I’m sure you guys don’t remember that old Woody Allen movie that had Gene Wilder drinking Woolite at the end of it. Not sure how these guys tied us at out house and then proceed to lose in their house to the lowly Jets, but that’s football. Some teams match up well with others, some just get your number that day.
And, seeing as that last Ram game very well may be the last start of Alex Smith’s 49er career, at least he went out on a good note. His last throw was a TD to Michael Crabtree, and his last game and 1/3 he was 25-27 for 304 yards and 4 TDs. Anyhow, I’m not here to bury Alex, but to praise him. Or is it the other way around?
This does however, for all intents and purposes, appear to be the start of the Colin Kaepernick era no matter what Jim Harbaugh says. My thought is the Niners come out and try their new QB out and go a little more pass happy. Some of this is due to Kendall Hunter being out, but some of this is due to just getting the kid some more work. They need to get Cappy up to speed for the playoffs and we have 5 games to get this right.
I hope this isn’t going to be as crappy as the last Ram game, but I seriously don’t think the Niners let this one get away.
Forty Niners Forever 
No shit, ewisco. He could lose the team in 2 weeks if they drop these next 2. Harbaugh can’t in any seriousness go back to Smith barring a catastrophic meltdown. And if that does happen, the team’s reaction is going to be ‘what if’? As in what if he didn’t take out the guy that was winning? This certainly isn’t what he wanted to see, but it pisses me off to see so little deep shit today. He engineered some of the problems today. This was a lot like a Singletary game. P[ay it close and lose in the end.
I ain’t throwing in the towel or anything, but if ever there was a need for a big win it’s next game.
The Niners are winning, making the playoffs. Jump ship all there are sharks. Might be Jacksonille, or Austin.
Carp you guys are acting that it’s the end of the world.
Get over it and get your tickets now.
Broncs-Niners in the Super Dome.
Somebody please tell Jimmy Raye to stop calling our plays.
One could argue that Kaepernick’s mistakes cost us the game, therefore if Smith plays we win. It is a legitimate argument.
I say the problem was not the QB, it was the play calling. Kaep should not have even been put in that situation. This is the same play calling that has plagued Smith for years. If we are going to start a young QB these are the kind of mistakes we know are going to happen. He made some mistakes but he also got us a couple big plays.
What concerns me the most from the last two games is what happened is about what I should have expected. I have even said on this very site it does not matter who the QB is if the play calling does not improve. What we saw yesterday was a different QB and the coaches still playing “not to lose”.
If Harbaugh’s play calling does not evolve he will be no better than the next Marty Schottenheimer. Not bad, in fact pretty good, but no championships. Championships don’t go to teams that play “not to lose”, nor should they.
Yesterday went about as bad as it could possibly go regarding Harbaugh’s QB decision. He’s got to stick with Kaepernick but the “hot hand” justification will lose credence soon. Just pick up the pieces and go forward.
Niners have to adjust to the poor kicking situation. Getting Akers to a plus 50 yd kick is a 20% positive outcome play. Playcalling has to change to reflect that reality and field goals need to be no more than 40 yds.
Fuck Akers. He’s cost the Niners 2 games. Granted, I didn’t like the play calling when we got the ball on the 50, but still and all, he has to make that kick. Akers was run out of Philly for this very same reason. Missing big kicks.
And the pitch play was retarded. Time and place, coach. 3:30 left, and your defense is stuffing the swhit out of St. Louis. Say what you will about Harbaugh’s conservative play calling, that pitch call was a fucking gimmick. That is when you SHOULD go conservative, based on the situation. Cappy has to learn to eat the ball on that play. Like the pick on the bad snap last week, he tried to do too much with a fucked up play. Fall down (or don’t throw the ball to your own end zone) and move on.
The time NOT to be conservative is when you have the ball on the 50 yard line and you need to help your struggling kicker.
Fricking Cappy scored 8 points for StL and 13 for the Niners. All St Louis earned was the 2 pt conversion anf the FG in OT. Cappy wins, 21-5.
Agreed. We should have run the pitch play in the first half, when we were up around mid-field. That way if it goes wrong it’s not right on your goal line.
And as you said, this is two mistakes now that stemmed from Kappy trying to do too much with a lost play after a bad snap. Last week, it was the INT, this week the pitch to nowhere. The coaching staff needs to address that, and make sure that Kappy understands, if the play is already shot because the snap was so bad you’ve lost situational awareness or the timing is screwed beyond any recovery, secure the ball, get back to the LOS if you can, and get ready for the next play. Trying to salvage a big play in that situation is far more likely to produce a negative big play than a positive one. The only exception is do or die, i.e. 4th down at the end of a game, when there IS no next play. Don’t try for heroics that end up biting you in the ass.
My breakdown on Colin yesterday:.
The good is obvious- he can zip it, and he’s a dymanic runner.and he exhibited both on Sunday.
However, with all the talk of of him saving sacks- he looks to run or escape, rarely looking to throw.
As I pointed out yesterday, with his numbers against the blitz-and also the word in football- Smith is one of the best when blitzed-he’ll take sacks (12)- but the other teams pay for those- almost 600 yards, 7 TD, 1 INT when blitzed.
And then there are the mistakes- he gave them 10 points for sure, and probably the game winning FG by running out of bounds on our last possession.it’s nice of Jimbo to take the rap for the pitch to Ginn- and it was a poor call-but an expereienced, savvy QB doesn’t make the pitch. And an experienced QB doesn’t run 20 yards backwards into the end zone to avoid the pass rush, the play that resulted in the disputed safety. Those are mistakes he won’t make as he gains experience but there’s a division to be won and playoffs ahead.
I totally disagree that Jimbo *can’t* go back to Smith, of course he can, and he will if Coilin continues with the kind of killer mistakes he made yesterday.Not yet, though.Miami becomes a huge game and a game that’s absolutely winnable. They need to win and Colin needs to play well.
Both. IMO.
With all that said- the coaches need to help him more. Several 49er players are said to claim that the Rams knew what they were going to run. Also, I do agree with others that why run the same kind of game plan they would for Alex? Smith is expert at that, Kap isn’t. The headline of Barrows’ blog says it:”Oh irony — Kap needs to be a better game manager”..
Anyway, they have a chance in the playoffs with Alex playing his game or Kap playing *his*- they have zero chance expectinng Colin to play Smith’s game.Again, IMO.
Word about Harbaugh’s remarks in today’s presser have leaked out, and they’re certainly not complimentary towards Smith. I obtained a transcript of part of his diatribe:
” His seventy percent completion percentage isn’t a reflection of his accuracy, but rather what a gutless pansy he is with the football. He manages the game as if it were a dying butterfly, keeps referring to 9 yard passes as ‘the deep ball,’ cries everytime the opposing team kicks a field goal, and looks like what would happen if Justin Timberlake had sex with a woodchuck.”
That’s the good stuff.
waah
You do a lotta cryin’, pal.
New thread is up. I’ll copy these over.