It’s pretty early in camp, but it is becoming apparent that the offensive line is thin to say the least. Daniel Kilgore hasn’t recovered, and in fact had a ‘clean-up’ procedure to help heal his ankle. As it is now, he’s still in a boot, and isn’t looking to be off the injured list before the end-of-camp deadline barring some kind of miraculous recovery. Which means he’s out the first six games. With AD’s untimely retirement, this leaves the 49ers very thin at RT. Marcus Martin is still learning, but the Niners would love to plant him at RG while Kilgore gets the Center duties. Eric Pear is pretty much a turd from everything I’ve read about the guy. I don’t see him magically being spectacular, but serviceable, even? Hard to say, but it doesn’t look good. They are even trying rookie Trent Brown at RT. At least early in camp.
As of now, Joe Looney is getting the majority of the snaps at C, so that would put Martin at RG. Tomsula has pencilled in Alex Boone at LG apparently in case Joe Staley goes down and they need a smooth transition. This seems risky as the right side of the line looks to be pretty weak and inexperienced. Brandon Thomas would appear to be the rover a la JMart, just not as sucky.
I think at this point we need to find a RT soon. One better than Pears. If only for depth. Shit, he’s injury-prone, but get Sam Baker. I can’t find out of he’s ready to go or not, but they should look. Oniel Cousins may be the only guy out there worse than Pears, so they can avoid him. Other than that, there’s always the chance they can pick up someone from the upcoming cut-down days.
Forty Niners Forever 
Sir Spit is willing to take your money for a “I hate Jed York” billboard. He promises not to run to Mexico with the funds. What a guy!
Sounds legit, where do I sign up?
I just read that Harbaugh called the plays in the huddle at practice last year. I wonder if he ever considered that it would be better for his QB to do that since he has to do it on game days. Sounds like Harby was pining for his playing days instead of dong what it took to get the plays in on time during game day.
Harbaugh=micromanager. Has the effect of diminishing his QB in the eyes of his team just so Harbaugh gets to pretend he is still important in the huddle.
Yeah its very early but the D sounds like it will do some damage this year too.
4 days of camp is too small a sample to even begin evaluation of the O which is always way behind the D during camp but I don’t agree with Boone at LG. I want to see him at RT which secures the 2 most important positions. Guards are easier to plug in than tackles.
Nothing is set yet. Sounds like maybe they want one strong side to run the ball?
Could be Berger but for my money the C and RG/RT all being unsettled and all potentially being filled by either unproven or proven below average players is asking for trouble, that entire side is potentially vulnerable.
On another note, I read Aldon worked Joe Staley all afternoon. Those are 2 guys at the top of their positions so I think its fair to read into it that Aldon is BACK!
I am worried about the O-line but it’s not like last year’s line was that good. I like that we are going to use more zone blocking instead of so much drive blocking. We’ll need more athletic players. Zone blocking often lends to better spacing in the formations. This should lend to better pass blocking because teams won’t be able to load the box. We’ll need a RB who can slash. Hyde should do well.
Yeah the line worries me as well. I said somewhere that all the runs are going left. Boone may end up at RT because thy don’t have many other options.
Iupati wasn’t ar a big deal. Davis was. He fucked us over by retiring after the FA period and the draft.
Iaputi was an elite run blocker and a bad pass blocker. The change to Boone will reflect this loss/gain.
Niners used Cooks roster spot on yet another underrated WR. They are seriously trying to make WR position a point of focus:
http://www.csnbayarea.com/49ers/49ers-fill-roster-spot-sign-undrafted-rookie-receiver
I think they want more camp bodies since WR do a lot of running.
undrafted. damn auto correct sux.
Going to a zone blocking scheme pretty much wrote Iupati’s ticket out of here.
They tried to deal with Iupati for a year but he wanted too much money. Turned out for the best as you say since they are now running a percentage of zone.
It has come to my attention that there are some fans that think the 49ers did not have a problem with delay of game penalties. They cite that we only had 8 so it can’t be that big of a deal. I heard on TV we had 9. OK, so we had 8 or 9. One Mensa even said one or two was by the punter, further diminishing the importance of the delay of game penalties. Sounds like they are finally realizing the problem was with the system which means the coach, Harbaugh, so the delay of game penalty can’t be that big of a deal, even though we led the league with these penalties.
When a person is a numbers person number crunching can help or fool one’s ability to strategize. In this case we will not analyze the numbers but instead, the strategy.
