What 49ers fans are saying(Games 1 and 2)

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AZRamsFan93

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I'll believe it when I see it, there's a reason we're 1-3 outside of just luck, until I see those things (D, OL, drops etc.) improve I'm not going to count any games (well maybe the Raiders) as wins. Doesn't mean they can't or won't but I'm extremely disappointed with what I've seen so far.
I agree. Isn't Missouri the"show me" state?
 

CodeMonkey

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If only you could neck punch someone through the computer monitor.
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http://www.ninersnation.com/2014/10/10/6951951/examining-the-right-side-of-the-rams-offensive-line

Examining the right side of the Rams' offensive line
By WesHanson on Oct 10 2014

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Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports

The Monday Night match up between the Rams and the 49ers might be won in the trenches. I take a look at the right side of the Rams' offensive line.

Leading up to the 49ers-Rams game, we have had a lot of discussion about the linemen on both teams. Fooch has highlighted the strengths and weaknesses of the Rams' defensive line and acknowledged the role that the o-line has played in keeping Austin Davis upright. I always like a game that compels people to write about linemen; the game is really won or lost in the trenches, and even though I was a skill position player in high school, I recognize that linemen don't get their fair share of attention.

Unfortunately, the attention we've been paying to the Rams' and 49ers' linemen hasn't been about how good they are.

In particular, I want to reproduce some numbers from the good folks at Pro Football Focus in respect to the Rams' right side of the o-line. As Fooch mentioned earlier, QB Davis has a hard time when being blitzed, thus suggesting that the 49ers should bring some pressure. If we look at the right side of the o-line, we might start to see where pressure should be applied.

As a unit, the Rams' o-line are No. 30 in PFF's Pass Blocking Efficiency Stat, just worse than the 49ers at No. 27 (yay for small victories!). Football Outsiders has the Rams at No. 25 in pass protection with a 7.2% sack rate. RT Joe Barksdale, however, is not the problem according to PFF, leading the league's RTs with a 12.3 grade (the higher the grade the better for PFF - they can be negative).

Though he's given up nine hurries, he has yet to allow a sack. RG Davin Joseph is in the opposite camp, ranking No. 73 out of 74 guards with a -8.3 grade in pass blocking. He's allowed 15 QB pressures. His fellow interior linesman C Scott Wells is also struggling, having allow nine QB pressures.

Clearly, when attacking the right side of the line, the best bet for a defense is to attack the interior. Getting a strong push up the middle should work, especially if we run our Justin-Smith-is-totally-not-holding stunts. I also wonder too if the weakness on the interior line means that more defensive linemen for the 49ers will be active than in the past. It may be that a certain young player who is adept at getting to the QB could have a nice introduction to the NFL by blitzing from different areas of the d-line.
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Their center is truly awful. Time for iDub to shine!
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so much so that on the thread of which 49er to bring to the Rams several people wanted Kilgore
KILGORE!!!! let that sink in for a second
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I would like to see them experiment with bringing in Dial for RayMac in the nickel.
I wounder if Dial’s bull rush might help Lynch get some sacks? Kind of like Smith & Smith on the other side.
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Not only might we generate more pressure from the LDE spot, but we would also be getting Dial more game snaps in the event RMD gets suspended (more development).

Instead Fangio gave Dial only 2 snaps last game (down from 7 the week before).

Maybe if we can build a substantial lead, Vic will pull the starters and let the young guns loose?
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Not a good sign when your (Rams) interior line is weak and
staring at number 94 backed by 52.
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With the weak link at C/RG maybe he should line up there most of the game?

Have strength on weakness. And this interior weakness also bodes for more interior blitzing from either the ILBs or maybe the SS?
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"…the quarterback must go down and he must go down hard."

I just hope we don’t look past the Rams and drop a stinker, otherwise we should be able to produce a convincing win.
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I'm hoping for a shower of sacks
This is the week!
 

DaveFan'51

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Freak all that "coach speak". I'd love to hear the Fish come out and say "their WRs are mediocre, the QB is WAY overrated and their OL is sieve. D is okay, but we know we can run on them and our PA passing will eat that secondary alive"! That's what I want to hear him say.
I want him to be 'Mic'd Up' and say it to Harbaugh just before kick-off. And scare the shit out of him!!
 

DaveFan'51

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As a unit, the Rams' o-line are No. 30 in PFF's Pass Blocking Efficiency Stat, just worse than the 49ers at No. 27 (yay for small victories!). Football Outsiders has the Rams at No. 25 in pass protection with a 7.2% sack rate.
And how many passing yards, and passing TD's have we racked up since Davis has been behind center!?
 

RamzFanz

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You don't think the OL or drops are holding him back some? Quick looks like a number 1 but quite a few teams have a number 1. Outside of Quick we don't have much above what a poor to mediocre team has.

