Passing Game Play by Play, vs. Dallas

adembroski · 2011-09-24T16:14:42-07:00

11-Reg-02 DAL@SF 1 7:30 SF 1 10 SF 20 (7:30) 11-A.Smith pass short left to 21-F.Gore to SF 20 for no gain (43-G.Sensabaugh). Caught at SF 16. 4-yds YAC 12 personnel. 5-step quick. Alex Smith went to the hot route.11-Reg-02 DAL@SF 1 6:59 SF 2 10 SF 20 (6:59) 11-A.Smith pass incomplete short left to 17-B.Edwards [99-K.Coleman].12 personnel. Deep comeback, but everything went wrong. Alex was late with the throw, Edward fell down on the cut. Edwards falling down, in fact, may have prevented an interception as the defender tripped over him trying to get too it.11-Reg-02 DAL@SF 1 6:54 SF 3 10 SF 20 (6:54) (Shotgun) 11-A.Smith pass short middle to 17-B.Edwards to SF 41 for 21 yards (26-A.Elam). Caught at SF 41. 6-yds YAC10 Personnel. Beautiful blitz pickup by the line. Smooth. Only Rachel, who was swinging outside, was out of position, but he still redirected his man well.Braylon ran a great route, felt the soft spot, and Alex delivered it nicely.11-Reg-02 DAL@SF 1 6:17 SF 1 10 SF 41 (6:17) 11-A.Smith pass short left to 46-D.Walker pushed ob at 50 for 9 yards (43-G.Sensabaugh). Caught at SF 41. 9-yds YAC12 Personnel (noticing a theme?) , very nicely executed screen pass that would have been even better if one of the lead blockers had decided to block the FS rather than having two guys block the OLB. Iupati was a bit indecisive in protection, but Gore picked up the slack nicely.11-Reg-02 DAL@SF 1 5:00 SF 3 2 SF 49 (5:00) 11-A.Smith pass incomplete short right to 46-D.Walker.12 Personnel. Alex on the boot… forced to dump to Walker, who bobbles as he falls out of bounds. Morgan dogged his route… more of a "I'm not sure where to go" than a "I don't feel like running" thing, but he should have been clear for a 15 yard gain, but didn't get out of his break quick enough. Alex saw he wasn't coming open, pulled it down, then dumped to Walker.11-Reg-02 DAL@SF 1 3:34 SF 1 10 SF 32 (3:34) 11-A.Smith pass short middle to 19-T.Ginn to SF 40 for 8 yards (26-A.Elam). Caught at SF 36. 4-yds YAC12 Personnel. Alex Smith's skills are starting to become apparent. He's VERY good at throwing in the face of a heavy rush. We should see fewer and fewer blitzes as the season wears on and teams realize it's a losing proposition. Hangs in and delivers a nice ball to a wide open Ted Ginn on a 5 yard curl.11-Reg-02 DAL@SF 1 1:33 SF 1 15 SF 39 (1:33) 11-A.Smith pass short middle to 21-F.Gore to 50 for 11 yards (90-J.Ratliff). Caught at SF 42. 8-yds YAC12 Personnel. I can't decide if Alex panicked or just liked the fact that he had daylight to his left, because he had wide open man to his right and time to throw. He pulls it down and starts to scramble, then makes a nice shuvel pass to Gore that picks up 11. Like the Morgan play week 1, Alex misses a big play opportunity, but ends up making a nice play that makes you equally annoyed and impressed with the same play.11-Reg-02 DAL@SF 2 15:00 SF 1 10 DAL 41 (15:00) 11-A.Smith sacked at 50 for -9 yards (93-A.Spencer).21 Personnel. WOW, very old school. Traditional "Red Right" formation vs. a 3-4 Odd front remincent of the old Giants teams. Goodwin simply gets schooled, which is sad because the dude was head up. The play call was a staple of the Saints offense two years ago that's very effective against 3-4 odd and would have picked up solid yardage, but requires the QB to execute an elaborate pump fake mid-drop. There was no time for Alex to escape.11-Reg-02 DAL@SF 2 13:39 SF 3 10 DAL 41 (13:39) (Shotgun) 11-A.Smith pass short left to 19-T.Ginn pushed ob at DAL 27 for 14 yards (20-A.Ball) [97-J.Hatcher]. Caught at DAL 31. 4-yds YAC11 Personnel. This play is everything Alex Smith could be. Heavy rush, Smith sees it, remikes, keeps in extra protection, and with 4 in the pattern, delivers a strike on a 10 yard out and takes a huge shot. PERFECT pass. 11-Reg-02 DAL@SF 2 10:06 SF 2 11 DAL 49 (10:06) 11-A.Smith pass short left to 21-F.Gore pushed ob at DAL 43 for 6 yards (50-S.Lee). Caught at SF 48. 9-yds YAC12 Personnel. If the Cowboys were a 4-3 team, the 49ers woulda shredded 'em. Alex looks like he's reading 4-3 on nearly every down, going with the hot route despite the fact that the "blitzer" he's seeing is, for all intents and purposes, a defensive end rather than a linebacker. That said, it's the safe throw, and the "right" throw would have picked up the same amount of yardage at a greater degree of risk.11-Reg-02 DAL@SF 2 9:35 SF 3 5 DAL 43 (9:35) (Shotgun) 11-A.Smith pass short left to 84-J.Morgan pushed ob at DAL 31 for 12 yards (20-A.Ball). Caught at DAL 34. 3-yds YAC11 Personnel. Another one of Alex's strengths are illustrated here. He does, in fact, stare down the reciever… but that's ok against man coverage because nobody's looking at you. Everytime I've seen him fail to look off has been against man when, by definition, the defensive backs can't see him. Anwyays, Alex is a tad late with the throw, but puts it on the money. Morgan's route could have been sharper.11-Reg-02 DAL@SF 2 7:41 SF 3 5 DAL 26 (7:41) (Shotgun) 11-A.Smith pass short right to 84-J.Morgan to DAL 16 for 10 yards (20-A.Ball) [57-V.Butler]. Caught at DAL 22. 