SANTA CLARA--According to 49ers coach Jim Tomsula, the 49ers are doubling the amount of plays in their playbook, from two to four, in an effort to make it harder for defenses to game plan against them. Currently the Niners offense consists of two plays: a handoff to Carlos Hyde, and that one play where Colin Kaepernick runs backward and lobs the ball to the nearest defender.

The two new plays, say Tomsula, will add some new wrinkles to the team’s offense.

“We have become too predictable on offense,” said Tomsula at a press conference. “That was pretty obvious against the Cardinals. But this league is all about adjustments and we are going to overhaul our playbook in order to give our opponents something to think about other than who is going to run the interception back.”

Tomsula then described the plays in detail.

“The first play is called – and sorry to use this arcane coach speak – a screen pass. Basically, Colin tosses the ball to one of our backs, who has a group of blockers in front of him and he runs as fast as he can until somebody tackles him. The second play involves a little trickery. We’re going to have Colin fake the handoff to Carlos, who will start running like he has the ball, but guess what? Colin has the ball. In fact, it never left his hands. Then he’ll throw it to one of our receivers, who should be wide open. We’re calling it the ‘fake running thingie’ until we can come up with something better.”

The 49ers have come under fire in the first three weeks of the season for having a limited, predictable playbook, a criticism coaches and players admitted was valid. However, some around the league are questioning the decision to publicly announce the expansion of their playbook.

“What is he thinking?” asked one NFC coach. “Who gets in front of the press and diagrams their whole playbook? I understand that he wanted to respond to the critics publicly, but come on. Also, I’d be concerned about those plays. I don’t know if [Kaepernick] is going to be able to wrap his mind around them. If you try to put too much on these kids at once, it can overwhelm them.”

The 49ers upcoming opponent, the Green Bay Packers, are not taking them lightly, despite their struggles on offense. After all, it was only a year ago that the Niners were a Super Bowl contender with Kaepernick behind center.

“We know what these guys can do,” said defender Clay Matthews. “Kaepernick can absolutely kill you if you miss an assignment or blow a coverage. And even if you do everything right, he can still use those legs to scramble for a first down. His one weakness, really, if you can even call it that, is he has absolutely no idea how to play the quarterback position.”

In three games this year, Kaepernick has a 47.5 QB rating, with 2 touchdowns and 4 interceptions. Critics say he should be benched, but Kaepernick’s confidence hasn’t wavered.

“I know I can play this game,” he said. “Remember I was in the Super Bowl a couple years ago. The Super Bowl! Man, that seems like another lifetime. Now when I watch tape of myself it looks like I’ve never played before, let alone played in the Super Bowl. Was it all just a dream? What the hell happened to me? I wonder. Hmmm….Oh, shit I gotta go. Coach is texting me. It’s time for our weekly 5 minutes of film study.”

 


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49ers To Expand Playbook To Four Plays

September 30, 2015         
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