SANTA CLARA – Here’s the complete transcript of Jim Harbaugh’s Monday press conference, courtesy of the 49ers. Harbaugh explained why he suited three quarterbacks against the Lions. He also told two Muhammad Ali stories, praised Michael Crabtree’s “frog-like” catching ability, and more. Enjoy.
“Sorry I’m late. I was getting a little something to eat. A little hungrier today than normal.”
Did you have a $2 steak?
“No. It was a pretty good one.”
Just looking over the game, where can you guys improve? What stood out to you?
“Well, quite a few things. We’ll address that. I think some things that are correctable and improvable. And we’ll look at those things as they relate to kicking game. Defensively, I thought it was an outstanding game up until the last drive. And the screen pass. That was one of our, probably worst plays since we’ve been there. Letting that get out for 50 something yards. And then some other things offensively that cost us some points in the game. But, again I just go back to the way our guys played, the toughness, the finish, the blocking, the tackling. Those critical things that you need to win a tough, bell-ringing game like this, we were able to get done. And a lot of people to point out. [TE] Delanie Walker only catches one ball in the game, but, had some magnificent blocks. [RB] Frank Gore, big block on the third down conversion that [WR] Michael Crabtree got when he caught the ball over the middle. Frank had a great block. So did [WR] Mario Manningham. And a lot of other things to highlight with the team and we will.”
The last kick, WR Kyle Williams made a pretty nice sliding play, but should he have been in that position? Did you guys want to have that kind of alignment and leave it open to like what looked like a 50/50 ball?
“A 50/50 ball? Well, we had a head start on it for sure. Yeah, Kyle going back, getting the ball, we could have had a couple other guys that could have been there as well. So, some things we’ve got to address.”
Did they not know the rules?
“The rules?”
Like some of the guys were kind of backing off from it?
“Yeah, one guy in particular was new out there. We had to substitute him into the game right at that point. So, anyway, we’ll go over that with the guys.”
Your view of the pass interference, what was your take on that? Accurate? I don’t know. On the replay, it didn’t look like it. But, I was curious.
“Which one was that?”
On CB Chris Culliver’s pass interference, what was your view of that play and your take on that?
“My view is that he played it very well.”
You were a very good road team last year. When the 49ers had their great teams in the late 80s, they seemed to win all the time on the road. Is that a mark? In other words, is it because the team is good? Or because they don’t let all the distractions bother them? People are always talking about going East three hours, the heat, all that stuff. Is it just a matter of having people who can handle all that, or is the fact that they’re just so much better than the other team?
“Well, I think those are real factors. Going east, travelling. The affect that that has on you, on your body, those things are real. But, I think the greater share is being a good team. Being the best team that you can be. Packing your defense for those road trips, very important.”
It isn’t quite as bad obviously that you are two-hour time change than three. Do you find any difference at all in one hour? It just seems that three hours really make a huge difference if you go to New York, or if you go to Boston, or Philadelphia or something like that. As opposed to Chicago and Minneapolis.
“Right. Well, there have been plenty of studies done. A lot of sleep studies, we’ve looked at quite a few of them. And you try to do what you can to have the players be in the best shape they can be in physically and emotionally. And get their rest, eat right, hydration. I’m not going to go into all of them.”
After we talked to you last night Michael Crabtree came in and he said it was his birthday and he had to address the team the other day. And he told the offensive guys, we’ve got to keep up with our defense. We need to match them. Do you like knowing that he’s a vocal, he’s doing a lot of that vocal stuff to get his unit going?
“Yes. He talked to the team on his birthday and it was a real strong message, real strong message. Team-oriented message. And Michael is a great leader in my opinion. And he’s a kind of guy who fixes things behind the scenes. He’s not for public consumption. And then the way he plays. You can tell he’s about us. Not one of those, it’s about himself kind of guys. And yeah, all those guys that define a football player. Great in the locker room, smart, great study habits. Tough, has talent. Can do it when the chips are down. Can suck it up and get the job done for you. He’s a football player.”
Behind the scenes, just one example for us?
“That’s behind the scenes [laughs].”
He has said that he bulked up a bit during the offseason. He looks bigger than he has the previous years. Do you see that reflected in his game? And he was able to fight for a couple first downs at the end of the game yesterday. Is that evidence to you that he’s a sturdier, bigger, stronger player this year?
“Think those things. He’s improved physically. I think he’s got a confidence in his physical game and being able to run all day and practices extremely hard. He does the same thing in practice. He’s been doing it this entire offseason.”
