St. Louis Rams week 6 coaches film analysis

Originally posted by znk916:
Appreciate all the run game breakdown and discussion. We again struggled to run the ball with any consistency on the road (a recurring theme dating back to 2012), this time against a statistically poor run D. Is there something you guys are seeing which explains all the failed run plays? Is it a problem with execution? For example, we can see that Boone is missing a ton of blocks. Is Roman throwing plays away for whatever reason? It sure seemed that way in the 4th quarter when pretty much every run play went for a loss or no gain. Or did the Rams really sell out to stop the run?

No problem about more run game analysis. It's odd that on a night where Kap played so well, I was a little more interested in the run game. It's just that I don't think the 49ers had run the ball so often out of that personnel grouping before in any one game. Couple this with how they seemed to run quite a number of zone blocking plays versus KC and we might be seeing some sort of shift to more zone blocking runs. Not more as in the ratio of zone blocking plays compared to power blocking plays, but as in more zone blocking plays compared to the past.

I believe the Rams did make an emphasis of stopping the run game and forcing Kap to beat them, which many here have mentioned. I think there's execution as well as opponent's possibly being tipped off when the 49ers are about to run the ball. That's why the 11 personnel was so effective because any combination of three WRs that the 49ers can field demand respect as route runners. We don't need all22 view to see the run game so I am really interested in what others have to say as well.

As to Roman throwing away plays, that's a tough way to put it, but I think it's true. A running team has to continue to show it is willing to run in order for the opponent to continue thinking they have to devote attention towards stopping it. We all know the 49ers love using play action and that won't be as effective unless the 49ers show in every game that they are willing to pound the rock.

rams focused on stopping the run. guess they didn't think Kap could beat them through the air.

Originally posted by WRATHman44:
It's actually a pretty standard outside rush. The slight wrinkle is that he engages both hands (opposed to the classic club/rip) before he rips, which gives the LT a bull rush read. Skuta's timing is perfect here, because he begins to rip past Long just as Long starts to lean into the bull rush he thinks he's facing, in an attempt to improve his leverage and give up less ground. Cowboy probably taught him this (he's our best technician, not the caveman national commentators make him out to be). What makes skuta special is his discipline. It is really hard to maintain a purely upfield track on an outside rush with that wide of an alignment. Most defenders will anticipate the contact and veer their course toward the impact. This favors the LT, as he doesn't have to gain as much depth as quickly to engage the edge rusher. Skuta is not athletically special, but his disciplined track really puts stress on Long to kick back swiftly, and he has open his hips to skuta prior to contact. This makes the bull rush fake MUCH more effective, because Long no longer has his kick leg behind him to use as a support post against the bull. He MUST lean into the bull rush to avoid being put on skates, and Skuta's well-timed rip finishes him off.

Great technique, discipline and timing by Skuta. That's how you get a special rush out of an average athlete.
LOVE Skuta.

Good stuff. Like how you mentioned the fake bull rush by Skuta putting two hands up. Instead of putting the two hands on Long's chest like a bullrush, he attacks the outside shoulder. I see that Long kind of crossed his feet over as opposed to shuffling/sliding his feet just as the two are about to engage. Doesn't seem like a good thing to do. Gotta shuffle those feet.

Originally posted by thl408:
No problem about more run game analysis. It's odd that on a night where Kap played so well, I was a little more interested in the run game. It's just that I don't think the 49ers had run the ball so often out of that personnel grouping before in any one game. Couple this with how they seemed to run quite a number of zone blocking plays versus KC and we might be seeing some sort of shift to more zone blocking runs. Not more as in the ratio of zone blocking plays compared to power blocking plays, but as in more zone blocking plays compared to the past.

I believe the Rams did make an emphasis of stopping the run game and forcing Kap to beat them, which many here have mentioned. I think there's execution as well as opponent's possibly being tipped off when the 49ers are about to run the ball. That's why the 11 personnel was so effective because any combination of three WRs that the 49ers can field demand respect as route runners. We don't need all22 view to see the run game so I am really interested in what others have to say as well.

As to Roman throwing away plays, that's a tough way to put it, but I think it's true. A running team has to continue to show it is willing to run in order for the opponent to continue thinking they have to devote attention towards stopping it. We all know the 49ers love using play action and that won't be as effective unless the 49ers show in every game that they are willing to pound the rock.

