I wrote a blog yesterday on the 49ers Full-House Pistol formation. It’s actually called the Diamond formation.
The Oklahoma Sooners run it, the West Virginia Mountaneers run it, and now the 49ers run it.
It’s a run-based shotgun formation. There are four players in the backfield, and therefore nine players in the offensive box. It’s supposed to confuse the defense with misdirections and multiple options. It invites the defense to play eight in the box in order to create one-on-one matchups for the wide receivers.
Against the Dolphins on Sunday, The 49ers ran out of this formation 11 times and passed after a play fake six times. I wonder if they’ll use it more and more this season to accommodate Colin Kaepernick’s and LaMichael James’ running abilities.
If you’d like to learn more about this formation, here’s a breakdown of 12 diamond formation run plays, and six play action passes.
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I think we’ll see some 2TE sets this week as well as the diamond.
I hope so. Brotha. In order for this team to win it all, they have to get the TEs more involved. Especially Davis.
In was thinking the same thing. Idk why that haven’t used it more this season. Walker and Davis could be a terror for defenses.
They can use it Grant but only to a certain extent. If they use it too much, it will backfire on them potentially at the worse possible time.
I doesn’t look like that we have to worry how WE are going to play, we need to worry about stopping NE! Kap is going to be the manager for this debacle.
Dephiant,
Got anything pozitive to add to the blog. Smith got benched 5 weeks ago dude. Are you sure you aren’t a Raider fan?
Sorry I don’t think he’s making a jab. I agree with him, that Kap has to manage the game well. 1. We r going to be in NE and the crowd will be loud. They will be pumped up especially since they blew the Texans away. 2. He has to manage long drives to keep Tom Brady on the sidelines. That offense looked really good
NE will have a let. They’re facing a short week and coming off an emotional high. Look for the Niners to dominate the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. CK7 will have a big day. 2 weeks ago Tannehill was very effective against NE by extending plays with his feet and gashing NE with big runs. He even ran one in for a TD. CK7 is faster and more athletic than Tannehill, so I expect NE to fear the run a lot more. This should soften up their pass defense.
* a let down
Since JH hasn’t named Kap as THE starting QB, (it’s still a week by week thing), Kap can only be considered an experiment. Right now the flash is gone and he looks a lot like Alex Smith, managing the running game of the Nines, with an occasional splurge.
IF ANYONE THINKS THAT IS GOING TO GET US A SB, let me know. This NE game will be a defining moment for JH, Kap and the Super Bowl. Seattle is only 1 1/2 game behind and it looks like THEY found JH’s “Hot Hand”!!!
So go root for Seattle. It obvious you’re heart broken from the benching of Alex Smith. Any objective observer can see that CK7 is the better QB and has a higher ceiling. CK7 was chosen by the coaching staff for a reason. He can do the same things AS can and then some.
So, to paraphrase, Kaepernick is the same as Alex Smith and that isn’t good enough to win a Super Bowl.
Hard to argue with that.
The Seahawks are lucky to be where they are. That game against Green bay was a travesty, we will beat their ass.
Now all that CK has to do to prove he was the right choice is get past the NFC Championship game. Otherwise this debate never ends.
Untrue Prime. The debate ends when Alex is the backup QB on the Chargers next year.
Or that too but before the offseason, that will be what everyone will say if CK does not at least get to where Alex did last year.
@Prime if CK can’t do as well as Alex then it’s time to go back to the draft, yes? Unless we want another 7 years of excuses.
No CK is the future. It’s just unfortunate this kid has the burden of winning or at least getting to the SB.
Unlike you not everything is doom and gloom.
I’ve voiced my opinion on the switch late in the season. Don’t need to rehash things like you over and over again.
Kap throws a TD once out of every 43 passes, Alex threw a TD every 17 passes. That is pretty alarming to me. Just throwing out there what I thought was an intersting stat to chew on.
I do’nt think the problem is CK its the 49ers trying to stuff CK in an Alex Smith mold. The truth is that Smith is better at what the 9ers are doing than CK. They need to let Kap be Kap and play to his strengths if not they might as well have stayed with Smith
I agree Old Coach, as you probably know, you call plays to the players ‘on the field’ strengths, right now, I’m not sure they are doing that as well as they should. It also shows that Kap is nowhere near as efficient…yet. But he absolutley ‘brings more to the table’ than Alex did. I just hope he brings all he has to the table the next 2 weeks.
I called a month ago that the Falcons would lose 3 of during the strech they’re in, #1 seed is NOT wrapped up yet.
Do you think they will run it as much this week against a Belichick coached defense?
Coffee – Maybe run more outside and take advantage of our WR’s and TE’s excellent blocking. The Patriots bigs stuff the middle pretty well at home.
Crabs,
Big 75 is the guy
23J – Are you attending Dec. 30 Cards game? I’ll be there. I’ll buy you a pepsi. :)
If our starters are still playing at that point, do me a favor guys. If you see that Davis is still not being utilized, throw something at Roman’s head. Maybe it will bring back memories of the historic clinic Davis performed last year in the playoffs.
