Here are my full season grades for the 2011 49ers.
Alex Smith: A-. He’s a ‘B’ quarterback who had an ‘A’ regular season, an ‘A+’ divisional playoff game against the Saints and a ‘D’ championship game against the Giants. The ‘D’ performance knocks his overall grade down to an ‘A-’ for the season. You can’t finish flat like that and get an ‘A.’
Here’s what we know about Smith: He’s smart efficient, he’s careful, he’s tough, and he’s athletic. He usually executes exactly what Harbaugh asks him to execute. He still struggles to see the whole field. He’s a ‘B’ quarterback who can play like an ‘A’ quarterback, but rarely two weeks in a row. He’s inconsistent but he’s still improving. He was bad on third down and in the red zone all season long. If he can improve big-time in these two areas next year, he will be a Pro Bowler.
He gets major bonus points for his performance against the Saints and his leadership in organizing ‘Camp Alex.’ With a full season and an offseason of experience under Harbaugh, plus some new receivers, Smith should be a 28-year old ‘A’ quarterback next season, as well as a Super Bowl winner. If he falls short, then he’s holding his team back and the Niners will have to turn to Colin Kaepernick or find someone else.
Offensive line: B+. They were bad at the beginning of the season, but they improved dramatically. Yes, they gave up 44 sacks, tied for seventh most, but a lot of those came because Alex Smith held onto the ball extra long instead of throwing a pass into coverage. They were good at opening running lanes both inside and outside. Every member of this unit is athletic enough to pull. They’re young and they should be a strength of the team in the future.
Running back: A-. Frank Gore had one of his best seasons as a pro despite being injured in one way or another for most of it. Kendall Hunter had a terrific rookie season. He was so good you could argue he was under-utilized, especially on screen passes. Anthony Dixon seemed to be improving as a short yardage runner, but he failed to pick up a third and short against the Giants. Still, I think he has a bright future.
Wide receiver: D. There just isn’t much talent here. Michael Crabtree is a good starter in the league and he had a good regular season, but he did nothing in the playoffs. Joshua Morgan got hurt in Week 5. Braylon Edwards got hurt in Week 2. Ted Ginn Jr. isn’t a wide receiver – he’s a special teamer. Kyle Williams is a good little 23-year-old receiver who’s already had four concussions and who can never return a punt again for this franchise, so his future Niner value is questionable at best. Then there’s Brett Swain and Joe Hastings, who have no business playing on Sundays. It’s imperative for the Niners to get at least two new receivers for next season, maybe three.
Tight end: A-. Vernon Davis took almost all season to become comfortable with Harbaugh’s huge offensive playbook. But he was consistently a great blocker, and in the playoffs he was unstoppable as a pass catcher. He was the Niners best receiver this season and he will continue to be that guy next season. He’s so good that if you don’t throw about ten passes his way in a game, you aren’t giving yourself the best chance to win. Look for him to get much more involved in the pass game next season.
Delanie Walker had a good season until he broke his jaw. Justin Peelle was nothing special as the third tight end. Konrad Reuland and Nate Byham will compete for the third tight end job next season.
Defensive Line: A+. One of the best defensive lines in the NFL. Justin Smith is the best defensive player in the league and Ray McDonald is excellent, too. Aldon Smith had a great season (14.5) sacks, and he didn’t even start. Expect him to be a team-MVP candidate for the next decade. Isaac Sopoaga was a terrific nose tackle, too.
Linebacker: A+. Patrick Willis is the best middle linebacker in the NFL, and NaVorro Bowman had 46 more tackles than him. Backup Larry Grant is the hardest hitting linebacker on the team, and he played very well as a starter when Willis was hurt. Ahmad Brooks played almost every defensive snap this season – he’s never done that before in the NFL.
Secondary: A-. They gave up a good amount of yards, but they didn’t give up a lot of touchdowns. Before the year many people thought this unit would be a weakness of the team, but they were far from it. Carlos Rogers had an outstanding year and established himself as one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL because he can cover the slot and a corner, which is rare, plus he can actually catch – he caught six interceptions. Tarell Brown was better than solid and he’ll be a starter next year, too. Chris Culliver had an excellent rookie season considering he played free safety in college. He’ll eventually take over for Rogers as the team’s No. 1 corner. And the team really likes Tramaine Brock, the corner. Shawntae Spencer hardly played and he’ll most likely get cut, and the Niners will probably fill his spot with Curtis Holcomb (7th round pick in 2011) or Corey Nelms (practice squad).
The safeties, Dashon Goldson and Donte Whitner, both had excellent seasons. They’re fast, they cover a lot of field and they hit hard. Actually, they don’t just hit hard. They’re good tacklers and they hurt people. They make the Niners secondary not only good, but fearsome, which is a rare combination in today’s watered down NFL.
Special teams: A. They’d get an ‘A+’ if “The Kyle Williams” game never happened. David Akers had an all-time great season and so did Andy Lee. The coverage team is the best in the NFL – they didn’t allow a single return for a touchdown. And Ted Ginn Jr. proved to be a very valuable member of the team just as a returner. As badly as the offense performed against the Giants, the Niners probably still would have won had Ginn been healthy enough to play.
Vic Fangio: A+. He was the best defensive coordinator in 2011. He made any number of brilliant decisions with his defense. He didn’t like Shawntae Spencer – he preferred Tarell Brown and Chris Culliver at cornerback. That was the right call. He liked Parys Haralson as a starter and Aldon Smith as nickel-formation pass rusher. He liked NaVorro Bowman as a starter and a No. 1 tackler, which allowed Willis to blitz and cover tight ends more. That may have been the most brilliant call. Now, the Niners may have the two best inside linebackers in the whole league.
Greg Roman: B-. He designs creative, unique, effective run plays. At the beginning of the year he was winning games with these (the Kendall Hunter sweep against the Bengals, the Kendall Hunter counter against the Giants in Week 10). Roman seemed clearly better than Jimmy Raye, who called just one run play – Gore up the middle. But Roman’s pass plays were a different story. They were never very good. In fact, they seemed worse than Raye’s for much of the season. He never figured out what to call on third down or in the red zone. He doesn’t get credit for the Niners biggest red zone plays – the run and the throw late against the Saints. Other coaches designed and called those plays.
It’s as if he understood midseason he needed to improve his pass plays, so he focused on them to a fault down the stretch. Against the Giants in the NFC championship, running the ball with Frank Gore was working and he didn’t call those simple plays enough. Gore was averaging almost five yards per carry Roman only gave him 16 attempts. It didn’t take a genius to understand that Gore needed at least 25 in that game – that was the obvious game-winning strategy. It became obvious in the first quarter when it was working. Then Roman went to his pass plays and the Niners lost. As much as the Niners need to improve their wide receiving corps, Greg Roman needs to improve his play calling.
Jim Harbaugh: A. He had the best rookie head coaching season in NFL history, but he flopped the last game of the year so he doesn’t get an ‘A+.’ He should have torn up Greg Roman’s offensive game-plan and insisted on a meat and potatoes, run-run-play action approach. And he should have replaced Kyle Williams at punt returner with Reggie Smith. Without these rookie mistakes, the Niners would be in the Super Bowl.
Trent Baalke: A-. His draft and offseason moves were brilliant. But his in-season moves were not. He never properly replaced wide receivers Joshua Morgan and Braylon Edwards, as if the team didn’t need talent at that position, just ‘consummate teammates.’ That approach finally hurt the Niners in the last game of their season. Like most of the faults with 2011 Niners, Baalke’s falls under the category of ‘rookie mistakes.’ It’s reasonable to assume the Niners will learn from these and become the Super Bowl team next year they thought they were already this year.
49ers RSS feed
Hopefully kap starts in 12-13!!! Time to move on from Alex
amen
It’s nice that Harbaugh has already said he will not assign a starter next year – that QB is a position that’s earned. I like Kap’s arm but he’s got a long way to go to become a solid NFL QB.
Regarding the overall grades, I would have given Smith a B overall, “if” you’re comparing what he did to other NFL QBs that is. It’s easy to give an A if you’re comparing him to what we are used to. Brady, Rodgers, and Brees deserve the A’s. Yeah he only had five interceptions, but that’s mainly because he throws so many check-down passes or holds on to the ball and takes a sack rather than taking a chance. He may have been instructed to do that, so maybe he gets an A for following instructions, but he’s clearly being held back for a reason – it’s called having only an average skill set.
I thought a B- was a little harsh for Roman. In my opinion, he got a lot out of Smith and their below-average pass-catching group. The one thing that really did bug me is all his gimicky/trick plays that he ran. Far too many. He would have something working during a game and he’d throw one of them in there, especially down in the red zone. Drove me nuts. But again, he’s working with an offense that has a weak WR core, an average QB, and an offensive line that is still maturing.
dleo, I would disagree on the trick play comment if I may. Raye never did anything, and the opposing teams left 8 in the box all game, even on passing downs. The Giants had 7 or more in the box most of the game, and I think if the “trick” plays had been executed better, the niners would have been much more effective. Remember, the end sweep that Smith ran against NO was one of those plays…. 28 yards out and touchdown!!
@ dleo
Well said
I would not even say the Raye name with Roman’.That is how stupid that is. He was the worst in Niner history. But what you could expect from a coach like Dingletary.
This isnt Hov. Is it? What changed your mind about Smith? Was it because you were at the game and could see what those at home cant? Im not starting chit, just wondering why the change of heart
Time for you to get a Grip on Reality!
Upgrade at WR = Alex Smith Pro Bowl QB. Enough said
I’ll partially agree here. No doubt if we can bring in some legitimate weapons for Alex our passing game will substantially get better. However, I dont think he gets into a probowl unless we move to the AFC. There’s just too much talent at QB in the NFC (Brees, Rogers, Eli, Newton, Stafford, etc), it would be very tough. He’d have to put up some gaudy numbers (4,000+ yds, 25+ tds, 65% compl.) and I just don’t believe we are that style of team.
But I do believe Alex should start, without a doubt. He will continue to improve under Harbaugh and he’s just what this team needs to win.
Great Grading Grant.
Oh please, let’s not mention Alex Smith and Pro Bowl in the same sentence. The guy is an average QB at best. He’ll have his ‘wow’ moments, then break your heart the next. Get over it folks, A. Smith has reached his ceiling.
Nick, it’s clear that Eli Manning is having his best year ever (his WRs don’t hurt) and he’s 30. His QB rating was 92.9. Alex is 27 or 28. Interesting that you know for a fact that Alex can’t do any better than his 90.7 QB rating.
I find it interesting that so many people still think AS has reached his ceiling. That’s what many of us thought last year, only to be pleasantly surprised this year with vast improvement. I, for one, am withholding judgment until we see a leveling off or a decline from him. He finally has great coaching around him and has had one season with no real offseason with them. No one knows just what he’ll be able to accomplish next year.
As well as Alex Smith played this season his A grade is completely unproportional to the grades given to the Wr’s and Greg Roman. As Cosell said all season Alex Smith is the limiting factor not the play calling. Wr’s definitely need a talent infusion Butt until there is a qb given the freedom/have the talent to “let it go” we won’t know exactly what we have in the wr department.
