San Francisco 49ers 2010 Penalties: A Mess For Jim Harbaugh To Clean Up?
by David Fucillo on Jan 11, 2011 12:01 PM PST
in San Francisco 49ers News
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When Mike Singletary took over, there was some thought that Singletary would bring a necessary discipline to the 49ers. He wasn't bringing an iron fist to the San Francisco 49ers but his disciplinary style seemed like it would only improve the 49ers. After watching the 49ers in 2010, it's possible nothing drove me quite as crazy as the insane amount of penalties. The 49ers somehow managed to shoot themselves in the foot several times a game and potentially cost themselves several wins.
The penalties weren't the only examples of foot-shooting, but they were often the most glaring. I took a quick look at penalty rankings over at teamrankings.com and the results are fairly predictable. The 49ers finished with 28th in the NFL with 7.0 penalties per game. The 49ers finished 27th in the NFL with 58.3 penalty yards per game. Neither of these is shocking as most of us could see with our own two eyes that the 49ers were committing way too many penalties. The league leader in fewest penalties per game was Atlanta with 3.6 and fewest penalty yards per game was Green bay with 37.2.
As the team heads into 2011, the question now is what will help solve the penalty problems. One of the reasons the 49ers had a large number of penalties was Anthony Davis' struggles in his rookie season. As of Week 13 (no more recent post), Davis was "among the NFL leaders" with 11 penalties on the season. I can't find more specific statistics, but given the bye week, that's just about one penalty per game. That's certainly not a good thing.
However, one has to hope that he'll show improvement in 2011. He might not but given his raw nature, is there any value in assuming he won't improve? Maybe he won't but I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. I believe he's earned that based on some strong performances over the course of the 2010 season.
Of course, the discipline issue goes well beyond Anthony Davis. After Mike Singletary was fired I recall hearing some players talk about how they played tight during his tenure because they were worried about screwing up and pissing him off. It's rather ironic that the team's efforts to avoid not screwing up might have in fact resulted in more screw-ups.
The 49ers now bring in a coach in Jim Harbaugh who is a bit more in the pump-them-up mold. While professionals might not get quite as pumped as college kids with this act, would something like this put the 49ers in a position on the field to be less concerned about screwing up and better able to just take care of business?
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Best to show what to do, not what not to not do.
I believe Harbaugh will get this cleaned up.
Jay Cruise
Holistic Healing Mind Body Spirit Arthritis Relief
Pentalties are the first sign of bad coaching
they show a lack of coordination and of understanding in regards to the game. They are the mistakes that can really screw up a team chemistry and destroy a drive on offense. Defensively, they can help sustain drives for the opponents etc…. On the other hand, Stanford was a well coached team that limited mistakes and played up to their potential in terms of what the game entailed, and the situational parts that tended to destroy the 49ers in 2010. 3rd down, and 1, false start etc….. I believe he will fix it
Wholey shoots and ladders, Tim K tweeted me that Harbough is my uncle, but he still needs to verify his sources after he gets his cavity filled
by nocal81(Vincent) on Jan 11, 2011 12:09 PM PST reply actions
Not necessarily...
They’re also often the sign of an aggressive defense. IIRC, good defenses can accumulate lots of penalties.
Not when they are stupid penalties.
holding, false start, illegal formation etc.
I believe the last game there was great improvement in the number of penalties, thanks to the head coach Tomusula.
"You know whats funny? I always thought uhm dogs lay eggs and I learned something new today" Peter Griffin
by HUNGRY HUNTER on Jan 11, 2011 12:27 PM PST up reply actions
Who said they were always in fear of messing up with Sing?
I believe that might have had something to do with all the mistakes & penaltys last year as well..
2011 season can't come quick enough..
I think Vernon Davis said that...
and surprise surprise…he doesn’t miss Sing either.
"The year we beat Miami in the Super Bowl, ... do you know how many defensive linemen were in our rotation? Nine, and we used them all quite a bit. We just wore the Dolphins out."
Bill Walsh quote
by Iupati_like_its_1999 on Jan 11, 2011 12:39 PM PST up reply actions
Also
I think it was RJF who said that the last week of practice with tomsula was way better than any before. Said they actually practiced game times situations, unlike with singletary. With Singletary he said sometimes they werent prepared for situations.
Very scary.
by h0ckeysk83r on Jan 11, 2011 12:41 PM PST up reply actions
how the hell did we win 6 games???
"The year we beat Miami in the Super Bowl, ... do you know how many defensive linemen were in our rotation? Nine, and we used them all quite a bit. We just wore the Dolphins out."
