Are We In For A Samuri Surprise?
by MontanaPass on Sep 8, 2009 4:48 PM PDT
Email
PrintI'm going to throw this out there for consideration because I haven't seen it mentioned previously and see what people think.
We've all seen Singletary's secretiveness concerning the pass rush and offensive passing game during the preseason. There was very, very little pass rushing done and almost as little passing. The explanation was that the coaches wanted to see the players in one-on-one matchups without blitzing or stunts on defense and that the team will be primarily a running team so they wanted to establish a dominance on the OL in run blocking. And these are perfectly reasonable explanations and seemingly a matter of coaching preference.
But I smell a "Samurai Surprise" in the making. Why? Look at our schedule at the beginning of the season - Cards, Seahawks, and Vikes. Our two primary competitors in the NFC West and a tough NFC North team. I'm guessing Sing wants to win two out of three of these games very, very badly and isn't above using a little subterfuge to gain an advantage. If your opponent has no film on your new pass rushing scheme, he can't prepare for it. So the Cards will be facing an unknown pass rush in the first game. Add a couple of wrinkles and neither will the Seahawks. The Vikes are not a passing team, even with Farve at QB now. At the same time, opposing DCs will have no film on the 9er's passing attack other than we may run a lot of play action, which is natural for a running team. We may see them drop 9 into the box to stop Gore, leaving receiver mismatches that can be exploited by a good QB. Now add into the mix that the 9ers offensive ones were practicing extensively against blitzes and stunts and one can fairly deduce that the team has been practicing to take advantage of blitzing defenses. But not showing a thing in preseason games.
So, does anyone else here think Sing is deliberately planning to ambush the Cards and Seahawks in an attempt to get a step up at the beginning of the season? Or am I reading too much into the situation?
This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Niners Nation's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Niners Nation's writers or editors.
34 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
As cool...
… as that idea is, the 49ers just flat out lack pass rushing talent. Even if they didn’t scheme during the preseason, a talented team would have done more than luck their way into a sack.
Nice Try, Lack Of Talent Unfortuately
They don’t have the talented fast pass rushers on this roster..They didn’t address this issue, they took Crabtree
instead of Maybin or Orackpo..
We don't yet know about Maybin or Orackpo
Let the season play out, plus perhaps a few more. I do know that AZ won the division with any great pass rusher. They had one more team sack than we did. Atlanta won 11 games in a better divison with only 4 more sacks (and allowing more points) by focusing on running the ball. Let’s not act as though the Niners have no talent cause that’s not true.
You gotta bring ass to get ass.
AZ won the division with arguably the best downfield passing attack in the league and simply outscoring other teams.
"Part, fools!
Put up your swords. You know not what you do."
by Fearless Frog on Sep 8, 2009 9:18 PM PDT up reply actions
Go with the Atlanta comparison
Their defense was far worse than ours by 11 slots. Their QB had a TD/INT ratio of 16/11 while playing in a better division. Carolina’s D was also worse than ours and their QB had a 15/12 ratio. You don’t think with our defense (yes, same pass rushing problems as last season but improved secondary) and Hill having a similar TD/INT ratio as those two can’t win while relying on the run as they both did? That’s how Atlanta went 11-5 and Carolina 12-4. The real difference was turnovers, a huge reason why JTO’s starting record was 2-6. If Hill continues to not turn the ball over we’ll having a winning record.
You gotta bring ass to get ass.
by SpurredOn on Sep 8, 2009 9:53 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
The passing was the difference
They had the 4th most efficient passing game in the NFL and while the running game wasn’t good (per play), it was still quite a bit better than ours. The Niners defense was marginally better though.
by Brendan Scolari on Sep 9, 2009 1:21 AM PDT up reply actions
I really, reeeeeaallly wish people would stop complaining about this.
1) It happened. It’s not changing. Waaah waaah waaah isn’t going to do anything.
2) For all we know, THOSE guys suck. They’re still rookies. We have no idea.
3) Waaah waaah waaah.
Context, people. More context is good. Less context is bad. If you're willing to be reductive, then you're willing to be wrong.
by howtheyscored on Sep 8, 2009 10:33 PM PDT up reply actions
Conspiracy?
Carrying 6 receivers to run, run, run?
Linehan (Being more of a pass kind of coordinator) being the 1st option to hire
Drafting Crabs
I believe its smoke screens.
we rarely sent linbackers in the preseason. we only sent one safety blitz I know we have more stunts then what we showed. i wouldnt be surprised if we come out week one guns blazing.
