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I have done this for Bradford in the past and I've found that some like it, some don't. Regardless, I'm going to give you my opinion and break things down to the best of my abilities. You don't have to agree with my conclusions, please, just keep it respectful. I had expressed the opinion that I believed San Francisco's defense had not played all that well against us and that I felt Austin Davis had just really struggled but that I would check to see if it could be confirmed on Coach's Film. I did just that and unfortunately, it was confirmed.(in my mind)
Here's some examples with commentary:
This is first and 10 just outside the 20 on a drive that ultimately ends in a FG. A completion here is important because it sets us up with manageable 2nd and 3rd downs. On this play, Austin Davis has a choice to make. The linebacker circled is more or less the guy he's going to read. If the LB crashes down on the drag route with Kendricks, Davis should throw it to Cook down the seam inside of the safety. If the linebacker drops underneath Cook, Davis should hit Kendricks with the cross for a solid gain. Unfortunately, Davis takes too long to make his decision. If he's going to hit Kendricks, the ball needs to be out now. If he's going to hit Cook, he can take his hitch step(which he does) and throw it down the seam. Instead, he takes his hitch step and tries to throw to Kendricks. It's late and the defender is able to defend the pass.
This is the same drive as the first picture but it is now 3rd down and 10. Brian Schottenheimer calls up a brilliant play. They may or many not have flagged us for OPI...that's up in the air but Stedman Bailey(IIRC) is wide open over the middle because the 49ers brought the house. Davis, though, panics and runs himself right into pressure. The free blitzer was coming off the right side. Cunningham actually does a great job of picking up the blitzer on the left side. Davis has the time to stand tall in the pocket and hit a wide open Bailey over the middle. Instead, he flushes out of the pocket too early and is forced to throw the ball away. This is what you have to do to stop teams from blitzing. You stand tall and deliver the pass over the middle to the open WR. If you bail on the pocket, they're going to keep coming.
This is the interception that Davis threw that led to the 49ers TD. Here's the frustrating thing, Britt was WIDE OPEN the entire time. He ran a crossing route from the opposite side of the field and nobody covered him. Davis locked onto Austin and never looked Britt's way. But even getting past that, he still could have completed the pass. Here's the issue, he has to throw the ball now if he is going to throw the comeback route here. Austin is making his break and Bethea isn't in position to undercut it. However, Davis holds the ball far too long, Bethea drops back to undercut the route and Davis throws it right to him.
Davis's second interception of the day. Kenny Britt is behind the defender. Davis actually does a great job of escaping the pressure on this play and extending the play. Unfortunately, he makes the right read but throws a duck. The ball comes up 5-7 yards short of Britt and ends up right in the DB's hands. Britt scores easily if Davis gets the ball there on this pass.
This is probably my most questionable play in that it's a tad nitpicky. As you see here, Kenny Britt has gotten behind the CB and Davis actually has a nice pocket to work in. The safety is playing Britt so Davis is going to have to throw this ball towards the sideline or else there's a risk that Bethea can make a play on it. Still, I think it's a risk he should have taken. I wonder if the two earlier interceptions made him a bit gun shy. Instead, Davis tries to take off and runs himself into a sack(this was a 3rd down play).
Here's another third down play(3rd and 11) that did not get completed. Davis does a nice job of escaping the blitz which gets sealed inside by the OL. However, he's completely indecisive once he gets out of the pocket. He has a choice here, he can either hit Britt down the field(Britt will work his way back to the ball) or he can drop it off short to Cook and see if Cook can pick up the first with YAC. I would have dropped it off to Cook because it's a safer play and I think Cook can get to the first on this play. However, Davis inexplicably doesn't pull the trigger on either one. Instead, he holds onto the ball until he is forced to throw it away.
Here's my final play and the Rams final offensive play of the game(not counting the kneel down). It's 3rd down again. This time, the 49ers bring heavy blitz off the right side of the OL but they also fall for our play-action. Kendricks is left completely uncovered and the 49ers have nobody back to stop him from scoring. However, Davis panics when he sees the blitz and does the worst thing possible. He rolls right into the blitz. He has 3 blockers to pick up the 3 blitzers on that side of the OL. If he stays where he is, he has ample time to get the ball to Kendricks. Or if he's worried, he can slide to his right and the OL will have enough blockers to account for the blitzers. I don't know if he misread it or what but instead, he flushes out of the pocket to his right which is exactly where the blitzers are going. He is forced to throw it away.