MidWest – Good idea. :)
I’m curious how they’ll handle Wilfork. That dude is almost as badass as Justin Smith.
I was also impressed by how the Pat’s O-Line handled Watt.
This is going to be a tough game.
Hey Grant fantasy question for you. I’m going into the semi finals this weekend and idk whether to start Crabtree @ NE or Mcfadden vs KC. Mcfadden reinjured himself last thurs but he was full go in practice yesterday and is on pace to start. What is your advice? Thanks.
I’m no expert on fantasy football, but if it was me I’d go with Crabtree Adam. He’s healthier and has been on fire here of late.
I have started him past two weeks and has gotten me 9 and 10 points. Plus NE is 28th vs pass, and i think he is due for a TD. But it could be one of those game where he disappears and only manages 30 yards. I feel whichever decision i make will be the wrong one.
I’d worry more about whether McFadden can stay on the field long enough to do anything. To me the healthier guy is the better choice.
Appreciate the input.
No problem Adam. I could be all wet here, but to me Crabtree makes more sense.
Adam707 – Crabtree had 9 catches vs Mia, Belichick will not allow same plays to happen again. Crabtree would have a better chance if he was allowed to go deep a couple times. The Pats are expecting him to run same short patterns, it’s time for a surprise double-move or pump fake by CK and hit Crabtree deep. He’s fast enough.
I would use McFadden if healthy. No, I don’t play fantasy football. Tried it once but didn’t inhale.
It seems to me the Niners only look at him on short passes. When he goes deep hes the 3rd/4th option. I would like to see him get a chance to get the ball on deeper routes. I mean Kaep does have this amazing arm we have all heard about, how about we see it.
If CK can go deep a couple of times it will open up the slot more for Crabtree. What makes Crabtree dangerous is his YAC.
MidWest – Good point…..YAC is much improved this year.
If Aqib Talib is injured, you’ve got to start Crabtree.
Adam707- I have the same problem. Semi-finals this week. Start Crabtree vs NE or TY Hilton against HOU?
Hilton gets some return duties so he can get a few extra points that way. The couple of times I sat Crabs this year, he killed it.
Redskins run that offense too. I don’t know about you guys but id like to see more 3 and 4wr sets instead of 2 te with walker. Aj Jenkinks looked good in preseason why can’t we throw some deep routes to him? I pray ted ginn jr never comes again to play wr this dude has stone hands. Crabtree Moss Manningham Jenkins with James in backfield and let’s air it out. Gore is always in backfield on 3rd and long because he can block but I wish james was back there because how many lbs can run with him coming out of the backfield? I’m talking 4.3 speed
Grant,
My understanding is that the heavy pistol and the diamond are the same formation. Under either name, it is not a true shotgun formation as the QB is four yards behind center, not seven as in a true shotgun. The formation is a pistol formation with additional backs. Nevada ran a two back version of the heavy pistol sometimes — one back behind the QB and one split.
Weird — I was sure I replied to Grant’s main post, not bdubbs23′s post.
Be nice but its never going to happen. Its clear that the coaching has different ideas. We are determined to run the football
I would not mind seeing more of LMJ. Heck he seems to have inspired Gore to play like him on one play, and even better – he sent Brandon Jacobs packing.
Many teams have run this formation with the QB under center in the past, but this is a new adjustment, and by moving the QB into the pistol it allows for more play variations.
Whatever we do this week we need to run it well to eat some clock and take our shots of that success. And if they try and be stubborn and run right up the middle against Willfork they are asking for three and outs. This game begs for off tackle and outside running with 2 TEs on the field at all times. Biggest weakness for the Pats is their big slow LBs trying to cover even mediocre TEs
I’d love to see some screen to LJ. Mayo and Spikes are slow. Catch them in a man situation and LJ is off to the races.
They should call that formation “The Sawed-Off Shotgun”
The SOS… pretty cool
Kap will have to make more plays anticipating the receivers route and not wait till they are wide open.
He does his very well on the slant since the receiver is at his position almost instantly after the snap.
This needs to happen on more intermediate or longer routes on a regular basis.
Unfortunately, this needs a lot of timing and trust between the QB and the receivers and I am not sure Kap has that yet.
It also needs the QB to understand the defense completely and move the defenders off his man using his eyes, something I do not recall Kap doing yet.
In short, I am hopeful but wont hold my breath on a more dynamic passing attack this season.
Kap did that vs Bears in his first career start…. I wonder if the pressure of media about the qb switch got to him and he started to get more conservative.
I don’t think so Bdub. I think it has more to do with the same problems Smith had when starting: poor play-calling from Roman, inconsistent pass protection, and sure catches that are dropped by the one he threw the rock to.
I hope he rediscovers it. I am still very impressed with Kap’s play and maturity.
Experience will only come with more playing time, unfortunately there are two mid term exams coming up the next two weeks.
I am also not in the least worried about his composure, he’s shown plenty in the games he played thus far.
I only worry because the Belichick/Brady combo is going to be very hard to beat in Foxboro/December.
Our defense better come ready to play and then some. That will be the decider in this game.
