Jim Harbaugh … STFU

[Auggie]

"… the greatest catcher of all time, Michael Crabtree, catches everything."



http://espn.go.com/nfl/playoffs/2013/story/_/id/10250258/jim-harbaugh-michael-crabtree-san-francisco-49ers-best-pass-catcher-all

Great way to alienate your best receiver, Anquan Boldin. Think before you speak, coach.

[BlueStreak]

1. Terrible job of defensive coaching.

Kaepernick is a mediocre passer. If you contain him, he cannot beat anybody over the course of 60 minutes. But you have to keep the contain in place, even if that means you don't rush straight at him. You only have to watch about 30 seconds of film to know that he can beat any lineman or LB to the corner if you let him out of the pocket. Every one of his long runs was preventable. The rushers did not stay in their contain routes. And that wasn't because of great blocking. The rushers just kept giving him the outside. You can't do that. That is the only way the 49ers can beat you.

I didn't really have a favorite in that game, but it drives me batty to see dimwit coordinators miss the most obvious stuff. Football can be a complicated game. I understand when the complexity of the game and the pressure of the moment makes you miss something. But maintaining contain is not complicated. You have to force this guy to run toward other players. You cannot let him get to the outside where there is no support. Give up the middle lanes. He'll only get 5 yards that way most of the time. And there comes a point where he will figure it just isn't worth it to take such a beating for 5 yards. When you let him get outside, usually he can run out of bounds without even being touched.

[ScreamingMeemie]

2. Bush lost that game for them, and Capers needs

to go.

[Upton]

5. I guess you won't be

laughing about Michael Crabtree anymore huh?

[ScreamingMeemie]

9. I will continue to laugh like he'll at comparing the loss

of a merely okay receiver to a starting QB.

[Upton]

11. Is that what you were doing last night?

Laughing to keep from crying? Too bad about those Packers, but they shouldn't have been awarded a home game anyway and got what they deserved..

Btw, that "merely okay receiver" led both teams yesterday in receptions and yards gained. Without him, the 49ers may not have won. Which was the point I was making the other day by bringing up how valuable he is. Now you've learned something.

[Goblinmonger]

18. Not to mention the 2 TDs

he should have had but for uncalled pass interference/holding.

[BlueStreak]

3. Here's a Jan 1 article that foreshadows it.

http://espn.go.com/blog/green-bay-packers/post/_/id/5951/defining-time-for-capers-packers-defense

It is one thing to not have the personnel to stop the other team. That happens. There is a winner and a loser in (almost) every game. But the minimum requirement for the Defensive Coordinator is to take away the easiest options the other offense has. Make them do things that are harder for them. If they beat you at that, then that's the way it goes. I don't know how any team shows up for a game with SF without a plan for containing Kaepernick, or at least making him absorb some punishment if he is going to run. You can't let the guy run for 15 yards around the corner and then tiptoe out of bounds. You have to force him to run up the middle. He may get his yards, but at least you have a chance to plant him a few times, which will pay dividends later in the game.

Enough teams understand this that Kaepernick will be another RGIII in a year or two. Lean, cat-like running QBs never survive very long in this league.

[Auggie]

4. Seattle knows how to stop him

Kaep has to play better. I want to see improvisation from him other than the scramble.

Rodgers made great passes when the plays had fallen apart. Kaepernick just has the run. 49ers were damn lucky on many accounts to win.

[BlueStreak]

10. He isn't "slippery in the pocket" so to speak

There are guys who get extra time in the pocket to make a play. Elway was very good at that. Favre. Andrew Luck is excellent at that. To some degree, Peyton Manning, but mainly he is just able to make his reads super fast ad get the ball out before the rush arrives.

Kaepernick doesn't do any of that. Once he starts running, he generally isn't looking to do anything but run. And 8 times out of 10, he runs to his left. As a defensive coordinator, you have to grab your right tackle by the ears and say, "Listen. I don't care if you lay a finger on him the entire game. Your job is to make damn sure that he never goes around you on your right. If he starts to run, you get up-field and force him to go to your left where we have 4 other guys who can help. Got it?"

