49ers Preseason Week 4 2016 - Thoughts after rewatching the game...

Originally posted by Jcool:
That big run SD got when they showed the replay you could see Rush on the edge and just let the RB run right around him.

I'm not sure if that was more Robinson's fault, hard to know without knowing the responsibilities. Robinson came flying in and crashed straight into the same player that Rush was engaged with. They were then both half blocking each other and tied up with one Charger whilst the RB ran round the outside of both of them. Anyway, I think Rush will make the team at the expense of Lemonier, and then get cut once Lynch's suspension is up after not being able to do much against 1st stringers. I hope I'm wrong though,and it'll be fun finding out...

Originally posted by bzborow1:
The DE no longer takes the inside route to the QB and exposes the edge to Kaepernick. They've taken that play away.

Only if you can't actually run. I would expect that to be there again this year with a credible running game. This was a mainstay of Seattle because you had to respect Lynch so much.

Originally posted by bzborow1:

Originally posted by ChazBoner:
where is this guy?

The DE no longer takes the inside route to the QB and exposes the edge to Kaepernick. They've taken that play away.

Don't forget he started the game with a Pick 6. I'm more concerned with that element of his game sticking around than I am worried about the long runs being gone.

Originally posted by ChazBoner:
Noticed that too. 6th year and still can't read a D full of scrubs.

Not to mention his mechanics. Just fkn horrible. Dude looked like Tebow out there and to top it off, when he ran, he looked slow as hell. No where near the speed he once had.

I agree! I think he only gets worse from here. Sorry, but I think Ponder is a better option at back up.

Biggest disappointment by far this preseason is Aaron Lynch. Not only the suspension, but last night he looked out of shape and downright uninterested. I guess there is a reason he was a 5th rounder. The talent is there, but so is the mentality to waste it. Dude better shape up during the first 4 games or he may be looking at riding the pine, or worse.

Originally posted by WolfTotem:

Originally posted by Jcool:
That big run SD got when they showed the replay you could see Rush on the edge and just let the RB run right around him.

I'm not sure if that was more Robinson's fault, hard to know without knowing the responsibilities. Robinson came flying in and crashed straight into the same player that Rush was engaged with. They were then both half blocking each other and tied up with one Charger whilst the RB ran round the outside of both of them. Anyway, I think Rush will make the team at the expense of Lemonier, and then get cut once Lynch's suspension is up after not being able to do much against 1st stringers. I hope I'm wrong though,and it'll be fun finding out...

Rush had a hand on the running back and he blew right around him for a 30 something yard gain.

Originally posted by ChazBoner:

Originally posted by Jcool:

Kap was throwing to his first read and pretty much locked in on that guy on every throw. Almost cost him two picks but luckily it was 3-4th string defenders. But did play well enough not to get cut, so improvement?

Noticed that too. 6th year and still can't read a D full of scrubs.

Not to mention his mechanics. Just fkn horrible. Dude looked like Tebow out there and to top it off, when he ran, he looked slow as hell. No where near the speed he once had.

Lord. First you guys say he won't fit Chip's offense because he can't read the defense fast enough (mind you the offense only has reads to one side or the other) when that doesn't fit your narrative you then say he's staring down his reads? Last time I checked I hadn't seen Gabbert go through any multiple reads in this offense in ANY game.

Originally posted by captveg:

Originally posted by bzborow1:

Originally posted by ChazBoner:

where is this guy?

The DE no longer takes the inside route to the QB and exposes the edge to Kaepernick. They've taken that play away.

Don't forget he started the game with a Pick 6. I'm more concerned with that element of his game sticking around than I am worried about the long runs being gone.

The dude RARELY throws picks. Why do people keep pushing this bs narrative??

Our team has come a long ways in a good way from camp back in may and i am very pleased and very excited for the upcoming year. question marks and all. this team and especially the offensive line is sooooo much better than last years team it is not even funny. onward and upward. the team is a TEAM and that is a credit to chip and to the guys who did not let the anthem stuff distract them. credit to chip who is very public in telling people how he leans on the core group of vets on this team in situations like anthony davis and the anthem thing

Originally posted by FourNine49:
Also wanted to point out that in the halftime interview with Chip, he mentioned that they tailored the play calling because of the surrounding talent. Which means to me that he dumbed it down because of the learning curve. Probably better that way anyway so he can see how individuals do 1 on 1s vs scheming.

