Well, the Niners proved, in front of a national TV audience, that they can hang with the big boys by thoroughly pounding the vaunted Pittsburgh Steelers into the Candlestick turf. At least when Big Ben is a little off time. His ankle was pretty balky, and that resulted in some errant throws early, to the tune of 2 picks in his first 2 drives. They were actually moving the ball well on both their inital drives. The Niners had struggles of their own early. Alex was off target on some big plays that would have given the team an early 14 point lead, but they settled for FGs, and a 6-0 halftime lead. They burned a ton of clock however, and did keep the ball out of Worthlessberger’s hands in the 1st half.
The 2nd half started out shakily on offense as the team continued to stop themselves with penalties and missed opportunities. Pittsburgh was able to sneak in a 51 yard FG to close the gap to 6-3 in the 3rd quarter. Then, on perhaps the biggest drive of his career, Smith guided the team to a huge TD by going 5-5 for 89 yards. 3 of the 5 went to the oft-maligned Vernon Davis for 53 of the 89 yards, including the TD. The best part of the drive was play action on FIRST down. Something this team tries to do too often is pound it down close. The play action worked to perfection, and the Niners scored easily.
Pittsburgh then went no-huddle to try and get a quick score, but the defense held, and Suisham missed a 48 yard FG attempt. Harbaugh went a little too conservative for me here, and ran 3 times. The kicker being a 5 yard loss on 1st down. At this point he was really leaning on the defense. And it was at this time (the start of the 4th quarter) that the defense really took over. Aldon Smith had been close all game and had an early sack wiped out by a terrible illegal contact call that would have set up a 3rd and 32. As it was, it didn’t matter. Smith and McDonald finally broke through with a sack and caused a fumble that Justin Smith recovered. With the help of a leverage penalty on yet another FG attempt, Frank Gore ran off left tackle for a 5 yard TD, and the game sealer. The 49ers added 2 more sacks by Aldon Smith, and a nice pick by Tremaine Brown on a deep ball.
All in all, the game went about as well as can be imagined. The offense, after some fits and starts, came through in crunch time. The defense was spectacular in that they shut down Pittsburgh’s vaunted deep passing game. Their running game was nonexistent. Pittsburgh did gain a lot of yards through the air by going underneath, but most of the time Pittsburgh was starting drives from inside their 10 yard line. All World punter Andy Lee pinned the Steelers deep repeatedly, and Pittsburgh rarely got into scoring position.
The only negative was Ted Ginn’s ankle sprain. It looked pretty bad, but the x-rays were negative. The bigger deal was Harbaugh giving Braylon Edwards the night off as a healthy scratch. He said Brett Swain was fine as the backup guy. There’s a ringing endorsement for Braylon. I’m sure Ginn will sit the Seattle game out, so one would think Edwards should be ready to play.
Forty Niners Forever 
By and large, the stats where Smith is lacking are elective (attempts, yards).Now let’s look at the defenses of the teams with big passing yardage (NFC)- Green Bay 16th, Giants 14th, New Orleans 12th, Detroit 8th, Dallas 6th. OF COURSE they pass more- they have to. 49ers have the best defense in the NFC and the 4th best rushing offense. Harbaugh and Smith would be certified fucking morons if they were slinging the ball up 35-40 times. Smith is being criticized for flawlessly running the offense that makes the most sense for his team.
Let me add to TF, the 49ers don’t have to gamble, even on third downs. They know their Defense will get the ball back, right where they WANT the ball back. They play very deliberate.
They don’t panic. I believe they have a lot more in their toolbox than they have shown during games.
I’m perfectly fine with Alex signing a 3-4 year deal to keep qbing for us. But come on, what’s Harbaugh supposed to say? Some idiot journalist asks Jim if Alex is the long term answer at qb and hr’s gonna say “no”?
As I’ve said many times since the day JH was hired: he will make the best of whatever qb he works with. That’s why it’s so laughable that anyone thinks the Niners would trade for Manning (should they draft Luck). There’s no fucking way in hell JH trades for an expensive, injury risk like Manning. He doesn’t need to. He doesn’t trade for qb’s he fucking MAKES them!!!!
Agree. We’ve forgotten what that was like under Bill Walsh
There all kinds of ways to avoid the question about Alex being the long term QB (see Elway). And Harbaugh did not make Smith, he liked what he saw, and his judgement was validated.
