The 49ers finally get their 2nd game in the muddy confines with the Buffalo Gals, uh Bills. This is week 2 of the let’s play-all-the-NY-(NJ)- teams-in-the-league-in-three-weeks deal. Not sure if this is some kind of NFL record or something but I ain’t looking it up. The NY round-up got off to a rousing start with the shellacking of the J-E-T-S 34-zip. The D pitched a shutout, and the offense racked up nearly 250 yards on the ground. Fodder for Alex to take another load of shit for his performance, but whatevs, as my kids are wont to say. The Niners won convincingly and, at least to me, seemed to stress throwing longer passes to stretch the defense and open up the running game. If that was the plan, it worked. Smith didn’t connect as much as I would have hoped, but he didn’t make any mistakes, and had a good day. The mid-range passing game is a work in progress. This is Crabs’s 1st year in camp, and Manningham/Moss are still getting up to speed with Alex, so this would be a good game to keep this work up. The Minnesota game plan failed as all the underneath passing clogged the running lanes, there were few yards after the catch, and the Niners appeared out of synch. Can’t say enough about the D, so I won’t say anything. Other than they stifled the Jets. A team that laid 48 on these same Bills.
Buffalo spent the offseason retooling their defense. To the tune of $100 million on Not-So-Super Mario Williams. He of the 1.5 sacks 4 games into the season. So much for that. In their two losses to their AFC East rival Jets and Pats, they’ve given up 100 points. Does that mean we walk all over them? One would think. But then again, we should have beaten the Vikings. Could this be a trap game for the Niners seeing as the New York Football Giants wait on the horizon? Possibly. but even then I don’t think this team will come out flat at home. I don’t see Spiller being that big a factor either. Ryan Fitzpatrick leads the league in TD passes, yet he leads the league in interceptions with 7. Seeing what happened with Minnesota, the Niners need to Shake up Fitz early and often. Something they didn’t do to Ponder and the Vikes. I’d throw some early blitzes in and really work on rattling Ryan. The Niners should prevail easily, 28-10.
Forty Niners Forever 
Nice list Grump. Glad you reposted this here as I’m not following Grant C that close anymore since he prdicted a GB blow out of the Niners. Since you lay it out like that, yeah we got a lot of good players. I would flip Culliver and MacDonald but who’s quibbling?
Man, you asked ‘why do people post under deceptive/different names and not just stick with one?’ My take is it’s several things: cowardice yep that’s one. Also having been banned on a site the poster tries to get back in under a diffrent ID. Maybe he can get the last word in before the blogmeister catches on. Could also be some posters have built up a lot of ‘anti-fans’ on a blog and have been labeled as troublesome, irrational, hostile, ‘hater’, moron, etc. So a new screen name voila! no baggage, fresh start. But of course if all that changes is the screen name in short order the old patterns resurface and folks catch on. It’s a pretty juvenile tactic isn’t it?
Far better to stick with one (adult) persona, present one’s opinions as fairly and rationally as you can and own it if yer wrong or things change. Example: Winder answering twin with “Yeah I did that back then but I saw things change with Alex and the team so now I’m rooting for him too”. Boom, ovah. I mean adapting to changing realities is what we do every day as adults. No one is always right all the time. Jeeez…
BTW Bullit/reddog hasn’t really been a regular poster here at all- only seen him at skeeber’s back when
Hilarious is how I can describe the mentality of some of you football “gurus”. Not a clue to what you’re talking about? Lowball offers are performance driven? Then whatsup with Dashon Goldson?
Goldson was offered decent money for a guy with 1 good statistical year, he tried free agency and came back without any offers. He is getting paid top 5 money (Franchise) this year. His next offer with the Niners or someone else will be top 5 also if he keeps playing at this level.
It will be difficult to keep everyone going forward. We are running out of cap money. We have an option to exercise on Alex Smith next year, a contract to work out with Dashon Goldson, and a desire to lock up NaVorro Bowman for the long term. Just looking at the numbers, I am not seeing how we can make all that work. We are probably looking at some unhappy choices in the off-season.
I have the same thoughts. They do have some heavy hitting contracts that could get a rework to free some space but Goldson and Bowman will both demand top 5 money so it’s gonna be tough to do and if they franchise Goldson again it eats even more cap room than a long term deal.
We have an unnaturally loaded roster for a team in the 2012 cap-era NFL. At some point, losing quality players is going to be unavoidable. How we manage this process will determine our success over the coming decade. Baalke is a bright guy, but it’s going to be a bitch.
Same scenario with coaches, lot of talented guys on staff, it was a mild surprise they stayed together last year. Another good run this year will make it tough to keep them all.
