Despite beating the Super Bowl champion New York Giants in Week 10 and coming a few plays short of beating them again in the NFC championship game, the Niners only have a one-in-ten shot at winning next season’s Super Bowl according to the MGM Grand’s sports book in Las Vegas.
The MGM Grand is wrong. The Niners should be the preseason favorites to win the 2013 Super Bowl. They were the best team in the NFL last season and they will be even better this upcoming one.
Here’s a list of core 49ers who should be a little to a lot better next season:
Patrick Willis, Vernon Davis, Alex Smith, Aldon Smith, NaVorro Bowman, Ray McDonald, Chris Culliver, Joe Staley, Mike Iupati, Anthony Davis, Kendall Hunter and Colin Kaepernick.
Justin Smith and Frank Gore may not be better next season, but they’re warriors and they’ll still be key contributors. Despite being 32, Smith got stronger as the 2011 season went on, and although Gore wore down towards the end of 2011, he’s still younger than 30.
A lot could happen in free agency and the draft, but right now it looks like the Niners will be the most complete, most talented team in the NFL in 2012. Their defense should be even better, their passing attack should be much better and their run game should remain strong. No other team is that well rounded.
Not the Ravens – they’re getting old. Ray Lewis is 37 and slowing down. Ricky Williams just retired this morning. They’re going to take a step back.
Not the Giants, either. They’re a pass rush, a wide-receiving corps and a hall of fame quarterback, not a complete team like the 49ers.
Clearly, Vegas doubts Alex Smith’s (and Jim Harbaugh’s) ability to win the big one.
That seems unfair – Smith led nearly as many comeback drives in 2011 as Eli Manning did. He was pretty much lights out when he needed to bring the Niners from behind to win in the fourth quarter. It was when he had leads late that his production would plummet and he’d let opponents come back, like in the NFC championship game.
Smith should be able to improve on extending second-half leads. That seems like a natural progression for him, especially if he gets two new wide receivers in the offseason.
But, there’s the issue with the 49ers schedule – it’s one of the hardest in the league. They have to play the Giants, Packers, Patriots, Saints and Jets, to name a few. They probably won’t go 13-3 again, or get the two seed, or have a Bye.
But why is that a bad thing? Home-field advantage didn’t work out for the Niners or the Packers this postseason. And the Giants didn’t have home field after the wild card weekend.
The hard schedule is really a good thing. Next season, the Niners will be much more battle-tested by January (yes, I’m assuming they win the NFC West). This season, they only played a few playoff-type games, and as a result they looked green and inexperienced in the NFC championship (not the defense, but the offense and special teams). They shouldn’t look that way next year. They should look more like the Giants, who tore through the playoffs after a brutal regular season in which they lost seven games.
Here’s the MGM Grand’s order for the 2013 Super Bowl favorites:
Patriots: 5-1.
Packers: 11-2.
Steelers 6-1.
Eagles 6-1.
Giants 8-1.
Saints 10-1.
Niners 10-1.
Chargers 12-1.
Texans 12-1.
That seems like a preposterous order to me. Here’s how I would rank the Super Bowl favorites today:
1. Niners
2. Giants
3. Packers
4. Saints
5. Patriots
6. Texans
7. Ravens
8. Steelers
Disrespect update: Sportsbook.com gives the 49ers 20/1 odds to win the 2013 Super Bowl, same as the Cowboys, Jets, Falcons and Lions. If you want to bet today on the 49ers to win next year’s Super Bowl, this is the place to do it.
49ers RSS feed
Loading ...
I heard one KNBR quote of betters saying that NYG and SF were 20-1. A day after winning the SB,20-1?.
Eagles? Texans? will they even make the playoffs?
The Texans are quite good. If they’re healthy, they’ll be there in the mix.
I agree texan if healthy can beat any team. They have a very good defense and offense so i am not shock to see texnas on the top of the list however this is the NFL one majory injury and the season is over!
The Raiders? that kid who calculates infinite PI?..ask him.
are u really respect mongering like one of the fans grant? cmon man.
Wow, you’re quite the homer. You certainly didn’t inherit your dad’s pessimism. I would rank them (1.) Packers (2.) Giants (3.) Saints (4.) Ravens (5.) 49ers (6.) Texans (7.) Patriots (8.) Eagles (9.) Steelers (10.) Jets
I would agree with this in general…
Yeah, that’s about what it is right now still, IMO. But this has nothing to do with additions or subtractions this coming summer, plus who stays healthy, etc. If Niners go 11-5 this coming season, it will be really good. Their schedule is brutal.
Also, their special teams did not play “green” during the championship game. One guy messing up twice had nothing to do with the group as a whole. It’s not like they gave up long returns (as a team) or similar. Offense still needs a solid upgrade IMO.
Grant, you are drinking the 49er cool-aid. If the 49ers didn’t get the number 2 seed the Saints would have won the Super Bowl. The 49ers are good, but until they have a significant upgrade in their wide receivers they are not the best team in the league. Besides as unlucky as they were against the Giants they were very lucky to beat the Saints, at home.
You need to be realistic. You should not set everyone up for a big let down. The 49ers are going to be hard press to win their division next year. They have a very tough schedule. Las Vegas has it right.
Once your in the playoffs what you did before that dosen’t mean anything. If you play good in the playoffs you have good chance of going all the way. Rankings don’t mean sqaut, you can be number one and lose your first playoff game and on the couch. To many things can happen that will determine if you move on, from a bounch of a ball to a mistake or a bad call.
I like your post Reecan.
Do well in the playoffs, and everything bad you did in the regular season is swept away.
Do poorly, and any greatness is wiped away just the same.
I agree denis, next year wont be as easy, BUT, the 9ers have the BEST D in the league. There shooting for the ravens record next year if I know coach. They do have a hard schedule, they WILL win the division, & will be in N.O. Next year!!! Defense wins Championships, 9er cool-aid out
NO ALEX! NO ALEX! NO ALEX! NO ALEX! NO ALEX!
Alex Smith will be the starting QB for the 2012 Niners.
No BBWKitty, No BBWKitty, No BBWKitty, No BBWKitty,
I agree. Ravens will decline next season. Niners’ tough schedule will actually help them prepare better for the post-season. Gotta win on the road. Note that Giants finished the season 9-7.
Very good point Mood, the schedule will make the team playoff ready. This team comes to play every down.
Grant you need to get to vegas and get a large bet down on the 9ers
Great article and I wonder how this is going to turn out. 5 years for Alex Smith??? That is preposterous. Try 2. I think 3 is too many. Do we have a potential problem here???
http://sfo.scout.com/2/1156539.html
Last paragraph says, didn’t see or didn’t pull the trigger. I agree with those 10-1 odds. With no new improvement from QB.
Espn 2 this morning, Skip Bayless say’s the Niner’s would be a perfect fit to get PM, can the Niner’s pull the trigger. let’s hope so
Very good article Jordan.
I think it will probably be a 4 or 5 year deal that allows the team or player to void the final 3 years ,if Alex doesn’t want to stay on as backup. The team will want to make it look good and make Alex feel good,so I think they will go with 4-5 years,but it will really be a 2-3 year deal. They really won’t know if Kaep is ready before preseason is over and even if Kaep is ready they still wisely will want alex there ,since they KNOW he can run the offense adequately.
Tim,
Here’s my problem. If JH was willing to take a chance not trying to finds more experienced backup, does that mean he felt like Kap could handle the team if Smith had gotten hurt? does that mean Kap has the potential to run this team. If JH believes that Kap could do what Smith did, what leverage does Smith have for a 5 year deal?? I don’t believe that Smith has any leverage. Believe the Niners Goodall the cards?
What do you think the deal should be?
Nice story, of course the AS lovers will think this is some sort of fictional story and propaganda. But it tells. the truth.
I wonder if Smith will get a 4 year deal so the end of his contract matches Harbaugh’s.
@Dr
Will be quite a story if AS and JH end up winning the Super Bowl in that last season together. How much will each cost then?
Interesting article. My gut tells me that when they reach a contract agreement with Alex it will be structured similarly to how Donovan McNabb’s long term contract was with Washington – will have opt out clauses on both sides if things don’t work out after a season or two.
I hope that is the case, especially if Kapernick becomes the QB.
While I’m not surprised on the “lack of respect” for the 49ers, the unbridled love affair with Tom Brady is what I’m surprised of. I mean… didn’t they JUST lose to the Giants??? Yet, they are favored for next year?
Time to place some money on the 49ers… to help pay my way to New Orleans.
The 49ers will be better next year. Believe in the Harbaugh
I hope we can keep our key free-agents. I also want to see how CK looks during the preseason.
I agreee! I for one dont see a problem with that schedule. It will be hard to win in the Super dome but they’re all doable. We don’t know how any of those teams are gonna look next year!
Even I,one of the biggest Alex doubters,expect Alex to improve with more time in the system and with his O line continuing to be better and better and with the GM picking him up another weapon or two (WR,RB?).
IMHO,the problem is that even with Alex getting better,he is still not going to be a top talent at the QB spot in the NFL,and so we will always be looked at as a 2nd tier team when the so called experts believe we have a weak link at QB,even when he seems to now possibly have stepped up to being a middle of the road QB,instead of the flop he had been.
I thought we could have easily won in the SB against the Pats last Sunday,if we had gotten past the Giants,so ,of course I bel;ieve we can win the SB with Alex at QB next season…we just need to get there and that is the hard part.
There have been several Superbowls that the 49ers could have been expected to win if they had gotten by Dallas, Washington, Green-bay, or New York.
TIM, the weak leak on this 9er team is the WR’s as validated by everyone that knows football. Yes AS can get better and probably will. It also helps to have WR’s that make great catches on a consistent basis. It will be interesting to see what JH, TB and staff do to find a WR in the draft.
Good points , I was probably too harsh on some things you said before, but your points are fair and well thought out, Harbaugh seems to have some type of connection with Smith, Watching on the sidelines and other stuff, Going to be intersting because Harbaugh is no dummy and if Colin is better they will go in that direction, Hope he can be ready and soak it all in like rodgers did when the pressure was not on him, Watch that third stringer also, He could be something.
It would probably help more to have HEALTHY WR’s, let’s be real about our situation. Wide Recievers is not a big concern, Crabtree, Morgan, Kyle Williams will be an awesome starting three…everybody who is saying Crabtree isn’t a number one obviously forgot about his great season (second half), don’t act like Vernon was great the whole season either..what we need to do is resign the playmakers and draft a CB, RG, FS, SSOLB (depth) but not a QB (we have insurance in AS, and promise in Kaep and Tolzien and i wouldn’t want to risk losing Tolzien to another team.
lines are not set by how vegas believes teams will do but how vegas pretty much knows how bettors will bet. Its all about not getting too much money on 1 team
Yes. The books set odds that they think will get the same amount of money on each side of the bet. So, when one criticizes the odds, one is really saying that the fans are stupid.
Of course, you can tell that just by reading many of the posts on this blog.
Grant, this sounds like a infomercial for the Niner’s, but you are a fan of the team, pretty bias. I would rank them as Giants, Saints, Packers, Niners, Ravens, Patriots, Steeler’s and Eagles. The three teams ahead of SF, have Hall of Fame QB’s, Brady and Big Ben don’t have a good supporting team. Now if we played these top teams at Candle dump, we have a chance of beating them, if the game was away, we would struggle but any given Sunday who knows. But again who really cares if we could of beaten NE in the Super Bowl or the odds of winning the Super Bowl, none of it really manner’s. The only thing people remember is who won the Super Bowl.
Is Grant a writer or a fan? He picked the Niners to kill the Ravens, beat the Giants “easily”, and now complains about casino odds. I think I’d rather read Kawakami’s negative rantings than this type of non-journalistic cheerleading
Could not have said it better
This piece is too biased for my taste as well; but, on a fan blog I don’t think that the host is bound by the same journalistic constraints as a columnist.
Watch out for the Texans and the Eagles. We had a dream season.Every break went our way until the playoffs started.Webplayed teams too close and didn’t go for the throat enough. We won’t get as many breaks or turnovers next year. That meand we need more efficiency from our offense. I don’t see it. We should be at least 15-1.
agreed
except your….i don’t see it, comment…dream and lucky in some games….like JS punching out the ball in philly or the knee not touching the carpet when DW went into endzone to identify a couple…
Playing a thursday eastern time zone game doesn’t seem like a break to me. Having a TD called back in that same game due to a questionable illegal block call doesn’t seem like a break to me. Take a way some questionable DB play, we could have easily been 15-1 this year.
I disagree about the Eagles. That is a roster (not a team) in disarray, too many highly paid egos looking for someone else to make a play. Much like the Jets. I’d be surprised if Reid lasts the next season.
I think the MGM has it about right Grant. As you mentioned, the 9ers will face some of the most prolific passing attacks in NFL history next season. Many future hall of famers at the helm of those passing attacks. As it stands there is nothing to hang your hat on to concretely say that the 9ers passing game will be anymore effective as it was this pass season. The Q.B.for the 9ers will no doubt be this seasons 14-4 starter. Who’ll go to Las Vegas and bet the farm that he’ll repeat that performance against this schedule.
Parkay: What criteria would we use to determine whether or not Smith has repeated his 2011 performance?
Playoffs.
JM was the best ever because he was the best in the playoffs, bar none.
Looking at his stats and numbers, I don’t think he ever lead the league in passing yards or TD’s more than a few times if that.
So, when one says JM is the best ever, it surely can’t mean regular season stats. It must mean playoffs. And specifically the Super Bowl and title games.
This Niner team is now going to be graded on playoff performance alone. I could care less what the numbers end up being in the regular season. I want to see the players shine in the playoffs. That is what matters.
VD had a down year this regular season. And a great playoffs.
MC had his best year yet in the regular season and a horrible playoffs.
Now, which position is the one people are talking about having to upgrade bigtime? The TE position with VD sucking in the regulars season, or the WR position with MC sucking in the playoffs?
You already have the answer dr. Look at this blog, other blogs, articles, and more. The Niners need WR because the WR’s did not play well in the playoffs. All the regular season stuff, means zilch.
I think if the past two SB’s have taught us anything, the trick is to make it to the playoffs and get hot. The one game format lends itself to the team that’s streaking the hardest.
Also if I were Jim Harbaugh I’d tape that line having the AFC-championship-game-Niners with the same odds to win it all as the didn’t-make-the-playoffs-Cowgirls-and-Jets to the front door.
Brady said something I wish he hadn’t said,something that makes his wife sensible…Brady said “I would rather play and lose then not play in the Super Bowl at all”. Would Montana say that? Namath? Stabler or Plunkett?..NEVER!
Would Eli Manning ever say that?!
Theres 30 other starting QBs that would’ve liked the chance to win the SB.
And I HATE that all the radio sports station go to commercial at the same time..like they couldn’t stagger? How insecure can they be?
@Grant
Just more ammo for shin kicking Grant!
This is just the way Jim Harbaugh likes it – disrespected and underdogs. As in Grant’s blog back in Week 10 when he compared Eli & Alex Smith, — I remain, I would take Eli over Alex in a heartbeat. Looking forward to the 2012 Season – Go Niners!!
…..its officially the offseason…..
….hope they take a look at Brent Grimes if he is not franchised…
The Eagles ahead of the Giants? The Chargers even with the Texans? MGM Grand is way off.
I think that you are too optimistic about Frank Gore. He will be a very old 29 next season. Those early seasons under Nolan and Singletary we had nothing else and Frank took a beating. Now, like a lot of 29 year old NFL RB’s he is nearing the end. Last season he averaged 5.0 yards per carry on his 1st 10 attempts, 3.9 on carries 11-20, and 2.4 on carries 21-30. And for the first time ever he asked the sidelines to come out a number of times. He is no longer a feature back because he wears down too quickly. He needs to be used like Tomlinson at this point in his career.
I agree, age accelerates for running backs with a history of heavy workloads. I believe Frank would be a dynamite third down back. This would prolong his career and he would be one of the best at that position. I don’t know if Dixon can carry the load and Hunter is a change of pace back. This would keep Frank around, nothing wrong with that.
Put down the Kool-aid Grant. The Niners better than the Packers?
