Head Coach Ranking

  • ANALYSIS
    • HCR Blog
    • HCR Coaching Spotlight
    • HCR Deep Dive
    • Situational Call of the Week
  • FEATURES
    • Craig Ellenport
    • Don Banks
    • Clark Judge
    • Juan Lozano
    • Marc Harper
  • COACHES
    • AFC
    • NFC
  • ABOUT
    • What is HCR?
  • ARCHIVE
    • Total Ranking
    • Factor Ranking

SAN FRANCISCO 15 @ ARIZONA 18 – OCT 1, 2017

1:00PM EST

DOME

 TEAM PLAY
CALLING
PERSONNEL GAME
PLANNING
IN-GAME
ADJ
CLOCK
MGMT
HCR
SF 7 9 8 8 7 7.8
ARZ 7 8 8 7 8 7.6
  • This was a poorly played game. Both teams were penalized frequently (23 total penalties). Both teams blocked poorly.
  • The Niners defense had an exceptional gameplan. They tormented the Cardinals ineffective offensive line and Cardinals quarterback, Carson Palmer, sacking him six times and hitting him on sixteen other occasions. They brought constant pressure, including from corner and safety spot and dared the Cardinals to throw on them. The Niners defense would tighten up in the red zone and would hold the Cardinals to six points early on as the Cardinals had two early red zone possessions that resulted in an interception and a field goal. The 49ers did a good job of locking down Larry Fitzgerald (3 catches for 19 yards in regulation), but did have the game winning score in overtime.
  • The Niners offense struggled again. This was the third game in which they failed to score a touchdown. Quarterback Brian Hoyer struggled (24-49, 234 yds, 1 INT) missed throws and it appeared he was not on the same page as his intended targets. Backup CJ Beathard was in for one snap when Hoyer left the game briefly. At some point, the team might have to consider starting Beathard. Arizona’s defense held tough against the 49ers and cornerback, Patrick Peterson erased Pierre Garcon for most of the game as he caught only 4 passes for 36 yards.
  • Both team used personnel well. The 49ers rookie Trent Taylor is emerging as their primary weapon on 3rd down and Hoyer threw to eight different receivers. Andre Ellington, Cardinals running back was big in the passing game for the Cardinals as he led the team with nine receptions.
  • 1st Big Decision of the Game: On the second drive of the game, the 49ers attempt a 4th down conversion on 4th and one and convert and get the first down. This was a good call. They couldn’t punt there due to the field positon.
  • 2nd Big Decision of the Game: San Francisco starts a drive in good field positon (their own 43) with :50 remaining and a timeout. On first down, they call a first down play don’t the middle of the field to Garcon. The pass is complete for a three yard gain but this takes up entirely too much time and was in the middle of the field. The Niners should have been using the sidelines to try and get completions and get out of bounds and stop the clock. After this three yard completion, and after twenty seconds comes off the clock, the 49ers attempt a deep pass on 2nd down that falls incomplete. On third down, they attempt the same type of pass with the same result. The game goes to overtime.
  • 3rd Big Decision of the Game: In overtime, the 49ers won the toss and got the ball to start the period. The 49ers held the ball for 17 plays in total. They had the ball with 1st and goal on the AZ, 8-yard line with 3:12 left to play. They ran twice for a total gain of 3 yards and on 3rd down, Hoyer threw an incomplete to stop the clock with 2:28 left. The 49ers kick a field goal but the Cardinals get the ball back per overtime rules. This incomplete stoppage gave the Cardinals enough time to go the length of the field and win the game. Had the 49ers run the ball again and then attempted a field goal, much more time would have come off the clock and perhaps at least forced AZ to use a timeout or hurried their pace on the final game winning drive.