Gotta agree there Grant. In fact, I am wondering if you gave Alex Smith an “A” because he played well and exceeded expectations. Otherwise it does leave people wondering how a QB that is close to dead last in most offensive catagories gets an “A”. You basically give him no room to grow. No goals to attain.
I’ll put it another way. If you graded Aaron Rogers what would he get. My guess is an “A”. So does that mean that Alex is on par with Aaron? Makes no sense. Glad you are a writer and not a teacher handing out grades : )
While I certainly wouldn’t say that AS is in the same class as the so called elite QB’s out there, I’d say this kind of grade is as subjective as any grade given in school. The question is “What is he being graded on?”
If you’re grading based on a stats comparison to the great QB’s out there, then sure, a lower grade would be more appropriate. I’d say B or B-.
If you’re grading based on W-L, then he deserves a better grade than anyone in the league but Rodgers in GB. I’d put that as an A.
If you’re grading based on what it seems he was asked to do by his coaching staff: i.e. not turn the ball over, be clutch in many games when it was needed, and just play smart football, then the grade should be high. He did almost everything they asked him to throughout the year. I’d put that score as a clear A.
I guess I look at the last option as the most realistic one. I look back to my college career to a history class where the professor spent only 15 minutes on the history of the Greeks and the beginnings of democracy in only one class at the beginning of the semester, then turned around and had the majority of the focus from the midterm on that subject. It wasn’t right to do that to the class, so many people failed that test. In that vein, I don’t think it’s fair to grade him on what other players in other offenses do, only what he was asked to do in this offense.
+1
Bay,
You can’t grade Smith on the same criteria as Aaron Rodgers. This is what some of you continually have glossed over all season long. If you are going to fairly grade Alex Smith you have to take the obstacles he faced into account.
New Offensive system for the 6th time in 7 years
No Offseason Coaching
A mainly conservative playcalling philosophy
Lack of playmakers at WR
If you look at the season he had in overcoming these obstacles, then Grant is pretty much right on the money with his grades. I suppose he could be given a B, but a case can be made that he had an A season under the circumstances.
Bay, agendas aside, what is the QB’s main role? Helping the team win. AS had off-season workouts, learned the play book in accelerated time, improved his overall play, cut down on turnovers, led the team to a 13-3 regular season, played on a big time stage against N.O. in his 1st playoff game and helped the team win with a key run and signature pass, etc. Grant was grading for only this year. There is a direct correlation between WR and QB – get some WR’s in here and he could move up to become an A- QB from a “B” QB.
What Grant is telling me with this grade is that he has hit his ceiling. Did the best that he could in this offense. No room for improvement.
I’ve been pretty fair with my grading of Smith all year. Gave high marks when he earned them. Regular season grade to me is a B-, New Orleans game A, Giants game C+. averaged out he gets a B for the playoffs. Overall still better than I ever thought he could do.
Bay, I take it to believe Smith got an A for the reasons explained by Calistoga and rocket and hofer, and also for exceeding expectations. There will be a new standard next year, and if 2012 is the same as this year, I guarantee he will not get an A grade again next season.
Expectations will be higher, and rightfully so.
I think you nailed it, Grant.
There are arguments for grading Alex higher (13-3 regular season record, Saints game, lack of training camp, poor WR, etc) and arguments for rating him lower (3rd down conversion rate is just atrocious -more like a C level player – and for a veteran qb he doesn’t scan the field and see open receivers, he throws some seriously offline passes, etc), but the way you laid it out was perfect.
would have thought Harbaugh deserves an A+ but agree…the clincher for me was not pulling KW. A spectacular year for a rookie coach with no training camp, but let’s save the A+ for next year when we win the SB.
I continue to not want to judge play calling as the offense is so inconsistent that I simply cant tell when its a bad call or bad execution. And my overall view is that some really questionable calls look like genius when they work (QB bootleg for a TD…boy if this had resulted in a 4 yard loss the fans would have screamed for Roman’s head).
Our defense really deserved to go to the SB, its a crying shame we can’t watch them stymie Tom Brady.
“would have thought Harbaugh deserves an A+ but agree…the clincher for me was not pulling KW. A spectacular year for a rookie coach with no training camp, but let’s save the A+ for next year when we win the SB.”
I wouldn’t have argued for an A+, that’s reserved for a Super Bowl winning QB, but I really think the assault on Harbaugh for not pulling Kyle Williams is unwarranted. KW is the backup punt returner, other guys may get a few reps in practice, but you can bet Ginn and KW are fielding the most punts. What’s worse? Having someone who’s fielded a few punts during the season, and likely practiced like he was going to be the #1 PR in the game, or inserting someone who hasn’t fielded a punt in a live game situation since they were in college?
Let’s not forget that KW’s first touch after the fumble that led to the Giant’s TD was a 40 yard return that resulted in the tying field goal.
you make a fair point, its only in retrospect, after the fumble, that we can claim that this was crucial. however, KW really had a string of errors – the unnecessary diving catch on a first-half punt, the bobbled reverse (we might forgive him for this – havent seen a replay), then the muff and the fumble. I’ve seen pro coaches just pull such a player and insert someone to watch the punts land harmlessly (in fact, i think i recall this from the 80′s Niners). the muff should have been the catalyst for a change, in my opinion. I’m nitpicking, i realize, but oh if we hadnt had those last 2 miscues. worth 10 points – half the Giants total.
I’d still give special teams an A+. It’s possible to get 3+ wrong answers on a test (punt block against Sea, KW’s mistakes, few missed FGs) and still get a high enough grade to get an A+. The unit was outstanding all year.
Grant,
I agree with your score and logic. Although, I would add to that as Alex Smith will improve as he gets a better personal relationship with his receivers. Crabtree became a easy double marked target once J. Morgan and then eventually B. Edwards went out with injuries. As Smith learns the system more the passing game will improve. I believe that recieving corps is T. Balkes main issue to address in the off season and foresee the passing game being more dominate next year. I like J. Morgan and hope he returns.
I also think that the Offensive line is one injury away from falling apart and another solid draft pick or free agent might be a consideration.
Finally, I think that another dominate pass rusher opposite side of Aldon Smith will alleviate some of the defensive passing woes from this season.
Otherwise, I am ecstatic over this last season. Thank you Jed, Trent, Coach Harbaugh, assistants, staff and of course the players for making this a great season.
Doc
“Backup Larry Grant is the hardest hitting linebacker on the team, and he played very well as a starter when Willis was hurt.”
Can you elaborate on how you came to this conclusion Grant? I’d argue Willis and Brooks (he broke Tony Romo’s ribs) hit harder.
I would give AS a B, I would gives A grade to top QB’s, Tom Brady, Eli Manning, Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees. Smith is not in that category, and he went from bad to good this year. I wished GR got the Penn State job. Baalke also didn’t have a adequate plan for a punt returner as well. I think Baalke needs to over ride Jim, as Jim probably thought, that the two guy’s from the practice squad, were going to be sufficient as receiver’s, that was a painful mistake, along with changing Punt returner’s when KW dove to catch a punt, what a idiot move on that, who the hell dives for punts, the rest is history, hope KW is cut by Sept, give another team some hardship.
Neal,
Williams won’t get cut now, but he won’t make this team next year.
@23 Jordan
yup that is what I meant, he will be in training camp but he will be cut by September.
I agree with you. The man had a horrible game. He’s not ready for prime time.
Yesterday I saw a play when he was at Arizonia State, and he was right under a punt, he bobbled the ball, a defender caught it, and ran about 10 yards for the winning touch down.
Good take on Roman. It seemed like he was calling plays for the previous game rather than reacting to the current game. Gore and Hunter were gashing the Giants. Should have continued with that until they were forced to bring up a safety.
Harbaughs biggest mistake was throwing the ball to Morgan, up 40 points against Tampa bay. It cost us a valuable player and possibly a trip to the super bowl. Anothe mistake wasbcontinuing to allow Williams to return punts when he made at least 5 mistakes in the return game alone. He fielded 2 punts and called fair catch when he had room to run. He also dove for a punt return withba defender about to hit him. Then the 3 fumbles. What did he have to do to get replaced in that game?
Balke’s biggest mistake was not replacing Morgan and Edwards with a receiver that could make a contribution orbat least serve as a decoy in this offense. Chambers, T.O., T. J. Housh, or Brandon for the Rams for a 6th rounder. We needed a couple of receivers. We bring in 2 players that caught 1 pass for 6 yards. Anyone on this blog could’ve found better options than that.
These 3 elements could have very easily cost us a super bowl as well.
True-but as they won,I bet “Dont mess with the chemistry” effect kicked in. They were going to go to the bottom of the 49er well before signing a guy who wasnt indoctrinated in Harbaugh.
JH got what he deserved then. And he sounds like a crying idiot claiming that Bradshaw fumbled. He didn’t fumble because he was not fighting to get away and he was being pushed backwards. The refs made the right call on that play.
23Jordan,
I agree with you on the bradshaw fumble issue. I don’t see how that play is even an issue. Bradshaw, clearly, had his forward progress stopped, was being pushed backwards towards the ground in fact, when the ball was ripped out.
The problem is that too many times the refs erroneously rule that a fumble when, according to the rules, it clearly is not.
Harbaugh should stop his whining about that.
i do concur with regards to the WR….i always felt niners should have rented a player for the last 2-3 games of the season….just to get a redzone weapon if necessary…..if not TO maybe Moss….this was a big disappointment….it basically IMO started pushing the O to be 1 dimensional as far as how a D covers ….
guess this could be fodder for those who say AS doesn’t see the field…i.e. why bring in a deep threat that isn’t acknowledge by a throw…and could be disruptive to the team chemistry…. how did hastings’, swain, good vibe chemistry help this team on the field…
Windsor very good point…
@kezar
I don’t know about that.
After thinking it over, I think TO could fit right in. Not fast. Can’t get seperation, and in the odd chance the ball is thrown his way, he will drop it. :P
Jordan,
this is where ego kicks in. We had an opportunity a month ago to bring in T.O. The goal isn’t to be best friends, or to be the best citizen, the goal is to win the superbowl. And we were so damn close.
It’s obvious that Alex doesn’t see the whole field. And it’s obvious that his accuracy is lacking when throwing to the deeper third part of the field. He will excel more if he has a big bodied receiver that is physical and runs the underneath stuff. Still not sure why KW didn’t do more of this but that is on Roman. T.O. could have filled that role easily and looking at it now would have been their number one option even with only a few weeks to acclimate. Give coach an F for bringing up a scrub from the practice squad instead of getting another NFL caliber receiver to gear up for the playoffs.
Bay,
I don’t care if T.O. Didn’t catch a pass. He would’ve served as a threat. Defenses would have had to prepare for him and cover him. This garbage about chemistry and trust with the QB is garbage. The giants were really scared of Joe Hastings and Swain! These 2 never got a call.
I have no doubt that there was not an outside WR brought in the last few weeks because of “chemistry.” And you know what? Almost worked, didn’t it? 3 point loss after a fumble in OT.
Keep hearing about TO. He was considered by his COACHES a drag on his last few teams and gotten rid of. But guys, guys….. this year he was a THIRTY EIGHT year old WR who was recently re-habbing from a bad injury. The chance that he had anything left physically to be able to play in the NFL is VERY slim.
