A funny thing happened on the way to Colin Kaepernick’s ascendancy to the upper echelon of the young guns of the NFL. he pitched a ball 15 yards toward his own end zone, thus giving the Rams 8 points and new life. This of course came after retreating 24 yards only to throw an intentionally grounded pass from his own end zone for a safety. Kappy scored 8 for ther Rams, and 13 for the Niners. The Rams earned 5 on their own for the win.
Belaboring the conervative play calling may not be anyone’s idea of fun, but it has to play a part in this team trying to reach the promised land. yes, you change your look to what the defense is showing, but the Rams had the line packed most of the game, and the Niners still tried to run into in, to no avail. this game was so much a Noloan/Singletary game. With the exception that those guys may have WON this one.
Harbaugh called an option pitch from his own 17 yard line with 3:31 remaining in a game where the StL offense had scored zero points. The snap was low, and Kappy hurried the pitch, and it skipped to the 2 yard line, where Ted (Allen Rossum) Ginn pretended to try and get the ball. At best he should have knocked it OB, kicked it OB, fallen on it, or something other than the lame-ass attempt to get it that he did. Janorious Jenkins recovered the fumble on the 2 yard line. Inexplicably, and with Ginn sitting on Jenkins’ helmet after the recovery, Jenkins wasn’t ruled down by contact and was allowed to roll into the end zone for a score. Hometown call but whatever. StL converted the 2 pt conversion for the tie. The rest we all saw. Bradford scampers for a couple 1st downs with the obligatory stupid fuckup by Dashon Goldson on the hit to Bradford. For as good as he is, he continues to make some boenheaded plays at the worst possible times.
Anyhow, back to the play calling. As much as Kappy wants to pin this game on himself, and there is a large amount of resposibility that falls on his shoulders, you have to really question what Harbaugh/Roman are thinking. All game the Niners ARE playing it fairly conservative. Gore had one big run surrounded by a bunch of one yard runs. The passing game consisted of the kind of short shit that everyone blamed on Alex Smith’s limitations, not the desire of a head coach to play it safe. Kappy was supposed to assume the starting role because he brings more downfield striking ability to the table. Well, it was rarely shown all game despite the Rams packing the line and daring the Niners to go deep. They didn’t until the 3rd quarter. Again, VD was eerily silent. Walker dropped a sure TD, but there were very few downfield shots taken. Moss? He gets his 1 or 2 12 yard outs. He’s gotten I think ONE deep pass all year. It’s insane.
All that being said, the approach WAS working. The Niners had an 8 point lead with 4 minutes remaining. The D was stopping everything the Rams had. Then the fateful pitch play. If ever there WAS a time to play it conservative, it was then. Instead, Harbaugh wanted to go fucking college gimmick look-at-me-I’m-so-cool play, and boom, a gift 8 points for the Rams. Kappy did make another mistake, but it came after his 50 yard run to set up the late lead. He should not have gone OB on his 10 yard run to set up Akers’ 33 yard FG. A quibble? Maybe, but it would have forced StL to use their last time out before their last drive.
After trading punts in OT, Hekker boomed one 14 yards to give the Niners the ball at the 50. Now HERE’S where you DON’T go conservative. After converting a 3rd down to StL’s 37, the Niners ran right 2 tims for 4 yards. They tried to get the ball to the left hash mark, but the pass to Crabs was incomplete. Still and all, you don’t really want to leave your struggling kicker with a 51 yarder. Even indoors. Take at least one shot downfield. a nice mid-range pass or something. I know they were worried about a sack, but being conservative pretty much sealed their fate. I think about 95% of the Niner fans out there knew what was coming.
Forty Niners Forever 
Shit. I try to not make these so damn long . . .
But I have to get my point across.
I stopped reading after the first sentence. and started up again on the last. understood everything perfectly
Harbaugh has been doing a great job as the Niners coach, but there are times where he baffles the shit out of me. The NYGiants game, Smith is clicking along, and he brings in Cappy to stall a few drives. He instigates the QB change among a whole lot of needless bullshit nonsense with the press and the whole guessing game. Then there’s the play calling yesterday. The game felt like a Nolan game where you didn’t know when it would happen, but the wheels were going to fall off at some point. the Rams didn’t even really hang around to keep it close, the Niners did that for them. AND ended up scoring for them.
The Rams played to stop the run and take away the deep ball. Wide open were dinks and dunks that we mostly didn’t have the patience to take advantage of. Shit, we could have just run slants in front of Jenkins all the way down to the EZ. Yes, the play calling is maddening, and certainly not just in this game. There is a time to be conservative, and a time to be aggressive. For the life of me, I see HarbRoman getting it wrong in crucial situations about 50% of the time. What are they doing, flipping a coin?
