Week 13 49ers vs Bucs Coaches Film Analysis

The way our Oline runs is so wild.

Nice cut ups of the defensive presnap adjustments to make Brady think. It did seem like the 49ers were squatting on the short game, and it makes a lot of sense as Bucs pass pro isn't good so why worry about the intermediate/deep passing game from old man Brady? JWard breaking up the pass on the slant/crosser, Huf destroying the crosser (Brady with a hospital ball), and other plays where the 49ers knew Brady was looking short. Brady's strength as a passer plays directly into the strength of the 49ers' coverage - Warner, Greenlaw, JWard - I don't think there's a better trio of underneath zone defenders in the league. A big weaknesses of Quarters (Palms) is having only three underneath zones. That weakness is mitigated by having those three players cover so much ground and tackle so well once the short pass is completed. One of the underrated aspects to having Gipson start is allowing JWard to play slot.

Nice cutup of how when Brendl blocks well, big run plays happen. I commend Brendl for stepping into the starter role, but I do hope the team makes a concerted effort to find a better C this offseason. We know CMC is one of the best checkdown options in the league, the 49ers are starting to use Deebo as one and that's unfair (@10:00). Maybe Deebo wasn't a checkdown, but he was a "harmless" route to the flat and ends up getting a first down. The team will miss plays like this while Deebo is out of the lineup.

What do you think DCs will do to defend Brock in the next couple weeks? I think he can read zones very well for a rookie, is not afraid of being blitzed, and is willing to throw into tight coverage which will help him throw versus man. I'm having a hard time coming up with what Brock may struggle with.

There was one play where Kittle helped pass pro with McG, then released as a checkdown, caught a dinky pass and YAC'ed for a first down. That is unfair, and a great way to use Kittle.

At this point, affording to extend Ward almost seems impossible now that he's also taken the K'waun Williams role to some great heights in addition to his (previous) safety role.

Originally posted by grapesofrathman:
At this point, affording to extend Ward almost seems impossible now that he's also taken the K'waun Williams role to some great heights in addition to his (previous) safety role.

Ehhh… Ward hasn't been great in coverage. He got lucky that Brady flat out missed or he would have given up a touchdown. Another week he gave up a perfect completion percentage when targeted.

Ward is still good at tackling. But I certainly think we can upgrade from him next season, especially in the slot.

Originally posted by grapesofrathman:
At this point, affording to extend Ward almost seems impossible now that he's also taken the K'waun Williams role to some great heights in addition to his (previous) safety role.

I don't know if there will be a long line to sign a 32 year old free agent safety/slotCB. Will be interesting to see how the 49ers handle JWard this offseason.

Originally posted by thl408:
Nice cut ups of the defensive presnap adjustments to make Brady think. It did seem like the 49ers were squatting on the short game, and it makes a lot of sense as Bucs pass pro isn't good so why worry about the intermediate/deep passing game from old man Brady? JWard breaking up the pass on the slant/crosser, Huf destroying the crosser (Brady with a hospital ball), and other plays where the 49ers knew Brady was looking short. Brady's strength as a passer plays directly into the strength of the 49ers' coverage - Warner, Greenlaw, JWard - I don't think there's a better trio of underneath zone defenders in the league. A big weaknesses of Quarters (Palms) is having only three underneath zones. That weakness is mitigated by having those three players cover so much ground and tackle so well once the short pass is completed. One of the underrated aspects to having Gipson start is allowing JWard to play slot.

Nice cutup of how when Brendl blocks well, big run plays happen. I commend Brendl for stepping into the starter role, but I do hope the team makes a concerted effort to find a better C this offseason. We know CMC is one of the best checkdown options in the league, the 49ers are starting to use Deebo as one and that's unfair (@10:00). Maybe Deebo wasn't a checkdown, but he was a "harmless" route to the flat and ends up getting a first down. The team will miss plays like this while Deebo is out of the lineup.

What do you think DCs will do to defend Brock in the next couple weeks? I think he can read zones very well for a rookie, is not afraid of being blitzed, and is willing to throw into tight coverage which will help him throw versus man. I'm having a hard time coming up with what Brock may struggle with.

I don't think there's an obvious way to go, and ultimately, the opposing DC will mix it up.

