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Re-Watching Game: Early OL Observations

Eric from BBI : Admin : 1/24/2012 4:24 pm
I just re-watched the Giants' first three offensive possessions of the game, focusing mostly on the OL.

Drive #1: 9 plays, punt
Drive #2: 9 plays, downs
Drive #3: 10 plays, TD

The OL actually played pretty darn well on the first three drives. There wasn't much running room, but the Giants did pick up some tough yards. The one glaring disappointment was the failed 4th-and-1, but it wasn't the case of an OL missing the block.

Pass protection was very sound except for Chris Snee getting beat very badly on the 9th play of the 1st drive on 3rd-and-8. McDonald ran around Snee to sack Manning and cause a fumble than pushed the Giants into a 4th-and-21.

The tackles blocked well early. So did Boothe and Baas in pass pro. There was one play where a LB charged into Baas and knocked him backwards on a running play, but Baas played well. When he got hurt late in the 3rd drive, Boothe went to OC and Petrus to LG. Petrus immediately gave up a pressure as he was late in recognizing a stunt.
Obviously  
Eric from BBI : Admin : 1/24/2012 4:25 pm : link
the OL performance deteriorates as the game progresses, but early it was fairly good.
who  
Les in TO : 1/24/2012 4:26 pm : link
missed the block on the 4th and 1? hynoski? or was it more jacobs missing the hole.
Correct  
Mark from Jersey : 1/24/2012 4:27 pm : link
it was very good in the first half. Manning seemingly had all day to throw.

Also points to why all of Cruz's 10 catches (I think) came in the first half.
It looked  
Josh in the City : 1/24/2012 4:27 pm : link
like the Niners started bringing a lot more pressure as the game wore on and our oline had a ton of trouble stopping them.
Eric  
ejcube : 1/24/2012 4:27 pm : link
I remember seeing MCKenzie on the ground quite a few times. Is that accurate?
It's not a good sign when  
barens : 1/24/2012 4:27 pm : link
our offensive line gets worse as the game goes on, you can't just nitpick those three series; however, San Fran's defensive line and linebackers may be the best in football, so I can cut them some slack.
The OL did well it was that dam 49ers D which was awesome!  
bigblue0313 : 1/24/2012 4:28 pm : link
Man that defense is nuts!!! IMO the best defense we will have played all season and we played them twice.
thanks for the breakdown Eric  
JerseyJoe : 1/24/2012 4:28 pm : link
It sounds like the OL is managing at least and it certainly isn't all Baas'fault. Are you planning on watching the rest of the game?
I assume you are planning to watch the rest  
Bob from Massachusetts : 1/24/2012 4:29 pm : link
to understand what went wrong as the game went on--did the niners do something different, or did the play of Baas deteriorate post-injury along with other things? I'll be interested in an update.
This will be key  
bebopson : 1/24/2012 4:29 pm : link
If the OL can keep Eli relatively clean we should win this game. 6 sacks is way too much to give up when we need to score some points. Hopefully our D performs at least as well as last time.
I thought the poor o-line pass protection was the direct result of  
Shockeyisthebest80 : 1/24/2012 4:29 pm : link
being made totally one dimensional. The Niners didn't have to respect the run at all... even the Giants gave up any pretense of running by using so much shotgun 3WR or 2WR/2TE
Eric  
bossman : 1/24/2012 4:30 pm : link
it always seems to go bad when we run 2 downs and
pass on 3rd...we get these 3 and outs when KG
decides to run 2 times up the middle....he finally
ran a couple of plays to Rhino and they seem to work..
I think we should try him on 3rd and 1 as a RB or draw..
The line played better when Baas went out
Eric - what do you think about this OL next year?  
Andy in Boston : 1/24/2012 4:30 pm : link
It wouldn't surprise me to see the Giants draft a tackle or guard in the 1st round......They have a great QB...there is no sense of taking a risk if they're not sure if Petrus and Brewer are ready to contribute. I think Boothe is solid, but he didn't play well last week, and I think he's best suited as your top reserve. McKenzie is probably gone...Diehl could be on the downside....and I hope Snee bounces back next year. I think the organization really has to examine the o-line......next to Eli its really the most important part of the team or any team for that matter.
focusing on  
Osi Osi Osi OyOyOy : 1/24/2012 4:31 pm : link
the OL during the 2nd half would be too ugly for me to watch. When you get your ass kicked that badly, it's everyone's fault. The 49ers front 7 is the best in football and they proved it in the 2nd half.
we miss beatty a lot more than bbi thought we would,  
slefrak : 1/24/2012 4:31 pm : link
.
Wonder if the deterioraritng field conditions....  
Jacobs27 : 1/24/2012 4:31 pm : link
led to some of the problems the line had later in the game. Just a thought.
Yesterday, I was listening to Papa and Ross Tucker  
barens : 1/24/2012 4:32 pm : link
on Sirius Radio, and Tucker had some really high praise for Kevin Boothe. Thought he did a good job when Justin Smith was lined up over him, that he's very tough to get around, and he's very powerful.
The O Line was  
jintz4life : 1/24/2012 4:34 pm : link
clearly terrible in the 4th quarter and OT. I'm willing to bet it had to do with the sheer number of plays we run in combination with how physical the SF Front 7 is. We ran 90 plays on Sunday.
Our TE's can't block  
Friebe : 1/24/2012 4:34 pm : link
...

