Week 12 - 2014: Thoughts after rewatching the game...

Originally posted by Big_Daddy:
With the way Washington was losing DBs left and right, and with their decent run D, we should have been passing a lot more.

But not out of 5 wide!!!! Leave a RB in there roman! Leave them guessing at least a little bit.

Very, very frustrating watching the offense in the second half. Other teams are pasting WA. We're remedial on offense. I thought Kap played well I just hate the tempo that we use. Slow, plodding, and not very effective.

Davis needs to sit a game or two.
Hyde needs more carries

Why don't we run the no huddle more? Seems like when we need to drive quickly in games we have the ability.

I can't remember what game it was this year but the no huddle was working. They get a TD outta the drive and never go back to the no huddle again.

Originally posted by Marvin49:

Originally posted by znk916:
Run game's been average to below average for a couple years now, you can blame Frank all you want but Hyde is putting up even worse stats and yet people seem to think it's time to move on. The reality is that Roman's offense has been figured out long ago.

I didn't say Hyde was much better...but he does seem to be better when running the read/option.

The problems in the run game though aren't just Frank Gore. That's absolutely true. He's just not quick enough anymore to make plays when its not blocked perfectly anymore. He still has a place on this team and can be effective, but his days as the Bell Cow are done.

I hate it when I hear people say stuff like "Frank gets 20 carries and they win. He doesn't and they lose". Peeps see that stuff and think..."well obviously the answer is feed Frank all day". No.

Frank gets the ball 20 times WHEN THEY ARE HAVING SUCCESS RUNNING THE BALL. If they are getting stuffed on first down it puts you into long yardage and you can't keep running the ball.

Spot-freaking-on Marvin!

Originally posted by probly49:
4.) Seemed like we tried to get Vernon in the game plan at least a little more but I def see what you're saying. Not getting deep enough on those routes was problematic but hey..baby steps, something to build from going forward
5.) I questioned the effort on crabs deep ball too.

Funny. Vernon made a catch and then another. On the second catch my brothers yelling "Hes baaaack!" Im like slow down now, its just two catches. Then the very next play to him he gets thrown a pass right on the money when he was wide open and he drops it. Yea, no. Still not back.


Also im glad im not the only one who felt that was an extremely catchable ball that crabs barely hustled for. In another thread someone said kap overthrew him. I felt like it was placed right where it needed to be. I think crabs knew it too. Whenever he gets a bad pass thrown his way he makes this face and looks around like WTF? On that play he was smiling. It kind of irked me.

I don't know what is going on with our TE situation. Vernon can't catch the ball. and when he does he is running the route short of the first down. C'mon man!! that's like a rookie move. Well as for Vance??? we spent a second round pick on a part time blocking TE...

The majority of every fanbase is stupid.

Originally posted by Marvin49:
I didn't say Hyde was much better...but he does seem to be better when running the read/option.

The problems in the run game though aren't just Frank Gore. That's absolutely true. He's just not quick enough anymore to make plays when its not blocked perfectly anymore. He still has a place on this team and can be effective, but his days as the Bell Cow are done.

I hate it when I hear people say stuff like "Frank gets 20 carries and they win. He doesn't and they lose". Peeps see that stuff and think..."well obviously the answer is feed Frank all day". No.

Frank gets the ball 20 times WHEN THEY ARE HAVING SUCCESS RUNNING THE BALL. If they are getting stuffed on first down it puts you into long yardage and you can't keep running the ball.

Agreed with the bolded. The key to the offense is the run game, but if the run game isn't working, Gore isn't going to get his 20 carries. If Gore gets 20 carries, and his yards per carry is 3.0, then we will complain about why he keeps running into a brick wall. The 49ers Oline is good between the tackles, and just off tackle. They do not excel wide off tackle, although they try for the sake of keeping defenses off balance.

This season, I have seen more zone blocking run plays than I ever have from this Oline. I think it started to show in the KC game. This is them trying to get Hyde carries he is comfortable with. The Hyde TD was him being in his element - inside zone.

Originally posted by thl408:
Good write up as always. The three turnovers hurt bad. I thought two were preventable, the Hyde fumble was a very good defensive play. The Gore fumble was preventable because Gore should have been carrying that ball with his left hand, not his right hand where it's closer to where all the defenders are coming from. Kap threw it to Boldin when Boldin was not open.

