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49ers: Niner Noise breaks down film of Carlos Hyde running game

By Eric Gamboa

Dec 11, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers running back Carlos Hyde (28) carries the ball against the New York Jets during the overtime period at Levi
Dec 11, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers running back Carlos Hyde (28) carries the ball against the New York Jets during the overtime period at Levi /
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Dec 4, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; San Francisco 49ers running back Carlos Hyde (28) takes the field before the game against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 4, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; San Francisco 49ers running back Carlos Hyde (28) takes the field before the game against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports /

Carlos Hyde’s 2016 season in review

On the season, Carlos Hyde had 217 run attempts for 988 rushing yards with a 4.6 yards-per-attempt average. This average is the highest of his career, in which he has never recorded an average lower than 4.0. Before going on injured reserve, Hyde was on pace to run for 1,135 yards.

This is not taking into account Hyde had already missed three games. If he had not missed any games this season, Hyde could have netted an additional 220 yards for a total of 1,355 rushing yards. This would have been a monster season and a primary reason why Hyde is, and should be, the 49ers featured running back.

Overall, No. 28 is a thumping running back with the speed and agility to cause defenders fits. His pound-the-rock style seems to be best used in a power-running scheme, but Hyde excelled in a zone-read running scheme going back to his time with the Ohio State Buckeyes:

At OSU, Hyde dominated within coach Urban Meyer’s zone-read scheme. In Hyde’s first few years in the NFL, he was introduced to a power-running scheme under former 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh. Having run in both systems, Hyde has a deep understanding of NFL running-play designs which makes him a very versatile back.

Before delving into Hyde’s tape, it is important to understand coach Chip Kelly’s running scheme. Current 49ers head coach Kelly runs a zone-read scheme, which is very similar to the same scheme ran by Meyer at OSU. Hyde’s familiarity with this scheme translated well for the 2016 49ers.

Coach Kelly’s Zone-Read Offense

A common criticism of Kelly’s zone-read offense is that it is too predictable. This predictability ends up giving the advantage to the defense. By failing to disguise plays, defenses know what the offense is trying to do. In the run game, this means defenders crash down and “plug” the run gaps (gaps are the intended running lanes).

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However, Kelly’s offense does not intend to disguise play designs. Instead, Kelly attempts to flip the advantage back to the offense by having an advantage in the numbers game. Kelly believes his system, when executed at a high level, will overwhelm good defenses.

For comparison’s sake, in a power-running scheme, the defense has more defenders than the offensive line can block. In a power-runnning scheme, gaps are created by overpowering, bruising offensive linemen.

With the zone read, the quarterback can hand the ball off, keep it, run or throw it. Because of the play design, defenders are forced to guess if the quarterback keeps it or hands it off. This often leads to defenders hesitating. In theory, this hesitation gives the advantage back to the offense.

Unfortunately, the 49ers offensive line played inconsistently in 2016.

In the first half of the season, the film revealed plenty of evidence where the O-line/tight ends failed to execute.

Let’s look at the 49ers first bad running performance this season.