Haha. Yeah, probably didn’t teach him a thing. Just ran him out there with a few swift pats on the ass.
TF, I had expectations that Harbaugh would improve things for Alex. Nothing more. Is it better than I originally thought? Uh, yeah. I knew Harbaugh was talking Smith up to boost his confidence. I knew Smith has had dog shit for coaches these last 6 seasons. This is all on record. I didn’t think things would go beyond this season with Alex, but as with everyone else on the planet who gave a damn, it was wait and see time. Hence the one-year deal he signed this year.
I’m talking about the here and now and that the pundits aren’t taking into account the drops. Say 90% of those drops are caught. Smithh’s numbers improve dramatically, and he likley isn’t thought of the way he is. If he had 3,400 yards, and say, 4-5 more TDs that he’s lost due to drops, his rating puts him about 97 QBR (5th), and he’s by far the story on the season.
Hugh Douglass, who by and large understands what’s going on with the team, still made the asinine Trent Dilfer/Rob Johnson comparisons with Alex. You act like I’ve been railing on Smith all these years. I’ve been about 80% of the time behind Smith. The other 20% was just pure unadulterated frustration with the goddamn coaches, front office, and state of the team in general. One new HC, and all is well. I didn’t think Smith would come back either time he had the chance to split, mainly due to the fact that I thought he’d run from this team like the plague because of how his career has gone down during his time here.
Twin, that’s bullshit. Alex has talent. That being said, I don’t think there are that many coaches that would get this much consistency out of him. Even last year, without Jimmy-Hat, while Smith was doing better, the team was still losing. Yes, there are 150 reasons games are won and lost, and God knows, both Singletary and Nolan were masters at fucking up games, but still and all, Alex has not been a winning QB until NOW. Until he got a coach that understands QBs. To undersell that is moronic.
Look at Bill Walsh and any of Montana/Young backups. Guy Benjamin, Elvis Grbak, Steve Bono, Steve DeBerg, and on down the line, these guys came out of Walsh’s system as saviors to, well, KC mostly. All these guys more or less crashed and burned at their new digs.
I never said you’ve been railing on him “all these years”..
But I’m sick of the fiction that Harbaugh “coached him up”. As you acknowledge, his numbers after Raye left are are almost identical to this year. The diff? The defense ( 8 points less per game) and the rushing offense . That doesn’t diminish what Harbaugh has done- he’s installed a new offense and trusted Alex to run it and grow in it ( we’re not hearing too much how Alex is nonfunctional in a new offense, are we.).. anyway, Harbaugh made the whole team better, but Alex? He chose him, he didn’t make him..
Twin doesn’t think Harbaugh turned Smith into the QB he is today. Hilarious. Well, there are accounts of this all over the internet, from Smith himself, but here is just one clip from NY Times article.
“He coaches the quarterbacks hard”, says Smith…Asked about the ways Harbaugh has helped him from a technical standpoint, Smith’s description does not even reach the point where he releases the football.
“From your stance under center, to your mechanics under center, to your mechanics of taking a snap, to your mechanics of getting away from the center — nothing is off limits,” Smith said.
Look, no one is doubting the fact that Smith has talent, he was the #1 pick in the draft for God’s sake. But there is no way in hell, even if he was given a starting job on another team this year, that he would have turned into this good of a QB without Harbaugh teaching and coaching him. NONE…….
and since it’s Smith who is actually SAYING he gets coached and taught by Harbaugh (see above) then your only response now should be “Um, yes, I was wrong. Thank yuo for correcting me.”
That is, unless you think Smith misquoted himself, lol
The best decision Harbaugh made was going with Alex. No one ever fucking said he received NO coaching from Harbaugh.It’s the unsupportable nonsense that Harbaugh MADE him that’s bullshit. Now say you were wrong yet again, and we’ll drop it.
Of course, he coached by him. He was coached by Mike Johnson, he been coached by the all the OCs and HCs . He went from the 40 QBR in 2005, to 70+ under Turner to 80+ under even Raye then 90+ under Johnson and now Harbaugh/Roman.. as I said Harbaugh didn’t “make” him.
Ha, you can’t admit when you’re wrong even when it’s thrown in your face. Do you have any articles of Smith giving mike freaking johnson credit for coaching him? Lol! And you never said he coached him, you said he installed a new offense and allowed smith to run it. And then we have Smith saying he coaches the shit out of him. Hmmmm…who to to believe here. That’s a toughie….