Tagged With: Arizona Cardinals, Bruce Arians, Kyle Shanahan, San Francisco 49ers

LOS ANGELES RAMS 41 @ SAN FRANCISCO 39 – SEPT 22, 2017

8:20m ET

64 degrees, light wind

 TEAM PLAY
CALLING
PERSONNEL GAME
PLANNING
IN-GAME
ADJ
CLOCK
MGMT
HCR
LARM 9 8 8 9 9 8.6
SF 6 9 7 7 8 7.4
  • A brilliant first defensive play call by the the Rams set an immediate tone for the game.  The Rams anticipated that Kyle Shanahan might begin the game with a safe lateral throw.  Their defensive play call almost resulted in a pick six and led to an early 7-0 lead – a lead that the Rams never relinquished.  The 49ers were in chase mode the rest of the game.
  • Rams HC Sean McVay, for the third straight week, called an excellent offensive game, utilizing their best offensive player, Todd Gurley, inside and outside.  The Rams also did a superb job with their play clock management on offense; consistently getting out of huddles with plenty of time for QB Goff to ease into the play without being rushed.
  • Even though the 49ers were in catch-up mode all game, Kyle Shanahan did an excellent job mixing run and pass and staying patient with the running game.  Shanahan also did a fine job utilizing all of his personnel as he lost some key players.
  • Through 3 weeks, both head coaches are showing promise managing games.  Shanahan had some in-game missteps in Week 1, but has improved considerably as he learns his team, which really will be in roster-building mode all year.  McVay, in HCR’s view, has done an excellent job from Week 1.  Even though the opponent quality has been in the lower half of the league, one can see the Rams now play with a plan and are more disciplined, reflecting their new head coach’s game management style.

Tagged With: Kyle Shanahan, Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers, Sean McVay

SAN FRANCISCO 9 @ SEATTLE 12 – SEPT 17, 2017

4:00p ET

63 degrees, drizzle

 TEAM PLAY
CALLING
PERSONNEL GAME
PLANNING
IN-GAME
ADJ
CLOCK
MGMT
HCR
SF 5 7 6 4 4 5.2
SEA 5 7 5 6 8 6.2
  • Seahawks struggled again offensively as a tough 49ers defense, the Seahawks offensive line’s failure to protect QB Russell Wilson or to establish a ground game, and wet weather making passes hard to catch, contributed to offensive ineptitude. It wasn’t until the Seahawks went to a no-huddle offense and Wilson started running, did they score a touchdown and put the game away.
  • The 49ers for a second week in a row were unable to score any touchdowns. This was against one of the best defenses in the NFL. However, this is now eight quarters of football without a touchdown for a team that was expected to generate points.
  • 49ers had a number of explosive run plays. However they only ran the ball 19 times compared to 27 passes. Considering the wet conditions and their inability to throw the ball against a stellar defense, perhaps Kyle Shanahan should have made a greater commitment to running the ball. This also could have resulted in their defense being on the field less as the Seahawks had the ball for about 13 minutes longer than the 49ers.

Tagged With: Kyle Shanahan, Pete Carroll, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks

CAROLINA 23 @ SAN FRANCISCO 3 – Sept 10, 2017

1:00p ET

86 degrees, clear

 TEAM PLAY
CALLING
PERSONNEL GAME
PLANNING
IN-GAME
ADJ
CLOCK
MGMT
HCR
CAR 7 6 7 6 7 6.6
SF 4 6 5 5 3 4.6
  • First time head coach, Kyle Shanahan of the 49ers hurt his team’s chances by electing to “go for it” on fourth down in the first half. The first attempt came on a 4th & 4 on the Panthers 44 yard line, the second was a 4th & 1 on the 45. Both of these failed attempts resulted in field goals for the Panthers.
  • The 49ers offense sputtered finishing with just 217 yards and were 2 for 11 on third down conversions and only 13 first downs. QB Brian Hoyer struggled throwing for 193 yards and committing two turnovers
  • With the score 23-0, and eight seconds left in the third quarter, the 49ers on 4th & 1 took too long to get a play and were hit with a delay of game penalty. The 49ers were able to get on the board with a field goal. However at this point in the game, they needed seven not three
  • Down 23-3, and early in the 4th quarter, the 49ers were unable to capitalize on excellent field position (Panthers 30) after a fumble. Shanahan made the right call by going for a 4th & 1 as the team was down three scores and a field goal

Tagged With: Carolina Panthers, Kyle Shanahan, Ron Rivera, San Francisco 49ers

    « Previous Page
  • 1
  • …
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12

>

HCR Newsletter

ABOUT HCR

Headcoachranking.com assigns a grade to the in-game performance of NFL head coaches each week.  Our knowledgeable graders analyze each head coach’s performance in 5 key areas of decision making. After determining their “HCR” (Head Coach Ranking), we rank them from best to worst. HCR rankings are posted every Tuesday of the NFL season, and fans will be able to track each coach’s performance throughout the season.

Copyright © 2021
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Contact