Analysis from the Tampa Bay coaches film

Originally posted by thl408:

Originally posted by jonnydel:
Thanks Thl for picking up the slack while I was gone. You added a lot of great stuff! Thanks. I do think, however, that we incorporate progression reads in our coverage reads.

From what I could see on film, and the way Kaep was checking plays, it seemed like they would have a certain zone buster(like a cover 3 buster for example) and with a phrase he could check to a cover 2 bust. Or sometimes a zone buster to a man buster. There were several times(particularly when Tampa stopped us) that Tampa showed somethine pre-snap, Kaep changed the routes, Tampa changed their D and got themselves into a favorable defense.

I'll show in a few minutes how Kaep also did a great job in his scouting recognition to get us into some favorable run plays.

Hope all is okay with pops jonnydel. I link a progression read directly to footwork. Also, it is pre-determined by the playcall which target the QB looks to first. After the QB snaps the ball, during mid-dropback, he is reading the coverage technique used by the CB on that WR (his #1 read). If the WR is running a route that wins against that leverage and technique (coverage), throw it on the completion of the dropback. If during mid dropback, the #1 WR is covered, the QB looks to his #2 and uses the same analysis of leverage and technique. Coverage reads are where the QB can look first to whichever route he feels is right based off his pre-snap read. Good footwork never hurts, but does not need to be precise. I'd like to take a guess at what you meant in the bolded, and hope you expand on it. I'm guessing what you mean is that when the 49ers call a generic pass play, designed to beat both man on one side and zone on the other, Kap is timing his footwork with his #1 and #2 read on that certain route concept. If that concept is defeated, his footwork takes him to the other concept being run on the other side of the field.

During the live telecast, they rarely show the defensive backfield, where less players are and it's easier to see what's going on. Instead, they focus on the front 7 and OL, where there is so much going on and it's impossible to really see it all. Thanks for the breakdowns near the line of scrimmage. Looking forward to more.

jonnydel,

First off, I'm so sorry for what you and your father and family are going through right now...the fact that you are staying home to take care of him brings images of Eric Reid and his daughter on draft day. Family, its what it's all about. So I'm sending my best to you all (as we all are, I'm sure).

As far as this thread goes, for a couple years now, a poster by the name of whomeam provided the actual games for everyone but unfortunately, fans didn't take advantage to discuss what they were "seeing." THIS thread has helped bring back real quality discussions based on visual evidence. I also really appreciate you focusing on the defense this round as often times, they get ignored and they too, have some weaknesses like any unit does (I also like that you focus on stellar play as well).

