Short yardage goal line runnig woes- good article

https://www.fieldgulls.com/2018/1/30/16 ... statistics

This article reminds us of why the team let both Cable and Bevell go.

I guess finally Pete realized that what wanted wasn’t ever going to get done without significant change.

Accountability should have happened sooner.

I've been bitching about that for years myself. We've always been a poor short yardage team with Cable here.

I think Pete really wanted a ZBS because thats what he saw be successful in SF. I think he was too stubbornly insistent on it and that's why he stuck so long with Cable. I think they finally realized that today's defensive linemen are just too athletic and the old school ZBS is dying out. The power and trap game seems to be more productive or hybrid ZBS/power schemes.

I think the biggest issue was "Too many Chiefs, and not enough Indians."

I see no way to run a coherent Offensive Scheme with an Offensive Coordinator, and a Run Game Coordinator, who is also the Assistant Head Coach.

Takes all of the authority away from the OC, and when you've already got some Prima Donna Offensive Players, the confusion and "Screw that, I'm not doing that" is going to run rampant. Starting with Marshawn "Flip off the OC" Lynch.

It was obvious at times that the team could not enforce it's will near the goalline or for that matter when a critical short yardage pickup was needed. How Cable survived and managed to oust Sheman Smith when the problem fell on Cable's shoulders was curious? Pete needs to make the whole organization accountable for play that falls short of being acceptable. Simply the team has been weak running the ball in short yardage situations for far too long. Things were made to look better because of the presence of Lynch who was an exceptional after contact RB and made yardage when he was fighting off numerous tacklers. after Lynch was gone the team was basically screwed when they tried to run the ball.

Cable's version of zone running was demonstrably a failure. Bevell had little answer for red zone O especially as far as the running game, and deferred to Cable who had too much authority and faced too little accountability for weak results. How it was that Pete deferred to him and accepted he could fix things for so long is difficult to understand in a time where statistically the quality control assistant coaches should have identified the obvious shortcoming of the shortyardage blocking an/or running.

Reality as well was the OLine was weak as heck run blocking and as we observed not that strong pass protecting either.

Mad Dog":4pfqwls0 said:

I think Pete really wanted a ZBS because thats what he saw be successful in SF. I think he was too stubbornly insistent on it and that's why he stuck so long with Cable. I think they finally realized that today's defensive linemen are just too athletic and the old school ZBS is dying out. The power and trap game seems to be more productive or hybrid ZBS/power schemes.

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It is run successfully at every level of football. Cable just can't coach it or identify players that succeed in any system.

I wonder why the article doesn't include any 3rd or 4th and short (2 yards or less) situations. Seems like that would be a good way to increase the sample size.

You and I both know the answer to the question posed by you. Seattle was frustratingly awfully inconsistent in short yardage situations. The O could not be counted upon to convert them even with Lynch. Yet Lynch at times imposed his will and converted enough for us to love beast mode and we all convinced ourselves our special RB gave the team a running game despite the evidence the OLine was terrible. He got hurt and then the truth became evident notwithstanding Rawls playing well at the beginning. After that we sucked.

I thought the guys we just sent packing were doing things they way Pete wanted? We blame the offensive line but one of the best offensive linemen in the NFL was inserted into the zbs system Pete wants to run and fell from awesome to mediocrity in just a few games. I am happy that Pete made a personel change but I fear tasking new guys to run the same faulty concepts will fail. We will see though.

A-Dog":33ofwyue said:

I wonder why the article doesn't include any 3rd or 4th and short (2 yards or less) situations. Seems like that would be a good way to increase the sample size.

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Because we were always in 3rd and long due to penalties primarily, followed by runs resulting in tackles-for-a-loss, and then sacks.

As well it didn't help that our RB was frequently being met at the exchange point or well behind the LOS leading to very short gains.

I believe these woes were the exact reason the team chose to not run the ball with Lynch in XLIX and instead called that galactically stupid play that was poorly executed and totally tipped to the NE D.

Cable's scheme showed little ability to change according to differing circumstances faced by the O. 'The play' was clearly a situation where a power blocking approach was mandated but not used. NE had their big guys in and our OLine with a properly executed play should have been able to muscle a yard against them. Even one try should have happened with the hardest running RB in the league, if it had failed the team still had a timeout to burn. Then they could have gotten cute.

jammerhawk":hsqy0ztb said:

As well it didn't help that our RB was frequently being met at the exchange point or well behind the LOS leading to very short gains.

I believe these woes were the exact reason the team chose to not run the ball with Lynch in XLIX and instead called that galactically stupid play that was poorly executed and totally tipped to the NE D.

Cable's scheme showed little ability to change according to differing circumstances faced by the O. 'The play' was clearly a situation where a power blocking approach was mandated but not used. NE had their big guys in and our OLine with a properly executed play should have been able to muscle a yard against them. Even one try should have happened with the hardest running RB in the league, if it had failed the team still had a timeout to burn. Then they could have gotten cute.

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I would agree.

As devastating as the result of the play was, the rest of the country who were so sure we should give it to Lynch hadn't watched us in short-yardage situations where the other team knew what was coming. Our blocking was generally helpless when the other team knew what was coming, run or pass (which is why Bevell's play action on 3rd and long or other obvious passing situations used to drive me up the wall).

My thinking would have been, I have the most determined and most dominant back in the league that can will yards from himself, I have one yard to go to win the Super Bowl, All I have to do is drive block a wedge 24 inches forward and he will get the rest.

Nope, gonna surprise them with a formation I use for only one play that Brandon Browner knows and throw it inside to the most crowded part of the field with no fake to our RB to pull the defense low and forward to give a receiver #6 on the depth chart that does not run routes well, that does not run this play often even in practice.

Yep, galactically arrogant and stupid, when the team was high from moving downfield and the OLine could have been asked to outmuscle the Pats for the W. If not then the next play after the Timeout be fancy but less obvious.

The execution of that play was not that strong either.

chris98251":3pjg5h2j said:

My thinking would have been, I have the most determined and most dominant back in the league that can will yards from himself, I have one yard to go to win the Super Bowl, All I have to do is drive block a wedge 24 inches forward and he will get the rest.

Nope, gonna surprise them with a formation I use for only one play that Brandon Browner knows and throw it inside to the most crowded part of the field with no fake to our RB to pull the defense low and forward to give a receiver #6 on the depth chart that does not run routes well, that does not run this play often even in practice.

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So totally THIS. And then Bevell throwing Ricardo Lockette under the bus, "could've been stronger to the ball" instead of taking ANY accountability for the weak points of the call. The call also required Kearse to outmuscle Browner and push him back to create the pick action, when Browner knew (guessed right) on exactly what was coming. Plus Kearse gives up about 20-30 lbs to Browner. Bevell failing to take responsibilty for the shortcomings--arrogant and out of touch.

All that said, if Russell puts the ball in a better location, decent chance it's a TD. Likely worst case is incomplete and clock stops and we get to regroup with a 3rd down play.

Dumb question: Where is the QB sneak ? Even Brady can do it. I have never seen us run it. never.