I go to watch the Arizona Cardinals vs. San Francisco 49ers game last Sunday and about three quarters of the way into it, I'm wondering if the NFL Rewind is acting up again. I keep going back to make sure that I'm watching the right game and if these are the right teams playing. I had to finally accept it. The 2014 version of the 49ers' offense is much different from what we had become accustomed to seeing from them since Jim Harbaugh became head coach in 2011.
The Notebook: Bad decisions plaguing 49ers, Dolphins
Sometimes a team gets beat, and sometimes a team beats itself. Retired NFL defensive end Stephen White puts some questionable decisions under the spotlight in this week’s Notebook.
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For better or worse.
Personally, I was very fond of the smash-mouth style Harbaugh had instituted, and thought it was awesome that he had the perfect running back in Frank Gore to carry the ball in that offense. The 49ers would pound the ball for 60 minutes, and you could literally see opposing defensive players start to wilt in the fourth quarter. They took their shots in the air during the game. Once Colin Kaepernick took over at quarterback, they also had some great and innovative plays installed to help showcase his unique talents as both a runner and a thrower, but at their core, they were still a "line up and tell you where we are running and dare you to stop it" style of offense.
My favorite kind in the whole, wide world.
Niners Nation
Now ... I’m not sure what they are on offense. For that matter, I think they aren’t all that sure, either, judging by the results so far.
Look, I understand that it's hard to run against the Cardinals' defense and shape the offensive game plan accordingly. However, San Diego Chargers running back Ryan Mathews got 12 carries in Week 1 against the Cardinals and New York Giants running back Rashad Jennings got 18 carries a week later.
Gore and Carlos Hyde had nine carries Sunday. No, not each -- combined.
Are you effing kidding me?!
Just in case you didn’t watch the game, understand that the 49ers were up 14-6 at halftime. They were still up 14-13 with less than five minutes left in the third quarter.
There was plenty of time to establish the run with their running backs, of which they have a plethora. It was their clear choice not to do so. This does not appear to be a one-time thing, either.
Go back to the previous week against the Chicago Bears, when the 49ers led 17-7 at halftime and 20-7 heading into the fourth quarter before eventually losing 28-20. Gore and Hyde combined for 17 carries then. That's a little bit better, but don't forget that the Bears' defense was historically bad against the run just a season ago.
Kaepernick ended up throwing 34 times in that game, including three very unfortunate interceptions, two of which came in the fourth quarter. Last Sunday, Kaepernick threw the ball 37 times with just one touchdown pass to show for it.
Photo via Getty Images
I will say that Kaepernick is still getting his carries, and I do wonder how that is going over in the locker room. Still, his runs aren’t generally of the pad-popping, slobber-knocker variety. I absolutely hate the QB sweep to the left that Harbaugh insists on running (that’s random and there’s no reason for this sentence to be here in this column other than the fact that I REALLY DO HATE that damn play). I wish somebody would tear it out of his playbook and use it to wipe after chili night. I digress.
I’m still a fan of the read option and pistol stuff that the 49ers run, but those plays do not wear down a defense. They can keep a defense honest and there are definitely wrinkles that can put a defense under a lot of stress, but by the fourth quarter, all 11 guys on the other side are likely still gonna have fresh legs and be full of piss and vinegar.
Are the 49ers really sure they want to continue to evolve into the kind of offense that will have to try to score against defenses that have just as much life in them in the fourth quarter as they had in the first quarter? Are they sure they have that kind of firepower? So far, I’m not convinced.
The grass is not always greener. If the 49ers want to get back on track, they might want to think long and hard about going back to their ugly, downhill power running game instead of continuing to try to run an offense that keeps failing them in the second half.
What’d I miss?
There was a lot of bad football this past weekend, but the Miami Dolphins vs. Kansas City Chiefs game was the pinnacle of all the hot-garbage performances, in my eyes. There were a lot of things that just made me cringe: poor quarterback play from both sides, suspect game plans, stupid gimmick plays, bad pass protection and the list goes on and on. Maybe the thing that had me mumbling the most cuss words under my breath like a crazy person was the decision-making of both teams' punt returners.
Dolphins rookie wide receiver Jarvis Landry got the party started early running allllllll the way back to the Dolphins' 1-yard line to "save" the punt from going into the end zone by making a Willie Mays over-the-shoulder catch. After gathering himself, he gained a grand total of 3 yards on the return.