The odds makers are a bit harsh clubbing us with the Jets, but I don’t think we were the best team in 2012.
Can we win it all in 2012 – surely we can, but there are at least half a dozen teams that can say the same.
Also, injuries and some luck play a part in a teams’ success, so lets not anoint the niners just yet.
The Pack have no defense.
…no wonder…makes sense now …. Kyle Williams was a 6th round COMPENSATORY PICK…….I feel a lil better….!!!!!……
… i say we trade our 1st and 2nd pick to move up in the 1st round and pick a WR……or maybe a CB if we lose Carlos or unable to sign Grimes or a top corner….
hmm….do we really need a 1st round WR…or should we be looking for WR that creates attention on the field from crabtree……
…i believe in Crab but he needs a solid number 2…….maybe we already have one with Morgan …..
@oneniner
Since it is the offseason, I still dream of trading those picks and a few more for LF of AZ instead.
We need a WR who demands double teams all the time. One who if you single cover for 3 plays a game, people around the league will wonder “Why the bleep did they not double him for!” You just gave up 3 TD’s by doing that! LF can do that.
None of our current WR’s do that. That is the secret ingredient for our passing game to get on track and to prevent the 8, 9 men in a box. MC had his chance with single coverage all day long against the Giants #1CB (who is no Deion Sanders) and laid an egg. That can’t happen. We need to make other teams pay dearly for doubling our WR and putting extra men in the box, and an all world WR who others fear with dread will do that.
Only have to figure out who to get. Pay nearly any price for him if he is a vet. If he is a rookie, I am much less inclined to trade up for. MC was the best WR in college 2 years in a row. Nicks was not even drafted. You never know who is going to be great in the NFL. Much rather risk trading those picks for a known great NFL WR than a great college WR who we don’t know can be great in the NFL.
..i don’t think we need that kind of WR dat deserves a double team……..JH offense is balance and much of a team ball…..we have a Probowl TE that could be doubled with a safety……we do need a WR that can separate and handle a CB on his own…….
webster is a 7 yr vet who could shut down crab (and he did)…..we just need another WR in the same rating with crab ……just imagine if morgan was playing or BE was healthy and playing………
….and also noticed in the NFL this days…..double teaming a player is really not the norm……I think a D coach prefers saying he had a scheme to shut down an offense instead of a scheme to shut down a WR…….
……just top of my head – looking at detroit megatron….he being double teamed often didn’t really help detroit….
A D-coordinator can rephrase it several ways I am sure. Usually the announcers say “Safety help over the top”.
Either way, 2 guys are covering 1 guy. If that safety is giving help over the top, then there are no 8 guys in the box. Especially if you have two guys who need 2 coverage (VD being the other).
And, I can assure you, for much of the Giants game, VD was getting the attention of more than 1 Giant defender on mostly every play. And the one time they didn’t, AS hit VD for the first TD. That was one of those plays where the rest of the league is just left there shaking their head in disbelief.
We need one more of these guys. Then, we can show the NFL a balanced attack like it’s never seen. And we can’t wait too long. This current window of having this dominate D being this good…you never know how long that will last. Need to strike while its hot.
Love to have Larry Fitzgerald, Be great with him and Vernon!
Rebel,
Larry Fitz has the worst contact of any wideout in football. His agent??? Crabtrees agent. Enough said. We would never trade for his because very few wide receivers are worth 10 million a year. He may be worth it to Arizona, but he’s not worth it to the Niners.
@rebelscum
LF is the 2nd best WR I have ever seen. Second only to the Great One, Jerry Rice.
Randy Moss and TO, not remotely close. One should be sentenced to life in prison for thinking either of those guys is worthy of being mentioned in the same breath of JR.
TO and Moss are locker room cancers. Never got along with anybody. Never lead a team to a championship while tearing apart the teams that were building up to a championship quality team. Thniking TO with the Niners and Dallas here.
Moss would take plays off. In his time with the Raiders he took whole seasons off. JR made it a habit to run each catfch to the endzone every time in practice. Moss, wouldn’t even bother running his routes during games! No wonder why he got open at times. The CB took it easy wondering if Moss cared that play or not. That is not greatness. That is laziness.
LF is neither a locker room cancer, nor does he take plays off. The stupid jerk made sure DG was ok in the AZ game when he went down with an injury after DG spent the whole game trying to take LF’s head off all game. Then he gets between Niner players and his own teammates to prevent fights.
TO in that situation is passing out scalped tickets to the highest bidder, and Moss is off smoking some pot and not giving a damn about anybody else.
LF makes all the catches Moss makes, is just as big as TO, but faster. LF does not take the plays off Moss does and is beloved by his teammates.
He is worth ANY single Niner player in a trade plus some picks if AZ went for it. Look at the Super Bowl winners the past several years, and you will find WR’s making some big plays to win the game. EM twice having such a WR. The last Pit Super Bowl win with a great catch to win it.
Should not have read:
“We need to make other teams pay dearly for doubling our WR”
Should have read as:
“We need to make other teams pay dearly for doubling our TE”
Who is this guy kidding? I can understand feeling the Niners have a strong team, they did and will continue to next season. But the unabashed homerism from every column is ridiculous. I don’t know who writes the worse pieces, him or his father. I know where to come to when I need to fill my daily ‘headshake in disbelief” quota.
…which one of you didn’t think we would have won the game if KW didn’t fumble the ball?…….
Alex would have had the ball on 40-50 yard line ……..a FG wins the game in OT……
….all this losers are whinning Grant is wrong for saying Niners should be the preseason favorites to win the 2013 Super Bowl……..but none has offered a common sense reason why Grant is wrong……..
……it is true what they say “Hatred is one long wait”…..
…i cant recall but the niners didn’t win any games this past season because an opponent missed a FG to win the game…..
…..i know the giants did against the cowboys…..and the pats did against ravens…….
….but purely looking at the wins/loss record…..we did crush teams we won against…..so yes 49ers will win the next superbowl…..
Nobody is biting, oneniner, so for the sake of argument, I will.
Though it might not be much of an argument. Don’t really have too much to prove my side over your side at all.
He had it on the 30-40 yard line 4 possessions in a row before that and couldn’t get a single 1st down. Why was it going to be any different in that drive? Alex wasn’t making anything happen. He was just rolling out and throwing the ball away, running from a pass rush that wasn’t ferocious. He just assumed it was.
Eli wasn’t doing anything either.
Philly, thats true but what does that have to do with Alex?
Oneniner,
Becausevyour boy didn’t, and hasn’t, and won’t pull the trigger next year either! alex is afraid to pull the trigger!
Alex shoots blanks.
“Alex shoots blanks.”
Excuse you Neal.
How would you know that rather personal information?
DS, you know what I mean, if you want to turn this into a perv site, be my guest.
Man Grant,
you are all across the board. I know it’s your job to create a bit of controversy to get bloggers to respond but come on…. The road to the superbowl for the NFC goes through Green Bay. The only reason Green Bay lost is that the entire team was impacted emotionally by the loss of a child that belonged to a coach.
Also are you flip flopping on Alex Smith? You’ve pointed to his stats, his inaccuracy, you called him a choke after the Arizona game. You pointed to a season filled with missed TD passes, the last one being the deep ball he missed to KW that would have sent us to the SB. You even said that no top free agent WR would come here to play with Smith. ( And I agree with all of it btw )
You mention that Smith will do better with two new WR’s. Really??? Who? If it’s a draft pick then that pick will need a year to develop and learn the system. Rookies rarely play lights out and usually have the deer in headlights.
Not attacking you, but you are flip flopping, kool aide drinking and homering all in one article Iggy….
..blah blah…”The only reason Green Bay lost is that the entire team was impacted emotionally by the loss of a child that belonged to a coach.”….
…dude….do you think these NFL players are weak like you…….what a dumb comment!!!!!
@oneniner
Didn’t the Pats dedicate the whole season to the wife of the Patriots owner Mr. Kraft who died earlier this year to her?
And they made the Super Bowl.
Imagine if a Niner HC had lost a daughter or something. And the Niners stank up that first playoff game like the Pack did. Then we would have to hear for months how AS sucks and blah blah blah. And bay would sit there and point out to everybody that AS could not hold up under pressure and more blah blah blah.
Niner coach, not Niner HC
…ha ha ha…nice one DS…….the pats even had her initials on their uniform……..what an emotional impact it had on their season….lol…..
Oneniner,
In case you didn’t know. That coach wasn’t the coach, it was the offensive coordinator. I think it may have made an impact, but I think the Giants Defensive coordinator is one of the most underrated in the league. His name is Perry Fewell. He out schemed every team the giants played in the playoffs.
+1
Bay, you just can’t admit that AS has improved in 2011, the team was 13-3, they made it to the playoffs, they had the best playoff game, and were two ST fumbles away from the SB. JH believes in AS, the offense needs more weapons especially at WR, the team (offense) needs a full offseason to work on areas of weakness, and more talent is needed at DB, RB, and OL. I’m sure TB will find more diamonds in the rough during the draft which will help when key positions go down with injuries during the year. Grant knows JH is an excellent HC with a plan, system and program for winning. There is no need to criticize because he sees the whole picture. Stay positive…all arrows are up!
This guy doesn’t give up….the niners had a good year but they were nowhere close to the best team in the league…weak division helps with the win total….need some more on offends before you can be in that conversation…..
They were 1 of the best in the league before they got into their “weak division” part of the season.
the 49ers, seahawks, and cards are all threats to beat anyone, on any given week. The NFC west only has one bad team. The division’s not weak. It may have been last year, but things change in a hurry in the modern NFL.
Damn autocorrect…..offense …..
Keep the disrespect coming. It’ll be that much sweeter when the Niners win their sixth Super Bowl. I personally love it.
Now that the weeping and gnashing of teeth has largely abated, I’ll confess that I didn’t feel at all depressed when Lawrence Tynes kicked the field goal that ended the Niners season. I just sat in my chair and said, “Wow.” Here’s why.
– It was a great NFC Championship Game, a classic, played in the rain and the muck between two evenly-matched, gritty, physical teams. It’s unfortunate that the Niners turnover ratio was -4 (counting the two sure 49ers interceptions that were broken up by Dashon Goldson), but that’s football.
– It was an exciting season that was even more enjoyable because of the long dry spell that preceded it. No one could have predicted or even wished for the remarkable return of S.F. to NFL significance.
– Most important, losing in the NFC Championship Game was the *best possible result* for fans. Again, here’s why.
— I’ve been an avid 49ers fan since moving to the city in 1971. I’ve seen it all, including the 1981 season, and winning the Super Bowl changes everything. Expectations replace hopes. Joy in wins turns to agony in defeats. The players struggle to find motivation. The roster and the coaching staff are raided. It’s an entirely different scenario. Losing a game short of the Super Bowl keeps Frederick P. Soft off the shoulders of the players and the fans and makes all of us even hungrier for next season.
— It would have been sadder if the Niners had lost to New Orleans, because I was really looking forward to seeing them play the Giants or Packers. New England? – PFFFT.
— The season didn’t really end when the 49ers lost, it just began another phase. Yes, we had to endure two weeks of the media over-hyping the Giants and Pats, but now some real fun begins as Harbaugh and Baalke seek to strengthen the team. Who will stay, who will go? Is Alex Smith really the answer at QB? Where will they find receivers? How will they shore up the OL and defensive secondary? Stay tuned to find out. It’s really a 12-month season (though May and June are pretty much the dregs).
This ride has just gotten started.
..well written……I am with you…beating NO was my superbowl…..
Oneniner,
aparently, it was Alex Smiths too. The best game of his life for sure.
Hey 23 Jordan, I may have a little more faith then you when it comes to Alex but when you see Alex have a game like he did against the Saints more often then not he will then have a game like he did against the Giants, When he just did not pull the trigger or make that one play. Lot of all mosts, like the overthrow to Kyle and other missed opportunities, So yes he is inconsistant But he appears to be coachable and 100 percent dedicated no matter who dumps on him. But can he win a superbowl when all the chips are on the line. Even Mr. Loveable Brady is now 3-2 in the Superbowl, funny thing about the big games comes down to lots of other stuff. I love Montanna and he is 4 and 0 but say Eric Wright does not make the saving tackle in the first nfc championship game, No super bowl, If Montana does not have the best drive of his life, No third superbowl against the bengals, Flip side , is if Roger
Craig does not fumble , Steve Young may have been good enough to win it in 91 , Fumbles by Kyle Williams made a differance but no signature throws by smith except both TDS to Vernon were pretty sweet, Many things can be debated for eternity, that is probably why we invest so much time to all this.
Rebel,
I’ve seen that act from alex on several occasions. I’ve also mentioned it on this blog on several occasions. What ifs are eternal. Time will tell. Guess we will see next year.
durf: that was simply a GREAT post. Interesting…thought-provoking..original.
Thanks
Regarding your postm it is a breath of fresh air from all of the negativity…well done!
Whoever agrees with the 49ers losing the NFC Title game as a best possible result.Is a moron. After 9 years of crap and to get right on the doorstep of the Superbowl hurt more than ANY NFC title loss in this teams history. Cartwheels for a devistating loss? Get the F*** outta here and take this one clown show with you. Dumbest comment Ive ever read.
You apparently do not read your own posts.
That’s the way uh huh we like it !
1. Packers
2. Niners
3. Saints
Hate to say it, but by default, you have to put the current champ on top.
Doesn’t mean that they are the best. Just that they have what nobody else has. Anybody watch pro wrestling ever? It is like the rare times when a nobody, no talent wins the championship. Everybody knows that person is not the best, but you still have to credit the fact that they are on top, and that they, not the better talented people has what they don’t.
Now, lets go knock some pillars down!
I agree, gotta give Props to the Champ! Packers and Saints are scary too, Hopefully we are just as Physical!
…i think the saints are done…….FA will affect them….and they will now play a new Defense……..
….also looking at the history of the defense that Williams coached…almost all of them sucked after he left…….i.e his first D coaching job the titans went from 13-3 to 7-9…
…the packers will not repeat the great record….detroit and chicago will be better….and their defense is not even top 20…….Rodgers scares no one……….
@oneniner
“Rodgers scares no one”
I agree. But you are going to be lambasted for saying this. I mean, AR is a non Alex Smith QB, so he will be defended with fury.
AR has his weaknesses. This past regular season went as well as it could ever go for him. Then he flopped big time in the title game. The refs tried to help him out a ton, but he still insisted upon finding a way to lose that game for GB.
I can’t wait to play the Pack again. AR loses his cool easily. The only thing EM does not do and that helped him out big time against us. AR is like Eli’s brother Peyton. Get in their head, and they freak out. Make stupid decisions and make up a pass rush that isn’t there. This Niner D can do that to a QB. And I can’t wait to do it to AR’s.
naw, he’s just the MVP of the league. He’s garbage. Green Bay was 15-1. They were trash and Rogers was lucky. Alex is a better player than Rogers. I’m with you from now on oneniner.
A player that imagines a pass rush is there and. Leaves the pocket too early or panics???
A. Peyton Manning
B. Aaron Rogers
C. Alex Smith
DS- This is why you have no credibility on this blog. The answer is CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCC. Unquestionably!!!!!!!
tick…tock….tick…tock…tick….tock
“Rodgers scares no one”
And this guy THINKS he has cred on here. Im sure he believes teams fear Alex Smith though. Oneniner try your vanish act again. Your the only joke on this page. Beat it Kid! And DS…….. AR is getting defended Its just a dumb a$$ comment. Thats why your warning him before hand. Ds you cant reallt believe Rodgers doesnt scare opposing defenses. Cmon. You cant be riding this morons skirt tails. Your better than that DS
*isnt getting defended*
@md
“AR isn’t getting defended”
I don’t think I (or oneniner) said that, or I am just misunderstanding you here md. If you wish to discuss this point further, please elaborate.
I said AR is a lot like PM in how you can get into the guys head. True AR can run, and that makes him a better QB in my view than PM. But, you can get him out of his comfort zone where he starts to play badly. And not badly like AS badly this season with balls thrown in the dirt bad. That is the lowest level of bad. AR will lose his cool, and do the really bad level of poor play and throw the stupid passes that can end up in an Interception. The Giants game really proved it.
