DVR Run Analysis - San Francisco @ Seattle; 24-Dec-2011

Here's my DVR Run Analysis for the 49ers/Seahawks game...

Note: You can also read the run analysis of the Bears, Rams, Eagles, and Redskins games.

We lost. Dang! But our running game was amazingly good. We had zero plays for a loss. Only five of 25 plays were for less than three yards. We scored a running TD - the first against SF this year. Lynch ran for over 100 yards - the first 100 yard run game allowed by the Niners in the past 36 games. To run this well against the toughest run D in the league is a heck of an accomplishment. Though we lost the game and are eliminated from the playoffs, we've got something to build upon next year.

Overall, our planned runs earned 121 yards on 25 carries for a 4.8 YPC average. Lynch has scored a TD in eleven games in a row, extending his record. Beast Mode accounted for 107 yards on 21 carries for 5.1 YPC and one historic touchdown. This was quite the turnaround after our weak running game in Chicago. That we beat the Bears and lost to the Niners, however, shows that there is more to football than running...

* Q1 - We ran for 3, 3, 18, 5, and 4 yards. That adds up to 33 yards and 6.6 YPC. One first down. Unfortunately, I didn't see any of it as Fox showed the conclusion of the Giants-Jets game to the Portland market.



[14:12] 1st and 10. I was OutFoxed. Lynch to LT for 3.
[1:34] 2nd and 7. OutFoxed. Lynch to RT for 3.
[7:19] 2nd and 20. OutFoxed. Lynch to RT for 18.
[6:52] 3rd and 2. OutFoxed. Lynch to RT for 5. 1st down.
[6:14] 1st and 10. OutFoxed. Washington to LT for 4.

7-0, Seahawks.


* Q2 - Four poor plays, nine successful. 64 yards for 4.9 YPC and four first downs.

[14:23] 1st and 10. Miller lines up outside then motions to the slot position. Zone left. Unger gets good push and Robinson goes up the middle to help. Jeanpierre releases to make a nice block. Giacomini gets pushed aside, but Lynch is able to beat the back side attack, take a step right, and beast for six yards. Obo shielded the corner then went up and hammered the free safety for the heck of it. Ben came to play. (Unfortunately, he would go on to sprain his knee in the 4th quarter.)
[13:46] 2nd and 4. Zone right. Awsome push by everybody except Gallery, who does fine by taking his man across the line. McQuistan releases forward. Lynch cuts left behind Gallery then inside McQuistan and behind Unger for the first down. He tries to get more and Giacomini and Jeanpierre come to help, but that's all there is.
[12:25] 2nd and 4. Zone left with solid push as Unger comes up to demolish the LB. Forsett runs to left guard and powers between two defenders for the extra couple yards and the 1st.
[10:57] 2nd and 4. Receivers on the left. Zone right. Nice push as Miller (on the right) takes it outside and Giacomini seals. Robinson pauses to help then releases to block the strong safety. Lynch follows through the hole and beasts between two defenders, taking them downfield until the free safety stops the momentum. 15 yards. 1st down.
[10:16] 1st and 10. Miller in the slot. Zone right. D-line quick off the ball. McQuistan fails to get the DE. Robinson gets him, but McQuistan turns around, rather than going forward. Lynch is stopped at a one yard gain by Gallery's man and an unblocked LB. McQ should have helped Gallery or gone to get the LB.
[6:39] 1st and 10. Receivers on the right. Zone right. Robinson gets the guy off the edge perfectly. The middle of our line dominates with a nice push. Lynch powers behind Jeanpierre into the scrum for five yards.
[6:05] 2nd and 5. Obo is lined up tight with 2 TEs on the left side. Zone left with little flow as 85 pulls right with a slash block. Our left side gets push, but everything stays tight. McQuistan loses his man to the inside, but Lynch is able to blow by him and avoid the tackle to find a nice seam. Lynch breaks two more tackles, then Unger comes to smash the ultimate tackler and Lynch forward. Ten yards. First down.
[5:26] 1st and 10. Zone left with push, though Jeanpierre misses his cut block. Leon goes left and outruns the backside attack. Leon splits McQuistan, Miller, and their defenders for five yards.
[4:54] 2nd and 5. Miller lines up outside then motions to the slot position. Zone left. Unger gets limited push and Robinson goes to his right. Giacomini is in a stalemate. Jeanpierre releases to make a nice block. Lynch splits Unger and Giacomini, but the hole collapses. One yard.
[3:48] 2nd and 10. 2 receivers right. TE left. Zone left as Robinson leads inside the TE. Lynch follows Robinson but the fullback is outnumbered. Lynch breaks the first tackle as Gallery comes to help, but Lynch is smothered by a second tackler after four yards.
[2:23] 1st and goal at the 7. Giacomini is at left TE and Miller is at RT. We take it straight ahead with Gallery and Miller going to the 2nd level. McQuistan gets a nice 2nd effort push. Lynch follows McQuistan and breaks a tackle, but has his leg trapped by Giacomini's man. Otherwise, a TD. Gain of four.
[2:00] 2nd and goal at the 3. Tate fakes an end around as we take it straight ahead with a solid push. Lynch goes up the gut and is turned backwards as the pile stacks up. He reaches the ball over the goal line, but the refs say that he's down. Gain of two.
[1:41] 3rd and goal at the 1. McQuistan clearly false starts, but it's not called. Robinson doesn't play through. TJ stalls and doesn't give the ball to Lynch, then turns around, sees the play is live, and runs left. Tate doesn't finish his block and his man knocks TJ out of bounds for no gain. We have to settle for a FG.

