Luke Willson vs 49ers in Week 2

[Laloosh]

I am no X's and O's guy but I'm curious what you guys think about how (if at all) Luke is a factor in week 2.

Wouldn't he be a nice weapon to get behind that SF linebacker group? They're physical but not the best in coverage. Seems like a quick TE like Willson might be able to exploit that.

Thoughts?

 

[King Dog]

After Luke got that penalty, I didn't even notice him out there the rest of the game.

I would prefer using Miller more on pass routes. Every time we throw his way he seems to get the job done.

 

[SoHo9erFan]

I am no X's and O's guy but I'm curious what you guys think about how (if at all) Luke is a factor in week 2.

Wouldn't he be a nice weapon to get behind that SF linebacker group? They're physical but not the best in coverage. Seems like a quick TE like Willson might be able to exploit that.

Thoughts?

Bowman is one of the best coverage LBs in the league. Willis is way more than competent in coverage. Just to correct this misconception.

Nonetheless, I could see Willson being a factor. He will be considered a minor priority when he is one the field. So he might find wholes in the D every once in the while

 

[HawksFTW]

I am no X's and O's guy but I'm curious what you guys think about how (if at all) Luke is a factor in week 2.

Wouldn't he be a nice weapon to get behind that SF linebacker group? They're physical but not the best in coverage. Seems like a quick TE like Willson might be able to exploit that.

Thoughts?

Bowman is one of the best coverage LBs in the league. Willis is way more than competent in coverage. Just to correct this misconception.

Nonetheless, I could see Wilson being a factor. He will be considered a minor priority when he is one the field. So he might find wholes in the D every once in the while

I think you mean Willson, otherwise...

 

[SoHo9erFan]

I am no X's and O's guy but I'm curious what you guys think about how (if at all) Luke is a factor in week 2.

Wouldn't he be a nice weapon to get behind that SF linebacker group? They're physical but not the best in coverage. Seems like a quick TE like Willson might be able to exploit that.

Thoughts?

Bowman is one of the best coverage LBs in the league. Willis is way more than competent in coverage. Just to correct this misconception.

Nonetheless, I could see Wilson being a factor. He will be considered a minor priority when he is one the field. So he might find wholes in the D every once in the while

I think you mean Willson, otherwise...

Thanks for the correction. Yeah, I meant Luke Willson (never seen it spelled with two L's before)

 

[FlyingGreg]

Did Willson have one target yesterday?

 

[Hawks46]

It can be tricky.

I can see the mismatch, but I honestly think Miller will have a better game. He's really, really good at finding the open spot in the zone, and he showed some YAC ability yesterday that he's lacked a bit.

It's going to be more schematic. If we can find the right spot for Willson, and he does his job, it's going to be good. Like homerun hitting good. But if we just throw him out there and match him up on SF's LBers, I doubt Wilson throws to him much.

 

[Laloosh]

Did Willson have one target yesterday?

No.

 

[Attyla the Hawk]

It looked like the game plan was to go after Carolina's secondary on the perimeter.

I wouldn't worry too much about it. Some people think that balance should mean roughly equal distribution of targets to different areas. I'd offer that balance really gives you the ability to attack the weak points of a defense wherever they lie. Carolina struggled to cover our outside receivers and our slot. I'd just as soon see heavy, disproportionate targeting of a defense's weaknesses than to try to even out targets to appear balanced.

To be honest, I'd expect to see a similar plan against San Fransisco. Of the two units, their outside cover guys aren't the same quality as their LBs. Add to that you have a rookie free safety -- I would think our best option would be to put him under stress and try to get him out of position for big plays on the outside. They had a thin secondary to begin with and suffered a loss to a starter before the season started. I'd expect to see a heavier dose than normal of Rice and Tate. Particularly since keeping Miller close for protection should be warranted as SF has a very good pass rush.

It's possible to see us run guys up the seam to make Reid commit one way or another. But SF is good at covering the short middle of the field.