That said, I fundamentally disagree with you and thl408 on some levels with this passing game:
1. I think you both may be focusing way too much on defensive coverage schemes. This is HaRoMan here...they don't care if a defense stacks 10 in the box, we're running it if that is the play called in the huddle (obviously). The focus is on "execution;" you've heard it a million times. Why would this be any different in the passing game? In my (college-like) AR theory, it doesn't matter what the defensive alignment is, if the AR beats his man and the non-AR's execute their parts, the play will work. Period. And that is what I'm seeing here. It's a team receiving concept. Roman himself talks about if one piece of the chain breaks down, the whole play breaks down. That applies to the running game AND the passing game. We saw the results from game 2 up until 2 weeks ago when Manningham and Crabtree came back. Now defenses can no longer double up on the two AR's in VD and Boldin while run blitzing between the tackles to stuff Gore...they now have to contend with Crabtree and Manningham leaving someone (maybe two) 1on1. And we're going to win the mass majority of the 1on1's now with top-notch talent. It's simply a team receiving concept and if CK does not pull the trigger under the 3 second mark (or the AR is covered), CK is off and running (usually to his right) to buy time to ad lib pass or pick up yards with his legs.
2. We need to look at who WE are as a team. We have a college coach and college running back coordinator who is our OC now and 6 different staff members contribute to not only the game plan but in-game compartmentalized play calling. And it lacks the "flow" and rhythm as a result at times. This is a coaching staff that wants total control of every play they call in to the huddle. CK, to me, is nothing more than an extension of the play called in. This is why Harbaugh and Roman said they don't understand all the criticism towards CK in the media as a "one-read QB" or a "remedial QB" when the first read is covered. He is doing EXACTLY what they ask of him while still recognizing he's green in many many areas. We do NOT run a traditional or modern day version of a WCO (high-to-low progressions) or Spread offense (left-to-right or vice versa usually) here. In fact, a WCO expert in Jon Gruden defined this offense as, "I don't know WHAT the heck this offense is..." It's the big mystery...some PS plays, some Chris Ault Q-formations, some WCO running plays, etc.? Who knows! Nobody does...and we don't know how complex it is. Like a WCO, will it take 3+ years to master or longer? Or is "mastery" not required like in a college offense?
3. I do agree with thl408 in that there are no progression reads built in to this passing game except when we run a pro-style passing route and this is usually dictated by a 4 WR set (the dead give-away). Here you can clearly see all 4 receivers (usually a TE mixed in there as a WR and all backs run out in the flats as outlets) and all are viable receiving options and it's on CK to pull the trigger on the best option. These are rare plays though, maybe a handful a game but we're seeing more and more (good sign as it puts more into CK's trust by the coaches; if he converts, maybe we'll see more).
4. Another factor to consider that is critical to all of this is that CK generally only has less than 5 seconds to get off the play. This would instantly debunk the theory that he is at the LOS reading defensive alignments, making audibles, changing the play, realigning his receivers and backs to target better matchups, etc. How many times have we seen us run right into a brick wall with 10 in the box and a 1on1 matchup outside with Boldin? CK is executing the play call. My guess is that in these cases he is given two running plays to choose from and he is not given the freedom to audible out to a passing play. B/c what pro QB wouldn't check out here to Boldin? This is the same play that Boldin beat Rogers on that crtical 3rd down in the Superbowl. Flacco checked out of the running play to Boldin. Win.
5. I do subscribe to thl408's idea that when given time, CK does read coverages and audibles to the best matchup BUT from the plays called in to the huddle by the coaches...you can see him motioning to a FB to split out wide or realigns the backfield, has a WR come in motion, etc. In the end though, I still think he is checking into 1 of 2 plays called in by the coaching staff and in each play, the AR concept is still the foundation (primarily). This is why Boldin said himself that some game plans he's the AR and other times he's asked to "block more" and that he accepts his "role" in this offense. This is similar to Moss's (role) last year with us as the deep sideline and deep post decoy (occupies 2 DB's) to open up Crabtree and VD underneath (the two AR's from last year). Moss was also quoted as saying the same thing as Boldin and he too accepted his role.
6. As to the frustration with HaRoMan by fans, you have to understand that that really extends to the entire coaching staff as a whole (b/c they all have their part in it). We've seen WAY too many obvious patterns to ignore now under two polar-opposite QB's to date under the same personnel. If you're still having the same exact issues, then THAT is on coaching, offensive philosophy and scheme/proper personnel usage. No coaching staff has gotten so little out of so much talent in the NFL. A true OC shows his colors when there is some adversity (Crabtree/Manningham off season injuries and now, the /Miller injury) or when a defense is taking your two AR's away (Boldin and VD). To me, Roman has shown a total lack of ability to adjust other than to go to Gore (bell-cow) for 6 straight games. No other players were incorporated into the game plan and/or developed along the way to counter defensive game plans to take away the AR's; quality playoff defenses destroyed the game plans while we beat up on teams with lesser personnel. HaRoMan are competely reliant upon having all-pro talent at every level to be remedial at best. There are just too many patterns to ignore now esp. when you look beyond the 49ers and all the success former Niners are having (Teddy Ginn, Alex Smith, etc) and the countless in-season injuries other OC's had to endure on-the-fly. We had ALL off season to compensate for Crabtree/Manningham and all season to develop other weapons that defenses had to account for. Not only have other OC's they risen above this adversity but risen above it with no-name players. THAT is proper offensive philosophy, coaching, development and game planning. On the whole, I can probably speak for many here and say that the HaRoMan et. al-team is solid; they are not the worst in the NFL by any means. We'll continue to win the mass majority of the games on talent alone. But when it comes to the playoffs and Superbowl, when everything is magnified and weaknesses are exploited, does anyone genuinely feel like on an even playing-field of talent (now that we have a "full arsenal"), this coaching staff is going to outcoach the opposition and exploit weaknesses and BE the difference in the game? I think if you can answer that honestly, you can understand the frustration here with many fans (and probably Baalke/Jed themselves).