How has QB Alex Smith matured and progressed when it comes to choosing between two plays at the line of scrimmage?
“Well, like we talked about, he’s an expert in this system. And to accomplish that in just a year speaks volumes. And how’s he matured? He’s just intellectually matured. He’s got a lot to work with because he’s a really intelligent guy. But, just the way he works at it. He’ll be up in the building until 7, 8, 9’oclock at night and constantly grinding on the mental part of the game.”
Could you put more on him now than you could at this point last year?
“I think we can with everybody on our squad. It’s not just Alex who didn’t have the same coordinator in successive years with seven or eight different guys. That’s multiplied, or at least there’s addition here with every guy on the offense. So, I think you could say that for everybody. There’s more that we can keep doing and hopefully keep growing.”
What was your take after watching the film on the dropped passes last night? Was it just kind of one of those days, or were there reasons that you saw?
“Well, it was one guy and then another guy and then another guy and another guy. Everybody kind of just had one. And they were costly because it cost us some points on a couple of those occasions. And you talk to Alex and he’d tell you that I wish the ball was a foot higher, or six inches tighter to the receiver. But, just attributed to anything, no, because we had some tremendous catches in the game. But, there was just some bad luck. There were a few instances where the luck just wasn’t with us. But, we had some great route running. Again Mario Manningham just seemed like every time we got a drive going and put points on board, he made a play. [WR] Randy [Moss] was very involved. Great route in the red zone and Alex made a terrific throw on that post. And great surge off the line by Randy, beat his man and got the interference call that led the points. Kyle was very effective in the game. Hustled like the dickens. And then Michael Crabtree again, just to talk about him and the way he catches the football. Starting the second play of the game, tremendous catch over there on the boundary. The one he plucked on the third and long to get the first down in the fourth quarter. He just, I don’t know how else to describe it, it’s like a frog, tongue squirts out and catches the ball. It was frog-like. Tongue-like, the way he uses his hands. Nobody I’d rather have catching the ball than him.”
Besides the obvious, what made that 50-yard pass to Lions RB Joique Bell so disappointing?
“That we got out—we were really in great call. If you knew they were going to run a screen, [defensive coordinator] Vic [Fangio] would call the three-man pressure and drop eight and everybody converge up on the screen and get it stopped for a short gain. But, we got out-leveraged. Instead of being inside out with the linebackers, we were outside in with both the linebackers and it got out on us.”
How is LB Aldon Smith progressing as an every-down linebacker? And were you pleased with how he set the edge against the run?
“We all were really pleased with Aldon in this game. Everybody played very well, very good on defense. You could say everybody had a pretty darn good game defensively. And team defense, we were pleased like heck that we did the job on Detroit the way we did for the entire game up until the last drive. Highlight a few guys, you could highlight [S] Dashon Goldson. Had a terrific game. Got the great interception, wasreal physical on the tackling and the coverage was great. [DT] Justin Smith, right there along with Dashon. And then, probably the next guy you’d highlight would be Aldon. He had a very good game.”
Could you appreciate the stretch you went without a turnover. I know you had one yesterday, but how long you’d gone without one?
“Yeah, I appreciate that. Yeah. I think I can. That’s tough to do. Most teams are usually accustomed to at least one turnover a game. I you had the average though. You’re great if you don’t have any. You sure as heck don’t want to have more than one. But, if you really averaged it all out, even our 10 turnovers last year in 16 something games. That’s a little less than one. That’s pretty darn good. And then to go consecutive games, multiple games without having a turnover, that’s fantastic.”
Randy has always been “the guy” everywhere he’s been. How has he adapted to being maybe not a guy who’s on the field all the time when there’s two receivers out there and getting kind of a limited amount of snaps during the course of a game?
“Nobody around here ever gets caught up with ‘the guy’ terminology. It’s about us. It’s about the team. And there’s no evidence that he’s concerned about having ‘the guy’ tag. He knows football. He knows that the team that plays best is going to win the game. And he’s been about that.”
Do you feel like it will ebb and flow? Playing time will evolve over the course of the season? Or will these first two games kind of be the template for how you guys move forward?
“There’s a lot of possibilities out there and you’d like to have your opponent think about all those different possibilities. But, that’s what I would say to that.”
Why was QB Scott Tolzien active for the game?
“We were in a position to do it. I think it’s me, I worry about that. I’d worry about the—didn’t we talk about this? We didn’t talk about this? Maybe I was talking to somebody else about that [laughs].”
