Well, game one is in the books. Crazy-ass game. Just when it was getting scary, it turned into the Ted Ginn show. 276 yards in KO and punt returns, and his 2 scores late in the 4th quarter sealed the game. He outgained both offenses. The D played well for the most part, barring the breakdown in the 4th quarter. 5 sacks and innumerable pressures werew good to see. Seattle didn’t run for much or pass for much.
Young Sir Alex? Well, he played what they gave him. Didn’t see the deep coverage, so it’s hard to see what was going on downfield, but he did miss aan open Crab in the end zone early on. Smith was more a victim of some questionable play calling in the red zone more than anything else. 1-12 on 3rd downs will not get the job done. 1-5 in the red zone won’t get it done either. Seattle seemed very intent on not letting Gore beat them. As he has had some of his biggest games against them. They forced the game into Alex;s hands, and he did OK with the sort passing game.
My fears of the defense being out of their depth proved to be unfounded. At least against Seattle. Jackson isn’t Romo, but the pressure was in his face all day, and the defense caused their share of havoc all game.
All in all, a game to build on. Let’s hope they give it a little more gas in the red zone next week.
San Francisco 49ers Forever 
It’ll need to be a lot better in Dallas. I expect a lot more than what we saw today, both from Smith and Harbaugh. Frank Gore, too, for that matter. Still, we’re 1-0 and in first place, for at least week one.
But can anyone fucking explain the short yardage pad level issue to me? IOW, What’s their fucking deal? LOL
In Dallas… I meant, AGAINST Dallas.
CHUCK
i just posted comment #300 on your previous post !
good game for an opener ! we looked better than we have in years !
four things i was right about !
1. ted ginn for a 5th was a good move
2. sopoaga should have been on the nose !
3. raymac is good !
4. alex smith is better than people think !
from the last thread…Hey, Rob. Not so fast, my friend. You may be leading on the scoreboard as of now, but I’m still “projected to be the winner.” And do you know who’s gonna lead me to that projected win?
How bout dem Cowboys!
“4. alex smith is better than people think !”
What time do you open up at the Punch Line? I’ll take two down front, and don’t water down my drinks.
Alex Smith is better than people think? You’re a regular riot.
GRUMPY GUY and delmarDENNIS should change names ! GRUMPY was waxing eloquent and all over the place on here while dennis does nothing but piss and moan !
DEL
i’m a riot ?
here’s three of your gems from the last thread !
lol
” fuck alex smith , fuck ted ginn … fire harbaugh ! “
Those comments are gold, silver and bronze.
I’ll allow you to appropriate said comments, to said medals.
And one more time just for you…How bout dem Cowboys!
What’s your deal with the fucking Cowboys, Denny?
Chuck- you may not like it, but your regulars want the old blog back- give it a couple weeks and they’ll have it.
The Dallas OL is gonna be the bane of their existence this year…
Trollin’ Denny rooting for the Cowboy QB against our guy..pathetic .
Correction: he’s your guy, he sure the hell isn’t “My Guy,” Mary Wells…
“My Guy” wears a star on his helmet…How bout dem Cowboys!
He’s the QB of the team you claim( ed?) to root for. He’s your guy, too.,
oh and btw
#5 braylon edwards was a good signing !
DEL
your getting to be more of a debby-downer than NOFEAR !
LOL
#6 CARLOS ROGERS was an improvement at CB !
#7 we’re weaker at lB without spikes and lawson !
oooh i’m good !
good game for an opener ! we looked better than we have in years !
SEVEN things i was right about !
1. ted ginn for a 5th was a good move
2. sopoaga should have been on the nose !
3. raymac is good !
4. alex smith is better than people think !
5. signing BRAYLON EDWARDS was a good move !
#6 CARLOS ROGERS was an improvement at CB !
#7 we’re weaker at lB without spikes and lawson !
1 – For one game. Still, at least he is good at returns because God Knows He Can’t Catch a Fucking Cold.
2. Good early returns, let’s keep watching.
3. He had a monster game today, game ball worthy.
4. Umm, okay, don’t bogart that joint. Talk to me in 8 weeks.
5. Yep, agree.
6. Pass rush makes ordinary corners look good. We got consistent inside pressure against a crappy O-Line today. Again, let’s take stock in two months.
7. Time will tell. Bowman is not the player Takeo was RIGHT NOW, but by next year, that could be quite different. Lawson was a great run defender who only got chasedown garbage sacks. Brooks gets more pressure, even if he doesn’t play the run as well. I think LB will be very strong in a year, when Aldon sends Parys packing and these other guys get more experience.
All in all, the defense gets no real criticism from me. A couple of breakdowns in the secondary – but I expected that with so many new faces.
Nope – it’s the offense that gives me indigestion. Particularly the thoughts of Staley and Davis trying to block DeMarcus Ware next week. Ay Caramba! We could see the Kaepernick or even the Tolzien Era by the end of that game…
Pray for blocking. Nothing else has worked lately…
Don’t go away, Rob. The only way for reason to prevail here is to shove it down their throats.
And why can’t I be grumpy AND eloquent? And profane too for that matter? I’m a modern multi-tasking Son of a Bitch. I can be many things for a 49er game. Now, sober, that might be a challenge… LOL
“Q: You gave the big hug to Alex Smith after his touchdown. Was it because of the toughness you mentioned?
-HARBAUGH: Yeah, just getting it in. He doesn’t get that in, then we’re scrambling to clock in and try to get the field goal before the half.
Rolling the dice, put it in his hands and he came up big for us. Yeah, toughness. Great job sticking it in the end zone there by Alex.
-Q: Were you conservative offensively because of the lockout and the lack of an offseason?
-HARBAUGH: No. More due to the flow of the game. You know, trying to win the game. Playing field position at times. Making sure that we got points. Our defense was playing very well. Special teams was playing very well.
Offense was in a blue-collar type of mode.
We were comfortable doing both the way Alex was throwing the ball. He was on the money with his accuracy. QB rating was very good. He was playing winning football.
We were playing to win. More that than anything else.”
I’ll ask you a 6th time: I’ll take Tony, and you get Alex next week. Name your price. You can’t name it because yer yellow — just like YOUR quarterback.
It’s an ambiguous bet. Provide EXACT details of your proposed wager. I don’t bet more than ten bucks on anything, BTW.
Jim Harbaugh joins Red Hickey, Monte Clark, George Seifert, Dennis Erickson and Mike Nolan as 49ers coaches to win their NFL debuts. All those 49er coaches either resigned or got fired. Jim Harbaugh doesn’t strike me as the type who would resign. So?
Fire Harbaugh!
Go here and don’t come back:
http://cowboysblog.dallasnews.com/
haha
GRUMPY
” And why can’t I be grumpy AND eloquent? And profane too for that matter? ”
don’t worry , you’re doing very well at all three !
LOL
Grumpy surprised me, he’s certainly the most reasonable here. But Im bummed, I wanted to use my “JackCrabby” handle but I think he was Grumpy before I was Crabby. Hope NoFear stays around, too,We agree on just about nothing but he’s a consistent advocate for what he believes. And we have a bond.
I’ve been Grumpy pretty much since birth… oh, you mean online. Since 2005 maybe, on the old San Jose Merc fan blog. I only migrated to the Insider after that went belly up.
