Mike Johnson OC

Originally posted by PTulini:
Quarterbacking 101

Dude looks like Jaime Fox.

Gotta give credit to Johnson, he's really been playing to Troy's strengths (and with Troy's arm/agility the playbook has really opened up; since we're not having to cater to an overly-cautious check-down/screen machine anymore).

As "strickac" had mentioned in another thread, MJ's also been running a lot of old school Shannahan bootleg/sweep looks, and we've been playing Vernon on the outside at the flanker position (ala Elway/Sharpe) within the last 2 games. (Something we did a lot of under Norv Turner, but strayed away from beyond 2006).

In fact Johnson's been running a LOT of interesting formations within the past 2 weeks. Like in this video, it looks like a (formation) combination of a 'Trips-left' Shotgun meets Pistol.




[ Edited by SnakePlissken on Nov 16, 2010 at 10:40:54 ]

Quote:

Two major themes emerge after re-watching the 49ers' overtime win over the Rams Sunday. The first is that the offense, to start the second half of the season, looked different from the offense that started the first half. Color commentator Tim Ryan said something very pertinent during the 2-minute warning at the end of the first half. "What did the Rams players tell us?" he asked rhetorically. "If you follow Mike Iupati, he'll take you to the football. That's not the case today."

Indeed, the 49ers' running game over the first half of the season was predicated on which direction Iupati was pulling. The team's first play to open the first four games was the same - Frank Gore following Iupati through the hole. Against the Rams, however, offensive coordinator Mike Johnson often used Iupati as a decoy. If he pulled right, Troy Smith would pitch the ball to Gore left. It was a play that caught the Rams going in the wrong direction all afternoon.

Read more: http://blogs.sacbee.com/49ers/archives/2010/11/evolution-niner.html#ixzz15TsyqzI8

Originally posted by PTulini:

Quote:

Two major themes emerge after re-watching the 49ers' overtime win over the Rams Sunday. The first is that the offense, to start the second half of the season, looked different from the offense that started the first half. Color commentator Tim Ryan said something very pertinent during the 2-minute warning at the end of the first half. "What did the Rams players tell us?" he asked rhetorically. "If you follow Mike Iupati, he'll take you to the football. That's not the case today."

Indeed, the 49ers' running game over the first half of the season was predicated on which direction Iupati was pulling. The team's first play to open the first four games was the same - Frank Gore following Iupati through the hole. Against the Rams, however, offensive coordinator Mike Johnson often used Iupati as a decoy. If he pulled right, Troy Smith would pitch the ball to Gore left. It was a play that caught the Rams going in the wrong direction all afternoon.

Read more: http://blogs.sacbee.com/49ers/archives/2010/11/evolution-niner.html#ixzz15TsyqzI8

Deception. What a concept.

Originally posted by GhostofFredDean74:

Originally posted by PTulini:

Quote:

Two major themes emerge after re-watching the 49ers' overtime win over the Rams Sunday. The first is that the offense, to start the second half of the season, looked different from the offense that started the first half. Color commentator Tim Ryan said something very pertinent during the 2-minute warning at the end of the first half. "What did the Rams players tell us?" he asked rhetorically. "If you follow Mike Iupati, he'll take you to the football. That's not the case today."

Indeed, the 49ers' running game over the first half of the season was predicated on which direction Iupati was pulling. The team's first play to open the first four games was the same - Frank Gore following Iupati through the hole. Against the Rams, however, offensive coordinator Mike Johnson often used Iupati as a decoy. If he pulled right, Troy Smith would pitch the ball to Gore left. It was a play that caught the Rams going in the wrong direction all afternoon.

Read more: http://blogs.sacbee.com/49ers/archives/2010/11/evolution-niner.html#ixzz15TsyqzI8

Deception. What a concept.

deception by inception

Originally posted by GhostofFredDean74:

Originally posted by PTulini:

Quote:

Two major themes emerge after re-watching the 49ers' overtime win over the Rams Sunday. The first is that the offense, to start the second half of the season, looked different from the offense that started the first half. Color commentator Tim Ryan said something very pertinent during the 2-minute warning at the end of the first half. "What did the Rams players tell us?" he asked rhetorically. "If you follow Mike Iupati, he'll take you to the football. That's not the case today."