AR has been as fortunate a QB as there has been since JM. A lot of things need to go right for a QB to succeed. We in SF know what happens when none of those things go right with AS now. AR didn’t get tossed into a bad team off the bat. The Pack were decent the year they picked up AR )#22 pick, so the Pack were probably like 10-6 or so). The Niners stank, and really didn’t get any better in his first year at all. GB has way better WR’s.
AR played great last post season. But take a good look at it, and see what happened in those games. He played the Falcons, who we now know would lose to a pee-wee team in the playoffs, and Chicago who lost their starting QB and was the difference maker in getting the Bears the #1 seed that year. Then he goes to play Pitt without TP, and, well that just isn’t the same team at all. Notice in the Denver wildcard game this year TP come all the way across the field several times to make a tackle on a WR, while the stupid CB just stood there? If TP does not do that (if he was not there), what do you think happens with that play? So, AR really lucked out until the Giants game. And, then he didn’t look so good.
Don’t get me wrong. AR is a fine QB. I just don’t see him as high and mighty as many others do. He’s been in the playoffs 3 times. Two times he has been eliminated in the first game. Please keep that in mind when discussing how great AR is.
Again freakin crazy, that DS takes AS over AR, Rodgers MVP of the leauge and Super Bowl Champion, AS number 1 bust,offense rank 29th in the league.
” AS number 1 bust” Im sure you dont actually believe that Neal. I hope you are smarter than that. Alex Smith removed the BUST label off of him this season. Not an elite QB but not a bust by any means
Better than the one that aired. I still am trying to figure out what was so great about it besides the Giant’s pass rush. NO vs. SF definitely was the best game.
the 9ers were 1 slight graze of the ball off a punt returners knee away from the super bowl this year, with a new coach no off season practice and a shortened summer camp. i believe if the front office is as good as they were last year and a full off season for jh to do his magic the 9ers should be the co favorite in the nfc with gb and if i can get to vegas i will put my money where my mouth is.
Grant, if you dont agree – and feel that confident about the niners chances next year – put your money where your mouth is and bet it.
I also have to question your evaluations of the niners, the players, and the rest of the teams around the league. Lets start with smith. Sure, Alex played well within the confines of the system throughout the year, especially in situations where he needed to do something with his arm at the end of close games. But any credible nfl scout will tell you that by making one or two throws occasionally at the end of games doesnt mean anything. The fact is, there are still many legitimate questions concerning alex smith and his ceiling. Notwithstanding smiths third down troubles, red zone deficiencies, and aversion to make throws top echelon quarterbacks make regularly, the niners – under smith – averaged less on a per play basis THIS YEAR than they did in 2010 (5.1 compared to 5.3). Sure, the team indeed improved in scoring. But much of that was a product of their ridiculous +28 turnover ratio (a ratio you cant count on the niners repeating). With turnovers worth about 3.5 points per game, a 5-point per game increase in scoring from 2010 is actually less than you should expect if the offense was better.
Further, for those of you who incessantly cite smiths “clutch-ness”, theres a measurement for that – the QBR rating. The QBR rating tends to reward quarterbacks who win. It’s weighted in favor of winning plays, so completions and TD throws that give teams the lead are worth more. Yet even on a 13-3 team, smith ranked 23rd. And his numbers, despite his strong td-to-interception ratio this past year, are still right alongside ryan fitzpatrick, chad henne, jp losman, and trent edwards with respect to career passer rating.
And dont let one year fool you, grant. After all, we’ve seen good qbs – with strong coaching, by the way – play brilliantly on a great team one year, and then teeter out the next. Just take a quick look at chris chandler and the falcons (14-2 to 5-11), Jake Delhomme (11-5 t0 7-9), and, of course, Rex Grossman (13-3 to 7-9) who, like smith, had a terrific defense, brilliant special teams, and caused a myriad of turnovers.
In theory, the niners, especially with an extended offseason, should be more improved. But with that logic, I suppose we should have seen philadelphia advance to the super bowl this past year. Reality rarely plays out that way, and that why we still find a very little market for alex and the niners prospects moving forward with a smith-led team.
…dude nice try……boriiiing…….the debate is over!!!!!!….guess you missed the season…..
Oneniner,
I havent missed a 49er game since the 1993 season. The debate is over?
Some advice Paul
Don’t open up a post telling the blog writer to put his money where his mouth is.
Makes us regulars here want to put something inside of your mouth in reaction to that.
Hey Paul coming from DS you don’t know what “it” is threatening to put in your mouth. Ever see crying game? Don’t exactly know what team it’s on.
BTW dS that comment of your was out of line.
“Don’t open up a post telling the blog writer to put his money where his mouth is.”
why not, DS49?
Paul,
Have you ever seen the Chronicle pink section? I’m out of my chair clapping. Nicely done.
Paul, slow down, this place is the unofficial fan club of Alex Smith. They would take AS for Aaron Rodgers till this day, they are NOT Niner fans, just AS lovers.
Hey OneNiner/DS/PrimeTime, I know you’re the same person. So stop double posting.
Please Grant
Stop allowing us all to double post so much.
Guess, that proved that we are not the same person.
Paul,
The Smithers will hate this analysis, however, I think it’s spot on. Im sure an objective Niner fan will interpret this and understand it completely. The Smithers will bellyache. They are obsessed with Alex Smith. They think he is a top 7 quarterback. They don’t understand that his record doesn’t say that. Let them tell it, his last 6 years of his career don’t count because he had been brainwashed and torn down. The reality is, JH just brought the best out of Smith that he has. His ceiling is inside his helmet, right above his head. We just saw the best of Alex Smith this season, and it was still average. 196 yards a game and won’t throw the ball if any defender is anywhere near it. 5 picks this year but at least 6 more dropped. Just like the 2 we dropped in the Giants playoff game. JH will have to see it for himself this year. The key is Smith is INCONSISTENT!
Which analysis should we believe? The magnanimous Jordo or the Coach of the Year? Hmmm.
Magnanimous? Surely I jest. lol
Surely.
I’m sure this guy has been preparing this post for months. Searching the internet for any stat possible. Fact is Alex lead a team to a 13-3 record, over 61 completion %, over 90 rating, with over a 4 to 1 TD/ Int ratio, and got them to the NFC CHAMPIONSHIP. Without him the niners dont beat the saints. He may have not had an “Elite” season but it was a very productive one and teams have won superbowls with far less productivity from their QB. Fact of the matter is Alex is going to be our best option at QB, unless somehow Peyton is healthy and available. You and others will just need to accept it.
The odds aren’t set based on what Vegas believes will actually happen but on what Vegas thinks the bettors will do.
Like it or not, the national perception of the 49ers is “great defense, horrible offense”. Most of the public has bought into to “NFL is a passing league” mantra so not many will bet on the 29th ranked passing offense to win a super bowl.
Sure, but I’d bet on the Niners passing offense ranking closer to 15th than 30th next season.
Cause for concern Grant…
I thought the Niners will be in high teens (18) in yards passing next year.
MSC, getting JMorg back from injury, having a full year in JH system, and adding a WR through the draft, should equate to 15th or higher in passing in 2012. All arrows up!
I hope so Hofer. Regression to the mean ensures that the defense will fall off a bit next year. The passing offense will need to pick up that slack.
Alex has shown steady improvement since the 2nd half of last year, the o-line is jelling and Morgan should be back so there a reasons for optimism. Free agency is going to be interesting!
I no it is a short track record but Balke and Harbaugh seem to go against the grain on what every body else predicts is going to happen, Back in August I thought they were dropping the ball in Free Agency, as much as I want one of the elite FA receivers I wonder if they will target guys like Stevie Johnso or others that do not get as much pub but are plugged in and produce, I still want Carlos Rodgers back though. Anyway our team seems to be led by competent and Savy people and how often could we say that for the last nine years:?
The betting public has historically put too much faith in offence, as opposed to defence. I don’t know why, but it’s true.
That fact, plus the more legit concern that all those other top tier teams have been there for 2-4 years, we haven’t been, affects the betting odds.
The reality is that any one of the Pack, Saints, 9ers, g-men, patriots, and perhaps a handful more teams, could very easily have won the superbowl this year, and it wouldn’t be surprising for any of them to win it next year. The odds should reflect that. That they don’t, illustrates betting biases that can be taken advantage of (read: bet on the red and gold!!)
Good post Durf.
the odds arent about what bettors think but about the pattern of betting by heavy bettors and the geography or location of the most heavy bettors its a mathamatical equation
bookies dont set lines any more grads of MIT do
….i suspect it will be the niners vz (cowboys or eagles) in the NFC championship game next yr…….
A healthy Peyton manning with an incentive ladened contract is perfect . Bring in Reggie Wayne cheap, Bowe and Fleener…… Look out!!! Passing for days. Gore will be better when the focus us somewhere else. This is the time to go all in, while our Defense us good!! Of course we need to resign our own guys and draft well.
If wr get Manning, I’ll put $1000 on the niners!!!
Now that Eli Manning has won 2 SuperBowls + 2 SB MVPs, Peyton would be – I’d expect given his competitive nation – very motivated to match his little brother. We can lure Peyton by playing the SuperBowl card and giving him – as you stated – an incentive layden offer. It looks like $15million per year would do the trick:
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/miami-dolphins/fl-peyton-manning-contract-0205-20120205,0,7659438.story
competitive nature
If I recall, Alex Smith set a record rating in the QBR system. Kinda makes your post a moot point, don’t ya think Paul? Plus he also was one of leading QBs in red zone efficiency the previous season. And how many times has it been said that the offense didn’t fully utilize the playbook because they didn’t have time to do so? Even Vernon Davis admitted he had trouble leaning the plays, but when he started grasping them WOW! You also use the argument of one hit wonders at QB. Well that list works the other way too with teams dumb enough to think that about a QB and go another direction. Kurt Warner and Drew Brees ring a bell? Especially with Brees. He was cast aside by the Chargers when he hit free agency because they thought they could get better production from Phillip Rivers. How’s that work out for them? Meanwhile all Brees(with the right coach) has done is win a Super Bowl, setting a passing record, and established the Saints as an offensive juggernaut. All after only getting interest from Dolphins and Saints as a free agent back then because of an injury. Don’t think that the Dolphins aren’t kicking themselves for choosing Daunted Culpepper instead! There are two sides to that coin of yours. Include both sides instead of blurring reality to your liking.
Correct Mid-West,
Idealists only look at one side of the coin, their side. And for the other side of the coin? That’s for the people willing to ‘subjectively’ look at ALL sides of the coin regardless of how they ‘feel’.
Too much money there Big. Don’t forget some key positions on defense and special teams. Plus the team will need another OG if Snyder doesn’t resign.
Midwest,
If you’re going to give Alex Smith 10 million a year, why not give Peyton Manning 15 million? You mean to tell me that Peyton Manning is not worth 5 million more??? That’s a joke. If Manning has his velocity and is willing to take 15 million from the Niners, do you take him.
I guarantee you that if we went after Manning, we would be his 1st choice. There is no question about that. If not, who would that team be. The dolphins can’t beat the Jets, let alone the Patriots. The Jets are not ready and are a waste of a year for Manning. We are the only super bowl ready team that only needs a QB!
I wouldn’t give him 15million. That would cripple the team considering we need to resign our own guys plus a few WR’s.
As great as PM would be, I’m nervous about that neck and our OL hasn’t proven that they can consistently protect. Some of that falls on AS and his issues with holding the ball too long, but I’d hate to invest big money in an aging, but great, QB only to have him get crushed and be gone for the season.
seems peyton’s first choice is miami then washington….
so will the extra 5 mil keep the niners from signing significant contributors on defense and OL…..there are a lot of FA on this team….balancing act….
maybe grant can do an article on cap space vs FA on the team vs FA niners could go after like a peyton or a colston….and the cost of securing the next draft class…and see if bring in a peyton would be financially feasible….keeping a goldson, rogers, etc…
@Grant
You ‘list of core 49ers who should be a little to a lot better next season’ should include Isaac Sopoaga. He’s the anchor of the D-line, absorbing double teams, and allowing Bowman and Willis to roam freely. With one more year under Fangio’s D, I’d expect him to improve even more.
The team kinda stopped going for the kill after the Morgan injury 23.
No, they never were. They beat the hell out of TB like that because Of what TB did to us last year. Plus Rahim Morris wouldn’t stop running his mouth. That’s why Josh Morgan got hurt. JH was trying to send a message, ala Pete Carrol and USC.
Very true NickRow. Depending on if a #1 WR can be acquired I’d include Crabtree in that list as well.
I’m not sure why the Giants are getting so much love. They seem to get all the breaks in the playoffs. Just in the SuperBowl alone, they fumbled the ball three times and every one of them bounced their way. They won’t get this lucky again. No way they win the SuperBowl next year. Mark my words.
I agree fully, they were without question the WORST team to ever win a SB.
That pass rush changed dramatically when Osi came back from his injury, but he isn’t happy with the Giants. No way he’ll be back and that will affect the the pass rush of the overrated Giants.
Who would respect the 9ers with Alex smith as the qb? Nobody!!!!!
Eagles
Saints
Rams
Seahawks
Bengals
Lions
Bucs
Steelers
And any self respecting DC in the NFL. All of ‘those’ guys know better than to ‘not respect’ ANY player in the NFL. If you don’t, you get burned quickly. That was a lame comment.
Exactly, that is the painful truth Hov. Sad but true. It’s gonna take more than one mediocre season to get respect in this league. It does not erase the stigma of the rest of his career.
Sort of like your current posts don’t erase the stigma of your completely bogus and erroneous posts of the past?
Sad but true? Only in your head, pal.
@Adam
Ouch.
Lets hope they keep disrespecting him. It’ll help this team win a lot of games.
Appreciate the compliment Adam. I’m sooo hurt. Please apologize. You Smithers kill me bwahahahaha!
Mmmm yeah, not really a compliment. You have extreme points of view that are proven over and over to be wrong.
Maybe you ought to try a more humble (and less absolutist) approach. Maybe get some credibility back?
If by Smither you mean supporting my team since… well nevermind, then yeah, I’m all onboard. I’m not a bandwagon or a fairweather fan. I’m all in.
Adam,
I don’t look for credibility from you. You are irrelevant as far as I’m concerned. If eyou never posted, I wouldn’t miss you just like you wouldn’t miss mine. Your opinion about my posts only mean something to you and the clown DS. So, yeah it was a compliment. Thanks again.
You mean like Greg Williams???? LOL
>>Who would respect the 9ers with Alex smith as the qb?
Any team looking up to a 13-3 record. By my calculation that makes about 30 of them.
Kthxbye.
Let’s ask the Saints that question Hov.
Thanks Bray.
I wouldn’t count on Gore getting better. I’m getting the “He’s honoring his contract as best he can, then retiring” feeling…
Can you imagine Gisele was married to Michael Crabtree. “My husband was wide open but if Alex can’t pull the trigger, my husband can’t throw the ball and catch it too.
My goodness, Grant, you’ve lost some credibility here. The 49ers were the best team in the league last season? Really?! You wouldn’t have traded rosters with the Packers, Saints, or even Giants? Like in a heartbeat?
Indeed, what makes this season feel like such a missed opportunity is that the 49ers woulda/coulda/shoulda won the Super Bowl despite NOT having the best team in the league. Everything was magically pointed our way, until a certain backup punt-returner ruined everything. It’s nice to think that we’ll just pick up where we left off, but even assuming we upgrade our roster, those other elite teams will still be there. We might never have an easier path to the Super Bowl.
In other words, the odds seem about right to me.
Tell em Jordan!!! It’s time to move on from Alex smith kap,Payton, shoot I’ll even take Matt Flynn from green bay time to get a qb!!!!
Hov,
You think Flynn is good like that? I know he balled that one game against the Lions. I’d like to see him do it for about at least 6 games. JH is gonna keep Smith. He really likes the guy. He’s got Smith sold as well. It’s just a matter of getting Smith to do what we’ve never seen him do. He did some of this last year. That helped us win in the regular season. However, there is another level he has to reach. I don’t think he has that shot in his bag. I say give Manning 15 million per for 2 years with incentives up to 20 million and we win the next 2 super bowls with him. Who and what is going to stop us.
