49ers Offensive Play-Calling: The Fly Sweep

by David Fucillo on Dec 5, 2011 3:53 PM PST in 49ers Video

The San Francisco 49ers do not always run the most exotic plays, but they can do some very interesting things from time to time to keep opposing defenses thinking. Their collective of speedy wide receivers and tight ends has put them in a position to find a great deal of success with reverses and other such misdirection plays.

Against the Rams on Sunday, the 49ers used Ted Ginn Jr., Delanie walker and Kyle Williams on three running plays. IN those three plays, they gained 55 yards, with all three plays gaining double-digit yards. The 49ers have had a good deal of success running misdirection plays with their receivers and tight ends and it allows them to loosen up the defense a little bit when they start sending those receivers and tight ends in motion.

My favorite of the three misdirection plays on Sunday was the fly sweep they ran with Delanie Walker. I did not know the name of the play until Coach Jim Harbaugh mentioned it during his press conference this afternoon. The play gained 14 yards and was another example of the creativity of the staff. Each week it seems like they roll out one or two new plays that haven't been used before. They don't always succeed (see their Wildcat attempts), but they do provide one more thing opposing defenses have to consider.

The 49ers lined up with a trips set on the right and Frank Gore alone in the backfield. Delanie Walker is the player on the far right of the trips group. They have lined up in this backfield for passing plays several times this year.

Frank Gore cuts to his right and Alex Smith goes to pitch the ball. However, Delanie Walker has cut inside and will eventually take the pitch back to the left side of the field. It is not a wildly complicated play, but when you've focused your rushing attack on Frank Gore through the first two quarters (this play took place early in the third quarter), the misdirection is set up.

Walker has the ball in this final shot. There are at least eight defenders in the box moving to the right side of the field. You'll see the one defender to the left of the 49ers offensive line. He had a shot to take down Walker at the line of scrimmage, but Walker gave the defender a little shake and bake and broke an arm tackle to get to the corner and pick up 14 yards.

Now that college football is over this doesn't apply, but one thing I always enjoyed during the last three months was watching Stanford play on Saturday and then the 49ers play on Sunday. Virtually every week, I saw at least one interesting play in the Stanford game that I also saw in the 49ers game. That is not exactly shocking given the shared coaching staff, but it is still pretty interesting.

Tweet Comment 34 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

All the comments @ weak screens

can be parried by the potential of using the great speed for tosses & end-arounds. Almost none of this was seen in the Baltimore game, which was pretty vanilla. This meant they could come hell for leather without worrying about the corners.
Hitting some deep passes and using receiver speed at the line will make the D’s honest.

by oldfoggy on Dec 5, 2011 4:03 PM PST reply actions

Vernon is straight blocking two dudes in that second picture.

Awesome! haha

Check out my site!! Sign up for a free account @
The Hometown Fan

by Drew Kerr on Dec 5, 2011 4:32 PM PST reply actions 2 recs

And Chilo isn't blocking anyone . . .

by reedkrase on Dec 5, 2011 4:38 PM PST up reply actions

Chilo?

I think that’s Justin Peele you’re looking at.

Follow @NinersNation

by David Fucillo on Dec 5, 2011 4:43 PM PST up reply actions

Chilo

I dont care what Harbaugh says……..I was with him about Alex Smith…………Chilo……..is a detriment to the team. We win in SPITE of him, not cause of any contributions by him. He should be cut immediately in the off season.

by scorpio_supply on Dec 5, 2011 4:52 PM PST up reply actions

Chilo does to many "air whif" blocks completly missing defenders....

by BigMar on Dec 5, 2011 5:22 PM PST up reply actions

Back when I was playing, we used to call that a "lookout block"... the blocker whiffs,

turns around and yells to the QB or RB “LOOK OUT”!!!!!

After all was said and done, a lot more got said than done.

by OldJock on Dec 5, 2011 5:51 PM PST up reply actions

Look It's Chilo!!

Founder of team Omté Caspeen

by Widowwolf on Dec 5, 2011 10:21 PM PST up reply actions

Chilor isn't even in on that play.