Being aggressive rather than conservative to set up the FG (even those pesky long ones) can lead to some mistakes. But the FG’s don’t always work, now do they? And hey Jimbo, sometimes those aggressive shots actually DO turn into foot-on-the throat TD’s.
Plenty of blame to go around on the offensive side (the D gets a gold star). And BTW — if I hear Aikman or one more talking idiot tell us that our OL is the best in the league without acknowledging that there’s this thing called “pass-blocking” that we often SUCK at, my head might explode.
What I can’t figure is there seems to be no middle ground with the line. The Bears? Flawless. NO? Same thing. Minn? Awful. Giants? Awful.
Yeah, the slants were working in front of their coverage for the most part. There are times when harbaugh gets too cute for his own good.
The pitch play is fine if your down near their goaline not ours ferchrissakes.Stupid call by JH down there.And pitching it to Ginn who stinks and runs out of bounds more then any other 49 er makes that play impossible to work.
Nice posts, agree 100%. Too cute sometimes and too conservative too often. I’m seeing inexperienced HC and OC who often do not know what will or won’t work. Adjustments to what the D is doing? Forget it. Anybody offers Roman an HC position is kidding themselves. Harbaugh is a good coach with about half the football IQ of Bill Walsh. The word arrogance is coming up.
From the previous thread. Some good stuff:
unca_chuck says:
December 3, 2012 at 9:17 am (Edit)
Fuck Akers. He’s cost the Niners 2 games. Granted, I didn’t like the play calling when we got the ball on the 50, but still and all, he has to make that kick. Akers was run out of Philly for this very same reason. Missing big kicks.
And the pitch play was retarded. Time and place, coach. 3:30 left, and your defense is stuffing the swhit out of St. Louis. Say what you will about Harbaugh’s conservative play calling, that pitch call was a fucking gimmick. That is when you SHOULD go conservative, based on the situation. Cappy has to learn to eat the ball on that play. Like the pick on the bad snap last week, he tried to do too much with a fucked up play. Fall down (or don’t throw the ball to your own end zone) and move on.
The time NOT to be conservative is when you have the ball on the 50 yard line and you need to help your struggling kicker.
Fricking Cappy scored 8 points for StL and 13 for the Niners. All St Louis earned was the 2 pt conversion anf the FG in OT. Cappy wins, 21-5.
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Grumpy Guy says:
December 3, 2012 at 9:52 am (Edit)
Agreed. We should have run the pitch play in the first half, when we were up around mid-field. That way if it goes wrong it’s not right on your goal line.
And as you said, this is two mistakes now that stemmed from Kappy trying to do too much with a lost play after a bad snap. Last week, it was the INT, this week the pitch to nowhere. The coaching staff needs to address that, and make sure that Kappy understands, if the play is already shot because the snap was so bad you’ve lost situational awareness or the timing is screwed beyond any recovery, secure the ball, get back to the LOS if you can, and get ready for the next play. Trying to salvage a big play in that situation is far more likely to produce a negative big play than a positive one. The only exception is do or die, i.e. 4th down at the end of a game, when there IS no next play. Don’t try for heroics that end up biting you in the ass.
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twinfan1 says:
December 3, 2012 at 9:55 am (Edit)
My breakdown on Colin yesterday:.
The good is obvious- he can zip it, and he’s a dymanic runner.and he exhibited both on Sunday.
However, with all the talk of of him saving sacks- he looks to run or escape, rarely looking to throw.
As I pointed out yesterday, with his numbers against the blitz-and also the word in football- Smith is one of the best when blitzed-he’ll take sacks (12)- but the other teams pay for those- almost 600 yards, 7 TD, 1 INT when blitzed.
And then there are the mistakes- he gave them 10 points for sure, and probably the game winning FG by running out of bounds on our last possession.it’s nice of Jimbo to take the rap for the pitch to Ginn- and it was a poor call-but an expereienced, savvy QB doesn’t make the pitch. And an experienced QB doesn’t run 20 yards backwards into the end zone to avoid the pass rush, the play that resulted in the disputed safety. Those are mistakes he won’t make as he gains experience but there’s a division to be won and playoffs ahead.
I totally disagree that Jimbo *can’t* go back to Smith, of course he can, and he will if Coilin continues with the kind of killer mistakes he made yesterday.Not yet, though.Miami becomes a huge game and a game that’s absolutely winnable. They need to win and Colin needs to play well.
Both. IMO.
With all that said- the coaches need to help him more. Several 49er players are said to claim that the Rams knew what they were going to run. Also, I do agree with others that why run the same kind of game plan they would for Alex? Smith is expert at that, Kap isn’t. The headline of Barrows’ blog says it:”Oh irony — Kap needs to be a better game manager”..
Anyway, they have a chance in the playoffs with Alex playing his game or Kap playing *his*- they have zero chance expectinng Colin to play Smith’s game.Again, IMO.