IF you don’t want Manning, then you don’t want the Niners to win the Super Bowl. If he has his velocity, he’s the guy!!! He certainly gives the Niners a much better chance than Smith. Let’s be real for a minute.
That would be fun but our OLine would need to do a better job because Peyton can’t scramble and we would need more threats at wr, I wonder if Harbaugh and Peyton would get along, Harbaugh likes to run more then you would think and Peyton seemed to be able to call his own shots, their may be more battle of the minds then you would think it would still be fun to see it.
I see Manning in Miami.
He’s got a house there, he knows some folks around there, it’s a warm-weather climate, etc.
The only downside for him is… is the schedule.
@Adam, It would be great for the NFL if PM ends up in Miami. Two games per year against TB. The ratings would be through the roof.
Just cause Payton has been medically cleared doesn’t mean he can throw. I am all too familiar with that injury as I suffered from it 20 years ago. If not handled correctly there is a certain amount of nerve damage that runs through the shoulder, arm and hand. Some of that damage is permanent. So like I said, medically cleared and having the ability to throw like the old Manning are two different things. NOW, if he can throw, I am all in.
Adam, as for your Miami scenario, not going to happen. They didn’t even sniff the playoffs. Manning doesn’t want to go to a team just to make the playoffs, he wants a team that is primed to go to the SB and is just missing a QB. He wants a championship defense in place. It really narrows his search down to three teams IMO.
The Ravens would be his third choice. Everything is in place. They need to add a second receiving threat. They would be his third choice because as good as the defense is, it is aging and needs to retool.
The Jets would be his second choice. They have a good receiving core. They would need to resign Plaxico. Keller is a good tight end. The issue on this team is chemistry. Santonio is a punk and that might turn Manning off.
The 49ers would be his first choice. Two good tight ends. One is all world. Crabtree has huge upside and is being under utilized. All they would need to do is bring in Reggie Wayne. The Oline is much improved plus Payton gets the ball out lightning fast so sacks won’t be an issue. And the Niners have the best defense in the league that is young and actually could get better. ( As long as Aldon stops drinking and driving ) Just my two cents. And if he is healthy and you still find something to argue about, then you expose yourself to being a #11 fan more than a 49er fan…….
Hmmm. Let the competition begin… May the better man win….
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d826c5922/article/niners-qb-kaepernick-i-plan-on-trying-to-take-the-starting-job?module=HP11_headline_stack
Bay,
How do you give Smith a 3 year $30 million deal and then bench him inlace of CK. CK should’ve been at pebble carrying for JH if he wanted a shot at that starting job. Just like Alex was. CK can’t win that job, even if he does win that job. That job is Smiths, period. JH is all in. Question is how much money??
Hmmm.
“The quarterback recently told the Reno Gazette-Journal that coach Jim Harbaugh told him he’d have a chance to compete with Alex Smith for the starting spot this offseason.”
“Someone told me coach Harbaugh said it’s an open job,” Kaepernick said, via The San Francisco Chronicle.”
Which is it, CK? Harbaugh told you that? Or someone said that Harbaugh said that? Or maybe a friend of a friend of a friend of Harbaugh’s golf caddy said that?
Yes, we will go searching for WR’ in F/A’ and draft this offseason. Let’s get Alex the weapons needed to take this offense to a higher level.
Since almost everyone seems to believe that’s all this team needs, cool, let’s do it!
Afterall, like most people say, “Montana had Rice and Taylor.”
Yes, he did. And evidently, that had every reason as to why Montana was so good, they say.
Screeeechhh, sound of breaks….. Why hasn’t anyone mentioned the fact that Montana won his 1st SB with WR’ Freddie Solomon, Dwight Clark, Mike Wilson, and TE Charley Young, except for Clark, not necessarily house-hold names.
Hence, a great QB can make his receivers great – above average. Not necessarily the other way around like most are presenting in Alex’ case.
But come TC and next season (when we give Alex his weapons) we will finally see if this notion is true.
AES,
Last year, we said Smith had weapons. so since the Smithers say he didn’t trust most of the weapons he had, what’s supposed to make him trust the new ones this year? After all, they are new? is it because they all need to run 4.4 40′s like Vernon?
Once again 23J, we’ll have to wait and see on this one.
But I think that even the Alex diehards will agree that if we sign a Colston or V.Jack there will be no more excuses going forward if Alex’ numbers aren’t commensurate to a ‘stud’ Rc’vr.
Jordo, where would you rate MC, TG, KW, and BW among the top 15 teams WR’s?
Smith had a pretty good repoire with Davis and Morgan going into the season. When Morgan went down and Crabtree was able to practice as opposed to sit out, the Smith to Crabs connection improved. It’s all about familiarity between a QB and his receivers. That’s why it didn’t work out with Edwards. He injured his knee in the second game and wasn’t healthy the rest of the year. There was no opportunity to build up the trust and timing needed to be effective on the field. The difference this year is that time to practice will be there.
@ Rocket,
I’m not trying to be argumentative and it’s tough for me to bring this up because I really like Morgan. I am just really tired of people pointing to Morgan like he is the second coming and talking about Alex’s “good” chemistry with him.
In five games this year Morgan averaged 3 catches per game with a 44 yard per game average. One of those passes was a back shoulder fade from CK. Morgan’s TD total after five games was a whopping ……..1 TD.
None of these receivers are top 15. But you can’t be a top 15 receiver when you don’t get the looks. Look what happened last year when Troy Smith stepped in for Smith. Smith got hurt in the Carolina game. A game where he was stinking it up. He was having a bad season up until that point.
Rod Brooks of knbr, he was a sideline reporter for the Niners at the time. He said that there were rumblings on the sideline that there were receivers running free in the secondary and they weren’t being seen or they were not getting thrown the ball.
T. Smith gets the starts and all of a sudden, the passing game was more explosive, more downfield plays. The problem was, Troy stayed in the pocket too long and Alex left too early. alex still leaves too early.
To your point, these are not top 15 receivers but they don’t have to be. The QB has a job to do. Get the playmakers the ball.
Jordan,
Troy Smith had one good game against St. Louis and then completely crashed and burned when teams figured out he was useless from the pocket.
It boggles my mind that you give a scrub like Troy Smith props for what turned out to be one good game mixed in with some truly horrific QB play and want the team to sign Josh Johnson who hasn’t done anything of substance in this league so far, while continuing to rip the QB who has played better than both of them by a wide margin.
You don’t have to be a Smith fan, but at least look at these comparisons objectively. Smith has outperformed both of these guys even with the lousy situation he’s been in for most of his career. I can understand wanting Peyton Manning but you start losing credibility when you bring up these other names who have achieved nothing in this league.
Rocket,
I speak on Josh because we know what he’s done in JH’s offense. Smith was crap before JH’s offense. Why can’t anyone else thrive in it? If Smith wasn’t here last year, who knows where he would be. It’s obvious that a system can make a player better. JH wanted to trade for Josh Johnson at the start of the season. TB wasn’t interested.
Question for you rocket. How much do you pay Smith and how many years? to answer your question, I don’t believe in Alex Smith. Period.
AES
I did bring it up. Go back and read it.
Wilson was good enough on a team deep in every position for a decade to get himself 4 rings. So, he doesn’t exactly suck to have lasted that long.
And you’re asking for people to recall names from 30 years ago? Only the really great players are remembered for that long. So, I don’t get the point there. I remember how good we have been in certain eras, but I can’t recall every player (starter). Only the big name guys. Does not mean that the non-big name guys stank now, does it?
And AS didn’t need great WR’s in the title game. Good/average WR’s would have gotten open enough times to make a real difference, and like in ’81, we win the Super Bowl. Freddie Solomon made some big plays in the ’81 title game I believe. He also didn’t have to be thrown open. Add the fact that the WR position has been made so much nicer to play in todays NFL, comparing WR’s from 30 years ago to now is very hard to do. Solomon, like every other WR then would be a better WR for the rule changes fact alone today than he was when he played.
Yet he managed to get open by himself more than a couple times in the most important game of his life up to that point.
But not a one of our WR’s did anything of note (minus the 3 fumbles). So you ask about how good were the WR’S from back when? I ask you if any of our current WR’s are as good as FS, much less DC back in ’81? At least FS got open.
“recall players from 30 years ago.” I guess no one has mentioned Joe Montana on here over the last ahhh, let’s see… 3 months! The ‘spinners’ will spin stories that custom fit at their convenience.
Therein lies the problem. No one wants to see the ‘whole’ picture. Just because (according to you) no one recalls players from 30 years ago, are we to conclude that their contributions are meaningless?
Really DS?
AES
You didn’t actually read the post at all did you?
Paragraph 3 from my post at 5:31
“I remember how good we have been in certain eras, but I can’t recall every player (starter). Only the big name guys. Does not mean that the non-big name guys stank now, does it?”
See? I said the big name guys. Do you really need me to explain why JM is included as a big name guy?
And, your answer to my question to you…
“I ask you if any of our current WR’s are as good as FS, much less DC back in ’81? ”
Add to that the Dallas secondary in 1981 was better than the Giants secondary this year which our WR’s faced, and my point is made all the clearer.
The 1981 WR’s were better than the 2011 WR’s. And, no WR has shown himself to be remotely near DC’s caliber in the big games, much less JR.
Keep something else in mind. JR and JT were so freaking good, that the guys you mentioned who came before look that much worse. Had we not had JR and JT, our fondness of the other guys would be better than it is because we had JR and JT.
AES,
DS knows nothing about the 1981 san Francisco 49ers. Our defense was absolutely huge in that game. This fool assumes Freddie Solomon made plays in the super bowl. This clown as no clue. I’ve never watched an NFL game where wide receivers couldn’t get open for a whole game. It didn’t happen against the Giants. Alex Smith didn’t even see the receivers most of the time, didn’t throw it some of the times either. He only sees half the field. Never looks off a safety to save his life. Montana had a great defense and a medicre offense. He got the ball to those no name players. Smith couldn’t get the ball to his teammates. He wouldn’t pull the trigger.
These Alex Smith fan are a few clowns short of a circus.
AES, Don’t forget that the great Mike Shumann was also a part of the ’81 receiving corps.
freddie was pretty good and quite well known
Bay,
My point was simply that Davis and Morgan were his most trusted receivers going into this season. Davis was obviously at the top but Morgan due to familarity was number two. I mean think about it: since Crabtree was drafted he hasn’t played in one preseason game or practiced much from week to week due to a litany of injuries. There was no QB/WR bond here because it had never had a chance to develop. Say what you will about Morgan, but he was out there practicing with Smith every offseason and had developed a trust with him. As the season went along, Smith and Crabtree improved their chemistry a great deal the final game not with standing. Crabs caught over 70 balls and looked to be turning the corner. Now they need to build on that over the offseason and hit the ground running next year.
Why not Matt Flynn Jordan he put up 500 5 tds in 1 start, Alex couldn’t do that in 3 games put together sorry it was a nice story him having a good year in a shorten season but time to move on.
Hov,
How much do you pay Flynn. He’s unproven. I saw that lion game. He was on fire. I’m concerned about him doing that in this system. He knowsnGB system inside out. Can he get up to speed fast enough. JH and Smith are in love though Hov. Smith is going nowhere bro. They played a celebrity event as parters at a golf tournment in Pebble Beach today. They are in love!
You hit the nail on the head when you said Troy Smith stayed in the pocket too long and Alex leaves too early. His first year under Turner he didn’t abandon the WR routes so early.
I am wondering if we have the Jeff George effect. Too many hits early in his career. He hears footsteps that just aren’t there.
Bay,
Wondering?? When Smith reads that a team has a great pass rush, it changes the way he plays. He knew the Giants were at full strength on that D line for the playoffs. He was rolling out on damn near every play late in that game, just like last year.
Against Philly, Alex put up 2 touchdown passes…
The following week against Tampa Bay he put up 3 touchdown passes…
5 touchdown passes in 2 games with no interceptions… Kind of better than Matt Flynn, Don’t Ya Think…
5 TD’s in 2 games, 12 in the other 14 games???? Lowest 3rd down percentage in the league. 196 yards average passing per game??? Red zone enigma??? You’re killing me Tony.
But no 300 yards!!!
After all, games are won by yards passing. Not points scored. And not even that. Just finding a way to score 1 more point than your opponent every week, and you never lose.
1-13 on 3rd down in the biggest game of his career. That’s the stat that hurt the most. 1-13. Technically o-13. Tell us where Smith converted that one 3rd down completion for a 1st down? Had the same 3rd down issues last year with Smith under Sing. It’s the QB, not the system.
Jordo, I’ve asked what were the calls on the 13 3rd down plays? Run or pass? If they were a pass you can’t put that blame on the QB.
*run*
Hofer,
The only a big run that we missed was the run from Dixon on 3rd and 1. We know most of the 3rd downs were Smith dropping back to pass. So you want to call it 1-10??? Ok that still stinks bro.
Ill take Josh Johnson before I’ll take another year of Alex 200 yards 1 td 0 ints. That’s your plying not to lose instead o playing to win. You play to win the game.
Paying Peyton Manning $15 million a year for a two or three year contract would be a mistake. Did anyone see how Peyton Manning set back the Colts for about 5 years by having the most complex Manning system in the league?… Bringing in Manning might win the 49ers 1 superbowl, but doing that would set back the 49ers because Alex Smith would then sign somewhere else… and Kaepernick would be forced to digest the Manning System which just about no other qb in the NFL can do.
The 49ers need to get Alex Smith on a 3 year $8 million a year deal with HUGE incentives where if Alex wins the Super Bowl, he gets another $5 million… Plus, $8 million dollars a year to Alex Smith also leaves the door open to Kaepernick to compete for the job which plays right into Harbaugh’s Mantra…
Please drop the Peyton Manning pipe dream… It simply Will Not Happen.
Tony,
Alex’s camp allegedly wants 5 years $50 mil. Do you give him that. JH is the coach. If Manning came here, it wouldn’t be a Manning system, it would be a Harbaugh system. What are you talking about, a setback. Smart QB’s learn systems. If this team stays intact, who would be thesper bowl favorite with manning this coming year? I rest my case.
Good, why don’t you rest your case rooting for another team. Because Alex Smith will be back next year. No way Jim Harbaugh’s qb successor back in 1998 in the Colts is brought in to take the job again from Harbaugh’s guy Alex Smith…
Again, it’s a pipe dream…
Tony,
You’re reasoning is hilarious, even if Smith is back as the starter. It won’t have anythingbto do with 1998. Have you been drinking today?
The debate is over. Time to move on and discuss FA, draft, OTA’s, upgraded WR’s, etc, etc.
I guess you must be the new blog moderator Hofer? Butt out Bud. Don’t think we addressed you on this thread. We’ll let you know when the debate is over.
Jordo, it’s ok if you want to guess AS’s contract numbers. lol
I’m thinking 3 years at $6.5M (year 1), $8.0M (year 2), and $9.0M (year 3), for a total of $23.5M plus added performance incentives…
@Tony
23J admitted recently to exgolfer that he is not a Niner fan.
So, no big shock. Just confirming what everybody knew all along.
23…..Did you really read Smiths camp wants 5 Year 10 per? If so….They might as well bring in PM and let him walk. There isnt a team in the league that would pay that for him. I hope its a rumor. Because Ive always backed his personality. I wouldnt mind keeping him but under those numbers……He’s gotta go.
MD, what do you think the contract numbers should be for AS?
Ninermd,
Here is the article from scout.com.
http://sfo.scout.com/2/1156539.html
Ninermd,
I said the same thing in this thread. 10 million a year for Alex Smith for 3 years is too much for me. Who’s going to give him that?? NOBODY!!!!!
Jordo, your “flavor of the month” from 2011 got more than that amount – KKolb. Is he worth it? Like I said around $24M for 3 years with signing bonus and incentives probably around $28M.
@hof
AS will take less money if it helped keep the team together or got him a decent FA WR. I am sure of it. What we know of AS is that he thinks of others first quite often and is not greedy.
With that in mind, AS may not sign immediately during the FA period.
>>Here is the article from scout.com. http://sfo.scout.com/2/1156539.html
I see contract length mentioned but no dollar terms in that article. From which orifice did you pull the $10mil figure, J?