Wells and Joseph have to be two of the worst players at their position in the league and Long is a shadow of his former self.

Yes. The O line and drops have held him back some, but he doesn't catch his own passes.

If you want to wallow in the negative, so be it. Outside of Joseph, the O line is pretty good. J. Long has made 2-3 bad plays and a ton of good ones. It's the worst part of the team, and it's not THAT bad.

You said the rest of the team was disappointing.

Quick is impressive. He's on pace for 1,328 yards and 12 TDs. And no, not "quite a few teams" have a top 10 receiver like Quick. Ten do. How is that disappointing?

Britt is emerging to be a real threat on the other side. He wasn't targeted the first two games. He WAS targeted the last two games and has almost 70 yards each with a TD. If he keeps that up, he could be a SECOND 1,000 yard receiver on the Rams with 7 TDs. How is that disappointing?

Cook is on pace for 900 yards and is the 7th TE in the NFL for YPG. How is that disappointing?

EJ Gaines has impressed as a rookie. How is that disappointing?

Donald has impressed as a rookie. How is that disappointing?

Jenkins is a top corner in the league. He has shut down some top WRs, has 17 tackles, and has a pick 6. How is that disappointing?

The Rams passing D is the best in the NFL. How is that disappointing?

The Rams are the 6th best passing team and 8th in total yards. How is that disappointing?
 

RamzFanz

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And how many passing yards, and passing TD's have we racked up since Davis has been behind center!?

We're 6th in the NFL in passing YPG. San Fran is 26th.

San Fran has one more passing and one more rushing TD than the Rams, but they also played one more game than the Rams.

If the Rams contain Gore / Krappy and keep AD reasonably clean... this could be good!
 

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http://www.ninersnation.com/2014/10...ng-monday-night-football-with-turf-show-times

49ers vs. Rams: Talking Monday Night Football with Turf Show Times
By David Fucillo@NinersNation on Oct 10 2014

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Dilip Vishwanat

The San Francisco 49ers travel to face the St. Louis Rams on Monday, which means it is time for 5 questions. We took a few minutes to chat with 3k from Turf Show Times, and he provided some insight on everything from Austin Davis to the defensive line to special teams. He also provided a score prediction.

Niners Nation: Tell us about Austin Davis. How is he performing, and is he looking like a long-term option? What's Sam Bradford's future looking like?

Turf Show Times: He's certainly outperformed the expectations since he came in at halftime of the week one drubbing. What's been most impressive is how unconstrained he is. A lot of times when you have a QB situation like that, the backup or 3rd QB leans on a specific target to bail them out or a constricted playbook to keep things simple. That hasn't been the case with Davis. He uses the entire field and his entire stable of receiving options. So the early grades are high.

As to whether he's a long-term option, we've thankfully got plenty more opportunities to see him before making a decision. As for Sam, sure you have to wonder if Davis' long play is pushing him out the longer it continues. But as stubborn as Fisher and Snead have been regarding Bradford (as in committing to him so steadfastly throughout the offseason and draft), I wouldn't be surprised if he's still around in 2015.

NN: How is life these days with Brian Schottenheimer trying to figure out how to run an NFL offense?

TST: Honestly, he hasn't been the reason the Rams have lost the last two games. Then again, that just makes them that much worse. Expect to see an end around on Monday to someone who has no business running an end around because Schottey gonna Schottey.

NN: What's up with the defensive line struggles? It seems like the group is doing solidly against the run, but they don't seem to be generating quite the pass rush. What is there to say about it?

TST: Well first and foremost is the respect it's getting in regards to opposing offensive gameplans. Teams are running the ball and calling for quick passes because they know they're not going to consistently get five- and seven-step drops protected. So it has certainly had an impact in that way. Things still have broken down though, especially against the Cowboys, so they're not immaculate.

I think there has been a learning curve for Gregg Williams as the DC as well. He implemented some of his Ruby formation that uses a three-man front, and it disrupted the defensive flow pretty blatantly. Hopefully, it was just a phase and Gregg has grown out of it...

NN: How are the Rams special teams looking?

TST: Not great, Bob. Last week was just atrocious. The Rams started with a blocked punt that was returned for a touchdown (reminder: they lost by 6 points...). Special Teams Specialist Chase Reynolds was partly to blame (cue the "You had one job" tape). He followed that up with perhaps the most blatant block in the back in the history of football later on.

And because we needed more fail, Ray Ray Armstrong picked up an unsportmanlike penalty that resulted in a pink slip (he's already found a gig with Oakland, so sympathy's not really needed here...). The hope is that Armstrong's termination will serve as a resounding message to the team as a whole but also certainly to the special unit.