Holding I think you mentioned.
“Holding and I think every team should have three quarterbacks when you go into a game. You’d hate to see the game go to, if you’ve got both your quarterbacks hurt in a game. Any kind of blow to the head, there going to take those guys out, take them to the locker room, and they’re going to be out. And then you’re one away from a real disaster not having a third quarterback. I thought that was a real good rule when they let you dress three. Give you an extra spot for a third quarterback. I think it’s good for the game. And then you go into it every week like, we have to have our plan if we don’t have our third quarterback dressed. We work on that, we do that, we address it. But, you get nervous knowing it could be a tight game. Do we have a third quarterback? But, it’s a dilemma every week and most teams won’t do it. And we don’t usually dress three, but felt we were in a position to have that luxury this week.
Is that going to change from week-to-week?
“Yeah. A lot will depend on the personnel we have available. That’s something that could change each week. Normally we’ll be dressing two because you need every single guy. The likelihood –you start playing the percentages, the percentages are, you’re not going to get to your third quarterback. I think that happens maybe three times a year on average, that two quarterbacks get hurt in a game. But you’d hate to be that game. It’s going to happen to somebody.”
Was it with the physical nature of that Lions defense too?
“It was more the position we were in. We felt like we had the proper numbers at each position and everybody was good and full strength and raring to go.”
So many teams start trying to run the ball against your defense and they kind of give up in that first quarter. Were you surprised how patient or how much the Lions tried to stay balanced against you guys?
“Not surprised. I think they had good looks to run the ball. They had good run looks and we were giving 81, [Lions WR] Calvin Johnson a lot of attention and that creates some good run looks. They were trying to take advantage of that and that’s to their credit. But we weren’t going to get discouraged by a few five, six, ten yard runs and get away from what our plan was, because that guy is just so dangerous and can beat you. The quarterback was throwing it well, and that was our plan. Everybody has got their plan, and they can do whatever they want to do. We come in with our plan and you’ve got to be ready to adjust. I thought our guys, even though they were good run looks for Detroit, were able to get it shutdown too, at the same time.”
Are you at the point now with RB Brandon Jacobs and WR Ted Ginn Jr. where even when they’re healthy, it’s going to be, they’re going to have to show some stuff on the practice field to really carve out a role on game day for them, because of the way of the guys have filled in for them have played?
“Yeah that’s part true. I only say part true, because we know what those guys can do, we know what their role is. It is carved out. But at the same time, you’re going to play the guys each week, that you feel give you the best chance to win and who’s practicing better, who’s ultimately going to play better in a game. You also need to see that on the practice field, sure.”
What was the Muhammad Ali story that your dad shared with you last week and we talked about?
“When we were talking last week? I said we were going to share that with the fellas?”
You had mentioned that you liked the Muhammad Ali story he gave you.
“There were two great ones. Did I mention that my dad met Muhammad Ali, last week in Baltimore? Yeah, Muhammad Ali went to the Ravens practice and was there with their team and my dad got to be with him and watch practice with Muhammad Ali. Met Muhammad’s wife, sat in a golf cart watching the practice. My dad called me right away and said, ‘I couldn’t talk around him, I was just so – it was one of the best, best things that’s ever happened to me in my life, being around him’. So I was like well give me some stories, I’ve got to hear some stories. So he said one that Muhammad’s wife told my dad, was that when Muhammad was young and going to school and training and everything, he had to take the bus. to school, every day, two and half miles with the other kids. Rain, sleet, snow, humidity of the Louisville Springs and Falls, that Muhammad would walk to the bus stop, all the kids would get on the bus and then Muhammad would run. Follow the bus to school, every single day. Everybody thought he was crazy. Everybody thought this guy is crazy. That was one story. The other story was when Muhammad was getting ready to fight Sonny Liston in Miami, in ’64 for the heavyweight title. The hotel that the fight was at and that Muhammad had to train in, didn’t allow blacks at that time, to stay at that hotel. It was a segregated hotel. So Muhammad had to stay five miles away from the hotel and they had him drive in every day to train. He refused to drive in and he ran the five miles. Every step of the way, he didn’t put up a fuss, he didn’t complain about it, but every step of that run he was telling himself that somebody is going to pay for this and it was going to be Sonny Liston.”
I’m impressed you know the year and everything else. I saw that on TV, that’s a few years ago.