6-yds YAC11 Personnel. Alex rolling right, and Davis' footwork beats him, allowing Butler to get pressure on Smith. Smith steps into the throw nicely. Morgan does a nice job of securing the ball and turning upfield with his shoulders. It's a small thing you don't normally notice, but he's positioned to fight for extra yards rather than getting knocked down if he takes a shot upon turning.11-Reg-02 DAL@SF 2 6:31 SF 2 6 DAL 12 (6:31) 11-A.Smith pass incomplete short middle to 19-T.Ginn (51-K.Brooking).11 Personnel. Probably an inside to outside read, because he hits Teddy Ginn when Morgan's open a few yards to the right. Ginn's between two defenders. Not a dangerous throw, just one you'd rather not make for the sake of your receiver's ribs. Still, Ginn needs to catch that ball.11-Reg-02 DAL@SF 2 6:27 SF 3 6 DAL 12 (6:27) (Shotgun) 11-A.Smith pass short left to 10-K.Williams for 12 yards, TOUCHDOWN.11 Personnel. There were three touchdowns on this place. Morgan was coming underneath and could have beaten the coverage to the end zone, and Davis was running a flag on the opposite side of the field. This throw couldn't have been better, the route couldn't have been better, and the blitz pickup was impressive (Iupati was too aggressive and once again, Gore picked him up). 11-Reg-02 DAL@SF 2 4:36 SF 2 10 SF 30 (4:36) 11-A.Smith sacked at SF 21 for -9 yards (97-J.Hatcher).21 Personnel. 49ers going back to the '80s again with the Far formation. This one's on Alex. Three threats to the left side with the defensive line overshifted, only two blockers, no hot route. Alex needs to see that and recount the Mike to account for it.11-Reg-02 DAL@SF 2 1:48 SF 1 10 SF 20 (1:48) (Shotgun) 11-A.Smith pass short right to 85-V.Davis to SF 32 for 12 yards (97-J.Hatcher). Caught at SF 20. 12-yds YAC11 Personnel. Alex Smith misses too many opportunities. Far too many. Josh Morgan is running free over the middle here. There is literally not a defender that can see him within 20 yards. Alex is under heavy rush, and is looking to get rid of it, but it's a slant route vs. 2 blitzing middle linebackers. The ONLY justification I can think of for this throw is that Alex somehow got the idea that those were either fakes or the nose guard was falling back. Either way, that should have been Morgan for 20... with a broken tackle, to the house.11-Reg-02 DAL@SF 2 1:14 SF 1 10 SF 32 (1:14) (No Huddle, Shotgun) 11-A.Smith pass incomplete deep right to 19-T.Ginn.11 Personnel. This play gives me hope after the last. Two options, he went with the potential big play, which he rarely does. Deep fade from Ginn, but the ball's over thrown. That's gonna happen, not every pass is going to be perfect. I'm ok with that because Alex has really eliminated the PHYSICAL mistakes this season. The mental ones need to go away now too.11-Reg-02 DAL@SF 2 0:26 SF 3 4 SF 38 (:26) (Shotgun) 11-A.Smith pass short right to 19-T.Ginn to SF 42 for 4 yards (20-A.Ball). Caught at SF 42. 0-yds YAC21 Personnel. I don't know why Alex's arm strength is criticized. His deep out is as well thrown as anybody's in the league. This one's a little low, but well timed and on a rope. I would love to have seen Alex go up top to Morgan on the far side, but the appropriate read should take him away from there, the safety just didn't get where he needed to be so Morgan came open. No reason for Alex to see that, just wish he had:P11-Reg-02 DAL@SF 3 15:00 SF 1 10 SF 20 (15:00) (Shotgun) 11-A.Smith pass incomplete short middle to 84-J.Morgan.11 Personnel, Gore lined up at Slot, so empty backfield. We've seen this play before, and we've seen Alex check down almost everytime. This time he's going for the deep dig route, but it's tipped at the line. Nice to see Alex being more aggressive, and this could have gained pretty big yardage. 11-Reg-02 DAL@SF 3 14:12 SF 3 8 SF 22 (14:12) (Shotgun) 11-A.Smith sacked at SF 16 for -6 yards (97-J.Hatcher).11 Personnel. You might not believe me, but I swear at one point on this play, Mike Iupati is blocking Joe Staley. I'm dead serious. Ok, so Alex spends next to forever making adjustments at the line to account for everyone, and does. Staley passes his man off to Walker, who bumps and releases into the flat... at the same time, Staley's helping Iupati on a double team, which gets split, leaving those two blocking each other for a moment I think without realizing it... THAT guy gets to Alex first, preventing him from letting go of the ball for Walker in the flat. Really ugly sequence in general.11-Reg-02 DAL@SF 3 9:13 SF 2 8 SF 22 (9:13) 11-A.Smith pass incomplete short left to 46-D.Walker.12 Personnel. A.Davis just gets BLOWN by, and somehow,despite looking the other way, Alex feels it. He scrambles away from the pressure, but, throwing across is body, misses Walker high. Nobody was open on this play, so under normal circumstances Alex probably would have just thrown it away... well, I'd like to think so anyways. Great defensive playcall.11-Reg-02 DAL@SF 3 9:09 SF 3 8 SF 22 (9:09) (Shotgun) 11-A.Smith pass short middle intended for 84-J.Morgan INTERCEPTED by 20-A.Ball at SF 33. 