Analysis from Seahawks Game coaches film

Thank you thank you thank you for RUINING MY work day! hahaha! I dont even remember what time I came in to work! This is some pro level film breakdown and recognition. Almost felt like I was watching (albeit reading) some program on the NFL channel. Great analysis of #7.

I was never a big supporter of Colin getting the starting nod over Alex. I would always tell the people that were riding on his jock strap that the kid is not ready. There was no way he could be. Defenses just didn't have game film on him. It was simply the element of surprise that shot Colin into superstar status. As with many NEW qb's that come in to a game ie:Flynn... although we do not have a Flynn. Colin is a beast and I know that he will be elite sooner than later. I hate to say this... because the past is the past... but I think Alex could have won us a superbowl had Harbaugh let him finish his tenure with the niners as the starter. Sorry to bring up the ol' "number 11".

I look forward to the many pages this thread has to offer... Thanks. Great work!

Originally posted by RYPTOUT:
I think Alex could have won us a superbowl had Harbaugh let him finish his tenure with the niners as the starter. Sorry to bring up the ol' "number 11".

I look forward to the many pages this thread has to offer... Thanks. Great work!

... could bring disaster to a great thread... but it won't be at my hands.

I really would love to know what Kaep's freedom prior to the snap is too. It is depressing to see so many loaded D fronts and us not countering them with the arm strength that our QB has.

Someone asked early in the thread about what was wrong with the red zone offense. It was a couple things. The first field goal we scored we ran an old WCO play action that Seattle sniffed out and Kaep made a good decision to throw the ball away. Then he got tackled on a shoe string tackle a yard short and I covered what happened at 3rd and 1 earlier.

The second time, after the punt. we had the Frank Gore 4 yd run that I highlighted earlier. Then we ran a PA pass which Seattle had excellent coverage on(I hate admitting that BTW). Then this incompletion I'll highlight.


The safety rolls over on the crabtree on the corner route with Sherman in good position on Davis. They reveal zone again by having a LB out on Boldin(he's the inside receiver on the bottom of the screen. At the top they run a corner route with Crabtree and a deep hook with Manningham - he's probably the primary read on this play(remember Seattle ran cover 3 on probably 80-85% of the plays in this game, so, when they call a play designed against cover 3 the primary read was almost always the guy to go to) You can see by the receivers that they are all active in the play but the primary read is going to be open



Manningham is open, though it is a small window. The flat defender does a good job of knowing the down and distance. He gives Gore the flat knowing it's short of the first down and takes a deep drop in coverage.



I've highlighted that Kaep does a good job of planting off his back foot and driving on the throw. He keeps his shoulders square(all highlighted in yellow) I would like to see he front foot point out towards his target a little more(highlighted in blue).



Kaep just misses on the throw. The yellow circle is where the ball should be delivered. He needs to hit manningham on the numbers, instead he misses about 2-3 feet left and the defender is able to make a play on the ball and break up the pass.(blue arrow)

Originally posted by Mr.Mcgibblets:
... could bring disaster to a great thread... but it won't be at my hands.

I really would love to know what Kaep's freedom prior to the snap is too. It is depressing to see so many loaded D fronts and us not countering them with the arm strength that our QB has.

until we get a consistent over the top WR this won't happen. That's why they drafted Jenkins, he wasn't known as a great route runner, but they didn't need a route runner they need a deep threat to demand safety help over the top. Jenkins just didn't pan out. It's easy to say, "just go get a deep threat" but there have been buttloads of guys who were supposed to be deep threats coming out of college that never pan out. It's why teams pay so highly for guys like DeSean Jackson or Wallace. New England is probably the team that can best scout those over the top specialty guys. They seem to find them anywhere.
We've tried ever since the Nolan days to find one of those guys, they're few and far between.

Until we have an outside deep threat, it makes no sense for a team to go cover 2 and give up the middle of the field to a guy like Vernon Davis. Davis made a living off of seam routes when the niners used to run a play, "4 jet all go" a lot. Basically, it's a 4 streaks and they'd read the middle of the field. Would like to see us do this again every once in a while. But that's when Davis feasted on seam routes. But, defenses caught up and they keep a safety in the middle of the field more.