Some people in your life make you laugh a little louder & smile a little brighter… spend more time with them.
Take heed, my 49er Faithful.
TD Tony Romo! Cue the music…
How bout dem Cowboys!
He threw a pass into coverage that was initially intercepted, Austin saved Pizza Boy’s ass..
There isn’t a poster here who would give Smith credit for that TD.
FWW to the 1:20 mark.
Good win and great way to start the season. I loved seeing Pete on the sideline with that hangdog look. We looked like a team in progress today and that is exactly what we are. Now, bring on the F’ing Cow-piles. Oh yeah, I thought Smith did pretty well today.
“It’s an ambiguous bet. Provide EXACT details of your proposed wager. I don’t bet more than ten bucks on anything, BTW.”
You don’t bet more than ten bucks on anything?
Thanks for that inside info, Honor Blackman.
Let’s see if I can make this plain and simple for ya…Tony Romo and his Cowboys will beat Alex Smith and his 49ers next week at Candlestick.
Plain and simple. I have Tony, and you have Alex.
The bet? Sounds like you don’t want to make it monetary, so like I proposed earlier — loser is refrained from blogging — for a month.
I have Tony, and you have Alex. Put up or shut up.
That isn’t Alex vs. Romo, it’s SF vs. Dallas. Listen, Birther, you do not dictate shit to me. I’ll take SF and the spread, it’s ten bucks.Think of it as 4 half pints of cheap vodka
BTW, I don’t know where you guys are sitting…but there is a beautiful moon out tonight. take a minute or so to take a peak. It’s a picturesque site.
Translation: Denny fell down in the yard and can’t get up.
Nice comeback considering I just had (that you you well aware of) additional X-rays done on my hip to see if I could get up from such a fall.
You’re an inconsiderate pompous asshole.
Tony Romo sucks! Don’t fumble the fucking football.
PizzaBoy has a long history of choking.
Dennis, you can’t seriously have proposed a bet of Smith Vs Romo with the winner being the team that wins. Wins and loses in football are dictated by a ton of shit. Ex: Ted Ginn. If anything, you guys should bet who has the better QB rating. Fuck it, if you’re game I’ll take that bet with you right now. If your *guy* wins I’ll let you spew out shit about Smith for a full single day on my blog (no death threats, though). If I win you have to write a post publicly endorsing Smith as the NIner’s QB. Bet on or off? Come on, I thought Romo was going to kick his ass next week!
Flav, it’s not QB vs QB. I have Dallas next week. Would you like to take the 49ers?
Name your fucking price.
Ha! All the shit you talk about Smith, the dumb ass death threats etc and you can’t even bring yourself to bet against smith with a qb who is better than him? What a pussy.
Pussy? WTF are talking bout? I’m betting that Tony Romo and his merry band of Cowboys beat the living shit outta Alex Smith and the 49ers this week.
I’m taking Dallas this week. Would you like to wager on Alex Smith? I’m giving you the opportunity. I’m giving you the opportunity to bet on that life-long worthless POS that they call a QB.
I say Tony Romo wins this week. I’m giving you, and any other sap the opportunity.
For the love of Christ, do you people hear me? I say the Cowboys beat us next week. And I’m willing to bet my life on it.
If you think different, give me a fucking call (510) 724-2092.
I triple-dog dare you.
What an idiotic dumb shut bet to offer. They’re favored to win right? Thats right up your alley. See my post below and maybe you re-check to see if you’ve got any balls down there. If you can’t take a bet you’re clearly favored to win, after all the stupid shit you’ve posted about Smith, then I think we know the answer to the question I posed below: you’re a 3, dude.
How bout dem Cowboys!
Can you even fathom the shit that Smith would take for having a snap ounce off his belly with the game on the line?
BTW, — is it just me or am I still seeing preseason “vanilla” on offense?
I’ve lambasted Ginn in the past (but truthfully, as a WR). He deserves a serious special teams hat tip. Meanwhile, if I keep by lambasting Norris, will I be able to tip my hat to him? Yes? Ok. Fuck Norris. I am so tired of seeing #44 in the fricking backfield.
Come on JH — bring the pain.
I think Harbaugh is just unsure of his OLine and is calling short passes and runs until he sees what type of protection Smith gets.
Denny, how ’bout dem bet?
Vanila is to be expected against a team like Seattle. I doubt you’ll see it against Denny’s ‘Boys next week.
Remember Geen Bay a couple years ago? Singetary went totally consrvative in the first half while green Bay got a 3 touchdown lead- Smith threw like 7 passes. Second half, went to the gun and Smith amost pulled it out, 3 TD passes in the second half, lost 30-24.
cowgirls lose !
uh oh
now my crappy phone died !
Speaking of the Cowboys (fuck the cowboys!), let’s face it. As 49ers fans there is no team — none — that we despise more than the cowboys. We beat SEA today and deserved to. Not because we’re SB bound, but because we’re better than them. But do they suck. The cowboys are not SB either, but they are better than SEA. We got bring the A game next week. Or at least B to B-.
Good showing by the D. Not to belittle it, but SEA is not exactly a bona fide NFL offense. But still — we were aggressive. Me wants more. I know their OL is suspect — but our DL did what needs to happen against a suspect OL — they brought he pain.
And just because it ALWAYS bears repeating — fuck the cowboys!
Dennis; seriously, all the stupid shit we have to read you write about Smith and you can’t even bring yourself to bet against him with a qb who is clearly better than he is? You’re either a fraud, a huge pussy or a terrible gambler. Take your pick.
My cat, Frank, escaped from my porch. This is all Rob’s fault. You’re gonna get a phone call tomorrow…and I best beat you in our fantasy league. If not, you’ll be getting two calls…
Interesting we don’t see Del around here after the Cowboys lose. Thought for sure he’d be here to man up. Cowboys stink. They always have been and always will be, overrated. The INT that Romo threw late? Just an affirmation of my previously held homo beliefs. Not that there’s anything wrong with romos.
That said, the difference between the Jets and Niners is the Jets are better on special teams and defense than the Niners. Now if Ted Ginn keeps takin’ ’em to the hizzy, all that could change. And Grump, I don’t care if Ted Ginn backtracks ten yards trying to make a play. If you turn the ball over to Alex Smith, Andy Lee will inevitably enter the game anyway, or David Akres, so what’s the diff?
But let’s say our D and special teams play well enough to beat Dallas. The difference is Mark Sanchez makes more plays than Alex Smith. In the 4th quarter, when the D has made their adjustments, Mark Sanchez can still pop one to win a game. Alex Smith can’t. Not only is Del right that Harbaugh doesn’t trust Alex Smith with the game on the line, but in this game, Ted Ginn saved Alex Smith’s bacon. Smith’s O couldn’t get anything going in the second half. The O scored three points in the second half. Can’t do that against the Cowboys. Smith apologists say it’s a team game, and they’re right. It is a team game, and Alex Smith needs to holdup his end of the game up. Passing for 124 yards isn’t getting it done. Not by a long shot. Cam Newton just threw for 400. And the qb position touches the ball the most, so it can make up for many other deficiencies. Game managers like Smith usually play for teams with great Ds, running games and special teams games…. like Dilfer and the Ravens. However, the game has evolved past that, to a point where all facets and especially the qb, must perform at a high level. The Packers are solid in every aspect. Smith must be too to compete for Super Bowls. He never will be. For the Niners to beat the Cowboys, Smith has to complete deep passes early and often. Period. No other way to beat the Cowboys. Niners / Cowboys are all on Alex Smith, unless Ginn can save Smith’s bacon again.