“We grew up with a lot of Muhammad Ali stories. We all think in the Harbaugh family hat Muhammad Ali is the greatest sports competitor this world has ever known. We’ve seen many of the clips, we’ve read all of the stories, but hadn’t heard those two stories, that was great. The sign up above the quote board, that’s our sign, we brought that in and put it up there. We just have the greatest, profound respect for Muhammad Ali.”
When did you relay those stories to your players?
“Tuesday. The first chance we saw the squad.”
What was the take home message? I mean obviously I get kind of what those stories were about, but for you what was the take home message that you relayed to the team about those stories?
“I think that’s one of the interesting things we do here. We don’t break it down, Barney style at the end of a story and try to tell people what we think the message is or what the message should be. We just kind of put it there. These are smart guys, they relate to it in the ways that they relate to it. And sometimes it’s very different. I love getting the feedback of what message they took from it. What they had in their past. Boy, about every guy in there has had to overcome something, or was wronged. But I really like to just to put it out there and get their feedback back.”
Speaking of famous people, what’s the backstory with Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn?
“They were here filming a movie. Owen Wilson called up and said he wanted to come to the game and we were just thrilled that he would want to do that. It was great being around those two extraordinary people, but they’re just normal people too, and we just really like that. It’s just been kind of our culture, we like being around those kind of guys whether it’s a Navy SEAL who’s name we can’t mention or Colonel Jim Minnick of the United States Marine Corps, or General Dempsey, Sergeant Skywalker, etcetera. We like being around those kind of extraordinary kind of guys. But they’re also normal guys, it’s great. We all get a great feeling meeting those kind of guys. Hopefully someday we can get Willie Mays here and Muhammad Ali. That would be big. But those two guys are great guys, and everybody in the world loves those two guys. They’re awesome. It was great to see them. It was an honor. Let me put it this way, all those guys we mentioned, General Dempsey and Jim Minnick and someday Willie Mays and someday Muhammad Ali, and Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson. It’s an honor for us to share our sideline with them.”
Have you invited Mays?
“Been working, yes. We’ve been working on that. I don’t want anything from him. I just want to go up to him and shake his hand and tell him that me and my dad think he’s the greatest baseball player in the history of the game. That’s all I really want to do. Someday I’ll be able to, hopefully.”
Your take on Stanford?
“Great win. Great win, really, whose got it better than us? Nobody. Alright thanks a lot.”
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Harbaughs new ‘do looks like Jim Carrey in Dumb and Dumber or Dumb Jack in Tropic Thunder. He should demand a refund.
Or he can hire Claude Balls and sue the ba$tard(s) :)
*simple jack
Bah, give it a week or so an you’ll never know it was cut like that. ;)
Ceadderman – Are you feelin better about MC these days?
Nice Ali story. Nothing came easy no matter how he made it look. Nobody gave Muhammad the title.
I loved the part about him running 5 miles thinking someone was going to pay for it….the first thing that came to my head was the famous picture of him standing over Sonny Liston after the KO. Now I’m wondering if he was thinking “that’s for those 5 miles you b****”, lol!
yup… tight
Agreed.
+1
As always, it’s great to read what Harbaugh has to say. I did notice his new phrase is suck(ed) it up. And that he was polite to the media. And oddity, but it’s helps that no dumb questions were asked.
Can DS and Prime man up and say they were wrong with all the anti Crabtree rants during the off season?
Harbaugh says about Crabtree, “He talked to the team on his birthday and it was a real strong message, real strong message. Team-oriented message. And Michael is a great leader in my opinion. And he’s a kind of guy who fixes things behind the scenes. He’s not for public consumption. And then the way he plays. You can tell he’s about us. Not one of those, it’s about himself kind of guys. And yeah, all those guys that define a football player. Great in the locker room, smart, great study habits. Tough, has talent. Can do it when the chips are down. Can suck it up and get the job done for you. He’s a football player.”
Hack are you high? All off season? Try two weeks moron cause MR. ALL IN would not let it go and kept bringing it up. Since then I have been pumping up #15 tires every game. So Jack like I told you on the weekend, STFU!
I guess that’s a no for Prime.
Are you and DS both PMS’ing this week, or do you naturally blow gaskets and throw temper tantrums every time you’re called out??
I hope it’s the second – makes it soooooo much easier for the rest of us to f*** with you.
Hack I will make you a bet, find one quote since the season started where I have been trashing Crabtree and I will leave the blog forever. If you can’t you take your sorry, know it all, instigating, low life comments and never comeback? What do say old timer, deal?