Jonnydel, thank you very much for your detailed analysis of the plays in Tampa's hurry-up drive. I'm relieved to see that the reason they were having so much success against us in that drive was individual players on our D making mistakes, making poor decisions, falling down, etc., rather than a systemic problem on our part. It's just weird to see so many of our excellent players making mistakes on consecutive plays like that.

Do you think maybe our coaches need to emphasize running defensive drills at the no-huddle pace, so that our D is used to operating at that tempo? Maybe our players need more practice at reading their defensive keys, and maintaining good communication at that pace. Also, maybe Fangio can use multiple defensive fronts, shift the DL around pre-snap to disguise his intentions, come with blitzes from different positions, anything to cause confusion for the opposing O while they are trying to run their no-huddle offense? That may slow them down. I think that's better than sitting back, rushing only 3 while dropping everyone else into coverage (as on the play where Glennon was able to scramble out of the pocket and complete a 26-yard pass).

^ Thank you NCommand for your input and best wishes. I think sometimes, when we go looking for bigfoot, we're going to find evidence of bigfoot, regardless of if he exists or not. I'm not saying you are, but, it sounds like, from what you've been saying since my first thread, that you are sure that we run an AR passing attack and everything you see is going to be evidence of that. While we do run some AR designed plays, the vast majority of our plays are PS.

a PS passing offense is not dictated by a 4wr set, it can be run out of multiple formations and personnel groupings. Look at the Pats when they had Hernandez and Gronk, they would often only have a 2 wr set running a lot of their PS plays. Back in the days of Bill Walsh, I doubt Montana wasn't given the freedom to go through his progressions, and we ran a 21 personnel most of the time.

To me, the fundamental difference in an AR type passing play and a PS passing play are, are the other receivers really just blockers. an AR passing play is usually a quick hitting, 3 step drop, extended run type of plays.(Bill Walsh called the swing pass an extended run) On those plays, if it's inside, you'll see the tackle cut the legs of the defender to open up a specific throwing lane.

On the play where Boldin made a one handed grab and Crabs was wide open you remarked, "Boldin AR1 all the way". If this was an AR1, why would Crabtree be flailing his arms at Kaep for missing him on his progression if Kaep was "just doing what he's told" or Crabs was really, just a decoy?

Also, we're usually late on game clock when the ball is snapped because we're doing shifts and motins- which are at times used to reveal coverage, along with hard counts. You say Kaep doesn't have the freedom to audible, but I've seen him change the play with one word(which is usually the check to the 2nd play called in the huddle) while other times give out a new play sequence("black chicago brier") for example. We've all heard the "Kill, kill, kill) check to the 2nd play, along with the "let it roll" on the broadcast.

A PS passing offense is always based in progressions though, you always have your primary read, your 2nd read and on down. Just because the formation doesn't look like the Bronco's or Pats or Saints, doesn't mean we aren't going through progressions to find the open receiver. The fact is, we aren't sitting in the meeting rooms with Roman to know, for sure, that he's putting that tight of restrictions on Kaep. What we can see is, after Crabs has come back, that Kaepernick is more comfortable going through his reads because he has more confidence in his 2nd, 3rd and 4th options to be open.