Originally posted by jonnydel:

Originally posted by Mr.Mcgibblets:
... could bring disaster to a great thread... but it won't be at my hands.

I really would love to know what Kaep's freedom prior to the snap is too. It is depressing to see so many loaded D fronts and us not countering them with the arm strength that our QB has.

until we get a consistent over the top WR this won't happen. That's why they drafted Jenkins, he wasn't known as a great route runner, but they didn't need a route runner they need a deep threat to demand safety help over the top. Jenkins just didn't pan out. It's easy to say, "just go get a deep threat" but there have been buttloads of guys who were supposed to be deep threats coming out of college that never pan out. It's why teams pay so highly for guys like DeSean Jackson or Wallace. New England is probably the team that can best scout those over the top specialty guys. They seem to find them anywhere.
We've tried ever since the Nolan days to find one of those guys, they're few and far between.

Until we have an outside deep threat, it makes no sense for a team to go cover 2 and give up the middle of the field to a guy like Vernon Davis. Davis made a living off of seam routes when the niners used to run a play, "4 jet all go" a lot. Basically, it's a 4 streaks and they'd read the middle of the field. Would like to see us do this again every once in a while. But that's when Davis feasted on seam routes. But, defenses caught up and they keep a safety in the middle of the field more.

Eh... vertical speed sure helps, but we see WRs around the league with less than burner speed getting deep. We see them timing their jumps and winning 1-vs-1 matchups even in tight coverage. And then there's always the flag-throwing refs that can turn a deep attempt into a 30+ yard DPI. Find the single covered receiver running deep... use that God-given arm strength... and see what happens. Just try it a handful of times a game. This is what fans begged for in recent years with similar WR talent... why not demand it all the more with a QB that can fling it deep so effortlessly?

Originally posted by jonnydel:

Originally posted by Mr.Mcgibblets:
... could bring disaster to a great thread... but it won't be at my hands.

I really would love to know what Kaep's freedom prior to the snap is too. It is depressing to see so many loaded D fronts and us not countering them with the arm strength that our QB has.

until we get a consistent over the top WR this won't happen. That's why they drafted Jenkins, he wasn't known as a great route runner, but they didn't need a route runner they need a deep threat to demand safety help over the top. Jenkins just didn't pan out. It's easy to say, "just go get a deep threat" but there have been buttloads of guys who were supposed to be deep threats coming out of college that never pan out. It's why teams pay so highly for guys like DeSean Jackson or Wallace. New England is probably the team that can best scout those over the top specialty guys. They seem to find them anywhere.
We've tried ever since the Nolan days to find one of those guys, they're few and far between.

Until we have an outside deep threat, it makes no sense for a team to go cover 2 and give up the middle of the field to a guy like Vernon Davis. Davis made a living off of seam routes when the niners used to run a play, "4 jet all go" a lot. Basically, it's a 4 streaks and they'd read the middle of the field. Would like to see us do this again every once in a while. But that's when Davis feasted on seam routes. But, defenses caught up and they keep a safety in the middle of the field more.

True that. Even guys like Ginn, Walker and Moss last year provided a deep threat. They weren't great but teams had to make sure to cover the deep routes. This year, we have absolutely no one with speed like that. Boldin, injured MM, KW (no longer here), Moore (No longer here), Baldwin, Jenkins (No longer here) and an injured crab tree, McDonals (Rookie) are not deep threats at all.

If i was a D coordinator I wouldn't be scare of us going deep at all. Having a deep threat also helps Kap in his running game. Defenses have to play back. I think this is why we are getting so many loaded boxes this year.

Originally posted by Mr.Mcgibblets:
Eh... vertical speed sure helps, but we see WRs around the league with less than burner speed getting deep. We see them timing their jumps and winning 1-vs-1 matchups even in tight coverage. And then there's always the flag-throwing refs that can turn a deep attempt into a 30+ yard DPI. Find the single covered receiver running deep... use that God-given arm strength... and see what happens. Just try it a handful of times a game. This is what fans begged for in recent years with similar WR talent... why not demand it all the more with a QB that can fling it deep so effortlessly?