Indeed, the 49ers' running game over the first half of the season was predicated on which direction Iupati was pulling. The team's first play to open the first four games was the same - Frank Gore following Iupati through the hole. Against the Rams, however, offensive coordinator Mike Johnson often used Iupati as a decoy. If he pulled right, Troy Smith would pitch the ball to Gore left. It was a play that caught the Rams going in the wrong direction all afternoon.

Read more: http://blogs.sacbee.com/49ers/archives/2010/11/evolution-niner.html#ixzz15TsyqzI8

Deception. What a concept.

What was Singletary's quote from last year or the year before that?

'I'm not trying to fool anybody, I'm trying to play football!" or some ish like that.
Doofus.

Originally posted by Bluefalcon61:

Originally posted by GhostofFredDean74:

Originally posted by PTulini:

Quote:

Two major themes emerge after re-watching the 49ers' overtime win over the Rams Sunday. The first is that the offense, to start the second half of the season, looked different from the offense that started the first half. Color commentator Tim Ryan said something very pertinent during the 2-minute warning at the end of the first half. "What did the Rams players tell us?" he asked rhetorically. "If you follow Mike Iupati, he'll take you to the football. That's not the case today."

Indeed, the 49ers' running game over the first half of the season was predicated on which direction Iupati was pulling. The team's first play to open the first four games was the same - Frank Gore following Iupati through the hole. Against the Rams, however, offensive coordinator Mike Johnson often used Iupati as a decoy. If he pulled right, Troy Smith would pitch the ball to Gore left. It was a play that caught the Rams going in the wrong direction all afternoon.

Read more: http://blogs.sacbee.com/49ers/archives/2010/11/evolution-niner.html#ixzz15TsyqzI8

Deception. What a concept.

What was Singletary's quote from last year or the year before that?

'I'm not trying to fool anybody, I'm trying to play football!" or some ish like that.
Doofus.

Exactly. His macho, middle-linebacker approach worked well for him as a player, but has no room as an actual "scheme/approach" in today's NFL where everyone is big, fast and tough.

Originally posted by btwagner:

Originally posted by Bluefalcon61:

Originally posted by GhostofFredDean74:

Originally posted by redrathman:

Originally posted by GhostofFredDean74:
Not MJ's fault, but the playcalling, "philosophically," is still archaic. When you're having a lot of success throwing the ball, you need to stick to it and not try and force a square peg into a non-existent hole (Gore up the middle). You keep moving the ball around to your WRs, TEs and RBs, keep moving the chains and keep the defense on the field...you don't run, run THEN throw. That's being stubborn, bordering on stupid (Singletary).

The game has changed, and our HC hasn't changed with it. Until we do, it really won't matter who's behind center...we'll never get the most out of our offensive weapons until we start playing 21s century football.

So you would rather the team just strictly pass on every down? The success of the passing game this past Sunday can be directly linked to the success of play action. Gore may not have gained positive yards, but the threat of the run allowed Smith to succeed.

Becoming one dimensional isn't going to help the offense.

Read my post again.

When you're having a lot of success throwing the ball, you need to stick to it and not try and force a square peg into a non-existent hole (Gore up the middle).

When the run is working, of course you keep at it. That's not what I was saying. What I'm saying is, when the PASS is working, you need to stick with it and continue to exploit it. That not only continues to put pressure on the defense, it actually opens up the running game for you.

We go into a game with 1 mentality (run, run, run), and even if it's not working, we stick to it and only change until we get behind and are FORCED to pass first. Most NFL teams have the ability/coaching intelligence to see what's working and go with it (usually, to help set up the thing that isn't working so well). We're playing checkers when we should be playing chess, is my point.

IMO, it's either stupidity or stubborness...can't figure out which one is the case with Singletary.

While we seem to be more creative and effective in the passing game, I still see Mike Singletary's imprint and constraints during a game.

We get nice gains on a passing play or two then we go back to a run play! Like you said, exploit the pass until the defense adjusts then go back to the run. Then continue mixing up groupings of pass plays and run plays based on what the defense is doing.

But MS always seems to be inclined to go back to the run at first opportunity and this is where he has a limiting effect on Mike Johnson's playcalling.