DO you think the diversity of our run game is occasionally a weakness? I wonder occasionally if the diversity of our ground game limits specific mastery. I don't see many teams run the power runs out of as many sets, AND the zone scheme in as many different ways, AND the Man/Iso scheme from multiple sets. Maybe the diversity results in too much hesitation?

Originally posted by thl408:
Good stuff. Like how you mentioned the fake bull rush by Skuta putting two hands up. Instead of putting the two hands on Long's chest like a bullrush, he attacks the outside shoulder. I see that Long kind of crossed his feet over as opposed to shuffling/sliding his feet just as the two are about to engage. Doesn't seem like a good thing to do. Gotta shuffle those feet.

Yeah, he really sees to panic as he realizes Skuta is going to beat him to his depth. I think this was a function of skuta's upfield track giving him such an advantage.

RE: the hands, it's a tough angle to see, but it looks to me like initial contact was to the center of Long's chest plate, and Skuta's momentum carries him past Long as Long leans forward. The might not be much advantage to attacking the outside shoulder, IMO, as Skuta's finisher requires Long to lean forward, in response to the initial punch. I could definitely be wrong here. I don't see near as much 49er footage as you do.

Originally posted by znk916:
Appreciate all the run game breakdown and discussion. We again struggled to run the ball with any consistency on the road (a recurring theme dating back to 2012), this time against a statistically poor run D. Is there something you guys are seeing which explains all the failed run plays? Is it a problem with execution? For example, we can see that Boone is missing a ton of blocks. Is Roman throwing plays away for whatever reason? It sure seemed that way in the 4th quarter when pretty much every run play went for a loss or no gain. Or did the Rams really sell out to stop the run?

Um, basic math. When you have 8-9 men in the box, you don't have enough blockers on offense. The Rams were selling out to stop the run and making Kap beat them with his arm. Alot of teams, including the Broncos may have to take their chances doing this hoping that Kap is a streaky QB who will have another Chicago-like performance.

Seattle used this approach in the NFCC game because we gashed them with the run earlier in the year at the stick. They actually had a great pass rush to complement this game plan. The Bears game gave a lot of teams hope that this strategy would continue to work. But when Kap starts stringing games like the last one together, the opposition is f**ked. Their only hope is a dominating pass rush. Because with Crabs, Boldin, Stevie, Lloyd and Vernon as options if Kap has time, the defense will get gashed. And I'm not even factoring in Kap just bolting from the pocket for a 20 yd chunk or a home run.

That's why I'm so excited about Kap. He's still rough around the edges, but when this kid puts it all together, we're talking dynasty material. The only game plan teams will have is hoping he has a brain fart. But no Army has a battle plan that revolves around the enemy's guns jamming.

Originally posted by thl408:
No problem about more run game analysis. It's odd that on a night where Kap played so well, I was a little more interested in the run game. It's just that I don't think the 49ers had run the ball so often out of that personnel grouping before in any one game. Couple this with how they seemed to run quite a number of zone blocking plays versus KC and we might be seeing some sort of shift to more zone blocking runs. Not more as in the ratio of zone blocking plays compared to power blocking plays, but as in more zone blocking plays compared to the past.

I believe the Rams did make an emphasis of stopping the run game and forcing Kap to beat them, which many here have mentioned. I think there's execution as well as opponent's possibly being tipped off when the 49ers are about to run the ball. That's why the 11 personnel was so effective because any combination of three WRs that the 49ers can field demand respect as route runners. We don't need all22 view to see the run game so I am really interested in what others have to say as well.

As to Roman throwing away plays, that's a tough way to put it, but I think it's true. A running team has to continue to show it is willing to run in order for the opponent to continue thinking they have to devote attention towards stopping it. We all know the 49ers love using play action and that won't be as effective unless the 49ers show in every game that they are willing to pound the rock.

Out of the 27 carries that Gore/Hyde got, how many were designed to go outside of the tackles? Just offhand I feel like we didn't even bother to threaten the edges, which is mind boggling considering that a huge chunk of our run yards come off tackle, as per PFF or FO, I can't recall which.

Originally posted by BleedsRedNGold:
Seattle used this approach in the NFCC game because we gashed them with the run earlier in the year at the stick. They actually had a great pass rush to complement this game plan. The Bears game gave a lot of teams hope that this strategy would continue to work. But when Kap starts stringing games like the last one together, the opposition is f**ked. Their only hope is a dominating pass rush. Because with Crabs, Boldin, Stevie, Lloyd and Vernon as options if Kap has time, the defense will get gashed. And I'm not even factoring in Kap just bolting from the pocket for a 20 yd chunk or a home run.

