I've posted this example before and probably will again, and when i have the patience and stomach to go back through the all 22 and find more (because there are MANY) I will. But exactly who's fault is this? The tyrannical coach who somehow doesnt want the offense to put up points? or the idiot of a coordinator that cant scheme his way out of a paper bag?
20210103_175554 by
J_Otte, on Flickr
20210103_175623 by
J_Otte, on Flickr
This play was so maddeningly frustrating because my dad and i are watching the game and see that lockett will be wide open, pre snap. The 49ers elect to leave him open (one of our most electric players) and play high outside. why? BECAUSE THEY KNW THAT RUSS WONT HIT IT. Either because he cant or wont. He's not as elusive, and he cant or wont hit obvious shots in th emiddle of the field, close to the line. So how exacvtly do you adjust as a coordinator when 1/3rd of the field is basically out of the playbook? Evidenced yesterday was that our wr screen solution has been solved forever (and how many times have we seen that play over and over and over again this year for 1 or 2 yards?) CB's can play inside leverage to cover outside slants against pressure (that was solved week 6) . The screen game CAN work but if you know the solutions the O is gonna draw up is NOTHING over the middle, an outside slant, or a screen, exactly HOW EFFECTIVE DO YOU THINK OUR SCREEN GAME IS GOING TO BE. We are giving defenses a pass on 1/3rd of the field. That's hard to overcome, and with Russ getting up in years and not as mobile, ... well, you get what we saw this year.
I love Russ, Want to see him him flourish here, but the tape doesnt lie and we need to stop looking at this situation as it being JUST Pete or JUST Schotty. When you look at the evidence you can absoultely say the O is vanilla. But is it vanilla because its being mandated or because its now become that based on what Russ can or cant (or wont) do? The only way i can make up my mind about that is looking at the tape and when you do, you see A LOT of plays that resulted in open receivers, on time, and with their heads to the QB and a QB standing there with the ball still in his hand.
And i don't know what magic sauce there is to help this situation. Defenses adapted to just rush us up the middle and cover deep because thats basically what our offense is if we cant use the middle of the field. In prior years when Russ was a bit more of a running threat, he would make them pay. That threat isn't nearly what it was. SO the instances where the D gets burned are fewer and the gamble much more worth taking.