbacks, let's be happy with that!

Like I said though, you can post whatever you'd like, I just don't agree with having to draw out these 'comparisons' and saying that Smith can't do some of these things that Kap can and saying things like teams fear us because we actually have a qb now. I don't think this is necessary. I think we should talk about the positives and also the negatives of players that have played in the game each particular week. I don't think anyone is saying to put Alex Smith back in there now. We should also appreciate what we have with our qb situation. Just my opinion.

I agree and if the Niners lose Sunday let's not bring Alex's name up as well that would rile up Kaep supporters. So let's keep it fair.

Good post ! A star was bored in front of ower eyes ! C. K. allday!!!!! Go 9ers

Originally posted by Rsrkshn:

Originally posted by 49ersMyLife:

Yes, Crabtree is a legit no.1 WR in the league...but IMO - he was playing good last season and great this year even before Kaep became the starter. The difference you see in production is - he is the primary target now, and with Alex - it was Vernon. Vernon's numbers are down, and Crabs numbers are up. With Kaep, Crabtree is getting more opportunities, but to me - he was playing like no.1 WR earlier in the season as well. He was just a less preferred weapon by Alex.

I don't think that VDs lack of production has to do with whoever is play QB. Even though even VD himself tries to make it seems so. People forget that this topic was a point of discussion for at least three games before the QB change. VD had just disappeared. Roman was saying that maybe defenders were concentrating on him more, etc. You know . . . coach-speak.

VD is not at the same level of RELIABILITY as a receiver as Crabtree is. I'm sure that the coaches recognize this and their evolving game-plan incorporates this thinking. It's not as simple as VD was the other QBs favorite and Crabtree is this QBs favorite. Even if there had been no QB change, we would have seen a trend towards Crabtree.

The Niners are still trying to find that one great TE with a COMPLETE skill set. Maybe this off-season.

With Alex Smith at QB - Vernon had 38 targets in a little over 8 games. In a little less than 9 games with Kaep at QB - Vernon has less than 25 targets.

Yes, the trend was towards Crabtree - as Vernon is used more often in blocking schemes. But with Kaep, he is the clear favorite target and that wasn't the case with Alex. To me - that's very obvious. Vernon is relied upon less, and I think some of that has to do with Kaep is more confident is throwing the ball outside the numbers than he is throwing between the numbers. As he continues his development - I believe this will change and Vernon will get plenty of touches.