NEW ORLEANS — The 49ers just beat the Saints 31-21. Here are the grades for the 49ers coaches.
Coaching: B-. The 49ers committed a whopping 10 penalties – that’s on the head coach.
Greg Roman did not establish the run in the first half for the third time this season. He did not get Vernon Davis involved in the offense for fifth time this season. Most of the offense’s big plays came outside the structure of his offense – Kaepernick would scramble and make the play.
Vic Fangio did a good job confusing Drew Brees. He dropped Ahmad Brooks into coverage and blitzed Patrick Willis, and the Saints were not prepared for those moves.
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A+ to the Head Coach for selecting CK7, coaching him up and having the brass balls to go against conventional wisdom by starting him. I don’t think there is any question that CK7 is now the starting quarterback, and a new era has begun in 49er football.
Good grades Grant. the part about confusing Brees is right on target! Heck of a game plan on the defense!
To me:
Devising a Game Plan is engineering. Adjusting during a game is artistry. The Second Half seemed very satisfactory to me. I usually weight the 2nd/half higher than the 1st. Therefore: Road Win in hornets nest against re-emergent team. Coaches get a B+
Grant — you’re wrong on this one, bud. The 10 penalties are not on the coaches. If there still here next week or in a couple of weeks, then yeah, but not this one, and here’s why:
1. OL penalties resulted from CK scrambling and extending plays like Ben. OL are accustomed to the ball coming out or the sack being taken, and yet there was CK, moving around 7 seconds after the snap. Can’t put that on coaching, gotta put it on in-game experience. Like I said, if it continues, put it on Harbaugh
2. DB penalties resulted from having to play a desperate Brees heaving up prayers to players who are expert at drawing penalties. You think the cheating on the Saints stops on the defensive side? There’s nothing technically illegal about the way those WRs were drawing PI, but it’s obvious they’ve all been coached up to do it. Brees is the most overrated player in the NFL, and the refs buy in, hook-line-and-sinker!
Nice stuff today Grant! Keep an eye out on your boy Prime Time. He’s nothing but a mudslinger.
“Greg Roman did not establish the run in the first half for the third time this season.”
Just as Chicago did at the start of that game, the Saints stacked the line in the beginning to stop the run, and they did so. Gore got very little yardage on his carries in the first half. Any pro team can stop any team’s run offense if they put extra men on the line. The downside, of course, is they make themselves vulnerable to the pass. The obvious answer is to pass until they take those extra guys from the line to the defensive backfield. Since the play call comes in before Roman knows what the defense will be, it’s the QB’s responsibility to audible out of a run play when appropriate. I’m sure Kaepernick was a little shy about doing that at the beginning of the game. That’ll come with experience.
If a team is determined to stop the run, you’d be foolish to bang your head against the wall. So you can’t always “establish the run” early. You have to take what the defense gives you.