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theramswire.usatoday.com] Jimmy Garoppolo's passing chart shows 49ers knew exactly how to exploit Rams' defense
Cameron DaSilva
November 15, 2021 9:26 pm PT
Kyle Shanahan and the 49ers have had the Rams’ number since 2019. After Monday night’s 31-10 loss, the Rams have now lost five straight to the 49ers and have scored 20 or fewer points in four of those games.
As bad as this performance was by the Rams’ offense, it was equally bad on the defensive side of the ball. The 49ers ran the ball all over the Rams and when they did throw it, Jimmy Garoppolo targeted one specific area of the field: the middle of it.
Garoppolo didn’t attempt a single pass more than 15 yards down the field and all of his throws were inside the numbers. Sure, he completed 15 of 19 passes for 182 yards, but most of that damage was done after the catch.
Looking at his passing chart, it’s easy to see that Shanahan knew how to exploit the Rams’ defense. He was well aware of their lack of talent at linebacker, which has been a weakness all year.
Granted, it wasn’t always the linebackers who were in coverage on Garoppolo’s 15 completions, but Troy Reeder struggled when he was asked to match up man-to-man. Ernest Jones wasn’t much better, and neither of them provided much in the way of tackling after throws were made in the middle of the field.
No matter how you look at it, the 49ers wanted to create confusion and stress in the middle of the field. Just take a glance at Deebo Samuel’s route chart, with all of his patterns working between the hashes.
Robert Rochell deserves some blame for allowing receptions – and a couple of 20-plus yard catches, at that. David Long Jr. was also beat by Samuel over the middle. And when it came to George Kittle, the Rams had no answer, inexplicably trying to cover him with Reeder and Leonard Floyd on back-to-back third downs.
It was a terrible performance all-around for the Rams, but their inability to defend the middle of the field is a huge concern. When you can attack the hashes the way the 49ers did and avoid throwing at Jalen Ramsey, it makes moving the ball against the Rams that much easier.
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