It’s about time for a change in the huddle
In recent years, the 49ers’ clock-management issues have inspired anger and anguish.
First, the anger: It comes courtesy of guard Alex Boone, who recently made it clear the 49ers’ lack of play-clock discipline didn’t sit well. They had an NFL high nine delay-of-game penalties in 2014.
“I think everybody knew that was a problem,” Boone said. “And it pissed a lot of people off, including the offensive line.”
The anguish? Think back to their last drive in Super Bowl XLVII. In their 34-31 loss to the Ravens, it appeared quarterback Colin Kaepernick would have waltzed in for a 5-yard touchdown on 3rd-and-goal, but the play had been blown dead. With the play clock winding down, head coach Jim Harbaugh called a timeout before the snap to avoid a delay-of-game penalty.
“There’s always what-ifs,” Kaepernick said Wednesday when asked about the non-play. “I don’t live in a what-if
“I’m really liking the way the quarterbacks have to solve problems in the huddle.”
Geep Chryst, 49ers offensive coordinator
world. I live in — what can I do to make the future the way I want it to (be)? And that’s what we’re trying to do: Eliminate any chaos, any mess, we can to make our offense cleaner.”
Indeed, the 49ers have made a concerted effort in the offseason to wipe away their clock problems.
Head coach Jim Tomsula’s goal during training camp is for the offense to arrive at the line of scrimmage with at least 22 seconds remaining on the 40-second play clock. The 49ers have been largely successful meeting that up-tempo standard in practices, but the first true test will arrive Saturday night when they visit Houston in their preseason opener.
There is optimism the offense will remain punctual in game conditions. One major reason: They’re practicing like they’ll play, which is a departure from Harbaugh’s fouryear tenure.
That is, the quarterbacks are receiving play calls in practice from an offensive coach on the sideline via radio transmission. Harbaugh, the ex-NFL quarterback, was a huddle hoverer. He routinely was on the field during practice and often called plays in the huddle.
One problem with that system: Quarterbacks were illprepared to handle the inevitable communication glitches that occur during games.
“I’m really liking the way the quarterbacks have to solve problems in the huddle because we’re on the sideline,” said offensive coordinator Geep Chryst. “We’re over here (on the sideline) and we’re trying to get the play in so ... we don’t have someone (who) can throw them a lifeline standing behind the huddle, which isn’t the way most teams practice this time of year.”
Both Kaepernick and backup Blaine Gabbert have hailed the new system, which also allows them to be the authoritative voice in the huddle at all times. Former 49ers running back Frank Gore recently said he’d never had a quarterback command the huddle like his new Colts teammate, Andrew Luck. Kaepernick’s response: He’ll finally have a chance to own a huddle this season.
“It allows the players to have confidence in hearing your voice and you’re the one (who’s) going to be giving them direction on the field,” Kaepernick said of calling plays in practice. “It’s something that I think every quarterback should have the ability to do.”
This season, the 49ers won’t hear Kaepernick say so much. The offensive staff has shortened the play calls, which has lessened the time spent in the huddle and made the overhauled playbook more digestible. Chryst said the change was a nod to players who are accustomed to getting their information in Twitter-size bites.
“We live in a more condensed, 140-character culture,” Chryst said. “So I think at least my kids probably spell ‘you,’ ‘u.’ So you try to take advantage of some of that ... That’s a really easy thing to do and because we started this playbook from scratch, we felt like that learning curve has been great and that an easy way to get out of the huddle is have shorter calls.”
Boone is optimistic the source of anger now will be a source of strength. If the 49ers can arrive at the line of scrimmage early, Kaepernick will have ample time to survey defenses and opposing linemen won’t be able to anticipate the 49ers’ snap.
The newfound tempo recently inspired a question: How did the 49ers spend their time in the huddle while waiting for a play call to arrive?
“I’m not going to talk about last year,” Boone said. “Last year was last year and it is what it is. We just know that we’ve got to break the huddle a lot faster if we want to win some games.”