If Smith looks to handoff and check down, Smith sympathizers and apologists will blame it on everything in the solar system like lava rocks, meteor showers and bigfoot. But if the game plan calls for stuff underneath, it’s because Harbaugh and Roman don’t believe in Smith deep. I wouldn’t either.
Next week is big. I think the Niners can take ’em, but unfortunately I’m putting a lot of my hopes in Alex Smith throwing deep, and he’s never come through stretching the field. Ironic for a once spread offense qb. Not once in the fifteen years he’s been the Niner starter has Smith consistently completed passes deep.
“you can’t even bring yourself to bet against him”
Flav, you’re confusing the shit outta me… enough of that shit…
I have 2 questions for ya…
1. Who do you think is a better QB? A) Smith B) Romo
2. Who do you think is gonna win Sunday? A) SF B) Dallas
Don’t even bother answering the first question, because that insults my goddamn intelligence. If your answer to the second question is ‘A,’ name your price. But something tells me you’re too much of a pussy to bet on Alex Smith.
“Interesting we don’t see Del around here after the Cowboys lose”
6 mins pass before my next post, and this is the kinda treatment I get?
Harbaugh’s talk after the game belies the truth, This team needs to open things up downfield. The O was inconsistent at best, and woeful in the red zone. Harbaugh took a page form the Nolantary playbook. WIthout Ginn’s explosion, the Niners are up by 2 with 5:50 left, and the game in Smith’s hands.
At some point, Harbaugh will have to give Smith the reins to run this thing full-throttle. Blocking, running, blah blah blah, Smith needs to deliver downfield or they will get crowded at the line just like the last 3 years,
Unca: Here’s a thought. Maybe Harbaugh, Nolan and Singletary all HAD TO PLAY THIS WAY WITH ALEX SMITH. And don’t point to Norv Turner. Norv had Larry Allen and Jennings head butting and springin’ Gore for 1600 yards. Norv built off that.
Smith is a limiting factor. His game is handoffs and checkdowns, and when the D creeps up, he can’t throw over the top of them. This why we only managed three points in the second half. Like Steve Young said, Smith can’t throw receivers open downfield. Niners won’t contend against good teams when Alex Smith is “managing” the game. He needs to get better or have Ted Ginn bail his ass out of the Harbaugh dog house.
Chuck I’m looking for the WCO in terms of screens and designed roll outs. They should be staples and pretty basic stuff to implement.
Come next week, with Rob Ryan and DWare, we’d better have some short stuff to reveal to keep that pass rush at bay.
Not gonna complain, we got the Win and it’s a positive start. Need the confidence in little steps I guess.
You think I give a GODDAMN what the Cowboys do?
You people have no idea.
Seriously, I thought I was dealing some people who might level my Bullwinkle education. You people are dumber than a goddamn stump.
Seriously. You people are stoopid.
You’ve seriously had two strokes? I didn’t know that. I’ve been trying to give you a stroke for years. Now I feel guilty…….. kinda. Actually, not really. Actually, it make me happy. Actually, we’re down by two and I wanna go for three. There’s an old rule in playbook that states when kicking an extra point if the center stands up and the kicker can skip the ball off his head, through the uprights, it’s three points. Let’s go for three.
Alex looked more determined today to say the least. Made his reads, checked down, (nothing new),
and took off when he had lanes to do so.
Best play, back shoulder throw to VD.
Worst play, a tie, missing Crabtree free in the End Zone and sliding short of the sticks for a 1st down,
Question…..Did Harbaugh play it too conservative with a purpose? Was he messing with Pete or just afraid to show anyone what we’ve been working on? I have no clue why we didn’t screen with Frank and Kendell at least a little?
Either way, we got a win and didn’t completely embarrass ourselves, though we could have thrown more.
Was Vernon dinged BTW? He didn’t look particularly aggressive to me today? He’s usually chirping and bouncing up from tackles etc. Looked a little off for some reason.
Harbaugh held nothing back. This is what they’ve implemented thus far. Harbaugh doesn’t trust Alex Smith, so the Niners have to play field position, special teams football. To win with Alex Smith, all “other” facets of the team game better be excellent. Today they were. Tomorrow Ted Ginn won’t save Alex Smith’s bacon.
I will say 1 thing for Alex, he didn’t panic like he normally does. Stood in traffic and actually moved away from pressure in the pocket several times.
Wouldn’t you expect the WCO basics to include more designed roll outs?
Especially with the OL concerns? We stacked Boone and Snyder in there on several sets to boot. I’m happy with the Win, but way too conservative, unless the idea was to garner Fantasy Points for Akers.
I kid you not. I’ve had two strokes in my life. And I kid you not again. Reading your BS on this blog makes me wish for a third…
How bout dem Cowboys!
1.) Del’s right: Jim Harbaugh doesn’t trust Alex Smith
2.) Alex Smith only looks at the check down.
3.) Ted Ginn saved Alex Smith’s bacon today. 124 yards passing and 3 pts in the second half?
4.) Harbaugh is selling Alex Smith in the media. When will the madness stop?
5.) When doing a press conference Harbaugh will look you right in the eye and give you a bold faced lie the size of Shenequa’s caboose.
6.) Ted Ginn should only return. No receiving except for special, stretch the field plays.
7.) Our D is good.
8.) Let’s start Kaep next week. I’m all for pre-mature E-kaepulation. It’s good for me.
Was it me or, did someone else notice the guy in the stands, during the NFL Sunday Ticket telecast with the signed SF Helmet?
I could swear I saw Jed York’s signature on there?
Goddamn you Spit, #1 thru #7 is spot on. But #8 just ain’t gonna fly. We shoulda drafted the goddamn ginger.
Kaep sucks. You know where I’m coming from…I don’t want that POS on my team.
Give me the fucking ginger!
And, O, yes, the Cowboys are gonna kick are ass next week…
How bout dem Cowboys!
Del,
Regarding #8, what’s the difference? I agree, Dalton would have been better than Kaep, but we have Kaep. If the Niners are going to limit what Smith does, and Harbaugh is going to force Smith to be a game manager, why not ask Kaep to be a game manager? Shit, Kaep can handoff and checkdown just as good as Alex can. If a game manager is the lowest form of NFL qb, but you expect the next level which is greatness, a rookie should be able to at least manage, right? Sanchez managed the Jets his rookie year, so did Flacco. They both suck.
It’s like I was saying about Nate Davis: no pass protection, why not give Nate a shot, even if when he gets his clock cleaned they replace the ambulance with a short bus? Why not? It doesn’t matter. Last we had Troy Smith in garbage time but Nate haters were dead set against him. Please. If Alex Smith is a 2 outta 10, and the Niners aren’t going anywhere with a 2, then what difference does it make? What I saw today from Alex Smith was horrid. I can’t wait for Alex Smith to get injured again. Please. Honestly. Please.
