Play-by-play Passing game review | Page 6

dj43 · 2016-09-26T12:41:41-07:00

Here are the passing plays from yesterday. I've added a couple of related plays as well that demonstrate some issues. I will leave my commentary until the end. Yard marker - down/distance - result Own 25 - 1/10 - Gabbert scrambles right for 1 yard following obvious mix up in the backfield where Hyde split out left and Gabbert faked RO to no one. Someone was on the wrong play. Gabbert should have realized Hyde was not there and made a correction. ??? O 26 - 2/9 - 2 yard completion to McDonald in right flat. Good throw. Patton came open for about 7 yard gain just as Gabbert released the ball to McDonald. All receivers ran routes short of the Line to Gain. O 28 - 2/7 - 5 yard completion to Kerley who flattened his route short of the LTG though he had room to continue angle. Bad route. No one else open. ___ O34 - 1/10 - 12 yard completion to Smith on slant route. Ball was low causing Smith to drop to his knees to make the catch. Higher ball might have allowed 3-5 YAC. Thomas was closing quickly. O45 - 1/10 - 2 yd completion to McDonald on right. Streater runs an up to create space and is covered. All other routes are short of LTG. O49 - 3/4 - incomplete to Kerley short of LTG. Smith flashed open for sufficient yardage for 1st just as Gabbert released to Kerley. Would have been a tight window but not difficult pass to throw. ____ following Graham fumble S29 - 1/10 - 18 yard completion to Celek over the middle. Good route. Good throw. More aggressive route patterns by all. ?? - 3/4 - Complete to Draughn in flat who ran his route short of the LTG. No one else open on TV screen. ___ O25 - 2/4 - 6 yard completion to Celek. All others covered well. O39 - 2/8 - 17 yard completion to Kerley on left sideline. Good route. Good throw. SS47 - 3/17 - 12 yard completion to Smith. Seattle covered all the deep routes. Seattle "gave" SF the shorter completion and made the tackle short of LTG. ___ O25 - 2/4 - Incomplete swing pass to Draughn in right flat. Ball hit him in helmet as he looked back too late to make catch. Perfect pass would have been catchable but Seattle had it well defended. Would not have gained positive yardage. ___ O35 - 1/10 - Incomplete to Patton on left sideline as Shead forced Patton to sideline on ball thrown 2 yards inside. 50/50 ball that Patton was not strong enough to get to. Patton really wasn't open but at least is was something deeper down the field than most of previous attempts. O39 - 3/5 - Completion to Celek for 3 yards. Looked like a "give up" pattern. None of receivers ran routes beyond the LTG and Seattle had them all covered. ___ O47 - 3/4 - Incomplete intended for Patton. Gabbert under immediate pressure from Wright who hits him just as he releases. All 4 receivers were gathered along the LTG made it easy for Seattle to defend. Head scratcher play design. ___ O27 - 2/8 - Incomplete intended for Celek 15 yards up the field. Chancellor ran the route better than Celek and easily knocked it down. Patton and Kerley almost collided just off the LOS on what appeared to be a rub route. Kerley almost fell down trying to avoid contact with Patton. Very poor execution. O27 - 3/8 - Patton fails to hold very catchable ball that winds up in Wagner's hands for pick. Another pattern with most running short patterns. Streater and Smith are stacked on right and both covered easily by Seattle. ___ O25 - 1/10 - Gabbert leaves pocket early and rolls right, then has to throw it away. No one was open that was visible on screen. O25 - 2/10 - No one open. Gabbert scrambles for 4 yds. O29 - 3/6 - Immediate A gap pressure forces Gabbert to throw away. Streater was knocked off slant route at LOS destroying any hope for what appeared to be the primary read. ___ O46 - 3/3 - Complete to Smith for 17. Good route. Good throw. S17 - 3/4 - Incomplete as Gabbert throws to corner but Kerley runs up. Patton almost knocked down at LOS by Seattle DB. ___ S47 - 1/10 - Incomplete intended for Patton on left sideline. It appeared Gabbert was attempting back shoulder throw while Patton continued deeper. Ugly! S47 - 2/10 - complete to Patton on curl route where he comes back for 9 yard gain. S33 - 1/10 - 17 yard catch and run to