What kind of moron would take what I said to mean that he’d received ZERO coaching this year?
I’ll stop now. Anyone that reads my last few posts will see im right about this and you and doing nothing but manufacturing excuses..
So go take your argument to Smith. Tell him Harbaugh didn’t turn him into the qb he is today, that he’s always been this guy. Then watch Smith laugh in your face..
Ok dumbfuck, I’ll use your words instead of Smith’s: “I’m sick of the Fiction that Harbaugh coached him up.” Then i show you where Alex says he coaches the shit out of him. Now you’re saying he did coach him up? Confused. Which is it? Oh right, you’re fucking stuck looking like a dumbfuck on this. Again, my posts speak for themselves. Yours are back tracking and excuse making, as usual when someone calls you out on something….
I have to go out and im sure you’ll spin off a bunch of venom infused doozies. As I said, others can read this exchange from the beginning and see that I handed you your ass on this topic…
I guess you know more that Alex Smith himself does about this subject, TF. I’ve said for years now, Montana without Walsh does not = 4 rings. Montana on a ground Chuck Noll team, and you don’t get ANY rings. Yes, as we’ve all repeated ad nauseum, Smith has talent. He’s never had a competent QB coach til now. Does that help Smith win games? Uh, yeah. Yes, the defense is playing better. We all know that. But the truth of the matter is Smith is playing smarter. They are winning. Harbaugh has a lot to do with the team’s improvement, and Alex’s improvement as well.
FYI, I didn’t see the recent fusillade of responses by Flav til after that last post. . . .
Don’t forget, the seedlings of all of this were planted by mike fucking Johnson, lol. Twin is just too much sometimes…ok, I really am out now. Enjoy your day 🙂
They were planted by a tough, talented QB who bettered himself despite incredible obstacles. Rather than obsess on what a modest, humble young man has said about Harbaugh, read about what Harbaugh has said about Alex. Or does that not count?
“Coached him up” is a term commonly used in the NFL to mean, well, he “made him”. AGAIN, only a fucking idiot would think that I would EVER infer that Smith receives no coaching AT ALL. God, that’s dumb.
I know. You very clearly gave mike Johnson kudus for the grand job he did transforming Smith into the qb he is today.
And yes, that was sarcasm, something you dint understand either
No bactracking, I shoudn’t have to explain that EVERYBODY gets coaching.
You just want to live in the myth that you and only you ever saw the greatness of Alex Smith– the fact is, Harbaugh saved your ass by turning Smith into the qb you always wished he could be. JH did that. You can give mike Johnson et al all the credit you want. It makes you look ignorant, but that’s your call.
I credit Alex, dumb shit. His QBR rating under Mike is just fact. As his numbers show, Alex has improved steadily.
Since everyone here is fighting over who gets to have Alex Smith’s love child, let me go on the record as saying that, yes, he has improved, and no, he isn’t a great QB. He still has some mechanical issues and limitations. And for all he has done this year, he also has left lots of plays on the field, as Gruden and Jaworski pointed out Monday night, and until he wins in the playoffs he hasn’t really won very much. To some degree, the jury remains out.
Now are we going to trade for Peyton? Not fucking likely. See also, OJ SImpson, damaged goods, 1978. If Alex gets replaced down the line, it’s far more likely to be a guy that Harbaugh has developed from day one. I rather doubt that happens next year. So Alex probably gets his new contract for 3 or 4 years. Just realize that NFL contracts are not guaranteed, and while he will start that contract, it’s entirely conceivable that he will not finish it.
Now that I have impugned the awesomeness and holiness that is Alex Smith by continuing to doubt his long term future in SF, I’ll take my scourging off the air. Thank you for your invective and a Merry Fucking Christmas to all. Even that little rat bastard Tiny Tim. (*Gay Ass Smiley Face*)
LOL, good response grump. I for one do not want to have Alex’s love child so not gonna join the bidding.
But I do have one thing to add: Merry Christmas people! We’ve been getting our presents early this year!
Of course he isn’t “elite”, yet. But his record in the first year in a new system suggests he will be. Merry Fucking Xmas to you, too.
Twin, I’d pay money to watch you tell Smith with a straight face that he’s always been this guy and all he needed was a coach to believe in him and ruffle his hair every now and again to be the qb he has become this year. Then Smith might have you read the NY Times article that I quoted earlier. THEN he would laugh in your face…