If it’s a 5 year deal, my guess is there will be some roster bonus’ that show up after a couple of years that will allow the team to cut him if they want to. Most long term deals have some sort of out for both parties so I see this contract being similar. It might say 5 years and 50 mill but in reality it will be 2 or 3 years and 24 mill or something like that which will allow them to move on if they want to.
Maybe a little retroactive kicker for organizing and running Camp Alex when he was off the books last summer.
Sorry Hoff…….. Just got your question about What Smith contract number should be. IMO 3 year about 5-6 mill a year. With some bonuses. If he becomes “elite” Years and money should climb. Also IMO there is to much of a “what if” factor given his history here to throw 10 mill a year at him. I think its fair he is still in the earn it category. If he earns big money… Pay his A$$. lol
Tony,
You pay Smith 8 mil a year so if Kap beats him out this year, Smith is on the bench for the next 3 years making 8 mil a year as a backup. Are you serious? The QB job, according to JH, will be an open competition this year. This is gonna be interesting.
When AS gets his contract, it will tell you he is JH guy and CK is not in the future unless AS gets hurt. The debate is over. Time to talk about upgrading WR, RB, OL, DB through FA, draft, etc.
@Hofer
“CK is not in the future unless AS gets hurt”
I’m not so sure about that. It may not happen next year, but the year after CK might beat out Smith outright.
based on what …..
I said ‘might’ so that’s my disclaimer. But, to answer your question, based on physical abilities and coming along slowly in the JH system, and Alex’s past inability to beat out competition.
Nick: You have to remember that “Alex’s past inability to beat our competition” was when he was being judged by Nolan and Singletary.
>>When AS gets his contract, it will tell you he is JH guy and CK is not in the future unless AS gets hurt.
Don’t wait for the contract. Just take JH at his current word.
“We’re all in lockstep as an organization that Alex Smith is our guy,” Harbaugh said Tuesday from the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. “It’s well-documented. You saw the way he played this year. (He is a) tremendous leader on our football team.”
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d826c9336/article/harbaughs-qb-assessment-not-in-line-with-kaepernick
The article goes on to say the CK better keep his mouth shut when relaying what he thinks JH did or didn’t say about the QB competition.
Rib, There is little doubt that AS will be back next year. We all just hope that he shows improvement and gets the team one step further than last year.
@ribico
Alex Smith just came out with a new song titled
“Ribico, tell me how my ass tastes”
LOL +1 EcoEnrico
Harbaugh on Comcast gave a strange convoluted answer as to why he didn’t pick up his award. He started with “Awards are for players”..then went on a tangent that made me zone off.
For somebody who is amazed at the questions he gets..he amazes how a simple question for him becomes a solilaquy of double talk.
LMAO!!!! That was funny, because I agree and have found myself “zoning” off sometimes when he is answering a question.
Harbaugh is easy to undeerstand…unless yu don’t understand football.
I think he likes to play cat and mouse with the Media, but it is pretty amazing how for all the response nothing is ever said, but with how intense Harbaugh is some times he lets off a zinger, never know if he may tackle some one or something, glad he is our coach though.
Your right Jordan but if he doesn’t work out we have kap or tolzien to fall back on 4 years 45- 50 mil 25 up front for Flynn that’s what it’s gonna take.
JH is in love with Smith bro. I told you that they played at pebble in the pro am today(golf) JH is giving Alex the keys for at least a couple of years. We’ll have to watch how it plas out.
I rather pay Matt Flynn of what he might be able to do than what Alex can do!!!!!
Alex Smith will be the Niners’ starting QB in 2012.
If you are in Vegas take a look at the Kentucky Derby futures. You can bet a horse that’s never started, to win, you might get 500-1. As soon as the horse wins a few races the odds go way down. Same with the NFL, if a team wins a number of games early on, watch their odds go down. Except for the ponzi schemers on Wall Street these guys making lines are sharper than anyone in the investment world.
DS, your premise is debateble. Except for Dwight Clark, the other receivers on the 81 team were languishing around the league before coming here. Plus your recent assertion does not include who was throwing to them.
Point: It takes a ‘great’ QB to make ‘great Rc’vrs. Since the Giants loss, we’ve been inundated with the idea that ‘great Rc’vrs will make Alex better. I prefer to see it working on both ends, but for me it starts with the QB.
Maybe the WR’s were languishing. That was not the point. The point is did they actually get open themselves, or did they require JM to be great to get them open? That was the point. Was FS open all by himself (get a step or two before JM threw it) or did JM have to throw perfect passes every time? By the way JM threw 3 Int’s in that game.
And if the Niners had a DC quality WR performance like DC did in the ’81 title game, the Niners beat the Giants. AS or not. Playing WR back then was harder on the offense than the defense. Now, if you breath on the WR too hard, PI is called. Except for the Niner WR’s. Why is that? The QB matters not. That is a WR issue.
And I prefer seeing the whole process starting with the HC. Not the QB or WR. JM taught JM how to be great. JM then had to go be great.. AS has had nobody show him how to be great until now. Now AS is starting to play great. HC is where it all starts. But that is my opinion.
You can’t get a PI call if the QB doesn’t throw the wide receiver the football. Didn’t you know that DS. No throw, no PI call. Simple.
“JM taught JM how to be great.”
Should read as
BW taught JM how to be great
Fair enough DS. Let’s hope that JH can continue to do for Alex what BW did for Montana, although I believe Montana had the ‘goods’ to succeed wherever he would played ala the Chiefs.
AS is finally starting to play great. DS can you please pass the rest of us some of whatever it is you’re smokin?
AS finally had a respectable year in 2011. Now he needs to show he can do it again and hopefully better. The 9er fan in me hopes he can do it. The realist in me isn’t so sure.
DS whenever you post about 49ers history I get the strong impression you never watched a 49ers game before Alex Smith was drafted in 2005.
It’s perfectly fine that you’re an Alex Smith fan. In the NBA a lot of fans follow players rather than teams. But please stop denigrating our history and putting down our Hall of Famers in a feeble attempt to make Alex look better. It is rather annoying and simply makes you look foolish.
Alex is an average QB. He is not a HoF player and he certainly isn’t the greatest of all time. He’s not even a Pro Bowl player. No matter how you try to revise history or bash other players that remains the same.
Hey DS me too, I was also too young to have watched the 1981 49er team.
msc
Was SY a HOF QB at the same age as AS? If not, then I hope you don’t need me to write further explaination as to the absurdity of your statement. How many Pro-Bowlers did SY make possible at age 25-26? Zero. AS made VD a pro-bowler with some great seam passes.
If you are such a fortune teller, you are wasting your time on a sports blog. Do something useful for society instead.
And look at JM and AS numbers in ’81 and ’11. They are very similar. Resulting in similar win totals. Get DC caliber WR on this team, and the 2 seasons end the same as well.
I look at history in a manner which does not follow what everybody else says. But by how I remember it and what the raw data tells me. That is different from most people, including yourself apparently.
My way has lead me to the correct true answer far more than not in all sorts of things, whereas the popular notion ended up being wrong a bunch of times. I can give examples, but you’d just chose to dismiss them anyway, so there is no point in bringing them up.
I’m not going to change me or how I think for you or anybody else on this blog. You don’t like it, fine. Don’t read my stuff, and you’ll be happier than if you do read it.
It’s your choice.
P.S. JR is my favorite player of all time, so I know what a great WR can do. And JS is my favorite Niner on this team. Not AS. Just whenever I bring up JS, nobody wishes to discuss him at all, so those posts often go without reply.
DS says: “BW taught JM how to be great”o
So when did Bill Walsh coach at Notre Dame? Wondering how he tought underdog Joe to go out and win the Cotton Bowl against the number one team in a blow out win all while suffering from the flu.
Joe was already great and Bill recognized his ability to win under any circumstance with any amount of pressure. The two made a perfect team, but BW did not make JM great. Joe’s greatness came from the inside – he had “it” when he joined the team.
Please stop making such ridiculous statements trying to diminish Joe Montana in order to make Alex Smith look good.
49ergirl, that game I believe was called the chicken soup game or something like that because they were so worried about his health, cold and de-hydration they tried to get soup or just chicken broth in his system, I am fuzzon the details because I think I was nine years old at the time! He diffently should signs of brilliance, Walsh was a great fit for him as we all know now.
…interesting point AES ..”It takes a ‘great’ QB to make ‘great Rc’vrs. “…….
Did V. Davis becpome a pro-bowler by throwing passes to himself….
V. davis was raw coming out of college and now he is regarded as a top 3 TE in the league…..according to your point Alex is great cuz he made davis a great receiver…….
…..flip flop your way out of this broooo…
“It takes a ‘great’ QB to make ‘great Rc’vrs. “
Interesting thought. Wasn’t Kolb so highly valued in Philly because he was the next QB, until Vick won a few games against crappy opponents that they traded Kolb away to AZ, whom other than LF, has nobody.
Then what happened to Kolb? He was so good/great that many “experts” here wanted to trade the sun sky and moon for him in place of AS that he lead his team to 2 wins all season long. 1 on opening day when they barely beat the worst team from 2010 in the Panthers and again against the Cowboys who played the “find Waldo” version of Good Romo game.
Why didn’t Kolb lift up the WR’s and everybody else last year then?
Or how about when Warner came from the Giants as a bust with his career in the bleep house. It was suddenly revived in AZ. Why didn’t Warner lift the Giants WR’s upward? He had after all gone to 2 Super Bowls, winning 1. He could barely get a job afterward the Giants gig. But, he came to AZ who had great WR’s in LF and AB (at the time) and was suddenly great again.
If one wants to discuss the point that JM lifted up the WR’s in the Niners early years, then one needs to discuss what happened with Kurt Warner in NY and then AZ as well to be fair and balanced.
Too much attention paid to the QB position here by SF fans.
But I still say it all starts with the HC. I wasn’t humming the theme to “Empire Strikes Back” when the Niners drafted AS. I hummed it after we got JH as our HC.
Hahaha, oneniner, you never fail to put your foot in your mouth son. How long has VD been great? Did it happen in his rookie season? 2nd or 3rd? By and large, who was his QB during that process? Hmmmm, let me see? It’s taken VD the last two seasons to become the star he’s become. Alex has made his trade by throwing to VD but its been no slam-dunk.
Payton Manning made R.Wayne, Clark, and P.Garcieon great Rc’vs. If you don’t think that has merit what did they do this year without him?
Eli made his receivers great as well.
You only look at one side of the coin, that says we need a great receiver for Alex. While I look at the other side of the coin. A great QB can make a great Rc’vr. Simple oneniner, just take your Alex ‘blinders’ off and you’ll see the whole picture son.
Explain Kurt Warner then AES.
Also, don’t you think R.Wayne, Clark, and P.Garcieon may have been great WR’s in their own right, just as you claim PM was a great QB in his own right?
The WR still has to make the catch and run with the ball. Something our guys failed to do all postseason.
It appears that the identity of oneniner has been revealed. It is Gisele Bundchen everyone! Wonder if she wears her Victoria’s wings while blogging.
“Did V. Davis becpome a pro-bowler by throwing passes to himself….”
@Hammer
Nice, that was hilarious
It’s not a lack of respect for the Niners, it’s a lack of respect for the QB.
Amen
You can put lipstick on a pig and it is still a Pig
*would have played*
Would have played what?
@EcoEnrico
Look a little bit above
AES is correcting a typo in his 7:27 post
Just put $1000 on the 49ers at 20:1 odds. I won $2000 this year on 3 games. I took the Ravens over the Rams, 49ers over the Lions and the Giants over the Patriots. $500/$500/$1000 respectively. Not going to cost me a cent and I think it is a worth a shot. Going forward the key will be to again ace the draft and make a couple key F/A moves. Stay tuned…
You;re not a good example for your kids
Awesome, Razor.
Contrast and compare to J23, who lays a grand against his team. BTW Jordo, how did that Niners-Saints playoff bet go? Oh, you didn’t actually make it? Just talk? Figures.
The guy backed out son. He never came back on the blog and still hasn’t since.
Too bad for him and good luck for you.
Geez who cares if we are underated, what differnce does it make. I havnt been on this blog due to broken leg and fractured shoulder am starting to feel better, and much to my dismay the Alex debate still rages on. I will no longer address this issue. He is our QB and that is that. Would rather address the upcoming draft and future FAs or how difficult our next year is going to be.
@undercenter
Do you really see the AS debate raging on right now?
To me it is much more like a “debate” about evolution. There is no debate. Just a group of people who refuse to admit facts. While the rest of the world has moved on.
Just because some refuse to admit something does not mean a debate is still ongoing.
At least for me.
…there is no debate……..just a bunch of losers whinning
I agree oneniner
Kurt Warner makes a good case that Eli not Hall of Fame worthy. I agree with him. Grant, your dad is off base once again.
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d826c0229/article/warner-doesnt-buy-that-eli-is-already-hall-of-famer?module=HP11_headline_stack
Nice article Eco
I have the some conclusion, but I don’t like to use the QB rating as KW did.
I would focus on the Int, and, what I call his dunce look. Maybe it is what keeps him cool when others freak out like his brother Peyton. But, is is not the Joe Cool look which I like.
He just seems to be very fortunate a lot more than many other QB’s.
Thanks DS,
At first, I couldn’t help but thinking that one QB criticizing another QB (Warner on Eli) may have been out of jealousy, but Warner makes a strong case for Eli not being HOP worthy.
Not sure if satire, or just stupid…
i love alex hes a good guy but im sorry its his time to go know when to hold em know when to fold em bye bye time for alex time to get a real qb enough babying a qb.
Time for you to get an English teacher.
Grant, plain and simple, you’re off on this unless we have better quarterback play and at least one big target WR. Either Smith plays much better OR someone else takes the job that does – that’s the only way we will get to the Super Bowl. Also, the defense cannot be expected to play to such a high level year in and year out.
Grant…I truly admire that you are such a homer-dom! Next season tho, the 9ers will not sneak up on anyone, & their schedule will be a bit more difficult…But the 49ers should still reach the playoffs. I also look for the NFC West to get Stronger, we now have some of the better Head Coaches in this division.
* Sould be: Grant I admire your Homer-dom!
Blazer
It’s hard to sneak up on somebody when you’re beating the Hell out of them. Just like Jed, I put my faith on Harbaugh and Baalke; just like last year, and that DIDN’T turn out so bad…..Right?
GO ALEX….GO NINERS IN 2012!!
I have to agree with a previous blogger that the niners were lucky to beat the Saints. They could not stop Drew Brees and his receiving corps. The Saints would have won the Super Bowl vs. the Patriots and it would not have been close.
Niners have a tougher schedule with non division opponents but you forgot to metion that the Seahawks, Rams, and Cardinals in their own division will be stronger . Remember they lost to the Cardinals the second time they played this year? I think that unless they get an upgrade in receivers and a much improved Alex Smith who can make quicker passing decisions that they will be lucky to make the playoffs.
Good points but with Harbaugh having more time to work with the players and a few key additions he could be even more ready, Is it August yet?
“They could not stop Drew Brees and his receiving corps. ”
Yeah.
So how many points did the Saints score till the last 7 minutes of the game again?
Take your observations someplace else. Brees left that game with more bruises and aches than the sum of all this past seasons games combined. You clearly did not see the hurt we put on the guy.
Besides, your precious Saints lost to the Rams, who were in the AL lottery all year long. And…waif for it….the Saints lost to the Niners!
I think where things will get tough is not having 38 turnovers to rely on. That’s one of those x factors that can easily bite you back and it’s unlikely they get that many next season.
As far as the Jets being listed as one of the tough opponents, I have to disagree. That team is imploding at break neck speed and this season will be Rex Ryan’s last as head coach of the Jets. Sanchez is over rated, the running game is mediocre and the defense isn’t close to what they were 2 years ago.
How is it the “best team in the NFL” couldnt beat the NY Giants and didnt get to the Superbowl? Or is the claim that they were the best in the league
nothing more than hot air much like this article.
I dont think those who live in the Tristate Area of NY, NJ, and Conn. think the 49ers were best at anything! I never believed SF to be as good as Grant ordained them to be! Go Blue!
listen blue balls, this is a Niner blog. Your team got all the bounces in the playoffs and are lucky to have the trophy. WE GAVE YOU THE GAME!!!! get over it..
