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Case Keenum was off-target early and often against the 49ers. I looked at every throw he made in the first half. On those throws where he was attempted to complete a pass (not throwing the ball away) he was accurate on eight of fourteen. Overall he was 7 of 15 for 43 yards in the first half. Below is an analysis of all 17 of his throws (one was negated because of the roughing penalty and one was negated because of the grounding penalty).
throw # | Accurate? | Result |
1 | No - way off, would have taken a great play by Sutton | incomplete |
2 | No - into the ground to the right and in front of Lindsay | incomplete |
3 | Yes | complete for 7 yards |
4 | No - out in front of Lindsay, he had to make a one-handed snag | complete for 7 yards |
5 | No - in front an high targetting Patrick | incomplete |
6 | Yes - hits Patrick in-stride | complete for 15 yards |
7 | Yes - hits Patrick in hands - dropped almost picked | incomplete |
8 | No - throw is too far in front of Lindsay who had room to run | incomplete |
9 | Yes - Booker has ball knocked out of his hands | incomplete |
10 | Yes - good throw to Sutton | complete for 4 yards |
11 | Yes - Keenum expects Hamilton to make defender miss - he doesn't | complete for -1 yard |
12 | tried to throw ball away - called for intentional grounding | grounding penalty |
13 | Yes - screen to Lindsay on 3rd and 26 | complete for 4 yards |
14 | No - overthrown to Sutton - holding on Sherman | incomplete |
15 | Yes - dump off over the middle to Booker with pocket collapsing | complete for 7 yards |
16 | beached to avoid sack - thrown at feet of receiver | incomplete |
17 | thrown away to avoid sack | incomplete |
When he was missing, he was missing badly.
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I think you get the picture.
Keenum, who is supposed to be a very accurate passer, was not in the first half on Sunday. Many of these throws were not under pressure, so he has no excuse for his inaccuracy.
Why does this bother me so much? Because Nick Mullens was accurate with almost every pass he threw in the first half. I looked at all of his throws in the first half. Here is the same analysis for him. Remember that he is their 3rd string QB called up from the practice squad making his 5th NFL start.
throw # | Accurate? | Result |
1 | Yes - hits Kittles in-stride tackled immediately | complete for 5 |
2 | Yes - hits Bourne no defender within 5 yards | complete for 10 |
3 | Yes - hits Kittles behind the LBs on right | complete for 31 |
4 | Yes - hits FB in the flat | complete for 4 |
5 | Yes - FB drops pass that hits him in the hands | incomplete |
6 | beached it do avoid sack | incomplete |
7 | Yes - Simmons was holding Kittles | incomplete - penalty |
8 | ? Tipped at LOS | incomplete |
9 | Yes - hits Kittles in-stride tackled immediately | complete for 6 yards |
10 | Yes - screen pass to Morris | complete for 3 yards |
11 | Yes - ball is caught then knocked out by Yiadom | incomplete |
12 | Yes - good throw to Goodwin | complete for 13 |
13 | Yes - Kittles hit in-stride missed tackles abound | complete for 52 |
14 | Yes - Kittles his behind the blown coverage | complete for 85 TD |
15 | No - throws it right into Jewel's back | incomplete |
16 | Yes - hits Jurcyzyk in-stride | complete for 17 |
17 | ? - tipped at LOS, caught by Joe Staley | complete for -5 |
18 | Yes - Goodwin catches and then fumbles | negated by penalty |
19 | ? - tipped at LOS by Shelby Harris | incomplete |
20 | Yes - hits Bourne on 10-yd IN | complete for 12 |
21 | ? - tipped ball by Von | incomplete |
22 | Yes - Cravens makes a good play on the ball - call for DPI | negated by penalty |
23 | Yes - hits Bourne over the middle in-stride | negated by penalty |
24 | Yes - Hits Kittles over the middle | complete for 13 |
25 | ? - tipped by Shelby Harris at LOS | incomplete |
26 | Yes - another catch by Kittles | complete for 18 |
27 | Yes - dump off to Wilson behind LOS | complete for 6 yards |
28 | ? - thrown into ground in front of receiver who tripped on his own feet - DPI called on Yiadom | penalty |
29 | Yes - fade route to Pettis | complete for 1 TD |
Even if we call his tipped passes inaccurate throws, Nick Mullens was accurate on 22 of his 29 throws in the first half against us. He had six passes tipped at the LOS and finished the first half 16 of 24 for 271 yards and two TDs. If we leave out the tipped passes, he was accurate on 21 of 23 throws.
And yes, I know that we were playing a street free agent that was signed a few days prior, Jamar Taylor, and a rookie with very little game experience, Isaac Yiadom, at cornerback, but it should not be that easy to throw the ball on ANY NFL defense.
I also know that we shut their offense down in the second half; Mullens was 4 of 9 for 61 yards and an INT in the second half. They scored zero points in the second half. Why did it take us the entire first half of the game to adjust? Also can someone explain to me why our $18 million/year QB couldn’t get it close to his intended receiver most of the first half while their undrafted practice squad QB looked like Tom Brady?