SANTA CLARA — Here’s the transcript of Jim Harbaugh’s Monday press conference, courtesy of the 49ers.
How are you guys treating the extra day this week? Another game planning day for the Rams?
“Yes. Players will be in today lifting and getting treatment. Coaches (are) game planning. We’ll view the Ravens game and preview the Rams.”
The fact that you can clinch on Sunday, does that affect the way you think about anything? Do you just want to clinch as fast as possible? Is that part of this thinking at all for you?
“We want to win. Definitely, we’re going to be aware of what winning does for us. Yes, we’d like to clinch this Sunday.”
You said you’d think about what happens after December, you want see when you get there. If you do clinch early, let’s say this week or next week, do you have some plans about resting some guys? Would you be in that mode of trying to back some guys off of the wear and tear in the later dates of the season?
“Again, what I said was when we get to December, you see how many you need and how many you have. Though it’s not December yet, I think we can think about that and know we’re still going to need quite a few. This game, the next five, will all be critical. We’ll see. We’re not in any resting mindset though.”
We just spoke with WR Braylon Edwards who said he has been dealing with a nagging shoulder issue the last three weeks. Have you seen that affect him on the field with his aggressiveness or any aspect of his game?
“I’m aware that he’s got some soreness in the shoulder.”
Has it affected how he plays?
“Possibly.”
Has it affected how you’ve used him the past three weeks as far as the number of snaps he took in the game?
“Yes. He’s been working through some things, not just that. There’s been limited practice time, a pitch count with him, and same in the games.”
He mentioned his focus now is just to be ready for the playoffs and you’ve talked a lot about saving for the future. Is that your focus, too, for him? To look ahead and make sure he gets right for when he’s needed the most, when the single elimination type situation begins for you guys?
“Braylon hasn’t said that to me. That’s something I can discuss with Braylon.”
Any takeaways from last Thursday after having the weekend to look at the whole thing?
“Yes. A lot of takeaways. We have some problems from the game, just like when we win a game. You go back and look at what you can fix, where you can get better and this game is no different in that regard.”
How did it feel to have a weekend off in the middle of the season?
“I don’t know if it felt that way. It didn’t feel that way to me.”
After the Cardinals game, you had said that Braylon was getting close to 100 percent. Were you referencing his knee or just his knee, his shoulder?
“Yeah, he’s been working through some things.”
Do you feel like he’s now at this point at 100 percent?
“I wouldn’t put a percentage on it. I don’t know that I ever really did. If I did, I might have misspoke because I don’t see how I could possibly put a percentage on somebody else on where they’re at physically. Just because you said I did, I don’t remember saying that. If I did, that’s why I try to avoid putting percentages on people.”
How important is what Braylon can do to this offense moving forward and possibly in to January?
“All our guys are important. There’s not room for anybody on the roster to not be contributing, not be important. He’s very important.”
Is there a specific need for a game-breaking wide receiver? A guy who can stretch the defense a little bit on the outside?
“Is there a need for that? Yes. We have that.”
Without him you have that?
“I think we have that with him. I think we have that without him.”
RB Frank Gore has caught a lot of passes in his career here but he hasn’t been catching that many this season. Is there a reason why that hasn’t worked out as much?
“There might be some reasons schematically that we’re looking at in that area.”
When you broke down the generally the sacks you said some on the line, some on coverage, some on Alex. When you say Alex, would you like him to run? Would you have liked him to run on some of those, take down it and go, or did you want him to throw it away? What specifically would have been better for him to do?
“In Alex’s case, there’s a couple times that he could have gotten the ball out earlier and beaten the rush with the throw.”
How much of that is related to a short week and just the type of quarterback that he is. He’s a very meticulous type of guy. He likes to know exactly what he’s seeing. Did a short week sort of affect his confidence in what he was seeing?
“No, I don’t think a short week affected his confidence and what he was seeing.”
Do you expect FB Bruce Miller to be back and to resume the starting spot?
“We’ll see. I can’t give a definitive on that right now.”
Has he been medically cleared?
“He’s been in the progression, yes.”
How do you think FB Moran Norris played on Thursday?
“Well, I don’t think any of us played a perfect game. We all had things we would have liked to have done better. Did good at times, could have done better at other times. Pretty much go down the roster and say that. Pretty much you could say that every game. Like I said at the beginning, we’ll address issues and problems and attempt to get those fixed.”
Has C/G Adam Snyder’s hamstring progressed okay or is it worse?
“Is it worse?”
How is it? You didn’t think it was that serious after the game, so has anything changed in the last few days?
“He’s working through something. I’m not going to comment on if it’s better or if it’s worse. What percent it’s going to be by tomorrow or Saturday or Sunday. Teams would love to know that information and you just can’t expect us to hand it out.”
What have you seen on the practice field the last 11, 12 weeks from QB Colin Kaepernick? What is he doing out there? What is he doing in meeting rooms? How is he progressing?
“He’s progressing well. What is he doing? He’s preparing himself to play each and every week. Every week’s a sprint for him as well.”
