Ralph Barbieri asked Steve Young about Alex Smith Wednesday afternoon on KNBR. Here’s what Young said.
BARBIERI: I was never convinced the Jim Harbaugh fully trusted Alex Smith until the end of the Saints game. Is that fair to say?
YOUNG: “Well, let’s get a little perspective. They’ve been together on the field for six months total. So, we talked about is before the first game: ‘Please, just start slow. Don’t let Alex get into trouble because they’ll storm the castle and you can’t have that.’ You’ve got to look at the totality of what Jim had to thread the needle, and looking back, he threaded it perfectly. Expanded at the end of the season. Won some games early with bad third-down conversions and some rough red-zone numbers. David Akers kicking every possible field goal. They won some key games that could have gone either way to give them the padding to go do the things they did in the last month.
“When you really needed Alex, when you turned to him in a shootout on the biggest stage, let it rip. And he responds.
“I interviewed him yesterday. He describes it as: ‘Before Jim Harbaugh everything seemed so much heavier and harder and more difficult. To me, what I’m doing now is almost easier. It’s simple.’
“Ralph, you asked me before the season if Alex Smith could win the Super Bowl and I paused and I said yes, because the change of somebody that can put the quarterback in a position to be successful, make Alex the centerpiece of not the play calling necessarily, but the centerpiece of, ‘If he’s successful, we’ll be successful.’”
“Smith described that as clouds parting and the sun coming out and life getting easier. Even describing the last play, he was like, ‘Look, we’d written it up and we got the look that we wanted – the Tampa 2 – and so I just drove it in there.’ He doesn’t have a sense of the enormity of the moment, he has a sense of, ‘This is what we do.’ He fulfills what the coach has put him in a position to do.”
“How many times have I said how grateful I was for the chance to be in an organization that gave me platform to go see how good I could get. There’s not many places where you can find out how good you are. And so Alex, for the first time in his life, has been given a platform. He doesn’t know how good he is because he hasn’t been given the platform. So, now he has it and you just have to sit back and revel with him.”
Q: But wasn’t that the first time you could really see that Harbaugh trusted Smith?
YOUNG: “I think he was trusted the day Jim called him in February and said: ‘Hey, we can do this. I know quarterbacks. I’ve watched you play. You can do this.’ What I’m telling you is Alex is a different guy since that call.
“I don’t think they started slow at the beginning of the year because Harbaugh didn’t trust Smith, it’s because they didn’t have the time to build up the trust.”
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Grant thanks for posting this transcript. Looking forward to the GCosell transcript as well.
Interesting that Ralph and Tom didn’t ask SY about the 6th gear. AS definitely put it into 6th gear using SY’s analogy over the last year or so. You can tell SY is pleased with AS. Good stuff!
BTW, SY mentions an interview with AS (ESPN probably) does anyone know when it will be on?
I was really looking forward to listening to this one yesterday, but missed the first 10 minutes.
Steve has been saying all year long that Alex needed to make that Farve-like throw in a big time situation that said “I will win this game and I will not let us lose” and just let it rip.
Alex did exactly what Steve had been talking about..and it turned out to be pretty freakin’ spectacular!
I’m so happy for Alex and the team, and I’m so happy to have been wrong about the guy!! Got news for everyone -crow tastes much better than chicken when its served with a victory.
If/When we get to the Superbowl, I’m making hot wings, but am labeling the tray “Hot Crow Wings w/Spice Recipe #11″ :-)
You’re nothing but a hater. Grovel a little bit more. Seriously. Let’s hear it. Your guy SY used the word “platform,” which is the argument the realists have been making for 6 years. When did The Two Mikes ever give anybody a platform upon which to succeed? Come on Girl, grovel. Wrong, wrong, wrong. You and your boys, grovel.
Nice Pork Buns – now I can see why you named yourself after a pigs rear end.
49erGirl,
You can hear the SY Interview again on the KNBR website.
http://www.knbr.com/ShowsSchedule/RazorandMrT/tabid/595/Default.aspx
Thanks, f49er!