[Auggie]

14. Well … there was no Clay Matthews either

The QB spy is usually a linebacker or safety.

[BlueStreak]

16. Right, some teams have gone with a spy

but that basically means you are playing with one less defender. Either you give up somebody in a secondary zone or else you give up a rusher. At this stage of Kaepernick's career, he really isn't able to make teams pay for doing that, so it can be a viable tactic. I don't think GB did any of that, instead relying on their base defense to contain -- and they didn't.

[Goblinmonger]

19. Though Clay has a lot of love

people cream their jeans about Hawk around here, too. He was clearly Mike and should have the skills to spy Kap.

[Upton]

8. In week 1..the 49ers defeated the Packers 34-28.

In that game, Kaepernick threw for 412 yards and 3 TDs, while rushing for only 22 yards. He's not as polished a passer as some, but those stats fly right in the face of your claim of "Kaepernick is a mediocre passer. If you contain him, he cannot beat anybody over the course of 60 minutes"..

[BlueStreak]

12. Everybody in the league can connect if the defense doesn't show up.

Last edited Mon Jan 6, 2014, 08:04 PM - Edit history (1)

And passing yards can be deceptive. A 3 yard shuttle pass followed by a 32 yard run still shows up as a 35 yard pass for the QB. I didn't see that particular game, but I've seen him 7 or 8 times now.

Mediocre isn't bad. It means, literally, in the middle of the pack. He's about as good as Romo, Bradford, Ryan, or Rivers. If the rules of the game were that the QB was never allowed to leave the pocket, then he'd probably be about the 15th or 20th QB in the league that a GM would pick. But obviously those aren't the rules, and his speed adds a huge dimension. On that basis, he's probably about the 8th QB a GM would choose, considering that running QBs don't usually last very long. If I had to pick a QB to lead my team next season, I think the order would be something like this:

Peyton , Brady (the top veterans)
Luck, Newton (the top young guys)
Brees
Rodgers maybe
and then there are a bunch that I'd consider roughly equal (including Kaepernick) and it would depend on the other personnel I had available.

Please note that QB rating is nothing like my above order. If a person went on QB rating, the order would be

Nick Foles
Peyton Manning
Josh McCown
Philip Rivers
Aaron Rodgers
Drew Brees
Russell Wilson
Tony Romo

Nobody would ever take Foles over Peyton. Nobody would ever take Romo over Luck, Kaepernick, Newton, or Brady.

[Upton]

7. Your dislike for Harbaugh is getting old...

Why don't you try something new...I know, try giving Harbaugh, Baalke and the coaching staff some credit for turning the 49ers completely around over the last 3 years..

[Auggie]

13. Jim Harbaugh did an awesome job of coaching in 2011 ...

the AP NFL Coach of the Year award was well-earned. He's great at building confidence and keeping the team focused.

But he says really dumb stuff and can act like a real child.

BTW, he and Roman need to address this convoluted way of calling plays. It's going to bite them in the ass.

Trent Baalke has made wonderful moves, Smith for Kaepernick being one of them. Plus Boldin, Dawson, Reid and Dorsey this year. I haven't any issues with Baalke.

[Upton]

15. The 49ers thank you..

Look, I know Harbaugh can be abrasive, quirky and all that, but I just figure it comes with the territory. He's successful, that's all that matters. I like his Harbaughisms and he's fascinating to watch on the sidelines when he's shown interacting with the players.

I don't understand why Roman keeps calling at least one stupid trick play every game. They almost always backfire. Usually, right in the midst of a drive in which the 49ers had been moving the ball perfectly well the conventional way. Yesterday they tried one with a pitch to Quinton Patton that lost yards.

[a kennedy]

17. he'll always be a hairball to me