On this point we may have to agree to disagree, when I broke down the Seahawks game, I wasn't looking for whether or not the offense was AR or PS, I was looking at other things, I just wanted to know more about what was going on. In that way, I can say that I truly did go in with a completely open mind. I wasn't looking for evidence one way or the other. My conclusion, from that standpoint, was that there's a lot on the QB in a WCO to make the right reads, adjustments and find the right guy.

Originally posted by ace52:
Jonnydel, thank you very much for your detailed analysis of the plays in Tampa's hurry-up drive. I'm relieved to see that the reason they were having so much success against us in that drive was individual players on our D making mistakes, making poor decisions, falling down, etc., rather than a systemic problem on our part. It's just weird to see so many of our excellent players making mistakes on consecutive plays like that.

Do you think maybe our coaches need to emphasize running defensive drills at the no-huddle pace, so that our D is used to operating at that tempo? Maybe our players need more practice at reading their defensive keys, and maintaining good communication at that pace. Also, maybe Fangio can use multiple defensive fronts, shift the DL around pre-snap to disguise his intentions, come with blitzes from different positions, anything to cause confusion for the opposing O while they are trying to run their no-huddle offense? That may slow them down. I think that's better than sitting back, rushing only 3 while dropping everyone else into coverage (as on the play where Glennon was able to scramble out of the pocket and complete a 26-yard pass).

Well, remember, in a no-huddle, the D-Coord can't do those things. The Defense can't huddle up and get that communication done, they can only call simple plays quick from the defensive capt. Usually, they'll either stay with the same play, go cover 2 zone, cover 2 man or blitz with man behind. Spillman was only able to come in after a Buc's player went OB. Then, they did give a completely different front and backfield look than they had shown before.

I think our players were pressing a little bit because if they were able to shut down Tampa, the game looked in hand. When guys press, they'll start playing with poor technique. I think that's what happened a little there.

Originally posted by jonnydel:
^ Thank you NCommand for your input and best wishes. I think sometimes, when we go looking for bigfoot, we're going to find evidence of bigfoot, regardless of if he exists or not. I'm not saying you are, but, it sounds like, from what you've been saying since my first thread, that you are sure that we run an AR passing attack and everything you see is going to be evidence of that. While we do run some AR designed plays, the vast majority of our plays are PS.

a PS passing offense is not dictated by a 4wr set, it can be run out of multiple formations and personnel groupings. Look at the Pats when they had Hernandez and Gronk, they would often only have a 2 wr set running a lot of their PS plays. Back in the days of Bill Walsh, I doubt Montana wasn't given the freedom to go through his progressions, and we ran a 21 personnel most of the time.

To me, the fundamental difference in an AR type passing play and a PS passing play are, are the other receivers really just blockers. an AR passing play is usually a quick hitting, 3 step drop, extended run type of plays.(Bill Walsh called the swing pass an extended run) On those plays, if it's inside, you'll see the tackle cut the legs of the defender to open up a specific throwing lane.

On the play where Boldin made a one handed grab and Crabs was wide open you remarked, "Boldin AR1 all the way". If this was an AR1, why would Crabtree be flailing his arms at Kaep for missing him on his progression if Kaep was "just doing what he's told" or Crabs was really, just a decoy?

Also, we're usually late on game clock when the ball is snapped because we're doing shifts and motins- which are at times used to reveal coverage, along with hard counts. You say Kaep doesn't have the freedom to audible, but I've seen him change the play with one word(which is usually the check to the 2nd play called in the huddle) while other times give out a new play sequence("black chicago brier") for example. We've all heard the "Kill, kill, kill) check to the 2nd play, along with the "let it roll" on the broadcast.

A PS passing offense is always based in progressions though, you always have your primary read, your 2nd read and on down. Just because the formation doesn't look like the Bronco's or Pats or Saints, doesn't mean we aren't going through progressions to find the open receiver. The fact is, we aren't sitting in the meeting rooms with Roman to know, for sure, that he's putting that tight of restrictions on Kaep. What we can see is, after Crabs has come back, that Kaepernick is more comfortable going through his reads because he has more confidence in his 2nd, 3rd and 4th options to be open.