But Staley and Iupati really sealed the Dline off good

Check out my site!! Sign up for a free account @
The Hometown Fan

by Drew Kerr on Dec 5, 2011 5:20 PM PST up reply actions

Love Vernon....but he HAS to catch balls when they come his way and

then show his beastly side running past, through , over defenders instead of simply going out out bounds.

by BigMar on Dec 5, 2011 5:19 PM PST up reply actions

And ... secure the ball properly after he catches it!!! His fumble was rediculous ... basically holding the ball out as a target for tacklers ... in his 6th year???

by 49erFanSince1950 on Dec 5, 2011 5:40 PM PST up reply actions

TKO

I was watching the NFL Network tonight and a strange thing happened. I saw a picture clip of Takeo Spikes in a Charger uniform. As much as I love this 9ers success, and the lights out way Bowman has been playing, I really wish TKO could share this success. He really deserves it.

by scorpio_supply on Dec 5, 2011 4:48 PM PST reply actions

My favorite was Kyle Williams' run.

He runs with power for a small dude.

It's just a plant, it grows in the earth, and if you happen to set it on fire there are some effects...

by iStoner on Dec 5, 2011 4:49 PM PST reply actions

The reverse play?

Or his TD catch?

Check out my site!! Sign up for a free account @
The Hometown Fan

by Drew Kerr on Dec 5, 2011 4:53 PM PST up reply actions

My vote

I’d say he was referring to the TD catch. Great pivot and spin………..and he went from 0-60 in 2.5 seconds.

by scorpio_supply on Dec 5, 2011 4:55 PM PST up reply actions

He wanted to make up for that block in the back

That took some of Teddy’s yards away.

by whatsURdeal on Dec 5, 2011 5:04 PM PST up reply actions

Kyle Williams is a stud for his size with power & speed !

by BigMar on Dec 5, 2011 5:12 PM PST up reply actions

Kyle Williams is a stud ~~for his size with power & speed !~~
Fixed.

Check out my site!! Sign up for a free account @
The Hometown Fan

by Drew Kerr on Dec 5, 2011 5:18 PM PST up reply actions

the stiff arm was a thing of beauty.

just blew that dude off his feet….

by t p on Dec 5, 2011 7:11 PM PST up reply actions

I hit the rewind on that one a couple times, not gonna lie.

That was pretty sick.

Check out my site!! Sign up for a free account @
The Hometown Fan

by Drew Kerr on Dec 5, 2011 7:41 PM PST up reply actions

Alex compared to some of the best Q.B.'s , so far....

Alex – 321 Att / 203 comp / 2390 yds / 7.4 avg / 15 td / 5 int / 34 sacked

Rodgers-408 Att/ 288 comp/ 3844 yds/ 9.4 avg/ 37 td / 5 int / 29 sacked

Brees – 496 Att / 349 comp / 4031 yds / 8.1 avg / 30 td / 11 int / 21 sacked

Brady- 459 Att / 306 comp / 3916 yds / 8.5 avg / 30 td / 10 int / 21 sacked

Romo – 422 Att / 273 comp / 3325 yds / 7.9 avg / 22 td / 9 int / 25 sacked

Manning-442 Att/ 276 comp/ 3705 yds / 8.4 avg / 23 td / 11 int / 21 sacked

Roethisberger-408 Att/ 260 comp/ 3246 yds/ 8.0 avg/ 19 td / 10 int / 34 sacked

Ryan – 441 Att / 266 comp / 3154 yds / 7.2 avg / 19 td / 12 int / 22 sacked

Kolb – 252 Att / 145 comp / 1953 yds / 7.8 avg / 9 td / 8 int / 29 sacked

by BigMar on Dec 5, 2011 5:08 PM PST reply actions

now if they can cut down on those sacks....

In due time, in due time….PATIENCE

Niners,Nets,Reds & USC!!!

The Most Interesting Man In The World---->Mikhail Prokhorov!!!

by Kidd2Petrovic on Dec 5, 2011 5:24 PM PST up reply actions

I've run a few other stats on Alex, just for $h!+$ and giggles...

The post-Singletary era (this season plus the last game of last season):

13 games…218/350…2666 yards…62.3%…17 TDs…5 ints….96.0 passer rating…11 wins, 2 losses

and 10/10/10 until yesterday (I chose that date because, when I first did the compilation, it made 16 games, equivalent to exactly one full season). I included only games in which Alex was the starting QB:

19 games…314/512…3840 yards…61.3%…26 TDs…8 ints…94.9 passer rating…13 wins, 6 losses
(4 of those losses under the “guidance” of Mike “I’ve gotta check the film first” Singletary

[BTW, adding to BigMar’s stats for Alex: completion percentage 63.2%, passer rating also 94.9]

After all was said and done, a lot more got said than done.

by OldJock on Dec 5, 2011 6:20 PM PST up reply actions

Ah playcalling ... love all the non-traditional calls to keep the opponent's defense on it's heals. But ...

