Is Steve Young right?

[bvanthielriceyoung]

Steve Young is always right!:smile:

 

[Flyingiguana]

the offensive line is really limiting the offense. not to mention edwards being injured. if we could get edwards and davis attacking the d it could open things up for other guys to get open. the offense isn't going to light it up, but with our d it doesn't have to.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

whats SB caliber?

is our offense on the same level as Green Bay, New Orleans, or New England? right here, right now, do you place us on the same level as these top scoring offenses?

if you say no, then our offense ISN'T SB caliber. if you say yes, then i'll be shocked.

forget all the other stuff (fluff?) which doesn't directly address if our offense is SB caliber.

I disagree with your definition of super bowl caliber offense, as would both super bowl teams from last year apparently. I'm sure the Pats are relieved to know that they're going to the super bowl once again, though.

We can run the ball better than any of the teams you mention, and that fits our style of play. Deep, I'm surprised you of all people would effectively restrict "super bowl caliber offense" to a high-flying passing attack.

 

[Yoshi]

What is a SB caliber offense? We're averaging 23.8 PPG right now. That's right where GB and Pittsburgh were last year, markedly higher than Pittsburgh in '08, and ahead of the Giants in '07. Obviously the offense won't carry us to the SB, but it may be good enough to get us there with a little help from a very good D and STs.

As for the potential on offense, I think there's still quite a lot of room for growth. I can't say that the unit will actually take the necessary steps during the season, when it needs to prep for a new opponent every week, but there is a lot of talent at the skill positions, especially if Edwards can get right. The OL is a bit bipolar right now, and a lot depends on which unit takes the field for a given game. And Smith playing well can put together some pretty decent long drives.

I think this team can put up 25-odd points against the Saints or Packers. We've done it against the Cowboys, the Eagles, the Lions, and the Giants. It's highly unlikely we can hang with either of those teams if they put up 35+, but right now I'd say only those two teams and MAYBE the Pats could hang in that sort of a game. Our defense is the reason that, hopefully, we won't have to. If our D can't stop them, it's a given we're sunk.

The best chance the 49ers have staying with the pack and potentially putting up that many points against them is by running the ball against them effectively. I think we have a better shot of running down their throats as opposed to having success throwing on them. Although GB does give up a lot of yards, they rank 13th in the league in PPG (we're first) and lead the league in INT's. Funny thing is that GB is 2nd to worst in the league in passing yards given up per game while the Niners rank 21st.

The only thing is that I don't know if we have enough DB's to match up with all their weapons on that team. Not to mention, GB averages almost 100 yards more per game than our own offense, averages about 125 passing yards per game more than SF, and averages about 11 points per game more than us. Where we have the advantage is that our rushing yards per game is about 30 more than GB. I think you guys see where I am going with this - I think we can keep up with GB for a certain period, but I don't know if we're capable of putting up enough points to match them. Alex Smith has grown as a person and has exemplified mental fortitude by sticking with this team and playing day in, day out. Obviously, Rodgers is the much better QB which sets them apart from us.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

The best chance the 49ers have staying with the pack and potentially putting up that many points against them is by running the ball against them effectively. I think we have a better shot of running down their throats as opposed to having success throwing on them. Although GB does give up a lot of yards, they rank 13th in the league in PPG (we're first) and lead the league in INT's. Funny thing is that GB is 2nd to worst in the league in passing yards given up per game while the Niners rank 21st.

The only thing is that I don't know if we have enough DB's to match up with all their weapons on that team. Not to mention, GB averages almost 100 yards more per game than our own offense, averages about 125 passing yards per game more than SF, and averages about 11 points per game more than us. Where we have the advantage is that our rushing yards per game is about 30 more than GB. I think you guys see where I am going with this - I think we can keep up with GB for a certain period, but I don't know if we're capable of putting up enough points to match them. Alex Smith has grown as a person and has exemplified mental fortitude by sticking with this team and playing day in, day out. Obviously, Rodgers is the much better QB which sets them apart from us.

