Jim Harbaugh was on the Murph & Mac Show on KNBR this morning.
Since I was asleep when the conversation began, I didn’t hear it in its entirety.
But Brian Murphy saved the obligatory Alex Smith questions for last so here are Harbaugh’s latest public comments on The Quarterback Who Inspires Quite An Emotional Response (the full audio is already up here, scroll down on page). Also, I’ll blog more highlights of the interview after getting out of bed, guzzling some coffee …
Q: Alex Smith is in your plans for 2011? He’s a free agent, right? So it could be up to him. Could you tell us that you two have worked out and what type of relationship you two have forged so far?
JH: “Well, I like Alex. And I like being around him and I like what I see on tape. It’s come up a lot and it’s really not that complicated of a thing. This is a very somewhat simple thing. We’re going to get the best possible quarterbacks we can on our football team and then we’re going to throw the ball out there and they’re going to compete for it. I believe that starting quarterbacks are not anointed. That is an earned position. It’s about as simple as that. I go back to football being a pure game. It is that and it shows up on the tape. And it’s my job to do the best evaluation for the organization and get the best quarterbacks that we can on our football team, and then we’ll go and that position will be earned.”
Q: Obviously you’ve spoken to him and you can’t speak for him, but he’s a free agent. So there’s almost a recruiting that you have to do, too? Because he can go wherever he wants when this CBA is settled.
JH: “Right. People are going to make decisions that they think are best for their family, best for themselves and best for the team. So, I’m not going to hide my feelings. I like Alex Smith, I like him as a football player, as a person and he’ll make the best decision for him. Some people say Alex Smith needs a fresh start — needs a new place to be or whatever. I say let that place be here.”
Jim Harbaugh was on the Murph & Mac Show on KNBR this morning.
Since I was asleep when the conversation began, I didn’t hear it in its entirety.
But Brian Murphy saved the obligatory Alex Smith questions for last so here are Harbaugh’s latest public comments on the Quarterback Who Inspires Quite An Emotional Response (the full audio is already up here, scroll down on page). Also, I’ll blog more highlights of the interview after guzzling some coffee …:
Q: Alex Smith is in your plans for 2011? He’s a free agent, right? So it could be up to him. Could you tell us that you two have worked out and what type of relationship you two have forged so far?
JH: Well, I like Alex. And I like being around him and I like what I see on tape. It’s come up a lot and it’s really not that complicated of a thing. This is a very somewhat simple thing. We’re going to get the best possible quarterback we can on our football team and then we’re going to throw the ball out there and they’re going to compete for it. I believe that starting quarterbacks are not anointed. That is an earned position. It’s about as simple as that. I go back to football being a pure game. It is that and it shows up on the tape. And it’s my job to do the best evaluation for the organization and get the best quarterbacks that we can on our football team and then we’ll go and that position will be earned.”
Q: Obviously you’ve spoken to him and you can’t speak for him, but he’s a free agent. So there’s almost a recruiting that you have to do, too? Because he can go wherever he wants when this CBA is settled.
JH: “Right. People are going to make decisions that they think are best for their family, best for themselves and best for the team. So, I’m not going to hide my feelings. I like Alex Smith, I like him as a football player, as a person and he’ll make the best decision for him. Some people say Alex Smith needs a fresh start — needs a new place to be or whatever. I say let that place be here.”
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Good for Coach Harbaugh! Every single QB who is interviewed regarding Harbaugh says pretty much the same thing – Harbaugh helped him learn how to make the right split-second decisions. In my opinion, that’s the only area where Alex Smith needs coaching. If I were Smith, I wouldn’t be to eager to move away from a certified QB guru.
If Norv Turner had stayed on for another year or two, we will not be having this conversation. Alex Smith has the tools, what he lacks is decision making. What has been missing is the right play calling/or coaching to tap his full potential as a passer.
JH “Some people say Alex Smith needs a fresh start — needs a new place to be or whatever. I say let that place be here.”
Wow…that kind of says it all. Let the whiners chime in. LOL.