No way
No smoke screens. Sing won’t change up what he is trying to accomplish for anyone. I think we are Vanilla of the Vanilla.
somewhat true
i think the niners are vanilla on offense and i’m ok with that because i think Gore will have a very good season, with that said, the play actions will come hand in hand. As for the Defense, I truly believe that Singletary has some blitz and stunt packages up his sleeve. Of course, we shall see soon enough…
by sundaysfinest on Sep 8, 2009 6:34 PM PDT up reply actions
The 49ers
Didn’t show anything in terms of scheme during the pre-season. They were extremely predictable during the games. Heck we barely showed any flair in terms of getting Spurlock the ball on non passing plays, which we will do during the season. No blitz packages appeared in any of the games if i remember correctly. We may indeed be this vanilla during the season on offense. We have a solid QB who won’t make many mistakes but also won’t launch a 70 yard TD pass. But what we do have on offense is a RB in Gore that can rush for over 1,500 yards in the right scheme, with good blocking and a good FB. And we have that right now. Let us also not discount the recent acquisition of Pashos, who will be starting by week 3. It seems like we may have something of a coup regarding that, Thanks Marvel.
On defense, we do lack a pass rush, that much is obvious. This is why Singletary held back the blitzing scheme during the preseason. He can work on that during practice without giving away our plans to any of our early opponents. And that blitzing scheme was going up against a decent offensive line in practice so it works out two fold. You see what you have in terms of a scheme and you don’t show your flush before the opponents drops a straight flush. With Hightower starting on Sunday we can afford to blitz all day long with Bly being our nickel. Warner is the most immobile starting QB in the NFL, the Cardinals offensive line is questionable at best and with the right scheme we could make his day hell. I am believing that the 49ers will be blitzing Willis a lot more this season much like Nolan did in 2007. Willis is good for 5-7 sacks a season if utilized correctly in that scheme. Speaking about the first game alone i can say one thing. Arizona’s offense relies on timing routs and deep passes, nothing else. If we are able to send out ILB’s Willis and Spikes on blitzes and mix up coverage with either Harrelson or Spikes dropping into coverage this will disrupt the timing between Warner and Fitz/Bolden. Clements isn’t a true shutdown corner by any means, but he is a great all around player. And lessening the time Warner has to pass by 1-1.5 seconds will indeed make his job much easier and allow him to jump the routs of Fitz. Hightower isn’t an option in the passing game, neither are any of Arizona’s TE’s. We will stop the run Sunday so to have Arizona relying on a one dimensional timing route passing game will allow our defense to succeed
by nocal81(Vincent) on Sep 8, 2009 8:37 PM PDT reply actions
Sing said that they were not game planning
I not 100% sure but I think other teams were game planning against each other in the preseason. Also they called very basic plays making them easy to stop. Singletary is not stupid to call the exact same plays in the preseason as the regular season
Go 49ers
Now there you go making sense
Warner’s immobility combined with his JTO fumbleitis when hit provides an opportunity that must be taken advantage of. It’s always the case when playing him. Hard to believe that we did not force one turnover in two games vs AZ last season. Good, bad or in between that’s hard to do when you play someone twice.
You gotta bring ass to get ass.
The problem with this theory,
is that you can’t just outright not use any strategies of any kind in the preseason against live competition and expect it to be successful the first time you unleash it when it needs to count.
"Part, fools!
Put up your swords. You know not what you do."
+1
I think they didn’t use everything, but they were definitely using most of the stuff they intend to use in the games.
by Brendan Scolari on Sep 9, 2009 1:18 AM PDT up reply actions
how about the wildcat
miami didnt use it against live comp until the regular season that sure was successful
That's a bit different than just regular blitzing
It’s a lot more about deception.
by Brendan Scolari on Sep 9, 2009 1:18 AM PDT up reply actions
The Dolphins experimented with the Wildcat lots of times during the preseason.
"Part, fools!
Put up your swords. You know not what you do."
by Fearless Frog on Sep 9, 2009 11:09 AM PDT up reply actions
I think this is partially true
I think we will definitely throw out more blitzes and different looks on defense than we did during the regular season. But I also think we still won’t have a particularly good pass rush. However, I don’t think teams are going to be totally shocked and awed by anything new that we bring once the regular season starts. We’re still running a 3-4 and the stuff we do will most likely be pretty similar to what you see from other 3-4s, and our opposition can gameplan for that.
I’m pretty sure Arizona isn’t game planning today thinking “gee, the niners hardly ever blitz, guess we don’t have to prepare for that!”
Still defending Rich Aurilia, and the Niners' classic unis
I thought an old sayings goes
Practice makes perfect ? If not, that’s a new one on me ?
Anyone recall Sing's statement about the pass rush?
