Offseason All22 Film Study

Originally posted by thl408:
4Quarter: Ward versus Fitz. 2nd & 30.
cover1 robber


.Ward opens his hips to play with outside leverage.


49er CBs all play their WRs in the same manner. Outside leverage to funnel the WRs towards the two safeties in the middle of the field - Reid intermediate and Bethea deep. Shown below, Ward has his hips opened to face the WR, but his actual positioning in relation to Fitz, is not good. He's actually directly over the top with no outside leverage at all.


Fitz breaks to the outside. Ward gets turned around and cannot offer any resistance.


Completed as Ward got lax on his positioning. Had he played it like the play in post #196 and had actual outside positioning, Fitz would have ran right into Ward.

This is actually where his strength was turned into a weakness...here he's peaking in the backfield at the same time the WR breaks out. So he's either cheating here, lazy on this route (mentally or physically) or thinks he has help outside.

Originally posted by thl408:
This was the only instance in this game where I saw Ward in straight zone coverage. Perhaps a sneak peak into how he does reading a QB's eyes and anticipating plays as he watches a play unfold - what a safety does.

Sail versus cover3. Ward will be the strong side curl/flat defender and target of this play design as it tries to vertically stretch Ward.


The QB pump fakes to the WR (yellow) to try and get Ward to bite up towards the line of scrimmage. #11 is Fitz.


Ward does react by creeping up towards the WR in the flat.


Cover3. Blue defenders are deep zones, orange are underneath zones. The yellow WR is there to bait Ward forward so that Fitz can attack the area behind Ward. Ward is watching the QB's eyes and quickly gains depth as he keeps his shoulders square to the play in order to see everything develop.


Ward breaks up the pass.


Good play recognition.

Agreed...he has excellent recovery and closing speed. There is a lot to like about Ward in these highlights. I think if we continue to use his skill sets properly, he's going to be a big time playmaker for us. You can really see how he's going to be an excellent FS for us someday too and by learning and playing the slot, it's going to help him game that much more. Thanks for this thl!

Originally posted by NCommand:
Agreed...he has excellent recovery and closing speed. There is a lot to like about Ward in these highlights. I think if we continue to use his skill sets properly, he's going to be a big time playmaker for us. You can really see how he's going to be an excellent FS for us someday too and by learning and playing the slot, it's going to help him game that much more. Thanks for this thl!

THIS. Having a FS with his down field playmaking ability, open field tackling and man cover skills will be nuts! If Reid can keep his brain unsquished, they could be a great tandem for years, once Bethea moves on. If not, I think McCray could be a stud, too.

Originally posted by WRATHman44:

Originally posted by NCommand:
Agreed...he has excellent recovery and closing speed. There is a lot to like about Ward in these highlights. I think if we continue to use his skill sets properly, he's going to be a big time playmaker for us. You can really see how he's going to be an excellent FS for us someday too and by learning and playing the slot, it's going to help him game that much more. Thanks for this thl!

THIS. Having a FS with his down field playmaking ability, open field tackling and man cover skills will be nuts! If Reid can keep his brain unsquished, they could be a great tandem for years, once Bethea moves on. If not, I think McCray could be a stud, too.

And each year, the NFL moves towards more and more "safety first" so having players who are more inclined to make plays on the ball (Ward/Reid) vs. trying to get on SC (Goldson/Whitner) by blowing up players is a wise move for Baalke. We need ball-hawks and Ward is one of these ball-hawks IMHO. Once 100% healthy, I'm excited about the kid. I'm with you big time on Ward/Reid and I can't wait to see McCray grow even more this off season as well!

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by thl408:
Ward in tight press alignment vs Fitz. I''m not sure what coverage this is. Looks like cover2 man, but Reid doesn't act like a cover2 safety. If this is indeed cover2 man, then Ward isn't funneling Fitz to where his help is.



Ward jams Fitz at the line. Notice the hand that Ward uses here, his left arm. I think he's trying to funnel Fitz to the outside, but fails as Fitz wins the inside release.


I'm not sure what to make of this play, because I can't determine the coverage, except to say that Ward was asked to press, bump and run.

I kind of like this alignment...the press allows Ward to keep the WR on his hip WHILE keeping an eye on the QB and as a result, can make a play on the ball...or in this case, smash the crossing WR. I think this is an effective way to use him. I like that Reid is free to roam here on the shorter underneath routes too. BTW is that Brooks lining up at the LOS on the DL (fake blitz) and then dropping back and making a PD?