Well said Bill, I agree…
Alex Smith will also get Harbaugh fired. Book it.
Smith didn’t get anyone fired. Book it.
Are you kidding me? Lack of a program and system plus continuity at the OC role – all on the HC’s!
Strange comment. It almost sounds like you think Nolan and Singletary were competent coaches, who would have succeeded without Alex Smith. Of course, it never crossed their minds to bench Smith.
That comment was completely devoid of thought. In fairness to Alex, Nolan and Singletary picked him-he did not pick them. They had the authority to pull him at anytime if they felt he was not giving them the best chance to win.
Alex really should move on.
You can count on Harbaugh to make the best football decision for the Niners. He knows that unlike Stanford where he had a couple of years to recruit and rebuild, his first season with the Niners must be a winning season. At Stanford, Harbaugh had to use a couple of mediocre QBs (T. C. Ostrander and Tavita Pritchard) for his first two years before he ‘Lucked’ out. Clearly, some fans have invested way too much emotionally on either side of the Smith controversy, but that’s their problem.
How do you define a winning season? Seems to me, any progress at all will be acceptable his first year. Do you see him with a honeymoon year, or you think fans expect it all fixed right now and a run deep in the playoffs?
I don’t see him being able to work miracles, but I do see him making steady progress forward. Took him a few seasons elsewhere, I think that’s the most reasonable expectation – he’ll do what he’s proven he can do.
Adam:
Harbaugh’s hiring was seen as a major upgrade for a team that ownership/management felt should have won this very weak division. There is no way that is not the expectation going into next season. I don’t think anyone is expecting miracles in year one, but it shouldn’t take a miracle to win the West either. 10-6 and a playoff berth would be acceptable progress for this team. They didn’t pay Harbaugh $5 million a year to go on a honeymoon. Jed York’s comments on missing the playoffs speak to his expectations.
——————————————————————-
“We aren’t where we need to be,” York said of his 5-10 team, which hasn’t made the playoffs since the 2002 season. “There’s no reason that we aren’t the team that won this division this year.”
“Obviously, we didn’t achieve the things we set out to achieve,” York said. “We should be a playoff team. We aren’t a playoff team this year.”
Big P. I agree. Mostly.
I wouldn’t be too surprised if the Niners win the west – they should have done it this season. I don’t know about 10-6 though.
I do think he gets a honeymoon or a grace period, though. If it’s not great this next season, I think if nothing else, he’ll be laying the groundwork. I’ll be happy with any kind of improvement. to tell you the truth. And actually, any combination of small improvements should still win the west, I would think.
Adam
There is no “honeymoon” year in the NFL, IMO. If one is a new coach for a 2-14 team, then one is expected to win 4-5 games in their first season.
In addition to what BigP wrote, I’d like to add that the Niners underperformed badly under Sing last year. This team would have gone at least 9-7 with a competent coaching staff, and won the weak division. So I think that the management expects Harbs to win at least 9 games in his first year unless it’s strike-shortened.
OK, I guess here’s my point Mood, maybe it didn’t phrase it right.
Bill Walsh’s first two years:
1979: 2-14
1980: 6-10
We might as well use Walsh for this example because we’re all measuring these guys by what the teams before them did (not really fair, but there ya go).
So my point is with the Grace period (or honeymoon, whatever you want to call it) is that we’re obviously not going to throw the guy out if he has a tough season next year. So we need to not set the expectations a mile high, right? Let’s see what he can do with what he has his first year, if it’s mediocre, we give him a break and let him keep building. I think most fans will realize that, while yes, we have some really good talent, it still needs to be considered “build” year. Just my opinion. Hell, who knows, maybe they go to the Superbowl – I’d be stoked right along with everyone else. :)
You can’t really compare it to Walsh, as Walsh inherited a team devoid of talent. On paper, this team is EASILY the best in the west. I expect the offense to stumble a bit early on, but since the defense is still a 3-4, they should be fine depending on how new players perform. 9-10 wins is NOT beyond the realm of expectation.