Kezar, well said! HC logic all the way. That is why these guys aren’t HC’s and JH is one of the best!!!!!! More goodness to come from this team. Stay tuned…
Hofer,
Harbaugh isn’t a god. He makes mistakes too. He left KW in to screw up a 2nd time didn’t he?
I would grade Greg Roman C-. Some of his play callings are very much like Jimmy Raye.
I think I’d give Roman an A for the 1st 10 games and a D for the last 8 games. Early on he worked with the team’s limitations on offense and crafted solid, winning game plans.
Late in the season he got away from clock control for whatever reason and started allowing opponents too many possessions.
So I guess that works out to a C- over all.
I actually agree with the grade of Alex Smith. He was essentially a rookie in Harbaughs system. The games we lost, he wasn’t the biggest factor in making us lose, so i dont understand why people arent satisfied on this board. Get Alex: 1- josh morgan back, and 2- A rookie/fa to help him out. Also get him a RG (ala Dave Decastro,) or similar level rookie/fa and he’ll be fine.
interesting giving roman the lowest B grade and trashing him for just about every aspect of his play calling just about equating him to jim raye at times…..what did u give Roman for the NFC championship game ….sounds like u gave him a D for the saints and then an F for the giants game…u did this for AS should have followed through with Roman as well for synchronization’s sake … is AS getting a D when asked to execute a F gameplan…that is how i am reading your train of verbage…i can only surmise u wanted roman to get the penn state job…. which begs a follow up question… who do u want as the O coordinator..
grading is not a useful platform ….. to give grades u need to be qualified to understand how to give grades which requires you to have gone through the school of football and gain real knowledge of the intricacies of each postions job to be able to assess performance evaluations ….. to date i have never really observed real football knowledge that would lead me to believe you are a good evaluator of football…..you have on the other hand shown some emotional takes on what you observe as a fan….
i am appreciate someone has taken the blog over and provided some behind the scenes warm and fuzzy looks because they truly were enjoyable…otherwise eh ….
I think you’re wrong on a few of those grades Grant. A QB can’t run an offense ranked 31st in the league in converting 3rd downs, 29th in the league in passing yards/game, 24th in the league in passing TD’s and be considered an A- QB. I think it’s quite clear Smith is a C QB who had a C year. The thing he did exceptionally well was that he didn’t thow Int’s. Everything else was below average.
I think the WRs grade should be bumped up a bit. They are playing with a QB who refuses to throw a pass unless they beat coverage by 5-10 yards.
While I agree Roman needs to improve in his play calling I think he needs more of a B to B+ overall grade. Look at what he had to work with in the passing game. He did a good job of overcoming a poor passing attack.
i’m sorry I just could’nt stand it any more. I’ve been reading this blog for over 2 years and have never posted but i just could’nt stop myself today. i coached football in sonoma county for 23 years. I had the pleasure of assisting some of the smartest coaches in the area and learned so much from them. The absolute lack of knowledge of the people who post her icluding both grant and lowell is stunning. I’m writing about both the alex haters and the so called smithers. Some of you call gregg cosell an expert, hes not an expert hes a WRITER. His expertise is in media/broadcasting not sports. Anyway i digress the reason i’m breaking down and writing this post is in regards to all these so called experts criticizing coach harbaugh for not replacing Kyle Williams mid game. Anyone who knows anything about football knows you dont put in a punt returner mid game who has’nt taken hundreds of punts the previous weeks. It would be inviting disaster …..and i know theres going to be some smart alec who will say how could it have been worse. Thats pure and simple 20/20 hindsight. No coach in america worth his salt would have replaced Williams mid game. Lastly if you’re going to quote experts please do’nt make your arguement with the likes of Cosell. Kawakami or Cohn stick to the likes of Dilfer, Aikman or Jaworski
@tim gilligan
I always say that I don’t know. Some here can’t even admit that JH knows more than they do.
“You think you know, but you really don’t.” -Jim Mora
As a fan it is my duty to support the team and its decisions. If they make enough decisions I don’t like, I am no longer a fan. I think some here fall under such a category.
You left off the end of that famous “Mora-ism” – “…..and you never will.”
@kezar
I don’t think Mora ever said that, so I can’t include that in the quote.
But you are right. None of us on this blog including Grant will never know.
The quote is, “You think you know, but you don’t know, and you never will.” You can find it on youtube.
@exgolfer
Thanks for that!
Just proves my point of when I use it even more.
I’m with you. I enjoy football as much as anybody but the armchair coaches/quarterbacking gets old. Support the team or go home and stop bellyaching… it gets old
Excellent post
sorry (nameless) Coach, i have to disagree. you make it sound like replacing a PR NEVER happens; i’ve been watching nfl football for almost 50 yrs and i’ve seen it happen multiple times. i’ve watched the Niners do it multiple times – in fact, i think i recall Arnaz Battle replacing other Niner prs in a game just a few years ago. so that means either the other coaches had more than one guy prepared to do this job – ie fielding punts in practice – or they had some other plan/contingency. so why can’t Harbaugh, who has done a spectacular job, make the same backup plan?
i think this topic and the notion that i/we are somehow being ridiculously hard on Harbaugh is nonsense. Harbaugh is obviously a great coach, and we’re just fans. we are all in awe of what he has done with a 6-10 team. but that doesn’t mean we’re going to wave pom pons when things go well and smile when they don’t. we’re customers of a club that sells us entertainment: since when are the customers not entitled to evaluate the provider? we don’t know how to make the product that they make for us, but we don’t just sit their blindly and accept it, good or bad. i’ve rooted for the Niners faithfully for decades, in the crap years and the good years, and while i’m not qualified to coach, i have learned – thru the talents of others like Walsh and the senior Nolan- a thing or two about best practices.
The “coach” did say “No coach in america worth his salt”, the salt part probably explains why Arnaz Battle replaced the PR. We haven’t had a coach here who would qualify as being “worth his salt” in years.
@Dennis
Do you remember what happened when MS did that?
Arnez Battle who would jump in front of a bus if the HC asked him to do so, obliged.
The first time he fielded a punt, the sun was in his eyes, and he muffed the punt. Up to that point in the game (it was still early) the Niners were beating the crap out of the opponent. Winning like 10-0. After the muff, the momentum swung, and the Niners lost the game on the road.
Have you ever tried to field a punt, or a really high baseball? It looks easy on TV, but when you try to do it yourself, it is not so easy. Add in bad weather conditions, and I can’t imagine doing it well time and time again if I had not practiced it a lot that year.
I am not blaming JH. KW was the most experienced punt returner they had. If he had switched up, the new guy would go into a game with horrible wind/rain/field conditions and be asked to do something that the guy with all the reps and practiced could not do. And that is fair? I don’t think so.
@DS94everXev
I agree and even more importantly – who would the new guy be? Hunter? They hardly throw short passes to him. Crabtree? Had trouble catching passes the week before? Gore? Not worth the risk of losing him. Culliver? Maybe, but an awful lot to put on a rookie. I don’t think there was any other options available unless KW absolutely can’t play.
@ the Sonoma football coach who thinks he is a expert say’s
” Anyone who knows anything about football knows you dont put in a punt returner mid game who has’nt taken hundreds of punts the previous weeks” So for Mr. Football coach who thinks we all are idiots, let’s say KW fumbled the punt in the first quarter, and then on the next play the ball hits his knee for a second fumbled, you would still keep this guy in the game for the second half. That is Pop Warner fundamentals, if you don’t catch a punt, you get your ass out of it’s way, KW didnot do that. I’m shocked that your a football coach.
Very good assessment of the 2011 Niners. On offense, failure to convert in the red zone & in 3rd down situations was huge. This was prevalent ALL season, not only against the Giants Sunday. Play-calling was sub-par and Alex Smith didn’t perform well in those situations. Offer Smith 2-3
,incentive-laden deal. Hopefully Kaepernick will be ready then. Defeensively, the Niners are fairly set. They could add depth at DE and OLB. Franchise Goldson & re-sign R0gers to a 3-year deal. All in all, it was a great year, far surpassing many of our expectati0ns. Keep it rolling–next season. Aloha.
I agree across the board with your grades, Grant.
The AS grade is spot on to me. It seems (not surprisingly) that some would like to grade Alex on a curve with all the other QB’s in the league. He probably had a B on the curve. He did not have the year that Rodgers, Brees, or Brady had. Not even close. However he did have the 2nd best winning percentage (tied with Brees). He posted career bests in completion % (61.3), TD:INT ratio (17:5), and QBR (90.7). Those are the numbers. He did this with an injury-laden and talent short receiving corps and truncated off-season in a new system.
He seemed far more confident this year. He will never be the ultra confident “gunslinger” that some want. What he can do is play at a good to very good level within Harbaugh’s system. He has earned an extension. I would like to see what he can do with some more talented targets and a full off-season. If he cannot improve on this solid year, it may be time to move on. He showed this year he can improve, when some naysayers said otherwise. I believe he (and the coaching staff) finally established the foundation this year on which to build. It was a good year to be a 9er fan, and I look forward to many more to come.
Agree with the Defensive grades. This was a very good pass defense in a pass happy league. The run defense was amazing.
I think the offensive grades are a little too high, except at wide receiver.
I think Alex deserved a solid B. He played the game the way the coaches wanted it played; as mistake free as possible. Yes he missed some chances to score, but his turnovers were minimal and that is clearly how the game plan was written.
The running game was a B+
The offensive line was a B also. There had alot of problems, but corrected most of them during the season.
I love the complaints about Harbaugh and the “mistakes” he made. He told a sad sack team to the championship game, but his “mistakes”pushed his grade down; unbelievable.
Once Edwards and Morgan went down the wide receivers were mariginal as best. This is the area that needs upgrading the most.
I disagree with the comments about Balke bringing in another receiver. T.O. is a finished head case, Moss is done, and so are the others named. The hope was that Edwards would recover and be a force. He didn’t and wasn’t, but there is nothing that could be done about it this year.
This is not a video game were you just plug players in.
In August no one on this blog or frankly in this country would have predicted the Niners making it as far as they did. We had a great year. Now we need to see if we can built on it and improve next year.
Read this from the Wall Street Journal of all places. Great article on the 9ers defense. The guy is as bummed as we are
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203806504577179120491199182.html?KEYWORDS=REED+ALBERGOTTI
Grant,
I dont suppose you think WRs grow on trees, do you? Who did you expect Baalke to sign in the middle and end of the season to replace Joshua Morgan and Braylon Edwards?
Certainly not someone like T.O – 31 other teams shied away from him too.
I read your criticism, but I would like to know what the team could have done to upgrade this position.
Grant, can you comment on Gore’s health? he looked awfully banged up from the Giants game on, and he seemed to have his carries rationed pretty harshly. when i finally got to see a game live, i was appalled at how he limped off the field after every play – he looked really beat up. i think he’s been a total stud for us, but i worry that he can’t be anything close to the featured back anymore.
pretty good overall
Anthony Dixon is a special teamer, that’s it! I get so frustrated watching him try to dance in the whole with that big body. If he learned how to run “downhill”, he’d be an interesting prospect. But the fact that he has not done so in his first few seasons doesn’t bode well for his future…..again, other than on special teams where is very good indeed.
