Greg Cosell spoke on KNBR on Monday and Tuesday. Here’s what he said about the NFC Championship game.
Q: How do you think Colin Kaepernick performed as a passer against the Falcons?
COSELL: I thought he threw the ball exceptionally well. I thought he did a really good job of stepping up in the pocket, which younger quarterbacks – particularly ones that run – sometimes struggle to do because as soon as they step up they want to run. I thought he did a terrific job stepping up and making stick throws into voids in zones. The Moss throw down to about the six yard line stands out to me. They got some great matchups. They really did a great job stressing the coverage with vertical routes, which opened up the intermediate areas. I thought that Kaepernick was well aware of the impact those routes were having on the defense, and knew immediately where to go with the football.
Q: How did Vernon Davis get so open on his 27-yard catch? It was third and seven on the 49ers first touchdown drive.
COSELL: The Falcons played Man Free, they delay blitzed with a linebacker and Davis easily beat DeCoud on a crosser and had a ton of room to run. And I’ve got to tell you, that James 15-yard touchdown run – what a great concept off the read option principle. It was almost like a jet sweep concept for James and power for Kaepernick. They sort of turned the read option principle on its head, because Kaepernick became the inside threat with power and James became the outside threat with that quick sweep. It was really a great concept and a great play call.
Q: How did Justin Smith play against the Falcons?
COSELL: I thought he played against the run really really well. They didn’t really get much pressure on the quarterback. I thought the Falcons did a really good job with their formations and chips on Aldon Smith to eliminate him, and at times they did the same thing with Brooks. I thought that they’re game plan really was outstanding. Therefore Matt Ryan, for the most part, was pretty secure in the pocket.
Q: How important is fullback Bruce Miller on the 49ers’ read option plays?
COSELL: I think he’s critical, because what they do out of the pistol is different from the way other teams do it. They really have a lead blocker with Miller. He’s responsible for a block, and that makes this offense really difficult to defend. What it does is it compromises defenders who are trying to figure out what they’re looking at. That’s the first thing they’re trying to figure out – what do I see in the backfield? How do I play my assignment based on that? And then all of a sudden, here comes Miller and he hits them. I think he’s absolutely critical to what they do with the pistol.
Q: What was the 49ers’ defense able to get done in the second half against the Falcons that they weren’t able to get done in the first half?
COSELL: Mostly it had to do with the run game, because the Falcons lined up in base personnel more in the second half, and therefore the 49ers lined up in their base 3-4, and I thought Sopoaga was tremendous in that game. He ended up playing about 20 snaps. Against Green Bay I think he played three snaps, because Green Bay never lines up in base personnel. But to be honest with you, the 49ers defense didn’t really stop the Falcons. Ryan throws a pick in which Roddy White falls down. It wouldn’t have been a completion to White, but it wouldn’t have been an interception if White doesn’t slip. Ryan fumbles on a fluky play when they’re going in after a long drive. I don’t think the 49ers just clamped down on them and shut them down.
You could argue Ahmad Brooks made the play of the game. That was Sprint Right Option, and Roddy White was open for a first down. That would have taken the ball to the three yard line. It would have been first and goal on the three with plenty of time left. And then Ahmad Brooks hits that pass, and then it’s fourth and four. Roddy White was wide open and Matt Ryan had him. All of a sudden you have a different conversation about the game.
The fourth down play was very interesting. They lined up in a three-by-one set and White was the inside guy on the three-receiver side and they got the matchup they wanted, which was White on Bowman. Gonzalez was the single receiver on the other side, and he won quickly off the line of scrimmage. But I think the play was designed was designed to go to White on Bowman. The play didn’t work, but the matchup made sense. It was a three-step drop timing throw. Ryan wasn’t scanning the field. It’s easy to look at the tape and say Gonzalez was open.
The other play that was really interesting was the Harry Douglas play. We can debate whether that was a catch or not a catch – the point is, if Douglas doesn’t slip coming out of his break that could have been a touchdown.
49ers RSS feed
Loading ...
CK may have done a good job stepping up in the pocket but the O line did a “great” job creating very large and clear pockets.