Is he getting reps with the offense or is it pretty much just scout team stuff?
“He’s getting both.”
Where has he made, without actually having seen him in a game, where has he made the biggest strides that you can tell?
“He’s made strides in just about every area.”
Every week you see backup quarterbacks being called upon. How would you feel about having to send him out there in a situation?
“I’d be confident in him.”
You mentioned you saw some things over the weekend taking a look at things. What are your biggest concerns at this point moving ahead the next five weeks? What keeps you up late at night? If anything keeps you up late at night about this team at this point?
“This ball game. The Rams coming in here. Preparing ourselves with a great game plan.”
Anything specific?
“Yes, very specific. Getting ready for this game. It’s the biggest game of the year. It’s the biggest concern. It is paramount to all of our focus is this football game.”
Understood, I guess I’m saying the thing about your team that you think most needs improvement at this point, let me phrase it that way, is there anything that’s specific?
“Yes there are definitely specific things that we’re going to look at, we’re going to address with our football (team) —like we do every single week. And it’s for me to tell our football team and get their feedback, and not to come in here and categorize what we need to do. And a lot of things we talk to them about they need to understand, that we all need to address together. They don’t necessarily have to read about it as well.”
Jim, what’s your take on celebrations and given what happened with Bills WR Stevie Johnson in the Bills game. Do you have a message for your guys on… I’m sure you want them to be emotional and celebrate when they have a big play, but there’s maybe a fine line when you can take it too far. Do you have an opinion?
“Well specifically I didn’t see the play that you’re asking about.”
What’s your general take on a guy celebrating a big play, or a touchdown? It’s a spontaneous thing I guess for some.
“I think all wins should be celebrated. Now, there are obviously protocols and I think the best thing to do is celebrate with your teammates.”
Is winning the NFC West a big deal. Will it be talked about this week, or is it just another step on where you guys want to get?
“Both, both. It’s a big deal. It’s a step. We may be ahead on the chip count, but we don’t have a seat at the final table. We need to focus on this game. We need to do everything we can to physically, mentally, emotionally prepare for this game because we know that the St. Louis Rams will be doing the same thing. All teams put a lot into their preparation, not only what’s come before this week, but this weekend. They put a lot into it; therefore, it’s very important to everybody that’s playing in these games. We know what this team is capable of doing, the Rams, and we’ll have to prepare to be our best like we do every single week. But, it’s very, very important.”
How important is that No. 2 seed where you sit right now, to hold onto that?
“It’s very important.”
From your experience as a coach, is it easier to get your players’ attention in the film room after a loss than after a win?
“Is it easier? I don’t know if it is, or not.”
I mean, do they respond differently at all?
“They’ve been professionals in both cases. I don’t know that I’ve seen a difference to be honest with you.”
Just talking to C Jonathan Goodwin a couple of minutes ago. He said some of the maybe breakdowns on the offensive line are easily-correctable, technique-type things. He’s confident that that can be fixed in a matter of a week. Do you see it that way, and just a few things that didn’t go right?
“Oh, I’m always confident that we identify things to fix and we’ve got professionals. We’ve got smart guys, we’ve got committed guys. And we’ll come up with the answers together. I’m very confident in that.”
There were some interesting calls in that game Thursday, I’m not going to ask you to comment those, but would you ever want to be on the NFL Competition Committee to talk about how rules are enforced, made, and whether pass interference penalty should be spot, or 15 yards. Do you think about that stuff. Would you like to be part of that competition committee process some?
“Well, we are as head coaches part of that process. In terms of the title you’re referring to or not, as head coaches you’re in those discussions.”
Specifically, do you think pass interference penalty is too severe a spot instead of yardage-wise, how do you feel about that?
“I just have no comment on that right at this time. But I think you know where our head’s at and what we’re most concerned with, and what we’re trying to accomplish here. Right now that’s really irrelevant because no matter what our discussion here is about it’s not going to change this week.”
Maybe for the offseason then?
“Could be, yeah, could be for the offseason. Maybe at that time we’ll get into a long, lengthy discussion about it and I would love to hear your thoughts about it.”
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Some say the definition of insanity is doing the same things over and over again but expecting different results.
everybody knows that…but they are running out of questions to ask, and most of the questions are always dumb, but they interview him twice a week, of course they run out of questions to ask
Insanity is saying the same Einstein quote and feeling smart because of it…kidding though but I hate that quote I hear it all the time.
Whoops the avatar came out wrong
Don’t drive yourself crazy by having the same response to that quote over and over again…you know that’s insane, right? lol
Someone got the joke
It’s an Einstein quote? That’s funny, it was something my choir teacher used to say right before she threw an eraser at someone.
Seth
Nice one!
Please stop asking the man questions you know he will not answer. It’s obvious he is not going to answer them. I also thought it was good he didnt bite on your question about specifically what needs to be improved. No coach should throw any of his players under the bus. It creates dissent and ruins the chemistry of a team. The questions about the NFC west and 2nd seed are good ones though. Im curious to get into his head and find out what he thinks about playoff implications and seedings.