Thanks! Have you ever had a pork bun luncheon? Try it some time. Yank Sing will welcome you. I’m sure you’ll get sick of the crow sooner or later. You might prefer eating Eggs Benedict, though… traitor… Hater.
the interview will take place sunday on nfl countdown at noon.
Go Niners!!
I put a link to an ESPN story that has Greg Cosell’s comment in it below.
“I don’t think they started slow at the beginning of the year because Harbaugh didn’t trust Smith, it’s because they didn’t have the time to build up the trust.”
***********************************************************************
Been saying it all year. All these people believing the offense was changed or was set up to hide the QB. What a bunch of BS. Finally people are starting to wake up to reality. Steve Young nailed it as usual.
Well, actually, if you mean as usual, you’d say Joe Montana nailed it and then Steve Young came in and rode his coat tails.
@pork
I do not understand. Please elaborate further.
Steve is the eternal follower. Great guy, nice smile, likeable. Great QB? No. Say what you want about my opinion (it’s only that), but I am still sore at the Niners for releasing Joe Cool when they did. If they hadn’t, we would have 7+ SBs now. Steve was a pretender, and because I am still a SteveHater, I will always reduce him publicly.
@Pork
I love SY as a player. So, in order to save the blog a lot of back and forth, we should just leave it at that.
I will say that SY the ESPN guy is not so good. He has always been way too harsh on AS. Trent Dilfer on the other hand who actually spent time with AS as his teammate has a much more interesting perspective. TD knows what AS has been thru. SY seems to me like a guy who was really hard on AS because everybody was hard on him after JM left. Of course the last few years here everybody was hard on JM with SY around, so take what you will from that.
But JM was getting hurt a lot Pork. I don’t think he would have had more than 1 more Super Bowl in him before his body just collapsed. Now, if he played now under today’s QB rules (TB gets injured, and within a few days, it becomes illegal to hit a guy in the manner TB got hit) he would be something to see.
4 Super Bowls? More like 10. TB is nothing next to JM, and if JM were playing now, nobody would know who TB is. Except the QB of that one team who JM pummels to win one Lombardi after another.
Yeah, I know it ruffles people, and a lot of people like the guy, and I am just being unfair to a really nice guy who was lucky enough to be part of a team that won a Superbowl… JM was NOT injured when they released him though. The following year he led a 4-12 Chiefs team to 10-6 and the AFC Champ game. Young fizzled. Give me Joe. Give me Joe again. There’s not a QB alive or dead who I’d want before Joe, but there are 5 in the league RIGHT NOW who I’d choose before Steve. Say what you want about that comment. Steve’s a schmuck.
@pork
Know something kinda cool?
JM’s numbers that first year with the Chiefs where he took them to the title game were something along the lines of 13TD, 7 Int.
Worse stats all around than AS this year. But because he is JM, we only remember the good great days he had. He threw for fewer TD’s than games, but the whole nation was fascinated with him and the Chiefs that year.
Now, those stats get you called a “game manager”. You can’t be good or elite unless you pass for over 4,000 yards and pass it 45 times a game. If you’re not doing that your HC does not believe in you.
Similar stats. One is a Legend for putting them up, the other is a failure and not elite. Both reached the Championship Game.
Pork, Steve is an elite quarterback , period. He has shown qualities such as humility, toughness, just a good human being. If you want to compare him with Joe, that’s fine. I’ve followed the NFL as a fan for well over 50 years and each week on his radio show brings a good laugh and insights into playing the quarterback position that are enlightening. If you start criticizing on this blog you’ll find yourself on an island.
@Andrew… which I realize, which is why I’ll stop, soon. It’s just a little hard this time of year to hear all the pro-Steve mumbojumbo. You’ve watched for 50 years? Great. First game I ever watched was Joe’s rookie season. Last Niner game I ever enjoyed was Steve’s last, scene of the Aeneus BLAST.
If Niner fans are going to put JM & SY on a pedestal above AS, then the following pictorial guide should come in handy:
JM
–
–
–
–
SY
–
AS
***
after this SB is won it will look like this:
JM
–
–
–
–
SY & AS
***
at which time, Niner Fans the world over, yes, even those living in the Himalayas, will be remiss if they don’t recognize JM as the one TRUE great Niner QB, with SY & AS as nice, HOF complements within the stable of champions!