If they feel confident to play man, that could work on short routes... but CMC will beat most guys in one-on-one situations, and Aiyuk is showing he can cook defenders with his route-running. And then there's the problem that it's one missed tackle away from a CMC, Aiyuk, Kittle, Jennings picking up 40 yards of YAC.

They could try zone to ensure that they tackle everything in front of them. Brock's shown so far that he can read zone coverage and find open receivers.

If I was an opposing defensive coordinator, I'd make sure that (1) I shut down the run, (2) mixed up my zone coverages and made sure my defenses disguise things well pre-snap, and then (3) call man coverage on tight 3rd downs.

Not an easy way to go about it, because Shanahan will be anticipating and countering with things as well.

Originally posted by Waterbear:

Originally posted by grapesofrathman:
At this point, affording to extend Ward almost seems impossible now that he's also taken the K'waun Williams role to some great heights in addition to his (previous) safety role.

Ehhh… Ward hasn't been great in coverage. He got lucky that Brady flat out missed or he would have given up a touchdown. Another week he gave up a perfect completion percentage when targeted.

Ward is still good at tackling. But I certainly think we can upgrade from him next season, especially in the slot.

Its hard to say it's easy to move on when he's been a hig part of our defense being ridiculously good the past 4 weeks.

Since we play so much zone, the "targeted" metrics are hard for me to pin in him, especially with how much his side can change from hook to curl/flat/hook post snap. He's been stellar in his run fits and understands the ins and outs of how to play our zone very well.

Originally posted by thl408:
Nice cut ups of the defensive presnap adjustments to make Brady think. It did seem like the 49ers were squatting on the short game, and it makes a lot of sense as Bucs pass pro isn't good so why worry about the intermediate/deep passing game from old man Brady? JWard breaking up the pass on the slant/crosser, Huf destroying the crosser (Brady with a hospital ball), and other plays where the 49ers knew Brady was looking short. Brady's strength as a passer plays directly into the strength of the 49ers' coverage - Warner, Greenlaw, JWard - I don't think there's a better trio of underneath zone defenders in the league. A big weaknesses of Quarters (Palms) is having only three underneath zones. That weakness is mitigated by having those three players cover so much ground and tackle so well once the short pass is completed. One of the underrated aspects to having Gipson start is allowing JWard to play slot.

Nice cutup of how when Brendl blocks well, big run plays happen. I commend Brendl for stepping into the starter role, but I do hope the team makes a concerted effort to find a better C this offseason. We know CMC is one of the best checkdown options in the league, the 49ers are starting to use Deebo as one and that's unfair (@10:00). Maybe Deebo wasn't a checkdown, but he was a "harmless" route to the flat and ends up getting a first down. The team will miss plays like this while Deebo is out of the lineup.

What do you think DCs will do to defend Brock in the next couple weeks? I think he can read zones very well for a rookie, is not afraid of being blitzed, and is willing to throw into tight coverage which will help him throw versus man. I'm having a hard time coming up with what Brock may struggle with.

As for how DC's will try and combat him, I think it'll be the same way as JG, with our offense. You have to play coverage with 7 and get home with 4 and limit YAC.

That 35 yard throw to Yuk for a touchdown. Wow

Thanks Jonny

Awesome video & breakdown as usual! So excited for Thursday night football!

Originally posted by jonnydel:

Originally posted by Waterbear:

Originally posted by grapesofrathman:
At this point, affording to extend Ward almost seems impossible now that he's also taken the K'waun Williams role to some great heights in addition to his (previous) safety role.

Ehhh… Ward hasn't been great in coverage. He got lucky that Brady flat out missed or he would have given up a touchdown. Another week he gave up a perfect completion percentage when targeted.

Ward is still good at tackling. But I certainly think we can upgrade from him next season, especially in the slot.

Its hard to say it's easy to move on when he's been a hig part of our defense being ridiculously good the past 4 weeks.

Since we play so much zone, the "targeted" metrics are hard for me to pin in him, especially with how much his side can change from hook to curl/flat/hook post snap. He's been stellar in his run fits and understands the ins and outs of how to play our zone very well.

"Easy to move on from" is not exactly what I meant to say.