You do realize this is a press conference transcript, don’t you?
Ya but kevinfff…
“How important is that No. 2 seed where you sit right now, to hold onto that?”
That’s the kind of question that drives me CRAZY!
That’s like asking….
“How important is it to breath oxygen in your lungs?”
Pete and others,
It’s all well and good to criticize the media for trying to get something specific from the coach (i.e., doing their job), except when there’s something specific (like his view on playoff implications) you wish to now.
Yeah, it’s tricky finding what kind of questions are the ones he’ll give interesting answers to. That’s what the reporter’s job is, not asking questions he won’t answer.
Cut Rachal…period.
WHAT????? He’s still young and he has been through different Def Corrd since he’s been here. Lets give him a shot. If Harbaugh likes him then he must be good.
I see what you did there. Cute. Stupid, but cute. The difference you see, is that our QB, (I presume you’re mocking him or those who observe he’s playing well) is in fact playing well, and is a big part of the reason that we’re 9-2. Rachal, on the other hand, has played horribly, and our coach demoted him from the starting lineup. See the difference? Or are you so blind with some irrational hatred, that you cannot see at all….
Canada…. He is still young. Smith has been demoted in the past and has had thousands of second chances. Why shouldn’t every player get that many oppurtunity’ ? Now does that sound fair? If Harbaugh says he’s good and he trusts him, why would you think otherwise? A little hypocritical isn’t it?
Coach has done a great job with the 49ers, no question.
however, I do not see what he gains by making a question and snswer session “a duel”.
I sure do not see these questions as being out of line, but his non-answers are obnoxious.
I agree, great coach but appears to be a bit of a douche to the press. What’s the point of even having interviews if he’s going to, in effect, refuse to answer them. I know he doesn’t want to ‘give away’ anything tactic wise, but come on.
He’s not obligated to answer anything. Especially strategy/injury related. Nor should he.
Angus, I’m guessing that if you ever had a job where you HAD to talk to the press, you’d understand Harbaugh’s (and a number of other coaches, too) attitude. It’s not that the press are necessarily bad guys, rather that they have their job, and Harbaugh’s got his. Often, their objectives clash, and we get guys who are looking for information asking questions (often rather silly questions) of a guy who doesn’t want to give out anything that would help other teams.
So why does Harbaugh bother? It’s my understanding that coaches are required to meet with the press…just some more of that NFL need for media attention. So, coach meets with them, but that doesn’t mean he has to give anything important away during those sessions.
My advice would be to not bother reading these transcripts if you’ve got a low tolerance for verbal evasion and not-too-bright questions. Don’t worry; as you’ve seen, you won’t be missing much!
Would love for the 9ers to clinch a second seed and have Kaepernick get a full game in before the playoffs.
I can’t stand Lowell’s questions, they’re all so immature and stupid, he’s trying to get something out from Jim, unintentionally, to create a stir and a scandal, that’s he’s job. It’s all so bad, hope his son, doesn’t follow in his footsteps, he has a lot, still to learn though, like being not such a weak band-wagoner and go for a prediction, against Baltimore, like 30-3. learn the game Grant, also, watch all the niners’ games from the past and determine for yourself, that Joe was a better QB then Steve, don’t go for hype, weak.
Love coach Harbugh. Go Niners
Didn’t expect coach to say anything different re Kap.
Won’t expect anything different from Kap if Smith goes down — disaster.
/offtopic
Post post-rewind epitaph on BAL-SFO
1. Watched Edwards-Smith pick several times. Agree with Smith. Smith not only expected Edwards to turn in, he expected BE to do it *before* BAL’s DB got forward position. BE also played small once the DB got inside position, either failing or flailing to breakup the pick despite superior size/strength.
2. Rachal was involved in several sacks where he wasn’t “directly” responsbile but culpable nonetheless. Rachal either missed blocking assignments, ignored blitz pickup, misread stunts. Ex. On the 8th sack, Rachal took his guy into Davis causing Davis to lose contact with Suggs. Two other right-side sacks showed Rachal standing around the LOS after Smith went down with no one to block. Actually saw Rachal pull *away* from strong side blitz on one sack which immediately gave BAL numbers.
Shorter: Rachal is KILLING oline “trust” w/mental errors as much as his individual inability to protect.
3. Smith actually played MUCH better than I thought. Mayock criticized a few throws that were easily catchable, including a shortarm drop by Williams and a shoelace toss well within Gore’s reach. When he wasn’t running for his life, Smith extended several plays with his feet along with busted-play completions to Crabs for crucial yds and/or 1st downs.
4. Gore was worse than I remembered. Don’t know what caused his footing issues but those were crucial TFLs. Gore also seemed to give up on plays once it was clear Turkey Day wasn’t going to be Frank’s Big Show. His blitz pickup was spotty and he seemed to lose concentration on several drops (which will probably go unrecorded).