Obviously he’s not going to be fired unless he REALLY falls flat on his face, but missing the playoffs would be a let down unless someone else in the division has a GREAT offseason. I wouldn’t call it a ‘build year’ because there shouldn’t be large personnel moves. The talent is there, they just have to be put in the right situations. Of course, this all is assuming there are OTAs and TC so Harbaugh can implement his offense… all bets are off if they only have a week to learn the entire system.
Adam:
I agree that no matter what they will be building for the future and that is a process. It’s not like Harbaugh’s on the hot seat, but I believe Jed is. He believes (right or wrong) that this team should win the division now. He has the responsibility of trying to get the stadium deal done and reinvigorate the fan base after false proclamations of making the playoffs. I agree with your assessment from the football development side but I am interested in how the business side impacts this off season. I hope they can get the CBA done by the 4th so they can start making the moves they really want to make instead of having to settle for the the best available options.
Most say this team is talented yet as a TEAM they haven’t consistently won. Realistically, if they don’t buy into JH and his program, they may need to be moved or released. The 9ers have known weaknesses in the CB, pass rusher, and QB areas. Difficult to say this team is SO talented when those are very key areas of need.
Obviously there is individual talent but can they put it into a winning team concept consistently?
Expectations are high yet they are not in a position to replace an injured key player on defense or offense and not miss a beat.
Question will be…how many times will JH need to turn certain players or positions before it is totally his team?!!
Yes, agreed completely, Hofer. There is “individual” talent, that’s an excellent way to put it. Because… those individual talents are not really translating to the “team” concept real well.
If you look at the team ranking the Niners excel in run stop on defense (6th in the league). The rest is middle of the road, or fairly poor like the pass defense (24th) and total points and pass offense, both also at 24th.
So, this is what we know to be true: We do have some great athletes, some good (and some great) football players (Willis, Gore, Davis for example). But we only have one aspect of the game where we’re “top 10″. Only rushing yards allowed.
Makes the argument for coaching, teaching, and trusting an excellent (and succesful) set of systems to me. Granted we are missing a few more players but that will come.
this makes perfect sense: until you know you have something better, you better work with the one you got. right now, until there’s more clarity on the CBA/free agency, we have or have the inside track on Alex Smith, Carr, and Troy Smith, and a draft pick not likely to land a franchise qb. Might as well love the one you’re with, until/unless you land someone better. plus, we know Alex has some talent – we’ve seen the occasional flash. now, getting that talent to show consistently on the field in a regular season game – if Harbaugh can do that, he’s worth every dollar the Yorks are paying him, and then some. Harbaugh has a few years to turn this franchise around. there’s some talent on the team. he believes in his ability to coach Qbs. if we stick with Alex, i’ll be glad to see his improvement on the field, and if not, someone else get handed the job.
+1 – Best comment I’ve seen on this issue in a while. Agree with everything said.
There are certain people that persist in the notion that they know SO much more than coach Harbaugh in evaluating players; QB’s to boot. Where do they get all of this knowledge? I don’t believe that any football “junkie” has to question coach Harbaughs pedigree nor experience concerning football and ESPECIALLY QUARTERBACKS! Criticism without solution is only cynical and without merit. Yeah, you’re tired of the losing and the turnover of personnel and so you bitch about it. How about the rest of us?….Do you think we enjoy it? Give it a rest and get on the bandwagon. We’re BACK!
Go Niners!!
I challenge everyone here that’s for or against Alex, to update their user names to reflect it like I did. I just want to see who’s gonna eat crow at the end. Take a stance now, no fair weather fans allowed.
If we were fair weather fans we wouldn’t be on a 49er blog. It’s not a matter of being AGAINST Alex, it’s about being FOR the 49ers. After eight consecutive seasons of missing the playoffs and six years of the Alex Smith project 49er fans deserve true love with their QB, not a marriage of convenience.
Eric, last AS post I predicted 200 comments. This one I’m saying 250+ depending if you don’t post another read until Monday. Ha! lol
Haha. No kidding.
