After three games, the 49ers rank 11th in the NFL in rushing yards per game (116.7).
But some of those yards are empty, according to NFL Films executive producer Greg Cosell. Chip Kelly’s offense hasn’t been working properly because the run game
“I think even Chip would say it: This offense starts with the run game,” Cosell said.
“At this point, they’ve not been able to run the ball with their staple runs against two very good defenses. In their inside zone run game, they’ve been unable to get the stack linebackers blocked for two weeks in a row. They struggled to get (Luke) Kuechly blocked in Week 2, this week they struggled to get (Bobby) Wagner and (K.J.) Wright blocked.
“Then they went to sort of that outside zone, where it almost looks like a sweep, I think it’s a hard run against teams like Carolina and Seattle who are faster than your offense. It’s hard to get to the perimeter in the NFL against teams who are faster than you.”
So while the offensive line has been hellacious pass protectors with just two sacks allowed in three games, they haven’t been getting the job done blocking for Carlos Hyde. Cosell thinks the issue could be certain players aren’t suited Kelly’s zone-blocking scheme.
“We spent a lot of time this preseason talking about Trent Brown, who I like as a player,” Cosell said. “I’m just not sure he fits this style of offense.”
For all the noise about Blaine Gabbert and the lack of receiving options, Cosell maintains that Kelly’s system isn’t all about the big plays. Kelly defended Gabbert at his press conference Wednesday, saying he’s done a good job of running the offense and protecting the football.
“This is not a true intermediate downfield passing game. Everything with this offense is quick. It’s a quick timing passing game,” Cosell said. “At it’s best, this is a sustaining offense, a methodical offense more than it is a big play offense. Ultimately your looking to run a lot of plays really fast. Your looking to gain 5, 6, 7, 11 yards — not necessarily 30 and 40. That’s not what the offense is.”