Inventiveness carries QB a long way

Shapecity · Sep 16, 2008

It has been 60 games since the last time a 49ers quarterback threw for 300 yards, which for team historians and people who go to the games sober represents an affront to the iconography of the franchise.
Thus, J.T. O'Sullivan's breakout game after years on second clipboard has a nice round mathematical feel to it - 321 yards, in San Francisco's odd but satisfying 33-30 overtime victory over the Seahawks.

But it isn't the number so much as the moment that got him over 300 that will resonate. It was the 33-yard ball he elegantly feathered over Seattle rookie cornerback Josh Wilson and into the waiting hands of Isaac Bruce. It was converting a 3rd-and-7 from the 49ers' 23 on the first possession of overtime and saving a drive that he himself had put in jeopardy by short-hopping the second-down throw to Bruce.

And it was the consistent demeanor he showed in the huddle after both throws that won over any recalcitrant teammates who know that not all O'Sullivan's days will go so well.

"Nothing changed at all with him," wide receiver Bryant Johnson said. "He just got in the huddle (after the second-down pass) and said, 'Everyone's eyes on me,' like always, and then he threw that great pass to Isaac on the next play."

Not that he will let the one-hopper go, mind you. He promised to let it gnaw at him on the plane ride home and probably until morning.

"Oh, I'll be frustrated about that one for a while," he said, his narrow-set eyes glowing a bit more than usual. "I needed to get my feet set under me, a terrible throw, and I need to make that throw consistently. But I've made a lot of mistakes (in my years). I've thrown a lot of picks so I can bounce back pretty fast."

True, his is not a resume that suggests a depth of experiences, but O'Sullivan seems to have figured out what works best for him. Sunday's game was, other than being a badly needed victory, a particularly revealing performance.

O'Sullivan led the offense back from a quick 14-0 deficit, not by seven-step dropping his team back into the game, but with a patient cut-by-cut approach that inexperienced quarterbacks are not supposed to possess.

He saw the weaknesses in the Seattle secondary - the middle was open all day long. He also saw the strength in the Seattle pass rush - he was sacked eight times and hurried at least as often.

"He should have been sacked more, in my opinion," Seattle coach Mike Holmgren said. "They made a couple of plays when he broke the pocket, and we missed a couple of tackles on him that we should have had. You let him run around there too much, or don't get pressure on him, your secondary is vulnerable."

But in bolting from the pocket as often as he does, he also makes his receivers' jobs more difficult; "It's just like a fast break in basketball," Johnson said. "The play goes out the window and you just find a way to get open for the ball."

And O'Sullivan survived the chaos that he didn't create to get kicker Joe Nedney the overtime shot that his 41-yard miss at the end of regulation made necessary.

It's that last one that makes O'Sullivan the intriguing figure he is. He will take a beating with his dancing about the pocket, and he will face secondaries far stouter than Seattle's. It is now fairly evident that the Seahawks are an easier out than they have been in years after giving up 67 points in their first two games, and the Giants, Eagles, Saints and Patriots will not be nearly so kind.

O'Sullivan seems not to mind leading with his face if he has to do so. He will take a sack rather than throw a ball simply for the hell of it, and he also showed twice Sunday that knows how to throw a ball away in a scoring situation rather than Favre himself into a bad interception.

And when a play is required, he is capable of making it.

"That's not the exact way the play comes out," O'Sullivan of the adjusted post route Bruce was originally to have run. "But we'd talked about them giving us a certain look, and that this was what he'd do if they gave us that look, and that's what he did. He made the perfect adjustment at the right time."

Oh, O'Sullivan has his quirks, of course. For instance, he professes to go into something resembling anaphylactic shock when asked to assess his place in the universe or his performances' place in his team's development.

"What this game means? It means we're 1-0 this week," he said. "That's the way we are going to try to do things, and that's the same thing we are going to try to do next week."

And as for breaking the 300-yard seal?

"I don't really care. I'm glad we won."

Yet he will remember his first 300-yard game, because it was also his first win, and because the 300th yard meant something in getting that win. He can quibble about the unimportance of statistics all he wants, but this time it mattered, and he'll just have to acknowledge that sometimes his numbers do have a purpose whether he likes it or not.

I mean, he'd rather spend another year compiling someone else's?

The big 3-0-0
J.T. O'Sullivan became the 15th quarterback in 49ers history to throw for 300 yards or more in a game. It has happened 107 times in franchise history, but only 11 times in the new millennium. The other 10:

Date Opponent Score Quarterback Yards
10/8/00 Raiders L, 34-28 OT Jeff Garcia 336
10/15/00 Green Bay L, 31-28 Garcia 336
12/3/00 San Diego W, 45-17 Garcia 323
12/17/00 Chicago W, 17-0 Garcia 402
9/9/01 Atlanta W, 16-13 OT Garcia 335
10/14/01 Atlanta W, 37-31 OT Garcia 332
11/17/02 San Diego L, 20-17 OT Garcia 337
1/5/03 Giants W, 39-38 Garcia 331
12/14/03 Cincinnati W, 41-38 Garcia 344
10/10/04 Arizona W, 31-28 OT Tim Rattay 417
9/14/08 Seattle W, 33-30 OT J.T. O'Sullivan 321
Click to expand...

Source: SFGate

JE · Sep 19, 2008

I'm a little hesistant to completely buy into O'Sullivan. He's off too a fast start, but I've barely heard of the guy. Isn't he in his 5th year or something as well? I need to see more and see him consistently put up these numbers. Granted he'll mutilate Detroit this weekend, but he's got to go up against New England, Philly, and the Giants in 3 of the following 4 games.

Vintage · Sep 19, 2008

That's a rough next three games (once he gets passed Detroit).

We'll find out a lot about him. But its his first time starting, so despite being a 5th year pro, he doesn't have experience.

drexlersdad · Sep 20, 2008

i believe he was in detroit with martz last year, so he has some experiance with the system. all we need him to do is play smart and exploit the coverages that having gore will produce.

Vintage · Sep 20, 2008

drexlersdad said: ↑

i believe he was in detroit with martz last year, so he has some experiance with the system. all we need him to do is play smart and exploit the coverages that having gore will produce.
Click to expand...

I meant experience as in starting.. and the experience that comes from actual game reps.

But yes, he has experience in the Martz offense....

And double yes... Gore will relieve some pressure for him. Having a veteran WR in Bruce helps too. How's Bryant Johnson looking?

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Inventiveness carries QB a long way

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Inventiveness carries QB a long way

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