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A Look At San Francisco 49ers Unbalanced Line (Photo)

By Phil Watson

Dec 7, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh looks towards the scoreboard during a break in the action against the Oakland Raiders in the fourth quarter at O.co Coliseum. The Raiders defeated the 49ers 24-13. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 7, 2014; Oakland, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh looks towards the scoreboard during a break in the action against the Oakland Raiders in the fourth quarter at O.co Coliseum. The Raiders defeated the 49ers 24-13. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports /
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For a former quarterback, San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh is fanatically devoted to a power running game, including several formations that are unbalanced.

The San Francisco 49ers under coach Jim Harbaugh have used unbalanced offensive lines more than any team in the lead as part of their dedication to the power running game.

In an unbalanced line, the tackle on one side flips to the other, next to the opposite tackle, creating an effect like this:

On the play in question, it didn’t work as hoped—the 49ers ran Frank Gore to the left—the unbalanced—side, but tight end Vernon Davis, functioning as the right tackle though eligible as a receiver, wasn’t able to get a good block on Seattle Seahawks defensive end Michael Bennett.

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Bennett shot threw and blew up the play for a loss.

But Harbaugh has used the unbalanced line in his run game since his days at the University of San Diego and continued it through his tenure at Stanford.

It allows the 49ers to gather information about the defense, even when an individual play—such as the one above—doesn’t work. They can learn how teams plan to shift and adjust to the look and determine if they can do other things out of that formation later in the game.

The 49ers have run to the weak side out of it and will even throw out of it.

It looks weird, but it is a staple of San Francisco’s offense and has been since Harbaugh’s arrival in 2011.

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