Streater. S9 - 2/9 - complete to Hyde for 2 yards in left flat. COMMENTS: Seattle's secondary has made a lot of teams look bad for years, still the lack of aggressiveness of pass play calls is puzzling. Numerous times there did not appear to be any attempt to get receivers open beyond the LTG. I don't know if that is Kelly not trusting the players or attempting to set up other plays or something else. It just never looked like there was any commitment to attacking football. For the most part, the OL continues to provide good pass protection, hence, the lack of any significant attempts to send receivers down the field is frustrating. Can't blame it on the OL (Isn't that a pleasant change from last year?) Finally, we all knew before the season started that WR and QB were the weakest areas of the team, and this game did nothing to dispel that reality. Each side took turns in making the other side look bad. Baalke appeared to recognize the WR issue in the off-season with the signing of Eric Rogers to provide size and quality, but he went down with an ACL. Simpson had the size but not the hands. Ellington was considered an important cog but he is hurt. (In hindsight I fault Baalke for not re-signing Anquan Boldin as he would have been just the guy to do battle with Chancellor but we didn't know Rogers, Simpson AND Ellington would go down.) We now are left with Patton, who was likely the #3/4 guy had everyone else stayed healthy, along with Smith, something of a one trick pony, and two cast off guys (Kerley & Streater) who are now seeing significant reps. That reality does not leave Kelly and the QB much to work with. Baalke may be working the waiver wires but bringing in another new WR or two is not the answer. If there were any quality players out there other teams would not be letting them go. The best we can hope for is better chemistry and understanding between WRs and QB as the weeks go by. It is what it is. As to Gabbert, as I said above, each side of the WR/QB tandem is taking turns making the other seem worse. That was the case again yesterday. Yes, a pin point passer like Brady might have completed another 4 or 5 passes yesterday but we don't have Brady and that is who it would have taken on some throws yesterday. Gabbert didn't have any really horrible passes yesterday nor did he have anything that really made you stand up and cheer. He was just a little off target on some throws that should have been completions or been more productive as to YAC on others. Once again he looked timid at times when I wanted to see him just throw it down the field, however, as I looked closer, Seattle wasn't giving any easy targets. A long throw down the field did not appear to accomplish anything more than just a desperate effort to show Gabbert had enough arm to do so. The lack of quality receivers may be forcing him to play more timid than we would like. Whatever the case, it sucks. The QB always gets more blame and more credit and that is the case here. Sometimes it was the QB, others the WR and all the while Seattle was making it difficult for both. I also have to question the coaching and play calls. When I see receivers bumping into each other or having to swerve to avoid contacting one another on basic routes, I have to scratch my head. It it hard to accept that guys that have played 3-4 years are still not executing routes any better. Are these guys just that dense or are they not being coached up well? I don't know the answer but the results show up on the field. Also, the number of plays in which there were no receivers running any routes deeper than 10 yards is crazy. Seattle's LBs have great speed and cover ability and their DBs are also good, hence, when you back all those guys into such a small area, there is no chance of any YAC. Just too much vanilla yesterday. If the WR and QB play is contributing to each other's lack of effectiveness, many of the route calls yesterday were also contributory. This was a pretty pathetic example of NFL offense. When the all22 film comes out we may see there were more opportunities than what I have listed above, however, too much of the time all the receivers were still on the screen. It was like playing football in a phone booth. No chance.