Stirring the pot :P
Wow, if Barrows posts this too, the nutbags over there are just going to howl and have a complete breakdown! I’ll have to look later, the comments over there are both unintellectual and funny as hell.
I know I expect to be in the playoffs no matter whose our qb…..with the talent on this team and a few tweak here and there I don’t see why we can’t make a deep playoff run imo
Steve Young went through FOUR offensive coordinators to start his pro football career. Two with the LA Express (1984-1986), one with Tampa Bay, where he had some guy named Jimmy Raye II as OC (1985-1986), whose offenses ranked 23rd in 1985 and dropped to 27th in 1986, then another coordinator in SF in 1987. By his 4th season, Young was already playing at a HOF level, despite playing for p*ss poor teams and a revolving door at OC.
But thanks for playing…
Not sure what you’re talking about. Young’s first two years in Tampa were not good. His second season he started 14 games and went 2-12.
His fourth year (in the NFL) with the Niners, in ’88 he was in 3 games and went 2-1 with a passer rating of 72. I think you’re thinking of the 5th season where he was 3-0 with a 120 rating.
Young didn’t really take off until his 7th season. Starting most of the games, etc.
Umm… the idea that Smith has had the same kind of situation as Steve Young had… Is that where you’re going with this?
Their situations don’t really resemble each other at all. Let me count the ways…
Adam, exactly…Young was being booed every time he touched the ball – especially his first couple of years. They blamed Roger Craig’s fumble in the playoffs on Young and the poor hand off. Young was being measured by the Montana yard stick and he was failing at every aspect. Young was never fully accepted until he won the SB. Most here have forgotten what Young had to endure in SF since he went to the HOF. Short memories!
It took 67 seconds to look up Steve Young’s 4th season numbers and get back here to post the fact that his passer rating in his 4th season was 72.2.
Perhaps you were thinking of his 5th year?
Seriously this isn’t an anti / Pro Alex thing. This is purely a business decision thing. Bringing Alex in is a smart business decision. Read between the lines folks. Harbaugh said he likes Alex. He likes some of the things he sees on film. He likes being around him. He also said that the QB position is not anointed. He wants to bring people with talent in and have them fight for it. With the CBA looming there is no talent to bring in other than Smith, Smith and Carr.
I’ve been anti Alex since his third year. not going to hide that fact. For the pro Alex guys just don’t get on your soap boxes thinking Harbaugh is 100% behind Smith. He is the best option available. Smart business move right now. PERIOD.
If we begin the season with him and he does well, I’ll be happy for him. I’ll actually be pulling for him or whomever else is behind center. BUT, If we get more of the same and he struggles, he’ll have a very short leash with me and an entire stadium of fans.
What I do trust is Harbaugh will bring in the talent that the CBA situation allows for, and he will maximize the potential of every QB that wears a niners uniform.
“He is the best option available. Smart business move right now. PERIOD.”
I don’t know why this has been so hard for people to grasp. For instance, when MM posted a poll on his chat and 70% said they were open to Smith coming back… and the smith haters went NUTS. Bottom line, I’m going to give Harbaugh the benefit of the doubt and trust that he’s going to bring in the most talented people he can. If that’s Alex… so be it. Harbaugh didn’t draft the guy, so he’s not tying his career to him like Nolan did. If Alex is the best guy on the roster at the start of next season, I’ll hope that Harbaugh can unlock something in him. If not… at least I’ll know Harbaugh tried to get the best guy he could.
Too many of the anti-smith people act as if Smith is by far the worst QB in the league and any other team’s backup would be an improvement. Like him or not, trying to make that argument is just dumb.
They’re still going nuts. I was just reading MM’s blog. There’s a guy over there who claims to know a bunch of NFL coaches including Kevin Kolb’s coach, and… blah blah blah.
The nutbags come out of the woods every time there is a Smith topic. It’s crazy. The hater crowd seems to be a bit unhinged, their logic is skewed or they look at a player in a vacuum, as if the other 10 guys aren’t on the field. It seems to be very one dimensional and quasi-delusional to me.
