SF Game Stills

[Merlin]

Gonna try to get through some of this game now that I can open it up without puking. Got some time today to at least put up some stuff that stands out.

First one up is the third down of the 9ers initial 3 'n out to start the game. This is on the heels of two nice run stops by the defense.

Situation:

Pre-snap Wade's got the defense in a 2 DL front with AD out wide (left side image) and Fox on the nose. I love AD on the edge btw:

At the snap Littleton & Fowler start a stunt the 9ers pick up nicely. Fox is picked up. Ebu comes on the rush and 26 has to step up for him meaning no help for the LT where AD is already into the backfield and ready to eat the LT:

Coverage looks good at the snap:

At the drop the LT has already lost with poor position and the outside arm. AD gettin ready to feast:

Coverage at the drop. This is what a short passing down should look like, well played by the secondary:

Coverage a beat later. JJ doing nice job on Kittle top screen:

Om nom nom:

 

[Ramit]

I heart u

 

[Merlin]

After that AD sack the Rams' offense drove the field for a TD on the ground where our OL as a group put on a damn clinic. This is the following whiner drive, which was extended by a Fowler offsides on a third down where we would have gotten the sack... So as is usual with the Rams of 2019 none of these plays should even have happened but here we are. Critical play here for the whiners to get into our end of the field.

Situation:

We see an interesting front here by Wade, with both NT in the game. Left to right in the image we have SJD at 3T, Gaines on the nose, and Brock pinched inside a bit at 4T. Clearly the Rams expecting a run in this down/distance:

At the snap Fowler on the right is starting his drop into the flat. Ebu comes on the 4 man rush on the other edge. 22 is going straight into the pattern with no fake and our ILBs are already starting their drops due to no play action (which Shanny wants here):

At the drop 22 is wide open underneath. Hard to see here, but Reeder makes a move towards the inside here (where he has support in Littleton) that enables a bigger gain:

At the throw Reeder realizes he's overpursued (he is midfield with his arm up trying to reverse course) but it's too late:

17 yard gainer and first down:

 

[Merlin]

Another key play in this drive for the 9ers that ends up being a nice gainer for them...

Situation:

Pre-snap Rams know it's a pass. DL is Fox / Gaines / AD and the Rams doing a good job keeping guys fresh up front. Peters is on the "20" top of the screen coverage is man:

At the snap it's hard to tell but IMO Garoppolo knows he's going with his first read. How does he know? Well, he's got the wideout juggernaut Pettis with Peters in man coverage. Also I don't like the cushion top of the screen outside the hashes (Hill) but that's not what gets us:

At the throw Pettis is open with sideline for what should put them near the marker:

But Peters can't make the tackle:

Weddle gets the assist from Greg "Weight" Gaines. First and goal whiners:

 

[Merlin]

Here's the goal line stand series where we failed to get in. First play of the three with the Rams showing pass...

Situation:

Pre-snap:

At the snap it looks like Woods is the first read but Sherm has good position. The other DB is moving to cover Hendy in the flat. Higs and Kupp are running crossers:

At the drop Goff has Kupp and Higs both open on the crossers. Woods is covered. Cooks is covered. Hendy is covered:

Goff chooses Kupp who doesn't have a man on him but IMO he makes the wrong choice, because Kupp's route is going into traffic. Higs is open with no defender over the top. Even worse is that the pocket is CLEAN and no reason to rush the easy completion:

The pocket view at the throw. A top QB sees Higs, makes the right read, and makes that throw for a TD:

 

[GoodBadUgly]

Ouch. Nobody is perfect but this shows clearly if Goff is playing his best or 80% his best, we are 5-1.

Fingers crossed this new D philosophy gets this O in a groove and we start to roll.

I just want to sneak into playoffs...

 

[Merlin]

Situation:

Pre-snap the 9ers showing pass, Rams in man coverage:

At the drop there is zero rush from the defensive front:

Peters bites on the fake:

Pitch and catch with room to run. Rest of the coverage looks good:

Peters spectating while he gets the first down:

 

[Merlin]

Later the same drive here's an irritating lack of awareness by our secondary as well as yet another example of how poorly they zone it up. This is a 3rd and 12 and a chance to get off the field...

Situation:

Pre-snap the 9ers are showing pass, Rams are in zone (think NRC has man responsibility on 18 on the call but he drops):

At the drop the secondary falls back to near the first down marker (which is at the Rams' 40 yard line), conceding the underneath. This is not a bad call, however our young safety Mr. Rapp is about to bail out a bit and allow Kittle to get too deep:

At the throw Kittle is wide open ten yards down. In what universe does that make sense. I don't like the call but there has to be awareness here and actual reaction to open targets BEFORE they get the ball. Bottom line is this secondary sucks at zone:

4th and short which they will convert next play to extend a drive which will end with a missed SF fieldgoal:

 

[Merlin]

Rams ensuing drive after the missed SF field goal. Should be some nice inertia for the offense or is it lol...

Situation:

Pre-snap Rams have the look they want with the wide hash on the left side of the screen for the pitch:

At the pitch things look good, nothing but green and Havenstein vs Sherman. I guarantee Hendy's eyes are big as saucer plates:

Eye on the ball rook. Another missed opportunity and our defense is back up in their redzone:

 

[Loyal]

Here ya go Merlin....(Click picture and expand)

View: https://twitter.com/ImAMarvelNerd1/status/1185191413903843333?s=20

 

[Merlin]

Rams on the ensuing possession after an SF score, needing to answer. First down Allen got blown up by Buckner for a loss on a run that was otherwise blocked well (Blythe didn't exactly help him on a tough reach block but still). Here we are with a pass trying to get some of it back and the 9ers get instant pressure with a nice 5 man rush.