The grade for the O-line is too high. It’s more like a C+/B- for a young, relatively inexperienced line.They suffer as much as Smith with the OC turnover and different blocking schemes. This line is making good headway but still isn’t good enough in 3rd and short running plays or obvious passing downs. They should be a lot more consistant this next season. I’m betting we see major improvement in 3rd down conversions with them building on what they’ve learned this year.
I think the grades are pretty good. I might quibble over Smith’s, but I’ll leave that debate to others to rage on to infinity. I will say that whatever combination of Smith’s shortcomings and our lackluster WR corp’s shortcomings, I sincerely hope JH can get that figured out.
Here’s the deal. We really should be in the SB. We were oh so close. So many make the mistake of assuming that all we need do is a little tweaking here or there, and we’re there. The problem is that it is rare to pick up where you left off in today’s NFL. Our team got to within an inch of the SB by strong defense, special teams, and a mistake free efficient offense. But the margin for error was pretty small. Other than Morgan, we didn’t really have any major injuries. Our OL, DL, LB, and secondary units all came through pretty unscathed. That’s rare, and cannot be counted on next year. Further, who knows who of our FA class we’ll be able to retain.
My point is, to get back with the exact same formula is difficult. To improve the margin of error we need to improve the offense. And we need it to improve to be able to overcome any problems the D might have next year. We can’t count on giving up only 13 points again per game.
I have a lot of trust in JH. He did an amazing job this year. I’m sure they will draft/obtain some better skill players at WR. I hope that he continues to develop CK or ST or someone behind Smith in case he can’t elevate his game sufficiently, or gets injured. Both things possible. They’ll need to pass more. The Ravens SB approach is very difficult to replicate.
Next year will be tougher.
agree
Agree – There are so many reasons why the team might not replicate this year’s success: injuries, coaches leaving in the offseason, personnel losses due to FA, other teams stepping up big…the list goes on and on. That’s why there was so much talk in the team prior to the NO about how you only get a few shots at the postseason. There are only a few teams that can consistently make it there. Hopefully they’re building one now.
To that end, Grant’s comment about AS bugged me a bit: “With a full season and an offseason of experience under Harbaugh, plus some new receivers, Smith should be a 28-year old ‘A’ quarterback next season, as well as a Super Bowl winner. If he falls short, then he’s holding his team back and the Niners will have to turn to Colin Kaepernick or find someone else.” Sure, the expectations will be higher for AS next year, but to pin the blame now on him if they don’t win the SB next year? That’s a little far reaching…that’s like saying Aaron Rodgers needs to be replaced next year because the Packers didn’t make it to the Super Bowl. I know, I’ll get grief for comparing AS to AR, but my point is that as good as he is, his team didn’t make it to the NFC Championship game, nor did Drew Brees, and the reasons they didn’t make it didn’t fall directly at their feet. It’s a team game and a team effort and as we saw with KW’s issues on Sunday, sometimes the ball bounces the wrong way.
The Niners are a more talented team than the Packers. The most talented player – Justin Smith – is getting older, he’s 32. The Niners should be in the Super Bowl but they’re not because of a few mistakes in the NFC championship game. The Niners have a window to win with this great roster, and they need the offense (mostly the play calling, quarterback and wide receivers) to meet them next year at Super Bowl caliber.
Uh-oh. Matt Barrows has been watching film — but it may be different film from the one that Grant and his buddy Cossell have been watching:
http://blogs.sacbee.com/49ers/archives/2012/01/turnovers-not-alex-smith-killed-the-49ers.html
It seems that argument presumes the Giants and Niners defenses are the same caliber.
@Grant
No more so than thinking EM has the Niner WR core AS has. Or vice-versa.
EM threw up some prayers that Niner WR’s don’t catch. And he missed at least as many open WR’s as AS.
Smith has the better defense, offensive line, running backs, tight ends and offensive linemen.
How many second and third and longs did Eli Manning convert in that game? There’s no question Manning outplayed Smith.
The Giants defense shut down the Packers a week earlier in Lambeau field. They were playing at the same caliber the Niners defense was.
The Giants converted 7 of 21 3rd downs. Certainly better than the Niners, but not great by any means.
Eli averaged less yards per attempt, less yards per completion, had a completion percentage barely over 50% and benefitted from two TO’s deep in Niner territory. The QBR and QB ratings for both QB’s were nearly identical. Both threw 2 TD’s. Manning threw two poor passes that should’ve been picked and also fumbled.
He didn’t outplay Smith unless you are strictly looking at total yardage. If you look within the confines of the game, Smith played as well as Eli did, and didn’t put his team in danger by almost turning the ball over like Eli did. Anyone singing Eli’s praises after this game is doing so because of Rep, not because of what happened on the field.
Neither QB played well because the defenses were dominant on both sides.
@Grant
The NFL is a passing league. And passing translates to WR. TE/RB are second to the WR now. That is why I would trade anything for LF.
And all those 3rd down conversions resulted in what? 10 points. And nearly all of them in the 1st half. And look who EM had to throw to. Any one of them would be the Niners #1 WR. EM has 3 of them.
I don’t think AS had the better OL. He just didn’t have to face the Niner DL. Big difference between the Niner DL and every other teams DL.
No it doesn’t. It just assumes that the overall game situation for each QB are comparable (i.e., offensive assets and defensive liabilities combined).
But I’ll let Grant and MattyB fight it out over this issue at their next pancake social.
oops, previous response was @Grant.
TO’s are always the key to winning.
A -2 is almost a sure way to lose any game. No matter what else the stats say. Nothing else matters. And without the 2 TO’s, the Giants don’t do anything to us and we win the game. We get those 2 picks, and while it would not be a blow-out, it would have been smooth sailing come 2nd part of the 4th quarter.
TO’s were not the key to the Niners beating the Saints. They needed Alex Smith to be great at the end. Smith was the key.
now that is total crap ….
@Grant
Seriously. Is that really you?
Ask any HC. TO are the things that make a difference like no other. Niners are not 13-3 if they don’t have that great TO ratio.
How many teams win games in the playoffs and lose the TO battle? Ask Giants HC, if those TO mattered. Ask DB if those TO matter. Ask AS if you get the chance if TO matter.
AS had to be great in that Saint game, but he needed somebody else (VD) to be great with him. No QB can do it themselves. And without those TO’s, AS has no chance to be great. Niners get blown out.
I can’t believe this is really you Grant.
1-13 on third downs was the most important stat from the NFC championship, not the turnover differential. The Niners had two chances to drive the field at the end of the game and win and they went three and out. The fate of the season shouldn’t have been on Kyle Williams over and over again.
I thought I’d read somewhere that TO ratio is very strongly correlated with winning in playoffs.
Grant I hear you and only disagree slightly. There is 3 phases of the game and you can’t only put the spot line on the defense and give the ST a pass. What would you say if those two key turnovers were on offense?
*meant spot light on offense*
@Grant
The typical Niner game involved horrible 3rd down conversion rate, but a + TO ratio. And the Niners went 13-3 doing that. Niners were near last all season long in 3rd down conversions, so bad 3rd down conversion rates are not new.
Then when the Niners needed to get a score, the D held, TG got a good return, and AS did whatever he had too, and drove the team to win the game. I think ribico already covered this earlier.
The problem with a ST TO is that it actually does take a posession away. Unlike when the offense turns the ball over, at least they got to touch the ball. When ST turns it over, the offense does not take the field. And it usually gives the opponent the ball near FG range all the time. AS never had the ball back a 2nd time in OT, unlike EM who had 3 shots due to that TO.
How do you know AS does not throw a perfect strike to VD who runs it into the endzone on the first play of that stolen series?
The typical Niner third down rate was 3 for 10, not 1 for 13.
And now, the Giants have created the newest gameplan for beating the Niners: On offense, just hold onto the ball – don’t turn it over. On defense, force the Niners offense into third downs.
@Grant
1/13 sucks (and the Niners did get a few penalties to get 1st downs, so it wasn’t quite that bad).
3/10 sucks.
If you got a grade on an exam on both, the end result would still be the same…F.
You are stretching the fact if you came home and think a 30% is really all that much better than 7 or 8% on an exam. Both would result in the same grade, bad feeling, lack of TV time, etc. Would your dad be any happier Grant if you came home with a 30% than an 8%? The numbers differ, but the impact/conclusion is the same.
Another example is cold. I knew a Russian who said once it gets down to a low enough temp, there is not that much difference if it gets lower. Between a low-low temp and a higher-low temp. The effect it had on him was the same. He was really freakin cold and needed the same clothes/heat/etc. with the low-low temp as the high-low temp. Get it?
The 49ers won games all year despite terrible third down conversion percentages, and they did it by avoiding turnovers.
Grant–Do you really think they could have beat the Saints if the 49ers had fumbled twice deep in their own territory? The two comeback drives were only possible because they didn’t follow muffed kicks.
The two non-TO’s were the key to beating New Orleans.
@Grant,
1-13 on third downs was the most important stat from the NFC championship, not the turnover differential. The Niners had two chances to drive the field at the end of the game and win and they went three and out. The fate of the season shouldn’t have been on Kyle Williams over and over again.
**************************************************
Without the two muffed punts deep in their own end, the Niners win the game Grant. The loss directly correlates with those two turnovers because it cost the Niners 10 points. Saying they should have converted a higher percentage of 3rd downs is an observation and belief it would have helped. In truth, the Niners scored 17 points with that lousy 3rd down percentage. The Giants scored 10 without the turnovers.
It may be lazy to say they lost due to TO’s but it’s the truth. They could have made it easier on themselves with a better conversion rate or hanging onto the interceptions, but the Giants could have made it easier on themselves with a better offensive output as well. The bottom line is the Niners win without the muffed punts.
Rocket,
+1, except you forgot to mention the Bradshaw non-fumble that really was a fumble deep in NY territory, game tied 17-17, with 2:27 to go. If the ref doesn’t screw up and blow an early whistle, the 49ers win the game.
Grant,
I like your writing, but you are off base in this case.
The offense converting only one of thirteen third downs is awful. But, just because it’s awful, doesn’t mean it should be moved to the front of the “Reasons the 49ers Lost” line.
You can talk all you want about third down conversions, or missed opportunities by Smith, or coaching lapses, or anything else you choose. But when you boil it down, the 49ers were undone by the two fumbles or the Bradshaw non-fumble. Take your pick.
I’m not saying your points on why the 49ers lost are wrong, they’re just not at the top of the list. BTW, don’t take my word for it, Peter King, Tim Kawakami, Matt Barrows, Sando, and Mike Silver all agree, if not for the two fumbles or the Bradshaw non-fumble, the 49ers would be going to the Super Bowl.
You can call that lazy all you want, but that’s just the truth, Grant.
How can you put it all on Kyle Williams when Alex Smith went 1-13 on third down and he missed Kyle Williams on a shot play for a touchdown? Smith left at least seven points on the field.
Grant, I don’t think it was AS that went 1-13, it was the whole offense that went 1-13 (remember team). There are three phases of the game and if there were 2 fumbles or 2 int on offense no one would give them a pass. ST mishaps were huge and as we know, the team that loses the turnover battle in the playoffs usually loses. The whole team could of played better.
Sure, but Smith did miss Kyle Williams deep. That should have been seven points – enough to win.