I understand the rational arguments against Smith, although I think a good bit of that is overblown and can be proven false but the crazy people who go beyond those points are kind of stunning.
Makes me want to start a fund for providing tin foil hats for these folks. Actually, I suspect that a lot of these posters are kids – the bad grammar, calling players names, can’t support their arguments, etc. At least I’m hoping they’re kids :/
Those polls are popping up in other places too. I’ve seen three of them now, a couple thousand responses in each, tied to an individual IP address. Granted, they’re fans who know how to read and are actually interested in following football, but yeah, everything I’ve seen is showing 60% – 70% in support.
I don’t think Harbaugh would care even if the polls were against the idea. He’s made that pretty clear, he’ll make his own evaluations and won’t be relying on outside influences – like a bunch of fans would know better than a coach anyway.
Bay Area — you ought to play corner because you backpeddle like a pro.
Adam: Was that blogger named TIM? haha jk
Hmmm, I do believe that I posted that people need to learn to read between the lines.
The ball is in Smith’s side of the court now. Is he going to volley or backhand smash that sucker back just to the other side of the net.
I think that he’s smart enough to see a solid opportunity here and that those only come around once in a lifetime. He could always play in the NFL but for how long? This is an opportunity to latch onto the haters argument and wipe his backside and dispose of it once and for all.
I’m kind of encouraged about this because look at what he’s been able to do with really INCOMPETENT coaching.
Now someone that knows what the hell they are doing is offering him the opportunity to compete and win the job? It may not be a lock but I think that Smith will be able to succeed in this new environment.
Dr Grosse,
you are a very selective reader. Did you read where I said I am anti Smith? Did you read where I said this is a business decision? Can you read?
Bay:
Just goofing with you, dude. Relax. Your post made sense.
Nah, Danny. Tim makes some good points. Bay does too. There is a very practical reason why Harbaugh is looking at Smith. The CBA, draft, free agency and trades all have some downside, some risk and possibly utter failure. He’s certainly leaving the door open for Smith to come in and compete. David Carr too. We really have no idea what, if anything, Carr can do. Similar situations there. It may be too soon to write off either one of those guys. More arms in camp is a good thing. Coach Gruden was always chided for being a quarterback collector, maybe that’s not a bad thing – more is better.
Andrew makes a good point here somewhere in these threads about how nice it will be not to see early time outs and confusion. I (and many others) argue that this is the crux of the problem for all these years. Confusion about sums it nicely. Coaching in flux, systems being tweaked, plays re-named, that has to be confusing. Coaches are supposed to help the players slow the game down not make it even more chaotic.
I think on the other side of the “let Smith compete” argument or in support of that idea is that this guy does show flashes of greatness. And yes, dismal failure too. It really needs to be left to the football experts to figure out why both happen, what the circumstances are. How one trait can be encouraged to grow and the other to be trimmed back or extinguished altogether.
Fangio made a point, and it works well in this argument, in his presser. When asked about looking at the tape of his players, he said something to the effect that yes, he had seen some tape but that without knowing what the players were asked to do, he wasn’t sure he could evaluate them properly – he wanted to wait until he could get his hands on them.
That’s important because some of us have been arguing that same thing on the offensive side. Mainly, we don’t know who was responsible for what. Some of it like overthrows on running back screens are most likely on the QB, but there again we don’t know if he was throwing with intention that the RB was going to be hit in stride or it was just wild high. Same with Crabs and Walker on several occasions. Were they supposed to be five yards deeper? We don’t know because like Fangio said, we don’t know what they were asked to do. The personal eyes-on evaluations will be very important in determining a lot of this stuff. Tomsula, Rathman and Solari should also be able to help in breaking down the videos, who was supposed to be where and what happened. They were there.
My beef is with the guys coming out (and it’s mainly on the other blogs) with outrageous comments they can’t back up. I saw one guy the other day writing that Smith was always blaming the receivers after drops or whatever. This is the farthest thing from the truth, Smith has always been a class act and has never thrown his teammates or his coaches under the bus. If there’s a public statement out there like that, I’ve never seen it. It’s the game commentators, some sports writers and a few of us fans who are wondering about soft or blown routes – Smith has never said a word against his team.