NN: How about a prediction for the game?

TST: Well, I gave my staff a 27-20 Rams victory, so I'll stick with that as the score. If nothing else, I'm hoping for a boring, straightforward game. That's what the Rams were built for, and that's how we earned our sole victory in 2014. These rollercoaster shootouts with the comebacks and the scoring swings and the GLAAAAAAAAVIN has been swell and all, but back to painful, normal NFC West football if you please.
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49ers will not call quick passes against the Rams so this will be interesting.
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3 step drop??
Agreed, I haven’t seen a cut block on a slant all season long.
We just don’t have a quick passing game and even worse, haven’t had a screen game since the arrival of Roman.
To add to that, with the arrival of all the WR’s, Kap won’t even check down to his #3 WR from last year Bruce Miller.

It’s a recipe for a 5+ sack night for STL if Boone and Martin don’t get it together.

Another question, why the hell is Hyde in so much on 3rd down for pass protection? I like the kid, but I’m 100% sure Gore is a better pass protector and still an equal receiver out of the backfield at this point.
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I’d just like to see more check downs as pressure mounts. So many times Gore has been open just yards away and Kap will take the sack instead of making an effort to shovel, dump, or toss the ball to Gore. There was a .GIF in the .GIF dump that was a prime example. Gore ran play action thru the A gap, turned and was wide open, Kap sees him and still takes the sack. A simple flip and Gore is off to the races.
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So the Rams are going to score more points than 4/5 teams have against the Niners?
Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight… 5 scoring drives? Good luck with all that. Must be anticipating a pick and a punt return to the house.
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http://www.turfshowtimes.com/2014/10/10/6959153/rams-49ers-preview-q-and-a

Rams-49ers: Q&A with Niners Nation
By 3k@3k_ on Oct 10 2014

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Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Getting the inside info from David Fucillo of Niners Nation, the SB Nation community for fans of the San Francisco 49ers.

I can't stand the 49ers. It's a deep hate that developed in the 1990s and slowly simmered every year thereafter like a stew, deepening and thickening.

And yet, the SBN managers of the Rams' rivals sites? All good gents. So I linked up with David Fucillo from Niners, SB Nation's community for fans of the 49ers, to get some inside info.

What's up with the passing offense? Is Colin Kaepernick struggling or is it something more systemic? Is part of it just the emphasis on the running game and the limited pass attempts?

There are a couple issues in play. The first is the offensive line. The 49ers OL can be downright dominant against the run, but they have shown a lot of inconsistency this year in pass protection. Kap can escape from the pocket as well as anybody in the league, but throwing on the run is not the ideal option. His completion percentage is actually his highest thus far.

That being said, he seems to have issues with his accuracy in terms of getting the ball on target. Having guys like Anquan Boldin, Michael Crabtree, Stevie Johnson and Brandon Lloyd helps account for that as they can catch tough passes. Unfortunately that can sometimes can cost them yards after the catch. It's not an every play issue, but there is some inconsistency that needs to be cleaned up.

Has there been any discernible difference between the two losses and the three wins? Or put another way, what have you guys done in the last two weeks that you didn't do in weeks 2 & 3 that led to the result?

One big improvement the last two weeks has been fewer penalties. Through the first three weeks, the 49ers were leading the league in penalties. The last two weeks, the 49ers have cleaned that up, and have benefited accordingly. The 49ers struggled in their losses particularly with defensive penalties. They would appear to get off the field after a 3rd down stop, only to have a penalty extend out the drive. Even when the opposing offense did not then turn that into points, it kept the 49ers defense on the field just a little bit longer.

What we've really seen the last two weeks has been a strong run game. Frank Gore has back-to-back 100-yard games and averaged at least 5.0 yards per carry in both games. The 49ers can win without Gore dominating on the ground, but when he is moving the chains, the 49ers are generally going to win games.

What should Rams fans know about the 2014 49ers that's markedly different than you guys last year? Any developing trends that are defining the team?

The secondary saw a lot of turnover this past offseason, completing an overhaul of a group that is entirely different from the Super Bowl 47 secondary. The Super Bowl secondary included CB Carlos Rogers, CB Tarell Brown, CB Chris Culliver, FS Dashon Goldson and SS Donte Whitner. This year, the secondary includes CB Perrish Cox (replacing currently injuredTramaine Brock), CB Chris Culliver, DB Jimmie Ward, FS Eric Reid, SS Antoine Bethea.

There were significant concerns about what this new group. And yet, five weeks into the season, this group has been a significant reason for the 49ers defensive success. The pass rush continues to struggle without Aldon Smith in the lineup, but the secondary has done solid work on the back end. Cox in particular has been a revelation.