Situation:

Pre-snap:

At the drop Goff knows it's comin:

At the throw Goff puts it behind Woods and it's low and uncatchable. Hard to blame the QB with a rusher in his face here but the design allowed for an outlet it was there if he is a little quicker getting it out:

 

[Merlin]

Rams previous possession stalled and gave the 9ers good field position. Drive continues here with a play that is another example of poor zone work by our secondary...

Situation:

Pre-snap:

At the snap things don't look too bad. But we have NRC mid-drop where he is going to ignore future Hall of Fame wideout Pettis:

At the drop NRC keeps going, and Pettis settles into the soft spot behind the backers. Garoppolo makes the throw on time:

First and goal whiners:

I honestly have zero idea wtf the secondary coach is teaching these guys. Your zone drop is supposed to be a guideline you react off of, not a goddamn destination where you ignore what is going on. Just baffled tbh.

 

[Merlin]

Next Rams possession. Defense managed to force a FG after the blown coverage above. Putting up this play because it is an example of poor design, where IMO it is appropriate to blame the coaching...

Situation:

Pre-snap:

At the snap this is an all-out fake handoff, to include Demby pulling to kick out the edge and Allen turning his guy out:

At the fake this play is already falling apart. Demby vs an edge in space for pass blocking after a pull are you kidding me? Allen somehow being expected to turn a run block into time for Goff to throw? Maybe this works with Saffold at LG but you can forget about this BS working now. 94 is about to each Goff's lunch from one side, 91 the other:

Goff sacked for -8 yards and this drive is set back on the first play (Rams 3 and out):

 

[Merlin]

Another missed opportunity here a couple plays later on a pass where our young QB drops a dime and it goes to waste. I love this play call and design btw, going for the jugular very nice...

Situation:

Pre-snap:

Pre-snap coverage:

At the drop Hav is already beat. Whit is being pushed back into Goff's lap (both recurring issues in this game):

Goff reads it well and gets the throw off on-time before the pressure gets to him:

But JRey can't bring it down:

 

[Merlin]

This is a critical series for the Rams and IMO a significant part of that equation in losing this game. After a first down dumpoff pass to Hendy gives them 9 yards, they squander the next two downs with passes instead of just converting the down/distance with a run play. Here's the third down call (they end up getting stuffed on a 4th down run and turning the ball over)...

Situation:

Pre-snap:

At the snap we see the whiners bringing 5:

At the drop Hendy went low and didn't do much to the blitzer. Goff is looking at Woods (midfield on the Rams helmet) I think, in fact I'm pretty sure because he doesn't see Kupp wide open for the first down:

Goff escapes the pocket:

He has a chance to hit Woods, who is open now:

Problems with Goff on this play IMO...

1. Lack of vision to hit Kupp who was wide open for a first down.
2. Lack of awareness to look for Kupp on the short route when you need that first down.
3. Lack of accuracy on the run (a continued issue this season) when he went off sched and had him.

 

[Merlin]

Here we're getting late into the 4th quarter and the Rams know they need to make something happen. Goff was sacked on first down by Havenstein's assignment and are in a third down and long that if they convert might change this game...

Situation:

Pre-snap coverage:

At the snap we see a 4 man rush:

At the drop Goff has read there is nothing left side of the field. Demby at this moment is turnstiling his assignment:

This one's so bad the dude left change in Demby's pocket:

As 91 sacks Goff we can see Cooks come out of his break with the safety too deep. It was there and with Jared's arm I think it could have been a huge completion but the protection did not allow it:

 

[Merlin]

Last one is going to be the miss to Everett that effectively ended this game. Beautiful call here btw. IF Goff hits this pass it's a TD and the Rams are going onside kick. So still a difficult situation but it sure would have been nice to see our kid QB end the game on an exclamation throw oh well...

Situation:

Pre-snap:

At the drop Goff sees Sherm with no help over the top:

Protections look good at the drop:

Ball up and out:

Not sure Sherm didn't redirect Everett just enough. Or that Everett didn't take a bit off his stride. But either way it's a missed TD:

 

[Merlin]

So in closing what a frustrating game to review. I'm sure many didn't even open this up lol. Here's my takeaways fwiw...

1. OT struggles are probably at least a little related to Goff not being comfortable stepping up due to the interior struggles. But both Hav and Whit were beat plenty of times. Power rush seems to be a favored move with Whit and he'll see more of it unless he adjusts. Speed move continues to haunt Hav and probably will until the QB can step up and in to this pocket, he doesn't have the feet to play wide rushes snap after snap.

2. Demby lost his job in this game. I think that final turnstile when the game was in reach and Cooks was open was the nail in his coffin. I suspect that one really chapped McVay's hide.

3. DL played a great game vs the run. They were very stout. SJD and Gaines both are excellent rotation pieces on run downs and it bodes well for us if we can get the secondary fixed.

4. This secondary has zero feel for zone. Don't expect that to change on account of Ramsey for whom zone is his area he can improve the most.

5. Allen cost us a couple series. He needs to get better and if not they need to sit him.

6. I am looking forward to seeing more Hendy. But I'd feel better if we had a power back like CJ on this roster.