I know you've heard it before. But I really love that you guys take the time to do this. I really hope it gets back to you in some way. You guys have a Paetreon? I'd donate a few bucks your way. Anyway thanks again.
Now some thoughts after rewatching the game:
I know people hate them dropping Lynch into coverage - but the guy is surprisingly effective at it. That said, they really shouldn't do it. He really is a stud player. If we didn't have Borland and Davis and Kilgore was healthy I strongly suspect this team's record would be notably better.
Some of our young guys are definitively making mental errors. Especially in the secondary. I think it should be expected somewhat. I thought we overall did a much better job for the most part when we were in pattern matching though. I think we can make a decent case that letting Culliver walk wasn't the smart move, but it is what it is. Acker - for all his mistakes - shows really nice ability. Brock is a solid corner but not spectacular. We're still getting killed in the middle of the field when we line up our safties deep. And we aren't running many splits. Splits are such a great tool - especially if you know the other teams tendencies you really design something to completely throw a QB off when you take away his first read.
Offensively I think the PFF grade of Kaepernick is decidedly low. And he was definitively reading the field. It looked like he was staring guys down at times but he was staring the RIGHT guy down most of the time - meaning the matchup was good and the play just needed to develop. He is still a touch late on some throws at times, but overall he's improved there too. He needs to get used to stopping his drop and just getting the ball out like some of the great pocket passers do when they see an ideal matchup. The play outlined on the first page is a good example of this. He could have taken two steps instead of 3 and I think that's a big gainer.
His almost ints you could put one on Boldin or him. The other appeared to be a tight window but the defensive player really made a great play. He was otherwise very very good. He made some beautiful throws. I know it's been stated many times already but those accurate bullets on the move are amazing. He was incredible rolling left in college and IMO we need to design more plays to take advantage. Defenses rarely expect that because it's such an odd angle to deliver the ball but he really excels at it. That's one of the best throws you will see all year from any QB. Those throws where you are behind the player are also the hardest to make as a QB. By far. Which is why you almost never see routes that are designed like that. You need to see both the x and y axis movement to really make accurate passes unless you have REALLY put in the work. He wasn't lined up perfectly behind him but it was pretty damn close and he couldn't have great visibility. I thought it was rather amazing. His ability to throw accurate downfield passes in college was fantastic as well - it was a huge reason I thought he was the biggest steal of the draft in 2011 and had a chance to be one of the biggest in history. The talent the guy possesses with his arm when his head is in the game is really incredible. That said I still have my concerns about his mentality - but the way he's rebounded and his play in the clutch most of his career gives me much room for optimism. He seems much much more relaxed and trying to stay that way. You could see him get very upset against the Raiders last year for example and he probably should have been pulled because he was obviously in his own head.
Part of his problem in development was because his raw ability was so outstanding and because our OL could pass protect/run block very effectively it made things easy for him at first. Too easy to the point where I think he thought his QB'ing skills were more than enough. Obviously when things break down that's when the real test starts. And he's been steadily learning and improving at dealing with these breakdowns. His QB'ing skills are definitely on an upward trend IMO.
And finally - I thought Geep did a nice job calling the game. My only criticism is that at the end I would have rather seen them give Colin a run/pass option to have a better chance at sealing the game as the Ravens saw run all the way and their NT was just blowing our line up all game long. That guy is a mega beast whoever he is. Just looking at him too - he's huge, but man, there's not THAT much fat on him. His arms are like almost straight but it's ALL muscle and they're very thick like he doesn't have that crazy bicep size some guys have... it's so weird looking. He looks really mean and nasty though like his small muscles are way oversized which I think really helps push guys around at the line. Anyway - long winded random thoughts.
And once again - anything we can do to make your lives better let us know - this s**t is a lot of work. Don't I know it. I sometimes go back and look at certain plays and it's a time consuming process. I'm really glad that gamepass gives us the coaches film though. Just love that - don't love that it's sometimes not in good (don't know if you've noticed) order but hey it is what it is.
TL:DR version -
Where can I give you guys money.
Geep is showing some things except not loving conservative end calls on last drive - at least wanted a Colin rollout.
Ravens NT is a beast. Whole front 7 pretty good.
Colin has crazy arm talent but needs to keep getting his head and QB game straight.
Secondary showing inexperience but also some good things too. Scheme still not great at times need to give up the Cover 2. Lynch great in coverage but should be rushing pretty much every down.
[ Edited by Evilgenius on Oct 21, 2015 at 4:52 PM ]