Photo via Getty Images
That, of course, meant his team had to start the drive on its own 4-yard line instead of the 20 had he simply allowed the ball to drop into the end zone. Did he think he was on the punt team for a minute? If I was on the Chiefs’ defense, I would’ve high-fived him as I ran onto the field.
That was just a really stupid play that put his offense in a tough spot while potentially giving the Chiefs great field position, provided they could have forced a three-and-out.
But the thing is, the Chiefs returner did the same damn thing later in the game.
Chiefs wide receiver Frankie Hammond, who is technically in his first season even though he spent time on their practice squad last year, is listed as having caught the ball on the 0-yard line. Yes, folks, he caught a punt while standing on the damn goal line. He wasn't just standing there the whole time, but at some point when you are drifting back you have to take an account of where you are on the football field. It's hard for me to believe Hammond didn't notice all of the teal around his feet as he was about to back into the end zone before catching the ball.
The Notebook
There’s nothing wrong with letting the damn thing go into the end zone and letting the offense line up on the 20-yard line. In fact, there is a lot right about doing that. It wasn’t a desperation move because, hell, the Chiefs were actually up at that point in the third quarter, 21-13.
Maybe Hammond thought he needed to make a big play. Turns out after fielding the punt on the goal line, he ended up taking it all the way back to the Chiefs’ 48-yard line. Doesn’t take a math major to see that means he had a 48-yard return, which would definitely qualify as a big play.
One problem.
The referees called an illegal block in the back on one of Hammond’s teammates who was blocking for him. So instead of the ball being on the 20-yard line for a touchback or the 48-yard line for his return, guess where the Chiefs had to start their drive on offense. The 1-yard line.
And how did that drive turn out?
Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith was sacked on an ill-advised play-action pass and the Dolphins got a cheap safety on the first play of the drive.
All because Hammond just had to field that punt and try to make a big play.
The Chiefs still won the game, but it would be a long time before I’d trust Hammond to field a punt again if I were Andy Reid. Landry would be on a very short leash, too, if I were the Dolphins’ coach. Those kinds of decisions get you beat, and winning in the NFL is too damn hard as it is. Last thing a coach needs is one of his own players helping the other team.
For who, for what?!
After his very first game as a Philadelphia Eagle in 1995, running back Ricky Watters -- already a five-time Pro Bowler and owner of a Super Bowl ring as a member of the 49ers -- was asked why he alligator-armed a pass against the Buccaneers. He famously -- or infamously -- replied, "for who, for what?" As in, why would I get myself killed trying to catch that pass?
That quote stuck with Watters for years as fans would bring it up to imply that he was afraid to take a hit. Of course, that was not true, but even if it had been, with all we know about concussions today, maybe it was Watters who was the smart one.
The chances were very low that he would be able to hang on to the ball, anyway, and very high that he was going to get his wig split for the trouble.
Either way, it appears we might have had another "for who, for what" situation in the waning moments of the Chargers' 22-10 victory over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, and it came from an unlikely suspect. With two minutes left in the game, Bills rookie receiver Sammy Watkins appeared to give a very half-hearted effort on a skinny post.
I watched it on the TV copy several times and then watched it again on the coaches tape. When I broke down Watkins before the draft, I never saw him go after a ball thrown to him with that kind of nonchalance. In fact, I labeled Watkins “bust-proof” in large part because of his fearless nature in college and the way he attacked the ball when it was in the air. So I wanted to be sure I was seeing what I thought I was seeing before I actually wrote about it. Well, I have seen the play from pretty much every angle and I do not believe my eyes are lying to me.
Now to be clear, I don’t really blame him. By the time the pass got to Watkins, he was literally surrounded by three Chargers defenders, one of them a safety lining him up for a kill shot. The pass itself was ill-advised and would have led Watkins right into contact had he tried to haul it in with two hands. Instead, he simultaneously slowed down while reaching out with one hand and knocking the pass to the ground.
Earlier in the fourth quarter, Manuel had already led another Bills wide receiver, Marquise Goodwin, into contact on a crossing route. Goodwin ended up needing assistance to get off the field after he was splattered by Chargers safety Eric Weddle.
It’s not hard to imagine that hit still being on Watkins’ mind as he came out of his break and saw that pass coming his way. The chances were very low that he would be able to hang on to the ball, anyway, and very high that he was going to get his wig split for the trouble. On a day where Manuel was erratic throwing the ball down the field and with the game pretty much over anyway, I won’t say I condone that effort, but I do understand.
For who, for what indeed!
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