Yes. That’s it. Walk into the bright light.
Hey B. I live in the tri-state area. I saw the Giants parade on the tube, but I didn’t see their MVP, Kyle Williams, at the podium.
The Giants SB trophy bears the following inscription.
THE VINCE LOMBARDI SUPERBOWL TROPHY:
kyle williams edition.
If the Giant-49er game lasted another 15 minutes Eli would have been knocked out with a ten count.
Grant is still being a fair whether fan.
I just love how every intruder like to stay stuff like, ” The division will be stronger next year, better coaches…..” As if the Niners are going on vacation with their front office and no one is working… the dumbest comments I’ve heard….JH does not works while your coach is sleeping.
They don’t seem to understand his drive. YOUR TEAMS SUCK and we are going to whoop them again and again and again. The dynasty is back b……s!!
And we continue to have people only seeing one side of the coin, not both objectively. Would Peyton be an upgrade over Alex? Yes. At the same time though, would Peyton be able do what Harbaugh tells him to do? Probably not because Peyton likes to run the offense his way.
Would Peyton make the offense better? Probably. But could the offensive line protect him? No, because it is more built for a mobile QB, something that Peyton isn’t.
Would Peyton bring a new dimension to the offense? Most definitely. However, it would have to be catered to Peyton, so wouldn’t the offense have to learn yet another system for an eighth straight year?
All facts need to be considered and not your opinion. I want to see some of you do that for a change.
Our line protecting a mobile QB that got sacked 44 times this year. You gotta be killing me. You make Peyton Manning sound like Chad Occhocinco. He is no rebel. He’s a team player and a winner. He doesn’t go off of the reservation. Your assertions are preposterous. He is a hall of famer. Where did you get these complaints about him? From DS, certainly not from his teammates.
The Niners will not sign Peyton Manning.
Move on!!
“Would Peyton be an upgrade over Alex? Yes. At the same time though, would Peyton be able do what Harbaugh tells him to do? Probably not because Peyton likes to run the offense his way.”
This right here is the start and end of it.
If PM does not want to run JH’s offense, and JH does not want to change his whole offense for a year or two after he just won HC of the year for what he employed, then the rest of the discussion is moot.
How can a HC and a QB exist who are not seeing eye to eye? We just went thru that for 6 years! We know it does not work.
Good luck MWN, don’t know how long you’ve been reading this blog as certain “experts” here refuse to accept the fact that their opinion is not necessarily reality just because they want it to be. ALL the facts (the so called Alexcuses included) and objectivity are a brain overload for those same individuals even though JM used some of those same facts in his evaluation of Smith’s play. Their egos refuse to let them admit they could be wrong. LOL
Heard on CSN last night that Alex will be carrying Harbaugh’s bag during Thursday’s round at the AT&T. Just another way of showing everyone that AS and JH are tight.
Which Jack Hammer are you?
I am the original Jack Hammer. Which Adam are you?
Just checking, you’ve got all those alternate names and logins, avatars and all that. ;)
I’m the original Adam :)
@Adam, There is only one Jack Hammer. Can’t help the fact that other bloggers want to be me, women want to be with me and animals want to learn how to talk so they can hang out with me.
Jack,
Yes he will and yes they are tight. Alex and JH are definitely creating quite the tandem off the field. Just need to see what happens on the field.
Right there with you J. I know this will get the Smithers all flustered but I just wish that AS could let it go and take shots early in the game like he does when they are behind, ala the 4th quarter vs NO.
Perfect example of this is the Baltimore game. First series he has DW wide open down the middle but misses him and checks down to VD. Even AS said he missed it as soon as he came off the field, but he thought he would have another chance later in the game. In the NFL those chances don’t come along very often so you need to hit them when they are there.
Jack,
I feel the same way about his early play. That’s why we will lose our share of close games. We won our share of them this past year. We have to continue to get the breaks because Smith is not aggressive enough to get us separation from opponents. JH calls games in a way where Smith is not asked to do to much. His abilities are limited but the Smithers just think JH calls it that way.
I want to see Smoth be aggressive with the football, period. Look areoud the field during plays instead of just one side of it.
The Harbaugh-Smith relationship is perplexing to, and just basically tolerated by the anybody-and-everybody-but-alex cabal. How much longer will it take for the tide to turn and Alex-based scorn is directed towards Harbaugh?
harbaugh and staff is about making the team better aimed at the post season and potential SB appearance….this staff was just a couple of plays short of delivering ….. yet everything has to be about AS….whatever….
I’m sure Harbaugh reads this blog every day to see how he should handle the team and specifically the QB position.
: – )
We would have been 19-0 every year for the last 4 years had the HC of the Niners done so.
What a difference a year makes. Last year the Niners were in the bottom teams, now they’re in the discussion for the top teams. Given my druthers, I’d rather be in the latter discussion. Whether they’re top now or not doesn’t matter. It’s where they are next super bowl time.
It would be great if we could find some middle ground in this endless Alex Smith debate because the extremes of both sides are getting ridiculous.
First off, don’t compare Smith to Montana. It is a comparison that can’t be made. Different time, different NFL and Smith is not at that level. Also this slagging of Aaron Rodgers is crazy. He is a great QB and Smith is nowhere near his level right now.
Peyton Manning would be an upgrade and he’d fit in just fine. He’s not going to go Maverick on a team he selects to sign with as a FA for the purpose of winning a SB. He’d come in, learn the offense, make his own suggestions and the team would combine elements of both. Having said that, I don’t see him coming here. I don’t think the 9ers are looking for the high priced QB near the end of his career. They are looking at a long term foundation built through the draft with players that will grow together and win for the long haul in my humble opinion.
Alex Smith is a middle of the league caliber QB at this point in time. That is not a bad thing considering many were leaving him for dead on the scrap heap a year ago. This improvement happened with 5 months of tutorship from Harbaugh, Roman and Geep Chryst. It only stands to reason he will get better the more comfortable he gets in the system and the better the talent is around him.
I went back to look at how Smith has played since the shoulder problems, meaning the last 3 years and found this:
36 starts
49 TD passes
27 Ints
QB rating of over 80 increasing to 90 this season.
What was also interesting was that Smith had 18 TD passes two seasons ago in 10 and a half games played. That’s interesting because there was a perception that grew this year that Smith didn’t throw down field and the TD numbers would always be pedestrian etc. etc., yet he was on pace to throw 28 TD’s that season with Jimmy Freaking Raye calling the plays. The season after started off rough when some interceptions happened in the first few games, but he came back after injury and played pretty much mistake free football and again had a pretty good TD to Int ratio at the end of road.
So in summary, what this tells me is that Alex Smith has improved consistently over the past 3 years to the point of becoming a top 15 QB and being at the helm of a 13 win team. I see no reason looking at the recent history that he can’t become a perennial 25+ TD a season QB with a solid TD to Int ratio. He’s already shown he can do that and if he continues to improve – which the numbers say he has the last 3 seasons – then I think this team will be contenders for the forseeable future. How good he can get, I don’t know but the arrow has been pointed upward and improved upon consistently 3 years running.
What I think we all need to do is start looking at this topic with some realism instead of hyperbole and innuendo. He’s not an elite QB and he’s not a bum who is keeping the seat warm for the next guy. He’s a middle of the pack talent who has shown a propensity to improve and if he does so this offseason, we’ll see a big time difference in the offenses effectiveness and in turn the offense playing a bigger role in the outcome of games than they did this year.
@rocket
You are welcome to your opinions as I am to mine. I think it may be you who takes this blog too seriously as well as myself at times.
Every QB from here to eternity will be compared to JM. Especially here in SF. SY was. AS is. As will any future QB’s. It is normal for those who truly stand on top of a field to always be the ones others are compared to. Think Renaissance here. Today’s artists and scientists are compared to those way back then. Asking for us all to suspend human behavior for a blog is not realistic.
The AS debate is over. You wrote to me yourself a few weeks ago telling me that. Did you really believe 23J’s post that one time? You really fooled yourself into that one if you did. Just because some people in the US think Obama is not a citizen, does not mean that the debate is still raging on. Some people will just refuse to get past facts. Trying to reason with them will only waste your time. Move on yourself, because they won’t.
I requested that we agree not to cuss one another out, which is a much easier task to achieve than asking us not to compare one player to the best ever. Yet, the blog can’t achieve even that. It is like you are asking us to transport across the galaxy when we have trouble getting outside of our house.
And, I have asked Grant and others to define what an “elite” QB really is. I have never gotten an answer. So, the blog would first have to define “elite”. It must include all “elite” players from different eras, but not include any non-elite players. The task is not so simple.
Most of your posts are so long winded, repetitive, and dull that all we hear is “wha wha wha wha”. Similar to how adults sound in Charlie Brown cartoons.
And, we have proof right here that some bloggers can’t just help but treat others rudely.
DS, She is not being rude, just honest. If you could at least be semi-accurate with your 49ers knowledge it would be one thing, but too often it is inaccurate babble.
Yes, because you are always polite and respectful under any circumstance.
Like this typical DS post – talk about rude.
“@BigP
Yeah.
It took a whole 2 minutes at most.
Like you do in bed I imagine.”
I can pull up a dozen more like that from you and repost them if you wish to continue to try and pretend to be the moral compass around here.
Please do not preach that which you do not practice.
Jack,
IvE said the same thing in the past about DS’s posts. DS makes so much crap up, and it posts so often, you’d die trying to refute all that nonsense. Just posts weird, ignorant and non factual post after post. You have to be obsessed with Smith to find any realistic comparison between he and Joe Montana.
Easy solution
Don’t like it. Don’t read it.
DS, you have written some excellent reads here as well but sometimes you need to take a break. I’m not sure it is your intention to be polarizing, but it ends up that way. Try to see everyone’s perspective even if you don’t always agree and don’t feel that you “have to” respond to every comment – it will make life here (at this blog) more enjoyable. Just a thought…
I am who I am hof.
And maybe if some people chose to ignore my posts instead of reading them when they clearly will find fault with anything I write, then throw it back in my face, the blog would be a better place.
I am all in for the ignore button idea. I think these people who read my stuff knowing that they are going to find fault with it are just sad people. I can assure you, I would use it the ignore button.
J, the JM/AS comparisons are a joke, you are right about that. Their stats from ’81 and ’11 are similar along with their wins etc, but that is where the discussion should stop and IT just doesn’t get it.
One more thing.
I don’t write for any other reason than for me. I express myself,and if you agree with me, great. I would write the same thing if I were the most popular one on the blog, or the most hated one.
If you don’t agree with me, fine. We are talking about a game where people throw and run a ball. Nothing all that consequential in the world. And, if I don’t know as much as other so called “experts” here, I still sleep well at night knowing that.
But DS you are on a public blog, and it is hard to ignore when every other post is coming from you. Maybe you should try writing your thoughts in a personal journal, or try to become pen pals with Harbaugh.
Your constant misinformation is clogging up the blog.
>>Your constant misinformation is clogging up the blog.
But clogging up a blog with “opinons” is perfectly ok, amiright?
49erGirl,
49ergirl slaps DS down again. you are like the “72″ dolphins on DS, “Undefeated”. Hahaha! Thankfully, people are really starting to recognize this fraud for whatever the heck it is!!
Ribico, I am fine either way. Share your opinions or facts if you like. Just make sure your facts are correct before presenting them as such.
I manage to ignore more than 1 blogger here quite fine.
See their name, hit the arrow button, move your finger over your screen, do what ever you do to move the page along. Accidnetally read their BS, throw it out of your mind just like you threw whatever your parents told you what to do when you were a kid.
@ribico
I love how everybody thinks they have so many facts. Only fact is that people here think they know a lot more than they do. The only thing anybody can ever post here that are actual facts are the correct stats/raw data of a player and when they were drafted, that sort of thing.
Anything and everything else is ALL opinion. But since most people can’t read, or care to look at numbers (that means you need to know when they are useful and when they are not!), we use words. Words express opinions a lot better than they do facts. Numbers express facts, but only if you know how to interpret them properly. I can assure you , most here don’t know how to interpret them.
Me saying I would take AS right now on the Niners over AR or PM is an opinion, just like saying AR and PM on this team will win the next 3 Super Bowls is an opinion. There are 0 facts in either of those statements.
Want facts, look at nfl.com stats page. Not a blog where fans express their views.
I wonder which blog site DS used to belong to before they got an ignore button. She must have gotten tired talking to herself, then looked around and found us.
Grant – I think her ignore button is a brilliant idea – how quickly can you get one implemented here??!!!
How many of 49erGirl posts are in reply to me?
A surprisingly high % I bet. Still looking for a girlfriend, are we?
Sorry, DS in case you missed it, I’m happily married to a man. Girls aren’t really my thing but hey, thanks for offering.
And yes, I do respond to a lot your posts. It’s become a hobby to point out your BS. Get used to it….or just ignore me and skip my posts like you so often claim to do.
DS,
I think you are the one still looking for a girl friend. Seriously, get a life. Even when people direct a post to a specific person you answer it. You just can’t help it. It’s almost like your so unhappy with your life that you get off on provoking people, if for no other reason than to play victim when they come back at you. You have very negative energy.
DS,
Are you gainfully employed? Who the hell has the time to write all of your essay’s, have a feeling you are renting a room from a slumlord in the ghetto, it is dark, nasty, and hideous, you have a 25 year old Zenith black and white TV, a computer from 1989, and have McDonald Big Mac rapper’s all over the place. You touch something and its gross and sticky. Am I close?
I almost feel bad for laughing so hard. I think it would be delivery pizza boxes littering the floor instead of Big Mac wrappers though, McD’s would involve leaving the house.
http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/00873/dirty-flat-460b_873408c.jpg
Football talk now.
You guys would be nothing without me around. Every post you make, I am either in it, or you are replying to it.
“You guys would be nothing without me around. Every post you make, I am either in it, or you are replying to it.”
Bit full of yourself, aren’t you? Or is it pizza like Big P suggests?
hahaha BIG P.
I think he has the Neighbor kid to deliver his Big Mac, DS is a few fries short of a happy meal
Rocket,
That was one of the best posts I’ve read in a while. It was honest, well balanced, and pointed out issues on both sides of the AS debate.
Can’t argue with a single thing you wrote :-)
Rocket, +1.
i will buy that loaf of bread…i am in a wait and see mode….but am satisfied with AS and mostly team improvement due to the new staff….taking a bunch of under achievers and making them relevant….maybe next year it will evolve into reverence ……
@ Rocket
Well said. That’s an honest, objective way of looking at the situation. However, some Smithers will not tolerate even a balanced critique of Alex.
@BS
You have no more credibility after that post.
Rocket, excellent read!
There are only a *few* extremists here on both the plus and negative side when it relates to AS. Most have balanced opinions and see the degrees of improvement and the fact that JH supports AS not only by saying it during the year at pressers, but also by their close off the field relationship. Ultimately JH has a plan and it is working based on the success of 2011, so although I don’t always agree, I’m along for the ride…
Darn it Rocket, don’t you know common sense doesn’t get you far on this blog.
That is a great, well thought out post.
When looking at Smith’s numbers from 2 years ago, remember that he was coming in to replace Shaun Hill. There wasn’t a lot of film on him for teams to study so he had a hot start and then slowed down as opponents had the chance to study him.
I am a full believer in Harbaugh and his staff. It is obvious that AS has his limitations, but it appears for the near future that he is the guy they believe in.
Thanks for the kind words everybody. I just think we are looking at a subject with extreme prejudice to both sides when in reality the truth lies somewhere in the middle. I’m hoping Smith improves on what he did this year, but at the same time I also hope the team does everything it can to get the best guys in here. Ultimately the success of the Niners is what we all want to see.
The Niners fattened my wallet last season. 20-1 is impossible to resist.
Peyton is a pro. He will do what ever it takes to win. If he comes here, it’ll be to win. I just hope our front office is really trying to improve even if it means dissappointing Alex.
The team comes first!!!! Don’t forget the Niner players that questioned not signing or trying to get Vick.
“Don’t forget the Niner players that questioned not signing or trying to get Vick.”
