NFL Matchup’s Executive Producer shares notes from his study of Divisional Weekend coaching tape: 49ers offense vs. Saints defense.
- Walker was inactive, Peelle replaced him in the 49ers 2 TE sets
- 49ers utilized NT Sopoaga and DL Smith in short yardage situations
- Saints played both 4-3 and 3-4 fronts, Wilson played OLB in the 3-4
- Davis 49 yd TD came versus “man free”, Harper matched on Davis
- 49ers WR block very well in the run game, Critical part of successful run game
- Saints “cover zero blitz” on 5th play of the game, 2nd + 10: Ginn 11 yds on quick slant versus Porter
- Saints “cover zero blitz” on 7th play (still 49ers 1st possession), 2nd + 10: Davis 5 yds versus Jenkins
- Saints matched Jenkins on Davis in “cover zero”, Jenkins was a college corner at Ohio State
- Crabtree 4 yd TD was great call by Harbaugh versus anticipated man coverage, Rub element out of 3 WR distribution
- Saints matched Harper on Davis in “man free” coverage
- Saints game planned to play a high percentage of man coverage, As the game progressed they mixed more snaps of zone
- Saints again showed red zone tendency to rush 3 and drop 8
- 49ers attacked the perimeter in the run game, A number of toss plays with both Gore and Hunter
- Saints again featured 3-3-5 as part of nickel sub-package, Wilson was the 3rd LB with Vilma and Shanle – Casillas was active but did not play on defense
- Saints played snaps of dime with S Adbul-Quddus the 6th DB, It was 3-2-6 with Vilma and Wilson the 2 LB – In that dime sub-package Jenkins predominantly played Davis man-to-man
- 49ers had some problems in the 1st half with the Saints overload blitz concepts out of man coverage, Harper a featured blitzer
- Williams was the 49ers #2 receiver opposite Crabtree, He played the large majority of snaps with Ginn only playing about 20 snaps
- 49ers go with “heavy” personnel as their short yardage staple: 6 OL plus Sopoaga and J. Smith – 6 OL with Boone also featured in normal and distance situations
- Gore 42 yds on 1st + 10 in the 4th quarter came versus “cover zero blitz” out of base 4-3, Jenkins bad missed tackle
- Saints continued to play “cover zero blitz” in the 2nd half, 4th play on 1st + 10: Smith incomplete to Davis versus Jenkins
- Jenkins sack to end 49ers first 2nd half possession came out of 3-2-6 “cover zero blitz”, Jenkins was unblocked off the edge; S Adbul-Quddus has Davis man-to-man
- Saints 4 snaps of “cover zero blitz” on the 49ers first 9 plays (2 possessions) of the 2nd half
- Saints high percentage man coverage, high percentage blitz, and many snaps of “cover zero blitz” – An aggressive and challenging approach that was predominantly successful for 3½ quarters
- I don’t think I’ve seen a defense play more “cover zero blitz” than the Saints, It was very effective – Smith had only thrown for 177 yds until the 49ers got the ball with 4:02 left in the 4th quarter trailing by 1
- Smith 28 yd TD was a great play call versus anticipated man coverage, Impressive athleticism by LT Staley pulling to lead Smith around the corner – Great crack back block by Williams on DE Smith
- Davis 37 yds on first 4th quarter TD drive came versus “cover zero blitz” out of base 4-3, Davis beat Jenkins on a fade route; Outstanding throw by Smith – 1st time Davis was split outside the numbers, 49ers anticipated the coverage and wanted Davis on Jenkins with room and space
- Davis 47 yds on winning TD drive came out of 3×1 set versus 3-3-5 “man free”, Davis inside slot on 3 receiver side matched on Jenkins – Big time throw by Smith
- Davis 14 yd winning TD came against red zone “Tampa 2”, Smith outstanding anticipation and accuracy – Better throw than catch
- Smith 3 big time throws in the final 4 minutes, That was the difference for the 49ers
Later today – more of Greg’s notes from the 49ers win over New Orleans.