5. Hunter played well. Managed forward progress on sure losses; was quicker (as usual) to the hole than Gore; caught his targets; blocked well in pass protect, including blitz pickup. Might’ve been a different game if Hunter had more touches.
6. Norris is done, was overmatched against BAL LBs & Ss. Miller’s absence was noticeable on both runs and pass.
7. Bowman is setup to amass tackles in Fangio’s system. What Fangio can’t do is hide Bowman in coverage. Ravens did a good job of iso’ing TEs on 9er middles. Willis covered well (beaten once or twice by better throws). Bowman left Widner on an island.
8. Brown/Rogers/Cullver all covered well. Agree with coach re the PI on Brown. Brown had his hands on the ball when the BAL wideout inserted his arm, which then got stuck when Brown controlled the pick.
9. Brooks also played well. Good observation by Mayock re Brooks ability to control BAL blockers, change BAL direction without touching ball carriers.
10. Mayock overstated perception that Raven oline dominated 9er dfront. Ravens got off 13 more plays, averaged only 2.6 per rush. The 9ers, despite OL problems, average 3.5. Which only underscores protection issues that were often/mostly instigated by Snyder’s replacement.
good stuff.
latopia,
I think your missing the point on the interception. It was never supposed to come inside. It was supposed to be a deep fade over Braylon’s back shoulder. Harbaugh said it, as did Braylon. Braylon confused Smith with his initial inside draft, but as he said, it was to set up the outside-which was where the ball was designed to be. It’s designed that way so that only the receiver can catch it or it’s incomplete. If Smith throws that ball to the spot it’s supposed to be he’s done his job regardless of what Edwards does. If something bad happens at that point it’s on Edwards, because Smith executed his assignment. There never should have been any interpretation of the play. Each man just needs to do their job.
Big P,
Harbaugh said after the game that he rather Smith had thrown that deep ball to Crabtree, who was in single coverage on the other side of the field. The pass was definitely under thrown but I think that Edwards should have possibly tried to nudge the guy and out jump him from behind. Edwards cant let that guy catch the ball no matter what.
On another note. Do you remember Singletary walking around with the stop watch last season? It was to see if he could get his QB’s to get the ball out of their hands in less than 3 seconds. If sing knew nothing else about an offense, he knew that his QB held onto the ball too long. He wanted Smith to make a decision with the ball in 3 seconds or less. Sing knew his O line was going to struggle in pass protection. he encouraged his QB’s to make a decision in that 3 second window. Our QB has to get rid of the ball faster, even if he’s throwing it out of bounds.
Edwards should have tried to break it up, no doubt. A truly terrible effort. The pass was not where it was supposed to be, that’s my point. People keep saying that Smith saw Edwards going inside so that’s why he threw the ball inside which resulted in an INT. The thing is both Braylon and the pass end end up about a yard or two outside of where he started his route. The pass never went inside. It just looked like a under thrown ball to the corner. The film doesn’t lie.
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-highlights/09000d5d82471bfe/Smith-picked-off-in-end-zone
It was always intended to be inside, BE read the safety wrong. Watch the sound FX show and they make a point to go over that exact thing. BE had a wrong read and reaction to the ball in the air. That pass was where it should’ve been, the middle of the field was wide open. He didn’t act like the ball was HIS to catch.
@bray
I just saw the pass, and when AS released the ball BE was to the inside of the CB. Right where AS threw it in stride.
Bray,
Alex said he thought Edwards was going to the inside. Edwards said no, so he thought the ball would be to the outside. The Niners announcer Ted Robinson said the pass was under thrown. Jim Harbaugh said that Smith should have gone to Crabtree on the other side of the field on that play. Bottom line is that both Smith and Braylon were not on the same page. They share responsibility on that play but I certainly think Braylon should have done whatever he needed to in order to break up that interception. That was an interception on 1st down. I wish for once, Smith wouldve thrown it to someone on a shorter route. We were already on the 35 yard line. We were in FG range already. Oh well.
DS,
That’s a lie. How can you see the QB release the ball and see the receiver on the inside of the DB at the same time? Did the screen get split for you to see that. Smith threw the ball inside and when the camera went back to Edwards, he was running stride for stride outside of the guy and when Edwards came back for the ball, the defender was in between him and the ball.
Why would Edwards be on an inside position to catch the ball and then decide to go outside of the defender as to purposely not try and catch it. Then, as a final act, try to tackle the guy after he catches the interception. Hell, you make it sound like Braylon wanted the guy to make the interception. People that don’t know football make things up. You’re right, you said you didn’t know anything about football. But you shouldn’t make things up.
The pass was not supposed to go inside. Harbaugh said “we were hoping for more over the back shoulder.” In other words where only Braylon can get it because he is shielding the defender from the ball. The ball never traveled inside, it went about two yards outside of where Edwards started his route. If Smith meant to throw it inside, then that was a truly terrible throw.
Not on the same page covers it.
Not that I want to belabor the point too much, but if Smith threw it 2 yards outside of where BE started his route,wouldn’t that be a “back shoulder” throw?
