49ers Fata Playoff Flaw

[sayheykid1]

I apologize if this has been previously posted but I am wondering what everyone thinks of the following criticism...

Flaw: Little ball in a big ball game

If the 49ers were a baseball team, they’d be the 1985 St. Louis Cardinals, a team that defined baseball’s “little ball” era. The Cardinals won more games (101) than they hit home runs (87) and were one famous bad call from a World Series title. San Francisco won 13 games on the strength of its great defense. That covered up an offense that is getting by with numbers that simply don’t hold up. The 49ers are one of only two teams in the playoffs that were outgained on a per-play basis. San Francisco averaged 5.0 yards per play and gave up 5.1. Only Denver (5.0 on offense, 5.4 on defense) shares that dubious statistical title. In the Super Bowl era, only one team (New England in 2001) has ever won the title after being outgained on a per play basis. Worse, the 49ers are also one of only two playoff teams that finished with more field goals (44) than offensive touchdowns (32). Cincinnati is the other with 31 touchdowns and 33 field goals. While 49ers fans will contend that defense wins championships, the lack of offensive execution means that one mistake has the potential to be incredibly costly. Or as St. Louis baseball fans will tell, Don Denkinger is out there.

Looking at the YPP figures several thoughts crossed my mind right away:
My first thought was: baseball and football comparisons are completely stupid. Second thought: holy crap, that isn't good is there a lot of luck happening here. Third thought: without the context of how many plays the team is allowing compared to how many offensive downs they have does it mean anything? Final thought: It is BS because it ignores giveaways and takeaways.

1st thought: Valid
2nd: No, luck isn't a big factor
3rd thought: That really doesn't mean much and as it turns out, the Niners only have 15 more plays from scrimmage than their opponent.
Final: This is what it all boils down to. The 49ers protect the ball well and are great at forcing turnovers.

 

[deep9er]

we shouldn't get all worked up, WE already know our offense isn't explosive. we already know this season is mainly about our defense. hell, we knew this BEFORE the season.

are we little ball this season, yeah we are, but this isn't saying we intend to remain little ball?

 

[Mozart'sGhost]

I apologize if this has been previously posted but I am wondering what everyone thinks of the following criticism...

Flaw: Little ball in a big ball game

If the 49ers were a baseball team, they’d be the 1985 St. Louis Cardinals, a team that defined baseball’s “little ball” era. The Cardinals won more games (101) than they hit home runs (87) and were one famous bad call from a World Series title. San Francisco won 13 games on the strength of its great defense. That covered up an offense that is getting by with numbers that simply don’t hold up. The 49ers are one of only two teams in the playoffs that were outgained on a per-play basis. San Francisco averaged 5.0 yards per play and gave up 5.1. Only Denver (5.0 on offense, 5.4 on defense) shares that dubious statistical title. In the Super Bowl era, only one team (New England in 2001) has ever won the title after being outgained on a per play basis. Worse, the 49ers are also one of only two playoff teams that finished with more field goals (44) than offensive touchdowns (32). Cincinnati is the other with 31 touchdowns and 33 field goals. While 49ers fans will contend that defense wins championships, the lack of offensive execution means that one mistake has the potential to be incredibly costly. Or as St. Louis baseball fans will tell, Don Denkinger is out there.

Looking at the YPP figures several thoughts crossed my mind right away:
My first thought was: baseball and football comparisons are completely stupid. Second thought: holy crap, that isn't good is there a lot of luck happening here. Third thought: without the context of how many plays the team is allowing compared to how many offensive downs they have does it mean anything? Final thought: It is BS because it ignores giveaways and takeaways.

1st thought: Valid
2nd: No, luck isn't a big factor
3rd thought: That really doesn't mean much and as it turns out, the Niners only have 15 more plays from scrimmage than their opponent.
Final: This is what it all boils down to. The 49ers protect the ball well and are great at forcing turnovers.

That's been my concern for the 49ers, and Harbaugh's style of football all season; that the margin for error is so slim. They were about 6 or 7 plays from being 9 and 7.

 

[h0ckeysk83r]

That's been my concern for the 49ers, and Harbaugh's style of football all season; that the margin for error is so slim. They were about 6 or 7 plays from being 9 and 7.

Same could be said for most any team. You could also say we were 6-7 plays away from being 16-0.

 

[9er4life]

You could also say we're 6-7 plays away from our 6th Lombardi trohpy!!!

 

[deep9er]

Harbaugh is playing to the strengths of his team, and doing a fantastic job. fact is, we doesn't have the best NFL talent on offense, so our "style" is what we're limited to now.

no doubt in my mind our 'style' will change depending what talent is added next off season? granted there won't be BIG changes because our QB remains same, but thats another matter and already been covered.

 

[9er4life]

Harbaugh is playing to the strengths of his team, and doing a fantastic job. fact is, we doesn't have the best NFL talent on offense, so our "style" is what we're limited to now.

no doubt in my mind our 'style' will change depending what talent is added next off season? granted there won't be BIG changes because our QB remains same, but thats another matter and already been covered.

That's not written in stone just yet...

 

[tzill]

Same could be said for most any team. You could also say we were 6-7 plays away from being 16-0.

Don't feed the concern troll.

 

[Mozart'sGhost]

You could also say we're 6-7 plays away from our 6th Lombardi trohpy!!!

You could.

 

[vvoland]

You could also say we're 6-7 plays away from our 6th Lombardi trohpy!!!

it may be more like 3-4 plays but.. yes!

 

[EaseUrStorm]

I think the analogy is pretty fair and if we happen to win it all or get close it will be a grind. After we started to get on a roll I realized that we're the ones grinding the other teams out; we're not just hanging around like in years past. This defense has made an explosive offense or two quit.

 

[deep9er]

That's not written in stone just yet...

if you're expecting - likely expecting - BIG changes from Alex Smith, great.

 

[9er4life]

if you're expecting - likely expecting - BIG changes from Alex Smith, great.

No, I'm talking about changes OTHER than Alex Smith. They might re-sign him, but don't think that Harbaugh is banking on Smith being long term. He's going to find the 49ers a QB of the future, and a good one at that!