That's why I'm so excited about Kap. He's still rough around the edges, but when this kid puts it all together, we're talking dynasty material. The only game plan teams will have is hoping he has a brain fart. But no Army has a battle plan that revolves around the enemy's guns jamming.

I think this is the hope for any team that drafts a very athletic quarterback. It's very rarely happened in this league however that a truly athletically gifted QB has been able to piece together all aspects of the QB position. We can all see glimpses of Kaepernick doing this. The Rams game was a nice example. If he can continue to improve his consistency, take further ownership of the offense and truly become the heart and soul of it, Kap could be one of the most terrifying QBs in the league.

Here is the big Kap scramble on the opening drive of the second half (Boldin TD). Going back to the KC game and what jonnydel mentioned in post#10

jonnydel wrote:
"The safety over Miller see's Miller stay in to block so he comes on a blitz - some teams with play it that way. If you're man stays in to block - you blitz. We tend to drop our guys into zone if their man stays in to block."

There are three things a defender could be asked to do when he sees that his man coverage assignment stays in to give additional pass protection. Usually a LB with a man coverage assignment on a RB/TE. This was also touched on in the KC thread with a play example.
1. Blitz
2. Play Zone coverage in the middle of the field - 49er defenders do this a lot.
3. Crowd the line of scrimmage (fake blitz but stay disciplined with man coverage) - this was seen versus KC as KC crowded the line of scrimmage to discourage Kap from scrambling. I think this is what we see in the play below. Or the defender could be blitzing, not sure.

49ers: Drive concept over the middle + (I think) a high-low read to Kap's right, but SJ (orange) will slip and fall down on his route.
STL: Man coverage. When a defense plays man coverage, they have 2 spare defenders to use (assuming 4 man pass rush). The Rams choose to spy Kap with one of the spare defenders, and double team SJ with the other spare defender.


Kap drops back and looks to his right. The blue line indicates that the LB has man coverage on Hyde. He sees that Hyde does not immediately release into a route, so that defender starts creeping up to the line of scrimmage. I think he is executing option #3 from the list above on what a defender can do if his man assignment stays in to pass block. Orange is the spy.


Kap red lights the routes on the right side and looks to the Drive concept (VD's In route + Crab's shallow crosser). Both are covered. Hyde has released into a route and the LB assigned to Hyde must honor his man coverage assignment. He has turned to run with Hyde.


Kap tucks to scramble just as Crab's crosser coincidentally sets a pick on the orange spy.


Crab's "accidental" pick puts the orange spy a few steps behind Kap. The defender assigned to Hyde has yet to turn around to see that Kap is scrambling.


Even when a spy is assigned to Kap, he rips off a chunk gain with his legs. This is why I think teams will need to play more zone in the middle of the field. The coverage here - man coverage all around, with a spy assigned on Kap - is still a mismatch. Gain of +23

Originally posted by WRATHman44:

Originally posted by thl408:
No problem about more run game analysis. It's odd that on a night where Kap played so well, I was a little more interested in the run game. It's just that I don't think the 49ers had run the ball so often out of that personnel grouping before in any one game. Couple this with how they seemed to run quite a number of zone blocking plays versus KC and we might be seeing some sort of shift to more zone blocking runs. Not more as in the ratio of zone blocking plays compared to power blocking plays, but as in more zone blocking plays compared to the past.

I believe the Rams did make an emphasis of stopping the run game and forcing Kap to beat them, which many here have mentioned. I think there's execution as well as opponent's possibly being tipped off when the 49ers are about to run the ball. That's why the 11 personnel was so effective because any combination of three WRs that the 49ers can field demand respect as route runners. We don't need all22 view to see the run game so I am really interested in what others have to say as well.

As to Roman throwing away plays, that's a tough way to put it, but I think it's true. A running team has to continue to show it is willing to run in order for the opponent to continue thinking they have to devote attention towards stopping it. We all know the 49ers love using play action and that won't be as effective unless the 49ers show in every game that they are willing to pound the rock.

DO you think the diversity of our run game is occasionally a weakness? I wonder occasionally if the diversity of our ground game limits specific mastery. I don't see many teams run the power runs out of as many sets, AND the zone scheme in as many different ways, AND the Man/Iso scheme from multiple sets. Maybe the diversity results in too much hesitation?