As said, we can't hang with them if we let them score 35+. Hell, even 30+ will be tough. The formula for beating the Pack will have to rely on our tight red zone D and our running game eating clock and keeping the ball out of Rodgers' hands. That, or taking Rodgers out.

 

[Mozart'sGhost]

The positive thing about the 49er offense is that the defense plays the run so well that if the other team doesn't have a great passer they aren't going to score much on the 49ers and the offense is efficient enough with the ball to score enough to win. Is that convoluted enough?

 

[Flyingiguana]

the key in the playoffs is to disrupt what the other teams offense wants to do. we're gonna need to find ways to apply pressure to help out our secondary. whitner is most likely gonna have to be on the bench unless its a running down. if we can't get pressure on rodgers or brees it could be a long day

 

[h0ckeysk83r]

They are beatable.

Keys to beating high scoring teams are: the run game which will make our TOP better not letting them get the ball. Playing good D, the biggest part is getting to the damn QB. See what happened to Brady in the super bowl when the giants pass rush got to him?

That is probably the 2 biggest factors the Run game and our effectiveness to get to the QB. Last monday night the giants let Brees sit back there and tear them apart. Wasnt pretty.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

Figured this was a good thread to post this in. Most striking are the stats for the last 41 drives started in our own territory:

San Francisco 49ers – Niner Insider Blog – SFGate.com Ravens were well-positioned to beat 49ers

Only one TD. That's unacceptable.

 

[coffeeman]

The hard-to-execute blueprint is clear: Keep the Niners on their side of the field and watch them fail to sustain drives or settle for field goals. San Francisco is ranked 30th in the NFL third-down conversions (30.6) and 26th in red zone touchdown percentage (42.1).

Convert on 3rd down. 30% is way to low.

 

[mufasa76]

The hard-to-execute blueprint is clear: Keep the Niners on their side of the field and watch them fail to sustain drives or settle for field goals. San Francisco is ranked 30th in the NFL third-down conversions (30.6) and 26th in red zone touchdown percentage (42.1).

Convert on 3rd down. 30% is way to low.

Ouch!!!!! - not good at all....

 

[RobertPhD01]

The hard-to-execute blueprint is clear: Keep the Niners on their side of the field and watch them fail to sustain drives or settle for field goals. San Francisco is ranked 30th in the NFL third-down conversions (30.6) and 26th in red zone touchdown percentage (42.1).

Convert on 3rd down. 30% is way to low.

Good Stat! Unfortunately this also shows the lack of explosive plays and or lack of playmakers ie. long plays or long TDs on our offense! We can improve and need to improve this vital area! Go 49ers!!

 

[numone9er]

You shut your filthy mouth!

Oh, come on! I love Steve Young as much as any 9er fan, but he's been wrong on many occasions. Just because he was a great player doesn't mean he can't be wrong.

 

[Flyingiguana]

not to mention he's a lawyer, so u can assume he isn't telling the truth

 

[Flyingiguana]

Good Stat! Unfortunately this also shows the lack of explosive plays and or lack of playmakers ie. long plays or long TDs on our offense! We can improve and need to improve this vital area! Go 49ers!!

it's the lack of a lot of things. first and foremost is the offensive line. plus it doesn't seem like anyone has emerged as that goto guy who can move the chains.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

it's the lack of a lot of things. first and foremost is the offensive line. plus it doesn't seem like anyone has emerged as that goto guy who can move the chains.

Not to mention Smith's struggles with the deep ball.

On second thought, it must be everyone other than Smith.

 

[vvoland]

Not to mention Smith's struggles with the deep ball.