Prime
No way were we wrong to bring up the issues/questions. If anybody thinks that, grow thicker skin and a better brain.
We were wrong in the final outcome with who the starter is. And nobody has complimented MC more than we have. So, if anybody has a problem, oh well.
We did what we said we’d do. If anybody thinks that was wrong, to keep our word, that is their problem. Not ours.
And we know who has that problem. Mr. instigator of “In JH I trust”.
@Prime aka “Mean Girls” Club
The reason I kept adding the ALL IN call, is because you and DS were determined to propel AS above all other team members and your rants that MC was playing the ‘injury card’ again in TC.
DS went all the way back to MC and VD’ skirmish of 3 yrs ago, that both players announced was done and over with. Then you made the worse statement a so-called fan can say; “Crabtree’ season’s leading stats were “meaningless.”
Your rants (as you say) may have lasted for two weeks, but your true feelings about our leading receiver will echo on for quite a while bud!
How dare you and DS call yourselves fans, (blasphemy!) lol.
Wanna Bet? Wanna Bet? Buahahahaha, you are AWESOME!
Now run along wittle Primey.
Hack c’mon man. Man up? You like to stir the pot but when called on it, you turtle, like I said STFU!
AES, your a loser, I can’t talk football with people who can’t let certain issues go and instigate boring arguments! Besides you don’t know where you stand on any argument, remember flip flopper?
DS I think the most critical comment we made was Crabtree needed to get in shape which we got no reports that he was or wasn’t in TC cause it was never reported and he was hurt. After that all we said was he needed to step up, he has, I anknowledge that and have given him huge props two games in. If that’s hating shoot me now!
Jack, with all due respect, what happened to the Jack that stayed out of the drama and posted excellent reads? You are better than that!
Hofer,
That’s why I apologized to Medic. Every one in a while I fall off the wagon. My bad.
Getting caught up in the fray. Did you notice I stay out of that MC nonsense posted by you know who this afternoon. LOL Good times.
Hofer,
Have you seen anyone mention the great block by Gore to open the way for Crabtree on the 3rd & 13 play?
hof
No. Jack isn’t. He’s the one who started it. He hasn’t replied a single time in a positive manner to any positive posts prime and myself have made regarding MC.
This thing doesn’t go away because of Jack and AES. Prime and myself are on board. They are not. I’ve been writing “Be happy, we are 2-0. AS/MC have played great.” They have not moved on. They don’t join in, and they flat out lie.
Jack, that was an excellent block by FGore.
DS this notion you and I are haters is a direct result of us being right about Alex Smith all along in that he is clutch and a winning QB, and no one likes the fact Im throwing out I told you so’s. Add the fact that the national media is on the Alex train and you have a lot of egos maniacs biting their lips knowing they were wrong. They just can’t admit it and are throwing out untruthful jabs at us. Bitterness is what I’m tasting!
Prime
I agree. AES among others can’t stand it. Look no further than them not joining us in our compliments of MC.
That is undeniable proof. They aren’t fans or defending Niner players. They are miserable. Can’t stand that we can say “I told you so” and are pissed as hell that we aren’t doing what they did with AS regarding MC. Us cheering him on is DEFINITELY pissing them off. It’s ruining what they wanted.
Guess what? I don’t care. They need to grow up.
We have a lot of angry people on here while others are still clinging to any BS they can muster to degrade Alex. I’m laughing at it all!
Yeah, Harbaugh loves champions, overcomers, and accepting personal responsibility. No wonder he admires Ali. I do too.
Crabtree is da mang. Excellent performance from him yesterday!
Mr. Crabs has wonderful meaty claws.
LSX/Razor – True but Alex and VD were even better than “meaty claws” Crabtree last night.
And hard to crack too.
Watching MNF, I’m sure glad the 9ers signed the QB that best fits this team. Good times.
Oh don’t start that again Hofer ; )
Alex Smith was and is the best decision JH has made. Manning apparently wanted his offense installed where ever he went without considering the other weapons. That was not going to fly with JH where its always about the team. Throw in the fact he wanted 90 million, sorry PM, we’re doing just find thanks!
you got that right… 3picks so far for manning against the falcons on MNF
Lol yeah manning isn’t looking so hot, but I have a feeling that if we had signed him these int’s wouldn’t have been taking place. Denver doesn’t have the recievers or schemes we do. And since he’s not a 49er and chose Denver…… Off with his head. I hope he fails except against the raiders. Lol
Thing is MD if we would have signed Manning there is no way we could have afforded to keep guys like Goldson, Brooks, Spillman, Manningham, Rodgers. I believe the Niners would have had to clear 15-20 million off their payroll to sign Manning. Now what looks like a better deal to you now?