Would look pretty stupid right now. Vick entered a lot of games in the 4th quarter with a lead, then lost the games. The exact opposite of what AS, or EM did last year.
“Coaches coach. Players play. Writers write.”
Add to that quote by Bill Parcells “GM’s choose/evaluate players.” and it would be complete.
DS,
How stupid is the
Comment
You just made about Vick? He lost leads in the 4th quarter because the defense was coached by an offensive coordinator. Had nothing to do with Vick. Just like in the game against us. We lose if nablun dies not fumble. Philly went up and down the field on our defense but they turned it over a ton.
I’d trade Vick over Smith on this blog in a heartbeat. If you weren’t so slow, you would too.
@DS,
Only you would take your man crush AS, over Vick and Rodgers, your a long winded delusional blow hole who is so LOVE with Smith, you crave that man, your comments are no longer logical, and your a few fries short of a Happy Meal.
There are plenty of Eagles fans who have seen enough of Vick and are clamoring for PM right now.
Sound familiar?
Ribico,
Yeah right. Vick was not the eagles problem, the defense was. We all know where Smith would be if he had been drafted by the eagles and played the way he did his 1st 6 years of his career! Lol.
So Ribico, go ahead and be as dumb as DS and tell me that Smith is a better QB than Vick.
>>So Ribico, go ahead and be as dumb as DS and tell me that Smith is a better QB than Vick.
Better? Maybe. Effective? He has to be on the field for that to happen. Vick plays a style of ball that exposes himself to a ferocious pounding. Concussions… ribs… legs… As far as I know he’s only played one complete season. Eagles were insane in not having a quality backup for him.
Would I want him as the #1 QB on my team? Not if I listen to the Eagles fans I am in constant contact with.
Ribico,
Eagle fans would just love Alex Smith to death! Bwahahahaha!
>Eagle fans would just love Alex Smith to death! Bwahahahaha!
No, it just goes to show that there is a subgroup of fans on every team willing to throw good or great player under the bus if that player doesn’t fulfill their immediate gratification expectations or 5 minute attention span.
Sound familiar?
Ribico,
If smith had been drafted by Philly, he’d be selling software and out of football by now. They would’ve killed the guy in year 2. He’s safe here in San Francisco. He will resign. He couldn’t play football anywhere else in the NFL.
Vick is all world. To say Smith is better than Vick is asinine. DS can give “its” opinions because this is a blog. My opinion is that DS doesn’t know much about football.
Vick did not lose the lead to SF. His receivers fumbled the game away. The eagles were about to put the game away for good when Maclin fumbled for the second time. Thank god for Justin Smith and our defense that carried us all season.
As for Vick, he torched our world class defense for 500 yards on his own that day.
@ Rib, it’s not Vick’s playing style that opens him up to injury, it’s his porous offensive line. A line that is far worse than ours was at the beginning of this season. Also not Vick’s fault that his linebackers are 7th round draft picks that cannot stop the run.
Put Vick on this 49er team and he not only wins 13 games, he destroys teams with our defense behind him. He would give us the breathing room our defense deserves.
another bitter opinion that is baseless and can’t be proven….
@jg
Was your last comment aimed at me or at bay?
I am pretty sure I can prove that MV’s team entered the 4th quarter a lot of times with a lead,and lost it. In fact of those times, it was AS who beat him fair and square in Philly.
So, in the head to head match-up, AS won over MV.
Vick is a more talented player than Smith. He also is a focal point of his offense which Smith wasn’t a lot of the time. Two very different styles that are hard to compare. The one thing you can put in Smiths favor is protecting the ball. Vick has a tendency at times to be careless with the football which has cost him. Vick is high risk high reward. Smith is steady. There’s a case to be made for both sides being effective in their own way.
Bay,
Alex beat Philly. That is hilarious. Silly if you ask me. That was the one game where the 49ers got completely dominated on defense last year. They couldn’t stop Philly and Philly couldn’t hold on to the football. We lose that game if not for the cowboy. Maclin fumbled on our 25 yard line.
Vick went bananas against us. He is 7 Alex Smiths . Like this article, makes sense but won’t happen.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1036385-san-francisco-49ers-should-target-peyton-manning-trade-alex-smith
Jordan,
Bleacher report is a joke. The person who wrote the article is pretty clueless. They can’t trade Alex Smith when he isn’t signed to a contract. They also won’t trade for Mannning because everybody who has even a remedial knowledge of this league knows that the Colts have to pay him a bonus of 28 mill in early March or he becomes a FA.
You could write better articles than that. I get the wanting Manning to come to SF part but we should at least expect someone writing about the team to understand the specifics of it.
>>He will resign.
Indeed he will.
You’d better start preparing to direct your ire towards Harbaugh.
PM is a pipe dream and shouldn’t be an orgs short or long term plan. CP didn’t save Oakland and he is younger than 36. PM may walk on water in the NFL but it still takes time to acclimate and build chemistry as a team. Whichever team (Eagles, Miami, or AZ) ends up with PM may have very short term success but will set their team and org back for years!
+1000
I hope it is one the teams in our division that pulls the PM trigger.
Big niner..JH wasnt interested in signing Vince Young. It makes you wonder-Would Harbaugh like Nolan have picked conventional Alex Smith over flaky Aaron Rogers had he been the HC?..Hmmm,as Arsenio would have said..lol..
PM reads the play faster and has a quick release. It wouldn’t be an issue as far as sacks are concerned. Gore would benefit greatly from PM. It would add mileage to his body if he only touches the ball 15 times a game.
Our receivers would benefit greatly from PM. Would Alex sit back and learn or would CK be the heir apparent? Or do we trade CK, keep Alex to learn and Tolzien as number 3?
I think JH loves Alex but I hope he’s looking to seriously improve at any cost.
LOWELL BLOG IS BACK!!!…no more evil FB!…WHOO-HOOO.
Congrats, Stan – you got your blog back :-)
Thanks 49ergirl…the flock can now return!
Whew. Does that mean no more Raiders, A’s and Warriors talk here?
Stan,
I hope you still remember to throw out the odd comment on the Cohn the Younger blog.
How ’bout them Blue Jays!!!
See ya, Stan and Neal. Hope it all works out! :)
I actually like this site better, Lowell is great, but his posts don’t go immediately , sometimes not up for hours at a time, he has to mod everything and if you call someone a silly goose, he will not post it. I love the bashing on here, find it quite enjoyable and it is more passionate.
Adam I am staying here because your football knowledge needs improvement.
Stan,
Give you lunch for a year if you can pursuede DS to join you over there permanently! PLEASE!!!!!
can we stop with the pm talk i dont think jh can make it any more crystal AS is his guy going foreward and the only players with a chance to unseat him are ck or tolzien. now shut up about pm its not happening [well unless pm shows up to caddy for jh on fri]
— —- — —- –!
I am all in for that.
(lol) ‘no name’ good one!
harbaugh in a short season got alex his best year ever. why wouldn’t alex keep improving? did u ppl forget how many td’s were dropped. if u wanna throw snowballs at yr team go root for the eagles. 14 wins and u ppl complain.
Because you can only squeeze so much juice out of a lemon, eventually it will stop producing. Harbaugh had to do a lot of squeezing last year….
You complained about my facts.
Where are you getting yours?
DS, I am not trying to state a fact there, just giving my opinion. Know the difference? Apparently not.
>>Because you can only squeeze so much juice out of a lemon, eventually it will stop producing.
This is the type of posting that turn rational observers, ala rocket, into “Smithers”. I’m not a huge Smith fan, but it’s difficult to NOT defend a player from such inane, factless and ridiculously biased commentary.
And so the escalation continues….
Ribico, settle yourself down. It’s okay to be wrong once in a while, not that I would know what that feels like.
Grand,
Did you forget how many TD’s were dropped? How many were there ? There were 7 interceptions dropped by defenders for Alex. See how that works? It doesn’t.
Jordo, how many tips by the WR’s (MC) over the last couple of years were turned into INTs? Oh that’s right they weren’t catchable although they were as catchable as TB’s pass to WW in this year’s SB and it seems WW is the goat!!
Tipped passes happen for a number of reasons. If Smith throws too high or behind a receiver, and the receiver gets a hand on it and does not catch it, is that on the receiver?
I saw one pass get tipped this year that was intercepted and it was on the receiver. That was the one on Ted Ginn. Think about the picks that you want to blame on Crabtree last year, that were high or behind throws by Smith. There were several.
That brings up maybe a dumb question. Why does Alex have so many passes tipped or blocked at the line? He is not that short. Just wondering.
Rebel,
He does not look off defenders so therefor the passes are being telegrPhed because hes always looking in the direction of his intended target. He also tries to throw passage assuming the d lineman isn’t going to try and block it. He averaged 4 a
Game in the playoffs.
Jordo, agree. AS needs to get better looking off the defender but that is clearly attributed to no offseason and only 6 months in the new system. AS was on Chron live last night and said he plans a couple of weeks vacation and then will start working on film and his known weaknesses to get better under JH. Arrows up!!!
Rocket, maybe I missed something regarding Crabtree. Why did he ‘sit out’?
???
AES,
Injuries. Crabtree has missed every TC and preseason sched of his career. Last season he hurt his foot during the first Camp Alex and didn’t practice during the week of a game until midseason. It’s impossible to develop chemistry and timing when a WR doesn’t practice with his QB.
We rarely see Smith and Davis have a misconnection and the reason is they practice together regularly. It’s not a difficult concept. Crabs and Smith need to work together religiously this offseason.
.
ds9 maybe i can get you to help me i still cant get my name to appear on the screen. i’ve filled out all the fields in name i’ve typed old coach i’ve entered my email and in website i entered insidethe49ers am i missing something
Yeah, you’re putting “insidethe49ers.com” in the website field when you post. Leave that field blank. The links are set to white, which… on a white background disappear.
What are you using right now to type?
It might be something up with Press Democrat’s side of things. I saw your name oldcoach in the most recent posts section, but I don’t see it here.
When I first tried to post here, I couldn’t get anything to work when I entered anything into the website field. To this day, I leave that blank.
Try again, then if possible change your machine. So, if you are using your phone, try a PC.
ty
Did you change anything from what you did before old coach?
now people can call me by name if they want to rip me a new one
great piece by maiocco on his blog regarding as. he gives him a b-. i think that hits the nail on the head he is better than avg but not yet elite
Hey old coach
Welcome ‘officially’ to the blog! I’ve mentioned this a couple of times, but I don’t believe that there is a accurate description of an ‘elite’ QB….I don’t believe that there IS one of them in captivity. An ‘elite’QB (IMO) is game to game. No one made it as an elite for the whole season, so I’d like to see it changed to:”pretty damned good”.
NFL Total Access is doing an article on Harbaugh backing Alex Smith in the next few minutes.
what was said
o god not another year with alex bleepn smith!!!!
AS has no downfield vision unless VD is wide open and the corner and safety are in the stands and his pocket presence is pretty sad.
Not as sad as your football knowledge.
I keep reading posters saying that this will have been the best season of Smith’s career, but what facts do you have to back that statement up? Did he just get lucky on every pass this entire year? So if the Niners improve their receiving core over the off season, and Smith has the whole off season to work on Roman’s playbook with his receivers why wouldn’t he have a better season? Some of you baffle me. All QB’s play better when they have better talent around them and all play better the 2nd year they’re in a system compared to the first. So to say Smith has hit his “ceiling” is ridiculous. So if Alex can come out next season and throw for around 4000 yards and 20+ TD’s with 10 or less Int’s will you guys shut up? Or does he have to win a superbowl while putting up those numbers too? I know some of you will find something to hate on him about regardless of how well he plays or how far he takes the team.
Imagine this was only the first year and they hadn’t dig deep into the playbook. Andrew Luck had 350 plays on his wristband with Greg Roman calling the shots.
And it would be nice to have another natural wideout with speed closes to Vernon’s, then they will have another every-down receiver.
I think Roman has less flexibility now when Vernon is asked to stay behind to block.
Love the article. Makes sense but it won’t happen.
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1036385-san-francisco-49ers-should-target-peyton-manning-trade-alex-smith
Jordo, we get it! Your agenda is replacing AS. PM is a pipe dream. The guy was once great but hasn’t played in over a year and add two neck surgeries, he isn’t and won’t be who he once was let alone a team’s franchise savior – bad plan. As discussed on Chron Live Tuesday from Pebble Beach, JH said he and the org support AS as their long term QB. You can say MN and MS gave AS time to show his skills, but they didn’t haven the HC and QB tutelage skill set to improve AS – JH does have this knowledge and he will ensure all of the QB’s on the roster improve.
AS has improved and there is no reason to think he won’t continue. He too was on Chron Live Tuesday and stated he will take a short vacation and start working on areas where he needs to get better as a QB – he is driven. He said he enjoyed the playoff atmosphere at the Stick and wants to get back again, anything short of that is a disappointment.
All arrows up!
Signing Smith just to trade him would be idiotic. No guarantee any team will trade for something worthy for him. Not signing him at all makes a lot more sense than a sign and trade
Hofer,
as slanted as Jordan is, you are just as slanted in the other direction. You have no idea and neither does anyone else as to what Payton Manning has left.
As for Alex Smith, he should stay here. He has no value to trade. The entire league still has a very low opinion of Alex Smith. When they talk about playing the niners they talk about our defense first, and our running game second. They go in begging Alex Smith to beat them. I’ve never ever seen a team get one on one coverage for most of the game and not take advantage of it. So I also say no to the Alex Smith trade because we would get nothing in return.
As for PM, he has to prove he can make all the throws to be considered. And it isn’t only Jordan talking about that trade. Several bloggers have said that if PM is healthy they would want him here. NFL.com has spoken about it, ESPN has written about it. It’s relevant news Hofer not some make up bs.
Hofer is the true Smither. I want nothing but a super bowl win. I know a healthy manning puts us back into the NFC championship game. I can’t say Smith gets us there next year. Do we get 38 turnovers next year? History days no.
JH offenses always likit the turnover . Josh Johnson had 78 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. Look at lucks td-int ratio. You automatically limit the picks in the offense if you play smart. However, what about pulling the trigger for the touchdowns??? That’s the problem.
Bay, I’m more balanced in my opinion than you admit but that is fine, we have disagreed before and will continue to do so. Comparing me to Jordan and his agenda is way off base. I’m more a JH fan than AS fan. If JH sees that a change is necessary, I prefer he go young – CK or Tolzien. I think they realize that CK needs a lot of work.
BTW, name a team that has improved with a 36 year old QB that hadn’t played in over a year? How much time does that QB give you? A year or two then what is the plan? It’s bad business!
Hofer,
the last time that it happened with QB’s that old was with Montana and Warner. Montana came off of an injury Warner did not. But the entire NFL thought Warner was done.
These examples are few and far between. Both examples I listed are legendary QB’s. Manning happens to be one of those legendary status QB’s. My point is, until he demonstrates the ability to throw, nobody knows.
Do you not see any value if Alex could sit behind a pro bowl Elite status QB and learn? If he saw PM running the same offense and had success doing some of the things that Alex fails at. Do you not see value if Alex grew from that?
Bay, you mention the best ever (clutch) QB and 4 time SB winner and he couldn’t bring a SB to KC. Who has done it at that age and delivered a SB? KWarner was younger and not injured going to AZ at 34 years old.
Imagine if the 9ers didn’t go with JM and instead traded a 1st round pick for say TBradshaw at the end of his career, how would that have worked? What are the opportunity costs? Bad plan!
Hofer,
bad example. Trading someone that hasn’t played versus trading someone who has played and is in his 8th year.
And I am not saying Alex should be traded. If we can figure out a way to keep him, great. I am just saying we should look at Manning and keep an open mind if he is healthy.
Imagine the value especially to our young QB’s to watch and learn from a legend. Versus watching and learning from someone we hope can turn into a good Qb.
>>Makes sense but it won’t happen
“Alex Smith’s stock shot up tremendously this season. The San Francisco 49ers should use that to their advantage and trade him for a few high-round draft picks.”
Absolutely doesn’t make sense. AS is an UFA. He’s not currently tradeable for high-round draft picks or anything else.
Where do you people find these idiotic articles?
“Won’t happen” is quite correct, shot down by JH’s “Alex is our guy.”