WRATH, the point you bring up is a great one. The whole 'jack of all trades, master of none' idea applies not only in the run game, but in the entire offense imo. There is only a finite amount of practice time a team gets. So to your point, does it hinder them in being effective at any one thing? I would say yes. I think the diversity of the entire offense can be a weakness. The upside is if the 49ers can be good at multiple things (diversity in run game, diversity in passing game), defensive coordinators will need 36 hours in a day to prepare their defense.

Focusing on just the run game, I think asking the Olineman to change gears like this can definitely play a role in their effectiveness. They could be asked to fire upfield on one play (power block), take a zone step on the next (lateral step), then step back on the next (pass block). It's nothing an NFLer can't be asked to handle, but if repetition makes perfection, there simply isn't enough repetition to master all these different blocking schemes. So I do think there is validity to your point.

Why is it so hard for some people to understand that when a team sells out on the run by stacking the box with 8 players, it's hard to run? It's a tactic that used to be a lot more effective against the Niners. As Kaepernick has been getting a lot better at playing the position and as they've gotten a lot more targets for him the tactic simply doesn't work as well as it did in the past.

I hope Fox tries it again this Sunday night.

Originally posted by znk916:

Originally posted by thl408:
No problem about more run game analysis. It's odd that on a night where Kap played so well, I was a little more interested in the run game. It's just that I don't think the 49ers had run the ball so often out of that personnel grouping before in any one game. Couple this with how they seemed to run quite a number of zone blocking plays versus KC and we might be seeing some sort of shift to more zone blocking runs. Not more as in the ratio of zone blocking plays compared to power blocking plays, but as in more zone blocking plays compared to the past.

I believe the Rams did make an emphasis of stopping the run game and forcing Kap to beat them, which many here have mentioned. I think there's execution as well as opponent's possibly being tipped off when the 49ers are about to run the ball. That's why the 11 personnel was so effective because any combination of three WRs that the 49ers can field demand respect as route runners. We don't need all22 view to see the run game so I am really interested in what others have to say as well.

As to Roman throwing away plays, that's a tough way to put it, but I think it's true. A running team has to continue to show it is willing to run in order for the opponent to continue thinking they have to devote attention towards stopping it. We all know the 49ers love using play action and that won't be as effective unless the 49ers show in every game that they are willing to pound the rock.

Out of the 27 carries that Gore/Hyde got, how many were designed to go outside of the tackles? Just offhand I feel like we didn't even bother to threaten the edges, which is mind boggling considering that a huge chunk of our run yards come off tackle, as per PFF or FO, I can't recall which.

Directly off tackle, for this game, I would give a ballpark estimate of 10 or more. Wide outside of the tackles were very few - I can remember 1 off the top of my head as I type this. There were two times that the 49ers faked the stretch run and it resulted in having Vance/VD being wide open (one was Vance fumble). So teams are respecting the outside run even if it's not warranted.

About runs wide outside the tackles, I think the days of offensive guards leading the sweep are over. DLs and LBs are too fast for that now. Most runs wide to the outside are going to be zone blocking runs. So unless the 49ers call more of these outside zone plays and the edge is available to be taken, we may not see it much with this 49er team. Their OL is more lumbering and powerful than they are agile. The PFF/OF stat that says the 49ers had chunk plays on outside runs, was that just for RBs or did it include QB runs? Also, it needs to make the distinction of directly off tackle, or wide outside the tackle box. Directly off tackle, the 49ers run that quite often. Wide outside the tackle box, not so much.

Originally posted by thl408:
Here is the big Kap scramble on the opening drive of the second half (Boldin TD). Going back to the KC game and what jonnydel mentioned in post#10

jonnydel wrote:
"The safety over Miller see's Miller stay in to block so he comes on a blitz - some teams with play it that way. If you're man stays in to block - you blitz. We tend to drop our guys into zone if their man stays in to block."

There are three things a defender could be asked to do when he sees that his man coverage assignment stays in to give additional pass protection. Usually a LB with a man coverage assignment on a RB/TE. This was also touched on in the KC thread with a play example.
1. Blitz
2. Play Zone coverage in the middle of the field - 49er defenders do this a lot.
3. Crowd the line of scrimmage (fake blitz but stay disciplined with man coverage) - this was seen versus KC as KC crowded the line of scrimmage to discourage Kap from scrambling. I think this is what we see in the play below. Or the defender could be blitzing, not sure.