20-A.Ball to SF 18 for 15 yards (11-A.Smith).11 Personnel. I've been waiting for this one. Alex's first INT of the year… lets see how bad it was. Defense is showing a very odd shell. I'd say Alex is probably thinking it's a cover 1 man under press, but the corners come off the press late, and the flats are ignored. It sorta "morphs" into a deep cover 3. To compound it, it's a bad throw. A very bad throw. Very much behind either of whichever of two receivers he may have been targetting (officially it's intended for Morgan, but I think it's much more likely it was intended for Vernon on the deep out. It was thrown too early, thrown way behind. Terrible, terrible throw.11-Reg-02 DAL@SF 3 6:39 SF 1 10 DAL 49 (6:39) 11-A.Smith sacked at SF 44 for -7 yards (94-D.Ware).11 Personnel. Play action is utterly ineffective here. It brings one guy up, everyone else is dropping. I've always hated play action in which there is a fake to the back and a fake to the reverse because it forces the defense to wait rather than react to either, leaving them still in position to make a play on a pass. Two fakes generally defeats the purpose. Still, Morgan gets open, and that's clearly where Alex wants to go, but Staley fails to block Ware. He gets to Alex before Morgan can get to the soft spot.11-Reg-02 DAL@SF 3 5:27 SF 3 12 SF 49 (5:27) (Shotgun) 11-A.Smith pass short left to 85-V.Davis to DAL 45 for 6 yards (50-S.Lee). Caught at DAL 47. 2-yds YAC11 Personnel. Gore split at flanker, empty backfield. Cover 2 sink shell. A little bit of texas run over the middle, so someone (can't make out the #) comes open. Alex goes to the earlier guy to get open, Davis on a quick out. Odd to see the Cowboys remain in cover 2 on 3rd and 12 against trips. In fact, thats VERY odd. Seemed like they were fully aware the 49ers wouldn't send more than 1 or 2 deep.11-Reg-02 DAL@SF 3 0:42 SF 1 10 DAL 29 (:42) 11-A.Smith pass deep right to 46-D.Walker for 29 yards, TOUCHDOWN. Caught at DAL 13. 13-yds YAC12 Personnel. It's interesting how teams tend to shade the 49ers to one side of the field on cover 3. at any rate, this is one of the best throws I've ever seen. Swing routes are tough to hit on the run because when you throw it, the receiver hasn't turned up field. Alex shows Brady-like precision here. Simply perfect execution. Once again, signs that Alex Smith has every bit of the talent that earned him the #1 overall pick. Sad that he can't seem to really put it all together.11-Reg-02 DAL@SF 4 6:55 SF 1 10 SF 20 (6:55) 11-A.Smith pass short left to 84-J.Morgan to SF 33 for 13 yards (21-M.Jenkins). Caught SF 33. 8-yds YAC21 Personnel? It's a fullhouse backfield, but I'm assuming it's Gore, Norris, and Walker. Both fullbacks motion to tight end positions. Might have made more sense if Vernon was one of the backs, since he would have changed the passing strength of the formation... two backs going to tight positions does nothing to defensive alignment. The motion afterwards, Walker over to make it 3 tight strong, however, is nice. It draws the safety up, gets NINE in the box, and Alex has a nice easy backside throw to Morgan on the slant for a 13 yard gain. Way to dictate matchups, Coach Harbaugh!11-Reg-02 DAL@SF 4 5:31 SF 2 8 SF 35 (5:31) 11-A.Smith sacked at SF 27 for -8 yards (94-D.Ware).21 Personnel… weak I twin WRs. This is very, very odd. I just praised Harbaugh for his tactical genius, and now he does this… a naked bootleg into DeMarcus Ware. On the plus side, everyone on the field BUT Ware baught the fake, and two of the 3 receivers in the pattern were open, but DeMarcus Ware doesn't play the run. He ASSUMES you're running play action, why would you even try?11-Reg-02 DAL@SF 5 15:00 SF 1 10 SF 20 (15:00) 68-A.Snyder reported in as eligible. 11-A.Smith pass short left to 19-T.Ginn ran ob at SF 32 for 12 yards. Caught at SF 32. 0-yds YAC22 Personnel with Tackle Over. That is to say, 2 Tackles and 2 Tight on the same side of the formation. Weak I behind that, and the split end is all alone among Receivers. This leaves 9 in the box. Then they play action power right at the defensive end. Here's Harbaugh being a genius again. Bring all of the coverage to one side, and bring it close... then play action weak, forcing the defensive end to adjust and cover the Fullback... now you've got the defense DOUBLE TEAMING MORAN NORRIS! Max protect to keep Smith upright, and he throws a strike to a wide open Ted Ginn against single coverage for a 12 yard gain on the out.11-Reg-02 DAL@SF 5 13:52 SF 2 3 SF 39 (13:52) 11-A.Smith sacked at SF 31 for -8 yards (90-J.Ratliff).12 Personnel. Ugh, Goodwin just gets schooled again. Ware fakes the blitz and covers the hot option (very smart considering Alex loves his hot recievers), and Alex has to pull it down. Buys time for Ratliff to get to him. Goodwin has looked terrible today.11-Reg-02 DAL@SF 5 13:16 SF 3 11 SF 31 (13:16) (Shotgun) 11-A.Smith pass short right to 19-T.Ginn pushed ob at SF 41 for 10 yards (25-F.Walker). Caught at SF 41. 0-yds YACThe Replay Assistant challenged the pass completion ruling, and the play was REVERSED.(Shotgun) 11-A.Smith pass incomplete short right to 19-T.Ginn.20 Personnel. Haven't seen this combination so far this year. Not that I want too, why would you want to take Vernon Davis off the field? Alex makes a very nice throw on this, down and away from the coverage, but unfortunately would have been short of the first down even without the reversal. Ginn needs to make that play. EDIT: Made a correction to the last play. had 23 personnel. Was in fact, 20 personnel.

