DVR study: 1st quarter

[kearly]

I haven't seen you comment on this yet Kearly (and maybe you're going to coming up) but one thing that was particularly concerning for me was seeing Russell Wilson early on in that game seemingly be totally unaware that the rush was coming. After blowing up McQuistan, Aldon Smith came trucking around the corner right at Wilson -- and he seemed to be totally unaware that he was about to be leveled. That scenario played itself out a few times IIRC. Now, as the game wore on, that appeared to change, as I'm remembering a play in the 2nd Half where Wilson rolls out to the right and runs away from Smith for a sizeable gain. BUT, that's something that the good ones all have -- a clock in their heads. They know (in general) One Thousand One ... One Thousand Two ... And get Rid of the the Ball on One Thousand Three because that's all I've got. I don't know if that kind of awareness is something that Wilson can truly develop or not but I DO know this -- he's going to get himself killed if he doesn't have his head on more of a swivel.

Good observations. Last season Russell Wilson showed poor pocket presence early in the year- he didn't trust his protection enough and bailed out of the pocket too early or hurried throws he didn't need to. This year is the opposite, where he seems to trust his protection too much and holds the ball in the pocket too long a few times a game. I have commented on this a few times, saying that Bevell/Wilson need to get together and figure out how to either hold the ball a little less or stay in the pocket a little less. Despite Wilson's issues, he has almost a 98 passer rating on the season against two outstanding defenses, so I'm not concerned so much as I see room for improvement.

 

[kearly]

Why is no one talking about the pass to Miller in the 1st Quarter?

I thought it was a good non-call, personally. The DB was going for the football and the contact was bang-bang. The ball was outside Miller's body, had Wilson put the ball right on Miller and the same contact had occurred, it may have drawn a penalty on the defense.

 

[kearly]

Thanks kearly. You mention the sweaze in your break down a few times. Can you shed any light on to the accusations as to him being a dirty player? I mean other than the "cut block" jibber jabber. It seems to me like he is just plays hard but I don't have your particular eye for this.

He's a very high effort run blocker who plays very fast/frantic. He's a good cut blocker. He puts a defender on his back at least once a game. He holds a lot, and has had some late hit penalties. He doesn't seem like a bully. I think defensive lineman probably just hate dudes that cut block and hold. I'm guessing that's where it came from, if anyone called him a dirty player.

 

[Fuzzman55]

I mentioned it when they cut MRob, but I thought they should have just dropped the fullback position altogether. A lot of teams run exclusively out of one-back, and if you're going to take such a big step back talent-wise why not scheme around it? You can always motion the TE's and WRs to get multiple pass-catchers coming out of the backfield.

I thought the Miller incompletion was clearly PI as well, but in a physical, fast game like that I wasn't surprised it wasn't called.

I'll give this to Sweezy, he may be inconsistent, but when he executes with his run-blocks he has to be one of the best in the game. The man is always playing all-out, I just hope the mistakes become fewer and fewer as his career goes on.

 

[General Manager]

This isn't the same Wilson I saw the second half of last season.

 

[Barthawk]

This isn't the same Wilson I saw the second half of last season.

neither is the offensive line.. RW is being pressured quite a bit more IMO

 

[General Manager]

I think my biggest complaint so far this season is one Max Unger he's not playing consistent and opposing defenses are getting to much penetration up the middle. In both games this season the NT has flat out put him on his butt at least once in both games.

 

[RichNhansom]

I would really love to see our early game plan change significantly to fast timing high percentage dump offs. Take what they are giving you to start the game and expand as the game moves along and your timing gets dialed in.

Peyton Manning had the same line in front of him for years without a single lineman ever missing a snap. It's not just dumb luck. He gets rid of the ball way to fast for D-lineman to be effective and they kind of give up through the course of the game. In the mean time his lineman are blocking half as much as many on other teams because the ball is gone so fast.

We are going slow out of the starting gate and plays are talking to long to develop. It often feels like we are trying to make a 20 yard strike as a minimum. End result is our lineman are getting tired and making mistakes they might not make if fresh. It also increases the odd's of injury to both the lineman and the QB.

Pittsburgh has had injury problems along their O-line since Toothlessburger came to town. It's not a coincidence. The Niners O-line has been grading out poorly this year and we dissected them in Seattle. Even their run blocking has become suspect. Alex Smith was not good at the deep ball but he was very good at the quick dump offs. Papaki holds the ball much longer than Smith and I think his O-line is starting to feel the effects of it.

 

[Uffda]

Thought Ware would be the next FB after MikeRob was cut, maybe time to try that?