Nice job Grump. Not much to quibble with on that list.
Not sure what your point is, Tommy. You think Goldson was lowballed? HE got on the bad side of the FO by turning down the 5/25 deal a couple years ago and tweeting his unhappiness. When no one wanted him, he came back for $2 mill. Duh.. Yeah, he had a great year last year, but he was franchised due to his own screwups. He again turned down another decent multi-year deal. I don’t think he stays after this season regardless of how well he does. He’ll be 29 next year, and giving a multi-year deal to a 29 year old safety isn’t high on their list of priorities.
Alex Smith? Same kind of thing. He’s guaranteed for this year only because of past history. Right or wrong, he’s proving himself yet again. I’m sure if they go all the way, or close to it, they’ll sweeten the deal. Or they will took to Cappy if things don’t go quite so well..
They are hedging their bets with both guys.
I agree Goldson is getting up in age Chuck but if not him who? We have some ok guys on roster but nobody jumps out at me as good enough which means free agency. Could be they sign a younger guy for less money but Goldson has shown pro bowl stuff again this year. It’s a tough one.
Didbn’t see your post, Grump. Like I said, Goldson will not be a priority after this season even as good as he’s playing. Bowman? Oh yeah. Baalke is trying to lock down key guys whenever possible, and Bowman is next. There is a lot of backup talent on this team. You have to wonder how long they can keep this up. Bellichick was able to do it for a while, but even there, they are slipping/losing guys to FA.
These next 3 years are huge for getting ring #6.
They will break the bank to keep Bowman. Instead of mocking Alex Smith for not going elsewhere
and labelling him as an unwanted commodity I see him as the ultimate team player giving the Fortyniners a hometown discount for the third time. If you can’t see that you don’t see the big picture.
Not trying to get into an Alex Smith argument but Niners paid more for Alex this year than his only other offer from Miami, where’s the discount?
After leading the team to the playoffs and their best season in 15 years Alex had the leverage and a lot of people expected him to demand a Ryan Fitzpatrick contract, big money and multiple guaranteed years. Forytniners received a hometown discount for what he signed for. Greed was not a factor.
Well despite what a lot of people thought, or this leverage you thought he had, he got 2 offers and the Niners was higher by a million bucks.
i think he had a pretty raw deal after his first contract, treated pretty badly, but his contract is what it is. I agree with Chuck they are in wait and see mode, if he does well enough they up the ante, if not it’s CK time.
The thing is, riding the tiger only becomes harder down the line. This off-season you’re trying to lock up Bowman. But soon, you have to account for your young O-line guys who are playing very well now – Iupati, Davis and Boone. And Aldon Smith will be due for a big payday. Culliver is going to be an important piece down the line, he may already be passing our other CBs in coverage skills. You have to figure out about Brooks and McDonald. Kendall Hunter.
We will have to be very careful to keep as much quality as we can on the roster, without a return to late 1990s / early 2000s “Cap Hell”.
It’s a good problem to have Grump, better than the alternative and I agree Niners have a window of maybe 3 years, this year and next being the best talent wise so far.
I just got home from my other “home.” I made stops at Safeway, Target, my corner liquor store and intercepted two more Tony Romo passes along the way.
You should play for the Cowboys Dennis, you catch more than Dez. Tough day for Romo.
Grump, cap hell came about because of back-loaded FA deals for the most part. Policy/Clark were behind a lot of that. They skipped town before the dominoes fell. Who was the GB LB they signed? He sucked ass? Gabe Wilkins? Bob Wilkins? They picked up a lot of shit in the late 90s that they paid for dearly.
Bob Wilkins hosted Creature Features on KTVU.
Gabe Wilkins was scarier and had a shorter career.
Tommy, Smith is what he is. I admire his guts and tenacity to try and make it work here in the face of unrelenting pressure these 7+ years here. I can’t believe he has stayed through all the turmoil and bullshit. That being said, he’s still on the clock.
I don’t get why people here think Smith is getting ‘hated’ or ‘bashed.’ Most people here have a fairly realistic view of the guy.
After 2010 and being booed mercilessly I would’ve skipped Dodge just to tell those booing to shove it.
I’m positive he was going to and I don’t blame him. No off season gave him a no opportunity to plat elsewhere, lucky for,him in the end. He has flourished with Harbaugh and turned his career around.
Play
I’ve said before that strange and mysterious forces are keeping Alex here. Is it for some greater purpose than us mere mortals can understand? Or just a big cosmic joke?
I kid, but it has been a bizarre ride these 7+ seasons.