The 49ers came into the game looking for the big pass play. First play of the game to Crabs where it came within 2 inches of connecting, then later on the drive with Boldin's TD catch. I thought that was actually a bad thing in the long run as there were times they looked to go deep and nothing was really there. There was the INT, the play where SJ had to play CB to break up an INT, then several times where it seemed Kap was looking deep downfield, saw nothing, and the play broke down. They need to understand that the deep connection to Boldin was an anomaly, not the norm - especially with VD not being the same speed threat we are used to.

The WAS ground game was chugging along and it seemed to be a result of missed tackles more so than the Dline being blown off the ball. Morris is a tough runner, but not as tough as Lynch. They need to fix that issue fast. RG3 is horrible and how he led that TD drive in the 2Q was a bit of a shock. He quickly reverted back to his normal self.

Someone mentioned that the WAS defense isn't as bad as their team record may indicate. They're actually tied for 7th best in the league giving up 3.8 rush yards per carry. With ADavis being out, I guess we shouldn't be too surprised the 49er run game was kept under wraps.

Agree and if I can add anything, it's that VD's contribution was key to getting more from the passing game. I think Vance is still hurt so I think that's why Vance was not in the Washington game. Seadderall is going to load up on the run just like NY, Rams, Washington did. Standard operating procedure now, considering our offense inability to have consistency in the passing game. G-ro has to make defenses pay for doing that. If he doesn't, they will continue to load up on the run. The 20+ yard catch by Anquan in the fourth QTR, and the Crabs TD in the Giant's game is the way to go - patterns that take advantage of defensive zones holes but aren't deep strike patterns that need 4.4 speed from the WR. If Colin and the WR's can consistently generate yardage in the short to intermediate range, those long range play passes will be open later. Key will be the continued productivity of VD. He has to continue to get 3+ catches a game.

The You got your wish, they ran out of the 11 personnel ( or what looked like a 3 WR formation) and got a TD out of it in the fourth quarter.

Originally posted by lamontb:
I can't remember what game it was this year but the no huddle was working. They get a TD outta the drive and never go back to the no huddle again.

That was @ARI.

Originally posted by thl408:
Good write up as always. The three turnovers hurt bad. I thought two were preventable, the Hyde fumble was a very good defensive play. The Gore fumble was preventable because Gore should have been carrying that ball with his left hand, not his right hand where it's closer to where all the defenders are coming from. Kap threw it to Boldin when Boldin was not open.

The 49ers came into the game looking for the big pass play. First play of the game to Crabs where it came within 2 inches of connecting, then later on the drive with Boldin's TD catch. I thought that was actually a bad thing in the long run as there were times they looked to go deep and nothing was really there. There was the INT, the play where SJ had to play CB to break up an INT, then several times where it seemed Kap was looking deep downfield, saw nothing, and the play broke down. They need to understand that the deep connection to Boldin was an anomaly, not the norm - especially with VD not being the same speed threat we are used to.

The WAS ground game was chugging along and it seemed to be a result of missed tackles more so than the Dline being blown off the ball. Morris is a tough runner, but not as tough as Lynch. They need to fix that issue fast. RG3 is horrible and how he led that TD drive in the 2Q was a bit of a shock. He quickly reverted back to his normal self.

Someone mentioned that the WAS defense isn't as bad as their team record may indicate. They're actually tied for 7th best in the league giving up 3.8 rush yards per carry. With ADavis being out, I guess we shouldn't be too surprised the 49er run game was kept under wraps.

I am interested to see your film reviews this week. There were a few times where it looked like Dial was completely blown off the ball, and Morris was running full speed by the time anyone hit him. It looked like we were really seeing the effects of Williams and Dorsey being out.

Originally posted by Marvin49:
2) 49ers Fans/Bay Area media: Begin Rant - So, I was at the game and I took my pops who just happens to be a Redskins fan. He loves RGIII but is frustrated as all hell by his play this year. He and I spoke before, during and after the game and we came to the same conclusion...49ers fans and Bay Area Media are some of the most spoiled and delusional fans in the NFL. I do not paint the brush over our entire fanbase (and for the most part at least not many in this forum), but there were about 20 times I wanted to turn around and tell a few of the guys behind me to just STFU.