*could have* played better. It’s late. lol
>>Sure, but Smith did miss Kyle Williams deep. That should have been seven points – enough to win.
Grant, you are really drawing blanks in justifying your reasoning for the team’s failure in this game. The number of times a QB misses a receiver in a game, in *any* game, for *any* QB, it is numerous. Compare that to the number of times a team gives up muffed and fumbled punts close to it’s own red zone.
Are you really trying to equate those two types of in-game experiences – one a given in anyone’s passing game, the other a catastrophic breakdown – in determining the outcome. Really? Really???
I wouldn’t expect J23 logic from you, but I guess we learn something new everyday.
That’s Alex’s job – to complete one of the shot plays he takes in the game. It’s not Kyle Williams’ job to be a poised punt returner in the NFC championship game – that’s Ginn’s job. Williams had a track record of muffing punts in college. Harbaugh should have remembered that and put someone back there in that game who was more poised, like Reggie Smith.
It’s baffling to me how it’s so easy for fans to jump on Williams for “giving” the Giants 10 points when Smith left at least seven on the field on that shot play. Yes, the quarterback has to make that throw in the NFC championship game. No excuses. And if you get the ball twice at the end of the fourth quarter and you can’ t move the ball at all, you’re asking for something bad to happen. The experience disparity finally became a factor and it didn’t need to – the Niners were better.
@ribico
It does not sound like Grant. He seems obsessed with the 3rd down conversion rates and is ignoring all other things in the game. He put too much into his prediction, and feels the need to justify why it didn’t happen.
And that gameplan to beat the Niners…that is the gameplan for any team to beat any other team. Make no mistake, if a team can follow thru with that gameplan they will win.
Grant,
I’m not putting it all on KW. The Bradshaw non-fumble was just as damaging [i.e., catastrophic] to the 49ers’ chances of winning
I agree, maybe he shouldn’t have been out there fielding punts, but he is a professional football player. He needed to make professional football plays and he didn’t.
As I said, I feel terrible for him and I hope that those who tweeted threats against him and his family go to jail. That not withstanding, facts are facts. He botched routine plays that cost the 49ers the game.
Missing a long bomb, while frustrating – I yelled at the TV, along with most 49er fans – just isn’t a routine play. In fact, I would bet that the completion rate for such a play is one in three, at best. Coughing up the ball on a punt return is an entirely different matter. It IS routine to not fumble a punt. Especially after you’ve already fumbled one earlier in the game. I mean, really, secure the ball properly, KW!
I’m sorry, Grant, but you are just not thinking clearly, here. Maybe you are friends with KW or you feel protective of him because of the threats. Admirable, if so, but you need to put your feelings aside and be objective.
One in three? He was wide open. It was about a 40 yard throw down the middle of the field, not to the sideline. Any B, B+ quarterback should hit that throw. Tim Tebow makes that throw.
@DS, as I posted eariler, Grant acts like this was his first viewing of a 49er game all season. Yes, 3rd down conversion rate was abysmal, but that is nothing new – quibling over percentage differences that are lousy to begin with is merely splitting hairs. Yet the team made up for it in other areas, somehow riding past that liability to the brink of the Superbowl, winning 14 games in the process. It is the exact analog of the way the Pats have overcome their terrible defense. It’s the way business has been done ALL SEASON LONG. (Next season, fixing that – through continued QB improvement, upgraded WR corps, one more year experience in play calling – has to be the highest priority).
One of the ways the team masked that was stellar ST play and here the team crumbled. If someone doesn’t see that as the difference in the game, for *this* team, has an agenda that is blatently obvious.
>>Any B, B+ quarterback should hit that throw. Tim Tebow makes that throw.
Oh, BS. Any A+ QB misses throws, and that throw, too. Eli overthrew open receivers as did Brees last game.
And since you throwing out unsupportable hypotheticals, who’s to say Williams doesn’t fumble the ball through the end zone as he’s approaching it (you know, thats not unheard of in Niner history), giving him the hat trick.
Grant
Of all 4 QB’s who played on Sunday, who didn’t miss a big play throw?
Tom Brady had the worst game of any of them. He missed a ton of throws and threw balls that should not have been thrown and paid the price with it being Int. In the 4th quarter! Game on the line! TB would have been the goat!
Eli missed a lot of throws as well. Had he hit them on target and in stride, the Giants would have scored more TD’s. No doubt about it. Look back on that game. Early on especially. And, the Giants would have scored more than 1 TD since EM missed more than one deep pass to an open WR. Add them up (for both teams now), and the Niners are not close to winning this game. Giants WR’s did a better job at getting open. Giving EM more opportunities to hit open targets. Not much more complicated than that.
And, if deep passes were completed at the same rate as shorter passes, than there would be no short passes. Why throw short if your success for the deep 30+ yard throw is the same as the 5 yard throw?
And, you have not given anywhere near the attention to AS great sideline throw to VD which gave the Niners the lead in the first place. You seem to be selecting your points to criticize here Grant.
Fact is, if AS does not hit on a bunch of deep throws (sideline ones at that) this postseason, the Niners don’t win any games. Some credit or acknowledgement is due here.
I give Smith full credit. I gave him an A- on the season which most people here felt was too high. Still, there’s no excuse for him not making the throw to Kyle Williams. Tebow would hit that throw nine out of ten times.
Grant, if your saying that the one play in the 1st Q (deep pass to KW) would have changed the face of the game, how don’t the 2 fumbles? If they connect on that play and the Niners go up, it still does not take away the costly turnovers. Those two fumbles not only gave the Giants a short field, but in a game like that, the turnovers give the Giants confidence and a huge momentum shift, as well as, put the Niners players in doubt and on their heels, thinking, worrying, and playing tight!
If Smith had hit that throw for a touchdown, Kyle Williams’ punt returns wouldn’t have had so much pressure on them. He had no confidence, he was terrified as the ball was coming to him – it was obvious. I fault a veteran quarterback for missing a 40 yard throw on a big stage more than a 23 year old backup muffing punts, especially when he’s had that track record since college. He’s a spazz in big moments. The coaches should have known that. Ditka would have never left Williams back there. Neither would Walsh. They would have said, “Son, it’s not your day.” You leave Williams in the game to redeem himself in the regular season, not in the NFC championship game. Yes, the Niners most likely win without Williams’ mistakes. They also would have most likely won if Alex Smith hit the wide open touchdown throw to Kyle Williams.
Grant,
I can only speak for myself, but I’m not overlooking the missed pass to KW at all. It was a mistake by Alex Smith no question about it, but the effect of that mistake compared to the muffed punts is not even close. Alex Smith missing a receiver didn’t give the Giants possession of the ball deep in our end twice.
You aren’t wrong in saying Smith has a part to play in the loss. He does, what I’m saying is, his culpability pales in comparison to the muffed punts. I don’t see how you can argue otherwise when those turnovers led directly to ten points that were the difference in the game.
Both teams struggled offensively. Manning missed Manningham on a deep throw, fumbled and threw two passes that should have been picked, yet his team still won. The reason is, they didn’t turn the ball over and the Niners did. That is the clear difference in the game.
But if Smith had made that touchdown throw, the ten points Williams surrendered wouldn’t have resulted in a loss.
@ribico
I know. It is weird. It’s like Grant hasn’t seen the Niners play all year long. I think the Niners were only good 1 or 2 times on 3rd down conversions all season long. So, to point to that as the main culpret (and now this missed KW deep pass and who is to say he does not drop it anyway) of why they mest this game is not at all consisent with what got the Niners here in the first place:
Awesome D that devours the opponent and spits out their remains. A special teams unit who gets them in great field position on offense, and makes it a long field for the opposing offense to help out our defense and an offense which does not turn the ball over and takes advantage of the situations given to them. Look at every game won this year, and that is what they did.
3rd down conversions were just icing if they got it above 40% that game. NO depended on converting 3rd downs a lot more than we did.
@Grant
I know you gave AS a great grade.
But then to turn around and the next second, and bash him and only focus on that one throw…just isn’t you man.
Sure Tim Tebow can make that throw. Know which ones he could not make? The two TD passes from AS to VD. So, if you are going by points, Tebow has one less TD pass, and probably a whole lot of TO’s in that mess and under that pressure. Tebow in that game would not have been any better.
And if AS does make that throw, what makes you know that KW does not drop the ball? Then, you add that to his fumbles as the runner on the reverse and the 2 fumbles on ST, and what do you get? Your situation requires AS to first throw a catchable ball, and EW to make the catch and not drop/fumble it. There is more than 1 variable there.
The punt return stuff only involves 1 step. Don’t let the ball hit you as it is rolling and is under the complete control of one person. KW.
Your assumption that KW would make the catch is not without some doubt. AS has had a lot of great throws dropped by all his playmakers all season long. KW did it last game against NO. The only one who did show up was VD, and we saw what AS and VD can look like if VD does not drop the ball.
Bill Walsh would not have replaced the punt returner. Maybe JH should have not had a returner in the game at all by that point. Just send everybody in to block it.
But, had JH done that and the ball rolls 30 yards and the Giants get the ball back because of that good roll and the Niner offense is unable to move the ball, can you imagine the anger at JH for not having a punt returner back there?
@Grant
“But if Smith had made that touchdown throw, the ten points Williams surrendered wouldn’t have resulted in a loss.”
You can’t say that either Grant.
1. That play happened with like 50 minutes left in the game. Assuming it was a TD, that would have given EM time to adjust the Giants approach to the game, and maybe they throw it even more as a result of being down 14-0, and seeing how the pass was working in the 1st half, maybe the Giants answer back with another TD, or two that did not happen since the score was so close.
If that AS to KW play happened with 5 minutes left in the 4th quarter, the number of different possible outcomes is much less than it is with 50 minutes left, and you would have a point. The more possible outcomes you have with a lead, the lower the chance you have to win a game.
Time gives teams more opportunities which lead to more outcomes. That is why nobody really cares who is the best QB in the 1st quarter. They only care about the best QB in the 4th quarter.
Grant, using your analogy of AS missing KW deep (which he did) you could also say that the two missed 2 Int where DG knocks the ball lose from a DB was also the reason for the loss.
My take is that the missed pass by AS wasn’t a turnover but a missed opportunity. The ST mishaps put the Giants in great field position. Looking at probability of losing by turnovers and field position outweigh a missed pass every time. The team with the most turnovers usually loses the game. A turnover on offense or ST doesn’t matter – no free pass.
I agree that BW would have relieved KW of his duties especially after that catch where KW dived for the ball. Lucky there wasn’t a turnover then and there. Bad karma or whatever, they lost.
Grant,
But if Smith had made that touchdown throw, the ten points Williams surrendered wouldn’t have resulted in a loss.
**************************************************
You have to look at all the factors that surround the plays in question Grant. Cause and effect are vastly different when looking at these plays.
Missing an open receiver in the first quarter does not have the same impact as fumbling a punt in OT deep in your end. One play is a missed opportunity with a lot of time to make up for it. The other is a game ender. You can’t compare the two in level of culpability. If we look at Manning he too missed a deep open receiver and threw what should have been two interceptions but it didn’t change the outcome of the game.
If we break the game down to its core here’s what we find:
Tie game even with the Niners losing the TO battle 1-0. The game is in sudden death OT with the first team to score being the winner. Niners have had one possession, Giants have had two. Both teams had to punt. The only difference is that Kyle Williams fumbled the ball. That fumble ended the game. You can’t say otherwise.