Don't take this as meaning Davis didn't do anything well in this game. He simply made a lot of mistakes. The 49ers defense made some huge mistakes in this game and Davis just didn't capitalize on them well. I'm really concerned at his tendency to panic and flush when blitzed. The 49ers gave us multiple opportunities to punish them on blitzes and Davis just didn't do an effective job of capitalizing.
Here's some examples with commentary:
This is first and 10 just outside the 20 on a drive that ultimately ends in a FG. A completion here is important because it sets us up with manageable 2nd and 3rd downs. On this play, Austin Davis has a choice to make. The linebacker circled is more or less the guy he's going to read. If the LB crashes down on the drag route with Kendricks, Davis should throw it to Cook down the seam inside of the safety. If the linebacker drops underneath Cook, Davis should hit Kendricks with the cross for a solid gain. Unfortunately, Davis takes too long to make his decision. If he's going to hit Kendricks, the ball needs to be out now. If he's going to hit Cook, he can take his hitch step(which he does) and throw it down the seam. Instead, he takes his hitch step and tries to throw to Kendricks. It's late and the defender is able to defend the pass.
This is the same drive as the first picture but it is now 3rd down and 10. Brian Schottenheimer calls up a brilliant play. They may or many not have flagged us for OPI...that's up in the air but Stedman Bailey(IIRC) is wide open over the middle because the 49ers brought the house. Davis, though, panics and runs himself right into pressure. The free blitzer was coming off the right side. Cunningham actually does a great job of picking up the blitzer on the left side. Davis has the time to stand tall in the pocket and hit a wide open Bailey over the middle. Instead, he flushes out of the pocket too early and is forced to throw the ball away. This is what you have to do to stop teams from blitzing. You stand tall and deliver the pass over the middle to the open WR. If you bail on the pocket, they're going to keep coming.
This is the interception that Davis threw that led to the 49ers TD. Here's the frustrating thing, Britt was WIDE OPEN the entire time. He ran a crossing route from the opposite side of the field and nobody covered him. Davis locked onto Austin and never looked Britt's way. But even getting past that, he still could have completed the pass. Here's the issue, he has to throw the ball now if he is going to throw the comeback route here. Austin is making his break and Bethea isn't in position to undercut it. However, Davis holds the ball far too long, Bethea drops back to undercut the route and Davis throws it right to him.
Davis's second interception of the day. Kenny Britt is behind the defender. Davis actually does a great job of escaping the pressure on this play and extending the play. Unfortunately, he makes the right read but throws a duck. The ball comes up 5-7 yards short of Britt and ends up right in the DB's hands. Britt scores easily if Davis gets the ball there on this pass.
This is probably my most questionable play in that it's a tad nitpicky. As you see here, Kenny Britt has gotten behind the CB and Davis actually has a nice pocket to work in. The safety is playing Britt so Davis is going to have to throw this ball towards the sideline or else there's a risk that Bethea can make a play on it. Still, I think it's a risk he should have taken. I wonder if the two earlier interceptions made him a bit gun shy. Instead, Davis tries to take off and runs himself into a sack(this was a 3rd down play).
Here's another third down play(3rd and 11) that did not get completed. Davis does a nice job of escaping the blitz which gets sealed inside by the OL. However, he's completely indecisive once he gets out of the pocket. He has a choice here, he can either hit Britt down the field(Britt will work his way back to the ball) or he can drop it off short to Cook and see if Cook can pick up the first with YAC. I would have dropped it off to Cook because it's a safer play and I think Cook can get to the first on this play. However, Davis inexplicably doesn't pull the trigger on either one. Instead, he holds onto the ball until he is forced to throw it away.
Here's my final play and the Rams final offensive play of the game(not counting the kneel down). It's 3rd down again. This time, the 49ers bring heavy blitz off the right side of the OL but they also fall for our play-action. Kendricks is left completely uncovered and the 49ers have nobody back to stop him from scoring. However, Davis panics when he sees the blitz and does the worst thing possible. He rolls right into the blitz. He has 3 blockers to pick up the 3 blitzers on that side of the OL. If he stays where he is, he has ample time to get the ball to Kendricks. Or if he's worried, he can slide to his right and the OL will have enough blockers to account for the blitzers. I don't know if he misread it or what but instead, he flushes out of the pocket to his right which is exactly where the blitzers are going. He is forced to throw it away.
Don't take this as meaning Davis didn't do anything well in this game. He simply made a lot of mistakes. The 49ers defense made some huge mistakes in this game and Davis just didn't capitalize on them well. I'm really concerned at his tendency to panic and flush when blitzed. The 49ers gave us multiple opportunities to punish them on blitzes and Davis just didn't do an effective job of capitalizing.