That's Willis. Ward will face whichever way is necessary to funnel the WR to his safety help. When there's a safety in the middle of the field (cover1), he'll play with outside leverage and will naturally be facing towards the QB - the alignment you like to see. When he has help from a cover2 safety, he'll turn his back towards the QB to take inside leverage (post #200). So it's really dependent upon what his safeties are doing that dictates what Ward will do, when in man coverage.

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by WRATHman44:

Originally posted by NCommand:
Agreed...he has excellent recovery and closing speed. There is a lot to like about Ward in these highlights. I think if we continue to use his skill sets properly, he's going to be a big time playmaker for us. You can really see how he's going to be an excellent FS for us someday too and by learning and playing the slot, it's going to help him game that much more. Thanks for this thl!

THIS. Having a FS with his down field playmaking ability, open field tackling and man cover skills will be nuts! If Reid can keep his brain unsquished, they could be a great tandem for years, once Bethea moves on. If not, I think McCray could be a stud, too.

And each year, the NFL moves towards more and more "safety first" so having players who are more inclined to make plays on the ball (Ward/Reid) vs. trying to get on SC (Goldson/Whitner) by blowing up players is a wise move for Baalke. We need ball-hawks and Ward is one of these ball-hawks IMHO. Once 100% healthy, I'm excited about the kid. I'm with you big time on Ward/Reid and I can't wait to see McCray grow even more this off season as well!

Yes to ballhawks. Ed Reed never laid anyone out, but QBs were deathly afraid of throwing towards his area. There's too much of a risk, even when it's a clean hit, that a safety will get flagged for a hit on a 'defenseless WR' penalty. There is definitely value to having an intimidator at the safety position, but give me the ball hawk any day, especially nowadays. Having a safety can that man up on a WR also provides a lot of flexibility to what a DC is able to do. Reid is average at best with this, but Ward has the quickness to stay with a WR, though probably not the size to cover TEs.

Originally posted by thl408:
This was the only instance in this game where I saw Ward in straight zone coverage. Perhaps a sneak peak into how he does reading a QB's eyes and anticipating plays as he watches a play unfold - what a safety does.

Sail versus cover3. Ward will be the strong side curl/flat defender and target of this play design as it tries to vertically stretch Ward.


The QB pump fakes to the WR (yellow) to try and get Ward to bite up towards the line of scrimmage. #11 is Fitz.


Ward does react by creeping up towards the WR in the flat.


Cover3. Blue defenders are deep zones, orange are underneath zones. The yellow WR is there to bait Ward forward so that Fitz can attack the area behind Ward. Ward is watching the QB's eyes and quickly gains depth as he keeps his shoulders square to the play in order to see everything develop.


Ward breaks up the pass.


Good play recognition.

thank you for these breakdowns thl. looks to me like he made some mistakes like not setting up correctly pre-snap to funnel the WR towards his safety back up but he also showed good instincts, and good makeup speed. I want to see him playing safety, he could be a INT machine.

Originally posted by thl408:

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by thl408:
Ward in tight press alignment vs Fitz. I''m not sure what coverage this is. Looks like cover2 man, but Reid doesn't act like a cover2 safety. If this is indeed cover2 man, then Ward isn't funneling Fitz to where his help is.



Ward jams Fitz at the line. Notice the hand that Ward uses here, his left arm. I think he's trying to funnel Fitz to the outside, but fails as Fitz wins the inside release.


I'm not sure what to make of this play, because I can't determine the coverage, except to say that Ward was asked to press, bump and run.

I kind of like this alignment...the press allows Ward to keep the WR on his hip WHILE keeping an eye on the QB and as a result, can make a play on the ball...or in this case, smash the crossing WR. I think this is an effective way to use him. I like that Reid is free to roam here on the shorter underneath routes too. BTW is that Brooks lining up at the LOS on the DL (fake blitz) and then dropping back and making a PD?

That's Willis. Ward will face whichever way is necessary to funnel the WR to his safety help. When there's a safety in the middle of the field (cover1), he'll play with outside leverage and will naturally be facing towards the QB - the alignment you like to see. When he has help from a cover2 safety, he'll turn his back towards the QB to take inside leverage (post #200). So it's really dependent upon what his safeties are doing that dictates what Ward will do, when in man coverage.