The reason the O line looks so much better with Kap than it did with Alex is because the pass rushers hesitate when Kap is the QB because they have to wait to see if he is running the ball or giving it to the RB on the read option or throwing it.
The old saying is that a GREAT qb makes all those plaing around him better players just by being there and Kap certainly makes his O line look even better than they are…and they are pretty darn good already.
Oh…and the LBers also hesitate for the same reason and don’t commit to stopping the running back so quickly because they might be fooled by Kap keeping the ball.So Kap being there makes the holes bigger for the RB’s as well. So he helps out the O line in several ways.
I wholeheartedly agree with the notion that the 49ers defense did not stop Atlanta in the second half.
Really, it was a combination of things, turnovers and fluke plays. But I recall Matt Ryan taking the Falcons down the field pretty several times in the second half. They only had one 3 and out the entire second half. Conversely, they took the ball into 49ers territory 3 out of the 4 times (not counting the last play of the game) because it doesn’t really matter). We’re lucky they didn’t have more possessions in the 2nd half really, and that’s more a testament to the 49ers offense eating the clock on several drives than anything the defense did.
The defense is going to have to really show up for the first time in these playoffs. They haven’t been playing to their own caliber. Still better than many other teams, but nowhere near the way they are known for playing.
And come to think of it, the only 3 and out the 49ers defense got was because Atlanta started backed up at their own half yard line after Crabtree’s goal line fumble.
@fourth and Alex I agree i think the 2nd half shut out had a lot more to do with Ryans choke than it did with the 9er D
Yep, and I would even argue that they had some luck even on the INT. I haven’t looked at it 10x yet, but the first few times they showed it live on TV it may have been that Culliver skinned White’s heel while closing in on the ball, causing White to lose his footing and fall.
I don’t think that’s a penalty on Culliver at all, but just a lucky break in the game in terms of incidental contact while both are playing the ball.
4th
Culliver claimed to know Ryan’s tendency to throw it low and that he therefore jumped the route.
Yeah great play by CC and good to know!
I don’t agree with Cosell on Culliver’s interception. When you see White slip, it’s easy to say “that caused the interception,” but I’m not so sure. Culliver broke on the ball quickly; I think he was anticipating that throw.
As for the alleged lack of pressure on Matt Ryan, the Bay Area Sports Guy reviewed PFF’s game charting stats and reported that
The 49ers pressured Matt Ryan on 14 of his 44 drop backs. This means Ryan was pressured on 31.8% of passes, the most of any quarterback this past weekend.
From: http://www.bayareasportsguy.com/behind-the-box-score-every-stat-you-need-to-know-about-the-49ers-nfc-championship-victory/
Note: A pressure is a sack, a hit on the QB or a hurry.
Moreover, the 49ers managed to pressure Ryan on 6 of his final 12 dropbacks. Perhaps the 49ers defense had something to do with the 2nd half shut out after all.
Those “hurries” PFF tracks are highly subjective.
Ryan completed 11 of 13 passes agianst the 49ers when he faced what PFF considers “pressure.”
Grant are’nt all of our opinions on here, yours included highly subjective?
We’re talking about specific statistics, not opinions.
Well Grant you know what they say theres lies, damn lies and statistics or you can make statistics say anything you want them to
I agree with Claude…(yes ,I actually said that,lol). I had to give Ryan great credit for hanging in the pocket so strongly ,so many times,against pass rushers that were often practically hanging off him ,and still throwing strikes most of the time.
I didn’t think Ryan was that good but he changed my mind.
…and I also agree with him that Culliver may have intercepted that pass slip or no slip. Either way it was not going to be completed to a Falcon.
Claude
Culliver also says he broke on that ball, says he knew it was coming, and coming in low. Says his pick was earned.
@ Grant:
Ryan completed 11 of 13 passes agianst the 49ers when he faced what PFF considers “pressure.”
Perhaps that says more about Ryan than it says about PFF’s definition of pressure. As TIM noted, Ryan completed throws even when he was hit or had guys hanging on him.