10-3, Seahawks.

* First half totals: 97 yards on 18 planned runs for a 5.4 ypc average.


* Q3 - 8 yards on 3 carries for 2.7 YPC. 2, 3, and 3 yards. No first downs. Not enough opportunities.

[10:56] 1st and 10. Zone right with Morrah slashing to the left. Good initial push on the right. Lynch runs right, but the D stops his momentum. 2 yards.
[10:27] 2nd and 8. Zone left with excellent push. Robinson fails to cut his man. Lynch tripped by Robinson's man. He tries to keep going forward, but is called down after three yards.
[3:55] 1st and 17 at our own 7. Zone left. Gallery unable to release. Giacomini unable to sustain his block. Lynch follows Unger but is met by two defenders. 3 yards.

13-10, 49ers.


* Q4 - 16 yards on 4 carries for a 4.0 yard average. One TD(!) No poor (<3 yard) plays.

[12:27] 2nd and 10. Zone left with nice push from Unger. Jeanpierre fails to block the LB. Gallery fails to sustain his block. Lynch runs to Unger's right, gets 3 yards, and gets the squeeze from Jeanpierre and Gallery's men.
[6:47] 1st and goal at the 4. Power with Jeanpierre and Miller pulling left. Possible hold by Giacomini, but he's away from the play. Lynch simply outruns the defense. The unblocked ILB cuts off the OLB and fails to make the tackle. The unblocked safety is too late. 1st rushing TD against the Niners this year!
[2:52] 1st and 10. Zone right with Gallery holding back to fake the pass. Nice right side push. Lynch runs to the right, goes inside Miller and powers forward for six. Beast Mode cracks 100 yards against the Niners.
[2:00] 1st and 10. Even the cameraman is thinking pass. Zone right. Lynch cuts back inside, but is caught by the unblocked outside defender.

* Second half totals: 24 yards on 7 runs for a 3.4 ypc average.

49ers win 19-17.


* Overall Blocking - Unger gets the 17 Power Award for the week due to his flawless play, great push, and a complete turnaround compared to the previous week. Against the Bears, Unger was often two steps backward. Against the 49ers, Unger was two steps downfield. (Was he hurting the previous week?) Everybody else had the occasional weak play, but far more great plays with good push than bad. This was an impressive performance by a line with three of five backup players. Okung still owns his spot, but Moffitt and Carpenter had better come to camp next year ready to compete.

* Play calling - This was zone, zone, and zone. The first time I saw a guard pull was on Lynch's TD. (As far as I know. I was Foxed out of the first quarter.) Starting Miller outside and motioning him into the slot was a new wrinkle.

We also ran lighter sets - Of the plays I saw, we only had two plays with a fullback and two TEs. We ran "11" (one running back, one TE) six times, "12" four times, and "21" six times. This was right in line with the play action strategy, not telling the Niners if we planned to run or pass.

* Runners - Lynch ran well and hard as usual, reading our zone scheme beautifully and making defenders pay for their tackles. His most impressive play was the TD. Lynch has more speed than people think. Good yards from Leon and Justin. No fumbles - except when TJ was scrambling, of course.

* Summary - Reviewing our running plays, I was pissed that we had lost. The line and our backs did their jobs. It's a shame that the Niners were able to get the lead and limit our passing game in the second half as that took away our opportunities to keep attacking with the run. PC wanted to close this game out on the ground.

Unfortunately, our D wasn't able to stop the Niners. I counted three holds on Branch in the second half that weren't called. I think that's what PC wasn't willing to talk about in his presser.

I expect us to ram the ball down the Cards throats next week as we compete for second place in our division. We have a sour taste in our mouths. We are tough. And we can run.

Go Hawks!