I guess I expect the WR to make a better play for the ball wherever the hell it’s thrown, it wasn’t THAT bad of a throw. Sometimes the QB puts the ball in a ‘perfect’ spot, but usually it’s a little off, especially when it’s farther away from the line of scrimmage. I believe the WR has a duty to adjust to the ball in the air, it seems besidies the occasional Crab’s snag, our WR do not adjust to the ball in the air very well, especially Vernon. If it’s not perfect, he rarely makes the catch. The one in the Giants game made me say ‘It’s about time, damnit’.
Isn’t it nice to discuss details of the game rather than the crap we’ve talking about the last few years?
No more,”Can we just get a play in please!?*&%$#?”
Laptopia,
1. I agree that Edwards should have made a better effort to see that he broke up that int. The pass was a miscommunication. Harbaugh said after the game that he felt that Smith should have gone to Crabtree on the other side of the field.
2. Harbaugh said that Smith was responsible for at least 3 of the sacks by not getting rid of the ball when he had time. The 1st example was on the 1st 3rd down and 3 play for the Niners. Smith rolled left toward the sideline, away from pressure from McClain, he had Delaney Walker curling upfield ahead of his guy and could’ve lofted the ball over the defender head for a nice gain. he chose to keep the ball, he only took a 1 yard sack anyway. Just one example.
3. That pass to Gore was nowhere near reachable. That was a horrible throw. Gore was in the left flat all by himself and would have had an 8 yard gain. Mayock was incorrect when he said that was Smith’s 1st bad throw. Smith threw low to Vernon Davis on a 9 yard out in the prior series. Williams did short arm that play, guess he didn’t want that contact. smith did extend that one play where he got away from Haloti and threw to Crabtree for a 1st down.
In my opinion, you might be overstating playing well. I don’t think anyone on that offense played well. Smith included. He admitted himself that he missed a lot of open guys running around out there and he did. Smith had guys running free deep but he didn’t take chances early when he had them and then he didn’t have the time late in the game.
4. Gore slipping often wasn’t a good look. He also didn’t block on that one play with Rachal. Gore did lay some other great blocks in protection on the safety #31. He NEVER gave up on any passes and he didn’t drop anything.
5. Hunter did look good and I wish we had run a screen or 5 to him to slow down that pass rush.
6. I would definitely rather see Miller than Norris. He is no longer needed.
7. In my opinion, the defense they were running didn’t allow them to pass off the TE’s to the safetys successfully. Safetys were just a tad late.
8.Rodgers got beat pretty good on 2 or 3 occasions. Take a look at Boldins catches in that one series early, Rogers gets behind and does not even recover to make the tackle. He quits and expects the safeties to make the tackle.
10. I’ve read a couple of places where the O line gave up those sacks collectively but it is clear that the line is not the same when Chilo is in there instead of Snyder. Know this though, there were 4 sacks given up before Chilo even came into the game.
Hey guys. Just my impressions. Not saying they’re “right”, just sayin.
Coach Jim H does not have to answer any questions that may create distraction for the team, create hurt feelings among the players and coaches or provide insight about our team to other nfl organizations. This is a competitive sport/business and these guys work hard to have the edge on every given game. The media is always Exploring for juicy drama so If you don’t like JH response then take a long hike to the other side of the bay! Go Niners and JH
I was wondring if someone was gonna finally say that, good job!
wondering…
Given the issues w/QBs going down, in some cases the third QB has to step up. I’d be interested in knowing if Tolzien is getting reps and how ready they would be to put him in if needed.
Tolzien will be starting in 2 years. Not Kaep. Mark my words.
I tend to agree w/you. Kaep will be a back up. He might be our special package guy if as well, but I’d like to keep the dialogue about Tolzien alive. I’m curious if he’s even getting a look in practice.
Hard for the 3rd stringer to get reps in practice with the starters, actually damn near impossible. With most teams, the 2nd stringer doesn’t even get 1st team reps once the season starts.
Grant mentioned to me in his blog the other day that Kaepernick had been having some issues since training camp throwing the slant pattern. Tolzein is a totally different issue. We can’t seem to get that blowout to allow our backups to see any playing time on offense. Hopefully, we could beat down a couple of division opponents here in the next few weeks and hopefully, they see the field.
Good info Jordan.
I believe Kaep had the slant pass knocked down in preseason and threw behind the receivers then as well. That doesn’t bode well for the guy if he can’t complete such an elementary pass.
We really need to whup up on the division teams. All 53 players should have played against AZ, but we couldn’t get into the end zone.
Would be smart for us to throwing Kaepernick in some Wildcat formations towards end of the year. Would give playoff opponents another dimension to have to scheme against.
I’d like to see up throw some screens in for teams to have to scheme against. That was glaringly absent in this last game.
Why no passes to Frank? He dropped a couple, but usually he’s pretty sound and you have to get him the ball in space if the run isn’t working.