Putting everyone in the huddle helped them all to look better than if there were some who had not learned the playbook and were guessing on assignments. That goes for Kaepernick as much was the others. It also tells Kelly who can play his game if given time to learn it versus who is just not ready to play at this level.

Smart move by Kelly on multiple levels.

(I posted this in the Kaepernick thread but will put it here as well since it fits the "review" topic.)


Here is my chart of each throw Kaepernick made against the Charger.

1. 1st & 10 - easy throw to the left side to Miller for 8 yds. On target. On time.

2. 2nd & 7 - 10 yard completion to Burbridge who made a nice comeback move to shield the ball from the defender. First read.

3. 1st & 10 - 8 yd completion to Kerley who read the zone well and made it an easy throw for CK. First read.

4. 2nd & 2 - 7 yds to Miller, good throw. First read.

5. 2nd & 3 - inc. to Miller. Bad decision to throw into double coverage. Miller couldn't hold the fastball and got popped by DB. (Tim Ryan 49er TV commentator: "Kaepernick led Miller into trouble on that one.") First read. Dres Anderson had come open over the middle from the right for an easy 6-8 yard gain but CK never looked. McCoil could have picked if he had gone for the ball. Lucky for CK.

6. 3rd & 3 - 10 yard catch and run completion to Kerley. Easy first read and throw.

7. 1st & 10 - overthrew wide open Bell on the goal line. Should have been an easy TD had the throw been down. Not a hard throw to make. Play was right in front of CK. First read.

8. 1st & 10 - great catch by Dres Anderson on a ball Kaepernick forced into double coverage that McCoil should have picked. Anderson was creamed after the catch but held on. Kaepernick stared him down all the way. 49ers were lucky not to have received another WR injury. Bad decision by CK.

Drive resulted in running TD.

9. 1st & 20 - 11 yard swing pass to Mike Davis. Ball came out a bit late. Had it been quicker, Cajuste would have had angle to block CB thereby allowing Davis to turn the corner and get another 5+ yards. Davis was the first read but ball still came out late. Result was OK but would have been better with quicker throw.

10. 2nd & 8 - inc to Bell on a crossing route. Bell was open for the first but ball was late and behind him. Not a good throw on an easy opportunity.

11. 2nd and 8 - Cajuste unable to get both feet down on sideline throw. Kaepernick rolled right away from pressure, saw Cajuste all the way but again, throw was late. Had he released it earlier, Cajuste had separation and space to receive the ball and stay in bounds. CK waited to throw until he saw Cajuste open and THEN threw it. Perhaps we can say it was he result of lack of time together but the result is still the same.

Drive stalled at that point.

12. 1st & 10 - 3 yard completion in left flat to Miller on pass Miller had to slow and twist back to make nice catch. Had the ball been out in front so Miller did not have to slow, the play could have gone for another 5-8 yards.

13. 3rd and 2 - easy 7 yard completion to Anderson over the middle. First read.

14. 1st & 10 - 8 yard completion to Whalen. Nice route. Easy first read completion.

Penalty on a check down to Hamm.

15. 1st & 15 - 8 yard completion to Hamm on easy first read over the middle. Anderson was 1-on-1 on the left side with no safety cover but CK never looked. Took the easy short completion.

16. 1st & 10 - incomplete on late, low throw to Cajuste. 12 yard throw that should have been easy completion. Ball bounced before it reached Cajuste.

17. 1st & 10 - incomplete jump ball to Whalen in right corner. Whalen made nice catch but could not get both feet down.

18. 2nd & 10 - Horrible throw to the goal line that McCoil should have taken to the house.

SUMMARY: What I wanted to see more than anything else was how he would go through his progressions. In that regard I was totally disappointed. In all but two cases, he stayed on his first read, never looking anywhere else. (judging by helmet movement) SD was making it easy for him in that they stayed rather vanilla, essentially giving him that first read. Also, a lot of Kelly's offense tries to set up an easy first read. Still, I think everyone agrees we need to see him finally master consistently going to 2nd, 3rd and 4th options. After all, the normal set is 3 wideouts.

In three cases, he was lucky he wasn't picked. I was less impressed after this second, more focused look than I was watching the game the first time. The stats look better than the performance. Clearly better than Driskel but not a clear cut advantage over Ponder.