Grant,
Obviously, I don’t have statistics to back up my position. So my position is anecdotal. It seems to me that I see many more missed long pass play opportunities than fumbled punts, much less two by the same player, in the same game. Fielding a punt without fumbling is simply a much more routine play than hitting a long pass. I just don’t see any other way to look at it.
Grant,
Not that you care, but I’m not critical of A- you gave Smith, at all. It was as high a grade as you could give. I’m assuming you bumped him up from a B or B+ to an A- based on the lack of an off season, another new system to learn and what he has endured in his career up to this year.
I’ve made this point before and will only do so maybe once more before 2012 season starts. Alex Smith’s career reminds me (so far, that is) of John Brodie’s. Brodie had a number of coaches, went up and down and was re-united with YA Tittle when Tittle became the 49ers chief offensive coach. Brodie had his first really good season when he was THIRTY in 1965 (had been a high No. 1 pick in 1957), another really good one in 1968 – Dick Nolan’s first year – and finally in 1970 when he was 35 was voted MVP. Always had to put up with competition including 2nd round draft pick George Mira in 1964 and the #3 pick in the whole draft, Steve Spurrier in 1967 (Heisman winner).
Alex should get better next year with this year’s experience. But right NOW, the team has to upgrade the WR position hugely. Bill Walsh always provided his QBs with TOP receivers (and only used one #1 draft pick to do it). ALL the great QBs have had top or great receivers. This was a big mistake Shula made the last few years of Marino’s career, no great WRs and it showed. I have no suggestions except that you don’t need a top #1 draft pick to do it. Unless there is someone at any position that the 49ers LOVE at #30 pick, my suggestion (a la 1986), trade DOWN. Get an extra 2 & 3 if you can for that #30 pick, then if no one you love, trade a #2 for an extra 3 & 4 or something like that. There are PLAYERS out there. Walsh found half a team (OK, exaggerating a bit) in 1986. I have a lot of trust in Trent. Of course if there’s a tremendous difference maker available towards the end of first round (Moss and Andre Rison in years past somehow slipped down first round), then trade up (but DON’T trade the first round pick in 2013 to do that).
Nice write-up Kezar. Keep them coming.
Niners have not had a whole lot of success in recent years with draft picks on the offensive side of the ball in the mid- and lower rounds, with the exception of Gore and Morgan. Contrast that with Giants, where Coughlin, that old receivers coach, has a great eye for receiver talent and has replenished their WR corps like Shanahan did with the Broncos with RBs.
Rookie receivers generally take a couple of years to gain their footing in the league. I’m not sure how the Niners can hope to compete at the highest level in the next two seasons without getting a WR in the upcoming FA.
Brodie threw a beautiful spiral.
One more thing about Brodie/Alex. George Mira WAS given a chance to get the number one job with the 49ers and he didn’t show enough. Same with Steve Spurrier (given almost the whole 1972 season). I suspect that Colin and even Tolzien will have their shots (like Troy Smith got) whether because of injury or team not doing well. At that time, it will be up to them to show enough to beat out Alex. I’m with Harbaugh on this, the best guy gets the job. The Raiders got rid of their MVP QB, Lamonica and years later traded Stabler, the Rams cut Warner just a couple of years or so after he won his 2nd MVP (true, a big mistake), the 49ers even traded Joe Montana, etc etc etc. You have to prove yourself every year in the NFL and that goes for EVERY player, including QBs, Hall of Famers or not. And so it will be for the 49ers of the next few years as well.
Grant,
You grade G. Roman a B- partly because of his play design/selection on third downs/red zone. At the same time giving A.Smith an A- with comment that if he would improve his third down/red zone performance, he would be considered an A quarterback.
Hmmmmm…
What most don’t realize is that the play calling limitations weren’t due to the QB. EManning had three receivers that had little to no trouble getting open most of the year and against the 9ers during the season and in the playoffs. The 9ers don’t have one receiver that consistently gets open so when the QB misses a play or two per game, it is accentuated. The coaching staff knows this. We’ll see which direction JH, TB and staff go in the FA market and draft then we’ll all have our answers.
I’m no expert so the grades aren’t for me to give. However, I think Grant’s statement that Alex Smith either wins the Super Bowl next year or it’s CK time seems a bit foolish to me. Aaron Rogers fell short of the Super Bowl this year. Should Matt Flynn start next year? I guess the Saints should not re sign Drew Brees either. There are 31 other QBs that should not start next season following that logic. I agree, play whoever is performing best. If CK is not ready in 2014 and AS is still the better option then sorry folks, AS may be our QB in 2014.
Lastly, just because THE TEAM won 14 games this year does not automatically mean that all our expectations should be Super Bowl. I’d love it but we have to be realistic. It is extremely hard to win any game in the NFL. That’s why this season was SO SPECIAL. This year’s performance guarantees nothing for next season. The goal will be win the Division. And note that that is a GOAL not an EXPECTATION.
correct….each season is an entity on to itself…
“This year’s performance guarantees nothing for next season.”
So true because there’s no reason you can expect the same turn over differential next season. That being said, if they can keep most of their important FAs, this team is built for a strong run at it the next couple years with this D, STs and an O that should be much better next year with Roman knowing what he’s got to work with and both he and the O having a years experience together.
…and a much better receiving corps is a requirement.
Agree – I just posted essentially the same thing before scrolling down and saw yours.
Agree on all grades Grant.
I especially like your Defense and Alex’ grade.
The defense as a whole became ‘lights out’ this year. Your assessment of Larry Grant is very good as well. Culliver will continue to develop and perhaps we sign another F/A or draftee who will push T.Brown (who actually played decent). Rodgers is a must. Aldon will need to play more downs thereby spelling less time for Brooks. But Brooks is still very viable.
WR must be a priority this off season. Harbaugh and Trent will need to ‘burn-up’ the F/A wires to promote a more open and diverse QB to WR game plan for next season. Great to good WR’ want the ball thrown their way whether the pass is perfectly thrown or not. Alex (and Harbaugh) are reluctant to take the risk of throwing the pass to a WR unless he is absolutely open.
Alex threw a ‘risk’ pass to VD on his first TD against the Saints and it worked. But how many of those ‘risk’ passes did we see this season?
Brees threw a ‘risk’ pass to Graham in the last 3 minutes of that game and it worked. Point: Just throw the ball in their area and let them go for it. That’s what a WR ‘playmaker’ will always ask for. Not sure if our ‘safe throws’ offensive scheme will attract these types because it doesn’t give them a chance to make a play.
Alex’ A- grade is fair. He rarely put two great to good games back to back. But his improvement was definite. I personally believe the Org offers Alex a 2-3 yr. deal with a bus load of incentives. Harbaugh and Trent are too smart to come in with a 5-7 yr. deal because it deflates any hope that CK and ST may have of cracking the starting line-up within a couple of years.
I remember reading posts early on during TC last year about CK looking very good. Albeit, inconsistencies and inexperience eventually put CK in the back-up role, but there’s no way Harbaugh and Trent didn’t come away from TC knowing that CK and ST need a chance to shine.
Off season will be very interesting. And next season will be our SB year!
All those Giant conversions on 3rd down were passes caught innthe slot by Cruz or on the sidelines and outs to Manningham and Nicks. What’s the key tonthose routes, speed and precise route running. Give Alex one of those receivers with Vernon and Walker, that 1-13 goes to 10-13.
As far as Grant saying the difference in the championship game was not turnovers? Well ask Manning if having a short field is easier to score on the Niners defense rather than driving it 80+ yards. Both turnovers were inside the 30 and they came away with 10 points. That was the difference in the game, it’s called huge momentum shift.
Elite QB’s have great pass catchers at WR. Trying to ask AS to make something happen at the end of the game with such receiving limitations is ridiculous. Last year many of us stated, “give AS an offense-minded HC and he will improve”. The 9ers hired JH and AS improved. This year we say, “get him some weapons and he’s even better”. No one is saying elite QB because there are so few, but QB is not the weakest position on this 9er team by a long shot.
@Grant
Can we get a blog subject which defines what an “elite” QB is some time?
People just throw these words out there, but nobody has defined it. A definition needs to involve all eras of football, and include all those who most if us call elite (JM) and those who most don’t call elite (Trent Dilfer) can’t fall under the “elite” definition. Otherwise the word holds no weight or meaning.
Grant:
Is there any reason why the NFL does not “sell” to the public the game film? I know some of the media gets it, like Jaws and on the NFL network. It would be a money maker for the league. I bet a lot of us would pay $100 or so a season to get acess to the coaches film.
@49er42
One reason is that fans would use it and start telling the coaches what to do.
It doesn’t sound much different than what happens now, but I really think it would be different in a bad way.
I believe Alex’s grade is incomplete. We will have the true verdict next year. With the off-season workouts and finding some NFL receivers it should make the offense better. Alex is in a strong position, he’ll get a long term deal but it’s a gamble if he does not progress. How much better can this defense get? The sky is the limit.
Grant,
That gameplan was developed on Thanksgiving by the Ravens, it just took until the Giants for it to happen again. If either Goldson or Brown hold onto that interception then maybe it turns out different.
I agree with all of your grades, however I think the return of Joshua Morgan if he resigns here is being under rated. I think his return helps out big time. Then you could have him, Crabtree, either a free agent or draft pick along with Williams as a slot man and Ginn as your returner/5th receiver.
i consider JM a possession rcvr….for me IMO changes the way i would like to see the WR corp change next year…
i am not trying to slight anyone but i also consider MC a possession rcvr…
how many possession rcvrs does a JH type WCO require…maybe it is two …. if it is, along with two TEs, this IMO still allows the defense to crowd the LOS….
already i can’t wait for the next book of niner seasons to come out just to see how the niner team develops……
Mr. Williams will not be with this team come September.
Although I agree with Harbaugh’s grade, he has at least one thing to work on. His after the game behavior toward other coaches. Schwartz was silly and Coughlin was childish. You can be a tough and great coach and STILL show a little consideration to the other side, whether you’ve won or lost. This is where he needs the most work. I love that he doesn’t ever belittle his players and this will continue to serve him well.
as fans of course we are invested and sitting on couch can take a standoffish observance of how two others meet at the middle of the field….would have gone a long ways if JH could have really given coughlin the time of day at the middle of the field…but JH was understandably more invested with his emotions which were still very raw seeing a game and a season just go down the drain in 20 minutes with two fumbles followed by a run raising the heart rate more to the middle of the field..maybe should just walk to the middle of the field to collect himself before the handshake…camera composure for JH is a challenge and will have to wait until next year to see if he becomes more comfortable handling wins and losses…probably the best thing he could do is give the coaches a call and congratulate them in softer tones too smooth this year over….oh but that would be to much like a californian…
I’m watching replay, I don’t care what anyone says that was a fumble! Bradshaw is getting pulled backwards and stripped simultaneously!
I agree Prime time
Just finished watching the replay, and I must say…we need to stop ripping Kyle Williams. He had over 150 return yards in the game and set the offense up for the go ahead TD in the second half and the tying FG with good returns.
