For all the complexity of professional football, there is one exceedingly simple statistic that 49ers coach Mike Nolan believes will be reflective of whether his team has a good season or a bad one.
If the 49ers run the ball six out of 10 plays when they are on offense, they’ll be doing well. If it’s a 50-50 split—or worse—they’ll be in trouble.
“I would like to think by season’s end, if things have gone correctly, we’ll be 60-40,” Nolan said Wednesday as the 49ers began preparing in earnest for Sunday’s season opener at Arizona. “If we’re 50-50, in my opinion, that means either we’ve had injury or we haven’t won as many as we’d like because then we’re having to put the ball in the air a little bit more.”
[49ers look for ground support] – Contra Costa Times
MJ said:
I think that is the dumbest methodology I have ever heard. Run it 6 out of 10 times? So if the defense blitz’s on most every down they either sack the quarterback or are in good position to take down the runningback? Nolan just wants to run the ball because Alex Smith sucks. (For now.) Besides, airing out information like that is a dumbass of a mistake. 50-50 is a much smarter way to go. The quarterback should audible and adjust to the way the defense lines up so that they can run when it is beneficial or pass when it is beneficial. 60-40…...............The “Nolan’s Guy Philosophy?”
4 hours after the fact.BuzzTracker.com said:
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4 hours after the fact.Big M said:
MJ-
You really are an idiot. You need to stop posting so much because you post retarded opinions. 60-40 is a very good and safe way to control the game. The Steelers did it last year, the Pats the two years before and in 2001, and the Ravens in 2000. I even remember the Broncos doing the same with TD in 1998 and 1999. The only exception was the Bucs in 2002 and that’s because their D was so ridiculously dominant. If you establish the run, it opens up the play action and roll-out opportunities. If teams respect the inside too much, you can roll out, if they fear the rollout, they’ll play contain and ease up on the blitz and open the middle. Learn something about football, man.
5 hours after the fact.By the way, I think we have the personnell to run all over teams this year as long as everyone stays healthy, whether it be double tight, in the I, or singleback bruisers such as Gore and Robinson.
sffan said:
I’m not one to post just to piss on someone else’s opinion, as everyone is entitled to their opinion. But sometimes remarks make no sense, or lack thought, and those opinions deserve to get blasted.
While the cliche is that an offense needs to be “balanced”, a “balanced” offense by no means means 50-50. As Big M said, running will open up the passing game by making defenses feel the urge to bite on the play action more. If you can threaten a defense with the rushing offense, it makes it even harder to defend against the pass.
The 49ers offense lacks the talent for a strong passing attack, and that I agree with MJ. However, you don’t need to pass half of the time, as passing tends to yield more yards. By running more (and getting first downs in doing so), you eat up and control the clock. You not only keep the other team’s defense on the field, but you force them to play physical defense, which is more tiring than defending the pass.
Nolan’s offense will more than likely be run similar to how the Ravens did it a few years back. Run and control the clock, allowing Alex Smith to manage the team (as opposed to carrying it). Make no mistakes on offense, and your defense doesn’t have to be perfect and gets to rest.
MJ, what has made you so skeptical of Nolan? It seems you take every opportunity to bite the guy’s head off. I, as well as many other faithful, believe he’s doing a great job of turning this franchise around. As the saying goes: “Rome wasn’t built in a day.” Except Nolan isn’t only building Rome, he’s first trying to repair what was broken when he moved in.
7 hours after the fact.