Originally posted by buck:
Originally posted by thl408:
Seriously though, thanks for posting that, buck. It just shows that efficiency numbers are there towards the top 10 of the league, while facing off against some very good defenses in 13-14.
The 1stdown % stat means little to me. It's about how many 1st downs you convert (% of conversion), no matter how you convert.
Attempts per TD also means very little to me. It's about how many TDs an offense scores, whether by run or pass. Gore is near the top in rushing TDs so that takes away from Kap needing to throw for TDs. What I find meaningful is passes per INT. That's a good measure of how well the QB is taking care of the ball when he throws it.
Your welcome.
I just tried to include as many of the stats as I could think of and still manage to have a readable post.
I hope that discussion focuses on the 49er passing game and does not become a QB vs. QB debate.
Agreed.
I think when we talk about stats, we need to look at who we are (philosophy and personnel). And who we are is the offense once Crabtree came back (not the other part of the year where VD was used as the other WR along side Boldin). 95% of the NFL would be thrilled having Boldin and Crabtree as their X & Z receivers and VD as their TE. Production wise, even last year, collectively, that's a hell of a group. Then you have Gore, Hunter, James, Miller and McDonald and a developing Patton? Wow. Now add in Lattimore? Anyway, that is a ton of weapons even before the draft (speed? VD and Patton both run 4.4's). And I heard this CK guy is pretty fast too and forces defenses to assign a "spy" to him.
We'll play teams like the Cardinals, Hawks, Carolina, GB, etc. so gaging our offense from when Crabtree came back is a very good "baseline." What we found was that VD went back to playing TE and his numbers dropped dramatically while Crabtree and Boldin became the two new primary targets and they alternated as the leading receiver (averaging around 4-5 catches a game). But having VD on the field at the same time and with the threat of CK's legs, it seemed to open up Gore, Miller, Hunter and James up big time in the "outlet" department; defenses completely ignored them. Also, guys such as McDonald had some tremendous openings as well (coaches already said they plan to incorporate him more in the passing game this year).
If the rumors are true in that the entire coaching staff is evaluating the passing game and perhaps, looking to develop more 3+ WR sets, I'm very curious to see how they do this with our current offensive structure and philosophy. Adding a "speed" WR outside to stretch the field is going to take VD or another WR off the field most likely.
Anyhow, the point is there are a ton of weapons on this team pre-draft already and the coaches are now saying they are more familiar with their own personnel and will look to revamp the passing game. Ya think? I think, IMHO, Baalke has forced that hand AND I get the impression he wasn't kidding either as he's gone after 3 or 4 "speed" guys in FA alone to drive that point home. Perhaps we're in the middle of a shift in the HaRoman philosophy which has bee ingrained for 10+ years. I hope so...I think we're all pretty tired of seeing so much talent being underutilized or not used at all esp. when you compare what other teams were able to accomplish with far less talent and depth than we had going into the year.
Let's do this!
[ Edited by NCommand on Apr 2, 2014 at 1:18 PM ]