As a former qb, Jim Harbaugh knows there will be games that the difference between a win and loss is the qb’s accuracy and plays. Harbaugh won’t tell you that, but he will by his actions of finding “other” qbs. The Niners drafted Kaep, and thought about taking a second qb late in the draft in Tolzien. Harbaugh doesn’t want a game manager who throws for 124 yards and goes 0-9 on his third down completions until late into the fourth quarter. Think Harbaugh wants a guy who can only score 3 pts after the D has made its halftime adjustments? Come on. Alex Smith is a one year deal here. Know how I know? I know because Harbaugh will have to ask Alex to do more, and Alex just played lights out as far as Alex is concerned. There ain’t more in the tank.
“Flav, you’re confusing the shit out of me”— DMD
an easier task is not to be found……
You are beating your chest about the Cowboys beating us next week like you’re some goddamn visionary or something. The Cowboys are favored to beat us, all you’re doing is taking the party line from Vegas.
And don’t confuse the bet with who’s going to win the game next week. The Cowboys will likely beat us because they are the better TEAM. A football game isn’t one or lost by one player (usually) it’s the result of a collection of plays (or not making plays) over the course of a game on O/D and ST.
I offered you a bet that would most closely rate the performance of the QB’s next week–Who will have the better qb rating, Smith or Romo? Romo is a better QB so I am basically giving you one of your wet dreams: the chance to bet on the favorite. You win, I let you talk as much shit as you want on my blog about AS for a 24 hour period (minus your dumbfuck death threat posts). I win, and you write a thorough post supporting Smith as the starting QB for the Niners this year. Jeez, for a guy who has made it his life’s work to blog negatively about a single player I would think you would jump all over that bet. In fact, NOT doing so shows me that you don’t mean half the shit you say about Alex Smith. I’m not sure what that makes you, a fraud or a hypocrite, Both?
NJ, here’s my take on Alex’s best and worst.
The pass to VD was nice, but I liked the one to Morgan better. The timing and accuracy had to be perfect, and they were – Alex lasered it right in between two defenders, no chance of either DB making a play. Thrown exactly where and when it needed to be. That was a thing of pure beauty. Alex does that more often and even Spit and Dennis could stop hating him. Well, maybe not.
Worst? The Crabtree thing was a tough play anyway. A Montana might see that developing in the end zone and get the ball in there, but most NFL QBs would not see it until too late and get sacked. I’d go with the deep route to VD where Alex got a little too much air under it and floated it past him. It’s questionable whether VD makes the catch with the safety closing – VD is simply not a warrior type, it;’s not the first time we’ve seen him alligator-arm one – but Alex did not give him the opportunity to make a play.
All in all, it was a dissatisfying game on offense – not terrible, but you knew it wasn’t up to the standards we’ll need the rest of the way. I’ll be interested to see how we scheme it next Sunday.
Grump,
Both passes to Vernon Davis and Morgan were great. I’ll call a spade a spade. Vernon Davis is a pussy. They were excellent passes, and yes, if Smith could do that all game, like a normal qb does, I’d take a big 180. Problem is, Smith can’t buy the time with his legs, and he can’t see the field. How many times have we all seen the deep receiver open while Smith checks down? Back in the day, when Norv Turner was the OC, Kevin Lynch was in the press box next door and he reported he heard Norv yelling Smith was way late on all his throws. That’s still one of Smith’s biggest problems. He can’t throw receivers open, he has no vision, he’s slow as Christmas in ball delivery and escaping the pocket, and he doesn’t have the players’ support.
But yes, if Smith fixed those things and won games when it mattered, not throwing for 124 paltry yards, going 0-9 on his first nine 3rd down attempts, or only scoring 3 pts in the second half, having Ted Ginn save his bacon with two amazing returns, then I’d support him. As it is now, I hope someone literally breaks his neck.
Problem is, guys like Patrick WIllis and Frank Gore work too hard to constantly make up for Smith’s bad play. Harbaugh knows that justice in the locker room equals motivation and good team chemistry. Alex Smith’s days are numbered in SF. But Harbaugh can treat Alex right for one year, Harbaugh’s players will know they can always trust him…. ’cause guess what? Harbaugh stuck by Alex Smith. And if you can stick with Alex Smith for a year….. you’ve got what it takes to coach in the NFL.
Grump/Spit agreed on most of your points. Alex remains an enigma, shows flashes and vanishes all in the same sentence.
One thing I’d have to add is the 1 year Contract as an opportunity to let it loose. What’s the reason for the 1 year deal? It’s an audition for the next Contract. Alex did show me some stones in the face of some early pressure. He climbed the pocket several times and took off when needed.
I’d prefer more play action and WCO screens and slants but, I’ll also assume this is part and parcel of the limited Camp work and needed time to gel with Crabtree and Braylon.
Loved the OL sets with Boone and Snyder and it does give me hope that we finally have a creative Staff to add some come color to the normally black & white film we’ve been producing for the Competition to scheme against us with.
Showing up for the Cowpatties and giving them a game is all I want to see.
A win would be sweet but, I’m not a lemming quite yet.
I’ve rarely seen dumber and more dishonest shit- the Insider is no worse. You idiots are watching the pitiful Crabtree wave his arms in the end zone- you’re not seeing that the pressure didn’t allow the throw. And that Gore dropped the fucking pass-and he clearly had roiom to to go for the EZ.
Smith put too muich air under the throw to VD-laughable. He had to drop it between defenders- which he did perfectly- it’s an INT without that “air”. VD blew that.Really, I could go on and on – you are not truthful commenters, your bias is too deeply ingrained. There is even the absurd notion that Harbaugh was insincere in praising Smith’s play. I see almost no mention here of the toughness Harbaugh admired, the kind of plays a Big Ben gets praise for. The TD at the end of the half ( where Harbaugh, presumably insincerely embraced Smith) , running for a first down, leading the blocking on a Gore run.Read noted Smith “disliker” Kawakami for a more reasonable account.
http://tinyurl.com/5udq2xv
I’m chalking this offensive blandness to a short preseason, and the uncertain blocking skills that Smith was going to face. Yeah, he had some very nice passes. The drag route to VD when Smith broke contain was much better than the usual roll right and throw OB. The throw to Morgan as well. It had to get there quick, and it did. The 3rd down pass to Edwards was nice only in the fact that it was the 4th quarter and the first (and only) 3rd down conversion of the day.
And, about the screens? They will not work against a defense that is playing it tight to the line. Which is what Seattle did. The couple misdirection runs worked nicely for the very reason that Seattle was attacking up close, and overpursuing. Still waiting for play-action on 1st down. And more passes that go for 10+ yards. It’s OK to go for 5-7 yards on 1st down, but then to run for 0 is pretty ineffective. You still end up with 3rd and 3-5 yards. Something that the Niners had infinite problems with yesterday.
They relied on the defense to slow down Seattle, and they did, for the most part. But, as we saw, with al the red zone problems, it didn’t take long for Seattle to get right back into the game. Harbaugh needs to understand that all those trips to the red zone have to result in TDs.
Smith’s record inside the 20 is actually off the charts. 30 TDs to 1 pick. They HAVE to get better, and I’m sure they will . . .
And whither the slant pass? The best way to stop an aggressive defense is to hit some slants. It seems as if the Niners cannot block down to open a throwing lane to hit slants. Either that, or Smith doesn’t hit them enough in practice. They nmay go for 6-12 yards, but as John Taylor showed, they can go for big gains as well.