Sep 26, 2016 at 4:41 PM

#76

footballxpaul
Veteran
Posts: 6,602

Originally posted by Hysterikal:
Originally posted by NCommand:
Just listen to John Clayton and he said Baalke still needs two more years and that rebuilding takes time. I'm sure that's just what fans want to here. Lol

No. I'm okay giving him one more year. But if we don't see major improvement next year then he should be gone.

Well it's a good thing you have zero say

Sep 26, 2016 at 4:43 PM

#77

ital
Veteran
Posts: 13

Originally posted by Kense:
I've never seen so many people make excuses for a 3rd string caliber QB in my life. The entire NFL fanbase knows what we have at QB but you have delusional fans here making excuses for Gabbert. SMH

I was tailgating yesterday and really felt like we had a decent chance to win. All the chickenhawk fans said, "with Blaine Gabbert?" I guess they were right, looking back.

I sat in my seat and it seemed like the game was over less than a minute into the game. We had NO answers offensively or defensively.

Frustrated over here!!!

Sep 26, 2016 at 4:59 PM

#78

solidg2000
Veteran
Posts: 17,320

Originally posted by TheWooLick:
Originally posted by dj43:
Originally posted by TheWooLick:
Originally posted by dj43:
Originally posted by TheWooLick:
I rarely saw a ball that I thought was put int he right spot. Just because a pass is caught it doesn't mean it was a good pass. He needs to put the ball in a place that gives the receivers a better shot at YAC. He put his receivers in poor position on catches a lot yesterday.

What did you think of the WR play?

It is also the case that if the WR is not running the route the QB anticipates, the ball will not appear to be in the best spot.

I don't think the WRs are great but they are not the problem with Gabbert's accuracy. Take that second pass of the day, was that one that was thrown short of Vance that he had to turn back for? He had no chance of making anything of that throw.
Gabbert is not delivering the ball accurately, that is almost all on him.
Are we talking about the same play?

I listened to the first half on the radio with Tim Ryan commenting. He is always on the critical side and he called it a good throw. When I got home I watched the entire game, then watched it again for the summary above, and then just looked at that specific play again after reading your comment. Yes, McD twisted his body back a bit but the ball was there on time, and, Chancellor knocked him out of bounds as soon as he turned back. There was NO CHANCE, NONE whatsoever to make any YAC on that play. It appeared to be a design play to spread the Seahawk defense for upcoming plays.

He turned himself around to get the pass, that ball should lead him and he should be in a position to see the field and keep running as he catches it.
There was no chance of YAC because it was a poorly executed pass that should have been easy.

I do not think you know how to run a route and where to expect the ball...

Sep 26, 2016 at 5:14 PM

#79

Born49R
Veteran
Posts: 528

Originally posted by Kense:

Originally posted by dj43:
I think you are doing selective reading. On the very first play I criticized Gabbert for not realizing he was not on the same page as Hyde. That is the QB's sole responsibility and it became glaringly obvious as he turned to hand the ball to thin air in front of 70,000 people. By the same token, when Kerley flattens out his route 2 yards short of the LTG despite having room to finish it and Gabbert throws him the ball with no other options, that is on Kerley.

The 49ers have no Offense, I don't need to read anything.

Ah, the "ignorance is bliss" school of thought. Ya, I get that, it does help some times.

Sep 26, 2016 at 6:35 PM

#80

TheWooLick
Veteran
Posts: 44,746

Originally posted by dj43:
Originally posted by TheWooLick:
I added that I felt like Gabbert was inaccurate on many of his throws including the completions.

A week or two ago dj43 said that his favorite GIF was the one of Kaepernick from last year when he didn't see Smith waving his arms. He also crapped on Kaepernick after yesterday's game int his very thread. Some sort of FTFY dig on Kaepernick's game last year against the Cardinals. I like dj43's posts but he is definitely biased against Kap.

You have mistaken me for someone else. I did not say ANY of the things you accused me of above. NONE of them.

You didn't reply to the GIF of Kap with "that's my favorite" and you didn't post a "Fixed That For You" reply today or yesterday in which you ripped Kaepernick?
If I am mistaken I apologize. I must have seen some posts by someone with a similar name.

DIT: I think I found my error and I apologize sincerely. I get your name confused with another one here.

[ Edited by TheWooLick on Sep 26, 2016 at 7:22 PM ]

Sep 26, 2016 at 9:01 PM

#81

Luckycharms
Veteran
Posts: 950

Originally posted by thl408:
Originally posted by TheWooLick:
He turned himself around to get the pass, that ball should lead him and he should be in a position to see the field and keep running as he catches it.
There was no chance of YAC because it was a poorly executed pass that should have been easy.

Thanks for this thread. I agree on that play there was nothing Gabbert or Vance could do for RAC. Chancellor was playing off coverage which is the best way to attack a flat route. Watch the throw, take the proper angle, smash the WR. On a route like that, the defender needs to be in a trail position for RAC to take place.

Question for you THL, where has the screen game been? I know you've watched a lot of film on chips offense. For some reason I remember him running a decent amount of RB and WR screens. Am I just misremembering or what? I understand screens might not be the best against SEA cus of the defense they run but I don't recall seeing one all year.

Sep 26, 2016 at 9:30 PM

#82

dj43
Moderator
Posts: 38,516

Originally posted by TheWooLick:

Originally posted by dj43:

Originally posted by TheWooLick:
I added that I felt like Gabbert was inaccurate on many of his throws including the completions.

