The reason why we can't finish games is because

I would say the biggest thing is they keep changing our defense when we have the lead at the end of games and at the end of the half. We don't play prevent defense well. Not just at the end of the games when we are trying to bleed the clock but on long and distance downs as well.

For the offense, Kyle has a difficult decision with his playcalling. Do you get conservative and run the ball or do you let Jimmy throw some and risk him blowing it for you? So I kind of give this a pass.

It is probably too late to fix our terrible prevent defense at this point but in the future, it is something we got to get corrected. For the rest of the season, we should just call plays on defense like it is the first play of the game. Stop going to prevent defense when we are terrible at it.

Originally posted by ritz126:

Originally posted by NCommand:
The only issue here is guys like Deebo running out of bounds and DB's tackling guys out of bounds. This is a basic coaching principle. Deebo did it last week too.

ya that was a huge mistake i really hope they talk to Deebo about that but i wouldnt say its a coaching issue that is something Deebo should know

You'd think right?

Originally posted by NCommand:
The only issue here is guys like Deebo running out of bounds and DB's tackling guys out of bounds. This is a basic coaching principle. Deebo did it last week too.

Agreed. To be fair though, they're trying to get to the edge and are fighting to get the angle that can get them a first down and extend the drive another four downs.

It's such a playcalling challenge. Running the ball inside is the safest, but also the easiest to stop. Running the ball outside opens things up, but you run the risk of going out of bounds. You pass the ball on safe screens or passes to the sidelines, but that has the risk of incompletion and the defense is also watching for that. You throw into the middle of the field, you have the risk of incompletions, interceptions, sacks, fumbles…

It's a tough balance, and then you have to contend with what the opposing coordinator calls as well.

I disagree with the whole idea of draining the clock. You should try and move the ball and score every time unless you have a lead that is literally impossible to insurmount. You take a lot more time off the clock by moving the ball, and if you score, better yet.

Originally posted by Wubbie:
Agreed, we shouldn't pass just for the sake of being unpredictable. The goal in the fourth quarter with a lead is to drain clock as much as possible and not turn the ball over.

A good example in the same game is that our QB Sneak at the end didn't need to have the Trent Williams motion. We did that to make the Cowboys think we might do something else… but Jimmy's QB sneak efficiency is so good. Even if you know it's coming, just do it.

Thank you. It's 23-10 and your team is built to run the ball, teams are loading the box every week all game regardless. They had 3 possessions in the 4th QR and the longest drive was when they ran the ball. The first drive they actually did what he wanted which resulted in a INT and changed the game.

Yes the motion was weird on the QB sneak, not sure what Kyle was thinking there. Jimmy gotta wait on that regardless because it would have worked.

Originally posted by TyCore:
IMO we finished the game, but I'd choose A because we failed to put them away at our convenience.

It's a luxury to be able to put a nail in the coffin, letting it come down to the final plays is riveting and exciting, but wholly unnecessary considering we had multiple opportunities we let slip by.

I'd like to write our own endings on offense a little more.

...but that's not always possible w/postseason football. Quality, motivated opponents don't lay down.

I agree with this sentiment. Never stop scoring and throw away drives cuz we just want to run some clock here. Never be so afraid of making a mistake that you quit trying to attack. A game we controlled became a clock watching contest and we're praying for the clock to just run out before they complete their comeback. In the beginning we felt like the better team. In the end we felt lucky. Glad we moved on

Guess I'm late to the party and don't want to read through an entire thread about why we can't finish games, so I just want to ask what games we couldn't finish? The most recent was Tennessee, and everyone knows we didn't finish that because Jimmy s**t the bed. Earlier this season we lost late and couldn't finish because our defense s**t the bed, but that problem seems to have been fixed. We're rolling with Jimmy until this season ends, but there is no fixing him. So if we can't finish from this point forward, the answer is we can't finish games because our QB can't fix himself.

Jimmy.

Originally posted by IrishCrnjo:
I disagree with the whole idea of draining the clock. You should try and move the ball and score every time unless you have a lead that is literally impossible to insurmount. You take a lot more time off the clock by moving the ball, and if you score, better yet.

I'll remember that when Kyle is up 23-10 in the 4th QR and chucking it downfield, EVERYONE will be losing their damn mind.