Bill Walsh quote
by Iupati_like_its_1999 on Jan 11, 2011 12:42 PM PST up reply actions
Talent
Talent kept us in games.
That and luck. People think we were unlucky, but our luck transferred to staying in games, or making them close after tossing a safety, and committing costly penalties. A lot of games we played that were close, should have been blowouts.
Beating AZ twice, DEN, OAK, STL, and SEA...
Murderers Row.
Jim Harbaugh, new Head Coach of the San Francisco 49ers. Now what?
my girlfriend works at Sino Restaurant in Santana Row...
I guess the niners and sharks are always in there so she gets me some autographs from time to time…
My Dad’s bday was this past weekend and Vernon Davis was in there so she had him sign a card for my dad. My dad was not a huge singletary fan so she had him mention something about him in the card… this is what he wrote:
To Greg,
thank you for your support. VD85
PS (singletary is gone forever !!!!)
for some reason I didnt believe he wrote that because i thought he was thankful for turning his attitude around but after reading the comments in here it really makes sense.
Just thought i would share
You could see it from the first game forward..
It’s been posted many times how the team played too tight under Sing during the season.
Jim Harbaugh, new Head Coach of the San Francisco 49ers. Now what?
I think it started at halftime at SEA
But after they got lambasted after that game, you could see this team just fall apart.
Singletary calling that team meeting only 1 game into the season just killed us.
They’re usually from mental mistakes, very aggravating. A lot of defensive mistakes are used to stop a player. PI for a guy that blew by you to prevent a TD, a facemask accidently, hitting the head of the quarterback because it is all you can get. All penalties suck, but yes, the offensive ones should be more preventable.
Have you ever
carried a lot of plates at once? Not hard to do but it needs some concentration. Then someone says, “be careful” and you almost always drop them. You are made at the no duh comment. Be careful, what a wonderful idea, I was planning on dropping them. It seems to me when you over-concentrate it leads to mistakes. When wrestling, if I shut my brain off and just did my thing, I did much better than when I was so stressed out to not lose. I think if you coach a player fundamentals all the time and drill it into their head, it will become reactionary to use proper techniques and not get a penalty. I always wondered why young players get more penalties. My conclussion is that they are too scared to screw up, haven’t perfected their techniques, and have not learned how to get away with them.
Its like holding soap. If you squeeze these guys too much they will be to tight and scared out there, while if you are too loose they get lazy and cheat. This seperates good coaches from bad ones, very hard to measure what works for these guys and doesn’t for these others.
Yes, Please Dont drop the soap...
or else you will go into the shower a tight end & Come out a Wide receiver..
2011 season can't come quick enough..
by AzNiner on Jan 11, 2011 12:17 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
exactly
when Bubba says be careful with that soap, chances are you will drop the soap. This is Davis’ problem. While I think he could defend himself, he makes the mental mistake of putting himself in a vulnerable position and getting beat around the end. This happens to all rookies and I think he will not have this problem as he gets more experience
Wow
or else you will go into the shower a tight end & Come out a Wide receiver.
Did you come up with that? That is very good.
Recd
Thanks..........
Yes I had plenty of time on the prison yard to think of quick witty analogies as such..NOT
2011 season can't come quick enough..
Same with me in baseball
Or even golf now. If I’m worried about making sure I don’t hit it to the right in the water, I do one of two things even if every drive up until then was right down the middle. I either shank it left because I over compensate, or I shank it right into the water. Sometimes you just have to know the situation, but not dwell on it and just let your muscle memory take over. That’s why Tiger is so good. He practices for everything, so he doesn’t have to think, his muscle memory will take over even for shots that happen once a year.
For baseball I played shortstop. Tight games, runners on, I would sometimes be like, if this ball comes to me, I better not mess up, and guess what, I’d either boot it, or throw it over the first baseman’s head. As I grew up, and hit HS, I would just know the situation, and tell myself, if I get the ball, I’m throwing it to 1b, and was fine.
I agree with you, I think Singletary paralyzed them with fear.
Science
Motor Behaviorists term it “Self-fulfilling Prophesy”… basically you say or think it, and it will happen.
I too experience this in golf, but as a junior playing in tournaments, learned to use it to my advantage. rather than look at the water and say don’t hit it in the water, look to my target, see the shot, say I’m going to do it, step up and do it!
I am a biomechanist but we do a lot of research with behavior motorists here and the stuff is very interesting from a coaching perspective.
if failure is on your mind
failure is more likely to happen
Harbaugh will find a QB and he will succeed.
I'm not sayin that penalties weren't a problem - they clearly were, don't get me wrong
But throughout the season, some of the penalties called on us and not called on opposite teams was amazing, to say the least. So those numbers are a little scewed imo.