Plus, next year’s offensive, most likely, will have new elements not shown this past season, and obviously JH and Roman see Alex fitting the needs. I can see more spread formations, which Smith and Crabtree had successes even under Raye. The offensive will have different looks, that was what made Roman so successful.
@AlbertS
“Alex is our guy.”
I have the link to that video of JH stating that yesterday.
The debate…there was no debate. Never was since JH met AS. JH knows. We don’t.
According to Maiocco, the amount of cap space a team finished last season with is rolled over to 2012. In other words the Niners have an additional 12 mill to spend in addition to the 16 mill they are under the cap right now. If that’s the case, then they not only should be able to keep the guys they want to keep, but should be able to go hard after a FA or two in the open market.
For those of you Smith fans that keep trying to defend the 1-13 on 3rd down in the championship game by asking for the pass to run ratio, the call breakdown is as follows, 12 passes to 1 rush.
12 times they put the ball in Smith’s hands to get them the first down, and he only came through once. I can’t wait to see how you all defend that one.
Jack,
And the 1 time he came through, it was because it was the last play of regulation with 4 seconds left before the play started. The Giants were deep in coverage trying to prevent a touchdown, so they gave the miners an underneath pass that obviously, smith chose instead of throwing deeper downfield. So yes it was a 1st down, but we didn’t get the downs because regulation play was over. So technically, we were o-12 passing on 3rd down.
Lets not beat a dead horse. We know. Smith is close to dead last in the NFL in 3rd down conversions. Not just against the Giants, he was dead last all season. And last season too. And probably the year before that. Cue Denny Green….. He is who we thought he was. ( Only he has a better defense now lol )
@ribico
“Manning didn’t have a great defense?”
Actually, the only time he won, the Indy D was actually quite good that year. Isn’t that when they brought in Tony Dungy.
And PM played like TB in the last Super Bowl game in the one he won. Nothing remotely spectacular.
Add to that he may one of the worst playoff QB’s ever, and anybody who wants to get PM wants a spectacular regular season with lots of big numbers (guess which people here want that) and then out in the first playoff game. Those are just the odds of having PM at the helm in the most ideal of circumstances.
Jack, I hear you but here’s a quick synopsis of the 3rd down plays:
1 -3rd and 4 – pass to FG defended
2 -3rd and 14 – pass to KW defended (reverse play fumble put them in long situation)
3-3rd and 5 – AS rush for 4 yds
4- 3rd and 9 – AS rush for 3 yds
5-3rd and 19 – AS rush for 5 yds (Staley false start put them in long situation)
6-3rd and 6 – pass to DW defended
7-3rd and 6 – pass to FG for 4 yds
8-3rd and 1 – run A Dixon short
9-3rd and 5 – pass to MC 3 yds
10-3rd and 7 – AS sacked
11- 3rd and 10 – pass to DW incomplete
12-3rd and 8 – DW catch 28 yds
13-3rd and 12 – pass to VD for 11 yds
Yes AS has to get better but some of the issues on 3rd down were due to bad play calls (reverse fumble put them in long situation) and penalties (false start by JS). Additionally, it is unknown if the catches by FG, MC, and VD were 1st options, broken off routes short of the 1st downs, or great plays by the defense. Also, AS took off running on several 3rd down plays and it has been mentioned by TK (Merc) and a neighbor of mine who was at the game, that the 9er WR’s weren’t consistently getting open – debatable but it was mentioned by many of the beat writers as well.
The net/net, is that AS and the offense needs to play better. AS said that he needs to improve and will strive to do so. But this was a team issue and not all on the QB. All arrows up!
Look at those balls batted at the line. He’s your guy Hofer. He’s just not theeeee guy.
Questions for you?
How’s Smiths field vision? Is he seeing the whole field?
Ever seen him look off a safety?
Ever seen him pump fake a safety or corner?
Do you think he missed some open guys or didn’t see them at all in that Giant game?
You never answer my questions Hofer. I always answer yours. Try mine for a change.
Jordo, have a disagreed with you and said the things you list are not true? Some are some aren’t because you are very biased with your agenda – it’s personal with you. Yes he has to work on those areas and if he doesn’t get better this year at age 28 in May, then JH will need to move in another direction. But at 28, there is room for improvement and he hasn’t hit his ceiling. SY says the first signs of improvement are limiting mistakes and turnovers then work on the rest of a QB’s game to make them better.
I don’t disagree with some of the weaknesses you list, but I will never think PM is the way to go even if healthy. TB, EM, DB, PR, are all QB’s that were young and grew with their offenses albeit DB was traded young to NO. That is a better plan be it AS or someone else…
>>Yes he has to work on those areas and if he doesn’t get better this year at age 28 in May, then JH will need to move in another direction. But at 28, there is room for improvement and he hasn’t hit his ceiling.
By the time he was Alex’s age, Payton Manning was 0-3 in the playoffs. It took him 3 more years to win a SB.
Those pushing for PM *right now* maybe should think about giving Alex as much time to mature is it took for PM.
Rib,
when we talk about great QB’s that didn’t make it to the SB, it doesn’t completely fall on them. All the stars have to align.
Fouts and Marino should have won several super bowls. They didn’t have the defenses to get them there. Manning didn’t have great defenses his first few years. Just like it’s crazy to attempt to compare AS to JM, it is also just as crazy to compare AS to PM.
Payton Manning started right out the gate. 6 of his first 7 seasons he threw for 4000 yards. Alex has never thrown for 4000. Payton has never thrown for less than 20 TD’s in a season. Alex has never thrown for 20 in a season. Payton has a quick release and incredible field vision. Alex has a slow release, slower to read a D than Payton and Alex has average field vision at best.
Not ripping on Alex. Just making a point that PM is as elite as they come and if healthy we should kick the tires. The guy has never missed a start in his career. Think about that….
>>Manning didn’t have great defenses his first few years. Just like it’s crazy to attempt to compare AS to JM, it is also just as crazy to compare AS to PM.
Why shouldn’t I compare him to PM? Forget stats, forget everything – an NFL QB’s purpose in life is to win championships. Sorry, if you don’t have a ring you are just Marino and Fouts – great QBs but ultimately losers. And PM was a late bloomer in this aspect.
Manning didn’t have a great defense? Is that a Peyton excuse for not going all the way in nearly a decade of play? If only Alex had only *that* deficiency to deal with. Alex had a great *nothing* on his side his first few years – stability, coaches, receivers, Oline, OCs, you name it.
>>Payton Manning started right out the gate. 6 of his first 7 seasons he threw for 4000 yards. Alex has never thrown for 4000.
And where did all these stats get him? Not over the hump. Not a ring. Not until he was surrounded with competent players. Or maybe is was just a mental thing with Peyton until something finally clicked, 7 seasons, and a dozen playoff games in.
The things that Alex has “never done” got him closer this season – in his first playoff run – than PM did in 6 playoff seasons, “elite” stats and all. Alex has earned the right to continue at the reigns of the team, not be pushed aside for some carpet-bagging hired gun who wasn’t able to call himself a champion until he was well past where Alex currently is in his career.
Rib,
the thing Alex did was ride the coat tails of his defense. He was just as responsible for not making the SuperBowl as KW. He disappeared in the 4th quarter.
Tell me this. Our defense had a record number of take aways. Something like 28. It is going to be VERY difficult to sustain that type of stat. Tell me this, with Alex’s league low production in most offensive categories, what do you think our record would have been had we been without a record number of turnovers that the defense handed him?
Would it have then been the defenses fault if we didn’t get to the SB because they didn’t get Alex enough opportunities?
Bottom line, you give a great QB a top ten defense and they make it to the superbowl. The great QB’s that don’t make it or didn’t come close didn’t have a top defense. Defense wins championships….
Based on the 3rd down conversion rate in ’11 the arrow has no direction to point other than up : )
Bay, We were +28 in the turnover margin meaning we had 38 take aways to 10 turnovers.
I agree with what you are saying though. That number will most likely level out a bit in ’12 and it will result in the offense having to make plays and score without the benefit of so many short fields like this year.
Smith has to come out in ’12 and prove that he can do it again, and hopefully better. It will be interesing to see what they do come March 13.
@ribico
“By the time he was Alex’s age, Payton Manning was 0-3 in the playoffs. It took him 3 more years to win a SB.”
Ahhh.
But, the QB as not named AS you see. Therein lies the error of your ways.
>>The great QB’s that don’t make it or didn’t come close didn’t have a top defense. Defense wins championships….
bay, we are in agreement that a top defense gets a team much closer to a Championship than a top QB does.
Which is exactly what we have now. So what are we arguing about again?
Good point.
AS does not put defenses in bad situations with TO’s and our punter, and coverage (we forget to give them props) really helped our defense out a lot.
That is the formula for a lot of teams long term success.
@23j i’m no smith lover but yes i’ve seen him use a pump fake and yes i’ve seen him look off the safety
As much as I would love PM over Alice, it loos like PM is a long way in becoming healthy.
Peyton Manning is still unable to throw the ball to his left, and is far more injured than most realize, Mike Lombardi of the NFL Network told ESPN’s Bill Simmons today on his B.S. Report podcast.
“He can’t throw the ball,” Lombardi told Simmons, as transcribed by Business Insider. “I’ve talked to people who’ve caught the ball for him. He can’t throw the ball to his left. He can’t throw the ball across his body, because he doesn’t feel it. People that catch the ball for him say he doesn’t really have velocity on the ball yet.”
Manning’s NFL future is currently up in the air. While he is still under contract with the Indianapolis Colts, some expect the franchise to waive him in order to avoid paying a $28 million roster bonus in March. While other teams seem potentially interested in signing Manning, most want to see that he has returned to full health before investing in the former NFL MVP.
Manning was originally drafted by the Colts in 1998 and had not missed a single game for Indianapolis until this season. In 208 contests he has thrown for 54,828 yards and recorded 399 touchdown passes.
i thought a day or so before the probowl he was in a throwing competition….saw it on TV….he didn’t look like he was too pleased with himself….also heard that he doesn’t have feeling in his hand…..
but then his bro comes out and says he is ready to go
what the heck is going on…
@jg
“also heard that he doesn’t have feeling in his hand…..”
By now, everybody knows I am no PM fan. But, if he isn’t feeling anything in his hand, I’m worried for him.
Do you have a link, channel where you saw this jg?
don’t have any solid data…kind of in passing tidbits i picked up
Awesome job Neal. Amazing that you know how to copy and paste!
Jack Ass, are you just a pathetic, unhappy miserable human being that you have to bash people with your petty posts. Sorry you don’t have much of a life.
@Neal, Look at you big guy! Difference between you and me is that I laugh at people on here who want to want to rif on me. At the end of the day I know that it is only because you wish to be me!
I am sorry but it is hard to be humble when you are as great as I am.
@Jackass,
I want to be you, I don’t even think about you until one brief second when I sent you a response Oh I laugh at the people on here except you, I actually feel sorry for you, you are not so great and you probably rent a room with DS, in some slumlord hotel in the ghetto. Their are pizza boxes and Big mac wrapper’s all over your room big guy You don’t need to be Dr. Phil, that you are a sad lonely little clown, actually a few clowns short of a circus.
Neal, you really need to get some new material when it comes to trying to put people down. Recycling the same, you are in a dirty room with Big Mac wrappers and pizza boxes and few clowns short of a circus act is getting stale.
I just realized something….you are kinda similar to the first six years of Alex Smith, full of potential but still terrible.
C’mon man. I believe in you. You can get better.
Your just pulling my chain now. Now go back on your little special needs school bus, time to go home to Mommy and Daddy.
This is a football blog people.
Grade school was finished a long time ago for most of us. It is apparent that some still have that grade school mentality.
Go meet somewhere and have it out. Away from the blog.
neal and jack for god sakes just get a room you 2 are like an old married couple
I must be old as well. :P
I would get a hotel room with Jack’s wife , Jill and give her what she has been craving for but can’t get it from Jack.
My apologies for the comments towards Neal folks. I was just amazed that they had taught monkeys to type.
I will TRY to keep it to football.
Hey Jack,
I spoke with your wife yesterday, of course her name Jill she told me she made a secret special purchase that you don’t know about, she changed the bathroom mirror’s, and the mirror now makes object appear larger then they are, she felt sorry about your little thing and wanted you to feel better.
Bring something to the table please Neal, the majority of your posts are just bashing someone else.
Word is Alex couldn’t locate the 4 iron running down the left side of the JH’s bag, he underreached and gave him the 5 iron instead, but JH chipped it close for a par anyway!
Bray every person on here has bashed me first, all AS lovers except Jack Hammer who is just in love with himself secondly JH can improvise and AS can’t.
@Bray
I thought on CSN BAy area JH said that he missed the birdie shot which AS setup for him.
Unless you are just having some fun. Then please dismiss this post.
I don’t read all posts, I must have missed other’s attacking you first.
Secondly, that was joke for all of the haters\bashers\idealists we have on this blog. I could be off, but I cracked myself up anyway!
I laugh at most of this stuff, it has replace Face Book, I also have a very sarcastic humor and what you see as bashing, I see as comical as well, is AS being the caddy for JH? I am not following the golf, have no idea.
Yes, AS is caddying for JH at Pebble. That would be fun to watch the interaction between the fans, JH and Alex. I heard Alex almost drove the first green in practice yesterday, a couple of the pros said he has a beautiful swing.
JH sure didn’t improvise after watching his rookie PR dive for a ball and muff a ball.
I am in the camp that believes that most times teams should not even have a punt retuner at all. The goal is to get the ball back, if they’re punting, you’ve done the job, you can’t turn it over if no one is back there. The average punt return is only around 7-8 yards anyway, in big games , especially with the lead, I would NEVER have a PR back there. The risk is greater than the reward in that instance.
interesting concept….so don’t get that 7-8 yards and then tack on maybe 5-15 yds of roll…..giving up 12-23 yds of field position….and for the niners offense this past year would have probably been more devastating…..
jg- Not 12-23 yards, many of PR are fair catches anyway. The ball doesn’t always go forward either, I don’t have a stat for that but we all know the ball goes backwards probably 1 out of 4 times, left 1 out of 4 and right about the same. So basically you ‘might’ lose 10-15 yards 25% of the time, but you don’t turn it over 100% of the time. When leading in the 4th, it should be done quite often, I cannot believe the NFL doesn’t employ it more often.
In HS, the punters average 15-20 yards less per punt, so it makes ‘more’ sense for HS teams, but with a lead late in the game you don’t need an extra 10 yards, you need to keep the clock running and the opponents offense off the field.
The Niners win the NFC Championship if JH kept KW out and just take time of the clock.
Rules of Engagement: Never bring up family members. Totally inappropriate and classless.
Who/where AES?
DS, addressing Neal and JHammer (although JH didn’t bring up the wife comment, it was Neal). Pick your battles without ever infering/refering to family members. Hence; use the proper ‘rules of engagement.’
Now the debate about Vegas not giving respect to the 49ers means absolutely to me. I’m not a betting man, nor would I put any credence on anything Vegas offers.
After the Giants SB run the only thing that matters here is making the playoffs. The old adage “the playoffs is a new season” certainly rings true. New England was the favorite 4 years ago with a perfect record going into the playoffs until they met the Giants in the SB. We know we could beat the Giants maybe 8 out of 10 games, but the playoffs offer totally diferent matchups that don’t often meet the percentages and game planning criteria ‘ala’ Seahawks beating the then SB champs Saints two years ago.
I will ‘poo-poo’ the Vegas odds, and just look forward to making the playoffs where the real season get’s started.
Go 49ers!!!
AES
I found it now. Thanks, or rather no-thanks…you get the point I hope.
I didn’t really bother reading any of the posts. I could tell by accidentally skimming them that those two were going at it, and I got tired of it and wrote my post at 1:54 along with old coach.
To their credit they did.
I agree with the family thing. One reason why I don’t disclose much of anything about mine, if I even have one. Keep it to football if possible.
When the troll wagons collide? LOL
oh please, the guy was attacking me and I just did a spin off, of Jack and Jill, whippie do dah day.
absolutely *nothing* to me
Weren’t the odds coming into this season something like 40:1? Aren’t 10:1 odds typically what they give a top-tier team?