All that being said, the ball off his knee is a situation that you learn early on playing ball. If you are not going to field it, GET AWAY!
We need to support this guy. He will be back next year. He is the only WR signed for next year except for Crabtree, and he is a Harbaugh type of player. There will be at least one game that we win next year because of him.
Will it be the game that gets us to the Super Bowl?
Re-watching the botched reverse play, KW took his eyes off the ball to see where he was going to run after getting the pitch from KH. Nobody said it but it was definitely the case. Uuuggghhh!
Im not too sure Coach. Williams is small, not a great attribute to have as a receiver and when you make crucial mistakes like he did, he will have to work his you know what off to just earn a roster spot. Considering the Niners will definately upgrade the position in probably free agency and the draft, he might not be a 49er next year.
I can see that FDM.
But, I could/will say that about any of the WR’s. Not a one did a thing of note in the playoffs. So, why not get rid of them as well?
So, if you see KW not being here, I could just as easily see MC not coming back. And strangely, the most viled WR on the roster TG has the highest liklihood of coming back.
@DS, Williams may not fit altogether because in order for the Nienrs to get better at the position, here is what they should do. They should move Crabtree to the slot positon where he can run routes underneath and close to the line of scrimmage. Then go out an draft and or sign a big bodied receiver with speed for the outside. Morgan can play the opposite side of this receiver, and then draft a receiver that has the potential to develop in all three of those positions. This player needs to be versatile ala Cruz/Welker. Can williams be that guy?
You dont give up on Crabtree just yet. Its clear they have not put him in the best position to succeed and he on all accounts has not demonstrated he is a legit #1. He has an offseason and training camp, a full one none the less, to prove that. Im not sure I would sign Ginn if you can find someone in the draft that can play WR and be a special teams ace.
@FDM
One reason why I am a little lax on KW moreso than on MC is because I saw KW dive for a ball earlier this year.
He didn’t catch it, but he at least gave it his all on that play. I had not seen a WR on the Niners attempt to dive in years. And, I have written several posts earlier this year making that point that Niner WR’s don’t dive and don’t do all they can to make a completion.
So, to me, KW is a guy who does his best every time out. It may not be enough to win, or it may even result in a loss, but he gives it his all. I like that attitude. MC to date has not shown that. Do you remember MC ever diving for a ball? I don’t even care if he catches it (if he does, great!). But, I judge players by what they are doing to be the best they can be, and I like some of what KW did this year. I am of course a fan, so I have different criteria grading players than a HC or GM, and I can live with that.
But, as in all things I have done (and I have no choice as long as I wish to be a true fan of the team), I put my trust in JH and TB to make those decisions. I will support any decision they make.
Would you sign Desean Jackson?
If I were GM…No.
The reasons are all cliched, but there is a very good reason for those reasons to be cliched. Because they are true. Anything that is cliched has stood the test of time, and this certainly applies here.
I would offer to get LF. Do some Belichick and set-up some people. Spy on them, plant evidence, whatever I need to do to get LF over here. Trade several high draft picks. You get him here, and we win at least 1 if not 2 Super Bowls in 2 years.
We can, and will draft some WR’s. But, it often takes WR’s a few years to get really dominant, and this dominant D may not be around by the time it happens. I would rather give up 1 of our D players now, than wait a few years to develop a WR. This team is designed to win now, and win big. In a few years time, who knows what can happen with injuries, contract negotiations, etc. We have the best defense the world has ever seen, and we need to get at least one trophy while we have them.
So, I would rather give up a big player on Defense, and get their replacement in FA, or draft, than I would want the slowly develop a WR from college approach.
I don’t know anything at all about this Bowe guy from KC, so I can’t comment on him at all. But, I would take a page out of Carmen Policy’s book right now and wine and dine the best WR’s on the market who want to play as a team (DJ I don’t think does). Get all of them over here. Sew them to AS and have them practice all day every day for 6 hours. Rain, sun, whatever. By the time the regular season rolls around, I don’t want and more stupid chemistry issues between AS and the WR’s. I’m sick of it.
But, again. I put my trust in JH and TB and will cheer for anybody they bring in. If that person was DJ, then I would cheer for DJ. I would go all out to get the best WR (LF) in the NFL onto this team now.
Grant writes well and he seems like a pretty nice kid. Having said that, his grades of the Niner players are meaningless.
23jordan is a pompous blowhard who likes to hear himself talk.
Grant needs to ask the coaching staff what specific areas of the team need to be improved next year. Do they think they can bring back the same personnel next year and expect an improved result? Or, do they think specific spots need to be upgraded. If so, which spots?
pomposity and blowhard-yness are prerequisites to posting here
I your guess is as good as Grant’ and 23J.
Grant, everything you said is spot on. From top to bottom I agree with it all. I have to say, I was VERY happy with the secondary this year. I knew Carlos Rogers would be our best cornerback, but I had no idea Brown would play that well, or that Culliver would have such a solid rookie season. Excellent play all around, from the corners and safeties.
And let me tell you, I was completely surprised with Goldson. After 2009 I thought he would have a fantastic 2010, but obviously that didn’t happen. I was happy to let him walk, and when we re-signed him I didn’t expect much. I was just glad that the addition of Goldson meant Madieu Williams wouldn’t see the field. Goldson ended up having the season we all expected a year earlier, and now I am very glad that we were lucky enough to get him back.
As far as the offseason is concerned, I think we need a legitimate #1 WR, and we need to add some depth on the offensive line. Oh, and re-sign as many of our free agents as we can. Anything else is just gravy! Looking forward to 2012.
My biggest concern is that the 49ers end up being the 2006 Bears. They made it to the Super Bowl with a great defense and special teams carrying a craptacular offense. The following year the D wasn’t quite able to live up to their 2006 level and the team didn’t even make the playoffs.
The 49ers need to keep this defense together and do something, anything, to improve this horrible offense. New wide receivers, O-Line, quarterback – whatever it takes. We can’t expect the defense to carry the worst passing offense in the league to the playoffs a second year in a row. The odds are against it.
Agreed. Grade is a F if no Super Bowl next year.
You said it . Smith does not yet see the field on third down and holds the ball too long. It is just a matter of time before Kaepernick is the man unless Smith can overcome those flaws next year. Also, how many games can Smith go before he gets hurt? Kaepernick will have to fill in at some point. Good stuff Grant. The fact that Roman has not solved the third down passing dillema is worrisome. Maybe Mike Martz should come out of retirement provided the niners upgrade their wide receiving corps. NFL = Not For Long.
Johnc113,
If I were you, I wouldn’t hold my breath for Roman to be fired. Both he and Smith are coming back next year. Assuming an upgraded WR corps, look for Smith to improve further, next year.
Good grief. Does anyone remember their expectations for this year before the first regular season game? I remember mine, I thought the team would be somewhere between 6-10 and 9-7, with an unlikely, best case scenario hope they would win a wildcard round playoff game.
They far exceeded anyone’s wildest dreams this year and if not for two botched punts OR a quick whistle on Bradshaw’s fumble, the 49ers would be going to the Super Bowl.
I would’ve taken that in a heartbeat at the beginning of the year.
exgolfer,
I think once people have had time to get past the disappointment of this loss they will see what you do. The Niners far exceeded expectations and had a heck of a season with insurmountable odds against them. For the first time in a decade we had a team we could really be proud of and get excited by. It was a great season with or without the SB.
Everything said was right on the money except Alex Smith being an A-. I would give him a B- or C+. Yes he did not turn over the ball, but the defense basically won games for him since all he had to do was not “screw up”. Greg Roman is another story. I felt he was being too conservative on his calling when he shouldn’t and being too “cute” when he should have been conservative in his calling. I still do not get why the “f” we did not run at least 10 or 15 more times. The last time we ran i think it went 18 yards with Hunter??!!! Gore had almost 5 yards per carry! i mean, that should have been pound out football to run out the clock then run a play action every 4-5 plays. We could have run it down their throuts and we did not. i absolutely do not get that whatsoever. Can somebody explain to me why we did not give it to Gore and Hunter to finish the game?
In hindsight, if Brandon LLoyd were signed we would probably be in the Super Bowl. I’m not sure if there was any waiver claiming positioning.
That Kyle Williams play was the reason we lost the NFC Championship Game is obvious to anyone who understands football.
Absolutely, our defense kept holding them, and then we give them a gift at the 3o yard line, 5 plays later a 20 something yard field goal, thats Christmas early.
Amen, Somehow idiot Grant cohn doesnt think so, i was there in person to witnees to collapse of a team destined for the 6th superbowl ring. niners COULD NOT LOSE THE GAME withouth those turnovers.
since u were there….were there WRs open that AS could have thrown to in the last few drives of the game…because that seems to be the crux of all arguments
Yes multiple times throughout the game AS failed to see Crabtree and Walker wide open across the middle as well as down the sideline, I can remember at least 4 times screaming to pass to one of them, with that said, we still didn’t need to convert any passes or 3rd downs to seal the win, the giants gained 120 yd on last 11 possessions, our D was not allowing them a breath of air, they were right where we wanted them and our special teams LET THEM OFF THE HOOK! questions should really be pointed to our play calling for simply abandoning the run game which was powering through the giants all game. Turnovers cost us the game, play calling didn’t help on offense but REGARDLESS Our D was so dominant we only lost if we beat ourselves, which we sadly did.
@BeReal707…you get it. I would go one further and say the coaching is what lost the game. Play calling on offense and not running the ball when they could have and should have and letting KW stay in the game when clearly he was uncomfortable returning punts. Even before the two muff/fumbles, he made two big mistakes. One is he fair caught a ball when nobody was around for 15 yards then he dove for a ball he should not have to make a catch. Coaches should have pulled him and put in Kendall or Delanie!
They did not take, we gave.
I don’t care what any of you say…..this team is a A +…..they were by far so much better then anyone expected. Just think you could be a Rams fan…..lol
I wonder if a coach can change the way a QB views the field. For example. Alex has had receivers open in games and has missed those opportunities on several accounts. Can Harbaugh change this? the other thing is with Alex not turning the ball over with INT this season I would be interested to see how may throw aways he had and how many sacks he took just to not throw it away. Im not saying lets don’t resign Smith. I am saying can Harbaugh really change the way Smith see’s the field and can he help Smith read D’s better?
No. A coach cannot coach up field vision or peripheral vision. That is god given. But who am I? I’m just some scrub writing on a football blog. Grant, this is a good question for Harbaugh. Or any coach for that matter. Historically is field vision and peripheral vision something that can be coached up? Or is it a matter of either you have it or you don’t.
It works both ways. AS needs to hit more of those or there is a risk he loses his job over time. On the flip side, receivers with more talent across the board (especially to take pressure off of MC) would help as a unit and their QB.
Peyton manning to the niners? Hmmm would you do it if he was healthy? And let CK learn under him? Imagine his work ethic with JH. Not to be down on Alex but, food for thought. Give him some weapons and with that defense, I guarantee a superbowl or two…
Or just get some weapons for the QB who got us to the NFC title game and a lead in the 4th quarter.
Why on God’s earth would you want P. Manning? There has never been a bigger game chocker than him. If you want 4,500 yards passing and lots of yelling at the LOS, and winning lots of regular season games, he’s your man.
If you want a guy who wins playoff games, shows up when the real pressure is on, he sure isn’t your man.