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twinfan1 says:
December 3, 2012 at 11:42 am (Edit)
Word about Harbaugh’s remarks in today’s presser have leaked out, and they’re certainly not complimentary towards Smith. I obtained a transcript of part of his diatribe:
” His seventy percent completion percentage isn’t a reflection of his accuracy, but rather what a gutless pansy he is with the football. He manages the game as if it were a dying butterfly, keeps referring to 9 yard passes as ‘the deep ball,’ cries everytime the opposing team kicks a field goal, and looks like what would happen if Justin Timberlake had sex with a woodchuck.”
That’s the good stuff.
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unca_chuck says:
December 3, 2012 at 12:28 pm (Edit)
waah
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Similar to the Onion piece, it was a satire of sorts from a similar site. One would have to be a nincompoop to think I posted it for any other reason but amusement.
Well, next time try to be amusing . . .
It was from a website, Chuckles. All of the Smaters luv the hell out of that shit.But you sure do cry a lot.
That’s funny Twin. I like satire.
A couple things . . .
No WAY should you ever run a pitch that deep in your territory. Esp one where Ginn was 12 yards behind the LOS. Ludicrous. That’s Harbaugh’s college-razzle-dazzle bullshit coming back. Much like his revolving-QBs-in-the-middle-of-a-drive shit. College crap doesn’t work 95% of the time.
Cappy does need to understand when to cut his losses on a play. He threw the pick on a bad snap last week, and did this on the bad snap. BUT, that play should not have been called. It’s squarely on the coaches. The safety? Well, that was Cappy being Cappy. He’ll learn that the NFL LBs are faster than college ones. He HAS to get rid of that ball earlier. He retreated 25 yards and threw that OB. 2 points isn’t a monstrous mistake. The fumble/TD was.
From MM’s blog:
“I completely understand that first-round draft pick A.J. Jenkins is not better than Michael Crabtree. I completely understand how he might not be better than Mario Manningham or Randy Moss. What I do not understand is how Jenkins can’t get on the field ahead of Ted Ginn when the 49ers go with three wideouts. Obviously, the 49ers believe Ginn is a better receiver than Jenkins. And that’s a problem. Jenkins worked in the offseason to increase his strength. Apparently, he is still not ready. It’s inexcusable that they have a first-round draft pick who is healthy but he is not even a factor.”
I gotta say that I’m pretty done with Ginn as a WR. If the above is true, that we really don’t have ANYONE better them him in on the roster, then Baalke gets a demerit and needs to find some better WR’s. Seriously.
And did you catch Rex Ran pulling his own ‘wait-and-see’ deal with his QB in the next game?
Gosh! Will it be Sanchez? Tebow? McElroy? Who cares, Rex?
Those 3 probably do.
Look, this is similar to a fielder making an error and the pitcher immediately giving up a HR. Kap doesn’t get a pass because the play call was bad. He didn’t have to make the pitch. That’s not being unfair to him- as I’ve said before and is patently true- when he took over for a QB playing on a high level for a team playing at a high level he doesn’t get the slack that he would taking over for a struggling QB on a losing team.
I’ve already covered that the coaching staff needs to create game plans to take advantage of his assets, not Smith’s.
Harbaugh has put both QBs in a bad situation- Smith has been disrespected big time and Kap HAS to win. If Alex goes back in it will be because CK has lost few in a row. Lose to Miami and we have problems with team morale, with QB morale and the same shitty play calling. Coaching is on the verge of wrecking the season. Lose next week with the Dolphins the sky will be falling we will hear
Talking.about stupid decision,after.Kappy’s 50 yrd scamper in OT to the 15.Why the fuck did they not bring Akers in there for a 32 yarder?
Instead they fuck up get a penalty,and it turns out to be from 51.Totally fucked up football management.
His 50 yard run happened before the 2:00 minute warning in the 4th quarter.
David Akers made a 33 yard field goal. You’re just slightly off there.
Yeah, two differently fucked series of play calls. In the 4th, we play called aggressively, but made no allowance for clock management. A drop, a penalty on Delanie Fuckhead Walker, and Kappy goes OB, and we left way too much time for the Rams to answer and tie it. Akers made that kick, BUT.
In OT, with the clock not a concern in any way, we went brain-dead conservative, not even trying to close in for a shorter FG. With everyone on this blog screaming obscenities, totally knowing what was going to happen. That’s the long one Akers missed.
Fucking unbelievable…
Nevermind Moss had the blocking responsibility on Jenkins. Even if the Kaep to Ginn pitch had gone perfectly Ginn would most likely have lost yardage or possibly the ball into the end zone from the hit Jenkins was bringing thanks to Moss’ pitiful excuse for a block.
