Game Planning with the 2021 San Francisco 49ers is Now Available!

 

 Game Planning with the 2021 San Francisco 49ers is now available! CLICK HERE to get your copy today!

 The San Francisco 49ers are my favorite offense to study each offseason. This is made possible by their elite coaching staff and unique personnel. Their base system allows them to customize their game plan each week to stress each defense they face.

Since I wrote the 2019 Manual, I’ve been trying to figure out a way to take a deeper look into their offense beyond the idea of a concept breakdown. I settled on a game plan format, that will take the reader week by week through the season. This breakdown is titled Game Planning with the 2021 San Francisco 49ers.

 This format builds upon the 2019 Manual, with a baseline understanding of each concept in the 49er offense, we can take a look at the weekly variations and tags used to attack specific defenses.

 The next image shows one of my favorite examples of this. As the season went on, defenses started aligning two defenders outside the play side tackle to stop one of the 49ers base 21/12 personnel outside zone calls by forcing the ball back inside. Adding the extra tight end allowed the 49ers to create two double teams and still get the ball outside.

 

 

A concept the 49ers liked against heavier fronts, specifically the Bear front of the Seahawks and the odd/under front of the Rams, is what I refer to as “Counter-Solid”. The next image shows the play from week 4.

 

The offense ends up with two “pullers”, without pulling an offensive lineman. The fast motion, a critical piece in the 49ers offense in 2021, allows them to do this.

 When the 49ers played the Seahawks again in week 13, they called the play action concept shows in the next diagram. The play looks identical to their Counter-Solid concept, while at the same time is quite similar to a pass concept that has been in their offense for years. The flat/seam defender (FS in the diagram) will be in a trail position on the wheel/rail route after filling his run responsibility for his first step after the snap.

 

The next image shows a pass concept the 49ers called in week 9. This play combines a frontside vertical/hi-low concept with a back side dig concept. The 49ers called this sparingly, but I really liked the design so I wanted to devote a few pages to it. 

Against single high, if the weak hook player doesn't work to help on the now-slant from the #1 receiver, the strong hook player is in a high-low. Even if the weak hook player pushes strong, the seam form the tight end (#3) stays on the other side of the field and doesn't bend to the opposite seam. It is a well-designed front side concept.   

The next image shows the concept against cover two, with the will linebacker isolated on the back side after the defense has taken away the front side vertical concept. 

 

This book was a ton of fun to put together. This new format allowed me to go down some rabbit holes that would just not be feasible in a manual format. This book is a great resource for coaches who want to improve their weekly game plans and streamline what they want to focus on. The book is also a great resource for fans who want to learn why the 49ers coaches are some of the best in the league. 

 CLICK HERE to get your copy today!