 

[sc85sis]

Thought Ware would be the next FB after MikeRob was cut, maybe time to try that?

Can't right now as he has a bad ankle sprain.

 

[fsmassey]

I mentioned it when they cut MRob, but I thought they should have just dropped the fullback position altogether. A lot of teams run exclusively out of one-back, and if you're going to take such a big step back talent-wise why not scheme around it? You can always motion the TE's and WRs to get multiple pass-catchers coming out of the backfield.

I thought the Miller incompletion was clearly PI as well, but in a physical, fast game like that I wasn't surprised it wasn't called.

I'll give this to Sweezy, he may be inconsistent, but when he executes with his run-blocks he has to be one of the best in the game. The man is always playing all-out, I just hope the mistakes become fewer and fewer as his career goes on.

IMO, I'd prefer to keep the Fullback position around for as long as we depend on Beast Mode to get production, and we definitely still do. Look at Frank Gore last game, IIRC they didn't run the jumbo package or I formation hardly at all. They stun with the Gun or Read option or blah blah. Gore's production was career threatening this game. It was really that bad. The 49ers couldn't move the ball on the ground like they've been able to in the past, and it contributed to a loss.

EDIT: Speaking of which. I hope with all my being that the Seahawks get MRob back. It just ain't right here with his absence.

 

[kigenzun]

...........I believe that we're seeing that time and time again with Coleman. He's more getting in the way of his man rather than really hitting him with true force and knocking him back (like MRob did.) The result, as you say, is more of Coleman merely being another body to step over, rather than creating a hole for the runner to go through. OK, I know that this 49ers Front 7 is one of the best in the NFL (and that the Panthers Front 7 is one of the best in its own right) ... but honestly, how long can this be allowed to go on? Carroll and those guys undoubtedly are seeing the same thing on the game tape and see what's going on back there. Besides Michael Robinson, I honestly have no idea who else is out there on the street, but I do know this -- something's got to change........

Well then, two respected and obviously football savvy posters have said this about Coleman now, Scanner and Kearly. So no doubt your right Scanner that Pete and Co. can see it too. I remember the play Kearly talked about in his description where Coleman literally just bounced off a guy he was attempting to block like a pinball hitting a bumper.

So outside of bringing MRob back, which I said on another thread I don't believe they will do, what are the other options here? A TE as a lead blocker? I kind of doubt this because the Hawks are going to likely have to use a TE as help for whomever is at LT with Okung out. One back sets with more trapping thus using an o-lineman as a lead blocker? Thoughts folks?

I been saying it for weeks now. JR SWEEZY!!! Hardcore fullback/lead blocker &/or motion man lead "blocking" TE.

Essentially, I am sick of seeing Coleman bounce off blocks, and its obvious that Marshawn doesn't trust his lead. So... I was thinking bringing in Bailey or Bowie at RG, and going one back set with JR Sweezy as the lead "blocking TE". However, "The Sweeze" as Marshawn's personal body"Guard", sounds awesome to me in the smashmouth lead blocking fullback role too.

IMO This would maximize opening holes with Sweezy's runblocking skills, as well as minimize some of Jr's frontline pass blocking issues.

 

[Hawkscanner]

I haven't seen you comment on this yet Kearly (and maybe you're going to coming up) but one thing that was particularly concerning for me was seeing Russell Wilson early on in that game seemingly be totally unaware that the rush was coming. After blowing up McQuistan, Aldon Smith came trucking around the corner right at Wilson -- and he seemed to be totally unaware that he was about to be leveled. That scenario played itself out a few times IIRC. Now, as the game wore on, that appeared to change, as I'm remembering a play in the 2nd Half where Wilson rolls out to the right and runs away from Smith for a sizeable gain. BUT, that's something that the good ones all have -- a clock in their heads. They know (in general) One Thousand One ... One Thousand Two ... And get Rid of the the Ball on One Thousand Three because that's all I've got. I don't know if that kind of awareness is something that Wilson can truly develop or not but I DO know this -- he's going to get himself killed if he doesn't have his head on more of a swivel.

Good observations. Last season Russell Wilson showed poor pocket presence early in the year- he didn't trust his protection enough and bailed out of the pocket too early or hurried throws he didn't need to. This year is the opposite, where he seems to trust his protection too much and holds the ball in the pocket too long a few times a game. I have commented on this a few times, saying that Bevell/Wilson need to get together and figure out how to either hold the ball a little less or stay in the pocket a little less. Despite Wilson's issues, he has almost a 98 passer rating on the season against two outstanding defenses, so I'm not concerned so much as I see room for improvement.