On this point we may have to agree to disagree, when I broke down the Seahawks game, I wasn't looking for whether or not the offense was AR or PS, I was looking at other things, I just wanted to know more about what was going on. In that way, I can say that I truly did go in with a completely open mind. I wasn't looking for evidence one way or the other. My conclusion, from that standpoint, was that there's a lot on the QB in a WCO to make the right reads, adjustments and find the right guy.

Love the analogy but BigFoot found me in this case. He literally, came into my yard, kicked my door in and said, "Now do you believe in me!?!" But I too have come to my "theory" by basically doing the same thing you are now but over the past two years. I certainly don't believe we run a WCO here, have yet to see evidence of true progression reading (save for the few PS passing routes) and even if so, none of it would match the M.O. of HaRoMan themselves. They want control by design. I highlighted the PS 4-WR sets as an example of where you can clearly see progression reads by CK and all the receivers genuinely turned around, possibly expecting the ball. And like you noted, yes, CK is still motioning, checking into other plays, etc. but again, this is based on the plays called in by HaRoMan themselves. Roman is still sitting up in the booth reviewing the defensive alignments and strategies but he's also the one calling (AR) plays IMHO to take advantage of those situations. I think you may be focusing more on the AR2 designs more than the predominant AR1's. The AR2's are rare, like the PS plays IMHO. You do bring up a great point about the Crabtree/Boldin play. I said it was Boldin all the way b/c there was nobody else in the area CK was angled towards...perhaps, THAT was a PS play and the better option here, clearly, would have been Crabtree. But given Crabtree is coming across the face of Boldin (clearing for Boldin) and CK's "only look/option that direction" that may have been an AR1 to Boldin all the way. Perhaps the design was to hit someone else and if not hit under that 3-second clock, Crabtree knew he then became a viable target and was blowing his mind trying to get CK's attention. Hard to say. I also don't want to minimize the vision of CK as well. Even on ad lib plays, he is missing some WIDE open guys (esp. the check downs and in the middle of the field).

Either way, like you said, at the end of the day, nobody knows what this offense is so it's really hard to gauge and we aren't in the huddle or up in the booth. We can only go off on what we see on the field. I think together and with the input/vision from others, we may just figure this bad boy out objectively. I'll continue to post what I see, you do the same and we'll get this thing figured out once and for all...just in time for Roman to get fired. LOL. Murphy's Law!

Originally posted by jonnydel:
^ Thank you NCommand for your input and best wishes. I think sometimes, when we go looking for bigfoot, we're going to find evidence of bigfoot, regardless of if he exists or not. I'm not saying you are, but, it sounds like, from what you've been saying since my first thread, that you are sure that we run an AR passing attack and everything you see is going to be evidence of that. While we do run some AR designed plays, the vast majority of our plays are PS.

a PS passing offense is not dictated by a 4wr set, it can be run out of multiple formations and personnel groupings. Look at the Pats when they had Hernandez and Gronk, they would often only have a 2 wr set running a lot of their PS plays. Back in the days of Bill Walsh, I doubt Montana wasn't given the freedom to go through his progressions, and we ran a 21 personnel most of the time.

To me, the fundamental difference in an AR type passing play and a PS passing play are, are the other receivers really just blockers. an AR passing play is usually a quick hitting, 3 step drop, extended run type of plays.(Bill Walsh called the swing pass an extended run) On those plays, if it's inside, you'll see the tackle cut the legs of the defender to open up a specific throwing lane.

On the play where Boldin made a one handed grab and Crabs was wide open you remarked, "Boldin AR1 all the way". If this was an AR1, why would Crabtree be flailing his arms at Kaep for missing him on his progression if Kaep was "just doing what he's told" or Crabs was really, just a decoy?