There have been some drives where the passing game has been working and after a 1st down we go 2 runs off LT for no gain... So I def agree about sing's imprint still being there. I did like to the 2 tosses in a row to Gore on the left side. I though Johnson may have been trying to set up a fake toss with Smith roling out to his right with one of the TE's releasing.....Who knows maybe next game,

Not backing Singletary, but at times you still need to run the ball to keep the other side honest and yes twice in a row. Didn't Smith get sacked 5 times? Making him pass too much is exposing him to injury, cause then the other side will pin their ears back and rush the passer. Which would mean Alex coming back, would you like that? I think they will be okay, they actually passed and ran a balanced off., which I liked, take away the blunders the game would not have been close and TS numbers would have been 400+ yards. I think people are not giving the OC enough credit. The key is the O-line (again), if they did their part, gore and TS would have even better numbers.

Originally posted by GhostofFredDean74:

Originally posted by Bluefalcon61:

Originally posted by GhostofFredDean74:

Originally posted by PTulini:

Quote:

Two major themes emerge after re-watching the 49ers' overtime win over the Rams Sunday. The first is that the offense, to start the second half of the season, looked different from the offense that started the first half. Color commentator Tim Ryan said something very pertinent during the 2-minute warning at the end of the first half. "What did the Rams players tell us?" he asked rhetorically. "If you follow Mike Iupati, he'll take you to the football. That's not the case today."

Indeed, the 49ers' running game over the first half of the season was predicated on which direction Iupati was pulling. The team's first play to open the first four games was the same - Frank Gore following Iupati through the hole. Against the Rams, however, offensive coordinator Mike Johnson often used Iupati as a decoy. If he pulled right, Troy Smith would pitch the ball to Gore left. It was a play that caught the Rams going in the wrong direction all afternoon.

Read more: http://blogs.sacbee.com/49ers/archives/2010/11/evolution-niner.html#ixzz15TsyqzI8

Deception. What a concept.

What was Singletary's quote from last year or the year before that?

'I'm not trying to fool anybody, I'm trying to play football!" or some ish like that.
Doofus.

Exactly. His macho, middle-linebacker approach worked well for him as a player, but has no room as an actual "scheme/approach" in today's NFL where everyone is big, fast and tough.

Singletary never learned his lesson when he was on the team that was trying to play football not trying to fool anyone while losing to the team of the decade that was all about "fooling".

Originally posted by WildBill:

Originally posted by btwagner:

Originally posted by Bluefalcon61:

Originally posted by GhostofFredDean74:

Originally posted by redrathman:

Originally posted by GhostofFredDean74:
Not MJ's fault, but the playcalling, "philosophically," is still archaic. When you're having a lot of success throwing the ball, you need to stick to it and not try and force a square peg into a non-existent hole (Gore up the middle). You keep moving the ball around to your WRs, TEs and RBs, keep moving the chains and keep the defense on the field...you don't run, run THEN throw. That's being stubborn, bordering on stupid (Singletary).

The game has changed, and our HC hasn't changed with it. Until we do, it really won't matter who's behind center...we'll never get the most out of our offensive weapons until we start playing 21s century football.

So you would rather the team just strictly pass on every down? The success of the passing game this past Sunday can be directly linked to the success of play action. Gore may not have gained positive yards, but the threat of the run allowed Smith to succeed.

Becoming one dimensional isn't going to help the offense.

Read my post again.

When you're having a lot of success throwing the ball, you need to stick to it and not try and force a square peg into a non-existent hole (Gore up the middle).

When the run is working, of course you keep at it. That's not what I was saying. What I'm saying is, when the PASS is working, you need to stick with it and continue to exploit it. That not only continues to put pressure on the defense, it actually opens up the running game for you.

We go into a game with 1 mentality (run, run, run), and even if it's not working, we stick to it and only change until we get behind and are FORCED to pass first. Most NFL teams have the ability/coaching intelligence to see what's working and go with it (usually, to help set up the thing that isn't working so well). We're playing checkers when we should be playing chess, is my point.

IMO, it's either stupidity or stubborness...can't figure out which one is the case with Singletary.

While we seem to be more creative and effective in the passing game, I still see Mike Singletary's imprint and constraints during a game.