“Either that, or Smith doesn’t hit them enough in practice. ” See, typical. There is nothing to support that conjecture.
Harbaugh game planned for this specific team, not for the fucking season, children. If anything threw a wrench in the plan, it was the running game and the flagrantly blown coverage on the Baldwin TD.
Do NOT underestimate the win- it was huge, regardless of the opponent, and even bigger because it was Carroll’s Seahawks. You can bet your sorry, hypocritical ass that Harbaugh was ecstatic with Smiith.
There ill be plenty of time to criticize Smith, some of it even justified perhaps, Sunday wasn’t one of them. He gets a solid, tough, WINNING “B”.
Instead of this becoming an Alex Smith fest regarding what Smith can and can’t do (124 passing yards, 0-9 on 3rd down, 3 pts scored in the second half says it all), Why don’t we focus on some other things.
First off, if you’re going to hit Ted Ginn with a pay cut, why not hit Crabtree with a pay cut as well? I mean, based on Crabtree’s play over the last three years, we just a lot more production out of Ginn then we ever have out of Crabtree. I don’t have any problem with Crabtree’s attitude, missing preseason and stuff, because York sucks. But now, with Harbaugh, production talks. Right now, I think Kyle Williams is better than Micheal Crabtree. Health – advantage Williams, hands advantage Crabtree, athleticism push, work ethic advantage Williams. For my money, Williams is better, and Crabtree’s contract is grossly unfair to a guy like Ginn who you just asked to take a pay cut. Harbaugh is in danger of losing his offensive credibility if he continues to start Crabtree over WIlliams. Harbaugh said, “We’ll start ’em regardless of pay, draft position or politics.” Right now, that’s certainly not the case with Williams and Crabtree. If Harbaugh’s working to get his offensive house in order, he walks a fine line between being patient with Crabtree and coming down hard on Crabtree.
Crabtree is starting to do interviews, trying to act like a normal wide receiver. I’ll tell you what Crabtree is ….. he’s a sensitive man. What Harbaugh needs to do is continue to be patient with Crabtree, then he needs to come down on Crabtree hard and push him with the kind of reckless abondon that says, “Son, you are overpaid and we don’t need you.” You can’t ask Ginn to take a pay reduction, then continue to baby Crabtree. That breeds a cancer-like resentment throughout the locker. Patience is needed with the kid right now, but in a month, If I was Harbaugh, things would come to a head with Crabtree. Cut, pay reduction or buy in. It’s one of the three, but it can’t be the way it is right now.
Braylon Edwards, 3.5 million per year.
Ted Ginn, 1 million per year
Crabtree, 5.3 million per year
Kyle Williams, 470,000 per year
Josh Morganua, 555,000 per year
Everyone now, “One of these kids is doin’ his own thing, one of these kids just isn’t the same.”
Crabtree has never justified his contract. You can’t be afraid to cut him. Crabtree should be making less than Braylon Edwards, and more than Ginn.
If the Niners don’t fix this inequality, it will erode team chemistry and sincere effort. In addition, it will erode Harbaugh’s credibility with his players.
You don’t cut him Spit, he’s a 1st Rd pick who apparently had suitors (NYJ?) which led to the infamous Contract Holdout.
I’ve said basically the same thing, find someone willing to pony up a high pick and deal him.
I personally feel that he doesn’t want to be here. Alex notwhithstanding, the Offense until Harbaugh arrived certainly wasn’t something he likely wanted to have any association with.
I’d measure his heart over the next several games and plan accordingly.
Perhaps Dallas would offer a 1 to get him in the mix with Austin and Dez?
It’s Harbaugh’s FIRST game in the regular season, so I’ll save criticism for when he actually deserves it. I don’t know what he’s thinking, anymore than Twinfan does. It is my OPINION, that if Smith, and the 49ers, are ever to sniff at a chance to go to the SB without having to buy a ticket, then they will have to take the training wheels off and pass the GD ball. If this is truly Smith’s last year — then let it freaking fly, at some point.
But again — it is only one game. I have criticized coaches in the past for not going for the jugular. I’ll do it again in the future if need be only because in my OPINION, not doing so eventually comes back to bite you in the ass. JH is a rookie coach, and the dude seems far more capable of amping it up. That he didn’t against Seattle in game ONE is nothing to get freaked out over. But in my OPINION, that shit won’t work against Dallas, or more than half the teams we’ll see this year.
Harbaugh can’t ask guys like Patrick Willis, Ted Ginn, Ray McDonald, Whitner and Frank Gore to fuckin’ lay it on the line each game like men and then have Alex Smith piss it all away with terrible play each week. Harbaugh is going to keep the training wheels on Smith and let the other guys win the game. Harbaugh clearly doesn’t want to do it this way, but what other choice does he have? This year, Harbaugh will prove he can do it with a game manager, and all head coaches should have a little of that in them. But Harbaugh wants to get naked, light the house on fire and have sex with the neighbor’s cat. Harbaugh’s offense wants to party. And Alex Smith is one major buzz kill, even if he severely increases statewide liquor sales.
Problem is, Colin Kaepernick might not be the heir to the thrown. So that further slows the qb transition to someone else. Thing is, though, at least Kaep and Tolzien have clipboards and are studying film and our playbook. At least we don’t have guys like McCown and Culpepper on the bench wasting everyone’s time. Then it would be doubly frustrating.
Nothing to support that conjecture? Christ, Mike. Get over the Smith bashing paranoia. It’s a legit question as to why this team doesn’t run slants. They’ve thrown maybe 8 in the last 6 years. Don’t tell me the defense didn’t give them the option. The hallmark of the WCO IS the quick hitters. Slants. They’ve run any number of different styles of offense these past few years, but NONE have included the slant.
My trouble with this offense is it resembles last year’s too much. Short safe passes and rare shots downfield. Edwards should get a lot more stuff thrown his way. Crabs? Criminy, the dude is a ghost. It appears his best days are already behind him. Morgan? He’s fine as a 3. Williams is a guy who should be rocketing up the depth chart. Ginn? He seems to be inproving a little as a WR. Did we try to go deep? No. I understand the ‘workmanlike’ approach. I understand that it is game 1 of Harbaugh’s tenure. But like I said, it resemebled way too much the kind of offense the other regimes built around Smith.
Here’s some conjecture. What came 1st, the chicken or the egg? Why are these coaching staffs building this ‘safe’ low-risk offense around Smith? Are they seeing limitations to his game in practice? Or, for all these years, these coaches have decided that the best way to attack all these teams is to run 5 yard pass routes? You don’t know. I don’t know. But really. At some point one of these myriad coaches he’s had has to let him go without training wheels.
He’s shown plenty of time where he can get it done. Harbaugh needs to trust him with a fully formed offensive attack. Yes, he didn’t make mistakes yesterday. Great. As a lot of people are saying, though, at this point in his NFL career, I’d like to see more than safe and short.
And yes, this is on Harbaugh, not Smith.
No passes over 2 yards!! this offense still looks like Singletary is running it. You watch Brees, Rodgers, and Manning. When they go back to pass they are looking up the field for thier receivers. Smith is looking at the line of scrimage for his recievers. One more time for the 49er coaching staff, this is a pass orientated league, they dummy down the rules to protect the WR and the QB. That is why it was quite possibly the dumbest thing to sign Gore to an extention. Until I see passes 10 yards or greater. This will be Singletarys offense until that happens.