Also, we're usually late on game clock when the ball is snapped because we're doing shifts and motins- which are at times used to reveal coverage, along with hard counts. You say Kaep doesn't have the freedom to audible, but I've seen him change the play with one word(which is usually the check to the 2nd play called in the huddle) while other times give out a new play sequence("black chicago brier") for example. We've all heard the "Kill, kill, kill) check to the 2nd play, along with the "let it roll" on the broadcast.

A PS passing offense is always based in progressions though, you always have your primary read, your 2nd read and on down. Just because the formation doesn't look like the Bronco's or Pats or Saints, doesn't mean we aren't going through progressions to find the open receiver. The fact is, we aren't sitting in the meeting rooms with Roman to know, for sure, that he's putting that tight of restrictions on Kaep. What we can see is, after Crabs has come back, that Kaepernick is more comfortable going through his reads because he has more confidence in his 2nd, 3rd and 4th options to be open.

On this point we may have to agree to disagree, when I broke down the Seahawks game, I wasn't looking for whether or not the offense was AR or PS, I was looking at other things, I just wanted to know more about what was going on. In that way, I can say that I truly did go in with a completely open mind. I wasn't looking for evidence one way or the other. My conclusion, from that standpoint, was that there's a lot on the QB in a WCO to make the right reads, adjustments and find the right guy.

Totally agree with all points made in this post...........

Originally posted by jonnydel:

Originally posted by ace52:
Jonnydel, thank you very much for your detailed analysis of the plays in Tampa's hurry-up drive. I'm relieved to see that the reason they were having so much success against us in that drive was individual players on our D making mistakes, making poor decisions, falling down, etc., rather than a systemic problem on our part. It's just weird to see so many of our excellent players making mistakes on consecutive plays like that.

Do you think maybe our coaches need to emphasize running defensive drills at the no-huddle pace, so that our D is used to operating at that tempo? Maybe our players need more practice at reading their defensive keys, and maintaining good communication at that pace. Also, maybe Fangio can use multiple defensive fronts, shift the DL around pre-snap to disguise his intentions, come with blitzes from different positions, anything to cause confusion for the opposing O while they are trying to run their no-huddle offense? That may slow them down. I think that's better than sitting back, rushing only 3 while dropping everyone else into coverage (as on the play where Glennon was able to scramble out of the pocket and complete a 26-yard pass).

Well, remember, in a no-huddle, the D-Coord can't do those things. The Defense can't huddle up and get that communication done, they can only call simple plays quick from the defensive capt. Usually, they'll either stay with the same play, go cover 2 zone, cover 2 man or blitz with man behind. Spillman was only able to come in after a Buc's player went OB. Then, they did give a completely different front and backfield look than they had shown before.

I think our players were pressing a little bit because if they were able to shut down Tampa, the game looked in hand. When guys press, they'll start playing with poor technique. I think that's what happened a little there.

100% agreed!

Looking forward to your Review of Atlanta Falcons, and how you expect 49ers to attack them.

A sign of a great defensive effort can be seen by how quickly they can get off the field. In the first three quarters of the game, the 49er defense forced five '3 and outs' by the TB offense. This helped cause a very lopsided time of possession stat at the end of the game where the 49ers had the ball for 39:50 while TB had it for 20:10 minutes.

Let's take a look at some of the 3 and outs where the 49ers were able to quickly get the ball back to the offense. Shown are the 3rd downs where the 49er defense held their ground.

1st Quarter 14:19 3rd & 7
Below: (not shown) Brock had been lined up over the WR circled blue. (shown) When the WR motions and lines up directly behind the other WR, Brock communicates with Whitner to organize coverage responsibilities. Brock is shown looking back at Whitner to organize things. It is man coverage on the outside and it is important for them to have their assignments correct.


The play: Notice Brock still looking back at Whitner when the ball is snapped. There is a blown coverage, but Glennon does not see it. Whitner comes in to lay the boom and jar the ball loose.



1st Quarter 5:50 3rd and 4
Below: 49ers come with man coverage (I think) and TB has prepared themselves for it. TB uses a bunch formation to utilize the mesh concept using the slot WRs. Bow and Willis don't bite on the criss cross and remain in their lane. Once the criss cross is complete, Willis and Rogers man up.