If not for the lockout, Smith was defintiely gone. Wearing that SD hat that fateful day in 2010 was the kicker. Harbaugh came in and basically grovelled at his feet. The impetus around that can be questioned, but truth be told there weren’t a hell of a lot of attractive options other than Alex. Plus he had the advantage of knowing the personnel. Smith has been labelled coach-killer, but here’s coach #3 tying his future to Alex. The difference being Harbaugh seems to be getting somewhere, though.
Another difference is Harbaugh drafted an insurance policy.
Well, Harbaugh seems to have a clue about offense, and asks him to play to his strengths.
The last two guys: well.
Tommy, fans for the most part are knee-jerk idiots. I was at the Seattle game in Dec 2010 (Singls 2nd to last game) and Smith was pretty much on everyone’s shit list. The 1st play Smith threw an 8 yard out that VD dropped. Boos rain down. 2nd play the Niners try to run a screen but Seattle sniffs it out, and Smith throws it at Gore’s feet to avoid the 8 yard loss. More and louder boos. The guy next to me says,
“Joe would have made that throw.”
I said
“Great, Joe would have lost 8 yards. Seattle read the screen and Smith avoided a big loss by throwing it into the ground.”
The guy looked at me like I was from Mars. On 3rd and 10 Smith hit VD on a crossing route for a 64 yard TD. No more booing that day as Smith threw for 255 yards and 3 TDs.
One problem I think is, a lot of these numbnuts who talk about His Joeness being able to do anything never even saw the man.
He was the best QB ever, but he had his down days. 1982 was a fucking nightmare. The playoff game in 1986 was humiliating. The one in ’87 against Minnesota was one of the most frustrating games I’ve ever seen.
It takes a good QB, AND a superior team, AND a little something more. Sometimes it’s just not your day, no matter how good you are.
Joe and Steve both played a combined 26 years for the Fortyniners and have 5 Lombardi trophies to show for it. They both had their share of lousy games. As time goes on the legend keeps growing. Impossible to fill their shoes but then they failed in 21 of their years too. It is not that easy to win a Super Bowl. Ask Peyton Manning with his one and Tom Brady and his 9 year drought.
People who use Joe and Steve to measure QBs are going to always be disappointed.
Bob Wilkins was awesome. I’ve had many conversations with Dennis about him. Met him once at some thing or another. Looong time ago.
I named one of my Yahoo! fantasy baseball teams “Creature Features” this year in Bob’s honor. I was fortunate enough to win the championship. The Creature from the Black Lagoon came through for me at the end.
http://baseball.fantasysports.yahoo.com/b1/170196
Have not read all 123 commnents, but it seems that Alex Smith and his passing capabilities are still the hot topic of the years/months/days. Anyway. I agree with those that say the Coach Harbaugh is passing the ball just enough to keep the defenses honest. Other teams are still double and triple teaming Moss. As Long as that is going on and every so often Alex (unca) Chucks one down the field the Niners will be fine. And if Alex can see if and when a defense blows a coverage and leaves Randy one on one then all will be right in 49er land
Kevin, if yer the same Kevin, I posted that pic you emailed on Flav’s blog . . .
Yep it is me Chuck!! ha ha
We have to shell out for our OL and our Defense cause no matter what it’s mostly won in the trenches. i can’t see em letting Bowman or Goldson go for at least the next 3 years. Some Safetys last quite awhile in this league. The person I would be most concerned about is J. Smith, no one beats the clock for long
Bowman and Goldson want long term top dollar contracts. Bowman’s agent is Rosenhaus
who is a greedy bastard. Hard choices have to be made, and my gut is it’ll be letting Goldson go and moving Chris Culliver to FS or drafting a replacement.
Culliver is looking good at corner.
J.Smith worries me too, what’s left in the tank and for how long. He is probably the guy we can least afford to lose. Niners have a ton of picks next year so they have some options.
Remember the old “Beat the Clock” game show? Not too shabby. It’s fun to watch people try and perform under pressure with the clock ticking. Kind of like football.
The next draft will likely focus on DL and safety. I’ve said since they drafted him that Culliver will eventually end up at FS. He’s doing a very good jab as CB, but a lot will be determined by what goes on this offseason. The thing Baalke and Harbaugh emphasize is flexibility. Goldson will likely be a luxury thet can’t afford.
I’m still drinking my Bud Light out of these Raider cans. It’s a goddamn miracle how I haven’t been struck down by lighting just yet.
How many cases you got?
More Bud cases than O.J. had defense attorneys. Let’s see, he had Bob Shapiro, Johnnie C., Kardashian, Barry Scheck, Dershowitz and my very favorite, F. Lee Bailey. F. Lee was fucking money. He was a shyster, but money nonetheless.