Yesterday, Ted Ginn saved Alex Smith’s bacon. Smith was running on fumes. 124 passing yards? 0-9 on his first 9 3rd down attempts? 3 points in the second quarter? Pete Carrol made his D adjustment to Alex and Alex was done, then Ted Ginn saved the day.
Harbaugh doesn’t want a game manager, he’s fuckin’ Captain Comeback for Christ’s sake. He’s a co AFC offensive player of the year, or co-MVP (I can’t remember which). Think Harbaugh doesn’t know what’s up with Alex Smith? But what are/were Harbaugh’s options? McNabb? Hasselbeck? Kaep? Tolzien? So you coach around what you have and you make the best of it. Harbaugh hugging Smith on the sidelines and handing the ball off three times after the pass interference penalty in the endzone that gave ’em 1st and goal at the one, only to result in a field goal is Harbaugh making the best of it. Harbaugh taking the ball out of the qb’s hands and winning is making the best of it.
Unfortunately, Ted Ginn miracles can’t save Alex each week, and Harbaugh doesn’t look to be a patient man. Can’t wait for better competition.
“Harbaugh taking the ball out of the qb’s hands and winning is making the best of it.”
Yeah, but what you said about losing the players over Crabtree’s pay is relevant to AS’s play. If JH goes all playing-not-to-lose because he knows AS is doggy doo, then the players know it too, and he starts losing them. That can’t happen. Sure he does not have anyone to step in yet. CK certainly doesn’t look ready. Tolzien — who the hell knows?
If it was up to me, and apparently, it’s not, I’d let Smith sink or swim with an aggressive strategy. He either pulls off a couple 300 yard games and inspires some thrills for his offensive teammates or he throws picks, fumbles, crap behind his receivers, and hastens his benching. This route or the “safe” route might both get us to 6-10. One though hastens the process of future QB development.
so SPITBLOOD i;’m not sure . did you say you like alex smith , or did the game plan reflect the fact that smith will never be a hall of fame QB !
why don’t you stop beating around the bush and just get to the point ?
the real test will be next week vs. dallas !
all right rob, I’ll get to the point – I want Cedrick Benson because Starks is killing Grant. I also need a TE. Let’s package up Gates and Benson for?
And Ann Killion can write. She’s far better than Matt Maiocco. I like her better than Ratto.
One thing we didn’t notice, that she did – the team was coached well in all facets of the game.
I just read it. As always, she cuts to the point. This is not a finished product, but its a move in the right direction. What we saw yesterday was a return to bare offensive competence. I know, I hate to use the “C” word for fear of invoking Gollum / Smeagol / The Troll of a Thousand Names. No matter. For the first time in some years, we had no major coaching fuck-ups, no communications issues, no game-killing mistakes. It was dull to the point of ugliness, but it worked and we didn’t fuck it up. That IS something. Hopefully it isn’t all, but it’s a start.
i agree ! i like ann killion ! matt maiocco … not so much !
oops , i just figured out why ted ginn is so good at returns !
because if he runs for his life and brings it back all the way he doesn’t have to take any hits or hard tackles !
maybe the ones he brings back for TD’s are because he can’t quite figure out where the sidelines to get out of bounds are quick enough !
LOL
anybody know that ted ginn took a 1.2 million dollar paycut to stay with the 9ers ?
they say he might make some of it back with incentives , but imo
they should give all of it back to him now !
Actually, Maiocco was quite clear on the why of the game plan.
As to Ginn saving Alex, it doesn’t quite work that way, numbskull. Number one: without the error free offense, Ginn might not even be in a postion for the returns. And two- so fucking what if the special teams helped? Do you apply that stupid reasoning to every team?
Of course fucking not, All three units contributed to the win- Special Teams taking the spotlight, for sure. Harbaugh isn’t happy with Smith, he’s fucking ecstatic- first NFL win, against Pete Carroll?
He’d have Smith’s baby right now.
Oh, so Smith is responsible for Ted Ginn. I got it. Sure.
That’s not what I said. Look, Sonny, if you don’t understand this game, don’t comment on it. You clearly don’t understand the value of tough, error free football. So just leave this to those who do.
Here’s what Ginn did: he contributed ( spectacularly) to the TEAM win, he didn’t “save” anybody. Got it?
Fuck Maiocco. He doesn’t know shit. I get the reasoning. My problem is it smacks of the last 2 regimes. Play it safe on offense. Shut down the other team on defense. The big problem? Getting a big enough lead. In playing it safe, they were susceptuible to exactly what happened. It took Seattle 2 drives to cut the score to a 2 point margin.
1-5 in the red zone is horse shit. 1-12 on 3rd downs is horseshit. Yes, it’s a win. Truth be told, Seattle is in rebuilding mode as much as the Niners are. They are not a very good team RIGHT NOW. They have a VERY young front line. They KNOW they are weak up front and went with the short passing game and run game early. They however aired it out in the 2nd half to the tune of 17 -3 their offense compared to ours.
What happens if Ginn doesn’t return the KO for a TD?
5:30 left in the game. Niners up by 2. Stop me if you’ve heard this before. See Atl. See GB. See NO.
We’ll never know what would have happened, but truth be told, Smith hasn’t won a game put squarely on his shoulders in quite a while. Yeah, NO wasn’t his fault. Neither was Atl. But he made stupid mistakes in both. Yet the D fell through in both in the end. Yes, it’s a team game. But time and again, as least last year, this team forever is in 3rd and long. 98% of the pass plays are 5 yards or less. YAC is important in the WCO, but NO ONE respects OUR WCO it if keeps going as it did this game. It is nearly identical to the last 4 years. bubble screens. 2-step WR passes. This win acvtually raised more questions for me about the direction of the team. This team is in trouble offensively, and they need to step up dramatically to be considered even decent.
Like I said, until they fully trust ASmith with a fully realized offense, we’ll have the same-old same-old 3 and out offense. The onyl difference being we’ll be stuck with 3rd and 4’s instead of 3rd and 9’s. Yesterday’s 1-12 showing doesn’t give me a lot f hope.
73 yards of total offense in the 2nd half. 65 on one drive (FG #5). This is a problem. Teams the Niners face are fine with us playing it safe and keeping the score down. They know that eventually they will hit something big.
Yes, it’s play calling. I don’t want anything to do with the offense that has been run here the last 4 years. Yes, Harbaugh should open things up. It had better happen soon. Teams aren’t playing us any differently than the last 4 yeas. Crowd the line. Stuff the run. Blitz Smith on the passing downs.
This was the game plan against Seattle- that’s has been made clear, Chuckles. Once you fucking understand that, you understand it was executed well. You’re a fucking alarmist- always have been, the sky is always falling. He’s not gonna have the same plan against a high scoring offense, if you can’t figger that out, you’re just not thinking. I doubt that you have ever ENJOYED a football game in your life, you’re so fucking busy with your usual, “nice, but…”
I’m not going to throw the baby out with the bathwater here just yet. If JH wants to take baby steps, recognizing that his team barely knows each other and his system, and needs time to gel, I’m okay with that. I just hope we get to see the training wheels come off later this season, so we can evaluate Smith in the full WCO offense. I’m not *satisfied*, but I remain patient and hopeful that things are slowly turning around.