An example: It's halftime. RGIII has like 30 yards passing. Guy behind me is going off on how much Kaepernick sucks and how much he's the source of all our problems. Kaeps statline at that time? 10-14, 155 yards, a TD, and a rating of 131. Its indicative of the stupidity that absolutely drives me crazy. After the game I'm hearing peeps talk about how terrible the offense was. All over the radio people are calling in talking about the playcalling and Kaepernicks troubles. I'm just shaking my head. He was far from perfect, but he was almost their entire offense. Despite at least 3 drops he completed 69% of his passes. I'm listening to the radio on the way to work this morning and all I'm hearing is Chris Townsend talk to Jeff Garcia about Colin Kaepernick. W. T. F. Are we watching the same games?

Meanwhile, Gore and Hyde COMBINED for 20 carries for 52 yards and 2 fumbles. Nope...can't be the run game. After all the solution to all problems is give Frank the ball more, right? The simplistic thinking that Kap is the source of all problems makes me actually NOT want to go to games because people are so incredibly stupid.

They show a graphic on the Jumbotron of Kaps postseason success as a runner and another guy is going off on how Kap doesn't deserve to be on the same screen as Steve Young. I want to smack the guy upside the head. In his first 4 years in the NFL, Steve Young had a combined 24 TDs and 24 INTs. Kap has 46 TDs and 17 INTs. Steve didn't become a full-time starter in SF until his EIGHTH season in the NFL. Even when he WAS the starter, SOOO many couldn't stand the guy because he had the audacity not to be named Joe Montana.

Bottom line, Kap ain't perfect and he's be the first to tell you that, but he is a young, exciting, PROMISING QB and we are freakin' lucky to have him. I wish to hell peeps would stop with all the BS about what he can't do and focus on what he IS doing and what he's improving on. Great throw to Boldin for the TD. Another great throw (and catch) by Crab to get into field goal range at the half. Great throw to Boldin (and again, great catch) on the pass down the seam that got Ryan Clark hurt.

I just wish peeps would STFU with the Kap hate and realize the game is about a lot more than one man. Don't give me this BS about his paycheck or the "the QB gets all the blame" cliché BS. That stuff is just the simple minded way to try and make a complex issue simple when it ain't simple at all.

End Rant.

Originally posted by Marvin49:

Originally posted by znk916:
Run game's been average to below average for a couple years now, you can blame Frank all you want but Hyde is putting up even worse stats and yet people seem to think it's time to move on. The reality is that Roman's offense has been figured out long ago.

I didn't say Hyde was much better...but he does seem to be better when running the read/option.

The problems in the run game though aren't just Frank Gore. That's absolutely true. He's just not quick enough anymore to make plays when its not blocked perfectly anymore. He still has a place on this team and can be effective, but his days as the Bell Cow are done.

I hate it when I hear people say stuff like "Frank gets 20 carries and they win. He doesn't and they lose". Peeps see that stuff and think..."well obviously the answer is feed Frank all day". No.

Frank gets the ball 20 times WHEN THEY ARE HAVING SUCCESS RUNNING THE BALL. If they are getting stuffed on first down it puts you into long yardage and you can't keep running the ball.

I'm no football guru but when I see that stat sometimes it makes me want to cringe. Sure, if you are running that many times in a game, what do think is the general score and pace of the game to begin with? The 20/game stat is sometimes scewed by the fact teams that are already LEADING in the game are running to preserve that lead. Further, a heavy run-based game indicates that a game was generally close to begin with.

Ie. If you are playing the Packers and they go up quick 10-0, 14-0 on you, of course you may consider adjusting the pass/run ratio. Also, the fact your defense has just enabled the opposition TO go up on you isn't considered when talking about this particular statistic.

An interesting note that I took away from the game which made me look up some stats - how our offense performed when starting outside our own 10 yard line and within our own 10 yard line.

It should come as no shock, but, the scoring % when starting inside your own 10 is crazy low. You have about 15-18% chance of scoring when starting inside your own 10(based off of stats gathered from 2001-2010). We had 5 drives start inside our own 10 and scored a FG on one of those drives - right on par with the stats.