A week or two ago dj43 said that his favorite GIF was the one of Kaepernick from last year when he didn't see Smith waving his arms. He also crapped on Kaepernick after yesterday's game int his very thread. Some sort of FTFY dig on Kaepernick's game last year against the Cardinals. I like dj43's posts but he is definitely biased against Kap.

You have mistaken me for someone else. I did not say ANY of the things you accused me of above. NONE of them.

You didn't reply to the GIF of Kap with "that's my favorite" and you didn't post a "Fixed That For You" reply today or yesterday in which you ripped Kaepernick?
If I am mistaken I apologize. I must have seen some posts by someone with a similar name.

DIT: I think I found my error and I apologize sincerely. I get your name confused with another one here.

Sep 26, 2016 at 9:52 PM

#83

pasodoc9er
Veteran
Posts: 21,040

Really nice job, DJ. I may have put it in the wrong thread (offensive line thread), but my feelings were it didn't matter who we had at QB Sunday, the fault for this game laid squarely on Chip's shoulders. Run run pass....punt....with 2 mins to go in the first half we were 1 conversion on 3rd down out of 9 tries. And virtually every one of those was run run pass. ..no, this was chip's loss and he deserves it. SEA was loading up the box, chip was right there, he saw it and yet run run pass. He comes off as just a hard head, Had his mind made up we would run it down their throats. Didn't care if on 1st and 2nd down they had a passel of guys on the LOS. Chip saw it and ran anyway. Put the blame where it deserves to be...our OC/HC. He was as guilty as they come. Not going to say gab played lites out. Nor would I ever say that about our erstwhile receiving corps. But before blaming WRs or QBs put the blame where it belongs. The squat guy with the card in front of his face with the 8 on top and S on the bottom. That guy.

Sep 26, 2016 at 10:06 PM

#84

TheWooLick
Veteran
Posts: 44,746

Originally posted by dj43:
Originally posted by TheWooLick:
Originally posted by dj43:
Originally posted by TheWooLick:
I added that I felt like Gabbert was inaccurate on many of his throws including the completions.

A week or two ago dj43 said that his favorite GIF was the one of Kaepernick from last year when he didn't see Smith waving his arms. He also crapped on Kaepernick after yesterday's game int his very thread. Some sort of FTFY dig on Kaepernick's game last year against the Cardinals. I like dj43's posts but he is definitely biased against Kap.

You have mistaken me for someone else. I did not say ANY of the things you accused me of above. NONE of them.

You didn't reply to the GIF of Kap with "that's my favorite" and you didn't post a "Fixed That For You" reply today or yesterday in which you ripped Kaepernick?
If I am mistaken I apologize. I must have seen some posts by someone with a similar name.

DIT: I think I found my error and I apologize sincerely. I get your name confused with another one here.

Thanks man, I feel like a dumb*** .

Sep 26, 2016 at 10:07 PM

#85

exile
Veteran
Posts: 141

I always appreciate folks who take the time to post analysis. Thanks.

I call this style of offense the "York Dink." The ownership is the only possible explanation for how consistent our offense has been since the end of the Garcia/Owens era.

Sep 26, 2016 at 11:09 PM

#86

dj43
Moderator
Posts: 38,516

Originally posted by TheWooLick:

Originally posted by dj43:

Originally posted by TheWooLick:

Originally posted by dj43:

Originally posted by TheWooLick:
I added that I felt like Gabbert was inaccurate on many of his throws including the completions.

A week or two ago dj43 said that his favorite GIF was the one of Kaepernick from last year when he didn't see Smith waving his arms. He also crapped on Kaepernick after yesterday's game int his very thread. Some sort of FTFY dig on Kaepernick's game last year against the Cardinals. I like dj43's posts but he is definitely biased against Kap.

You have mistaken me for someone else. I did not say ANY of the things you accused me of above. NONE of them.

You didn't reply to the GIF of Kap with "that's my favorite" and you didn't post a "Fixed That For You" reply today or yesterday in which you ripped Kaepernick?
If I am mistaken I apologize. I must have seen some posts by someone with a similar name.

DIT: I think I found my error and I apologize sincerely. I get your name confused with another one here.

Thanks man, I feel like a dumb*** .

We're good.

Sep 27, 2016 at 9:48 AM

#87

NCommand
Hall of Fame
Posts: 123,365

Originally posted by dj43:

Originally posted by TheWooLick:

Originally posted by dj43:

Originally posted by TheWooLick:

Originally posted by dj43:

Originally posted by TheWooLick:
I added that I felt like Gabbert was inaccurate on many of his throws including the completions.