And kicking Dallas’s gay asses back to Steers and Queers Texas would be a nice next step. Unlikely, maybe, but let’s see the cards on the table.
As I’ve patiently pointed out, without the error free game from the offense, Ginn may never even have a shot at his returns. Too complicated for you? We’ve covered this, you’re putting shit on Smith that you wouldn’t put on any other QB.
“Stop me if you’ve heard this before. See Atl. See GB. See NO.” Atlanta he left with the lead and never saw the ball again. NO, tied it with a brilliant drive- never saw the ball again. GB? There’s nothing to put on him there. You’ve really gone over to the dark side, Chuckles. You used to be at least fair, now you’re just another “disliker”. And all of you HATE any announcer or writer who doesn’t “dislike” him.
That’s my point, Grump. This game was in serious doubt until Ginn sealed it.
I’d like to see more Smith in motion. More play-action. Yesterday looked way too much like what we’ve seen in the past, not some bright new future.
BUT, it’s early. There’s time to integrate this stuff into the offense. I just hope it is in the plans.
Let me paint you a small picture, Mike. Say Ginn doesn’t return the KO for a TD.
Say Niners gain 17 yards on the ensuing drive.
Say they punt to Seattle. The D has been on the field for much of the second half. They are tired. 4:20 later, Seattle is in position to kick the game winning field goal, and they do. Not far-fetched by any stretch of the imagination.
Smith still has his error-free game. Yet, they lose. Moral victory? A lesson learned for a new head coach? Whatever. Harbaugh is going to find out, much like Nolan and Singletary did, that playing it safe in the NFL doesn’t usually work out, unless you have a defense in the top 3 a la the 2000 Ravens.
You and your labels, Mike. They are real cute.
Dark side, my ass. I wasn’t happy with the red zone play calling. Or much of the rest of the play calling. Much of this team’s problems stem from the play calling. But SOME of this has to fall on the QB’s shoulders. If the blocking holds up, they need to go down field more often, or get overrun by better teams. This is how the NFL works now. ALL the rule changes favor the passing game. Look at the penalty incurred on Madieu Williams. A clean hit on a guy going over the middle. If that’s a penalty, then the game is getting WAY too soft. The point being, you’d might as well chuck and duck and take the PI penalty.
With what other QB in the league would you be saying a return “saved” the QB? It’s bullshit on several levels: if he saved anybody it was Harbaugh for the play caling inside the 5.Two: Niners never trailed, as much as you’d like to, you cannot presume Smith would not have led the team to a score. Three; you could more fairly say he saved the defense after the blown coverage on Baldwin.
But really, all of it is builshit. Ginn and his unit sealed the win for Harbaugh, the offense, the defense, the TEAM, not Alex Smith.
The game plan was Harbaugh’s and it was executed to a “T”. Listen up: it is not the SEASON game plan. Got that? Look at the bright side: there will be a different plan against Dallas and new opportunities to bitch 24/7, win or lose: cuz that’s how you guys roll.
Yesterday I posted that there was nothing to bitch about and someone piped up that there was. Wrong Bongo- things to address, things to be concerned about? Sure. Anything to bitch about? Unless the dog ate your sandwich, not a Goddamn thing..
I haven’t even seen the entire game yet but I can see our game wasn’t designed to feature Alex and he was restricted to short work. In that he did a pretty good job. But Harbaugh either doesn’t trust Alex to open up the game or is trying mightily to protect him and build his confidence, even at the cost of a win.
Seattle obviously knew right away Smith wasn’t going to be a factor and set up to stop Gore, who didn’t look that hard to stop, btw.
The play calling was terrible, especially in the red zone. It looked a lot like when Jimmy Raye was favoring the WCO formations and awkwardly throwing in motions and shifts just to look like something was happening.
I liked the defense in their man free style. More zones slowed the pressure and the DBs. Some interesting subs and uses of the nickel and dime packages. I liked RJF at nose for the first time ever.
Ted Ginn, wow. I hated his acquisition and had written him off as a guy too afraid of contact to be an effective return guy.
I’m glad we got the W but I hope we prepare the offense better for Dallas.
NOFEAR
imo harbaugh is trying real hard to help smith gain confidence ! remember we got to 7-9 in 06 with smith , and have better talent on the roster now ! imho if harbaugh can get the best out of smith we have a shot at a better record than the 7-9 we put up in 06 this year because of it !
😀
i agree with GRUMPY at 4:55
I’m really surprised that there is so much negativity about yesterday’s win. A win in football isn’t like baseball, it’s a god damn gift that you fucking celebrate. Harbaugh is smart. He’s infinitely smarter than all of you. If he decides that the game plan for the Seattle game was to go vanilla and put the game in the hands of the D, so be it. He got lucky with some special teams plays but that’s what football is, players making plays.
I will be SHOCKED if this is the game plan in 6 weeks. With the lockout there is no reason in the world that any sane person would expect him to be able to get *his* offense installed in Game 1. He’s building up Smith’s confidence and those of you that don’t understand that little tidbit about success in sports at this level should just stop typing and go straight to focusing on securing food and shelter, the only two things you’re qualified to spend your time on.
I never heard back from Dennis about the bet I offered. Didn’t expect to. He’s like most bloggers, content to shit talk their way 24/7, probably almost preferring the team lose as long as he can find more ammo to target a guy he wants to murder. Idiotic. I also love how the “DMD’s” of the blog world never have any suggestion of who should realistically be playing QB today. Why would they? They fucking LOVE IT that Smith is QBing—if he wasn’t they’d have no one to threaten to kill.
And if the Niners lose Sunday (and you can see Denny rooting for that so badly, fucking pathetic that he calls himself a Niner fan) I am sure that most of you trolls will focus on the play of Smith. And maybe that will be warranted, we’ll see. But to sit here on Monday and not celebrate the win along with some very solid play from Alex within the parameters he was allowed to work is just totally lame.
Mike, try Kyle Orton. The human interception machine. Chicago fans and now Denver fans, are understanding that in a big way.
The reason it is negative is because a) Seattle sucks. b) The play calling was too Singletary.
Look Flav, Smith has been in the league 7+ years now. Yeah, he’s learning a new offense. But to say they are treating him with kid gloves at this point in his career is ludicrous. Build his confidence? I don’t know. If he needs to be coddled at this point, he’s beyond help. Cam Newton?
Yeah, Smith didn’t turn the ball over. Bully. But I hated the ulttra-conservative shit in the red zone. A good offensive team beats our conservative shit every time. The game was in the balance, and the Niners had put together ONE non-3-and-out drive in the 2nd half. I was very concerned until the returns.
Sue me for wanting to see the offense take some shots down field. Or try to score TDs in the red zone. Prove me wrong. Get aggressive on offense. Again, I was worried about the defense heading into this game. But I had no idea they’d dumb down the offense this far.
Like me and everyone else is saying, there’s time, and this is LIKELY a result of the short preseason, but look around the league. Lots of new guys are lighting it up.
