Originally posted by pasodoc9er:
Originally posted by NCommand:
I agree with both parties on this one. I'm very happy we got back to our identity. I hope to God that Roman was watching the Rams/Hawks game last night as a perfect blue print to beating the Hawks.
As to our passing game, no doubt, I think we'd all like it to be more diverse and consistent. Personally, I'd like it to be more QB-friendly. I think CK is off-the-charts but is hamstrung by the play calling and really, is at the mercy of HaRoMan here. Guys such as Baldwin, McDonald and Hunter should be utilized MUCH more in the passing game and s/h/b used more over the past 4 or 5 games and developing for the final stretch run after the bye week. Both Baldwin (on the edge and out in space) and McDonald (in-line and out in space) are fantastic run blockers now. Now incorporate them more into the passing game. Hunter on middle screens or flare outs would be unstoppable. Williams would never see the field save for the slot and as an outlet for CK.
I'd just like to see more pro-style progressions and outlets built into the passing game with a heavy emphasis on diversity, consistency, timing, jump balls, ad lib plays and RZ efficiency. I'd also like to see an added emphasis on the deep post or go pattern. Can you name the last time we completed or even attempted a bomb? They were mentioning in the game last night that Wilson and Baldwin missed on a deep pass a few games back so they hit the practice field the next day and practiced that play 50 times until perfected. Does CK work with Baldwin, McDonald, Hunter, Boldin, VD, etc. this way?
If we don't become more diversified and consistent and perfect this part of the offense, it WILL bite us in the ass against much better teams esp. in the playoffs. We're rolling now and obviously, haven't needed to pass much to win with the help of a stellar run game, defense and ST scoring points for us and/or setting us up nicely.
But all a defense needs to do is stop our ground game with 8 in the box and stuff the annointed receiver (Boldin and/or VD) at the LOS and we're screwed. We can't ignore this fact. We have GOT to work on the other areas to combat this and playing against our defense in practice, there should be NO excuses not to become elite and more well-rounded.
Agreed, 100%. The non use of of Baldwin, vance, LMJ, hunter(ok a bit), just seems like we aren't using all our assets. And that is nuts, when we know we will need them in N.O, against Cam , and against SEA, this time at home. Why all those guys weren't taken out for a spin against a really weak jags team....that smacks of bad coaching or bad advice...I don't know which.
I have some hunches as to why Baldwin/Vance aren't getting much looks. They have tried featuring Baldwin before, in the HOU game. He had two jump balls to get, versus 1 on 1 press coverage, and came down with just one throw, but he fell out of bounds. Point is, the plays were unsuccessful, 0-2. The 49ers simply want to maximize their success rate on a play and that means featuring and targeting VD/Boldin.
For those anointed receiver type plays, there is no way Vance or Baldwin will get featured for those kind of plays. Those plays come from a special bag of plays that they reach into when they need to convert. They might as well use those plays to feature their key playmakers. They actually threw Kyle two WR quick screen plays vs JAC. One fell incomplete, one went for a nice 8-9 yards. They've been running end arounds, of all things, to Kyle and Moore. So they are throwing these guys a bone here and there. As to why not experiment in the JAC game by throwing more to Vance/Baldwin/Kyle? Perhaps they just wanted to take care of business and be done by the 4th quarter instead of forcing themselves to step out of their comfort zone?
HaRo has been running more pass plays that allow for Kap to make pre-snap reads and in-play decisions to throw the ball. You can tell by how on time his throws are. 3 or 5 step drop, then throw. Whether the window is tight or not, throw it on rhythm. So now the reason why Vance and Baldwin don't get the ball is because Kap already pulled the trigger when he read VD/Boldin/Miller(?), or because Baldwin/Kyle can't get good separation. Basically, it's on Kap to get them the ball. However, he feels targeting Boldin and VD (or scrambling) are better options on these plays. I do see plays with 5 route runners more in the recent weeks. As Kap sees more of the field, he can use more of the route runners. I have no doubts regarding this. More experience means attacking all areas of the field in the passing game. More experience means quickly identifying when a target is not available and
instinctively progressing on with his reads.
Check out the play at 14:40 of the 2nd quarter in the JAC game, Kap makes a read to Boldin on an in route. He had Miller running away from his LB into an open area of the field right underneath Boldin. Miller would have been the better, higher % choice on this 1st down, but Kap really likes Boldin 1 on 1, so he went there instead. It was a tight throw, incomplete. Just an example how everyone has a chance to get the ball on a play, but Kap trusts certain guys. As long as he isn't throwing INTs while forcing the ball, then it becomes a big problem.
As we watch them in the 2nd half of the season, check out how decisive Kap is with his throws. When it's a timing throw, that's usually Kap making reads and finding what he feels is his best option. If he starts to find Vance and whoever else, instead of forcing tight throws to VD/Boldin, it will be an indication of Kap growing. It's not about forcing it in order to get others involved. It's about making the plays look easy. If it's easy getting completions to VD/Boldin, then those other players will remain getting very limited targets.
So in my opinion, there are two main reasons why Baldwin/Vance//Kyle don't get targets on the regular. One is that they are not schemed to get the ball on the anointed WR type plays. We can point to HaRo for that. Second is that Kap doesn't yet see the entire field yet. He would rather go to his go to guys, and I don't blame him. As he develops and becomes more experienced, this will change.