Thanks for clarifying. This makes sense and it looks fine but I'm not a fan of a design that has the CB's back to the QB the whole time and in trail mode esp. with the way PI's are called (b/c the CB has no idea when the ball is thrown and would have a hard time getting his head turned around). The good thing is that the coaches are reviewing these strengths/weakness like we are so that should help in future designs (although I'm not sure if this design would be tweaked or avoidable).

Originally posted by thl408:

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by WRATHman44:

Originally posted by NCommand:
Agreed...he has excellent recovery and closing speed. There is a lot to like about Ward in these highlights. I think if we continue to use his skill sets properly, he's going to be a big time playmaker for us. You can really see how he's going to be an excellent FS for us someday too and by learning and playing the slot, it's going to help him game that much more. Thanks for this thl!

THIS. Having a FS with his down field playmaking ability, open field tackling and man cover skills will be nuts! If Reid can keep his brain unsquished, they could be a great tandem for years, once Bethea moves on. If not, I think McCray could be a stud, too.

And each year, the NFL moves towards more and more "safety first" so having players who are more inclined to make plays on the ball (Ward/Reid) vs. trying to get on SC (Goldson/Whitner) by blowing up players is a wise move for Baalke. We need ball-hawks and Ward is one of these ball-hawks IMHO. Once 100% healthy, I'm excited about the kid. I'm with you big time on Ward/Reid and I can't wait to see McCray grow even more this off season as well!

Yes to ballhawks. Ed Reed never laid anyone out, but QBs were deathly afraid of throwing towards his area. There's too much of a risk, even when it's a clean hit, that a safety will get flagged for a hit on a 'defenseless WR' penalty. There is definitely value to having an intimidator at the safety position, but give me the ball hawk any day, especially nowadays. Having a safety can that man up on a WR also provides a lot of flexibility to what a DC is able to do. Reid is average at best with this, but Ward has the quickness to stay with a WR, though probably not the size to cover TEs.

Without a doubt! Having a FS who can play the slot and utilize that quickness and speed and ability to play the ball? Plus this is his leap year...meaning, we could see some big improvements this year. I'm looking forward to it!

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by thl408:

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by WRATHman44:

Originally posted by NCommand:
Agreed...he has excellent recovery and closing speed. There is a lot to like about Ward in these highlights. I think if we continue to use his skill sets properly, he's going to be a big time playmaker for us. You can really see how he's going to be an excellent FS for us someday too and by learning and playing the slot, it's going to help him game that much more. Thanks for this thl!

THIS. Having a FS with his down field playmaking ability, open field tackling and man cover skills will be nuts! If Reid can keep his brain unsquished, they could be a great tandem for years, once Bethea moves on. If not, I think McCray could be a stud, too.

And each year, the NFL moves towards more and more "safety first" so having players who are more inclined to make plays on the ball (Ward/Reid) vs. trying to get on SC (Goldson/Whitner) by blowing up players is a wise move for Baalke. We need ball-hawks and Ward is one of these ball-hawks IMHO. Once 100% healthy, I'm excited about the kid. I'm with you big time on Ward/Reid and I can't wait to see McCray grow even more this off season as well!

Yes to ballhawks. Ed Reed never laid anyone out, but QBs were deathly afraid of throwing towards his area. There's too much of a risk, even when it's a clean hit, that a safety will get flagged for a hit on a 'defenseless WR' penalty. There is definitely value to having an intimidator at the safety position, but give me the ball hawk any day, especially nowadays. Having a safety can that man up on a WR also provides a lot of flexibility to what a DC is able to do. Reid is average at best with this, but Ward has the quickness to stay with a WR, though probably not the size to cover TEs.

Without a doubt! Having a FS who can play the slot and utilize that quickness and speed and ability to play the ball? Plus this is his leap year...meaning, we could see some big improvements this year. I'm looking forward to it!

I'm just pumped to see him 100% healthy!

Originally posted by WRATHman44:

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by thl408:

Originally posted by NCommand:

Originally posted by WRATHman44:

Originally posted by NCommand:
Agreed...he has excellent recovery and closing speed. There is a lot to like about Ward in these highlights. I think if we continue to use his skill sets properly, he's going to be a big time playmaker for us. You can really see how he's going to be an excellent FS for us someday too and by learning and playing the slot, it's going to help him game that much more. Thanks for this thl!