He was released last season to make room for Eric Wright before returning at the end of the season due to an injury to Carlos Rogers. This year, he has replaced an injured Tramaine Brock, and is tied for the league lead in interceptions and pass breakups. Antoine Bethea has replaced Donte Whitner, and has actually been an improvement over Whitner both in stopping the run, and pass coverage. Keep an eye out for him on Sunday.

This team will change as the season wears on because they will be getting guys like Aldon Smith and potentially NaVorro Bowmanback. That will change the dynamic to some extent, but given the schedule of the two Rams game, the secondary is the group to keep an eye on at this point.

Long-term question: How long can this defense last? At some point, the cracks start showing up. Has Bowman's injury-forced absence had a noticeable impact? Is Patrick Willis showing any signs of decline? Should I just accept that you guys are going to have a great defense for the next decade?

I think you should just accept it! But seriously, the defense is likely moving toward a transition. For now, Patrick Willis remains a beast. He will turn 30 next January, but at this point he does not appear to have lost a step. And the absence of Bowman has allowed him to be spotlighted a bit more. The loss of Bowman sucks, but the 49ers have done enough to at least find an adequate replacement.

Michael Wilhoite has been starting in his place, and has done a very solid job both against the run, and in coverage. I look forward to Bowman's return, but Wilhoite's play likely allows the 49ers to be a little more conservative in getting Bowman back on the field. My guess is Bowman returns in late November or early December at the earliest.

The biggest question for the 49ers is the future of the defensive line. Defensive tackle Justin Smith probably only has one or two more years left before retirement, and the 49ers need to figure out his replacement. They drafted Tank Carradine last year, and he has yet to see the field. He was a 4-3 defensive end at Florida State, and is making the switch to 3-4 defensive end with the 49ers.

He has not seen the field because as he and the defensive coordinator both said, he is still learning a lot of things about the playbook. That is not exactly a great answer, but even in college he did not have a ton of experience. My guess is they hope he can be a big contributor in 2015, and anything in 2014 would be a bonus.

Where it gets interesting is with the coaching staff. I would contend the 49ers have the best defensive coaching staff in the league. The insanity surrounding Jim Harbaugh's future will likely impact that coaching staff, and I don't really know what the future holds with them. That could be where the biggest question marks arise.

What...in the world...is this Jim Harbaugh stuff? Break it down for me.

It's a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. The simple answer is Jim Harbaugh is hyper competitive, and his personality can rub people the wrong way. There are two things in play here: 1) His relationship with GM Trent Baalke and owner Jed York; and 2) his relationship with the players.

The latter has been reported on as Harbaugh losing the locker room. While some players likely don't like him, or enjoy his personality, if the team is winning, none of that matters. There is talk that distrust of Harbaugh dates back to his early 2012 decision to workout Peyton Manning. It then followed up with the decision to bench Alex Smith for Colin Kaepernick.

In the time since those two events, the 49ers went to Super Bowl 47, and were a Richard Sherman tip away from Super Bowl 48. The locker room talk is not an issue at this point. If they start losing extensively, maybe then it would be, but clearly the team can get around it.

The former is what could result in Jim Harbaugh's departure after this season. If the 49ers win the Super Bowl, I think there is a chance he's back, but even that is not guaranteed. If the 49ers do not win the Super Bowl, all bets are off. If he leaves, I think it's in a trade with another NFL team, as opposed to going to the Michigan job.

Bonus: Game prediction. Pull no punches, sir.

The 49ers win by all the points! But seriously, I think this game could be relatively close given the divisional dynamic, but I am going with a 27-17 victory for the 49ers. I think it's a game where the 49ers pull away at some point and use their ground game to grind out the win. It seems like the Rams defensive line is struggling to generate a pass rush, but is doing fairly well against the run. Given that, I do wonder how the 49ers approach this unit with Colin Kaepernick and the passing game, versus Frank Gore and the ground game.

Thanks to Fooch for the time.
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You'd think you wouldn't have a problem talking to Ewes
So has the Austin Davis Kool-Aid been completely drunk by Rams fans, or is there still some left at the bottom of the cup?
I say this because Kap was also pretty damn good his first few games, and then has been on a performance sea-saw ever since…
 

theramsruleUK

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Yes. The O line and drops have held him back some, but he doesn't catch his own passes.

If you want to wallow in the negative, so be it. Outside of Joseph, the O line is pretty good. J. Long has made 2-3 bad plays and a ton of good ones. It's the worst part of the team, and it's not THAT bad.

You said the rest of the team was disappointing.

Quick is impressive. He's on pace for 1,328 yards and 12 TDs. And no, not "quite a few teams" have a top 10 receiver like Quick. Ten do. How is that disappointing?