We get nice gains on a passing play or two then we go back to a run play! Like you said, exploit the pass until the defense adjusts then go back to the run. Then continue mixing up groupings of pass plays and run plays based on what the defense is doing.

But MS always seems to be inclined to go back to the run at first opportunity and this is where he has a limiting effect on Mike Johnson's playcalling.

There have been some drives where the passing game has been working and after a 1st down we go 2 runs off LT for no gain... So I def agree about sing's imprint still being there. I did like to the 2 tosses in a row to Gore on the left side. I though Johnson may have been trying to set up a fake toss with Smith roling out to his right with one of the TE's releasing.....Who knows maybe next game,

Not backing Singletary, but at times you still need to run the ball to keep the other side honest and yes twice in a row. Didn't Smith get sacked 5 times? Making him pass too much is exposing him to injury, cause then the other side will pin their ears back and rush the passer. Which would mean Alex coming back, would you like that? I think they will be okay, they actually passed and ran a balanced off., which I liked, take away the blunders the game would not have been close and TS numbers would have been 400+ yards. I think people are not giving the OC enough credit. The key is the O-line (again), if they did their part, gore and TS would have even better numbers.

For the last time, I'm not saying "never run again," if the pass is working. Simply saying, if the pass is working, use that to set up your run game and not visa-versa. BTW, those 5 sacks are not all on the o-line...Troy does tend to hold on to the ball a little long (probably just rusty in this area). In time, he'll learn to get rid of the ball quicker, thus reducing the exposure to sacks/injury. Oh yah, giving Anthony Davis a little help on the edge would go along way too.

That said, you can't minimize your pass attempts because you're afraid your QB will get hurt...nobody in the NFL thinks this way, and thank God for it. You can do a number of things to slow down a pass rush (draws, screens, rolling pockets, max protections, shallow drops/quick reads, etc.), but you don't stop throwing if it's working because you're afraid your QB will get hurt.

Finally, I'm not criticizing Johnson. He's doing a great job given the charter of his head coach. I'm criticizing Singletary's philosophy of staying to close to the run, even when it's not working...and especially when the passing game is working so well. You have to be willing to adjust when you see something working, and when you see something is NOT working. If your passing game is working well, you have to use THAT as a base to then set up the run. You can't just blindly, game after game, think that the run game will set everything else up (and keep trying to force the issue, leaving you in long down/distance situations more times than not), because that's not how it happens in real life.

It's actually a very simple point I'm trying to make here. Not advocating abandoning the run, nor am I saying we need to pass on 1st/2nd/3rd down EVERY SERIES. Just saying, let's be smart and flexible during a game, and roll with what's working to help set up that which is not.

[ Edited by GhostofFredDean74 on Nov 16, 2010 at 13:50:29 ]

I think he is doing a fine job.

Originally posted by GhostofFredDean74:

Originally posted by WildBill:

Originally posted by btwagner:

Originally posted by Bluefalcon61:

Originally posted by GhostofFredDean74:

Originally posted by redrathman:

Originally posted by GhostofFredDean74:
Not MJ's fault, but the playcalling, "philosophically," is still archaic. When you're having a lot of success throwing the ball, you need to stick to it and not try and force a square peg into a non-existent hole (Gore up the middle). You keep moving the ball around to your WRs, TEs and RBs, keep moving the chains and keep the defense on the field...you don't run, run THEN throw. That's being stubborn, bordering on stupid (Singletary).

The game has changed, and our HC hasn't changed with it. Until we do, it really won't matter who's behind center...we'll never get the most out of our offensive weapons until we start playing 21s century football.

So you would rather the team just strictly pass on every down? The success of the passing game this past Sunday can be directly linked to the success of play action. Gore may not have gained positive yards, but the threat of the run allowed Smith to succeed.

Becoming one dimensional isn't going to help the offense.

Read my post again.

When you're having a lot of success throwing the ball, you need to stick to it and not try and force a square peg into a non-existent hole (Gore up the middle).

When the run is working, of course you keep at it. That's not what I was saying. What I'm saying is, when the PASS is working, you need to stick with it and continue to exploit it. That not only continues to put pressure on the defense, it actually opens up the running game for you.

