Reel-to-Reel: Highlights from the 49ers' Week 2 Win and a Review of Guard Spencer Burford
My wish list for the San Francisco 49ers at the start of each season is simple. Sweep the Rams and Seahawks and beat Dallas if they're on the schedule. Anything else after that is playing with the house's money.
With Week 2 complete, the 49ers took their first step on my wish list and beat the Rams on the road.
It was more of a grind than I wanted, but watching the 49ers continue to dominate a soulless, fraudulent franchise like the Rams fills my blackened soul with sunlight.
One subplot to the 49ers' win was the play of right guard Spencer Burford. Along with two plays from the game, I have included some examples of where Burford had no issues in pass protection and a few areas of concern.
1st Quarter - 1st & 10 at the SF 36 (0:33)
One of the most exciting plays of Sunday afternoon was running back Christian McCaffrey's 51-yard run that came at the end of the 1st quarter.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan took a standard run play – 'Zorro' - and added a slight wrinkle. 'Zorro' runs are easily identifiable: it is an outside zone run, attacking the strong side of the formation. The running back is taking a path toward the outside leg of the tight end, reading the gaps from the outside to the inside.
The fullback's job is to block inside of the tight end. In this case, wide receiver Jauan Jennings was the F receiver on the play, and you'll note he shot inside of tight end George Kittle to assist with a block on Rams' linebacker Ernest Jones IV. Jennings then came off the initial block to shield defensive back Derion Kendrick.
The 'cat' tag on the play told wide receiver Deebo Samuel to block defensive back Russ Yeast, who was playing the strong safety position.
McCaffrey cut his way through a narrow lane of blocks to scamper 51 yards and set up a 49er field goal.
2nd Quarter - 1 & 10 at the SF 37 (9:13)
I'm not a big fan of end-around plays. These always feel like a more considerable gamble than they are worth, often with a receiver running sideline-to-sideline – 10 yards behind the line of scrimmage – only to gain six or seven yards.
But, now and then, I am knocked off my perch and shown what a properly executed and timely end-around can do for an offense.
With just over 9 minutes left in the 2nd quarter, the 49ers found themselves at their 37-yard line, and the game tied at 10. After a quick 12-yard gain to open their third possession, Shanahan called an end-around to Samuel. Instead of a basic reverse, the play added a fake run to the right.
The complete play terminology was 'Y-Fly to Double Right Clamp Fake 18 Wizz Z Around Left.'
Purdy briefly settled the offense at the line, then nodded to Kittle for him to 'fly' to a 'double right clamp' formation. At the snap, the offensive line moved in unison to the right, indicating an outside zone run to the right. Kittle cut back against the grain, the sift block, to seal the end man on the line of scrimmage. At this second, the play looked like a typical run.
However, Samuel opened up toward the formation and darted behind McCaffrey, who was faking a handoff. With the linebackers frozen, Purdy flipped the ball behind him to Samuel, who was already at full speed.
Kittle had bluffed his sift block on Rams' outside linebacker Michael Hoecht, looked behind him, and became the lead blocker for Samuel. Both dashed left toward the sideline, and Samuel gained 17 yards.
Yes Virginia. Spencer Burford’s Pass Blocking Was Better Than 0.0
Let's be very clear: right guard Spencer Burford had a far better pass-blocking game than the Pro Football Focus (PFF) geniuses believe.
For whatever reason, PFF thought Burford's week 2 pass-blocking performance earned a zero grade. In school, a zero meant not turning in a paper or writing your name on a test and returning it to the teacher. Essentially, you were present but made no effort.
Burford had a rough day but was nowhere near a zero grade.
1st Quarter - 1st & 10 at the SF 25 (13:38)
On the game's third play, the Rams called a 2-man defensive line game to try and disrupt Purdy. As both teams aligned, the Rams showed a 35 front, with a reduction weak.
The 49ers aligned Samuel in the backfield, but he was unlikely to stay in to block. Therefore, the play had a 'scat' protection call.
'Scat' and 'Jet' protections are both slide protections. The offensive line is instructed to slide right or left to the widest defenders. In this case, the protection was '3 scat' sliding three linemen to the right and two to the left with no gap help from a running back.
At the snap, Rams nose tackle Bobby Brown III shot toward Burford, and defensive tackle Aaron Donald took a few slow steps forward before looping around Brown to the opposite A-gap. Center Jake Brendel picked up Donald, leaving Burford and right tackle Colton McKivitz with Brown. Burford struggled but walled off Brown enough for Purdy to escape the pocket and find McCaffrey for a 9-yard gain.
It wasn't a pretty block, but offensive linemen must handle many messy stunts. Burford did his job in this case, and the offense moved down the field.
1st Quarter - 2 & 7 at the SF 28 (1:17)
On the second play of the 49ers' second possession, Shanahan called in a 'Drift-Swirl' concept that used 'P18 Wanda/Wizz Y Bend' protection. The offensive line sells an outside zone run to the weakside while the Y sifts back against the grain to block the end man on the line of scrimmage.
McCaffrey cut his fake short to help left tackle Trent Williams with Hoecht, but otherwise, there were no issues with the protection on this play. Purdy could sit back and hit Samuel for 8 yards on a 'drift' route.
4th Quarter – 2nd & 7 at the SF 29 (15:00)
The 49ers opened the fourth quarter with a 'dagger' concept, one of Shanahan's staple plays. However, Shanahan added a new wrinkle to the play, using a 'Z Out' motion.
Like other dagger concepts, this play also used play-action protection. While I do not know the term for the protection, it is easy to see Burford struggle with Brown. Again, he does not find a powerful position with his lower body while his upper body and head bounce around through the block.
Ultimately, Brown was able to toss Burford aside and pressure Purdy. Fortunately, Purdy completed the pass to Samuel for 16 yards, and the 49ers would score five plays later.
PFF is a good starting tool for some statistics, but their overall understanding of offensive line play lacks real context or knowledge of the scheme. Some protections ask a lineman to slide left or right, or a line audible might slightly alter a protection assignment. In those instances, a defender could sneak through a gap that the guard should cover, but his responsibility is elsewhere.
Burford has work to do both in run and pass blocking, but his efforts deserve more than a zero grade with no explanation or example of how PFF came to that conclusion.
Thursday's game against the New York Giants is another big test for the undefeated 49ers. I want Shanahan to continue to call the intermediate plays that gain chunk yardage, and hopefully, Purdy was able to iron out his overthrows on the deep shots.
And if anyone at Pro Football Focus reads this, it's time to give your readers and subscribers examples of why a player earns a particular grade.
All statistics courtesy of Pro Football Reference unless noted.
All images and video clips courtesy of NFL.com.