Originally posted by cciowa:
Originally posted by kem99:his dumb play calling vs the colts when he ran away from the run was the reason we lost. his dumb play calling and refusal to let the team try to get a yard on fourth and one from the one is the reason we lost that game which then put us in a hole which the team had to get out of. to their credit, despite roman, they did. one reason is due to the fact gore and ck changed play calls which resulted in touchdowns. in my opinion
Roman is not the reason the 49ers had to "scramble just to make the playoffs"...
First, the bar was set pretty high to make the playoffs in the NFC this year. The 49ers won 11 games (and tied on) last year and were the # 2 seed. They won 12 games this year in the best division in the NFL and were the # 5 seed. The Cardinals won 10 games and didn't get in.
Second, the Seahawks went through that stretch where they very easily could have lost to the Texans, Rams and/or Bucs but managed to escape without a loss. If they lose just one of those, the entire playoff scenario is different.
Third, the 49ers 4 losses were all to play off teams in the final 8 (Colts, Seahawks, Saints and Panthers). Of those 8, the Seahawks, Panthers and Saints were all in the top 5 defensively in terms whether you measure it by yards and points. In other words, almost everyone struggled against those teams offensively.
Fourth, despite not having Crabtree for 2/3 of the season and going through the first significant injuries on the OL in 2 years, the 49ers scored over 400 points, which was more than they scored last year. Granted, overall the defense and special teams have been better this year and that certainly helps, but they also had Crabtree fully healthy all of last year. And, it is not like the 49ers are scored 15 points per game last year.
Fifth, Kap's struggles earlier this year are well documented but, guess who went through a similar stretch last year in his second year starting...Cam Newton after his record setting rookie year. Newton ended up turning it around in the 2nd half of last year and rode that into this year. Guess who else has struggled at times in his second year? Yep, Russell Wilson. Hasn't he had a number of low completion percentage, under 200 yards passing games, including Saturday's game against the Saints? And, who else in his second year struggled at times after losing his #1 receiver? Andrew Luck, who is considered the most advanced young QB ever. Given all of that evidence, is it really all that surprising that Kap went through a slump, especially with Crabtree being out.
Here's the other thing...Roman's the OC so if the offense struggles, he gets the heat, I get it. But, I've seen a number of calls for Chryst to be the OC if/when Roman leaves. That view begs a couple of questions though...(1) If you believe Kap's early season struggles were a coaching issue, shouldn't a significant amount of the angst be directed toward Chryst as the QB coach? Should you promote the QB coach to OC where the main gripe against the OC is that the QB underperformed? Moreover, do you want to turn the offense over to Chryst when in his 2 years as an OC, the Chargers scored 276 points both years. Admittedly, the talent level was different and it was over a decade ago, but that's his record.
(2) We know Harbaugh's "QB whisperer" reputation both in terms of spotting QB talent and coaching it. Given that, again, if you believe Kap's struggles were coaching related and you know Harbaugh works closely with the QBs, shouldn't Harbaugh be catching some the the criticism that has been focused on Roman?
Roman is not perfect and if he leaves, I trust Harbaugh to put the right person in place as OC, but he is far from the sole reason the 49ers had to "scramble" to make the playoffs.
So, basically, what you're saying is that...if the offense struggles and the 49ers lose, it's Roman's fault. If the 49ers win, it is the players.
And, you don't care what the numbers actually show or who the 49ers lost to. All you care about is Roman's "dumb play calling," which is what every fan base complains about...never mind that the same play calling has led to or contributed to seasons of 13, 11 and 12 wins or 3 straight years in the NFC Championship Game or overcoming the Crabtree injury this year...Nope, none of that matters, it was all in spite of Roman....Really?
The Colts beat the 49ers 27-7 so there was a lot more going on than the offensive play calling, but even if I give you that the entire game would have been different if the 49ers had stuck with the run more, which is a big assumption, isn't Harbaugh responsible for making 4th and 1 decisions? When did that become Roman's call?
And, your other best piece of evidence is that Kap and Gore changed 1 play, one, on their own that we know of the entire season. That's your best evidence for the players overcoming Roman's faults? A single play? Really? Never mind that it was Roman's play calls that got the offense down to the 1 yard line and you're also assuming the play called would not have worked, but, then again, I'm guessing that even if it had worked, it would have been a "dumb" play call that the players made work somehow.