He said, “Ask me in three weeks.” The implication was that he did have something up his sleeve in terms of a pass rush. And remember that he hired a coach as a Pass Rush Specialist (a former Bears teammate). And that, along with the distinct lack of pass rush during the preseason, is what got me wondering.
On offense we saw only very plain vanilla, not a complete package and what was clearly missing was a passing game. In fact, it was so devoid of passing that it made me wonder about that, too. Three “Tazer” wildcat plays that simply ran straight into the line? What was up with that?
Those who argue that what you practice is what you get have a valid point that I myself have previously made. If you don’t practice it in preseason games, how do you expect it to work in regular-season games? But what about this – the 9ers were, apparently, practicing heavily with blitzes during sessions in Santa Clara, both on offense and defense. So why practice it in Santa Clara but not in preseason games? The answer might be the film. With no film to watch, OCs cannot know who exactly will be blitzing or which types of blitzes the 9ers will be using. They won’t know who our best blitzers are or where they will be coming from. Same with stunts. The 3-4 is very good for disguising blitz packages and there are lots of variations(zones, safeties, corners, ILBs, etc), so it’s not that predictable that OCs can just wing it on game day because all 3-4s run the same packages.
On offense, how are opposing DCs supposed to know our passing tendencies if there’s no film? Especially with a new OC and HC. Or which of our receivers is going to be good on which routes, or what Raye is going to do with V. Davis this year? Or what we’re really going to be doing with the Wildcat?
There are some good arguments for “what you see is what you get” here, but I still think Sing’s got some surprises he’s going to spring on us, and the Cards and Seahawks, starting next week. Let’s hope they are pleasant surprises.
Valid points
Especially with the two opening games being divisional opponents which are the swing games that matter most. I recall that Marv Levy’s Bills used to continually have 1-3 pre-season records because he played his starters very little, instead working on depth, keeping starts fresh and making sure he didn’t tip his hand going into the opener.
You gotta bring ass to get ass.
My head is spinnin
I hope this conspiracy theory pans out.
This idea does have weight. From a strategy standpoint it makes sense. And our pass rush was non-existent during pre-season. I imagine it couldn’t be as bad as it looked.
And for what you see is what you get. This is only partly the case. Detriot was 4-0 in preseason last year. We saw winning. And then a whole lot of losing.
I’m feeling optimistic.
Singletary is more cunning than people (media) give him credit for..
Great post. He changed the defense as interim coach to a pure 3-4..he started parys haralson and made subtle and overt changes that energized the 49ers defense last season.
That being said, he has had an entire preseason to work on the well known niner need of getting pressure on the quarterback (note pressure doesn’t always = sacks).. We have three players that can beat matchups one on one= justin smith, p. haralsyon, and in certain situations m. lawson…we saw in the preseason games the defense didn’t blitz very often and sent only 4 in passing situations. There were some stunts and just a few predictable blitzes…Did the team try to get sacks in these traditional situations? Undoubtedly.. What is also true that in some situations instead of blitzing Sing had multiple players drop into pass coverage..Remember we did a good job of intercepting passes especially in the first few games..?
I think Singletary wanted the team to work hard on their one on one skills conducive to his mano e mano mantra from training camp…this is important for this team to do..
Come Sunday however, Sing..is going to blitz (warner can get flustered with pressure and is not mobile) When we do it will be very important for those same db’s to keep tight coverage, and if a reception is made to make the tackle one on one, and keep a gain from getting big. Coach doesn’t want to tip his hand to what we have coming, by airing it on national tv in preseason..but I guarantee we will see some different formations , line variations (player wise) and blitz packages that will try to wreak havoc on the az line… the key to all this is getting pressure = hurried throws, qb hits, and yes sacks but even more importantly turnovers through interceptions and in the case of a qb hit fumbles…
Manny Lawson was trashed in one-on-one pass-rushing match-ups, even against back-ups at times.
"Part, fools!
Put up your swords. You know not what you do."
by Fearless Frog on Sep 10, 2009 1:31 PM PDT up reply actions
I'm rubbing my favorite rabbit's foot
…and the rabbit’s loving it.
Sacred cows make the best hamburger.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
In Association With
Shutdown Corner - NFL - Yahoo! Sports
- Giants to be honored with commemorative NY license plate; some would rather see a 9/11 plate
- The hidden play of Super Bowl XLVI: Justin Tuck’s third-quarter sack
- Report: Chad Ochocinco will become Chad Johnson once again
- Video: Bill Belichick implores his defense to make the Giants throw to Mario Manningham
- Training Day: Learning the 40 with an Olympian
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