In the category of Off Topic...
Some good news:
Jim Harbaugh, new Head Coach of the San Francisco 49ers. Now what?
In other breaking news, 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh stated that the team will try to win games and the players will have numbers on their jerseys.
+1
Member of the legendary Jim Harbaugh threads... all 1687603 of them.
Official president of the "Fire Jim O'Brian Fan Club"
by return2greatness on Jan 11, 2011 12:53 PM PST up reply actions
WTF
This shocking revelation comes on the same day that AP reports that grass is, in fact, green.
Stolen from manraj7, with some additions:
1. Jake Locker QB Wasington 2. Jimmy Smith CB Colorado (or Best CB Available) 3. Christian Ballard DE Iowa 4a. Owen Marecic FB/ST Stanford 4b. Kai Forbath K UCLA 5. Running Back 6a. Defensive Lineman 6b. Guard or Center 7. Whatever's left!
I’m not here to amuse you drummer. Despite your best guesses, I don’t have a notepad next to me of lines I came up with last night to impress you. I am a living, breathing human being that tries to make everyone happy. I am not an animal.
Well yeah , Nate is a seahawk now ...!!
I'm your " Huckelberry "...it's just my game ...Jimmy Raye your no daisy ...!!
But since Alex is technically a free agent, does that mean that once he is signed then he can fill that role?
KIDDING!
by Rod Blogojevich on Jan 11, 2011 12:39 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
All Alex needs is another three years to get completely comfortable with the offense, have weapons, protection, a strong running game, a defense, a great gameplan, excellent clock management, luck, a golden goose, eye of newt, a third receiving TE, a genie, and proper communication with the OC and he will live up to his potential.
by mcwagner on Jan 11, 2011 12:45 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
dont forget the four leafed clover and rabbits foot. Also the eyelash of a purple dragon.
"The year we beat Miami in the Super Bowl, ... do you know how many defensive linemen were in our rotation? Nine, and we used them all quite a bit. We just wore the Dolphins out."
Bill Walsh quote
by Iupati_like_its_1999 on Jan 11, 2011 12:48 PM PST up reply actions
Gaaaaatorade
Stolen from manraj7, with some additions:
1. Jake Locker QB Wasington 2. Jimmy Smith CB Colorado (or Best CB Available) 3. Christian Ballard DE Iowa 4a. Owen Marecic FB/ST Stanford 4b. Kai Forbath K UCLA 5. Running Back 6a. Defensive Lineman 6b. Guard or Center 7. Whatever's left!
Locker
Member of the legendary Jim Harbaugh threads... all 1687603 of them.
Official president of the "Fire Jim O'Brian Fan Club"
by return2greatness on Jan 11, 2011 12:54 PM PST up reply actions
not at #7
Harbs will take a Qb in the 3rd or 4th Dalton or Yates
Harbaugh will find a QB and he will succeed.
Gabbert at #7?
Member of the legendary Jim Harbaugh threads... all 1687603 of them.
Official president of the "Fire Jim O'Brian Fan Club"
by return2greatness on Jan 11, 2011 1:02 PM PST up reply actions
I rather have Locker
"The year we beat Miami in the Super Bowl, ... do you know how many defensive linemen were in our rotation? Nine, and we used them all quite a bit. We just wore the Dolphins out."
Bill Walsh quote
by Iupati_like_its_1999 on Jan 11, 2011 1:03 PM PST up reply actions
I like both..
Gabbert has protypical size though… Locker is a bit smaller.
Member of the legendary Jim Harbaugh threads... all 1687603 of them.
Official president of the "Fire Jim O'Brian Fan Club"
by return2greatness on Jan 11, 2011 1:05 PM PST up reply actions
I'd rather not draft a QB at #7
Isn’t that a spot where we could get a DB for sure?
Harbaugh will find a QB and he will succeed.
Yeah
but Peterson will likely be gone and it’s a reach for any of the others. QB is probably gonna be the pick.
Stolen from manraj7, with some additions:
1. Jake Locker QB Wasington 2. Jimmy Smith CB Colorado (or Best CB Available) 3. Christian Ballard DE Iowa 4a. Owen Marecic FB/ST Stanford 4b. Kai Forbath K UCLA 5. Running Back 6a. Defensive Lineman 6b. Guard or Center 7. Whatever's left!
Amukamara (Nebraska), Smith (Colorado), Harris (Miami), Burton (Utah), maybe a few more. It’s a reach for any of them at 7, I think.