We go into a game with 1 mentality (run, run, run), and even if it's not working, we stick to it and only change until we get behind and are FORCED to pass first. Most NFL teams have the ability/coaching intelligence to see what's working and go with it (usually, to help set up the thing that isn't working so well). We're playing checkers when we should be playing chess, is my point.

IMO, it's either stupidity or stubborness...can't figure out which one is the case with Singletary.

While we seem to be more creative and effective in the passing game, I still see Mike Singletary's imprint and constraints during a game.

We get nice gains on a passing play or two then we go back to a run play! Like you said, exploit the pass until the defense adjusts then go back to the run. Then continue mixing up groupings of pass plays and run plays based on what the defense is doing.

But MS always seems to be inclined to go back to the run at first opportunity and this is where he has a limiting effect on Mike Johnson's playcalling.

There have been some drives where the passing game has been working and after a 1st down we go 2 runs off LT for no gain... So I def agree about sing's imprint still being there. I did like to the 2 tosses in a row to Gore on the left side. I though Johnson may have been trying to set up a fake toss with Smith roling out to his right with one of the TE's releasing.....Who knows maybe next game,

Not backing Singletary, but at times you still need to run the ball to keep the other side honest and yes twice in a row. Didn't Smith get sacked 5 times? Making him pass too much is exposing him to injury, cause then the other side will pin their ears back and rush the passer. Which would mean Alex coming back, would you like that? I think they will be okay, they actually passed and ran a balanced off., which I liked, take away the blunders the game would not have been close and TS numbers would have been 400+ yards. I think people are not giving the OC enough credit. The key is the O-line (again), if they did their part, gore and TS would have even better numbers.

For the last time, I'm not saying "never run again," if the pass is working. Simply saying, if the pass is working, use that to set up your run game and not visa-versa. BTW, those 5 sacks are not all on the o-line...Troy does tend to hold on to the ball a little long (probably just rusty in this area). In time, he'll learn to get rid of the ball quicker, thus reducing the exposure to sacks/injury. Oh yah, giving Anthony Davis a little help on the edge would go along way too.

That said, you can't minimize your pass attempts because you're afraid your QB will get hurt...nobody in the NFL thinks this way, and thank God for it. You can do a number of things to slow down a pass rush (draws, screens, rolling pockets, max protections, shallow drops/quick reads, etc.), but you don't stop throwing if it's working because you're afraid your QB will get hurt.

I didn't say minimize the pass, just that sometimes running two times in a row isn't a bad thing, it keeps the other side guessing, its what helps sell play action pass. I just believe in a balance attack. Please don't lump me in as being rigid, there are times when you should pass more, cause everything is working (like the o-line, no penalties), all the time in the world, but you do have to do things to protect your QB and besides the o-line blocking, you run the ball. The problem with Singletary is that he wants to bulldoze the outside when sometimes you need to finese them. I also accept both using the pass to set up the run, but also the run to set up the pass. what I believe in most however is adjusting/game planning to each team properly. Like last year, against Seattle, we had success running in the first game, but tried to get cute by passing in the second, they should have run, then if that didn't work, pass.

Originally posted by WildBill:

Originally posted by GhostofFredDean74:

Originally posted by WildBill:

Originally posted by btwagner:

Originally posted by Bluefalcon61:

Originally posted by GhostofFredDean74:

Originally posted by redrathman:

Originally posted by GhostofFredDean74:
Not MJ's fault, but the playcalling, "philosophically," is still archaic. When you're having a lot of success throwing the ball, you need to stick to it and not try and force a square peg into a non-existent hole (Gore up the middle). You keep moving the ball around to your WRs, TEs and RBs, keep moving the chains and keep the defense on the field...you don't run, run THEN throw. That's being stubborn, bordering on stupid (Singletary).

The game has changed, and our HC hasn't changed with it. Until we do, it really won't matter who's behind center...we'll never get the most out of our offensive weapons until we start playing 21s century football.

So you would rather the team just strictly pass on every down? The success of the passing game this past Sunday can be directly linked to the success of play action. Gore may not have gained positive yards, but the threat of the run allowed Smith to succeed.

Becoming one dimensional isn't going to help the offense.

Read my post again.

When you're having a lot of success throwing the ball, you need to stick to it and not try and force a square peg into a non-existent hole (Gore up the middle).