The play: The pressure comes after Glennon has time for one read. I can only assume it is the mesh pattern that he is looking towards. Then he knows it's time to run and ends up throwing the ball away.

jonnydel and anyone else: I'd really like your guys' takes on this play as it feels to me like pattern matching is going on. Watch how Bow, Willis, Whitner, Rogers, and Brown sort out the bunch formation. I feel like it's man coverage when I see Brock turn and run with his man (top of screen). What happens with those 4 I mentioned is pretty cool as they don't fall for any of the tricks from the bunch formation and quickly sort out and take their man who run into their zone. It's as if they let the tricks play itself out, then man up on coverage.
(pattern matching is playing man coverage in your zone). In the play, it seems like Whitner is on one of the WR, but he actually takes the shallow route by the RB out of the backfield, while Brown has the deeper route. I feel like they don't know who they are supposed to cover pre-snap. They wait till post-snap, watch the play develop, then man up accordingly. A beautiful thing the way I see it.


2nd Quarter 11:43 3rd and 3
Below: TB tries run a quick clear out for VJackson (slot). Willis squats in his zone and quickly identifies the play.


The play: Glennon has time for one read before Aldon and Justin make their presence known.



There are two more '3 and outs' forced by the 49ers in the 2nd half. I'll show those in a different post.

This was a big boy throw to Crabs.



Here tampa shows a cover 2 look when they set up. You know it's zone and not man because the corner is line up on VD at the bottom of the screen(highlighted in blue) and you have a LB on Boldin in the slot.



Revis then shifts down on Crabtree in a press coverage look(probably to re-direct his route), so Kaep brings Crabtree in motion, which forces Revis to drop into off coverage.



I've highlighted the designed route combo's here(I forgot to also show Frank swing out of the backfield after a chip block) Revis is now in off coverage giving Crabs a free release. I'll show later, I think Crabs is actually the 3rd read on this play, Tampa showed a lot of diguise with their safeties, rarely did they stay with the safety look they showed pre-snap(only about 40%) of the time. If the safeties rotate to a single high, he hits Boldin on a skinny post(I accidentally put his arrow the wrong way at the top of his route), then Miller as the 2nd option if Boldin isn't open as Boldin should vacate his zone. Crabtree is probably the 3rd or 4th read on the play.



You see the LB doesn't drop too deep on his zone and Revis peeks over at Boldin running his route leaving a hole.



From this angle you see how Kaep is looking at the safety on boldin's side to see if he stays in his cover 2 or goes cover 3, first read - Boldin



You see from there, he moved to the LB, who is in position to jump on Miller's route.



From there he moves to Crab's on the out route. You see how Miller, Davis and Gore(he's swung out to the right, but he is looking for the ball) are turned back looking for the ball(Boldin isn't because he knows there's no way Kaep throws that ball).



From this angle you see the hole Kaep had to throw the ball into.



From this angle you see how Kaep had to drop the pass over the LB in front of the corner, that's a tough throw.



You see how he locates the ball perfectly where the defender has absolutely no play on the ball. This is a huge positive sign, it was only a 12 yard gain, but this play is more impressive to me than the 52 yard TD. Kaep had to read the defense, go through his progression, and throw a touch pass to the sideline over a LB. That's big boy play right there!

mind blown. Bill Walsh would be proud.

Originally posted by thl408:
A sign of a great defensive effort can be seen by how quickly they can get off the field. In the first three quarters of the game, the 49er defense forced five '3 and outs' by the TB offense. This helped cause a very lopsided time of possession stat at the end of the game where the 49ers had the ball for 39:50 while TB had it for 20:10 minutes.

Let's take a look at some of the 3 and outs where the 49ers were able to quickly get the ball back to the offense. Shown are the 3rd downs where the 49er defense held their ground.