THIS. Having a FS with his down field playmaking ability, open field tackling and man cover skills will be nuts! If Reid can keep his brain unsquished, they could be a great tandem for years, once Bethea moves on. If not, I think McCray could be a stud, too.

And each year, the NFL moves towards more and more "safety first" so having players who are more inclined to make plays on the ball (Ward/Reid) vs. trying to get on SC (Goldson/Whitner) by blowing up players is a wise move for Baalke. We need ball-hawks and Ward is one of these ball-hawks IMHO. Once 100% healthy, I'm excited about the kid. I'm with you big time on Ward/Reid and I can't wait to see McCray grow even more this off season as well!

Yes to ballhawks. Ed Reed never laid anyone out, but QBs were deathly afraid of throwing towards his area. There's too much of a risk, even when it's a clean hit, that a safety will get flagged for a hit on a 'defenseless WR' penalty. There is definitely value to having an intimidator at the safety position, but give me the ball hawk any day, especially nowadays. Having a safety can that man up on a WR also provides a lot of flexibility to what a DC is able to do. Reid is average at best with this, but Ward has the quickness to stay with a WR, though probably not the size to cover TEs.

Without a doubt! Having a FS who can play the slot and utilize that quickness and speed and ability to play the ball? Plus this is his leap year...meaning, we could see some big improvements this year. I'm looking forward to it!

I'm just pumped to see him 100% healthy!

Yeah, from the sound of things, has he been healthy the past two+ years? Didn't sound like it...I haven't heard anything on his rehab thus far. You know?

Originally posted by thl408:

Originally posted by Adusoron:
Thl408, I noticed that in your clips above that Reid was the lurking safety or intermediate safety and Bethea was the deep single high safety. Is this a coincidence from a small sample size or does this happen a lot? Given that Reid is the FS and runs a high 4.4 you would think he's the single high safety, not Bethea.

They interchanged quite often when talking about which of the two played as the single high safety in cover1, as well as who stayed in the deep middle when in a cover3 shell. If I had to put a number on it, I'd say 60% of the time it was Bethea playing as the deep safety - so it's really close and I wouldn't be surprised if I was wrong with that guess and it was actually flipped.

I agree that Reid is the more athletic of the two, and it seems to make more sense to have Reid play the single high, but Bethea can manage as the deep safety because I feel he does two things that make up for his lesser speed. He is very good at play recognition and pursuit angles. This results in running in straight lines and very little wasted steps. All the veteran savvy allows him to get away with being a bit on the slow side when talking about pure athleticism.

Your estimation is pretty spot on. I addressed that same question a while back during the 2013 season with Reid and Whitner. A lot of it has to do with where the opposing team lines up the strength of the formation. Our safeties don't really switch sides of the field. Fangio liked to have mirror players across the board so that if there were shifts in the defense guys weren't running over each other trying to switch sides - they could always stay face up and square to the LOS as the offensive shifted and motioned. So, if the TE was on the side of the S that safety, really, became the SS. It wasn't as much a matter of the coaches calling for one player to be the deep safety more than another, it was more how the offensive formation determined it. Either way, they both play very well in either spot.

Originally posted by jonnydel:
Your estimation is pretty spot on. I addressed that same question a while back during the 2013 season with Reid and Whitner. A lot of it has to do with where the opposing team lines up the strength of the formation. Our safeties don't really switch sides of the field. Fangio liked to have mirror players across the board so that if there were shifts in the defense guys weren't running over each other trying to switch sides - they could always stay face up and square to the LOS as the offensive shifted and motioned. So, if the TE was on the side of the S that safety, really, became the SS. It wasn't as much a matter of the coaches calling for one player to be the deep safety more than another, it was more how the offensive formation determined it. Either way, they both play very well in either spot.

not sure why my post has a tag of, "the 49ers will regret letting Roman go" I didn't type that....

Originally posted by jonnydel:
not sure why my post has a tag of, "the 49ers will regret letting Roman go" I didn't type that....

"I'm only writing what's in quotes....did I get hacked????"

Originally posted by jonnydel:

Originally posted by jonnydel:

not sure why my post has a tag of, "the 49ers will regret letting Roman go" I didn't type that....

"I'm only writing what's in quotes....did I get hacked????"

No I think it has something to do with April fools day....,I got a joke sentence in n one mine also.