Pork
if I ever met you in person you’d get a right cross to the temple and qet knocked out right quick.
Steve Young not only was an elite QB but a two time NFL MVP. That means the ENTIRE NFL recognized him as such. He was also not just a superbowl winner, he was a superbowl MVP.
He owns many records, but the one that stands out is the highest QBR in the history of the league. Higher than any QB that has every played the game.
And you think if Alex somehow wins the superbowl they are equal?
You are a moron on many levels. You also just exposed yourself as a 49er hater. You see Steve Young will forever be enshrined as a 49er legend and your attempts to tarnish that are extremely low class….. You know nothing.
@Grant
Please do something about bay. Ban him or suspend him or whatever.
I saw enough of his post (11:07pm) in the little summary of recent posts which indicates bay would get into a physical altercation with Pork for something Pork thinks.
It probably has something to do with SY and AS because that is what pork and myself were talking about in the thread, and we all know bay hates AS.
Such posts where one blogger physically threatens another blogger should be an automatic penalty of being banned. No 2′nnd chances for physically threatening another. If this was in person, bay would go to jail for saying such a thing.
Grant,
please ban DS for reading my posts when “it” says it never reads my posts. Thank you.
Above, Pork Bun says 49erGirl is a “hater” and “traitor” for her critiques of Alex, yet here he’s a self-admitted “hater” of Steve. So by his own standard, that would seem to make him a “traitor” as well.
Get past these old blogs.
Pork extended an olive branch to those he insulted yesterday.
No need to dig up past problems which are resolved on the eve of the Niners winning the NFC.
Alex Smith is blooming in the dead of winter. He is confident, passionate and very hungry. His mechanics are getting better but still need work. If Steve Young had a monkey on his back Alex has a gorilla. To win this game Mr. Gore needs 100yds. Mr. Willis must respond. Mr. Crabs has to elevate his game. Rather than a stressfull game like last week I would prefer a dominant performance by my beloved 49ers.
Love to see the D shut out these idiots from NY. I am expecting a huge game from the D. Keep NY under 10 points. That’s the ticket.
Fortunately for the team, and us fans, this gathering of 49ers will do precisely what is required to win on both sides of the ball. Having absolutely loved, played, coached (Pop Warner) and followed this game of football more than 60 years, I have never seen a team that matches this one. There demeanor, their body language and their attitude is unlike anything I’ve ever witnessed. Their personna looks like a melding of the Raiders, Steelers and Niners of old wrapped in a totally confident, but not the least bit cocky, shell. Amazing.
Haven’t come on this blog in some time but definitely basking in the Alex Smith celebration leading into NFC Championship Week. Can’t believe no one has posted this link yet. Enjoy the read.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1193912/1/index.htm
It was posted yesterday or the day before.
It’s a nice cover.
i do agree….the gore game needs to come alive……and the giants running game needs to be stuffed and this is ‘pain and suffering’ task to execute…..
cruz, and nicks needs to be double teamed on 3rd downs
this leaves the TE
giants are more talented….so coaching scheme needs to be on……pressure and clenched fists
I respectfully disagree that the Giants are more talented, have you seen the All-Pro teams? The Giants have had more time for their ‘flavors’ to meld together, besides Eli and 2 WR, the Niners would appear to have more talent almost anywhere you can point to. LB’s, DB’s RB’s, OL and of course TE, DL is probably a toss up. I’d take Aldon and Justin over any of their DL.
giants have been injury riddled until about a month ago….
eli is better than AS by virtue of more experience
AS may have a bigger fire burning in his belly though
giants WR are better than niners
giants running game is equivalent to the now damaged niners running game…i am hoping for a resurging running game and gore did have a couple of nice runs and can only hope this continues
giants OL vs niner DL edge does go to niners and the niners do have two great LB but the sloppy field may be an equalizer and with eli’s pocket presence not sure the niners D will be able to put tremendous pressure on eli…this is my biggest worry
and turning it around the giants DL has gotten healthy and i am still suspect of A davis picking up stunts and saw him miss a couple last weekend….this is my second biggest worry….AS ability to roll may have to be designed into the game plan…
ginn is out and so what will the return team look like on a sloppy field with hunter returning the ball….
i think taking care of the football was a staple in the niners resurgence this year…..but last week the ball did leave AS possession a couple of times…..now will have a wet ball that is pointed on both ends….
giants haven’t lost an NFC championship game….are they 4-0….