49ers: Drive concept over the middle + (I think) a high-low read to Kap's right, but SJ (orange) will slip and fall down on his route.
STL: Man coverage. When a defense plays man coverage, they have 2 spare defenders to use (assuming 4 man pass rush). The Rams choose to spy Kap with one of the spare defenders, and double team SJ with the other spare defender.


Kap drops back and looks to his right. The blue line indicates that the LB has man coverage on Hyde. He sees that Hyde does not immediately release into a route, so that defender starts creeping up to the line of scrimmage. I think he is executing option #3 from the list above on what a defender can do if his man assignment stays in to pass block. Orange is the spy.


Kap red lights the routes on the right side and looks to the Drive concept (VD's In route + Crab's shallow crosser). Both are covered. Hyde has released into a route and the LB assigned to Hyde must honor his man coverage assignment. He has turned to run with Hyde.


Kap tucks to scramble just as Crab's crosser coincidentally sets a pick on the orange spy.


Crab's "accidental" pick puts the orange spy a few steps behind Kap. The defender assigned to Hyde has yet to turn around to see that Kap is scrambling.


Even when a spy is assigned to Kap, he rips off a chunk gain with his legs. This is why I think teams will need to play more zone in the middle of the field. The coverage here - man coverage all around, with a spy assigned on Kap - is still a mismatch. Gain of +23

Kap could have taken this to the house had Hyde continued to block Laurinitas and not switched up and try to block the pursuer.

Originally posted by jvangeystel:

Originally posted by Giedi:

Really nice pass protection here across the board. Gore again did a fine job in helping the O Line out. Kilgore did a great job in just kpeeping on his guy and slowing him down. Kilgore shows his athleticism and quickness here and that's why I think in a pass first offense, he'd be outstanding. Gave time for Colin to lob that pass to Anquan. It's funny how Staley got twirled around because the DE hooks and holds him to prevent him from going out on the pass pattern. Great job by Colin to look to his probably 3rd read and fire a pass to him.

The throw to Boldin was adlibbed. Boldin seen him scrambling and worked towards the action. Kaep made one hell of a play.

Add lib in the sense that it wasn't planned - but not add libbed in the sense that it's a scramble drill and we all know Colin scrambles a couple of times per drive series.

I do have one knock on Kap in this play. As much as I love that he did climb the pocket, he made the play more difficult than it should have been. Look at the 3rd and 4th images. Kap should have read blitz with Boldin and Vernon being wide open. He also had a nice pocket to step into instead of declaring to run as the RB came over to help perfectly against the blitz. Take a look at the 5th image. It clearly shows Kap left too early and had plenty of room to make a throw to a wide open receiver.

This will be Kap's next step to evolve as a QB which is make quicker throws in a tight pocket rather than quickly fleeing.

Another example is the last image from the play with the Vernon Curl. If Kap releases that quickly instead of waiting for Vernon to Curl, I think Vernon gets a first down.

I am not complaining here, just noticing the next step Kap needs to take in order to get to the level of guys like Manning and Brady.

originally posted by jonnydel:

Here's a great play made by CK - he climbs the pocket and finds the receiver.


Here, it's early in the game and St. Louis is showing their "blob" like defense. Because the safety is down over Miller - it reveals a blitz in man-coverage. They also use the MLB, #55, as a "spy".

as best as I can figure, the alignment of Miller as a TE confused the LB over VD and he's not sure which side is the "strong" side. So, they're blitz call gets mixed up and he blitzes. He should be in coverage on VD. This puts the corner in a tough spot. He's now stuck between choosing to cover VD or Boldin on the backend. He tries to pick a middle ground and so it looks like he's in zone coverage - but, based off everything else, I think he's just reacting to the blown assignment in front of him.


The safety over Miller see's Miller stay in to block so he comes on a blitz - some teams with play it that way. If you're man stays in to block - you blitz. We tend to drop our guys into zone if their man stays in to block. Because the MLB is "spying" on CK he isn't aware of the two receivers behind him. The corner is stuck between a rock and a hard place.


Miller then releases out of his block so the MLB has to now bail on his "spy" and cover Miller. This opens up the middle for Boldin.



The line does a great job with their 1-1 blocks and Gore saves the day with his blitz pickup. He comes across the formation to pickup the safety.


Here CK had the choice to bail out of the pocket or climb the pocket. He does a good job of climbing the pocket to extend the play.


He climbs the pocket and makes a solid throw to Boldin who picks up 28 on the play. Too bad McDonald fumbled another big pass play on the next play after this.