The slant pass has worked because the DB’s are 5-10 yards back at the snap and run backwards. Leaving a wide open target for CK.
In that case, he is very smart to take advantage of it. I do recall the 4th down slant he put the ball on the money to Crabtree and we got a first down because of the PI call against Miami.
Shine bright like a diamond
sorry, my 11 year old keeps singing it
Mr. Hammer is correct. The formation gives the offense many options to include being able to attack in either direction. I do not think it will be overused.
According To Trent Dilfer the teams that beat NE this year all used a 21 personell grouping. 2 TE’s and 1 RB. He said that NE uses their LB’s to cover the TE’s and they are terrible in coverage. That sounds like it plays right to Harbaughs and the49ers strengths so maybe we will see alot of VD and DW this week.
Hopefully you’re right Coach. Unfortunately that’s up to Roman though.
I hope we can exploit that. Im really not as worried for whatever reason about this game. I think that the Texans just had a bad game and it’s very winnable if our defense comes out and does what they do and Gore gets around 100. Look what teams like Seattle and Miami have done against them.
I agree Old coach, all the talk that the Niners don’t match up well against the Pats is overreaction. I think the Niners are built to beat teams like the Pats. Of course Welker will be tough cover, he is for every team in the league. The difference is we have the best cover LB in the game, the best tackling CB tandem according to PFF and the the best overall tackling team period.
The offense is built for TOP, long drives keeping the opposing O on the sideline. The Pat’s LB are NOT good at coverage, their scheme is sound but the talent will allow for seperation for the SF TE’s. The teams that have historically given NE fits are tough nosed physical running teams who use play action and keep the amount of drives down for Brady. PIT, BAL, SEA thiw year. We fit that mold pretty well, matter of fact the Niners play that way as good as any team in the league.
On the flip side…. I see New England going 4 and 5 wide sets to keep out lbs off the field and make us play cox more in the dime package. They run a lot of no huddle too. I think our offense can move the ball on there defense. Talib got hurt yesterday I’m not sure what his statis is but I think we can attack there secondary. Spikes Mayo and the rookie Hightower play the run well along with Wilfork. I think we are going to have to air it out. 49ers have best d in pts allowed and Pats have best offense in pts scored so something has to give. Pats haven’t lost at home in December in a long time so we will be a big underdog I’m saying 7 pts at least. I still like our chances. Ray mcdonald and justin smith and even brooks have trouble sacking qbs that can move but we all know Brady can’t run. I’m hoping Fangio dials up some aggressive blitz packages I know that’s not what he does much…but we will need to get to Brady and it can’t just be all Aldon Smith. He’s going to get doubled most game. We will need another pass rusher to step up
21 personnel is two running backs and one tight end. You meant 12 personnel. The Niners are betting using 22 personnel.
I was trying to watch what they were doing to cover Owen Daniels but I couldn’t tell. Whatever they were doing, they shut him down pretty well!
The NY Giants have shown the league how to beat NE. Hit tom brady hit tom brady hit tom brady. when you hit tom brady little tommy folds like a little girl .. hit him early hit him late hit him often. A couple of years ago Tom Jackson said he would trade a couple of 15 yard penalties just to get a couple of good hits on brady early in a game..I think there is a little bit too much prima donna in little tommy
Amen… Hit him early and they are a different team. Sopoaga is going to be an important piece of this game. He’s got to plug up the middle and take the draw play away.
Ya, hit him early and it frustrates him. But you have to do it rushing 4. Houston rushed 5 alot which left them in man coverage alot. We wont do that. We’ll play this like we did GB. If his 1st read isn’t there, he’s gonna get hit!
Perfectly put. Pressure Brady, constantly.
The only game I recall us doing this and not winning was, sadly, the NFCCG last season. We hit Eli over and over again, but, well, don’t need to repeat revisionist history.
Brady may be a better QB than Eli but Eli is far tougher.
You nailed it Coach. Tom Brady is fantastic but he wilts under pressure – especially hits.
The problem is getting through that O-Line. Houston’s pass rush is pretty darned good but it still seemed like Brady was reading the Sunday paper in the pocket last night. If Justin & Co. can’t do better than that it will be a long night.
I just watched the Monday night game. Houston hit Brady constantly. It didn’t look like he backed off to me.
If we beat Seattle in Seattle, then we don’t have to worry about the Patriots until the Super Bowl. If we can’t beat Seattle, it doesn’t make any difference, unless we can win three playoff games on the road, in December, on the East coast. No problem.
NE benefited greatly from some ghost PI calls.
Matt – Pats get majority of calls at home and their big brother (ESPN) is always looking over them. Everyone knows ESPN has a “love affair” with Tom Brady.
Diamond? Is that what the kids are calling these days? Isn’t this just the full house backfield, relic from the leather helmet days and staple of pop warner football?
calling *it
The difference is that the QB is four yards behind center instead of under center, which gives the QB more time to read the defense and more running lanes. Otherwise — yeah, it is the same.
With the QB under center, it’s the original T formation that was started at Stanford with Frankie Albert playing quarterback.
Two tight ends and two running back why we never use this ill never know its pathetic we would kill with mismatches