Don’t underestimate the fire burning in all of Niners bellies, ‘reason to play’ is a HUGE factor in ‘close games. The Giants running game is NOT equal to the Niners run game because the Ginats have to run against our D and the Niners get to run against thiers. Big advantage to the NINERS.
I agree the the OL v DL matchups on both sides of the ball will be the biggest determiner of the winner of the game.
So what if the Giants are 4-0 in NFC championship games, those will do NOTHING for them on Sunday. it’s just something else to talk about. That’s like saying if the Niners win, they’re 5-0 in the SB, that get’s them nowhere, it’s about Sunday and nothing else.
Just like the dark clouds of the recent storm, your negative outlook on this game is unbelievable.
The Niners are very hard to beat. They’re a very complete team: offense, defense, special teams, coaching, attitude, etc. On top of this, they’re very physical.
Put your worries aside my friend and enjoy the Niners roll to the Super Bowl.
just looking at points of attack and coming to terms with what makes the giants successful…..
i don’t look at it as a negative outlook i am espousing it is the reality of the situation and because i bring whatever points i bring up it is done in the spirit of figuring out how to defeat those giants’ strong points…..
agree with the 4-0 comment
i also think when one parse the statements i made before the NO game i think early on NO demonstrated the very same strengths i pointed out and then came the quaker hit that whitner put on thomas something i also suggested should happen if the niners were to make this a game they could win…..
i am worried about PW hamstring in the sloppy condition as well….hoping don’t have to see grant fill in
Giants are NOT more talented. How do you get off saying something so asinine?
AS > EM
FG + KH + BD > AB + DW + BigMouth
VD + DW > NY TE Chumps
SFOL>NY OL Chumps
WRs…???? eeeekk
Crabs & KDub are really good receivers, but the talent falls off a cliff after them.
–
Defensive talent? Really?
–
you really need to think before you open your trap!
8 PBs & 3 APs
i will just accept ur response as irrational exuberance…have no problem with that
@jg
What is the record of playoff teams who were on the road the previous week?
How well has THIS Giants team done flying to the west coast?
You’ve given some very interesting pieces of info, but your analysis is not all encompassing if you don’t include these points as well.
Winning on the road anywhere/anytime is hard in the NFL. Winning two road games in a row is harder.
JG Windsor is the Man!!!
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i liked your response.
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the only place you can argue is the AS>EM, but if you’re talking talent/ability, I think it’s a toss up. (For the record, SY was more talented than Montana, but not 1/100 the QB; also for the record, EM is the QB in the NFL today who reminds me most of JM)
I still don’t buy the “more talented” thing, JG.
Eli is a better QB than Alex at this point in his career, although I’d say marginally better and Smith has shown that he’s making up ground fast. Eli is not his brother and he’s been up and down quite a bit. He edges out Smith with experience – he’s been to the big dance and won it and he has a year on Smith. But… If you see anything from the NY media, those folks were ready to crucify Eli and string Coughlin up by his man parts earlier this season.
So I’d say he’s marginally better at this point. he’ll take more risks than Smith but he’ll also make more mistakes. In this thing (as we saw with the Saints) whoever makes the fewest mistakes goes to the dance.
The wide receivers… yeah, maybe you have a point but Crabs can step up, the two new guys want to make a name for themselves, they can do it on this stage. Just takes one or two guys to step it up.
The Giants are reporting that their defense is healthy but some of those guys have been nursing injuries all season – so it’s somewhat deceptive. They’ll come in and play some but they’re not at 100% and won’t go all game.
Bradshaw being back for them is good. He and the other back can run but we’ve literally taken six or seven running backs out of games – I mean out of as in injured on the bench. I don’t see much advantage there. If the field is wet, they’ll try to run. Won’t work, our guys will be just as speedy (side to side,) if not more so than the backs.