EB,
You’re right about the screen pass. It seems like it’s not a part of our offense. The wide receiver screens we run don’t really net us much yardage. At least Smith is throwing that pass better. However, we don’t use the screen very often. I saw one shaky pass bounced to him early and they never threw him anything that he dropped. Gore started the game blocking well and then he missed a couple. I thought they were running a screen on the one play where Gore, Chilo and Davis whiffed on # 93 for the Ravens when he decked Smith for a sack! Lol
If I was Coach I would drive Interviewers nuts time after time saying, “Ooops! Let’s go off the record” and when we did, they would get: “You really don’t expect me to even “consider” answering that question, do you?”
Very ‘insightful’ latopia. I don’t happen to agree regarding Bowman. Bowman has been ‘money’ this season. He along with possibly the entire Defense had a poor performance against the Ravens.
Even P.Will got blasted by the fullback on one play, which is atypical. But if we view P.Will’ body of work he is already a lock for pro-bowl honors. Bowman may not receive that kind of award yet, but if he continues to play like he has thus far, he will get his in time.
16 points is a poor performance? Not the fault of the defense that the offense was completely inept. I guess the new standard in SF is to hold all opponents to 3 points so the offense doesn’t get embarrassed.
You are right msclemons67. Everybody needs to do their part, especially when it was tied to start the 4th quarter.
msclemons67, good point! I guess its a different era. Our defense is the big reason we have one 9 games so far and the offense has struggled as expected due to so many factors.
Yeah all things considered, I think the defense did enough to win the game if we had gotten any kind of offensive output. They didn’t get to Flacco, but they also didn’t give up the big plays the Ravens had been getting and stopped the run well as usual. In tough enviornment they did a pretty good job imo.
Not one question to him about quick hitters and even more importantly screen passes? Yet someone asks some ridiculous pass interference call questions like three times? Once again the local press corp is asleep at the wheel.
Along w/those non-plays on the offensive side, what about no blitzing?
Flacco gets rattled when under pressure and the choice was to give him confidence? This was the primary issue I saw coming into the game and remains the primary and perhaps only concern about our defense after the game.
Let’s make it easy for any press person that might be reading this: “Coach, typically in the NFL when teams are blitzing and having great success sacking the quarterback – like a game where maybe 9 sacks were allowed – the team having the problems has utilized screen passes to slow down the rush. Yet we have not seen that this season with your team. Is it because you haven’t studied or practiced those yet?” Ok, maybe you could leave out the last sentence. ;)
Yes poor performance. What we seen last Thursday night is not typical of our defense. Missed and broken tackles in a close game can be condusive to a loss. I don’t expect the defense to only give up 3 points per game, but on the other hand they have shown that their capable of doing it.
just read an article on bleacher report by jessee reed.he explained to a tee why as fans we shouldnt panic.i think if you read the article maybe,just maybe, it will show a little clarity on how the big picture of things will go.
We have a chance to clinch a playoff spot this Sunday with a win. With the way the last 8 years have gone a playoff apperance alone will do wonders for this young team. I know its all about winning superbowls but thats not what anyone in the organization was planning for. Even if we lose royally in the playoffs, the development alone to the young players and rookies will do wonders for their confidence. As for the vets, their competitve fire will grow that much stronger knowing what it will take to get back there. After every loss this year, all you hear from the players is how much they hate losing, sometimes you have to lose to learn how to win.
As for the front office, the playoffs will tell them a lot about what pieces to add to get over that hump and win a championship.
All in all, this year has been a success on many levels. The Niners will win the NFC West and possibly host a playoff game, no one in preseason ever thought that and for us to be debating about Alex, well he has done his part to date. Its always been about winning, he’s had help, but thats what football is, the ulitimate team game. Look forward to a great December of 49er football.
@ FDM: Why would the front office need the playoffs to tell them what pieces to add to get over that hump and win a championship?
If you have not been following, the trio hate club has it all figured out after 5 weeks of football. Its Alex Smith. Get rid of him and we win multiple championships. Keep in mind this is all based on their vast experience coaching, scouting, and playing in the NFL. They know way more then Baalke or Harbaugh. Cmon man, we are one QB away from winning a superbowl!
What a joke!
@Prime
I do wonder if the “little group that can’t” has considered that even if you have one of their elite QB’s on the roster instead of AS, and one of them does win the Super Bowl in any given year, that equates to all the others not winning that year.
And, how does one get to the “elite” level anyway? By winning a Super Bowl. Unless you want a great regular season QB who flunks in the playoffs (see Peyton’s career for all but 1 year), you need to win a Super Bowl. AS is now in that group of QB’s who are near that opportunity.
Was AR considered “elite” before his big post season splash? Would he be considered elite if the Pack had not won it all?
@Prime
“Its Alex Smith. Get rid of him and we win multiple championships.”
Shucks. There was a huge elite QB sale at Walmart, this past Black Friday, and the Niners failed to go to the store and just pluck one of those “elite” usually available except for the Christmas season QB’s from the shelf.