Britt is emerging to be a real threat on the other side. He wasn't targeted the first two games. He WAS targeted the last two games and has almost 70 yards each with a TD. If he keeps that up, he could be a SECOND 1,000 yard receiver on the Rams with 7 TDs. How is that disappointing?

Cook is on pace for 900 yards and is the 7th TE in the NFL for YPG. How is that disappointing?

EJ Gaines has impressed as a rookie. How is that disappointing?

Donald has impressed as a rookie. How is that disappointing?

Jenkins is a top corner in the league. He has shut down some top WRs, has 17 tackles, and has a pick 6. How is that disappointing?

The Rams passing D is the best in the NFL. How is that disappointing?

The Rams are the 6th best passing team and 8th in total yards. How is that disappointing?

1-3 is disappointing, but yeah there are positives
 
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Yes. The O line and drops have held him back some, but he doesn't catch his own passes.

If you want to wallow in the negative, so be it. Outside of Joseph, the O line is pretty good. J. Long has made 2-3 bad plays and a ton of good ones. It's the worst part of the team, and it's not THAT bad.

You said the rest of the team was disappointing.

Quick is impressive. He's on pace for 1,328 yards and 12 TDs. And no, not "quite a few teams" have a top 10 receiver like Quick. Ten do. How is that disappointing?

Britt is emerging to be a real threat on the other side. He wasn't targeted the first two games. He WAS targeted the last two games and has almost 70 yards each with a TD. If he keeps that up, he could be a SECOND 1,000 yard receiver on the Rams with 7 TDs. How is that disappointing?

Cook is on pace for 900 yards and is the 7th TE in the NFL for YPG. How is that disappointing?

EJ Gaines has impressed as a rookie. How is that disappointing?

Donald has impressed as a rookie. How is that disappointing?

Jenkins is a top corner in the league. He has shut down some top WRs, has 17 tackles, and has a pick 6. How is that disappointing?

The Rams passing D is the best in the NFL. How is that disappointing?

The Rams are the 6th best passing team and 8th in total yards. How is that disappointing?

Oh right you actually read my post as saying every other player sucks? That's not how I meant it, I meant it as if every unit was playing like Davis is we'd be a good team. We have a scoring D which is 30th in the league that's disapointing to me, does that mean every player on the D sucks? We have an OL which is disapointing to me, does that mean every player on it sucks? We have receivers who have cost us games through drops, which disappoints me, does that mean that none of them can do anything right?
 

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http://sfo.scout.com/story/1462366-staley-faces-another-big-test-in-quinn?s=69

STALEY FACES ANOTHER BIG TEST IN QUINN
Rick Eymer Associated Press

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The stats might not say it, but the Rams still have one of the league's best defensive lines. Especially at defensive end, where Robert Quinn will give 49ers left tackle Joe Staley all he can handle.


SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — San Francisco left tackle Joe Staley thinks sacks can be a deceiving statistic and he points to St. Louis right defensive end Robert Quinn as an example.

Quinn set the Rams' franchise record with 19 sacks last year. The fourth-year veteran has yet to record a sack this season. In fact, rookie defensive tackle Aaron Donald has the Rams' only sack.

"Numbers don't tell the whole story," said Staley, who will be lining up against Quinn most of the time Monday night in St. Louis. "He looks pretty good. He has a fast first step and uses his speed to his advantage. He's also added to his change of movement."

Quinn has drawn extra attention this year, especially with defensive end Chris Longout with an injury. Just don't tell Staley that Quinn is not as effective as he has been.

"They're pass rush is very good," he said. "Those numbers are misleading when it comes to sacks. There's pressure, there's hits and there is just being disruptive."

Quinn has nine quarterback hits and five quarterback pressures this season, an indication he's getting penetration. The Rams also own the best pass defense in the league.

"When you watch the tape, the quarterback is getting rid of the ball or something happens or he just dishes it, it's just getting out of his hand," 49ers offensive coordinator Greg Roman said. "We will not be lulled into that trap because all you've got to do is watch the film. (Quinn) is playing better than he did last year."

Staley anchors an offensive line that has been in flux early in the season, with a few setbacks leading to personnel changes. The line has gotten better and Staley said they played their best game Sunday in a win over the Kansas City Chiefs.

"We made great strides, especially in the running game," he said. "The other stuff we just have to deal with. Last week was a good building block."

This week's trip to St. Louis begins a stretch of road contests in four of the next five weeks.

"Any time you are on the road is a challenge because of the crowd noise," Staley said. "We're good at the silent count and we trust our center to snap the ball at the right time."

Wide receiver Anquan Boldin thinks it's even more than dealing with the noise.

"It's a chance to see what we're made of," Boldin said. "It's a chance to see what kind of players we are. On the road, we take an 'us against the world' mentality. We play our best when we feel that way."

