What can we do about the O-line?

DJ and Pasodoc--you have both been saying how important the line is to the offense (along with Oldman, Memphis and others) and I agree completely. That is why I have not been critical of Smith, the receivers or Gore. Hunter did better than Gore but that may have been due to the D not cueing on Hunter. When he came in the D may have assumed it was a pass. VD helped out quite a bit today and that was great to see.

If they get the line fixed then the offense may be really nice to watch. The three penalties on Rachal in the first half (? Still can't believe that) were the end for me. He needs to be replaced and kept on the bench until he becomes more reliable. I saw him do a number of very odd things today and couldn't figure out where he was suppose to be blocking...evidently he couldn't either!

I think the HC swallows some pride and startes to mix in Boone/Kilgore and anyone else maybe ready to play, and finds out if there is any better chemistry with any other combo.

If not this, then nothing can be done till next year, just practice. Chilo for sure sits tho, he must get out of the lineup for safeties sake.

Originally posted by pasodoc9er:
Dj, putting a chain and buckle on Rachal sounds really good. But maybe during pregame someone could also put his feet in fast drying buckets of cement. Just so he doesn't get on the field. He was "turrible". I agree with every single comment you made. I also agree with the post for F+ grade. DJ, if we are going to make moves, I agree, do 'em now. As for comments on OL coaches, guys, there is one guy responsible for OL badness and his title is HC. That is his OL . He needs to fix it, which requires changing players, moving tackles, and sitting Rachal and goodwin. Good grief coach, you are only as good as your weakest link and that be your OL. Wanna quick fix?

Ok, try snapping it and slinging it , 1 steppers, 3 yds, maybe 4, with WRs and TEs looking for ball immediately after leaving the LOS. THAT will make up for a lot of bad in the OL, will require holding a block for 1 sec, and I think our OL might be able to succeed with that. What exactly Coach Harbaugh , do you have against 1 step passes when your entire OL CANNOT block? Those dinks and dunks make up for an awful lot of an AWFUL OL. No kidding , coach, you ought to try it. Actually you did on first play of game for 6 yds and then? we never saw it again. Probably keeping it a secret, I guess. You're better than that Jim. We have seen you before, and you are better than that. Jeez, man , just look at those tapes. Throw short , quick hitters til they move off the dam OL. And it will cover up some really, awful, stinky OL play.

I agree that 1 and 3-step drops would be the common solution but the OL was getting pushed back immediately on the snap of the ball on multiple occasions today. On several occasions today if Alex had tried to set up after one step, he would have had Jonathan Goodwin standing on his toes. My goodness, Goodwin was just getting manhandled by the Bengal DTs. I scarcely recall a time when he held his ground.

Today was the worst performance by a 49er OL that I have seen in my years watching this team...and I was watching in the Pete McCulley days. I have no idea what this group needs to motivate them. I have seen enough to believe they have talent but they are not showing it consistently. Perhaps a good ass-chewing rather than a pep talk is what they need. IDK but whatever Harbaugh and his staff have been doing, it isn't working.

Originally posted by Bali-Niner:
I think the HC swallows some pride and startes to mix in Boone/Kilgore and anyone else maybe ready to play, and finds out if there is any better chemistry with any other combo.

If not this, then nothing can be done till next year, just practice. Chilo for sure sits tho, he must get out of the lineup for safeties sake.

x2

Chilo is a bum. But in all reality, the whole line is looking bad. I honestly think Goodwin has to step it up and become the leader we saw in Baas, Heitman and Newberry. I don't see him barking out anything and with a young inexperienced line, we need the guy in the middle to anchor it.

I saw an interesting picture in the game pics thread. It is the one taken just after the ball has been snapped and the 49er OL and Bengal DL are about to make contact. In the photo, Jonathan Goodwin's head is noticeably above that of all the other linemen. With that high body position, it is no wonder he was getting shoved back all the time. The Bengal DTs had lower leverage.

Let's hope 49er coaches see that also and get his butt down lower so he has leverage. Basic stuff...

the best thing we can do is let them play there natural positions.


david - iupati - goodwin - snyder - staley.

after this season is over and we have an offseason.

boone - iupati - goodwin - kilgore - staley and trade davis to some team and let him false start all over there offense

Originally posted by dj43:
I saw an interesting picture in the game pics thread. It is the one taken just after the ball has been snapped and the 49er OL and Bengal DL are about to make contact. In the photo, Jonathan Goodwin's head is noticeably above that of all the other linemen. With that high body position, it is no wonder he was getting shoved back all the time. The Bengal DTs had lower leverage.

Let's hope 49er coaches see that also and get his butt down lower so he has leverage. Basic stuff...

I think it's more than that. To play lower you lose a little bit of lateral movements. He plays higher cause he's older and is afraid of guys going around him. I saw a rusher went right around him in one of the preseason play. A sack instead of a pass catch down field.

While AS does not remind me of a top qb, the niners OL is terrible. I think as soon as possible they need to get Kilgore in at center and trade Rachal for a load of bat guano. I think they have an OL on the practice squad they could bring up if they trade Rachal. Actually, I would not be against starting two rookies in Kilgore and Person side by side. I think they would do better and have 1000% better upside.

Originally posted by Oakland-Niner:
Can someone make a clip of the ref saying, "False start. Entire offensive line."

i couldnt believe he said that..ive never heard that ..EVER

DanielKilgore.com

Kilgore>>> Rachal. I would also look into getting Alex Boone some time. Either at LT or RT (moving Davis to LT)

what i want to know is ..why the F is chilo starting...hell why is he even on the team

You know that Philly will dial up the pressure on the o-line so they better come up with something to address the problem. I think you will see Snyder in instead of Rachal this week and that will be a start to fixing the right side. Davis seems to play better when Snyder is in there. I think Harbaugh needs to take a look at what the o-line coaches are doing because it is not working.

get boone..and kilgore in now...before its to late

Originally posted by qnnhan7:

Originally posted by dj43:
I saw an interesting picture in the game pics thread. It is the one taken just after the ball has been snapped and the 49er OL and Bengal DL are about to make contact. In the photo, Jonathan Goodwin's head is noticeably above that of all the other linemen. With that high body position, it is no wonder he was getting shoved back all the time. The Bengal DTs had lower leverage.

Let's hope 49er coaches see that also and get his butt down lower so he has leverage. Basic stuff...

I think it's more than that. To play lower you lose a little bit of lateral movements. He plays higher cause he's older and is afraid of guys going around him. I saw a rusher went right around him in one of the preseason play. A sack instead of a pass catch down field.

His problem yesterday was that he was getting pushed back into the pocket on passing plays and into the pulling guards on run plays. In both of those situations, his job is primarily to anchor the middle. However, if you are getting pushed backward, the best response is to get lower.

I know it was only one picture and you cannot tell on the TV about his position, but if he was setting up at the same height on other plays, getting pushed back would be the logical result.