@DS, are you sure, I thought elite QB’s grew on trees. One hater said that he thought the 49ers should do whatever they could to get Manning out of INdy. Thats terrific, only they forget to consider the 49ers would basically have to give up a ransom of picks or players for a old and injured QB. But not to worry, Josh Johnson will be a 49er next year, he is elite based on being a 2nd string QB in TB and has shown he can win at the NFL level. Dont forget, were a QB away from winning the SB.
@Prime
Proves that we were wrong, and “the others” (yes, I used that term on purpose) have been right.
Why isn’t that Buc back-up starting right now? And Vince Young, did you see what he did against a poor Pat D? MV has ran for fewer TD’s than AS, and that is MVs strongsuit over AS. Have you ever seen a more beautiful 65 yard interception than MV’s? AS wobbles those stupid 5 yard passes around and wins. But I want the deep intercepted pass.
And, best of all, if you are right (elite QB’s grow on trees), the solution to all of the states economic issues are resolved. CA’s central valley can grow enough elite QB’s for the entire world. Stupid politicians don’t see it. But would they be elite then? Better go ask “the others” to make sure. lol
FDM,
No possibly on hosting a playoff game. They will host a playoff game. The only question will be if they do it after a week off. I agree with you on the success of the season. If you had told any fan of this team that they would be 9-2 and in position to win the division the following week, I don’t think anyone would have believed it. It’s amazing how quickly expectations change when you see the team win. It’s been fun and I think there is still some good things left to play out before it’s over.
Hey latopia, liked you’re impression, just wanted to qualify my thoughts. We have a dynamic defense but the whole team as well as the coaches seemed real tight last Thursday.
I see the feeding frenzy is still out…
AS has 21 tds and 6 Int’s over his last 16 starts. Not bad but to go vertical he may get 3 td’s and 1 Int a game. You have to wonder if they (he) is more concerned about risk of the Int’s (turnovers) than the td’s. You see the stats from the top 5 guys (Brees, Brady, Rodgers, etc) and they will throw 3 td’s and 1 Int. I’d like to see the offense open up these last 5 games – 250 yds passing and 150 yds running. Just like Madden use to say every Sunday, it begins and ends with the OL – the guys up front.
Hof, the most underrated unit in football, the offensive line. The way our offfensive line is built with all those high draft picks, we should never have seen the type of perfomance last Thursday. Now, its not all on them but its pretty clear that when they play well, we win and dominate. We need that every Sunday from those guys.
Now Chilo worries me because he loses his starting job, has been villified in the media, and now he has to come back and start, and he is young. Not sure why Boone does not get an opportunity there at right guard or slide AD inside.
Hofer,
Alex has heard over and over the last three years that he has to open it up. He knows it. It’s just not part of his game.
One of the excuses that his followers threw out this year was that the coaching staff didn’t want him throwing deep. The supporters said it wasn’t that type of offense. Yet here we were this last week and the coaches called it out as a missed opportunity. Either he doesn’t see the entire field, or like you mention, he isn’t a risk taker. Either way, but not having that tool in his belt, he is limited. In a copycat league, the rest of the teams are thanking the Saints and the Ravens and the Bengals and the Lions and the Browns for showing the league how to beat the Niners. Only difference between the Ravens game and the other games is that the running game didn’t get on track and the defense didn’t get a turnover. We still got a bland outing from Alex. I don’t care if you guys get up in arms over that comment or not. ITS THE TRUTH.
He’s had over half a season now in the offense. Time to step it up …. if he has the ability. What he has done so far he’s done pretty well. To beat the Saints we saw last night, he’s going to have to grow up and fast.
The truth maybe in your small world. Just wait to the playoffs, no need to pop off daily with the same repetitive opinion that no one really agrees with except your 2 other friends on here. You have said all along that you would judge Alex at the the entire body of work at the end of the year. Do yourself a favor, don’t make bold assumptions cause this offense is developing and the passing game is also developing to more big play potential. It makes you look small when time and time again you are proven wrong. Just look back to all your “opinions” on Alex since presason, how many of them were right and how many were wrong?
Don’t forget, I think FDM and Claudeballs have a running tracker of all the things the haters have said Alex couldnt do and how he has proven you all wrong.
Bay,
All we need from Smith is 170 yards passing and 5 touchdowns to beat the Saints. I posted 4 days ago that the Saints was our playoff opponent. They destroy the Giants last night. Guys here don’t realize that playoff football is completely different than regular season football. The Saints have playoff experience and 17 points is nit going to beat this team. We can’t control the clock for 8 minutes in a drive and then kick field goals. That’s not going to work.
Our defense is stellar but we give up big plays over the top and the Saints showed us their weapons last night. We don’t have weapons like that. Out offense needs a wake up call very soon. We certainly no longer look like a top 5 team in the league now. A top 3 defense but not a top 5 team.
23 Jordan, why cant we control the clock by our running game and special teams? Did you not see Seattle ground and pound NO in last years playoffs?
