Until the day I die I will never know why the SF 49ers called three straight passing plays -- all to the same player -- in their last offensive drive of the title game, and all in the opposing team's Red Zone. They had all the momentum, and were in striking distance of the end-zone. On top of that they had in Frank Gore the league's best short-yardage runner, and in QB Colin Kaepernick, the league's best rushing quarterback. And yet, to the horror of everyone, offensive-coordinator Greg Roman proceeded to call three straight passing-plays to wide-receiver Michael Crabtree.
Crabtree has been QB Colin Kaepernick's favorite target all season long and the Baltimore Ravens knew this. They had been double and triple-teaming him all afternoon long. Why, oh why did the 49ers insist on calling these bone-headed plays to a marked receiver when running it in would have been a much better option. Why oh why?? Even a draw-play by the QB would have put the team into the end-zone.
Anyway, we'll never know what possessed Greg Roman on that Sunday evening. To paraphrase Winston Churchill, the play-calling of the 49ers in that final drive was a "riddle wrapped in a mystery". It was a case of lousy play-calling at its worst and it spoiled a fine season by the Bay Area's finest sports franchise.
Showing posts with label Sports. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sports. Show all posts
Monday, February 4, 2013
Thursday, January 31, 2013
49ers Game Plan
I know, I know, I live in Oakland across the Bay, but like most Bay Area folks I'll be rooting for the cross-town SF 49ers on Superbowl Sunday. Here's my game-plan for the day:
1] The 49ers must go with the ground-game, grinding out the yards on short-yardage plays. They have the league's premier short-yardage back, Frank Gore, a running-back who runs like a full-back (straight-up-the-middle).
2] The Niners must run the ball on most downs, pounding out the yards, and to do this they have to control the line-of-scrimmage. If they control the line-of-scrimmage and run the ball on most downs (keeping the ball out of the hands of Ravens' QB Joe Flacco) then victory is assured. Possession football is what I'm talking about here.
3] Niners QB Colin Kaepernick should only throw on third downs and he mustn't gun it long either. Remember, it's all about possession football. Kaepernick must not get into a shootout with the Ravens QB Joe Flacco, who can air it out. Furthermore (on throwing downs) the Niners should go with a version of the WestCoast Offense, dumping the ball off to the Tight-End (Vernon Davis) or to any of the backs coming out of the backfield.
4]. All Kaepernick has to do to ensure victory is to spend the afternoon handing the ball to Frank Gore and (on third downs) dumping the ball off to the tight-end, Vernon Davis. That's all!
1] The 49ers must go with the ground-game, grinding out the yards on short-yardage plays. They have the league's premier short-yardage back, Frank Gore, a running-back who runs like a full-back (straight-up-the-middle).
2] The Niners must run the ball on most downs, pounding out the yards, and to do this they have to control the line-of-scrimmage. If they control the line-of-scrimmage and run the ball on most downs (keeping the ball out of the hands of Ravens' QB Joe Flacco) then victory is assured. Possession football is what I'm talking about here.
3] Niners QB Colin Kaepernick should only throw on third downs and he mustn't gun it long either. Remember, it's all about possession football. Kaepernick must not get into a shootout with the Ravens QB Joe Flacco, who can air it out. Furthermore (on throwing downs) the Niners should go with a version of the WestCoast Offense, dumping the ball off to the Tight-End (Vernon Davis) or to any of the backs coming out of the backfield.
4]. All Kaepernick has to do to ensure victory is to spend the afternoon handing the ball to Frank Gore and (on third downs) dumping the ball off to the tight-end, Vernon Davis. That's all!
Friday, August 3, 2012
Olympic Moments
We're now a week into the London Olympics, and I thought I'll share some of my most touching Olympic moments:
(1) After winning the 100M breaststroke, South Africa's Cameron Van Der Burgh was received at the winners' podium by none other than anti-Apartheid stalwart, Sam Ramsamy. There we had a South African of Indian descent -- who did so much in the fight against the racial-injustices of the Apartheid era -- awarding a swimming Gold Medal to a White South African. Not only that, but Cameron Van Der Burgh heartily sang along as Nkosi Sikelela iAfrika was played . It was a touching moment. Hendrik Werwoerd (the architect of Apartheid) must have been turning in his grave!
(2) As a Zimbabwean I was proud that our flag-bearer at the Opening-Ceremony was swimmer Kirsty Coventry. By herself, she has won more medals than the whole nation combined; actually she has won more Olympic-medals than the nation of India, with its 1.2Billion people! Not only that, she exemplifies the multi-racial, multi-cultural reality that is modern-day Zimbabwe. Some people watching the NBC coverage on tape-delay would have thought that Zimbabwe was a "White" country, and indeed, comments were made to that affect on Twitter. But no, having a White flag-bearer is not even an issue in Zimbabwe. We've left racial-strife behind us.