Boldin criticized the officiating the last time the 49ers were on the road: a loss at the Arizona Cardinals. He has no complaints about the officials the past two weeks at home.

"It's been fair the last two weeks," he said. "Maybe we're getting better officiating crews. All I wanted to say was that whether you call a bad game or a great game, just call it the same both ways."

NOTES: The 49ers signed WR Kassim Osgood to a one-year deal. To make room on the roster, the team has released QB Josh Johnson. Osgoods been released and resigned three times this year. .. Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio said CB Perrish Cox has blossomed this season. "He's got good instincts as a corner. This is his first opportunity, at least with us, to have extended action as a corner. He's taken full advantage of it." ... Boldin has six career 100-yard games against the Rams, his most against any team.

http://www.footballsfuture.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=555240&start=60

SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS @ ST. LOUIS RAMS(MNF)

Does anyone think Lynch will soon go on a run with like four sacks in the next four or game games? He reminds of Aldon in his rookie year where early on he was getting close but the QB would just get the ball away. But after the first few weeks it all changed and he just flat out went crazy. Now, I don't expect Lynch to do that but this guy has been getting a lot of heat.
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I think he is getting his first this week. Once Aldon gets back I can see him getting a few. I've never been more excited for a players return. Aldon was amazing at the end of last season, and all the reports out of camp have me hyped up. If he is training and watching film he's going to go to work.
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Kap is still reverting to his bad habits at times are predetermining where he is to go with the ball and has missed some open guys down the field, but he has definitely gone to his second and third reads more than ever. I really can't even sya anymore the OL will get it together because I've been thinking that since the preseason.

Staley played a great game last week, but our guards just can't block worth crap. Maybe Boone is a bit off from his hold out, but now this will be week six so no more excuses. This is why I want Martin/Thomas to get their chance next year.
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Rams have lost 5 straight MNF games...
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I agree that he's looking a bit better this year. Not at all the "big leap forward" I was hoping for, but still, a little better than last year. On the other hand I watched Luck last night. I couldn't help but think he was standing at the line diagnosing the defense and knowing exactly what was going to unfold, what changes he should make, and where he should plan to be going with the ball.

While I do see Kap looking for secondary receivers more this year, I still have the sense that when's he's at the line surveying the defense he's still totally lost out there.

Somehow though I still think our staff and our offense doesn't count on him, or even want him, to change the play or decide on the fly where the pass should go.
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http://www.ninersnation.com/2014/10...ks-frank-gore-colin-kaepernick-rams-pass-rush

James Laurinaitis talks Frank Gore, Colin Kaepernick, Rams pass rush
By David Fucillo@NinersNation on Oct 10 2014

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Dilip Vishwanat

St. Louis Rams linebacker James Laurinaitis spoke with Bay Area media Thursday afternoon. He had a lot of great insight into the 49ers. We've got a transcript.

Each week, the opposing team provides their head coach and a player to Bay Area media to discuss the upcoming matchup. This week, head coach Jeff Fisher and linebacker James Laurinaitis spoke to the media. Fisher was fairly vanilla with his comments, not wanting to give too much away. Laurinaitis spoke later in the day, and he was still able to provide some great insight into how an opposing player views the 49ers.

Laurinaitis went into detail on what makes Frank Gore and the 49ers run game so great. He also had some comments about Colin Kaepernick, discussing where he has improved this year. He did provide some insight into the Rams, discussing the struggling pass rush. He talked about how the pass rush is about both the rush and the coverage on the back end. He pointed to some specific issues in the secondary that made it more difficult to get all the way to the quarterback. I don't think he was trying to throw the secondary under the bus, but he definitely was critical of how the secondary performed last week.

You can listen to the audio, but I also transcribed it.

What does 49er week mean to you?

It means big boy football. I think it brings me somewhat back to my college days, in the sense that we played teams like Wisconsin, Michigan State that you get 22 personnel, 13 personnel, a lot of shifts, motions. You're gonna get power, counter, downhill and nothing but the utmost respect for Frank Gore and what he's about, and what they do on offense. I always look forward to these matchups because you know they're going to be physical ball games. You're gonna get their best shot, and likewise from us. It's always fun football games.

On what he admires about Frank Gore:

I admire his mindset. He runs with great patience. He runs with great pad level. It's very hard to get underneath him. He breaks a lot of tackles, great balance. I love his mindset that he wants to be the guy and he almost gets stronger as games go on. He's one of those running backs where you can give him a good shot, you can give him a couple of good shots, but he's not going to shy away. There are some backs in this league and they're going to take themselves out of the ballgame. I think Frank Gore is the opposite. In the fourth quarter when you watch a Niners game, his socks could be all the way down, his pants could be ripped, but he's going to keep going until that thing hits zero. And he wants it that way, and that's the thing I think I respect the most about him.