We had 6 drives(relevant drives where we weren't trying to run out the clock) that started outside our own 10 yard line. The results: 2 TD's 2 fumbles and 2 failed third down conversion by less than a yard each.

We moved the ball well and it's hard to believe that we wouldn't have scored on at least one of the two fumbles(especially Hyde's).

That would put us at 50% scoring when starting outside our own 10 yard line in the game. The New England Patriots have the highest scoring % in the league at 49.2%.

A lot of it comes back to what Anquan Boldin said after the game - "I think we played well in spurts, but we shot ourselves in the foot at times. Three turnovers were definitely detrimental to us on offense. Came out the first drive and felt good about what we were doing, moved the ball up the field pretty easily and we ended up scoring. It felt like we got into a rhythm and then just started making mistakes here and there. That's the thing about offense, it takes all 11 guys to do the job. If one guy doesn't do his job, it breaks down."

calls fanbase delusional yet never blames Kap for anything

Anyways i'lll address the glaring issue from yesterdays game...

This team was losing to a horrible Redskins team late into the 4th quarter while the defense had given up only 13 points. That is a joke

The defense has held the Giants and Redskins to 23 combined points and theyre still having to bail out this horrific offense at the end of the game

Originally posted by Hitman49:
I don't know what is going on with our TE situation. Vernon can't catch the ball. and when he does he is running the route short of the first down. C'mon man!! that's like a rookie move. Well as for Vance??? we spent a second round pick on a part time blocking TE...

Ill take a stab at an explanation. The 3 WR set takes a lot of time and reps to perfect, and I think it took too much away from the TE reps. I think this offense has done a decent job of moving between the 20's, and then get bogged down in the red zone because of the lack of production of the TE's because of the lack of reps between the TE and QBs. If you are going to pass well, you are going to have to pass protect well, and earlier in the year - the O Line was atrocious. But Martin and Boone have come along and looks like the line is solidifying and hopefully getting more healthy now. A Davis and his run blocking power will be very useful against Seadderall. Colin is still thinking out there, but he did have more time against the Redskins than he did against the Rams. I'm looking for the Coaches to get Vance also more involved in the game once he is healthy. I think this 49er offense can get better, but I don't think the Seadderall offense can get better.

Originally posted by TheRatMan13:

Originally posted by thl408:
Good write up as always. The three turnovers hurt bad. I thought two were preventable, the Hyde fumble was a very good defensive play. The Gore fumble was preventable because Gore should have been carrying that ball with his left hand, not his right hand where it's closer to where all the defenders are coming from. Kap threw it to Boldin when Boldin was not open.

The 49ers came into the game looking for the big pass play. First play of the game to Crabs where it came within 2 inches of connecting, then later on the drive with Boldin's TD catch. I thought that was actually a bad thing in the long run as there were times they looked to go deep and nothing was really there. There was the INT, the play where SJ had to play CB to break up an INT, then several times where it seemed Kap was looking deep downfield, saw nothing, and the play broke down. They need to understand that the deep connection to Boldin was an anomaly, not the norm - especially with VD not being the same speed threat we are used to.

The WAS ground game was chugging along and it seemed to be a result of missed tackles more so than the Dline being blown off the ball. Morris is a tough runner, but not as tough as Lynch. They need to fix that issue fast. RG3 is horrible and how he led that TD drive in the 2Q was a bit of a shock. He quickly reverted back to his normal self.

Someone mentioned that the WAS defense isn't as bad as their team record may indicate. They're actually tied for 7th best in the league giving up 3.8 rush yards per carry. With ADavis being out, I guess we shouldn't be too surprised the 49er run game was kept under wraps.

I am interested to see your film reviews this week. There were a few times where it looked like Dial was completely blown off the ball, and Morris was running full speed by the time anyone hit him. It looked like we were really seeing the effects of Williams and Dorsey being out.

I seen Dial blown off the ball a few times but it seemed like guys were missing tackles on Morris. Folks just weren't wrapping up. Especially on that TD run he had. Culliver was right there to make the play but didn't But sometime you have to tip you cap to the other guy and just said he made a better play.