I saw the same pitiful excuse for blocks repeated by much of the o-line throughout the game. They brought five and six rushers for series at a time and we just let them destroy our plays time after time. The effort to block much of the time was seriously lacking.
Luckily we had a stupid play called and a guy lose the game on it to take the heat.
Anybody notice we failed to stop a two-pointer even after the gift penalty put the Rams on the 7YL for it?
No, Twin, it’s more similar to Buster calling for a high fastball and Timmy giving up a home run on a high fastball. Some of the culpability falls on Harbaugh for calling such a dangerous play. Like the drive-killing shit he pulled vs the Giants. Even if they execute that play, it looked like an 8 yard loss at best. Hand the ball off to Gore, and its a 2 yard loss. He keeps it, same deal. Yes, Kappy has to know his options and limitations, but putting him IN the situation to make such a dangerous pitch down that deep is ludicrous. Just ask Joe Pisarchik.
My analogy was the correct one. And sorry, he fucked up. If he can’t be trusted to keep his poise and eat that and to keep his poise and take the sack instead of running to the EZ like Bambi, he shouldn’t be out there. I’m giving him this as his mulligan but he’s played worse with each start. He needs to turn that around.
And what the fuck is Ginn doing back there anyway? Mr. don’t-touch-me should be nowhere near the field in the heat of battle. I know we are down a couple WRs, but where’s Jenkins? He should be doing something by now. If Ginn is still ahead of him on the depth chart, what does that say?
When the ball is deep in your end of the field, and is going to be pitched to Ginn, and Moss is your primary blocker, it might generally be a good idea to call time out and ask the coaching staff WTF are they thinking. Just say no to drugs, Jimmy.
Smith might have but Colin is too new to question the coaching gods who just elevated him
If ever there WAS a time for the Dick Nolan 3-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust run, it was there.
I agree with Twin that the botched pitch play was mostly on Kap. Who cares if it’s a bad call? The bad call didn’t include throwing the fucking ball 3 feet over the Ginn’s head. But whatever, maybe he just rushed it and with a few 300 pounders closing in on me in a nano-second it’s not out of the realm of possibility that he might make a bad toss.
What is INEXCUSABLE to me is Kap’s clueless clock management behavior. A fucking high school kid knows he’s supposed to stay in bounds on that play. He did go to University of Nevada and he’s stupidly tatted out to the nines, I’m wondering if we are not dealing with an Einstein here………..
He had a 37 wonderlic score–that’s actually very good………
Nate had a 10 which you get from signing your name with an “X”. Donovan had an 11.
Those guys aren’t stupid by any means. Just protesting about the GD test and the lack of education they received in “college”.
Kap sez it was all on him- the bad toss on the bad play call on the bad snap on the bad blocking scheme. All on him he sez. He will follow the arrogant coach to hell if he has to.
Early success has spoiled Jim Harbaugh into believing he can do no wrong, that all he touches will be golden. He’s being exposed now with mediocre results starting to show up as he pushes the envelope. Hubris is being met by reality = there is still much for this crew to learn nevermind the first year starting QB. The arrogance of yanking the winning pitcher, ah QB, for the new guy with the great fastball is coming back to haunt. I blame the 2nd year pro coach
Phil, may I ask? What island are you on? Old girlfriend’s Dad was a CPO at Moffett Field and a Filipino volunteer/refugee. That’s the only reason I ask.
Mindanao, the big southernmost island. BTW the supposed “super typhoon” Pablo was weak shit despite the direct hit on us. Rain, wind, meh…hope others here fared as well.
For all of Kap’s mistakes he had the team in a winning position with the Walker TD drop and an Akers missed FG, that’s 2 game winning chances. Yes the young kid screwed up but Kap did enough to win.
He also would have outscored Brees last week if Akers had not missed 2 FG. People point to the D scoring 14 points but forget Kap did enough on O to win the game outright if the kicker did his job.
What the offense scored against a horrible NO defense and a mediocre Ram defense was not good, .And this business from Harbaugh that “he gave us a chance to win:” is a hoot.I give him a pass on one game that he LOST, but his progression is not good- he’s been worse with each week. And for the first time he lost his composure more than once.
And the 2 times he put the team in game winning position is????
12, Walker dropped a pass, Akers missed a 50+ FG. Neither error was more egregious than those Kap made.But as I posted earlier,the coaches shouldn’t install a game plan that doesn’t take advantage of his assets.
Walker dropped a sure, game winning perfectly thrown TD pass, making light of it doesn’t change it. Akers missed a 50 yd + game winning field game. Both are more egregious because we would have won the game with either play.
As for Miami, Chuck thinks we should win that game easy. Seattle lost to them and offensive power house New England beat them by 6 in the 4th quarter on Sunday 23-17. I don’t think that’s a gimme game.
meant 23-16 won by 6.