(3) I must say, the team event in Women's Gymnastics was out of this world. The last performance on the floor-exercise by US gymnast, Ali Raisman, was herculean! She nailed all her flips and somersaults, and then on the last flip, she landed on her feet and then immediately vaulted into the air again, breaking into an emotional smile whilst in mid-air! Words cannot describe her performance. This truly was an Olympic moment to savor!
(1) After winning the 100M breaststroke, South Africa's Cameron Van Der Burgh was received at the winners' podium by none other than anti-Apartheid stalwart, Sam Ramsamy. There we had a South African of Indian descent -- who did so much in the fight against the racial-injustices of the Apartheid era -- awarding a swimming Gold Medal to a White South African. Not only that, but Cameron Van Der Burgh heartily sang along as Nkosi Sikelela iAfrika was played . It was a touching moment. Hendrik Werwoerd (the architect of Apartheid) must have been turning in his grave!
(2) As a Zimbabwean I was proud that our flag-bearer at the Opening-Ceremony was swimmer Kirsty Coventry. By herself, she has won more medals than the whole nation combined; actually she has won more Olympic-medals than the nation of India, with its 1.2Billion people! Not only that, she exemplifies the multi-racial, multi-cultural reality that is modern-day Zimbabwe. Some people watching the NBC coverage on tape-delay would have thought that Zimbabwe was a "White" country, and indeed, comments were made to that affect on Twitter. But no, having a White flag-bearer is not even an issue in Zimbabwe. We've left racial-strife behind us.
(3) I must say, the team event in Women's Gymnastics was out of this world. The last performance on the floor-exercise by US gymnast, Ali Raisman, was herculean! She nailed all her flips and somersaults, and then on the last flip, she landed on her feet and then immediately vaulted into the air again, breaking into an emotional smile whilst in mid-air! Words cannot describe her performance. This truly was an Olympic moment to savor!
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Rugby World Cup 2011
This post is to all the Rugby fans out there. I'm here at home waiting for the first Semi-Final to kick off (01:00 AM Pacific Time). I have to admit, I've only watched the first game (New Zealand V Tonga) live. Work, family, and time-distance have conspired to keep me from watching more live games. Mercifully, you can now follow all the highlights online, and that's what I've being doing. I always enjoy watching the Pacific Islands teams (Fiji, Tonga and Samoa) and I've always had a soft-spot for the English (colonial sentiments). But this year was not the year for either the English nor the Pacific Islands teams. The French are in the semis, but this is not the French team of old, playing with Gallic flair. This team is more mechanical (less Latin, more Teutonic). Rather, it's the Argentines who have have been playing with what I would call "French Flair".
I no longer can roll off the names of Welsh and Scottish players off-the-top-of-my-head like I could as a schoolboy. I think Gavin Hastings was the last Scottish player I could recall. I wish the Welsh all the best in their semi-final game against France. I feel sorry for the Japanese. They always play with heart, but rugby is a physical game, and they're just too small of stature to compete. I do wish that they would "borrow" some players from the Pacific Islands just to make up for their lack of size.
I've never been a fan of the Springboks, despite the gallery of Zimbabwean players they always exhibit. I wasn't sad to see them lose in their quarter-finals against the Aussies. This leaves us with the All-Blacks, who I presume will beat the Aussies tomorrow and then go on to win the final next week. They've hosted a great tournament. Too bad it's bang in the middle of a packed sporting calendar-year. It's been a great tournament, and a great showpiece for the great sport of rugby.
I no longer can roll off the names of Welsh and Scottish players off-the-top-of-my-head like I could as a schoolboy. I think Gavin Hastings was the last Scottish player I could recall. I wish the Welsh all the best in their semi-final game against France. I feel sorry for the Japanese. They always play with heart, but rugby is a physical game, and they're just too small of stature to compete. I do wish that they would "borrow" some players from the Pacific Islands just to make up for their lack of size.
I've never been a fan of the Springboks, despite the gallery of Zimbabwean players they always exhibit. I wasn't sad to see them lose in their quarter-finals against the Aussies. This leaves us with the All-Blacks, who I presume will beat the Aussies tomorrow and then go on to win the final next week. They've hosted a great tournament. Too bad it's bang in the middle of a packed sporting calendar-year. It's been a great tournament, and a great showpiece for the great sport of rugby.
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