On Gore potentially leaving after this year:

Yeah, that would be very surprising to me. Heck, over the last how many ever years, you think of the Niners and you think of Frank Gore. At least I do. You think Frank Gore and you think Patrick Willis. So I think, to me, it would be very surprising if he's not back and a part of that football club.

On Gore's use with Carlos Hyde:

I think there's little changes in what they do with both of them, but they run the same plays. A lot of power, a lot of counter, a lot of plays we call zone kick, downhill stuff. There's some stretch stuff that they'll do with Carlos as well as Frank, but the main thing to me is you try to sprinkle Carlos in, and you can kind of tell Frank's not trying to give up any carries. It's interesting to see how they use them both, but quite frankly, it's not like one guy comes in and you tell yourself I'll throw away all these plays, because they run them all with both.

I think Frank's more of a downhill, inside, patient, waits for openings, kind of hides, hits it, whereas Carlos has an ability to, you see him trying to bounce some things, cut back some things. But for the most part, it's not like one guy goes in and you sort of throw out the whole playbook. It's not one of those things. They're both complementary of each other.

On 49ers using multiple looks:

Yea, they do. They give you a lot of their personnel. Against the Cardinals, I think they went 12 GG, which means they put two O tackles at tight end positions, and then decided to run crack toss. They'll give you formations where they have 22 G, where it's an O lineman in there. 13 GG, and you know there's just places where they put extra o-linemen in for tight ends in the game, and they want to run the ball. Kind of say, hey, here's what we're going to do, we're going to run it, try and stop it. And they do that from multiple different looks.

It's just one of those things where you have ask yourself, what schemes do they like? Because you can't say, "out of this personnel they like this, out of this personnel they like that". You have to say, conceptually, what plays do they like to run over and over out of different looks. Where some teams, like last week the Eagles, they're 12 or 11. So, 11 you like to run these plays, 12 you like to run these. I think we had maybe 9 or 10 personnel groupings, and you see similar runs showing up on all of them. You have to take what you can get when you're studying these guys, and know at the end of the day, they're coming downhill, and they want to see if you can stop them.

On Gore's long runs without being touched:

I think they have very good blocking schemes, run-wise. They change them up week-to-week, depending on the looks that they get. I think they're well-coached. I also think they do so much shifting and motioning, it gets defenders to have bad eyes at times. When a lot of things start happening in front of you, you have to make sure, hey, what are my keys? At the end of the play, before we face the hut, what are my keys, what am I looking at. And I think sometimes you see on film that at the end of the game, if guys aren't still honed in on what their keys are, they can start chasing ghosts.

So it's a combination of those things, but I believe they are well-coached, they have a great scheme. Same thing with Philadelphia. I mean there were some plays against Philadelphia where Frank's not touched until he's 10 yards downfield, and I think that's a credit to a couple different things. And gosh, there's a lot of plays where Frank breaks tackles and does what he does.

On Gore's vision:

He has great vision. That's a great point. He has phenomenal vision. As a linebacker, what you got to do is, you have to pace the ball and cancel gaps. Trust me, it looks on power, heck, a lot of times on the power plays, it looks like there's no room in there. But he's patient, gets low and kind of squeaks through these little holes. And he knows, ‘Hey, if there's only an arm in there, I can go through an arm.' He knows that, and he'll go right through it. It makes you be disciplined, and say, ‘I can't just assume that because it doesn't look open that he's not going there.' You have to be patient as a linebacker and pace the ball.

On Bruce Miller:

I think Bruce is very versatile. I think he's gotten better as he's played there. The ball follows him a whole lot. And whether that's straight iso plays up the middle, or whether it's him getting outside on the edge. You see him catching the football as well, he's very versatile for them, and I think he does a lot for them. I think also, their tight ends, their multiple tight end packages they use, a lot of those guys do multiple different things for them.

They're very versatile players, with blocking, receiving. It just makes you have to have great vision. you have to get downhill and attack. You have to try to use your hat in hand and get off blocks, but a lot of times Bruce takes you to the ball, and when he gets to the point of attack, he's a good football player. I think he springs Frank on a lot of runs as well.

On Colin Kaepernick from last year to this year:

The thing about Colin is he has great awareness of what he needs to do to get first downs for his football team. He's throwing more balls across the middle than he has, maybe, in the past. In the past you used to be able to look for Colin to throw sevens (corner route) and things outside that are kinda pitch-and-catch things. But heck, right now you see him when he's scrambling, he's very good at situational awareness.