I just feel like his play at slot corner leaves a lot to be desired from a coverage perspective. As a run stopper he's been great. I've always acknowledged Ward's tacking ability and I know last year he was the highest graded run stopper at the safety position. I don't expect an upgrade it that area this offseason. If he can be physical with the WRs and jam them at the line of scrimmage he's always covered well. I just don't feel like he's a natural FS or Slot, IMO he's strictly a SS. Now that we have Hufanga I feel we should move on from Ward. It just wouldn't shock me if we found another late round gem that could prove to be more productive from the slot position and his skillset isn't needed as much. But to his credit played well this season and he's much better than what we have behind him now.

Originally posted by Waterbear:

Originally posted by jonnydel:

Originally posted by Waterbear:

Originally posted by grapesofrathman:
At this point, affording to extend Ward almost seems impossible now that he's also taken the K'waun Williams role to some great heights in addition to his (previous) safety role.

Ehhh… Ward hasn't been great in coverage. He got lucky that Brady flat out missed or he would have given up a touchdown. Another week he gave up a perfect completion percentage when targeted.

Ward is still good at tackling. But I certainly think we can upgrade from him next season, especially in the slot.

Its hard to say it's easy to move on when he's been a hig part of our defense being ridiculously good the past 4 weeks.

Since we play so much zone, the "targeted" metrics are hard for me to pin in him, especially with how much his side can change from hook to curl/flat/hook post snap. He's been stellar in his run fits and understands the ins and outs of how to play our zone very well.

"Easy to move on from" is not exactly what I meant to say.

I just feel like his play at slot corner leaves a lot to be desired from a coverage perspective. As a run stopper he's been great. I've always acknowledged Ward's tacking ability and I know last year he was the highest graded run stopper at the safety position. I don't expect an upgrade it that area this offseason. If he can be physical with the WRs and jam them at the line of scrimmage he's always covered well. I just don't feel like he's a natural FS or Slot, IMO he's strictly a SS. Now that we have Hufanga I feel we should move on from Ward. It just wouldn't shock me if we found another late round gem that could prove to be more productive from the slot position and his skillset isn't needed as much. But to his credit played well this season and he's much better than what we have behind him now.

Other than EMan, our "late round gems" at DB haven't worked out.
Given our injury history at DB, I don't think we can just throw away one of our best players.

I love Huf but he has as many WTF moments as JimmyG.

Originally posted by thl408:

Originally posted by grapesofrathman:
At this point, affording to extend Ward almost seems impossible now that he's also taken the K'waun Williams role to some great heights in addition to his (previous) safety role.

I don't know if there will be a long line to sign a 32 year old free agent safety/slotCB. Will be interesting to see how the 49ers handle JWard this offseason.

I also keep forgetting that he's 32 AND the longest tenured player on the team right now

Originally posted by All22:

Originally posted by Waterbear:

Originally posted by jonnydel:

Originally posted by Waterbear:

Originally posted by grapesofrathman:
At this point, affording to extend Ward almost seems impossible now that he's also taken the K'waun Williams role to some great heights in addition to his (previous) safety role.

Ehhh… Ward hasn't been great in coverage. He got lucky that Brady flat out missed or he would have given up a touchdown. Another week he gave up a perfect completion percentage when targeted.

Ward is still good at tackling. But I certainly think we can upgrade from him next season, especially in the slot.

Its hard to say it's easy to move on when he's been a hig part of our defense being ridiculously good the past 4 weeks.

Since we play so much zone, the "targeted" metrics are hard for me to pin in him, especially with how much his side can change from hook to curl/flat/hook post snap. He's been stellar in his run fits and understands the ins and outs of how to play our zone very well.

"Easy to move on from" is not exactly what I meant to say.

I just feel like his play at slot corner leaves a lot to be desired from a coverage perspective. As a run stopper he's been great. I've always acknowledged Ward's tacking ability and I know last year he was the highest graded run stopper at the safety position. I don't expect an upgrade it that area this offseason. If he can be physical with the WRs and jam them at the line of scrimmage he's always covered well. I just don't feel like he's a natural FS or Slot, IMO he's strictly a SS. Now that we have Hufanga I feel we should move on from Ward. It just wouldn't shock me if we found another late round gem that could prove to be more productive from the slot position and his skillset isn't needed as much. But to his credit played well this season and he's much better than what we have behind him now.

Other than EMan, our "late round gems" at DB haven't worked out.
Given our injury history at DB, I don't think we can just throw away one of our best players.

I love Huf but he has as many WTF moments as JimmyG.

Well I'm not saying I would cut him, he's not under contract next season.