It's a problem.
I'm assuming  
KP : 1/24/2012 4:35 pm : link
the OL will be a top priority this offseason considering our running game has been terrible this season.
Eric -  
BlueLou : 1/24/2012 4:36 pm : link
thanks.
Ugoh  
bossman : 1/24/2012 4:37 pm : link
might be a good player for us,,,I would rather sign
a FA OT/G or 2 instead of draft...it takes a few years
to develop them and we will need at least 1 player w/
experience to step in if Mac is gone,,,
Eric..  
Danthebigbluefan : 1/24/2012 4:37 pm : link
I found the adjustment made by 9ers was to send a lot of pressure from the outside. Specifially at KM's side. Really did have a good mix of power and speed and KM had a real tough go. That being said, that 9ers defensive front is downright nasty and our OL did a very admirable job.
What Jacobs said  
jcn56 : 1/24/2012 4:39 pm : link
I started a thread yesterday about the weather for that very reason. It sure seemed like when the weather picked up, the protection went to crap.

Not to make excuses - the Niners had to play in the same weather and did a phenomenal job of rushing Eli, but that factor made it that much harder on us. Baas' injury didn't help matters either.
Smith  
bossman : 1/24/2012 4:40 pm : link
is a beast...it takes 2-3 players to block him
The Giants dropped back to pass 64 times  
MarshallOnMontana : 1/24/2012 4:50 pm : link
on 90 offensive plays. Until some late Bradshaw runs, we were throwing it about 75+% of the time for a majority of this game. The pass pro was better early than late, because at some point the defense can just pin their ears back and tee off. And when you have talented bodies in the front 7 as they do its very tough on an OL in that situation, especially with the crowd noise. This is not to excuse the OL, ive been on them all year, but it was a particularly rough spot to be in

Watching it again, it was truly a bloodbath at points. The pressure in the 2nd half was unrelenting, and it generally wasn't just one guy coming free, it was multiple 49ers meeting at the QB. Eli just took some vicious hits. To take all that, and then to hang in there as long as he did on the play down the sideline to Bradshaw late in the game says a ton about him.

Luckily, we're not going to face a defense like that in Indy.
SF coaches made some nice adjustments...  
damdevs : 1/24/2012 4:52 pm : link
at halftime. Seeing that their plan to only bring 4 in the first half wasn't going anywhere they decided to bring pressure. And they brought a lot in the second half. They had a lot of plays where they brought 5 and 6 guys to get to Eli in the second half.
trying to respond to comments...  
Eric from BBI : Admin : 1/24/2012 4:52 pm : link
Thought the TE's did a decent job early. Ballard got a real nice block on an outside run.

Yes, I will watch the rest of the game.

On the 4th-and-1. A DB (#31) shot into the gap and Hynoski picked him up. McKenzie took out his man and so did Ballard. Bowman came flying in low on Jacobs. Cruz couldn't cut him off. Great play by Bowman, but you can also say Jacobs should have not gone down so easily.
In the week leading up to the game...  
LunaticFringe : 1/24/2012 4:53 pm : link
Colin Cowherd made a very interesting point. He said he had several friends who lived in Las Vegas and are very serious bettors. He said they're constantly preaching to him that at this point in the season you don't look at teams' entire schedules when evaluating upcoming games. You try to find the games where they faced teams most similar to the one they have coming up.

Looking at the upcoming Patriots-Ravens game, his friends were telling him to completely ignore the most recent games against Denver and Houston. They were telling him to look at the Patriots games against teams most similar to the Ravens in their ability to pressure Brady. The Patriots' opponents with the most sacks were the Steelers, Giants, Cowboys and Redskins. Well, the Patriots were 2-2 and a cumulative +1 in points against these 4 teams. The two wins (Cowboys and Redskins) were narrowly decided.

On that basis, his friends were telling him the Ravens were the way to bet.

This is my long winded way of saying that in attempting to dope out what we might expect in the Super Bowl, the game against the 49ers is utterly useless. Everything that happened in it is best forgotten until the off-season. San Francisco and New England are almost polar opposites.
again...  
Eric from BBI : Admin : 1/24/2012 4:55 pm : link
on first three drives, only big negative I saw was Snee's missed block on 3rd-and-8.