Stolen from manraj7, with some additions:
1. Jake Locker QB Wasington 2. Jimmy Smith CB Colorado (or Best CB Available) 3. Christian Ballard DE Iowa 4a. Owen Marecic FB/ST Stanford 4b. Kai Forbath K UCLA 5. Running Back 6a. Defensive Lineman 6b. Guard or Center 7. Whatever's left!
Thats a tough position to analyse
its hard to see them cover with the footage we get
Harbaugh will find a QB and he will succeed.
especially if the CBA isn't fixed by then
We’ll need to have a project QB on the team since we can’t sign FAs or trade until the CBA is done. I know, they can’t practice until the CBA is done, but if we end up with a truncated season it will be nearly impossible to trade for a quality QB.
Stolen from manraj7, with some additions:
1. Jake Locker QB Wasington 2. Jimmy Smith CB Colorado (or Best CB Available) 3. Christian Ballard DE Iowa 4a. Owen Marecic FB/ST Stanford 4b. Kai Forbath K UCLA 5. Running Back 6a. Defensive Lineman 6b. Guard or Center 7. Whatever's left!
Goatfather
Getting a db is probably a better move in the long run. Hopefully we can get a decent Qb in the later rounds.
"The year we beat Miami in the Super Bowl, ... do you know how many defensive linemen were in our rotation? Nine, and we used them all quite a bit. We just wore the Dolphins out."
Bill Walsh quote
by Iupati_like_its_1999 on Jan 11, 2011 1:13 PM PST up reply actions
I'd take Dalton or Yates
both would be good for WCO in their own ways
Harbaugh will find a QB and he will succeed.
nooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!
"The year we beat Miami in the Super Bowl, ... do you know how many defensive linemen were in our rotation? Nine, and we used them all quite a bit. We just wore the Dolphins out."
Bill Walsh quote
by Iupati_like_its_1999 on Jan 11, 2011 12:41 PM PST up reply actions
yeah that wasn't in response to you, I think Kitna is a pretty good ball player
"The year we beat Miami in the Super Bowl, ... do you know how many defensive linemen were in our rotation? Nine, and we used them all quite a bit. We just wore the Dolphins out."
Bill Walsh quote
by Iupati_like_its_1999 on Jan 11, 2011 1:02 PM PST up reply actions
You nailed it at the end
Sing had everyone FREAKED OUT.
Harbaugh will find a QB and he will succeed.
Bad Calls
We had a lot of bad calls in the secondary. Penalites that were obvious no calls. Not all penalties are the fault of the players.
RED AND GOLD ALWAYS BOLD>
thats true,
but our team did make a LOT of stupid plays.
"The year we beat Miami in the Super Bowl, ... do you know how many defensive linemen were in our rotation? Nine, and we used them all quite a bit. We just wore the Dolphins out."
Bill Walsh quote
by Iupati_like_its_1999 on Jan 11, 2011 12:44 PM PST up reply actions
Via Maiocco:
Nate Davis will sign a contract with the Seahawks.
Member of the legendary Jim Harbaugh threads... all 1687603 of them.
Official president of the "Fire Jim O'Brian Fan Club"
by return2greatness on Jan 11, 2011 12:52 PM PST reply actions
It will be in diagrams
For incentives, One picture will show him throwing the ball, another will show a guy catching in the end zone, and it will be drawn 10 times with 1 bag of money. That goes to say, if you throw 10 TDs, you get 1 million in incentives. LOL.
Poor guy, he has to trust his advisor that he isn’t getting screwed.
Ray Charles used to insist he get paid in ONE dollar bills. A million dollars, and it was in 1 dollar bills so he could make sure he wasn’t cheated by saying they were all 100s, and instead $1s, etc…
The all mighty dollar changes people
You would never think your wife would take half, until she is forced to choose money or respect.
Davis uses that as a crutch. He doesn’t need a babysitter, just a loud woman in the house to make him put in the extra hours at the office
Hopefully these penalties goes away
Yards are already hard to come by you don’t give them away for free.
Kellen Moore is awesome
Katie Mcgrath is our savior
My dream draft
1. Jake Locker QB UW 2. Jimmy Smith CB Colorado 3. Casey Mathews OLB Oregon. 4a. Owen Marecic FB/LB/ST Stanford 4b. Alex Henery K Nebraska 5. BPA 6a.Clay Nurse DE/OLB Illinois (depending on combine/proday) 6b. Chase Beeler C Stanford 7a. BPA 7b. BPA
Especially when you play in a safe, ball control offense
Singletary’s offense and game plan only worked if we played flawlessly. As soon as we made a mistake the wheels fell off, and we didn’t take enough risks to overcome the deficit.
