The forgotten play that defines this game and our offense..

Originally posted by nvchamp9ers:
So as I digest this loss, upon numerous coaching mistakes, Alex throwing a crucial int(but I did think his overall play was sufficient to win at the Nfl level) and our defense caving like a paper bag in a hurricane, my memory has brought back one play in specific that defined both this game and our offense.Forgive me for not being super specific but I dont have a tape to rewind and rewatch but I was dumbfounded and took notes as it happened.

Shortly after entering overtime our offense got its first first down and appeared to be gaining momentum. After we got that first down we had a strong Frank gore draw play that netted 7 yards, giving us the coveted 2 and 3. Now as a defensive coordinator there are really alot of things to worry about in this situation and as an offense it is the situation you dream of. From an offensive perspective, you have 2 ways to go, super aggressive(I.e a long pass, playaction etc) with little risk bc as an offense you are ahead of the chains and would still have a manageable 3rd down if you dont get a completion. Or you could go super conservative and run the ball make it a very easy 3rd down and distance. Now, what did we do? The answer is neither....how is that you ask? Well as you break this 2nd down play apart this is what you will see.

To start off we go into a bunched formation look, telling the defense, we are playing conservative and likely running the ball. The defense lines up with what appears to be a 5 or 6 man rush, which means we "should" check out of any runs plays. At the snap our TE gets a free release and is running a short out, problem is his route is immediately undercut and overcut by the safety and weakside backer. Alex cant throw there or it is a pick, he looks to his "safety valve" Fank Gore running a bubble screen and he is smothered by the strong side linebacker. At this point he has taken two hitches pressure is in his face and he gets sacked.

Now what is wrong with this play? We were neither aggressive nor conservative, why call a pass play with only two route options (gore and dealnie) when you are in a bunch formation and it is so easy for the defense to defend in those close quarters. We would of been better off running the ball or spreading the field and forcing them to defend a wide field. This was straight terrible playcalling and a horrible play design in general. We can not run max protect if we do not have any deep threats, it simply doesnt work in the Nfl. This play showed me, how conservative and scared we were at that point in overtime, we had the chance to go for the jugular and we sat back and hid. This game goes on coaching in my mind. We need to start playing to win..

You fail to explain the the crowd that Alex didnt have time for a 3rd read even if he had 5 wideouts to choose from.

Originally posted by Crown:
You fail to explain the the crowd that Alex didnt have time for a 3rd read even if he had 5 wideouts to choose from.

The thing of that is if they blitz on a 2 and 3, you are saying they are stacking the box which in this case works for us, if they dont stack the box it is a cornerback blitz and even easier to pick up yards...In general you can not deny the bad playcall or design

I agree, I was looking for the run on that 2nd and 3, it was an easy first down (placed off of a draw) for even grandpa Gore.

Hate to pull last week's excuse, but from everything I'm seeing thus far Harbaugh flat-out DOES NOT TRUST ALEX SMITH TO NOT MAKE ANY MISTAKES!

Good post. That was a terrible play call, the play action was not working all game (there was always a defender ready to sack Smith) so I'm not sure why they called it in OT. I was really looking for a run since we were getting close to Ackers' range. So many mistakes, so sad.

Originally posted by SnakePlissken:
I agree, I was looking for the run on that 2nd and 3, it was an easy first down (placed off of a draw) for even grandpa Gore.

Hate to pull last week's excuse, but from everything I'm seeing thus far Harbaugh flat-out DOES NOT TRUST ALEX SMITH TO NOT MAKE ANY MISTAKES!

I hate say it folks, but I don't think Frank has recovered from his hip injury and we had a 250lb running back with fresh legs on the sideline that could have been pounding away at a tired defense!!!

Originally posted by tn9er:
I hate say it folks, but I don't think Frank has recovered from his hip injury and we had a 250lb running back with fresh legs on the sideline that could have been pounding away at a tired defense!!!

Yeah, we need to mix in Hunter and Dixon. There isn't much for lanes but why run gore 20+ times for 50 yards a game? Get some change up speed in there.

As for the play I knew it was a drive killer. For years we have had good drives going or even just starting out where we will be looking good and have a 2nd and short and a sack/bad snap/reverse that loses yards that will kill the drive and make it 3rd and long (AKA time to punt). We had some plays where we ran misdirection but we need more if we plan on running the ball 20+ times a game. Wish we would have done something like that or try a screen once in a while but our underachieving OL probably couldn't manage to block long enough to set it up.