Sep 24, 2011 at 4:28 PM

Mr.Mcgibblets
Veteran
Posts: 15,079

Really enjoyed reading through. You seem to be pretty fair in your assessments. I'd ask you to go back and watch the interception though. Just watch VD the ENTIRE time... watch him until the camera pans off from him.

Tell me what you see...

Sep 24, 2011 at 4:46 PM

49ersalldaway126
Veteran
Posts: 14,549

great job

btw do you think the cuncussion is teh reason why alex threw the pick if im not mistaken one of the symptoms is slow reflexes and confusion if it was to VD and was behind him it could be due to the concussion

just wondering

[ Edited by 49ersalldaway126 on Sep 24, 2011 at 4:49 PM ]

Sep 24, 2011 at 8:34 PM

g60nx
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Posts: 99

very constructive
props to you sir

Sep 24, 2011 at 8:44 PM

WRATHman44
Staff
Posts: 16,972

Originally posted by 49ersalldaway126:
great job

btw do you think the cuncussion is teh reason why alex threw the pick if im not mistaken one of the symptoms is slow reflexes and confusion if it was to VD and was behind him it could be due to the concussion

just wondering

Looked like Alex thought VD had inside leverage, so he thought VD would break inside. VD broke outside instead, and Alex let it go before VD's break (trying to throw him open, like everyone wants him to). Just need more familiarity with each other's tendencies within the new offense.