PM lost his first 3 playoff games. The first one being the #1 seed at home. And, he only has 1 Super Bowl ring. Throwing an Int to lose the Super Bowl and a chance for his 2nd. I’d rather have a guy (AS) who wins in the playoffs instead.
The thing that worries me about A.Smith is how he always fails to see wide open receivers in critical times. I am also not too sure about him reading D’s.
@shawn
I have a lot of faith that AS will become one of the best in the NFL at reading defenses. Once he and the other players know their own offense (so AS is not having to correct where people are lined up. That takes attention away from him reading the defense), this problem will go away.
Hopefully the Niner OL will continue its improvement that they demonstrated late in the year to give AS time to read defenses (that helps by the way).
Then the real time and opportunity comes for AS to actually learn and not just run for his life takes place. Can’t learn while you are running for your life. And AS ran for his life the whole time he’s been here.
JH and AS will work on it together, and solve any problems as they present themselves to the both of them.
just how realistic is this peyton manning talk…..have we heard any credible medical report suggesting that whatever was wrong is not completely stable….have any doctors publicly signed off on anything….seems rather a futile conversation to have if the tires cannot be kicked….
TO did situps or pushups in the driveway and ran routes on film….
will peyton provide film on taking a hit….
so my futile answer would be i would kick the tires….no slight to AS…but if peyton is stable then why not…still would have to get weapons…..and the cost cannot be so high that it cripples future adjustments
Lol Grant and Lowell Cohn are the two biggest morons in local sports. Go cover high school bad mitten at least there you might find a touchy feelgood emotional story that you two so desperately try to find. All Lowell knows how to write about is as follows… monta and steph are no good, alex is no good, Coach harbaugh is a jerk, Sabean is clueless and Bonds is a terrible guy. Do us all a favor and crawl back under a rock, no one appreciates your pessimistic 24/7 attitude. MOVE AWAY FROM NORCAL IF YOU DONT LIKE COVERING OUR LOCAL SPORTS! between you two Cohns and Ray Ratto you could start the 3 amigos of Bashing Local Teams. keep writing desperation storys as your careers fade away into the bay fog…
Yes but if this offense had a Qb like him we’d go undefeated!!! He is a hall of famer. Let him play with a defense like this and he beats everyone, provided he’s healthy.
Peyton Manning may be worth looking into this offseason. If we can get Peyton from Indi, we immediately become an elite team.
That’s what a great QB can do to a team. That’s exactly what’s missing from the current roster.
It doesn’t always work out that way, in fact it pretty much never does. Manning would come in to a situation with a new offense and receivers, health uncertainty and huge expectations. While it looks great on paper, bringing in the hired gun near the end of his career never has resulted in a Championship as far as I know. The closest was the Vikings with Favre a couple of years ago, but I think that’s the closest.
One other thing on Manning, to sign him you’d have to give him in excess of 20 mill which means you wouldn’t be in position to sign some of the FA’s that were key to this teams success this season. As I said, this type of thing rarely works because there is always a flaw somewhere along the line.
@rocket
You know I am no PM fan by now more than anybody here.
But I don’t think money is the end all-be-all to get PM. He is already rich. Players are usually most greedy about their 2nd contract (because most won’t get one, or get another). So, I can see PM playing for cheap like DS did his one year here.
I don’t think PM would do any good here at all though. No WR’s who are any good, and he would have to relinquish all that power he has, and not call his own plays anymore. Nobody is talking about that at all, but I think that would be a hard thing for somebody to do. He couldn’t call his own plays because he would be in a new system for the first time in his long Pro career.
Add to that our OL is not the Hoover Dam, and it will end in disaster at best and paralysis/death at worse.
You make good points, especially regarding the salary cap hit for singning Manning.
DS94,
Your last paragraph…..I almost spit my coffee all over my desk!
@Angus
I sincerely hope the laugh part in the beginning (Hoover Dam) part and not the end part. : – )
>>If we can get Peyton from Indi, we immediately become an elite team.
There are 28 other teams out there that would have to consider us elite as-is.
So we are going to spend $10mill a year on AS for 2 years? What a waste of money. Let Kap play and use the $10 mill on the offensive line and wide reciever and maybe another running back. We have the defense to stop teams, i say let’s bite the bullet and let Kap take over as the future is now.
That’s the beauty of having them both on the roster. Let them compete and let the best man win.
And yes, the Niners would be stupid to sign Alex for more than $7-8 million a year. He’s not worth more than that based on production alone. Give 3/4 the QB’s in the league a top three defense and we will win regardless, and my last point is no one else will pay him more. So we would be STUPID to pay more. STUPID.
Use the money to build a better team around him or Kaep.
Amen my 9er brother! I think JH is going to make some decisions that are going to suprise a lot of people but they will be best for the team. I think he saw what he needed to see “in the big game”.
$30 mill a year total for AS, Goldson, and Rogers is much to much to pay. We need to be building a better team for long term success and for keeping the “core” defense together. I say let them all go and upgrade the following positions:
1) Wide reciever
2) 2 O-Line studs
3) Another D-Line beast
4) Another stud running back
5) Keeping Ahmad Brooks
6) Keeping Ginn
Wow!
I think that someone is hitting the bottle a little early today….
Just trying to think outside the box (not bottle). if we could keep the whole team in tact and still go after some good free agents then i am all for it. Reality is there are going to be some changes that us fans might not appreciate at first. Go 9ers!
And I can tell you aren’t going to be happy when Smith signs on for another 3 years or so.
Grant! I have an interesting ideal for you as a topic. Could Colin Kapernick have the same sucess as Alex Smith did if he became the starter in 2012. If he played Alex Smith’s game in which he was smart with the football and kept the defense in position to win the games. Im thinking worst case scenario Alex is not resigned or hurt. With a full offseason and his second year in the nfl. Can it be done?
Grant: I agree on your grade for Greg Roman. I think we will get to see if he is really as good as his reputation next season, after a full off-season allows the installation of the entire defense.
Finally, a Grant Cohn article I really, really, really like. Some great perspective and fact finding there. The fact that most errors were rookie mistakes might trouble some people, but for me it’s something to hang my hat on. Look at Bill Walsh’s first season. Did he go to the NFC Championship game? No. Keep your heads held high Niners fans
I beg to differ on some of these anti-Alex comments….Alex WILL be our starting QB next year whether you haters like it or not. He had a great year and will only get better with time under his belt in this offense. The grade for Roman is the most telling grade of all. Nice article…
You say Culliver will be #1 at some point very factually. Is there something you know that we don’t or are you just getting your guess out there?
Let’s get one thing straight. I am not an Alex hater but I am somewhat of an expert on 49er QBs since I have seen every one since Frankie Albert, who by the way was way better than Alex. This team has an elite defense and special teams. The OL was very good and will only get better. It makes no sense to handicap this team again with Alex at QB. He sees only 1/2 the field and freezes up often when he is supposed to go downfield. Perfect example was the Giants game. Roman called a pass down the middle to Delanie Walker who was wide open — sure TD. Alex froze up and didn’t throw the ball. He admitted that later. Same thing happened in the second half with Crabtree who was in the clear and Alex held on to the ball. We have top quality at most positions and a mediocre QB. Josh Johnson is a free agent and will join Harbaugh. He already said he wants to come home to SF. Add CK and Tolzien and there is no room for Alex. In a competition he’ll finish last anyway so we should just get rid of him and his contract. We do this and we’ll win the Super Bowl. We have a Lamborghini with a Yugo at QB. Time for a change.
So, in your somewhat expert opinion, 3 unproven QBs are the answer. You think Josh Johnson could’ve made Brett Swain and Joe Hastings look like all pro wideouts?
Or with JJ, maybe MC doesn’t drop 3 easy passes. lol
@mountain
Do you see what the problem with your post is?
Your opening sentence states what you are not (hater), not what you are (Niner fan). There is a political party which does this at will; defining what they are not, not what they are.
You then proceed with a rather long post of 16 sentences where you do nothing but hate on they guy. Pointing out all the things he did wrong and none of the good. So, is this your version of keeping it real, or being complimentary?
He must have done an awful lot of good, and don’t give me this BS about the team carrying him. He had 6 comeback wins. 1 in the playoffs. 4 on the road. JM himself could not have bettered that. Without AS as the QB, the Niners don’t make it as far as they did. Realistically, you were not going to get any of the QB’s you would rather have had, and done better.
You are as much an “expert” on Niner QB’s as I am in window design. So, please don’t act like you know so much. The Jim Mora quote is perfect for you:
“You think you know, but you don’t. And you never will.”
I am not an Alex hater but I am somewhat of an expert on 49er QBs since I have seen every one since Frankie Albert.
The only thing your an expert at is being old!
DS94everXev: What an arrogant ass. I’ve been a Niner fan since long before you were born. I pointed out that Frankie Albert was way better only to illustrate how long I’ve been a Niner fan. I had to wait 35 years for a title and enjoyed every one of them. I live and die for the 49ers and it’s a shame that we had to settle for Alex because a truly capable QB would have led us to a Super Bowl win. He’s a nice kid with a lot of heart but lacking natural instincts, as I have pointed out many times and as Jerry Rice pointed out when Alex first arrived. With your line of reasoning, there is no doubt you are where you belong — in window design. I’ll guarantee you that Alex won’t start next season because Harbaugh said he’s opening the position up for competition and Alex couldn’t beat out O’Sullivan or Hill, so he has no chance vs. CK, Tolzien or Johnson. With Albert, Brodie, Tittle, Montana, Young or Garcia we would have been playing next week. None of them were afraid to throw the ball, unlike Alex. Thankfully you are not the coach and we won’t have to put up with this BORING offense any longer.
Hater checklist:
1. Hate AS. Check
2. Not recognize the good AS did. Check
3. Can’t take any criticism without calling names. Check.
4. Think you are an expert in QB/football. Check.
5. Think that they know offense better than JH. Check.
6. Ignore everything JH said. JH will also have competition for every other position.
I am not the HC. Although you seem to not know that you don’t know anything. Sad person.
This boring offense was put together by JH. He somehow failed to consult me, a common fan in designing an offense that got us to the title game. I think you feel JH should contact you. I don’t design the plays, choose to run them, or perform them. You think you do.
You really, really don’t know. Stay up on your mountain. The coach will make the moves necessary to win games. YOU WON’T.
“I’ll guarantee you that Alex won’t start next season because Harbaugh said he’s opening the position up for competition and Alex couldn’t beat out O’Sullivan or Hill, so he has no chance vs. CK, Tolzien or Johnson.”
Another hater fan making predictions that he has no clue about what so ever. I dont care if you have been a fan since the world was created. Unless your in the meeting rooms and are best friends with Harbaugh, how can you gurantee that statement Mountain Jack? Did you have too much coffee this morning and your all wired up and thought to yourself, hey, Im gonna make some ill advised, nonfactual guarntees today because I feel good about myself?
Look man, dont make statements and predictions unless you can tell us your an employee on staff with the 49ers. Otherwise you look as foolish as you sound.
@FDM
A good way to tell if somebody is a hater is to look at each sentence, and wonder if a fan/objective person could ever think up such a thing.
But when somebody is hating, they are not thinking. Which is evident in both posts.