I find it interesting that two very good teams squared off in NFC Championship game and people view the outcome as the result of Matt Ryan/the Falcons’ offense choking against a 49er defense that wasn’t playing well. Who says it wasn’t the result of a strong 49ers defense absorbing some early shots from a high-powered offense, but coming up big when it mattered the most?
I watched the game. The pass rush wasn’t there.
@ Mr. E:
That’s how it looked to me.
@ Grant:
So did I. Ryan was getting rid of the ball quickly.
claude
I agree. It was obvious the game plan for the falcons were quick 3 step drop passes to neutralize the pass rush. I think that was the most frustrating part of watching the game. Ryan was getting the ball out extremely quick before we could get to him. I think their offensive line did a pretty good job in pass protection as well.
The good thing is that Flacco is not the type of QB to get the ball out quickly. He and his coaches like to get the ball down field,so he needs to hold the ball longer to do that . If Ryan didn’t get the ball out so quickly last week we would have had several sacks and several more hits on the QB.
…And Grant,YOU may say the pass rush was not there,but Ryan’s shoulder says differently ,lol.
But this leaves out the other side of the equation–that Atlanta didn’t really stop SF either–put back the fumble on the goal line and the gimme FG missed and we’re also talking about a different game. EVERYTHING that happens is the game.
I think the point that is being made is not that the game would have been different, but that the 49ers defense really did nothing to stop Atlanta in the second half.
The impression everyone gets from seeing Atlanta did not score in the second half is that the 49ers D played outstanding, but a closer look at the drive charts and you see just the opposite. They had plenty of things go their way EXCEPT the defense playing well.
There’s always another way to look at it. We could say the strength of the Niners played below average, had a 2nd year QB with limited experience playing on the road in the 2nd loudest stadium, had a critical turnover in the redzone, missed a chip shot FG, and they still won. I look at it as a positive that we can play a C+\B- game and win a BIG gamae on the road.
If all cyclinders are clicking on this team, they make any and every other team look inferior by a good margin.
Giving up 0 points is outstanding in my book. We can’t say for sure those two turnovers weren’t a fluke or because of the defensive calls or if he knew the route and jumped it. That ball wasn’t going to be completed and our cb was right there for the catch as if he was the receiver. Who knows but this applies to the defense also. Stats mean nothing scoring does and they scored squat. As far as the pass rush being MIA I agree. We’ve gotta pressure JF or its going to look like MR all over again.
Very good point
The 9er O after the first 2 possessions was outstanding. The special teams other than the missed FG were outstanding. The D was not good either half and that has to be a concern going into the Super Bowl
Huge concern. The D hasn’t played well since Brady exposed them in the second half over a month ago.
Brooks , McDonald, J Smith and A Smith are not getting to the QB , and that has got to change against the Ravens
@ 4th&Alex
Yes, the Niner D was “exposed” by Tom Brady a month ago, after the team was rolling with a big lead in the Pats’ house. But the “exposing”, occurred AFTER Justin Smith left the game with his triceps injury…hmmh, COINCIDENCE? ME THINKS NOT. The Niners’ D DID play better late in the second half: as the game winds down, time ticking down, the pressure builds incredibly, and things speed up on the field; the stakes are at their highest. KUDOS to the Niners for stepping up in the second half and doing everything that got us to the Superbowl. I am proud of this team, and I like our chances in New Orleans!
Haven’t had time yet to read through all the posts yet so someone may have mentioned this. Looks like the Eagles are targeting Ed Donnatell (sp) for DC job! Well deserves but I’d hate to lose him!
0 points in the second half. 24 in the first. Defense did something right in the second half.
He says Douglas would have scored if he doesn’t slip and fall on that pass that was reviewed but what about the coverage guy who slipped and fell leaving Douglas open?
And perhaps the defense didn’t necessarily clamp down but they sure made something happen to cause the turnovers
Cosell needs to be more thorough if he wants to be considered a credible analyst imo
Actually Douglas pulled the defender down by his collar… But they didn’t call an offensive p.i. And no one even talks about it…
Also the fumble by m Ryan was caused by Willis and Bowman intimidating the QB on a blitz… He looked at them rushing in, took eyes off the ball… Bingo… Fumble…