We’ll see, it will be a good game. We’ll get some picks and some chances to go up on these guys. We’ll need to capitalize on the turnovers. The Giants will be much more careful than the Saints were with our secondary but they’ll make a few plays and we’ll make a few plays. Just need to get points from the turnovers every time!
oh well, different perspective….
i think eli is considerably better than AS and i also think NYG defense is not all that much below the niners defence….so now in my mind who has the bigger advantage ….eli with the three excellent rcvrs he has and the tendency to keep throwing downfield as part of the game he plays along with a good play action RBs or…..AS with one excellent TE rcvr who may have to be kept in a bit more often to keep NYG rush off AS along with a possession rcvr who isn’t quite proven in crabtree, and basically unproven KW, and a running game that has been damaged finishing the season…..
expect turnovers for sure but can’t count on turnovers…..
both teams are apparently peaking but in my estimation NYG are peaking with a bit more controlled strength…
Adam,
I pretty much agree with all your posts, Adam. The one at the top of this thread is no different, with exception of your assessment of the 49ers’ and Giants’ WR’s.
It would really be nice if the 49ers had a WR corps that matched the Giants’, but they just don’t. MC would probably beat out Mario Manningham as the third receiver, but that’s it.
However, WR is the only spot where the Giants have a clear edge on the 49ers though, and the 49ers have many over the Giants.
So, 49ers 27 – Giants 17
The more I hear EVERY east coast voice lined up on KNBR pick the Giants..well, Stan GUARANTEE’S the 49ers will win. Not a one of the experts has said anything about the 9ers lighting up N.O. for 36 points. Or Smiths better play since beating N.Y…he wasnt as sharp them and STILL beat them.
I’m sure of it.
Coach billick and green picked the niners against the saints and gives them the edge again.
Hater
to the fans that are going to be at the game:PLEASE BE LOUD,LOUD<LOUDER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! you guys need to be the most vocal that you can be,we ask the players to give their all on every play,so im challenging all fans to be out of their mind. i know in virginia they will be.give them pure hell/FEAR IS NOT AN OPTION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The 9ers and the fans can’t take this game too lightly. After the incredible come back (twice) against the Saints a let down could happen. This Giants team is talented. Maybe not as much as the Saints on offense but definitely on defense – well balanced team across the board. The OL will need to do their jobs (run and pass blocking) and FG needs a good game which will help open up the passing attack. The Giants won’t take AS lightly and will bring their “A” game. I’m hoping the weather doesn’t determine the outcome of a hard fought game!
Time for my game face and nastiness! :)
I think the Giants are the ones feeling god given. 10-7 and talking like its a cakewalk over 14-3. They get whats coming to them..
@Stan
Well the almighty one himself, Skip Bayless (can’t stand the guy) talked up how good the Giants D is and how AS hasn’t seen pressure like what the Giants will bring at him, and AS will freak out. That Giants secondary is full of 1st and 2′nd round picks, so they gotta be good. Skip also said he watched the Niner-NO game with his hands covering his face when AS had the ball.
Guess he missed AS doing what only 3 other QB’s have ever done in playoff history. 3TD’s,1run TD, 0 Int. And that being his first playoff game. How many have done better in their first?
I dont think I have EVER seen a bigger east coast bias with blinders on for NY. I only wish it was for a Super Bowl and they went on for TWO weeks how the 49ers were facing the greatest team in the history of the Universe!..that whole buildup. Then Harbaughs Hero’s crush them.
DS,
Strange. Baylis actually picked the Niners to beat the Saints and was talking about how Smith looked Montana like at the end of the game. If he said what you said he did, he’s done a 180 in less than a week. Wouldn’t be the first time ol’ skip has been wishy washy.
@rocket
Your first two words of your post are correct. DS, Strange : – )
But if you have an xbox live account, you can see it right now. And, to add to the confusion, I saw that clip where Bayless is complimenting AS (the one you are talking about) just yesterday.