I agree. Especially with all the Cover 1 Man teams have been playing against us. Shots down the sidelines are available, and Boldin and Crabtree can make contested catches down the field. Plus the refs will bail you out from time to time. We got calls against SEA a couple times because we attacked the corners playing very tight man coverage. Not everyone has a FS like Earl Thomas who is instinctive and fast enough to make up ground. Kap made 2 bad throws trying to throw to Crabtree along the sideline, one got picked, but you get better by repetition. He has the arm talent to make those throws.

Originally posted by Mr.Mcgibblets:

Originally posted by jonnydel:

Originally posted by Mr.Mcgibblets:
... could bring disaster to a great thread... but it won't be at my hands.

I really would love to know what Kaep's freedom prior to the snap is too. It is depressing to see so many loaded D fronts and us not countering them with the arm strength that our QB has.

until we get a consistent over the top WR this won't happen. That's why they drafted Jenkins, he wasn't known as a great route runner, but they didn't need a route runner they need a deep threat to demand safety help over the top. Jenkins just didn't pan out. It's easy to say, "just go get a deep threat" but there have been buttloads of guys who were supposed to be deep threats coming out of college that never pan out. It's why teams pay so highly for guys like DeSean Jackson or Wallace. New England is probably the team that can best scout those over the top specialty guys. They seem to find them anywhere.
We've tried ever since the Nolan days to find one of those guys, they're few and far between.

Until we have an outside deep threat, it makes no sense for a team to go cover 2 and give up the middle of the field to a guy like Vernon Davis. Davis made a living off of seam routes when the niners used to run a play, "4 jet all go" a lot. Basically, it's a 4 streaks and they'd read the middle of the field. Would like to see us do this again every once in a while. But that's when Davis feasted on seam routes. But, defenses caught up and they keep a safety in the middle of the field more.

Eh... vertical speed sure helps, but we see WRs around the league with less than burner speed getting deep. We see them timing their jumps and winning 1-vs-1 matchups even in tight coverage. And then there's always the flag-throwing refs that can turn a deep attempt into a 30+ yard DPI. Find the single covered receiver running deep... use that God-given arm strength... and see what happens. Just try it a handful of times a game. This is what fans begged for in recent years with similar WR talent... why not demand it all the more with a QB that can fling it deep so effortlessly?

Kaep tried some 1-1 throws deep at least 6-7 times last week. 2 of them were caught in spectacular fashion by Crabs and 1 was picked. What I mean by a deep threat is someone with speed to scare a d-coordinator about a guy running past the corner so the corner needs safety help over the top. I'm not saying we just grab a guy with speed, good lord we know that doesn't work. It's not easy to find a guy like that, that can scare the defense over the top. The type of guy I'm thinking about is a role player type of guy. Think of Jacoby Jones against us in the bowl.

Originally posted by SofaKing:
I agree. Especially with all the Cover 1 Man teams have been playing against us. Shots down the sidelines are available, and Boldin and Crabtree can make contested catches down the field. Plus the refs will bail you out from time to time. We got calls against SEA a couple times because we attacked the corners playing very tight man coverage. Not everyone has a FS like Earl Thomas who is instinctive and fast enough to make up ground. Kap made 2 bad throws trying to throw to Crabtree along the sideline, one got picked, but you get better by repetition. He has the arm talent to make those throws.

He does but it's inconsistent. He has the strength for sure, but those throws aren't about strength. You have to have pinpoint accuracy. I'll show a couple of the shots he took with Manningham(and no they weren't on manningham for being incomplete)



You see the streak the Manningham is going to run. All the other receivers are involved in the play, but nobody gets open, not a terrible play by Kaep cause there was no where else to go, but he misses the target.