People just acting like Jimmy and Co are gonna complete every pass like a running play. This team is built to run the ball end of the day, passing the ball late is what almost got SF the loss.

Originally posted by IrishCrnjo:
I disagree with the whole idea of draining the clock. You should try and move the ball and score every time unless you have a lead that is literally impossible to insurmount. You take a lot more time off the clock by moving the ball, and if you score, better yet.

Yet us draining the clock led to the Cowboys having 32 seconds to drive 80 yards to score a TD with no timeout.

Draining the clock by predominantly running is a valid strategy. It's just balancing the aggression/conservatism by how much time there is left on the clock. That's the question. If we're running when there's still 15 minutes left, that's too conservative. But if we're throwing passes with two minutes left, that's too aggressive.

Originally posted by NYniner85:

Originally posted by Wubbie:
Agreed, we shouldn't pass just for the sake of being unpredictable. The goal in the fourth quarter with a lead is to drain clock as much as possible and not turn the ball over.

A good example in the same game is that our QB Sneak at the end didn't need to have the Trent Williams motion. We did that to make the Cowboys think we might do something else… but Jimmy's QB sneak efficiency is so good. Even if you know it's coming, just do it.

Thank you. It's 23-10 and your team is built to run the ball, teams are loading the box every week all game regardless. They had 3 possessions in the 4th QR and the longest drive was when they ran the ball. The first drive they actually did what he wanted which resulted in a INT and changed the game.

Yes the motion was weird on the QB sneak, not sure what Kyle was thinking there. Jimmy gotta wait on that regardless because it would have worked.

It wasn't wrong, just unnecessary. I trust Jimmy's 25/25 QB Sneak conversion success. If they stop us on that, that's not something I'd second guess.

Originally posted by 9ers4eva:

Originally posted by NCommand:
So proud of this team.

Even Tom Compton?

Originally posted by 49erFaithful6:
I agree with this sentiment. Never stop scoring and throw away drives cuz we just want to run some clock here. Never be so afraid of making a mistake that you quit trying to attack. A game we controlled became a clock watching contest and we're praying for the clock to just run out before they complete their comeback. In the beginning we felt like the better team. In the end we felt lucky. Glad we moved on

You need the proper personnel to think like that though.

We felt like the better team the whole game, they never played from behind. Dallas was the ones tossing out fake punts and laterals all game because the didn't have answers for anything. SF just did what they do every week. They played their game and won. They made Dallas one dimensional. They forced that DL to run defend, not pin their ears back all game.

This Dallas D wasn't poop. They're the #1 pass D and have a billion TOs. SF did what they had to do to come out on top.

On to GB!

Originally posted by Wubbie:

Originally posted by IrishCrnjo:
I disagree with the whole idea of draining the clock. You should try and move the ball and score every time unless you have a lead that is literally impossible to insurmount. You take a lot more time off the clock by moving the ball, and if you score, better yet.

Yet us draining the clock led to the Cowboys having 32 seconds to drive 80 yards to score a TD with no timeout.

Draining the clock by predominantly running is a valid strategy. It's just balancing the aggression/conservatism by how much time there is left on the clock. That's the question. If we're running when there's still 15 minutes left, that's too conservative. But if we're throwing passes with two minutes left, that's too aggressive.

I'll also add that Shanahan trusts his defense too, and that trust is warranted. We played an amazing game on defense too. I believed that the 49ers could prevent the Cowboys from scoring a TD in the end, whether or not the Cowboys did a dumb play call.

Originally posted by Wubbie:

Originally posted by IrishCrnjo:
I disagree with the whole idea of draining the clock. You should try and move the ball and score every time unless you have a lead that is literally impossible to insurmount. You take a lot more time off the clock by moving the ball, and if you score, better yet.

Yet us draining the clock led to the Cowboys having 32 seconds to drive 80 yards to score a TD with no timeout.

Draining the clock by predominantly running is a valid strategy. It's just balancing the aggression/conservatism by how much time there is left on the clock. That's the question. If we're running when there's still 15 minutes left, that's too conservative. But if we're throwing passes with two minutes left, that's too aggressive.

To be fair that final drive you are talking about was the 2nd time we punted away to them with a 6 point, one TD beats us, lead. Recall the D already stopped them on the 4th down heave to Wilson that was juuust incomplete.

We punted to them with 2:51 remaining AND we punted to them with 40 seconds remaining.