But it’s garbage like that that irritates me. Guys that just make stuff up like the “coach killer” comments and all that. Crazy.
I think we have to have some patience. Niner fans just about tore Steve Young up, for example. He was in his late 20s or early 30s in his seventh season when everything finally clicked. Then he goes on an eight year reign of terror through the league, breaking records, doing his part in a Superbowl, etc. But Young had it rough there for a while, bumbling around behind center while spotting Montana after injuries. And Young had a pretty good team around him, Smith until recently hasn’t really had elite players.
Young was pretty much a late bloomer though – and thank God for that because he developed in to something spectacular. So I think maybe the best course of action is to let Harbaugh see if maybe we have another guy who can blossom late. Maybe we don’t, but coach has to make that call.
We need to all take a breather and just enjoy the process.
Adam: haha yeah i know i was just kidding around, TIM is one the anti-Smith people who makes a lot of sense that i actually take into consideration.
Also on the Wild-high throws i can agree with you, but then i begin to think of how many times Troy Smith overthrew someone and i think it was quite a bit less.
Accuracy:
A.Smith: 59.6%
T.Smith: 50.3
but when you take into account their Yards/Attempt
YPA:
A.Smith: 6.9
T.Smith: 8.1
it probably shows that in the deeper balls it might have been more on Alex cause he does tend to straighten his left leg a bit which could possibly be the reason his deep touch isn’t that great. But Coach Harbaugh i think could help fix that and improve his accuracy. But as for the dinks and dunks it probably would have been more on the receivers like Walker but we don’t know that for sure so that’s most likely why he kept some of the people on offense like you suggested as well.
If JH thinks he can work with AS then I’m all for it. That is not to say that JH is going to anoint him the position. He will be one of three or four that will try to win the job. The other point to think about is that it doesn’t necessarily make it a long term solution. If AS wins the job and they draft a rookie, a year or two out AS may be a backup or on another team depending on how the rookie progresses.
If AS wins the job [with JH's mentoring, teaching, and coaching the fine details of playing the QB position in a WCO system] and plays well enough to produce at a high level and add to the win column, then why whine about it. It’s all good.
I’d like to see AS do well. I’m not blaming his situation on him. All of the blame is on the Yorks (JY) and the HC’s. They didn’t have a clue how to work with a young rookie QB and make him NFL ready.
Just like JH said in the Kawakami interview, “you want to take advantage of what your players do well, putting them in a position to be successful.”
The HC’s here did a fair job of doing that with the players on defense but not the offense. This team was put into a situation of playing for the last HC’s philosophy and not to their strengths or what they do well – to the point of not being able to hire competent OC’s. Too much change at the OC role.
There is a difference when on 1st and 2nd down picking up 4 total yds running the ball and putting the QB in a third and long scenario, versus attacking a defense and knowing the 1st down pass play will yield 12 yards by attacking a weak area of the opponents defensive scheme. Ultimately, the defense will be playing soft when they can’t load the box.
JH’s best quote…”That’s the job of a coach—putting players in positions to be successful.” Now that is a revelation!
Their will be no 2011 season. I see Alex playing in the UFL. if he does well in that league it will open the door for a better contract for him when football resume in 2012, providing the NFL is still around and teams like the raiders and cowboys have not jump to the UFL.
Ok Jimmy, I am such a fan of yours…If Bill Walsh said you have what it takes to be a great great coach then I am with you…however..Alex Smith has ruined a few Sundays for me. His decision making has sucked….with that said his to coaches also asked him to play it close don’t make a mistake and then when we need to you need to pull a rabbit out of the hat. I hate that kind of football. if you two guys went out and tossed the pig skin around and U and Alex feel good about each other then I am all for it. At least we have a Coach now that loves the QB position like Coach Walsh not like the last two guys who hated the QB and put all the blame on them for not winning.
In Harbaugh I Trust.