Pretty much
I would prefer the risks without the mistakes
Kellen Moore is awesome
Katie Mcgrath is our savior
My dream draft
1. Jake Locker QB UW 2. Jimmy Smith CB Colorado 3. Casey Mathews OLB Oregon. 4a. Owen Marecic FB/LB/ST Stanford 4b. Alex Henery K Nebraska 5. BPA 6a.Clay Nurse DE/OLB Illinois (depending on combine/proday) 6b. Chase Beeler C Stanford 7a. BPA 7b. BPA
A little side note...
This is for you about one of your man crushes.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/01/10/SPLJ1H6TTN.DTL
Read about his love for his DC
Because of the coaching I was able to play well.
Kellen Moore is awesome
Katie Mcgrath is our savior
My dream draft
1. Jake Locker QB UW 2. Jimmy Smith CB Colorado 3. Casey Mathews OLB Oregon. 4a. Owen Marecic FB/LB/ST Stanford 4b. Alex Henery K Nebraska 5. BPA 6a.Clay Nurse DE/OLB Illinois (depending on combine/proday) 6b. Chase Beeler C Stanford 7a. BPA 7b. BPA
Seriously if we don't draft this guy and he is available in the 4th I'ma be pissed.
Kellen Moore is awesome
Katie Mcgrath is our savior
My dream draft
1. Jake Locker QB UW 2. Jimmy Smith CB Colorado 3. Casey Mathews OLB Oregon. 4a. Owen Marecic FB/LB/ST Stanford 4b. Alex Henery K Nebraska 5. BPA 6a.Clay Nurse DE/OLB Illinois (depending on combine/proday) 6b. Chase Beeler C Stanford 7a. BPA 7b. BPA
You guys need to like ST more.
They account for 87% of all yards. (source: few seconds of panic)
Kellen Moore is awesome
Katie Mcgrath is our savior
My dream draft
1. Jake Locker QB UW 2. Jimmy Smith CB Colorado 3. Casey Mathews OLB Oregon. 4a. Owen Marecic FB/LB/ST Stanford 4b. Alex Henery K Nebraska 5. BPA 6a.Clay Nurse DE/OLB Illinois (depending on combine/proday) 6b. Chase Beeler C Stanford 7a. BPA 7b. BPA
I do like Special Teams
The point you keep missing is this…You want someone with more upside. Look at Bowman, who is great at ST but has a chance to be our starting LB next to Willis. You use our 4th round picks on those types of guys, not guys who highest ceiling is great special teamer.
I love Marecic, and think he would be a good FB, but we can get that guy in the 6th. I’m not ok with using a 4th rounder on a guy whose ceiling is Michael Robinson.
Bowman was a third rounder.
You won’t get Marecic in the 6th. Dude is a good enough FB to get picked in the 5th. Plus he could be a back-up LB if Spikes doesn’t return and Bowman gets elevated to starting level.
Kellen Moore is awesome
Katie Mcgrath is our savior
My dream draft
1. Jake Locker QB UW 2. Jimmy Smith CB Colorado 3. Casey Mathews OLB Oregon. 4a. Owen Marecic FB/LB/ST Stanford 4b. Alex Henery K Nebraska 5. BPA 6a.Clay Nurse DE/OLB Illinois (depending on combine/proday) 6b. Chase Beeler C Stanford 7a. BPA 7b. BPA
Kicker at 4.
Kellen Moore is awesome
Katie Mcgrath is our savior
My dream draft
1. Jake Locker QB UW 2. Jimmy Smith CB Colorado 3. Casey Mathews OLB Oregon. 4a. Owen Marecic FB/LB/ST Stanford 4b. Alex Henery K Nebraska 5. BPA 6a.Clay Nurse DE/OLB Illinois (depending on combine/proday) 6b. Chase Beeler C Stanford 7a. BPA 7b. BPA
Because Henery is a beast
He kicked a 57 yarder with little wind against him or no wind at all. Can you imagine winning the field position battle every time or basically being guaranteed 3 points every time you cross the 50 yard line.
Kellen Moore is awesome
Katie Mcgrath is our savior
My dream draft
1. Jake Locker QB UW 2. Jimmy Smith CB Colorado 3. Casey Mathews OLB Oregon. 4a. Owen Marecic FB/LB/ST Stanford 4b. Alex Henery K Nebraska 5. BPA 6a.Clay Nurse DE/OLB Illinois (depending on combine/proday) 6b. Chase Beeler C Stanford 7a. BPA 7b. BPA
Big bucks....
STOP!
"You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means" - Inigo Montoya
I thought that was Singletary?
I think he’ll bring about 100billion extra brain cells
Harbaugh will find a QB and he will succeed.
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