As for moving forward, I think Beatty proved he can handle pass pro at LT. Incidentally, as I've mentioned, Beatty played very well against the 49ers in November.

Baas will be OC and Snee RG.

? are at LG and RT. Diehl will have to make transition to RT or be cut IMO. McKenzie won't be re-signed. As area junc says, they may look at a FA like Carl Nicks. Remember Brewer and Petrus are still in the picture and Boothe. Obviously and OL or two will be drafted.
Jacobs  
Peter in the Catskills : 1/24/2012 4:57 pm : link
That was a very poor effort by Jacobs, he showed no sense of urgency and grit. I couldn't believe Bradshaw didn't get the ball there.
no mention of Diehl  
bluefin : 1/24/2012 4:58 pm : link
means he played well, as usual. He's an iron horse, and IMO one of NYG's unsung all-time greats.
I think...  
Eric from BBI : Admin : 1/24/2012 5:00 pm : link
the unsung hero for the 49ers on the 4th-and-1 play was #31. Hynoski was forced to pick him up instead of take on Bowman.
bluefin  
Eric from BBI : Admin : 1/24/2012 5:01 pm : link
everyone got beat later in the game, including Diehl. I need to re-watch to see where the real problems were.
Clearly, the running game falters due to  
chops : 1/24/2012 5:01 pm : link
lack of speed with our interior blockers. Opponents know we rarely going

wide. It would help if we had better blocks from our TEs.

I'd be surprised if we don't improve this line next year.

Thanks Eric...  
rptl530 : 1/24/2012 5:02 pm : link
you only have 62 plays to go. :)
wait Eric....I posted before I just read  
bluefin : 1/24/2012 5:02 pm : link
that you see a scenario with Diehl being cut? Can you name another NYG lineman who's played 4 of the 5 o-line positions, and who can just be plugged into left tackle anytime and play at a Super Bowl level?
bluefin  
MarshallOnMontana : 1/24/2012 5:03 pm : link
he got destroyed as this game went along. Its tough to single anyone out though, it was just a horrible 2nd half
ok got it  
bluefin : 1/24/2012 5:04 pm : link
I keep reading your posts late

i'll read only
As Eric said, Whittner made a great play on the 4th and 1  
PSIMMS 22-25-268 : 1/24/2012 5:12 pm : link
and Bowman played it well too. But Jacobs did not help us out at all and he goes down so easily if hit below the waist.
bluefin  
Eric from BBI : Admin : 1/24/2012 5:13 pm : link
Diehl has no bigger backer on this site than me. And he's done a serviceable job at LT again this year. But Beatty is the superior pass protector at LT. Diehl did not impress me at all at guard (and I've said for years that Diehl was a better tackle than guard). If he can't make it at RT (I think he can), then the Giants are not going to pay him the money is making now. My guess is Diehl is the RT next year or they sign someone like Nicks.
I hear you Eric  
bluefin : 1/24/2012 5:18 pm : link
Diehl's knwoledge and experience at LOT, and his versatility and durability are valuable assets, but he can'e play forever. For sure we all appreciate him, bigtime.
Carl Nicks  
BIG FRED : 1/24/2012 5:21 pm : link
would be an awesome pickup ..
Thanks Eric  
Giants-Bama in CO : 1/24/2012 5:32 pm : link
good read and comments
OL, died,  
oldog : 1/24/2012 5:35 pm : link
in the second and third halves. Where were the coaches? Probably planning how they would win the game recovering fumbles and kicking 26 yard field goals.(Or was it 31?)
Bradshaw needed to nose down and hit the hole on that 4th and 1  
rnargi : 1/24/2012 5:35 pm : link
Had he followed his FB, who I believe was Pascoe on the play, he'd have had a chance.
all i know  
Delgursh : 1/24/2012 5:39 pm : link
is that the 49ers defense if for real. best front 7 in a long time.

throw in 1 more good corner or safety, and it cant get any better imo
rnargi  
Eric from BBI : Admin : 1/24/2012 5:41 pm : link
Not sure who the TE was over there...it may have been Bear (I said Ballard but you might be right), but the TE had his block. However, I thought Jacobs took it where it needed to go. #31 disrupted the play by forcing Hynoski to pick him up. That left Bowman 1 on 1 with Jacobs. Bowman dived at his feet and Jacobs went down, falling forward.
i think  
Les in TO : 1/24/2012 5:50 pm : link
if the gmen are in a similar 3rd and 1 or 4th and 1 situation in the super bowl, they need to consider a short pass or use bradshaw.
at the start  
Eggs55 : 1/24/2012 5:56 pm : link
it will be Beatty Petrus Baas Snee Diehl with McKenzie gone and Diehl moving to RT. Boothe is a backup (not sure if he is a FA as well). Brewer is a backup.