When the run is working, of course you keep at it. That's not what I was saying. What I'm saying is, when the PASS is working, you need to stick with it and continue to exploit it. That not only continues to put pressure on the defense, it actually opens up the running game for you.

We go into a game with 1 mentality (run, run, run), and even if it's not working, we stick to it and only change until we get behind and are FORCED to pass first. Most NFL teams have the ability/coaching intelligence to see what's working and go with it (usually, to help set up the thing that isn't working so well). We're playing checkers when we should be playing chess, is my point.

IMO, it's either stupidity or stubborness...can't figure out which one is the case with Singletary.

While we seem to be more creative and effective in the passing game, I still see Mike Singletary's imprint and constraints during a game.

We get nice gains on a passing play or two then we go back to a run play! Like you said, exploit the pass until the defense adjusts then go back to the run. Then continue mixing up groupings of pass plays and run plays based on what the defense is doing.

But MS always seems to be inclined to go back to the run at first opportunity and this is where he has a limiting effect on Mike Johnson's playcalling.

There have been some drives where the passing game has been working and after a 1st down we go 2 runs off LT for no gain... So I def agree about sing's imprint still being there. I did like to the 2 tosses in a row to Gore on the left side. I though Johnson may have been trying to set up a fake toss with Smith roling out to his right with one of the TE's releasing.....Who knows maybe next game,

Not backing Singletary, but at times you still need to run the ball to keep the other side honest and yes twice in a row. Didn't Smith get sacked 5 times? Making him pass too much is exposing him to injury, cause then the other side will pin their ears back and rush the passer. Which would mean Alex coming back, would you like that? I think they will be okay, they actually passed and ran a balanced off., which I liked, take away the blunders the game would not have been close and TS numbers would have been 400+ yards. I think people are not giving the OC enough credit. The key is the O-line (again), if they did their part, gore and TS would have even better numbers.

For the last time, I'm not saying "never run again," if the pass is working. Simply saying, if the pass is working, use that to set up your run game and not visa-versa. BTW, those 5 sacks are not all on the o-line...Troy does tend to hold on to the ball a little long (probably just rusty in this area). In time, he'll learn to get rid of the ball quicker, thus reducing the exposure to sacks/injury. Oh yah, giving Anthony Davis a little help on the edge would go along way too.

That said, you can't minimize your pass attempts because you're afraid your QB will get hurt...nobody in the NFL thinks this way, and thank God for it. You can do a number of things to slow down a pass rush (draws, screens, rolling pockets, max protections, shallow drops/quick reads, etc.), but you don't stop throwing if it's working because you're afraid your QB will get hurt.

I didn't say minimize the pass, just that sometimes running two times in a row isn't a bad thing, it keeps the other side guessing, its what helps sell play action pass. I just believe in a balance attack. Please don't lump me in as being rigid, there are times when you should pass more, cause everything is working (like the o-line, no penalties), all the time in the world, but you do have to do things to protect your QB and besides the o-line blocking, you run the ball. The problem with Singletary is that he wants to bulldoze the outside when sometimes you need to finese them. I also accept both using the pass to set up the run, but also the run to set up the pass. what I believe in most however is adjusting/game planning to each team properly. Like last year, against Seattle, we had success running in the first game, but tried to get cute by passing in the second, they should have run, then if that didn't work, pass.

I don't think it's running two times in a row more than it's running two times in a row in different directions. This was the single worst aspect of Jimmy Raye.

Poor Gore, dude would have icon stats if it weren't for Raye and Hostler.

Originally posted by WildBill:

Originally posted by GhostofFredDean74:

Originally posted by WildBill:

Originally posted by btwagner:

Originally posted by Bluefalcon61:

Originally posted by GhostofFredDean74:

Originally posted by redrathman:

Originally posted by GhostofFredDean74:
Not MJ's fault, but the playcalling, "philosophically," is still archaic. When you're having a lot of success throwing the ball, you need to stick to it and not try and force a square peg into a non-existent hole (Gore up the middle). You keep moving the ball around to your WRs, TEs and RBs, keep moving the chains and keep the defense on the field...you don't run, run THEN throw. That's being stubborn, bordering on stupid (Singletary).