You need to take a good look at the history of playoff games. Its not arena football, its time of possesion, running the ball and playing good defense that allows you to win playoff games.
Go to the last four minutes of the podcast where the Ravens game review is. Ross Tucker (who has the Niners #2 in his power rankings) gets on them pretty good.
http://espn.go.com/espnradio/play?id=7290556
Jordan,
The offense has scored more than 17 in a number of games so I’m not sure where that number came from. They also would be playing the Saints at home if they win the games they are supposed to, where the Saints would be very beatable.
Brees had a great game last night and you know why? Because he had all day to throw the football. In the games the Saints have lost, he has been pressured, sacked and thrown picks. It’s not rocket science man. You can have all the weapons to throw to you want, but if you have no time to get the ball to them it doesn’t help you. The Saints don’t run the ball very much or very well. You can beat a one dimensional team in the playoffs as the Hawks proved with their win over the Saints last year.
@Bay,
In a copycat league, the rest of the teams are thanking the Saints and the Ravens and the Bengals and the Lions and the Browns for showing the league how to beat the Niners. Only difference between the Ravens game and the other games is that the running game didn’t get on track and the defense didn’t get a turnover.
____________________________________-
Look at what you’ve said here Bay. First off, we haven’t played the Saints this year and second, the teams you mentioned as providing a blueprint on how to beat the Niners…were beaten by the Niners. How does that make any sense?
Secondly you say “Only difference between the Ravens game and the other games is that the running game didn’t get on track and the defense didn’t get a turnover.”
That’s the “only” difference? I’d say not having a running game is a pretty big deal for a team built around the running game. If you make any team one dimensional, you are in position to beat them. The TO’s aren’t as big, but they sure do help. We didn’t get any TO’s in Baltimore, yet were tied in the 4th quarter. The biggest point you are missing however is that the Ravens are a different team at home. They don’t lose at home. They blew out the Steelers at home. We lost to a great home team on a short week. It happens. The key is to learn from it and move on. I think they’ll do that.
Rocket, 23 J likes to develop arguements as to why the Niners CANNOT win insted of why they CAN win.
What excites me most as a fan is that there is still more to come. The offense has regressed the last two weeks but there is a light at the end of the tunnel. I am seeing different formations and playcalls to use a variety of the personnel. This coaching staff is starting to dial in on whos gonna be a player in late December and into the playoffs. I think its important that our WR’s begin to step up as its pretty clear teams are taking away the running game and the TE’s.
Crabtree has produced, now its time for guys like Ginn, Edwards, Williams to really elevate their game. We need a breakout from one of those three and I’d like it to be Williams. He just needs to develop a role for himself. It was like that one drop he had against AZ or was it BAL? and they stopped calling his number. Not sure why.
Big P,
thanks for the podcast. Interesting that they said a better QB would have only taken 3 to 4 sacks in the Ravens game. Add them to a list of people that don’t know what they are talking about too.
I wonder what happened to Anthony Davis in this game. I re-watched it and it seemed like he was out of sorts. Too bad because he was really turning a corner IMO. I like that he has a bit of a nasty streak in him.
bay, Big P,
The breakdown in the podcast to me was so crystal clear to me. A couple of times, Smith would get out of the pocket and still take the sack instead of throwing the ball away. The decision making he uses is beyond me. The man is safe to a fault. he had open receivers on a couple of occasions. I remember a sack where he had Vernon Davis open 10-15 yards up the middle of the field. Dalton puts up 24 on the ravens. We can’t even score a touchdown. Watching Smith play the position is like watching paint dry. He held onto the ball way too long on at least 4 of those sacks. Luckily, most of the sacks were for short losses.
@hof
“I’d like to see the offense open up these last 5 games…”
But how? BE has not been healthy and his play since his return, not so great. JM is out (and you were right in being concerned about his injury) for the season. Williams looks good one game, and then looked lazy with that one pass where, if he had caught it, he could have ran for a long time with several blockers in front and no defenders in his area code. Ted Ginn…dropped a perfectly thrown sideline pass on 4th down, among other drops this season. Crabtree has looked better with each passing game since he returned. But, he is still just one guy, and any defense can roll coverage over towards him.
Our TE could/should be better. VD needs to catch the ball and stop jumping up for every pass when it is not needed, and run upfield quicker than he has been.
If you want more downfield passing, that involves greater risk, so the reward needs to be justified. And on a consistent basis, that risk has been greater than the reward so far this year. Hopefully that improves come playoff time.
“From the mouth of Jim Harbaugh himself, the 49ers won’t be the typical rest before the playoffs type of team. Usually those teams have been together for a long time. They know their systems inside and out, so rest before the postseason isn’t a detriment. The 49ers on the other hand, are still learning bits of their offense and defense every week. So to slow down momentum or play backups doesn’t seem likely in my estimation. I think the team will look to get the most out of these last five games and if backups are able to play late in games, that’s just a bonus for Jim Harbaugh and his staff.”
What stupid questions they ask in press conferences. This is a complete waste of everyone’s time.