I still think Alex Smith is destined for success at some point in the NFL, whether that is here or somewhere else. If he does come back to SF, there’s no doubt that he will be put in a MUCH better position to succeed than his days with the Nolan/Sing disaster of incompetence. Whether you like Smith or not, you can’t even argue against that. If he succeeds under Harbaugh, great. If he fails, on to the next one. Dalton/Ponder/whoever will get a chance.
Personally I don’t think he will fail, and I believe he gives the 49ers the best chance to win (although that isn’t saying much, considering the available alternatives).
This team has been devoid of competent coaching for so long it clouds the collective judgment (including mine). Calling a time out during the first play of the game, calling the entire team to the sideline, worried about wearing a suit on the sidelines game-day, having no idea how to run an offense. I’m sure many of you have your lists. The point is on the job training is over and the ineptitude that cost time and points during games are in the past.
The players that remain with the team will have the shadow of past failures lifted when the team begins getting out of the huddle on time and performing.
We’re doomed.
Not to stir up another hornets nest, but I’d like to clear up something. I believe that an assistant coach can excel at his job, but that doesn’t mean he will automatically become an excellent HC. I think that Mike Nolan did a lot to build the present niners to the talented group of individuals that they are. I can’t find fault that his first two hires at OC were such good choices that San Diego and Green Bay snatched them up as HCs. I’m sure that you noticed that he didn’t have difficulty finding work in his specialty, DC . ‘Just saying….
Everyone went nuts when Harbaugh was brought in to clean up the mess. Now his judgment is questioned when he begins the process. Personally I’m excited that he will be calling the shots instead of the know-it-alls that frequent this blog. Although I can never prove it, I continue to believe that had Aaron Rogers and Alex swapped places, Rogers would now be looking for work and Green Bay would still be Super Bowl champions.
As several savvy posters have wisely noted above, including xphony9erfan just above me, if Alex Smith and Aaron Rodgers had swapped places, it could well be that Smith would be considered today amongst the new elite QBs, while Aaron Rodgers would have been written off as a backup QB looking for work.
When it came to a vision for the 49ers Offense, Mike Nolan was a Neanderthal, as Ann Killion used to call him, but Mike Singletary turned out to be a Primate. They would have groomed any young QB with the same dexterity as a monkey that was handed a camera.
I am not an Alex Smith apologist by any means, and I empathize with all the fans, including Damon Bruce on KNBR, that like to point out that Alex Smith should have at least shown some instincts for the game, even with a revolving door at OC.
To these people, I point out that both Nolan and especially Singletary, coached players on what they should NOT do. Remember how Troy Smith provided a wonderful spark in his first game? Does anyone remember what a fresh breath of air it was to finally see some gun slinging and risk taking at the QB position?
Guess what? Singletary squelched it. He emasculated Troy Smith by telling him all the things he could NOT and should NOT do. What happened? Troy Smith played like a eunuch the rest of his games.
If Alex Smith leaves and the 49ers find another QB, so be it. But if the change he is looking for is right at home, and he ends up finding a new mentor in Harbaugh, that’s fine too. Frankly, I’d love to see Alex Smith thrive as a competent QB, and show up Nolan and Singletary.
fire harbaugh immediately.
Said this months ago when people were SURE he was on his way out of town. EVEN WITH a new CBA in place, AS is still the best option. Purely logical, I’m glad that many of you see reason and are capable of it. No worries people. Oregoniner brought up a good point about Nolan selecting OC’s TOO good at what they do so to speak. Harbaugh brought in exactly what is needed for coaching continuity; all the coaches are highly competent people he is comfortable with, trusts, and they will not be sexy picks for jobs elsewhere. I guarantee what JH thinks when he watches film (AS included)… “I would have won at LEAST 10 games with this team.”
IMHO Steve Young said it best when he said the 49ers finally have a system in place to get the most out of a QB.
You have to be kidding me! What have the Yorks been up to? How incompetent have they been. We also find out they lost some of Bill Walsh’s tapes.
No wonder why we haven’t had a winning season for 8 years. Thanks goodness Harbaugh is here!