The problem with leading the league in delay of game penalties is not in the actual penalties but add in the amount of wasted time outs and the strategic edge you give to the defense.
Here is the system: The plays come in. Yes plays, as in plural. Two plays are called in the huddle. In order to pick a play the system calls for the team to get set and run a player in motion to see if the D is in zone or man. After seeing that, the QB chooses a play. There then has to be time to make sure every player heard the play call. This all takes about 12 seconds. Nothing the QB can do about it, it is the coaching staffs system he is running. Now the ball gets snapped with less than 2 seconds left on the clock. This doesn’t even take into account that the defense knows the system and changes it’s defense once the QB calls a play. It is a system that makes a fan who understands the difference a strategic edge makes say, hmmm. The coach just gave the strategic edge to the defense. And it gets worse.
Getting penalized and blowing time outs is a problem but the biggest problem with this is the competitive edge the defense gains when they know the ball is going to snapped on one, not two or three. They get off the ball at the same time the offense does. This is part of strategizing that numbers people can’t crunch because it isn’t measured by numbers. But it is a major part of running a successful offense. Letting the defense know you are snapping the ball on one is a major disadvantage. That is what the RoBaugh system did. The delay of game penalties was just a number for the numbers people to add up and disseminate to make them feel like they are worth something. The real problem is the strategic disadvantage given to the offense.
If we call two plays in the huddle this year I will immediately call out this new coaching staff for being idiots.
Just wondering who you are stating the blatantly obvious to Berger?
Does the term “Harbaugh apologist” ring a bell!
I didn’t even cover the fact that the coach was calling the plays in the huddle at practice. The QBs were left to practice huddle management in games only.
I didn’t even cover the fact that 4 coaches were calling the plays. I wonder how last years offense ever got a play off.
I didn’t even cover the fact that often we were in the Sardine Can Offense which allows the defense to load the box and disguise just about anything they want to do.
Well the obvious disadvantage to running the clock to 1 or 2 (or fucking 0) on every play is you can’t use hard counts or quick-snap the ball. This lets the defense get the jump on every play.
Funny that this has been a problem since Norv Turner left, yet it is Kappy’s fault.
Revisionism strikes again.
From what I’ve heard about the practices, they are breaking huddles with around 22 seconds left on the clock. Time enough to make adjustments AFTER they line up.
Also there’s this from ESPN:
_______________
Kaepernick has been given the freedom this camp to call the plays himself in the huddle during practice, with the call radioed in to his helmet, as opposed to former coach Jim Harbaugh, who played 14 years, oftentimes peering in during camp and regular season practices and making the call himself.
“It allows the players to have confidence in hearing your voice,” Kaepernick said Wednesday, “and you’re the one who’s going to be giving them direction on the field. It’s something that every quarterback should have the ability to do.”
______________
But it’s something Harbaugh didn’t give his quarterbacks.
Frank Gore added:
_____________
It’s also something that should give clarification to former Niners running back Frank Gore’s comments earlier in the day. Gore, who left the Niners after 10 seasons for Indianapolis, was trying to give Colts quarterback Andrew Luck a compliment but instead seemed to take a swipe at his former signal callers in Santa Clara.
“I’m not knocking my other quarterbacks, I respect them other guys, but being around (Luck) a couple months, he’s a different breed,” Gore told NFL Network. “He’s smart. He makes me feel young.
“He runs the huddle. I never had that.”
Kaepernick said he did not take offense to Gore’s comments. Besides, Gore also had Alex Smith, Trent Dilfer, Tim Rattay, Ken Dorsey, Cody Pickett, Shaun Hill, J.T. O’Sullivan, Troy Smith, David Carr, Colt McCoy and Blaine Gabbert take snaps during Gore’s decade run with the Niners.
“It’s not something I’m worried about,” Kaepernick said. “We’re moving forward. It’s a new season, new coaching staff, new players. That’s all we’re worried about now.”
And, apparently, a new mode of communication in the huddle, which can only benefit coach Jim Tomsula’s point of emphasis to break the huddle faster in games.
________________
Once they fix this, they can move on to the red-zone offense.
Boone said at the podium it frustrated everyone, including the O line. Who knows better than him the disadvantage it puts them in.
This is pop warner 101 stuff.
Hands up any fan who didn’t show disgust every time they burned a TO or took a delay penalty and thought it was usual stuff. Any with their hands in the air, your a moron. Any who didn’t put their hands in the air but now try to defend or diminish this BS is a hypocrite.