On second thought, it must be everyone other than Smith.

smith does miss open receivers down field. either because he doesn't progress to that read and throws elsewhere [walker 'no-pass' on the first offensive play in the ravens game] or simply misses the throw [crabtree against arizona]. that said, every qb misses throws downfield or doesn't even attempt that throw on a number of occasions every single game. the deep throw is the most difficult to execute because of protection, routes, understanding between the qb and wr, and of course, arm strength, accuracy, confidence, repitition, etc. that said, smith has had more drops, on td passes, long passes, and otherwise than he's had missed throws. especially earlier in the year. he's not brady, brees, or rodgers but is playing very well this year and has been a huge part of this team's success.

i think smith has a ton of room to improve and has just begun to scratch the surface of his ability. i will reserve my final judgement of his talent until he has an offseason under the same OC and HC and a fairly coherent offensive system. since it seems inevitable that he'll be back next year [barring a collapse in the next 5 games], i would encourage most fans to do the same.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

smith does miss open receivers down field. either because he doesn't progress to that read and throws elsewhere [walker 'no-pass' on the first offensive play in the ravens game] or simply misses the throw [crabtree against arizona]. that said, every qb misses throws downfield or doesn't even attempt that throw on a number of occasions every single game. the deep throw is the most difficult to execute because of protection, routes, understanding between the qb and wr, and of course, arm strength, accuracy, confidence, repitition, etc. that said, smith has had more drops, on td passes, long passes, and otherwise than he's had missed throws. especially earlier in the year. he's not brady, brees, or rodgers but is playing very well this year and has been a huge part of this team's success.

i think smith has a ton of room to improve and has just begun to scratch the surface of his ability. i will reserve my final judgement of his talent until he has an offseason under the same OC and HC and a fairly coherent offensive system. since it seems inevitable that he'll be back next year [barring a collapse in the next 5 games], i would encourage most fans to do the same.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying Smith is solely to blame. I just get a little tired of Iguana blaming everyone BUT Smith. The OL and receivers have contributed to our problems going downfield, but Smith is pretty clearly the biggest problem in this area. He lacks the arm strength to drive the ball downfield accurately, and has been reluctant to press this year. That's been fine generally, but our offense at present is not consistent enough to run with the top offenses in the league only settling for the short stuff. We'll have to add a deep ball element at some point, or get much more consistent in the running and short-passing game.

I have been fairly consistent in my support of Smith since his career started, but he has limitations. As I said earlier in this thread, I think he and the offense in general still has room to grow. But if you asked me to identify a single problem area that is holding us back on offense, QB has to be #1.

 

[mem49er]

Oh, come on! I love Steve Young as much as any 9er fan, but he's been wrong on many occasions. Just because he was a great player doesn't mean he can't be wrong.

You may I'm but I'm gonna have to :tape2: you or you if you keep this up.

 

[vvoland]

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying Smith is solely to blame. I just get a little tired of Iguana blaming everyone BUT Smith. The OL and receivers have contributed to our problems going downfield, but Smith is pretty clearly the biggest problem in this area. He lacks the arm strength to drive the ball downfield accurately, and has been reluctant to press this year. That's been fine generally, but our offense at present is not consistent enough to run with the top offenses in the league only settling for the short stuff. We'll have to add a deep ball element at some point, or get much more consistent in the running and short-passing game.

I have been fairly consistent in my support of Smith since his career started, but he has limitations. As I said earlier in this thread, I think he and the offense in general still has room to grow. But if you asked me to identify a single problem area that is holding us back on offense, QB has to be #1.

here's where we disagree and i'll start from the bottom up. if i was asked to identify the biggest problem holding this offense back i'd say pass protection 1st, poor receivers 2nd [especially downfield], and smith's accuracy on the deep pass 3rd. i really don't chalk it up to arm strength. he's been good in years past in hitting v.d. on that deep seam route, can throw a nice rope a good distance, and when i see him miss the long bomb, its usually overthrows, not underthrows [the ginn pass comes to mind].

i also think the design of the offense has a lot to do with it. we've been very conservative and with the injuries to the WRs this year [first crabs, then edwards] we just haven't had much of a chance to develop that deep passing game. also, a new offense every year really hurts. you tend to work on things that you'll use more than 2/3 times per game. finally, smith is a very cerebral qb and i think he wants to be certain he's on the same page with his wideouts before unleashing the big bomb. the results of pressing for that throw when you're not telepathic w/ the WR are seen in the pick he threw to edwards at the end of the 1st half in the ravens game.