You see it has to be a back shoulder throw



The blue arrow is where the ball should've been for a back shoulder throw. The red arrow is where the ball landed.... Granted, it's a tough throw, but, Kaep didn't put any air on the ball and under threw the target by at least 4 feet. I'm not saying he can't ever, don't get me wrong. He made some great throws to Crab, but it's not something that will consistently scare a defense IMO.

jonnydel, this stuff you're posting is truly amazing. I really hope you keep it up and continue to bless us with your breakdowns. I know this must me time consuming and tedious to post, but all of us really appreciate it more than you can imagine. Kudos to you, man. I'd like to mail you an official WZ tailgate koozie for you to use while you're hard at work. PM me your info if you want one.

Thanks for those images Jonnydel. I completely agree that Kap doesn't make that throw consistently or accurately at this point. There is a reason why Seattle tests him with that coverage, daring him to make a throw. They're not scared of him doing it consistently. I'm still a firm believer in taking what the defense gives you. I can live with some incompletions or inaccurate throws if it's the right read. I believe Kap will make his fair share of plays if we keep attacking, and he has to sling it with confidence.

Originally posted by jonnydel:
Someone asked early in the thread about what was wrong with the red zone offense. It was a couple things. The first field goal we scored we ran an old WCO play action that Seattle sniffed out and Kaep made a good decision to throw the ball away. Then he got tackled on a shoe string tackle a yard short and I covered what happened at 3rd and 1 earlier.

The second time, after the punt. we had the Frank Gore 4 yd run that I highlighted earlier. Then we ran a PA pass which Seattle had excellent coverage on(I hate admitting that BTW). Then this incompletion I'll highlight.


The safety rolls over on the crabtree on the corner route with Sherman in good position on Davis. They reveal zone again by having a LB out on Boldin(he's the inside receiver on the bottom of the screen. At the top they run a corner route with Crabtree and a deep hook with Manningham - he's probably the primary read on this play(remember Seattle ran cover 3 on probably 80-85% of the plays in this game, so, when they call a play designed against cover 3 the primary read was almost always the guy to go to) You can see by the receivers that they are all active in the play but the primary read is going to be open



Manningham is open, though it is a small window. The flat defender does a good job of knowing the down and distance. He gives Gore the flat knowing it's short of the first down and takes a deep drop in coverage.



I've highlighted that Kaep does a good job of planting off his back foot and driving on the throw. He keeps his shoulders square(all highlighted in yellow) I would like to see he front foot point out towards his target a little more(highlighted in blue).



Kaep just misses on the throw. The yellow circle is where the ball should be delivered. He needs to hit manningham on the numbers, instead he misses about 2-3 feet left and the defender is able to make a play on the ball and break up the pass.(blue arrow)

A pump fake to gore would have freed up crabs for the touchdown. Gore was wide open and could have ran for the 1st. But a pump fae would have made the DB's or Safety either hesitate or bite altogether.

It should be noted that in many of these images, a specific type of pass is needed in each. Some of them require a dart. Some of them a normal pass. Some a touch pass over a defender.

I don't know if that means anything, if you want to read into it much. But it does speculatively provide some implications.

1. We know Kaepernick can throw the darts, so in situations where he could've done so, but didn't, indicate he just wasn't reading that particular play very well.

2. We know Kaepernick is still developing the touch pass. It's just not a strong suit and at times really has been bad. His neglect to throw to some open guys when it'd be required to drop the ball over the defender could be construed by some as lack of confidence to attempt a throw that he may perceive as too risky because it's not his strong suit at the moment.

I saw several images that had the potential for a defender "peel-back" technique, where they bait the intermediate throw by initially pretending to cover the low or flat routes, only to drop back and roam the intermediate zone and/or fall back deeper. CK can, however, counter this if he thinks they're doing that, by scrambling and using the open player as a blocker/pass-option if the defender starts to pursue the QB instead of sticking with his man.

Guys.... look at what basic people like us are able to realize through analyzing some basic film. We are able to point out some important weaknesses in the team or in Kaep. So if we can do this, imagine what the coach already know. They know the team inside and out, and they know exactly what they are and are not capable of.

I think that when the playoffs come, we will see the niners playing some damn good football

this is awesome stuff to read.