Yup I heard from the same thing about the 20 some seconds thing chuck
Right. It either wasn’t a problem or the non-existent problem was Kappy’s fault. The fact that the punter got D-O-Gs as well means they couldn’t get even the simplest plays to the players fast enough. Unless Kappy was somehow keeping Andy from getting onto the field.
Now Bakkentom reports Kappy was only rushed 5 times last year. All the other 47 sacks were his fault for holding the ball too long. These guys are spinning donuts trying to fit the reality to the narrative. Funny as hell.
A punter will intentionally take a delay of game penalty sometimes. But I do remember one we took because the coach was late to get the special teams out there.
The point is the coaching staff made the delivery of play calling too complicated. The QB had no change to establish his own rhythm. The heavy handed coaching staff was treating pro players like they were back in college. Guess where the coach ended up! Back in college.
This is kinda funny we’re still communicating with the people on the other blog but we’re doing it on the down low. As far as I’m concerned it’s not such a bad thing to be wrong now and then. It’s become very obvious that quite a few don’t see it that way. I think I’ll stay over here for the most part as I really don’t feel the need to explain myself and it’s just to depressing over there.
So that being said, i had to leave the room everytime we got dinged for a delay of game penalty and I use to scream at the screen when we snapped the ball with 2 fucking seconds left. I really got tired of being angry. If it was kappy’s fault why didn’t the coaches do something about it. It was obvious to me the the problem was with the coaches. And, even if it wasn’t that way all the time it’s the coaches job to make sure things run smoothly.
Obvious logic. If Kap was the problem, fix it. If coaching was the problem, fix it. In either case, it is the coaches responsibility to fix it. So fucking fix it! They didn’t, and now they are gone. Hasta la vista baby!
Kindergarten shit.
Pretty obvious for people with brains.
Honestly Winder it was the depressing factor is why I decided to stop even reading there until the pre-season gets going. Waaaay over the top, funereal.
The 2-plays -in-the-huddle thing has been around since Turner left. Alex (kill kill kill!) Smith bad problems with it for years. These guys act like this is a new problem.
Revisionists all of them. As I said i don’t care if you think we’ll suck. Just don’t blame it all on. Kaepernick. All ohases of the TEAM were bad last year. Including the defense at times. There were games where we got zero pressure on the QB and the CBs were torched.
But by and large the problems were mainly with the offense. No continuity. No rhythm. No flow. And unlike the revisionists, a lot of us saw it as it happened. We didn’t wait 4 months to come up with a narrative to shove ideas into.
Bullit is a major league keyboard jockey asshole.
I’m sure he’s bubble boy.
Moops! Moops!
Remember on thing…….we’re talking about PRACTICE.
one
Did somebody say “One”!
Hey NoFear, does your husband blog as well? So why are they devoting so much time to fixing cloak management issues? According to you they aren’t issues. If not for the delay of game in 2012, we might be 6-0 in Super Bowls. Too soon, laughing boy? Or how do we spin that one?
Funny no one was complaining about Kaepernick then. Least of all you. Wonder why he all of a sudden needs to go back in time to fix his QBing. Its got nothing to do with coaching. What changed from 2013 to 2014? Beyond the injuries, the coaching staff told Kappy over and over to hold the ball. Hmmm. What was the biggest complaint? Kappy holding on to the ball. Our Wrs rarely got separation, VD was barely paying attention, and anyone not named Boldin was not getting open.
Talk about spin. You are a dryer set to kill. You also act like this is the same team as 2012. Is this team the same?
Fuck, NoFear. Walsh did one thing like Harbaugh and it’s the be-all end-all for coaching? You are fucking 5 years old. Yoi are getting worse than Bullit. Did Walsh run his players into the ground? No. he was very light during practice and saved the hitting for game day. Did Walsh go for the rah-rah- college style whos got it better than us stuff? No. Did Walsh actively antagonize all the people around him in the front office? No. He and John McVay had an excellent working relationship. Did he engender hatred around the league as a hot-headed baby who screamed at refs all game? No. Did he give nonsensical vague and antagonistic interviews and pressers? No.
Walsh and Harbaugh may have talked, but their coaching styles were nothing alike.
But you knew that. You just need to be the weenie on the corner bringing up stupid points.
Most important is staying injury free with a little good luck. Players are falling apart with injuries around the training camps.
Tru dat