I don’t know if this makes any sense to anyone, or if the basis for my theory is correct. It seems to me that the times the 49ers OL gave up a bunch of sacks, they were facing blitzes. Specifically, overload blitzes.
I don’t think they’ve had any real problem with the pass rush from just a four man DL.
So, I’m thinking they handle the Giant pass rush, at least acceptably well, and win by ten points or more.
Love Steve’s perspective – that of one that’s been there. But I get soooooo tired of Ralph always wanting other people o validate his views, especially when they are very apparently wrong. He should be the weekly guest and leave the show to Tom and others.
I get tired of him cutting people off mid-thought – drives me bonkers when Steve or another guest is making a statement and he interrupts to do exactly what you mentioend…validate his own ideas.
If he has to say something – at least wait until AFTER they’ve finished their sentence!!!
I totally agree with you on Ralph, 49erGirl. I enjoy the guy, but he has a hard time letting his guests finish their answers.
An excerpt of a Cosell statement from an ESPN article:
Cosell has watched every throw Smith has made this season. He said he always thought Smith was “limited” as a passer because he had “technique flaws in his delivery that prevented him from driving the ball at the intermediate and deeper levels.” He also thought Smith had “a bit of windup” to his throwing motion that limited him when the pocket collapsed.
With Harbaugh running an offense that suited Smith, Cosell saw Smith’s confidence grow during the season. But before Saturday, he still didn’t think Smith could make the big-time throws in critical moments of a game like he did against the Saints.
“He made throws in game-deciding situations,” Cosell said. “Do I now think he’s Drew Brees or Tom Brady? No. But I think given that he got into that situation in a critical game and he made those throws, you’ve got to give him credit for that. Those were not easy throws. Those were NFL throws you have to make in this league to be a higher-level quarterback. He didn’t have to do that this year.”
http://espn.go.com/nfl/playoffs/2011/story/_/id/7475573/jim-harbaugh-faith-alex-smith-paid-49ers
From the article:
“They were throws, both men noted, that Smith had not been asked to make all season.”
Wait. I thought Cosell watches game film of *all* the games. What exactly was the throw that was asked of Alex to win the Detroit game?
good call, Ribico. Cosell is having to squeeze his disdain of Alex into tighter and tighter windows than the Alex-to-Vernon post play!
@ribico
Maybe the camera didn’t work on that one play for Cosell to see it.
Funny how ones preconceived notion about another player has so much impact as to how to grade them fairly.
The problem I have with Cosell’s analysis is that we can’t see for ourselves what is happening. He has a monopoly on the All-22 footage.
I don’t know if he’s right or wrong because I can’t see what he’s talking about.
It’s actually kind of frustrating and not really fair, to be honest. This guy could be 100% correct or he could be blowing smoke – we’ll never really know unless there was an obvious TV angle that we could also see and critique. But we’re asked to take his opinion as gospel.
I’d rather trust but verify. :P
Theres just that Niner mystique in the air again, you can’t describe it, it’s just magical. When I became a Niner fan in the early 80′s, I remember watchin and saying the Niners won’t lose, I have that same feeling again, it’s weird but somehow it’s happening again. We’re winning Sunday easily and then it’s superbowl, and we never lose in superbowl games, man I’m pumped for Sunday!
@prime
We’re not just going to win, we are going to dismantle the Giants ego. Piece by piece, the field will be littered with what little remains of that over-rated ego of theirs.
All this talk on the national stage about how good a team which barely got into the playoffs and who lost to the Niners earlier this year will be revealed.
Hey Grant,
When or are you going to put out a blog for this Sundays predictions and your picks?
Doc
Grant, do you get access to Jed York lately? As a fan of the Niners, I’m a fan top-down – from punter to owner. I’m curious if he’s been visible enough for anyone to notice a difference. After taking the rains at, what, 26? 27? This is a coming of age for York (and really, his family) as President and Owner. Reaching out to DeBartolo to be honorary captain this week is a tremendous statement to that affect. After distancing themselves from that era to establish a new one, this signals self confidence that Jed is contributing to the organization’s legacy. It seems that the team matured with its leadership. After some dubious decisions as recently as 2 years ago, the front office has seemed to settle down into very measured, savvy moves that have given this team and the personnel already on the roster the opportunity to succeed. I have to admit, I was skeptical but promoting Baalke was a real milestone. I’m sure the front office has PR policies but I’d love some interviews with them.