I hope we consider drafting DeCastro or Zeitler get a blue chip guard. It is exactly what we need to help the run game. It will also keep Petrus and Boothe as the backups (though I expect Petrus will start out as starter.

As for Tackle. Beatty is young and a good pass blocker and we are passing more than ever. Diehl should be able to hold down RT until Brewer is ready. I would take a tackle in the later rounds again and hope to strike gold to push beatty and or Diehl
Nevermind...  
rnargi : 1/24/2012 5:58 pm : link
I was thinking of the 2nd and 1 that Bradshaw failed to convert on the opening drive of the 3rd quarter...my bad.
I think Eric's analysis of the OL  
JerseyJoe : 1/24/2012 6:43 pm : link
is spot on.

SO If we go after a guy like Nicks I imagine it'll be at LG since we like to pull our guards and he has good lateral movement. Then hope that Diehl plays well at RT since that does seem like the ideal spot for skillset.
I did notice that as well when Petrus  
prdave73 : 1/24/2012 6:45 pm : link
came in when Baas got injured, the first play he was in the 49ers dline got pressure on him and he got pushed back, but after that I thought he played very well. Imo though the line looked much better and more solid when Baas came back and Boothe moved back to LG..
I just posted Greg Cosell's notes on the game  
BSIMatt : 1/24/2012 7:25 pm : link
and he said exactly that...that the Giants oline was actually good in protection in the first half, and their play deteriorated in the second half. He actually highlighted Diehl as the lineman who played best, and that he did a good job on Aldon Smith. The one play where Diehl was beat badly was by Justin Smith.
Blood in the water after the 4th and OT...  
x meadowlander : 1/24/2012 7:55 pm : link
...Belicheck should and probably will bring a boatload of pressure, particularly late in the game. Gilbride HAS to gameplan for that.
I think a big factor  
SLIM : 1/24/2012 8:38 pm : link
was the team speed and great tackling. With the 49ers blitzing, the Giants tried some screens and shorter passes that actually had a chance and the 49ers either caught the guy from behind or came up quick. If the Giants hit on one or two, the 49ers have to back off on the pressure. They didn't so the 49ers kept sending players.

The Patriots have nowhere close to that team speed.
I  
Eric from BBI : Admin : 1/24/2012 9:30 pm : link
just finished the first half.

The two big negative plays by the OL were by Chris Snee. He gave up both first half sacks and both of them to McDonald.

The OL was pretty decent other than that. Terrible start by Snee.
I thought the OL did a pretty good job in the first half  
cnuke : 1/24/2012 9:50 pm : link
The second half was a blood bath. I haven't rewatched it, but I thought the DL was doing a lot of stunting.
From PFF  
BSIMatt : 1/24/2012 10:40 pm : link
Quote:
The 49ers defense registered 44 total pressures in this game. More on their own than the Ravens and Patriots combined to record in the AFC Championship game (36 total pressures).

Re-Focused: Giants @ 49ers, Championship Round - ( New Window )
Tale  
Eric from BBI : Admin : 1/24/2012 10:42 pm : link
of two halves (except for Snee).
What do you mean?  
Scuzzlebutt : 1/24/2012 10:51 pm : link
Snee was good in both halfs or bad. I seem to remember Snee getting beat once or twice just like every other OLineman.
Eric  
chris r : 1/24/2012 11:00 pm : link
any theories on Snee's dropoff this season?
chris  
Eric from BBI : Admin : 1/25/2012 12:00 pm : link
Could be hurt? I don't know.

I'll tell you...McDonald was a brute inside. He gave Boothe all he could handle on another rush.
Scuzzle  
Eric from BBI : Admin : 1/25/2012 12:01 pm : link
that's not what I said at all. I said the only two big negative plays by the OL in the first half were the two sacks given up by Snee.
Diehl  
Jon in NYC : 1/25/2012 12:08 pm : link
seems like a natural fit at RT for at least next season.
I remember seeing  
Ace718 : 1/25/2012 12:08 pm : link
Diehl being overpowered by Smith and being driven into Eli. On the other side, Mckenzie was being beat by the speed of the other end.
I think I  
Osi Osi Osi OyOyOy : 1/25/2012 12:14 pm : link
Read somewhere that Snees been dealing with a shoulder problem all year. I hope he can give us a strong bounceback season next year. If he doesn't rebound and this is the caliber of player he'll be from now on out, this OL is in some deep shit.
As talked about earler in the year,  
Randy in CT : 1/25/2012 12:22 pm : link
I think Snee is playing hurt. And I think it is kind of bad.
Ace  
Eric from BBI : Admin : 1/25/2012 12:22 pm : link
My review was of the first half.
Agree with Randy re Snee.  
BlueLou : 1/25/2012 12:32 pm : link
But we'll never know for sure as that info is locked up "in the family."
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