Sep 24, 2011 at 8:59 PM

WINiner
Veteran
Posts: 15,914

Originally posted by WRATHman44:

Originally posted by 49ersalldaway126:
great job

btw do you think the cuncussion is teh reason why alex threw the pick if im not mistaken one of the symptoms is slow reflexes and confusion if it was to VD and was behind him it could be due to the concussion

just wondering

Looked like Alex thought VD had inside leverage, so he thought VD would break inside. VD broke outside instead, and Alex let it go before VD's break (trying to throw him open, like everyone wants him to). Just need more familiarity with each other's tendencies within the new offense.

Familiarity my foot. Alex straight blew the play, no ifs ands or buts. Boneheaded and extremely basic. Something he should never ever throw a pick on. Everyone but Alex ran that play correctly.

Sep 24, 2011 at 9:09 PM

WRATHman44
Staff
Posts: 16,972

Originally posted by WINiner:

Originally posted by WRATHman44:

Originally posted by 49ersalldaway126:
great job

btw do you think the cuncussion is teh reason why alex threw the pick if im not mistaken one of the symptoms is slow reflexes and confusion if it was to VD and was behind him it could be due to the concussion

just wondering

Looked like Alex thought VD had inside leverage, so he thought VD would break inside. VD broke outside instead, and Alex let it go before VD's break (trying to throw him open, like everyone wants him to). Just need more familiarity with each other's tendencies within the new offense.
Familiarity my foot. Alex straight blew the play, no ifs ands or buts. Boneheaded and extremely basic. Something he should never ever throw a pick on. Everyone but Alex ran that play correctly.

So you know whether or not that was an option route, and whether it was VD or Alex that read it wrong. Pretty impressive clairvoyance there. All of the Webzone psychics could get together and put together the next Ms. Cleo Empire!

Sep 24, 2011 at 9:50 PM

Famousoverdose
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Posts: 74

Nice read...but any chance you have a video of this part? It made me laugh. Haha.

11-Reg-02 DAL@SF 3 14:12 SF 3 8 SF 22 (14:12) (Shotgun) 11-A.Smith sacked at SF 16 for -6 yards (97-J.Hatcher).

11 Personnel. You might not believe me, but I swear at one point on this play, Mike Iupati is blocking Joe Staley. I'm dead serious. Ok, so Alex spends next to forever making adjustments at the line to account for everyone, and does. Staley passes his man off to Walker, who bumps and releases into the flat... at the same time, Staley's helping Iupati on a double team, which gets split, leaving those two blocking each other for a moment I think without realizing it... THAT guy gets to Alex first, preventing him from letting go of the ball for Walker in the flat. Really ugly sequence in general.

Sep 24, 2011 at 9:58 PM

Whomeam
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Posts: 1,371

Hahaha I actually did go back and watch that play just to see it. And they did for a split second.

Sep 24, 2011 at 10:51 PM

LaMattsBlue
Member
Posts: 27,765

How the f**k do you know so much about football? Did you coach at some point?

Sep 24, 2011 at 11:19 PM

#10

Godsleftsock
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Posts: 3,291

Very nice analysis

[ Edited by Godsleftsock on Sep 24, 2011 at 11:19 PM ]

Sep 24, 2011 at 11:28 PM

#11

Jiks
Member
Posts: 29,220

Your threads are very much appreciated! Very very knowledgeable and honest. The one thing that concerns me reading through this is how you said a couple times that Alex nicely stood in the pocket and took a hit. With his shoulder history, and now a concussion, can he stay healthy taking those hits?

Sep 24, 2011 at 11:32 PM

#12

Overkill
Moderator
Posts: 11,995

Great thread.

Thanks for the read.

Sep 24, 2011 at 11:55 PM

#13

Ninefan56
Member
Posts: 5,106

Adembroski:
What conclusions did you draw from your study? Are the Niners beginning to develop a passing game or are we just seeing smoke and mirrors? Is there hope if the oline pulls together, and as Smith and the receivers develop some chemistry in the new offense?

Sep 25, 2011 at 12:47 AM

#14

Memphis9er
Veteran
Posts: 12,750

Great observations man, thanks for the post.