Cam newton is the last guy who needs to worry about confidence. He’s probably got statues of himself and his house. People are different, Chuck. If Smith needs some confidence building at this point in his life, fuckin let him build it. Do you think harbaugh trusted that o-line to protect Smith long enough to go downfield? After that shit pre-season that they had? He was gauging where the O-line was at this point and factoring in the shit competition. We will see the offense open up in the coming weeks (6 of so)
Talk to me about stodgy game plans and the checkdown Charlie bullshit after they’ve played more than one fucking game. I’ll go with Harbaugh’s assessment of Smith over yours, “Skippy”..
The line WAS pass-blocking well. And the did a little more downfield passing in the 2nd half. The piont being, the running game wasn’t there. They have to take shots when things aren’t working.
God, Mike was wondering what other QBs get ridden mercilessly? Did you just see what Orton just did? Facing little pressure, he dropped the ball.Oakland recovers and drives for a TD in 2 plays.
That’s not what I said, don’t fucking make shit up. I said you people don’t apply the same standard to Smith as you would another QB. And you’re the worst, IMO, because you changed your position only to curry favor with your audience here.
The line was pass protecting better, not well. Smith threw with pressure in his face over and over. Including when he checked down to Gore while The Diva did her act in the EZ..
Holy shit.The Raiders must have 250 yards of penalties.
Orton is getting the business in Denver.
The Tebow chant starts up. Denver’s version of Nate Davis.
In case you don’t know, I hate Denver even more than the Raiders . . . This game has to be the record for most penalties.
You prefer twinklefuck, Skippy?
Hey, it’s all good. They beat a bad team. They lead the West. They played it close to the vest.
Yippee. I have concerns. OK? Can you live with that?
I guess not. Smith had a fucking great game. Astounding that he can complete 4 yard passes after 7+ years in the league. Huzzah.
Even so, he’s still running the offense and not being a victim of it.
Curry favor with my audience? You mean the ones I just blew out of the water recently?
R-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-ght . . .
Try again, Skippy.
All this talk about Alex Smith is really a waste of time. He’s the qb, deal with it. Harbaugh is making the entire team better, slowly. The special teams are good and we have offensive and defensive starters on special teams, and we’ve drafted and acquired players just for special teams play. Ginn is the real deal. Knock on wood, but he doesn’t drop punts and he doesn’t make many mistakes. Akres, even though he was run out of Philly for missing kicks in the playoffs, is solid. Andy Lee is our MVP for the past decade (sad).
On D we look good. This D is underrated right now. I look for our D to start knocking qbs out of games, and for our secondary to start getting a lot of picks. The one thing we can’t have, though, is easy touchdowns like we did Sunday in the second half. If you have a game manager at qb, he can’t score quickly, and quick TDs giving up by the D kill you. The D, along with the special teams, looked awesome against Seattle. I hope that trend continues against Dallas.
I don’t see Harbaugh opening up the offense. He doesn’t have the ingredients for a 5 star meal. He has a young line that gave up 22 sacks in the preseason. He has a qb who is one of the worst in the NFL, and his coaches are implementing a new system. It’s debatable whether the Niners can beat the Cowboys playing field position or game management football. The Cowboys are interesting because they aren’t the Packers, but they aren’t Seattle either. If the Niners don’t bring more to the table offensively, everyone will point to Alex, and rightly so, but it won’t make any difference because he’s the qb for the year. Now next year, if Harbaugh keeps Alex Smith around, Harbaugh’s an idiot. But this year, under these circumstances, it was the right move. Doesn’t mean Alex Smith is good. In fact, Alex Smith is probably the worst quarterback with this tenure in 49er history. I can deal with that, can Twinfan?
Let’s also add that the Cowpatties secondary is their achilles heel.
Harbaugh is smart enough to know that the NFL is still a matchup game.
Harbaugh also knows the difference between chess and checkers, (something Singletary hadn’t quite figured out), when he wore the headset on the sideline.
No, we aren’t ready for Primetime perhaps but, we should have enough talent to make a better showing in Game 2.
Dallas’ OL is not top shelf either so, can our DL make it a battle so our secondary can deal with Austin and Bryant?
That’s why we’ll watch.
I’m in the Camp that says Harbaugh is feeling his way into the Pro game. Given what we know, the OL is suspect in Pass Pro, Alex is again, in a new system, Crabtree has again, missed what little PS we had together and, Harbaugh had little to go on with Carroll and Tarvaris.
I’m happy with vanilla to a point. Perhaps this amounts to having some bonafide film to study on a Division opponent for future planning, perhaps it’s training wheels for all concerned on what needs to be executed. What makes sense is that the Coaching was real, the plan worked in a cohesive sense, and the Team gained a little confidence.
For me, Crabtree/Edwards/VD and the RBs need to see plenty of work together at game speed to get basic timing issues addressed and polished to where the reads and adjustments are done with the same brain. That will take time.
For the immediate response, we are 1-0 in the NFC West and it beats the sh!t out of the alternative.
NJ,
I agree. The 49ers looked great in all facets of the game – except offense in the second half. But there weren’t penalties, sacks, timeouts called for lack of communication, etc. Harbaugh is a football coach, and the coaches underneath him are professionals. The rest of the league will start noticing. But the one thing that Niner fans have to be aware of is that Alex Smith limits the offense and that the Niners won’t score much. The formula is field position, special teams, Ted Ginn, David Akres, Frank Gore and the D line causing turnovers. I think it’s great that Harbaugh has to learn to play field position, because those are good roots for a new head coach in the NFL. At some point, Harbaugh will find his dynamic qb and we’ll all be like, “remember when Alex Smith was here and we had to kick field goals all game?” It is what it is, but if Niner fans think Harbaugh and Alex Smith are going to open up the offense this year, think again.
Spit I’d be happy to see Harbaugh teach Alex to ‘feel the pocket’ and develop a clock in his head for the timing that the WCO requires. It won’t happen in the 1st month, maybe not the second either,
What we want is enough of a foundation for Alex’s successor to grab hold of and take things to the next level. Tolzien seems like a bright kid and he had pretty solid stats in Nebraska’s Offense.
Both Alex and Kaep are spread guys with no real comfort zone in the pocket.
“Tolzien seems like a bright kid and he had pretty solid stats in Nebraska’s Offense.”
All the more impressive, considering he played at Wisconsin!
It will be interesting to see JH’s game plan for this weekend. The cowboys have weaknesses but they are better than SEA.
Meanwhile — why is everything so fucking black and white? Is it truly mutually exclusive to be glad for a Win and simultaneously have criticism of any players or coaching? I am certainly not all over JH for one freaking game. The guy has success written all over him. I wish I could say the same for our QB. One thing I truly pray for — that at some point in the not too distant future — this year, next — we are not debating AS. Christ I’m tired of it.
Tom Brady had more offensive yards last night than the Seahawks and Niners combined, that is how pathetic the Niners are!! The Niners are going to continue to run the ball, and that is just plain stupid!! If Harbaugh really wanted to test/prove that Alex Smith was an NFL QB he would draw up plays to have him throw the ball down the field.
And Henne had over 400 and he sucks. Don’t let the morons here influence your normally solid thinking, Dennis. EVERY QB sometimes is callled upon to be a “manager”. Denver probably would have won last night if they hadn’t stupidly thrown 40+ passes against a team that couldn’t defend the run if Chuckles was the back.