1st Quarter 14:19 3rd & 7
Below: (not shown) Brock had been lined up over the WR circled blue. (shown) When the WR motions and lines up directly behind the other WR, Brock communicates with Whitner to organize coverage responsibilities. Brock is shown looking back at Whitner to organize things. It is man coverage on the outside and it is important for them to have their assignments correct.


The play: Notice Brock still looking back at Whitner when the ball is snapped. There is a blown coverage, but Glennon does not see it. Whitner comes in to lay the boom and jar the ball loose.



1st Quarter 5:50 3rd and 4
Below: 49ers come with man coverage (I think) and TB has prepared themselves for it. TB uses a bunch formation to utilize the mesh concept using the slot WRs. Bow and Willis don't bite on the criss cross and remain in their lane. Once the criss cross is complete, Willis and Rogers man up.


The play: The pressure comes after Glennon has time for one read. I can only assume it is the mesh pattern that he is looking towards. Then he knows it's time to run and ends up throwing the ball away.

jonnydel and anyone else: I'd really like your guys' takes on this play as it feels to me like pattern matching is going on. Watch how Bow, Willis, Whitner, Rogers, and Brown sort out the bunch formation. I feel like it's man coverage when I see Brock turn and run with his man (top of screen). What happens with those 4 I mentioned is pretty cool as they don't fall for any of the tricks from the bunch formation and quickly sort out and take their man who run into their zone. It's as if they let the tricks play itself out, then man up on coverage.
(pattern matching is playing man coverage in your zone). In the play, it seems like Whitner is on one of the WR, but he actually takes the shallow route by the RB out of the backfield, while Brown has the deeper route. I feel like they don't know who they are supposed to cover pre-snap. They wait till post-snap, watch the play develop, then man up accordingly. A beautiful thing the way I see it.


2nd Quarter 11:43 3rd and 3
Below: TB tries run a quick clear out for VJackson (slot). Willis squats in his zone and quickly identifies the play.


The play: Glennon has time for one read before Aldon and Justin make their presence known.



There are two more '3 and outs' forced by the 49ers in the 2nd half. I'll show those in a different post.

looking at the play it makes me think they're running a man coverage in zone scheme. What I mean is, you play man coverage on the receiver in your zone. The tell tale is that Rogers doesn't follow his receiver on the crossing route, he stays in his zone. He plays man coverage on the receiver in his zone until the receiver leaves his zone.

Originally posted by jonnydel:
looking at the play it makes me think they're running a man coverage in zone scheme. What I mean is, you play man coverage on the receiver in your zone. The tell tale is that Rogers doesn't follow his receiver on the crossing route, he stays in his zone. He plays man coverage on the receiver in his zone until the receiver leaves his zone.

I have seen plays like this many times and want to give credit to Fangio for playing a very complex coverage scheme. I agree with what you said, as I also mentioned it in the breakdown post as well. Playing man coverage in a zone is simple to say, but highly difficult to do on a team wide scale as it takes all 7 guys in coverage working together. Lots of film study to know the route tendencies of the opposing team, smart players, and trust in your teammates. Between coverage disguise, which you have mentioned, and pattern matching, opposing QBs will have the deer in the headlights look as they think in their heads, "It's zone, wait no it's man, wait, s**t I'm pressured".

Originally posted by thl408:
I have seen plays like this many times and want to give credit to Fangio for playing a very complex coverage scheme. I agree with what you said, as I also mentioned it in the breakdown post as well. Playing man coverage in a zone is simple to say, but highly difficult to do on a team wide scale as it takes all 7 guys in coverage working together. Lots of film study to know the route tendencies of the opposing team, smart players, and trust in your teammates. Between coverage disguise, which you have mentioned, and pattern matching, opposing QBs will have the deer in the headlights look as they think in their heads, "It's zone, wait no it's man, wait, s**t I'm pressured".

exactly, this is why Fangio doesn't like to blitz very often. He likes to use disguise to cause the opposing QB to hesitate just a little on their throw to give the D-line a half second longer to get to the QB. It's blitzing by coverage....