Well done as usual, Marvin. I would disagree only in one slot...QB. I agree with NCommand here and think we end up with Gab/Drisk/Ponder. It is just for a yr, as we trade up as far as we need to go next yr to get the Franchise Qb we have to have. But for this yr, I think we do best with the 3 above. As has been said, Kap still locks on, stares down, but did finally get to complete some short passes, so good on Chip for finally teaching him how to complete the SB winning passes...3-5 yards. Nonetheless, rather than risk owing Kap yet another $14 mil next yr, I go with Gab/Drisk/Ponder.

Incidentally, trading up as far as we need to go probably results in a LA/Philly type trade, meaning 2 yrs of our first THREE picks to get our franchise QB. That means we have to get our WRs and OLB + ILB via FA. And that means to not get ignored by all top FAs, we have to do well this yr. So we need to play lites out , win more than 6 games , and be in every other game until the bitter end. That would get the FAs attn. THEN they would see if we have the cap $$$. Anything less than noted and no FAs are interested...for the second yr in a row, IMO.

I like your top 4 RB picks, but if we kept a 5th....well RB #5 ain't half bad.

Also like you, really want Rush and Smith to make it. Both are players. And we need Harrison on the point, badly.

Only lock I have for PS is Cajuste.

WRT Rush, he'll make the team as a situational pass rusher...and that's absolutely fine. Being one of the 53, he'll learn to play the run better because he'll be getting the snaps. I hope Ponder makes the squad, too. He may not, but his game seems to fit Kelly's offense (albeit rather vanilla in preseason) because he can run, is an accurate passer and has fresh legs/body because he sat out a year.

Agree on Davis...yeah he fumbled twice, but has shown a consistent burst that should compliment Hyde well. He'll need to show consistent hands, too, to be able to show that burst in a different way.

I like Harris, but he may be on the bubble right along w/Kelvin Taylor. The latter may not clear waivers, though, so I see this as a tough decision.

Blair...as soon as Baalke picked him I looked at as much tape of him as I could find. My initial gut feeling was he's the kind of player Seattle drafts on a regular basis. We got him and he'll be O'Neil's Swiss army knife on the DL. He'll be one of the more productive rookies in the league.

Robinson...you could see his ball skills immediately. He's bulked up nicely and apparently hasn't lost any speed. I think this kid's got a high ceiling and will push Brock & Ward consistently.

Garrison Smith. Think it's safe to say he's been as consistent as any DL in the preseason. Don't see any way he's not on the final 53.

Kerley. Excellent addition...and for an OL who wasn't going to make the roster. Jeremy's not spectacular, but he's consistently good & reliable. Just what the Dr ordered in Kelly's offense. I think he'll have more than 50-60 catches as some are predicting.

Kap. The more he plays the less the media/fans will focus on his protests...and that's how it should be. He should continue to get better, as he regains strength & stamina. If I'm Kelly, I want all 3 QB's on my roster...each brings some different things, but all can run and the passing should get more consistent once the offense really gets rolling.

I like that Kelly/Baalke won't announce the cuts 'til the deadline...after a fair & thorough review of game tapes and how each player's done.

Originally posted by dtg_9er:

10) Kaps Protest: I was happy to see Kap do something many of us should do more of. Not only did he make his statement. He did what he is asking others to do. Listen.

Anyone who saw or heard the interview with the Green Beret guest of Kaepernick or Eric Reid should understand that while you can dismiss CK as a punk, you would be missing the point. He is sincere and seeking alternative views to better his message. He took a knee last night after Nate Boyer told him that Berets often do this to show respect for fallen comrades. I really appreciate the effort he's making and to have a knee jerk reaction against him is unnecessary.

I believe Kaepernick had been listening to the wrong people about an important issue. As a result, last week he sounded like a silly HS kid trying to copy what he had read on the internet. Clearly, he has had some better advice this week and made a good attempt to cover the little piles he left laying around last week.

I also believe Eric Reid came alongside to both help provide cover for Kaepernick as a teammate but also get the focus off Kaepernick and on to the topic that needs to be discussed.

All of that will help the team, and the 'zone, get back to football.

Do any of you think that Robinson should start outside and we should maybe move Brock or ward inside on nickel downs? I'm assuming Chris Davis struggles a bit here and there.

I also believe Collin finally did the right thing and is actually going to make a difference by providing $1 million to help raise awareness, instead of doing it the way he did it. That was a standup thing for him to do