FanPost

O-line: First half assessment


So I pulled a Singletary and went back to watch the tape. All I could remember was the first half of football from the offensive side was a flurry of sacks by the Saints and lots of missed blocks. It was obvious Snyder was getting eaten alive, but I wasn't quite sure who else was responsible on many occasions because it was coming from all angles. In my notes I have about 9 plays which at least one person was beat, or a defender went unaccounted for.

The first pass attempt of the game Staley got beat bad which resulted in Alex getting hammered and nearly fumbling the ball. Luckily the review showed that his arm was going forward and it was ruled incomplete.

The next series opened up with Vernon not accounting for the outside rush and Harper nailed Alex without getting touched. If Harper hadn't gotten to Alex, the next rusher surely would have as Gore completely whiffed his block.

Anthony Davis got beat next by Will Smith which caused another sack. This one should not have happened. Anthony seemed to have good position through the block but dropped his head which ultimately led to W.S. beating him. I see this as an easy fix after watching some film. Anthony actually had a really good day other than this one play, I expect big improvements from him this year.

Harper went untouched again from the right side this time. It's hard to peg this one anyone other than to say they were out-schemed. 49ers had double TE set on the right side which is where Harper came from, and there was no back to pick him up. Alex got the ball off but barely on time.

Once Kaepernick entered the game the pressure continued. The first sack on him was another outside blitz where the defender came in untouched. A. Davis was pinching down, so again, this one seems to go to the out-schemed/unprepared category. Kaep avoided the first hit and attempted to scramble to get brought down at the los.

Next was Snyder who was pushed all the way back into the QB. It wasn't the first time it happened, however, it was the first time it attributed to a sack. The defender pushed him back so quickly that the middle LB ended up coming straight through untouched to also hit Kaep.

Rachal was the next person to get eaten up and cause a sack. The middle opened up and Rachal was left shuffling back and forth to try and block his man. He ended up getting off balance and getting beat. Ultimately I didn't think his performance was bad, minus this play. You may be able to make an argument that he wasn't much help to Snyder getting pushed back, or maybe he and Iupati were part of the reason Snyder didn't give up more sacks. I didn't take the time to look at all that, but I think he was mainly solid outside of his sack.

Person and Boone would enter the game, Person at RT and Boone at LT. Persons got beat bad one particular play which ended with Kaep scrambling to pick up some yards. I assume Person will be the type of player who may swing between RT and RG. He'll definitely need to pick it up at tackle, he was getting beat on the edge a bit.

Boone was the next victim playing at LT. The end flew right around him and got to the QB easily. I do believe Boone had a decent game minus that play. He did have some hiccups, and playing against second stringers and scrubs, he will need to step it up if he is going to be our 3rd tackle.

Overall, nearly each person on the line had their moment in the negative spotlight. But, I do feel like most mistakes are easy fixes with more practice and better scheming. A. Davis and Iupati showed lots of promise to me, and I thought Rachal actually looked pretty good. It was clear Staley had some rust in those legs, but that is expected after some of his injuries and long time away from the game. I'm not panicked about him, he is a pro and solid tackle, and I do believe he will be back to form as he gets his legs back under him. Snyder to me is the biggest issue, but I fully expect Goodwin to be the starter anyway (fingers crossed he stays healthy all season). I'm going to continue to pay close attention to the o-line all preseason. After watching the first half over again a couple times, I don't feel as bad as I did upon watching it live. It's just a matter now of ironing out their mistakes and being more prepared for game speed. It was a little classless by Narlins to blitz the way they did on the first preseason game...but it is part of the game, so I wont make excuses for them.

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