The playcalling in the Red Zone has just been terrible!! What am I talking about? This …

Results of their last 14 trips to the Red Zone:

9 field goals
3 touchdowns
2 complete fails

Yesterday, at the Rams’ 2 yard line, the Rams stacked the box with 9 defenders. Why run Gore up the middle (and he gained nothing)? Just to prove that your stronger than the opponent? Dumb! With one-on-one coverage, why not throw? Or, better yet, why not have Alex roll out … then either run before scrambling LBs can catch up or throw to single-covered receivers?

They may be able to get away with the above results against inferior defenses in the regular season, but a 21% TD rate in the Red Zone will not cut it in the playoffs!!! (I just hope that Harbaugh / Roman are saving some Red Zone “surprises” for the playoffs!!)

by 49erFanSince1950 on Dec 5, 2011 5:55 PM PST reply actions

we are going to need to score td's instead of fg's if we are going to beat the pack/saints

by mrb24 on Dec 6, 2011 1:53 AM PST up reply actions

NFC Defenses

against inferior defenses in the regular season

This is just my opinion… I believe we will start playing those inferior defenses in the playoffs… Other than the 49ers, all the defenses of playoff bound teams in the NFC are that team’s weakness

Mass genocide is the most exhausting activity one can engage in, outside of soccer.

by Joshpreet on Dec 5, 2011 6:49 PM PST reply actions

checkout http://49ers.launchpage.info

A random picture of the 49ers each time it loads!
Custom Google™ search engine built right in!
Make it your homepage today!

by launchpage on Dec 5, 2011 6:58 PM PST reply actions

I can imagine them running this play with the WR on the bottom (Kyle Williams) on a post.

or, with vernon doing a block and release downfield.

Anyways, this has been one of the key formations this year for the niners, with so many variations of it being seen so far, I’m excited what bells and whisltes they bring out for the playoffs!

by SH0ck-D on Dec 5, 2011 7:29 PM PST reply actions

can we plz use those speed to break open and do some TD dances in the end zone?

by Aazoba Yuzuki on Dec 5, 2011 7:31 PM PST reply actions

Oregon State runs the fly sweep often

I like it because it has the standard options built in like play action and hand off to RB. The hand off to the receiver in motion is when it really becomes the fly sweep. Other variations are the reverse and the screen pass to the running back. Overall I think the best part is that the motion is obvious and it gets the crowd excited because awesome stuff is about to go down. If the receiver gets around the corner he is going to get the first down.

by HardCorvallis on Dec 5, 2011 8:10 PM PST reply actions

love the playcalling

I feel like Harbaugh and co. come up with a different off-the-wall play every week, and they aren’t run 3-4 times if it works. for example:

This week — fly sweep (run 3 times)
vs. Cleveland — tackle eligible pass (2 times)
vs. Detroit — tight end wham play on Suh (run 3 times)

And I think the coaching staff is just scratching the surface. I wouldn’t be surprised if we see the flea flicker sometime this year (if you notice, when the 49ers run RB toss plays, frank gore almost always fakes the hand off back to alex smith) and I think we’ll definitely see a sopoaga downfield pass.

by ninerspride on Dec 5, 2011 11:59 PM PST reply actions

Sopooaga Pass

Would LOVE to see that! 70 yard throw to Kyle Williams streaking wide open down the field….

Not a troll

by Riding The F Train on Dec 6, 2011 12:34 AM PST up reply actions

Actually

What would make that more sick is if we pulled it out against the Packers in the play-offs and it ended up being the game-deciding touchdown.

Not a troll

by Riding The F Train on Dec 6, 2011 12:35 AM PST up reply actions

Thanks for the breakdown of this play

Now that I know what the fly sweep is, I also remember this was that play in the game that stopped my friend in his tracks and made him say, “wow that was goooooooood.”

Win or lose, at the end of the day I'm just happy to see the Niners play well... Okay, winning is good. I prefer winning.
"Yeah, I do get emotional. It fires me up. It fires me up a lot. I'm not going to apologize for that. If that offends you or anybody else, then so be it." ~ Jim Harbaugh

by El Dorado on Dec 6, 2011 10:33 AM PST reply actions