A week or two ago dj43 said that his favorite GIF was the one of Kaepernick from last year when he didn't see Smith waving his arms. He also crapped on Kaepernick after yesterday's game int his very thread. Some sort of FTFY dig on Kaepernick's game last year against the Cardinals. I like dj43's posts but he is definitely biased against Kap.

You have mistaken me for someone else. I did not say ANY of the things you accused me of above. NONE of them.

You didn't reply to the GIF of Kap with "that's my favorite" and you didn't post a "Fixed That For You" reply today or yesterday in which you ripped Kaepernick?
If I am mistaken I apologize. I must have seen some posts by someone with a similar name.

DIT: I think I found my error and I apologize sincerely. I get your name confused with another one here.

Thanks man, I feel like a dumb*** .

We're good.

Love...is back in the zone.

Sep 27, 2016 at 9:52 AM

#88

Phoenix49ers
Veteran
Posts: 132,647

Originally posted by Afrikan:
"Gabbert didn't have any really horrible passes yesterday"

"The lack of quality receivers may be forcing him to play more timid than we would like."

Gabbert has been consistent for most of his career. He plays timid most of the time when the scores are close.

being down by 20 pts though... shiiiiit there might not be anyone better.

The simplest answer is that Gabbert isn't even an average quarterback. Just more terrible accuracy from him, more excuses being made for him consistently struggling to make plays.

[ Edited by Phoenix49ers on Sep 27, 2016 at 9:55 AM ]

Sep 27, 2016 at 9:55 AM

#89

Phoenix49ers
Veteran
Posts: 132,647

Originally posted by pasodoc9er:
Really nice job, DJ. I may have put it in the wrong thread (offensive line thread), but my feelings were it didn't matter who we had at QB Sunday, the fault for this game laid squarely on Chip's shoulders. Run run pass....punt....with 2 mins to go in the first half we were 1 conversion on 3rd down out of 9 tries. And virtually every one of those was run run pass. ..no, this was chip's loss and he deserves it. SEA was loading up the box, chip was right there, he saw it and yet run run pass. He comes off as just a hard head, Had his mind made up we would run it down their throats. Didn't care if on 1st and 2nd down they had a passel of guys on the LOS. Chip saw it and ran anyway. Put the blame where it deserves to be...our OC/HC. He was as guilty as they come. Not going to say gab played lites out. Nor would I ever say that about our erstwhile receiving corps. But before blaming WRs or QBs put the blame where it belongs. The squat guy with the card in front of his face with the 8 on top and S on the bottom. That guy.

You ever think Kelly is calling the offense that way because the guy playing quarterback struggles to throw past 5 yards? Go back and watch Kelly when he was with the Eagles and some of the plays he called and how often he liked to attack downfield, especially in 2013.

I think a big part of it is that he simply does not trust Gabbert but does not have any better options at this point. So yes, it absolutely does matter who played at QB. Gabbert isn't a good QB, Gabbert isn't an average QB, Gabbert is a bust that has been teasing people since back in his days in college but when it comes down to it, Gabbert is a QB that flat out can't get it done, doesn't have the guts or the decisiveness to get it done, he's backup material on any other NFL team.

Gabbert is so terrified of making a mistake that he simply refuses to let it rip and make those big throws downfield that you expect of an NFL QB. Its like he goes full deer in the headlights and he can't check down nearly fast enough. So I'm not at all shocked that Kelly doesn't trust him enough to open things up and let him attack, especially with his piss poor accuracy to open receivers throughout the preseason and into this season.

[ Edited by Phoenix49ers on Sep 27, 2016 at 10:03 AM ]

Sep 27, 2016 at 10:09 AM

#90

thl408
Moderator
Posts: 33,393

Originally posted by Luckycharms:
Question for you THL, where has the screen game been? I know you've watched a lot of film on chips offense. For some reason I remember him running a decent amount of RB and WR screens. Am I just misremembering or what? I understand screens might not be the best against SEA cus of the defense they run but I don't recall seeing one all year.

There was a middle jailbreak screen to Kurley in the Rams game, a few (2-3) of skipped passes to Torrey for WR bubble screens. I don't think I've noticed a screen pass to the RB. Versus CAR there were no screen pass attempts that I remember since they are a predominantly zone coverage team. Hard to have screen success versus zone because every defender is looking at the QB action. I've already blocked out a lot of the SEA game.