Here we sit, the 49ers 1.5 games up on Seattle, a recent pounding of the Bears in their rear-view mirror, and an apparent first round bye if they keep up the strong play. The offense is clicking along, the defense has been getting tons of pressure (Aldon Smith leads the league with 14 sacks), and the special teams (minus a couple fake punts) has been getting better. All these great feelings however have taken a back seat to a seemingly self-made quandary which has the airwaves burning, and the bloggosphere absolutely incendiary. The quandary of course is the instant QB controversy that sprung up out of the concussion to Alex Smith in the Ram game, and the subsequent dismantling of the supposedly impregnable Chicago defense by Colin Kaepernick.
The stupid thing to me is this could have been averted by Jim Harbaugh. All he had to say was Smith is getting one more day off to make sure he’s good to go down the stretch. Cappy gets the NO start, and things go back to normal. But Harbaugh seems to be the one holding the gas can at this point. He has baited the fans by calling them drooling idiots who don’t care if they win or lose, called the press liars, and left it to his starting SS Donte Whitner to say Cappy was starting. Which Harbaugh then denied. Alex Smith’s status is still unclear at this point, although it seems that he’s good to go. That his health even matters is up for debate. Cappy played a great game, but it was one game. OK, 1.6 if you include the 2.5 quarters of the Ram game. Even still, based on that, you usually don’t make a quarterback switch based on a handful of quarters.
The point being, there was a whole shitload of unneeded thrash around the team this week. Now if this was Jerry Jones and the Dallas Cowboys, I’d certainly understand the impetus to get one’s team in the news by any means. But for all intents and purposes, this is the buttoned-down San Francisco Forty Niners. The classy team finding its way back to relevancy and the top of the football pyramid. Not a grandstanding hottdogging look-at-us kind of team. Harbaugh is really alienating everyone who is a fan of the team, and has made a chilly press relationship even more cold with his recent statements. For no other reason than apparently to leave the Saints in the dark regarding who starts.
So, I don’t get it. I also don’t expect the Saints to be pushovers as some think, due to their poorly ranked defense. They show a bunch of different looks, disguise blitzes, and have been playing better in recent weeks, and are always tough at home. Besides, the Niners are the agents of a lot of their recent problems. The Niners beat the Saints in the playoffs last year in one of the best games in NFL history, Gregg Williams was fired for his singling up on VD in crunch time in the playoffs, Williams was then suspended indefinitely for statements he made (knowingly taped) prior to that playoff game, and the whole Bounty-gate deal.
So, there’s certainly enough on NO’s plate to want to knock the Niners off. Who knows? Maybe this is Harbaugh’s way of getting the pressure off the players. Then again, what do I know. I’m a drooling idiot.
Forty Niners Forever 
Well, I see the Kape crusader band wagon is in over drive and turbo charged ready to go. As far as Alex goes, well he is not the one who lost the playoff game last year, unless he is the one muffed the KO return. No the real question is has Harbaugh been calling conservative plays because of Alex? Or was JH forced to use the pass more due to teams going to try and stop the run. I think it was a little of both. Alex HAS thrown some nice passes. What needs to happen here is Alex gets the starting job back. JHneeds to call passing plays the same he did for Kape. And then grade Alex. JH always, yes always went conservative with calling plays for Alex, especially if the Niners were ahead. I am not willing to say Alex Cannot do the job till the play calling mirrors the two QB’s. Neither Alex nor Colin have won a Super Bowl!! Steve Young had not won a SB when he took over for Joe M. I can only imagine what happened in Dennis’s house when that happened. So IMO, Alex gets his job back. Go from there.
Well, sometimes if you give a guy enough tries, he’ll get that Super Bowl- Peyton got one in 11 tries and he was terrible in the one postseason he did go all the way:
4 games 3 TD 7 Interceptions 70.5 rating. Those knocking Alex for the title game against NY ( while not his best, he had 2 TD, 0 INT 97.6 rating 6 rushes for 42 yards) are stealing air from more deserving citizens. *He* took us to the promised land, A scrub punt returner snatched it away…
And the other thing going on with this blogg, the criticism of everything that went on in this game. One more time!! THE CHICAGO GAME WENT PERFECTLY!!!! That game is a once in a season game. get over it, mistakes, miscues get use to that shit you fucking morons. Criticising every mistake is just plain stupid!!
What about the NO game? I have no idea what harbaugh will do about the QB situation, but Cappy has played 2 very strong games against good teams.
BTW- Smith’s helmet is “wired”. He was wearing so he could hear the play calls.
All I’m saying is most everyone loved Nolan when he came here. Most everyone liked Singletary when he came here. They all came in and put their stamp on the team. Nolan by getting rid of malcontents,ushering out the Donohue/Erickson disaster, and getting rid of a lot of shitty players. Sing by putting a tough face on the team, and having a no-nonsense attitude where it came to his players. They both went off the deep end in their dalliances with the press by year 3.
Harbaugh is sitting pretty now. But shit can turn awful fast in this game. If the QB sitch implodes and the team goes south (not likely) then the press will eat him alive.
Well, VD now says Alex should be the QB. And you can bet others feel the same way. Players are human beings-they know Colin has performed well but many have been here with Smith through some shit times and they know he and they came out of it to become a top team under his leadership. They’re pros and will support any choice publicly, but they know damn well that Smith was already leading them back to the playoffs and performing at a top level.Jimbo has put enormous pressure on Colin- this is hardly a change from an ineffective, unpopular QB.One poor outing and there will be big time grumbling in the locker room.
Twinfan,
What happened to your butt-buddy, Alex Smith? He’ll never win a Super Bowl as a starter, and his days as a starter in the NFL are numbered. You were wrong about Alex Smith. HAHAHAHAHAAH
Idiots on parade.
Anyhow, a new thread is up.
I’m thinking roll with Cappy, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Harbaugh bring Alex back. That is, if Hairball is really being truthful when he said that he Started Cappy because he wanted Alex to be fully over his concussion.
Of course this is all part of “As the Stomach Turns”
I think one of your bros is back, Chuckles. “Butt Buddy?”
Someone get me to 600?
Nevermind. . .