Originally posted by jonnydel:
Originally posted by Afrikan:
I'm many pages late...but speaking of Kap checking it down to our RBs, instead of running. I'm all for this, besides late in the season and in the playoffs.
I don't think we could've had game clinching check downs, compared to the runs Kap had against the Packers in both playoff games. I'd like Kap to go based off instincts in these scenarios.
Kap with a head of steam is more deadly than our RBs catching and turning around then accelerating.
For me, it depends on the defense. So many teams are either playing 2 zone defenders over the middle - both with eyes on CK, or with a spy or both(sometimes teams will take the single receiver side flat defender and put him in a spy - they're basically challenging CK to get the ball to that flat). If that's the case, the RB's have been open in the flats with no one around for 8-10 yards. He can be a weapon - but, if he's able to hit his checkdowns to the RB's in those situations, it forces the defense to either take a safety out of the box to play a cover 2 zone - which would provide that extra underneath defender and defend the flats - 2 deep 5 underneath which would open up the run game; or the defense would have to take a player out of a spy on CK which makes his running all the more dangerous and deadly, or take a lineman out of pass rush to spy or play a zone coverage. Any which way - it can create a LOT of things that open things up for every other area of our offense and it truly would be a "pick your poison" situation.
Agree with lots of that. Those two spies we see are when teams go cover1. One free defender is used to spy, which is a must if defenders are going to turn their backs to Kap when in man coverage, the other "spy" is actually in man coverage on the RB, but because the 49ers don't throw to the RB, that defender just serves as another spy.
Here's a play from a team that plays cover1 versus the 49ers a lot. Check out the two LBs in the middle of the field and how they look like spies in zone coverage. In actuality, only one of them is a spy. The other is supposed to cover the RB that flares out to the flat. But because the 49ers don't throw to their RBs in the flat, that defender just stays in the middle of the field to serve as an additional spy.
Also, what we see is when the defense goes cover1, they will many times bring 5 man pressure. Gore was assigned to blitz pickup and would stay in the middle of the offensive formation at the snap of the ball. This allowed his man coverage defender to also stay in the middle of the field, and look like a spy.
The checkdowns you are referring to have to happen in the flat, not over the middle of the field where there are two "spies" that can effectively cover the checkdown. If the checkdown occurs in the flat, then that second spy must leave the middle of the field and go to the flat.