All of this stuff that we're talking about here is connected, whether we're talking about the ramifications from Okung's injury (and the shifting of the guards because of it), Coleman's inability to block, and Russell Wilson's decision making about when to get rid of the ball and/or get out of there, etc.

Completely agreed with your assessment ... and though I'm personally encouraged with Wilson's 96.8 passer rating, that doesn't do the team a bit of good if he's on the shelf with a serious injury because he failed to see that one blitzing LB (i.e. Joe Theisman.) Even a cruddy defense can take a good QB out. I'm just saying.

 

[Hawkscanner]

I been saying it for weeks now. JR SWEEZY!!! Hardcore fullback/lead blocker &/or motion man lead "blocking" TE.

Essentially, I am sick of seeing Coleman bounce off blocks, and its obvious that Marshawn doesn't trust his lead. So... I was thinking bringing in Bailey or Bowie at RG, and going one back set with JR Sweezy as the lead "blocking TE". However, "The Sweeze" as Marshawn's personal body"Guard", sounds awesome to me in the smashmouth lead blocking fullback role too.

IMO This would maximize opening holes with Sweezy's runblocking skills, as well as minimize some of Jr's frontline pass blocking issues.

You know, on the surface I think the idea deserves some merit. After all, Cable has made no bones about Sweezy being the Seahawks most athletic lineman they have. However, to me (if the Seahawks were to actually do that) I think we would see a bit of a domino effect with potentially disastrous consequences. Consider this ...

The key to the success of any offensive line in the NFL is not only talent ... it's consistency. The 2005 Hawks went to the SB because that offensive line had played together for years. They knew each other -- knew their tendencies -- knew each other's strengths and weaknesses and how to compensate, etc. Keep that in mind.

The Seahawks just saw their Left Tackle go down. That's a significant blow and you saw how a good pass rushing lineman (like Aldon Smith) can take advantage of that. The Hawks had to keep a TE in there in order to help block and STILL, Smith got to Wilson. McQuistan's overall footwork and athleticism is such a drop off from Okung. Moving McQuistan over to LT means that the Hawks have to shift Carpenter over to LG (I believe.) So the left side of the line is weakened at this point in time. IF hypothetically we were to go with that idea, that means bumping somebody else over there to RG (Bowie or Bailey I suppose.) So in this hypothetical situation, we have just experienced changes at 3 of the 5 positions on that offensive line. Not only is the left side compromised, the right size is now a bit compromised as well. Yeah I think that Sweezy COULD do a better job of blocking than Coleman, but I'm worried about one thing -- would Sweezy have enough time to get to that blitzing lineman from the FB spot that just poured through that hole created from moving Sweezy from RG? Just my opinion, but I wouldn't do it. Instead if I'm Schneider, I'm scouring the entire planet looking for the best blocking FB I can find.

 

[kigenzun]

true. possible domino effect, but just ideas anyways:

from...rice miller mcquistan carpenter unger sweezy giacomini tate
wilson
coleman
lynch

to ...rice miller mcquistan carpenter unger bailey/bowie giacomini tate
wilson
sweezy
lynch


or ...rice miller bailey/bowie carpenter unger mcquistan giacomini tate
wilson
sweezy
lynch


or ...rice miller bailey/bowie carpenter unger mcquistan giacomini sweezy tate
wilson

lynch

All these are forms/options of a "3 Guards" alignment. Two traditional + 1 in motion/roaming; to lead block and/or improve protection.

 

[themunn]

I'd love to hear Wilson explain that interception. Did the ball slip out of his hand? Did he misread Tate's intentions? Did Tate run the wrong route? Was it just stupendously bad deep accuracy? It could have been a lot of things. It was ugly.

It looked like one where he threw it up and trusted Tate to grab it in a one-on-one situation, but then Tate stumbles when he catches the corner and it's an easy grab

Tate was inside, the ball went WAY outside. Something went wrong there.

"WAY" outside is a bit of an exaggeration I'd say, Tate was well in position to catch it if he hadn't tripped, and in fact probably had the better angle on the ball as it came down until he runs into Reid.

 

[dracolich81]

By know means am I saying that Coleman looked fantastic, but come on guys, he's a rook in his second game and he's had to play against some serious front 7's..From what I remember @ Carolina he made some great blocks, and he did make some good block in the SF game too.
We can all agree that M Rob is better, but who's to say that Coleman won't get to his level, the guy throws blocks hard as hell and as time goes on he will get better
These cap cuts have to come from somewhere. And a 2.5 million dollar fullback is first to go.
All I'm saying is give the dude a chance