What I mean by that is, 'Hey, it's third and 2 to 6, OK, my first read isn't open, well I know that I'm fast, and so I can get the first down with my legs.' On other plays, heck, the Philadelphia play where he throws across the field to Frank Gore, you see his awareness for where his escape guys are, his check downs. That's better than maybe it has been in the past. He seems to be finding the third read better than he has in the past. Before you could say, he's going to one read, maybe two, and if not, he's taking off. There are some where you can really see that he's finding the third and fourth guy, so he's grown a little bit.

I think that's a good thing for them. We gotta be disciplined. We have to be able to try and keep him in the pocket, not let him get outside. That's what every defense in the NFL says when they play him. But we have to try and execute that, and try and get after him a little bit. It's easier said than done.

On lack of sacks for Rams:

We'd be lying if we said it wasn't a concern. It's something that we talk about, we talk about effecting the quarterback. I know last week we had a lot of QB hits. And that's more than just rush. When you get sacks, it's rush and coverage. You look last week against Philly, there are a couple plays where we're draped all over Foles, and he throws it and we got guys in coverage, in man coverage, that don't keep their eyes. You gotta have great eyes when QBs start moving around.

Especially with a guy who is way more athletic in Colin Kaepernick. If he starts scrambling around and you're in man coverage, you gotta find your guy and keep your eyes locked on him because they're gonna uncover. They're not just going to stay plastered with you. Quarterback's not throwing you the ball. A couple of those plays if our guys just keep their eyes on their man, and make the guy hold it a little bit, those are sacks vs. QB hits. And a lot of them, I think two of them ended up in pass interferences, and the other one or two were completions downfield for explosive passes.

We need to do a better job in coverage to allow that one more half second to get the guys down. And that always goes together. I think if you asked our whole defense, ‘hey, we have one sack after four ball games this year,' we'd be disappointed, and we are. That's way below our expectations. We're trying to figure it out, but it's way more than the rush. Rush and coverage go hand in hand when it comes to things like that.
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Kap has been playing a lot better this season.

It’s just that the offensive line has taken a couple of steps backwards in pass blocking.
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Kap is playing better, but I'd like to see a few things happen.

A lot of the 49ers passing plays take too long to develop. I’d like to see more 2 second drop backs. Sometimes Kap drops so far back it almost looks comical. I think that coupled with doing some quick snaps would help the offensive line and throw off defenses. I find our snap count to be somewhat predictable.
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Play design

From what I’ve seen most of the routes the WRs are running are short routes. Thing is they are easily covered and no one gets open even on plays where Kaep has time or has a big drop back no one is open. Then factor in that the line gives him no time. Lose-lose there. Even if the line gave him time CBs are just sitting on every route because Roman sends 3 WRs out there and then has them all run 5 yd hitches.
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Kap hasn't played poorly...

…but I can’t say that he’s playing a lot better this season either. He’s been challenged so far with inconsistent pass protection to which he’s done a very good job in handling IMO. Evading the rush and extending plays continues to be his strength.

The downside is that he continues to rely a little too much on his arm strength and he’s been bailed out at least once a game it seems by a defender failing to make a play on what could easily have cost him a INT. His receivers have also made several spectacular grabs on throws that should have been more accurately thrown. His decision making appears to be speeding up a bit, still looks to be a very gradual work in progress.

I’m not sure if Roman’s so called simplification of the play calling language finally took hold VS the Chiefs or what, but that aspect of the offense was much improved last Sunday. It will be interesting to see how it goes in the dome in St. Louis.
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Niners have lost when they went pass first

Establish the run, then sock the pass. Don’t be predictable – in the past a common error. Forget the 8 lineman plays. Play straight up and force the D to defend the whole field. That works a lot better than bully runs.
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Always liked James L

For me, he is one of those players, even though he is on a "rival" that I like. S-Jax was one of those guys as well.
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Jeez.

This it literally the polar opposite of a Jim Harbaugh interview. Laurinaitus sounds like a guy tailor made for the switch to the broadcast booth when his playing days are over.
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Damn u Laurinaitis..

I dislike you a little less.. rather have read that from a 9er fan!
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+1

Dislike him a lot less. Smart guy, great responses.
 

RamzFanz

Damnit
Joined
Jun 4, 2013
Messages
9,029
Oh right you actually read my post as saying every other player sucks? That's not how I meant it, I meant it as if every unit was playing like Davis is we'd be a good team. We have a scoring D which is 30th in the league that's disapointing to me, does that mean every player on the D sucks? We have an OL which is disapointing to me, does that mean every player on it sucks? We have receivers who have cost us games through drops, which disappoints me, does that mean that none of them can do anything right?

Yeah, that's what "which makes it so disappointing to watch the rest of the team." ment to me. Sorry if I read it wrong.