It took JH – a man that has played the position and developed QBs to understand how you develop an offense and a QB.
I love how the media wants to make it either JH trusted Smith or didn’t. Young is right, its not all or nothing, its not either you are -10 or +10 on a trust scale, there is a “O” reading two, where trust has to build from. Maybe that’s where JH and ASmith started in training camp.
JH had to learn that ASmith would work within the system and be coachable to improvement. I think that has been proved out.
BUT, BUT, what JH and ASmith both had to learn is what TRUST could they develop in the other players, the OL and Receivers, and blitz blockers. As they learned that, the game has expanded for them.
wow- I cant think of the last time I ever wanted to see a team lose-and lose bad then with the NY Giants.
And then the Ravens with Ray Lewis-who if he wasnt a millionaire would be rotting in prison as an assessory to murder…
the funny thing is, Alex seems to be the MOST successful when the chips are down, when we’re behind big or late, and he is allowed or allows himself to step back and wing it. he had some great quick-strike drives last year as well as this year, before the Saints game. I presume Harbaugh prefers to try to control the ball and rely on his defense, but i’m starting to wonder if they should just go 2-minute the entire game against the Giants and see if they can win via blitzkrieg. after all, at the beginning of the season, as Steve Young says Harbaugh wasnt completely sure what he had in Alex, and with Gore and an O-line filled with #1 draft picks, the running game seemed to be the safe/sure bet. Now, with Gore a bit dinged up (?), i wonder if letting Alex fling it is the safe/sure bet.
is the weather changing for sunday’s game to clear skies……come game time
steve is a bandwagon guy. when we’re winning its “we”. when we’re losing its “they”.
Full disclosure, the Giants are the scariest team the Niners will face all year. It’s not just the front 4, but also the grit that Coughlin-coached teams display. Did anyone doubt that the Giants would give the 2007 Patriots fits in the SB? If you saw their regular season game that year, you would have said the SuperBowl was a 50-50 toss up. So here’s the real issue: is the Harbaugh Coaching Regime good enough to see around corners and prepare for the all-out assault the Giants will bring on Sunday?
My answer is a resounding HELL YES! Any jerkoff who believes that Alex will be mauled in the pocket by those Giants just doesn’t understand Harbaugh. Kim Jong Harbaugh is a fanatic, and we will see a huge dose of FG & KH, along with AS using 3-step drops to defeat them. Delanie will be a big factor, and Vernon will make some nice catches. Crabs & KDub will step up. Niners will go 30+.
The biggest difference between this game and the one so many weeks ago will be the Niners D. It will terrorize poor Victor Cruz, probably knock out a couple of hapless Bluemen, and give Eli the chills.
Life is good.
Kim Jong Harbaugh is great.
35-10, Niners.
The game where Alex Smith gained JMs trust wasnt the Saint playoff-I say- It was the Eagles game,where Alex did what had been the undoable for him all these years…the comeback win vs a good team. And they were far behind too.
I say.
@Stan
AS had JH believing in him long before then. He gave AS his playbook. Wouldn’t have done that if he didn’t believe in him and only saw AS as the QB this year because of the lockout.
That would have been stupid of JH to do (giving playbook) if he didn’t see AS the present and future. After all, AS had JH and the Niner organization by the balls and could have squezzed them if he didn’t feel that JH wanted him around after this season.
That’s true-but I think that first preseason game vs N.O.,was a Smith setback in his eyes. The Eagle game was proof in the pudding game.
@Stan
1st preseason games are normally useless in terms of revealing how good a player/team is. Add to that AS had just joined the team and the jerk HC of NO being offended by JH, and we got what we got. Ammo for the game last week.
That Philly game was definitely a big deal. I recorded that game, knowing that it was a taste of things to come.
I saw FG interviewed after that game, and I could see he wasn’t spouting the normal company line. He really believed in JH (he always believed in AS) and his eyes showed me something I’d never seen from him.