The game has changed, and our HC hasn't changed with it. Until we do, it really won't matter who's behind center...we'll never get the most out of our offensive weapons until we start playing 21s century football.

So you would rather the team just strictly pass on every down? The success of the passing game this past Sunday can be directly linked to the success of play action. Gore may not have gained positive yards, but the threat of the run allowed Smith to succeed.

Becoming one dimensional isn't going to help the offense.

Read my post again.

When you're having a lot of success throwing the ball, you need to stick to it and not try and force a square peg into a non-existent hole (Gore up the middle).

When the run is working, of course you keep at it. That's not what I was saying. What I'm saying is, when the PASS is working, you need to stick with it and continue to exploit it. That not only continues to put pressure on the defense, it actually opens up the running game for you.

We go into a game with 1 mentality (run, run, run), and even if it's not working, we stick to it and only change until we get behind and are FORCED to pass first. Most NFL teams have the ability/coaching intelligence to see what's working and go with it (usually, to help set up the thing that isn't working so well). We're playing checkers when we should be playing chess, is my point.

IMO, it's either stupidity or stubborness...can't figure out which one is the case with Singletary.

While we seem to be more creative and effective in the passing game, I still see Mike Singletary's imprint and constraints during a game.

We get nice gains on a passing play or two then we go back to a run play! Like you said, exploit the pass until the defense adjusts then go back to the run. Then continue mixing up groupings of pass plays and run plays based on what the defense is doing.

But MS always seems to be inclined to go back to the run at first opportunity and this is where he has a limiting effect on Mike Johnson's playcalling.

There have been some drives where the passing game has been working and after a 1st down we go 2 runs off LT for no gain... So I def agree about sing's imprint still being there. I did like to the 2 tosses in a row to Gore on the left side. I though Johnson may have been trying to set up a fake toss with Smith roling out to his right with one of the TE's releasing.....Who knows maybe next game,

Not backing Singletary, but at times you still need to run the ball to keep the other side honest and yes twice in a row. Didn't Smith get sacked 5 times? Making him pass too much is exposing him to injury, cause then the other side will pin their ears back and rush the passer. Which would mean Alex coming back, would you like that? I think they will be okay, they actually passed and ran a balanced off., which I liked, take away the blunders the game would not have been close and TS numbers would have been 400+ yards. I think people are not giving the OC enough credit. The key is the O-line (again), if they did their part, gore and TS would have even better numbers.

For the last time, I'm not saying "never run again," if the pass is working. Simply saying, if the pass is working, use that to set up your run game and not visa-versa. BTW, those 5 sacks are not all on the o-line...Troy does tend to hold on to the ball a little long (probably just rusty in this area). In time, he'll learn to get rid of the ball quicker, thus reducing the exposure to sacks/injury. Oh yah, giving Anthony Davis a little help on the edge would go along way too.

That said, you can't minimize your pass attempts because you're afraid your QB will get hurt...nobody in the NFL thinks this way, and thank God for it. You can do a number of things to slow down a pass rush (draws, screens, rolling pockets, max protections, shallow drops/quick reads, etc.), but you don't stop throwing if it's working because you're afraid your QB will get hurt.

I didn't say minimize the pass, just that sometimes running two times in a row isn't a bad thing, it keeps the other side guessing, its what helps sell play action pass. I just believe in a balance attack. Please don't lump me in as being rigid, there are times when you should pass more, cause everything is working (like the o-line, no penalties), all the time in the world, but you do have to do things to protect your QB and besides the o-line blocking, you run the ball. The problem with Singletary is that he wants to bulldoze the outside when sometimes you need to finese them. I also accept both using the pass to set up the run, but also the run to set up the pass. what I believe in most however is adjusting/game planning to each team properly. Like last year, against Seattle, we had success running in the first game, but tried to get cute by passing in the second, they should have run, then if that didn't work, pass.

Sounds like we're saying the same thing, just saying it a little differently. I have no issues with using the run to set up the pass...if in fact our run game was always effective. However, since it's not, we have to be more flexible (and logical) about our offensive approach, and not keep banging away at something that isn't working, hoping that it will eventually work.

I think Johnson can be an effective OC in time, I'm just not sure if the 49ers have that time.