The 49ers have worked their way to 13-3 without revealing a whole lot of strategy in chatting with the media. Coach Harbaugh is turning non-answers into an art form and the rest of the staff follows suit for the most part. DC Vic Fangio and OC Greg Roman will sometimes provide a little more detail in their weekly press conferences, but for the most part they are all strong believers in the old adage, "Loose lips sink ships."
That makes this latest video all the more interesting. Former head coach and current FOX analyst Brian Billick has a recurring video called "Coach Speak" in which he chats with coaches about their teams and things they do. It involves some play breakdown, which can be really interesting to follow.
In his most recent addition, Billick spoke with Greg Roman and had Roman break down a play-action pass the 49ers have run this season (h/t to @49erspr). It involves five specific parts. You can check out the video after the jump, but here are the five parts:
1. TE lines up on right side of the line and goes in motion to the left side, lining up on the hip of the left tackle.
2. At the snap, the left guard pulls to the far right.
3. The running back runs a counter towards the right side with a hard sell from the quarterback
4. The Z receiver wide right runs a deep post pattern
5. The other receiver (I believe X) runs a short crossing pattern at the 18-22 yard mark.
The 49ers used a variation on this play with a 52-yard touchdown pass to Michael Crabtree to take a 16-0 lead on the Rams back in Week 13 and we actually did our own breakdown of the play. The tight end started on the left side, but otherwise there were a lot of similarities to what Roman describes after the jump.
We haven't gotten a lot of in-depth discussion from the coaching staff. Although this is only one play, it is still interesting to get some perspective from Coach Roman.