I wasn’t around here yesterday, but do you know what Wednesday was? It was the 17th year anniversary of O.J. being found not guilty of double murder.
“Only in America!”
sad
Phil, I don’t want to get too serious and political, but our legal system sucks more than Alex Smith.
Hmmm, I may have to agree with you on that one. But sadly most are far worse than ours
“Only in America!” Not so fast my friend! Shit like this happens over here (all over the world I bet) all the fucking time. Money, fame, political influence all talk louder than justice.
Ok back to our regular programming
If you think it’s rigged here you should go to Moscow.
Yup, lots of place are worse tho Russia is pretty low on the list
Was Smith low-balled? Yep, sez so right here:
Alex Smith: No. 7 in passer rating, No. 20 in salary
Alex Smith currently ranks seventh among his fellow quarterbacks in passer rating (98.1) but 20th in salary. In fact, the only quarterbacks earning less this year than Smith either are backups or starters who are playing on their original rookie deals. Here are the 19 ahead of him:
1. Drew Brees — $20M
2. Peyton Manning — $19.2M
3. Tom Brady — $18M
4. Eli Manning — $16.2M
5. Michael Vick — $16M
6. Matt Schaub — $15.5M
7. Philip Rivers — $15.3M
8. Jay Cutler — $14.7M
9. Ben Roethlisberger — $14.7M
10. Mark Sanchez — $13.5M
11. Sam Bradford — $13M
12. Aaron Rodgers — $12.7M
13. Kevin Kolb — $12.4M
14. Matthew Stafford — $12.3M
15. Tony Romo — $11.3M
16. Matt Ryan — $11.3M
17. Carson Palmer — $10.8M
18. Ryan Fitzpatrick — $9.8M
19. Matt Cassel — $9.7M
20. Alex Smith — $8M
Beerows reports: http://blogs.sacbee.com/49ers/archives/2012/10/alex-smith-no-7-in-passer-rating-no-20-in-salary.html
Nice find Phil
Same when a lady buys a dress off the rack as with Alex Smith and his salary…You get what you pay for…
Give or take the actual year of their contract and signing bonus etc the list is what you would expect, better more proven players at the top, lesser guys at the bottom. 3 anomolies that stand out to me are Smith is outplaying that contract and Cutler and Sanchize are under performing their’s.
Agree. Niners FO did ‘the smart thing’ and paid him market price for this year. But he’s worth more in my view. Guess the Baalkebaugh brain trust is going to evaluate his performance in current season and make an adjustment to the option money if ‘necessary’ = AS excels or the team does. FO seems to be showing good faith to Alex and guys like Frank who got an extension late in his career. I think they’re happy with Alex to this point so we’ll see how it goes.
Melissa Stark needs to eat a goddamn cheeseburger. Is she trying to emulate the Duchess of Cambridge? And that red dress of hers tonight is too tight and looks off the rack. Give Donna Karan a call.
Steven Jackson voids his last year and will be a free agent:
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000069422/article/report-steven-jackson-voids-final-year-of-contract?module=HP11_headline_stack
I wish I could void my draft pick of Steven Jackson to my fantasy team this year — He sucks!
hit the magic number 30
I figured Jeff Fisher coming to the Rams and it would be the old “Ground and Pound” with Jackson getting 20-25 carries/gm. Jack got old and very slow big time. 20-25 carries a game? Shit. Jackson’s so slow if he went trick-or-treating to 20-25 houses on Halloween, he wouldn’t make it back to Thanksgiving.
something about the magic number, it comes true time and again. I expected Hunter to grab the reigns this year but amazingly Gore is still pounding out the yards.
Just for the record, I think the Rams win tonight. Cards are due for a little letdown after last weekend. Their numbers and stats don’t add up to 4-0.
I agree but can’t bring myself to say it those words.
I picked the Rams + 1 1/2 and s/u in my pool. Looking good so far. But it’s early. It’s also time for another drink. Bartender!
TD Rams! So much for Fisher and “Ground and Pound.” Bradford came out winging. For those of you who know me from the old days at the Insider at the Gate, how long have I been saying…
THROW THE GODDAMN BALL!!!
Looks like Brian Schottenheimer is getting a free hand with playcalling.
Save the Boobies month again.
I’m fer that
double
I have Ryan Williams on a few FB teams. I agree with Mayock’s point about his struggles being more on the OL than on Ryan himself. Williams was lightning at Va Tech. And as we all know injury derailed him last year. Still think he shows some stuff this year…