I still believe it was a contract ploy. JH said that AS was elite and his agent (who, by the way, represented PM) wanted better money than $8M a year. They went to “evalutate” PM to get AS off the dime. But instead, his agent who represents PM, suggested AS go to Mia. Fast forward…
As is still here…good times!!!!!!!!!
And winning and winning with intelligence, grit and equal distribution of the ball. No one is unhappy on offense because if you were, the lockerrom would silence that very quickly with, we are winning, that’s all
that matters!
Whose go it better than us, noooooobody!!!!!
Hofer,
With JH, tell me Shaun Hill couldn’t do what Smith is doing? I rest my case. If you don’t think so, you’re a liar. Manning could make the throws Smith hass to make in his sleep.
You keep saying the same thing with no facts to back it up with Other23.
You just can’t enjoy the ride. SMH
With those picks he’s dishing up tonight, PM’s playing like he’s asleep.
Not me, Jordo. I truly don’t think that S.Hill could do it as well as Alex. And PM? Perhaps wrong night to ask that!
It’s still early, but so far AS is better than PM, S.Hill, or even M.Vick, who’s been inconsistent. I suspect you know very well I’m not lying, even if you continue to disagree.
Then why not just save the Yorks a lot of money and go with Josh Johnson at QB and cut Alex 23 welcher?
Not only has our defense flourished. Alex smith has flourished and MC. Has anyone noticed VD’s hands? He has gotten so much better at making the tough catches. This coaching staff is top notch. After watching the game on tv today I saw harbaughs face a couple of times have that disgust look. I like how he thinks this team is good but they can get better. It’s easy to say it, but the greats show faces like this even when their team is good. Love this coaching staff
VD is notorious for spending tons of extra time on the jugs machine and catching passes after practice. Our coaches are great and all, but the credit for VD’s improved catching lies primarily with Vernon.
Yes it is an individual feat. But the winning and working spirit this staff has brought in helped vd and others. It’s no coincidence that he started making these tough catches all of a sudden. I gotta give them a little credit.
Maybe Walker should join Davis and Moss at the jugs machine, too.
Mood. I think walker will be fine. He hardly gets the looks. Although he should be making the best of them when he gets them.
MD,
No question he has improved greatly catching the ball. Davis has worked his ass off to become better and it’s obviously paying off. He has been the best blocking TE in the league since pretty near day one; now he’s laying claim to being the best all around TE in the league.
That 45 yd bomb from Smith that Vernon dropped would be my only knock, but it was a tough catch with the defender making a good play.
DS94everXev says:
September 17, 2012 at 5:36 pm
Prime
“No way were we wrong to bring up the issues/questions. If anybody thinks that, grow thicker skin and a better brain.”
@DS
But I guess anyone who brings up some of AS’ issues/questions are wrong?
Take your own advise DS, ‘grow thicker skin and and a better brain.’ (lol)
I’m cool with AS. But you decided to come at me this morning when I gave FDM kudos for hanging in with AS throughout his career. Where did that come from bud?
Now, (according to Prime) I’m an instigator for giving another blogger kudos?
You two twinkies are straight-up drama queens, nuff said!
Enough of the prima dona crap. No one on here is bigger than the team. Can’t we just all get along and agree that Mr. Crabs has meaty claws?
OK, so Mr. Jordo, are you watching MNF? Your boy just tossed his 3rd pick of the 1st Quarter. He’s so Stanky tonight the announcers are calling Mike Nolan a genius!
You know me, just messing around. : >)
Tuna,
You have to admit, those three picks are downfield where Smith hasn’t thrown all season. Smith stays away from the deep middle. He and JH know the interception country. 7 yards up the middle of the field, now that’s another story. JH knows what he’s doing. The scheme and the play book are a reflection of the QB. Tell me Shaun Hill couldn’t run this offense? See what I mean?
I’ll give you this. Smith is doing what he is asked to do and WE are winning. I’m not the least bit mad. If he starts throwing the ball away instead of killing drives with 11 yard sacks, I’m good. Cats like Brees are throwing it away left handed instead of taking sacks. If a d lineman purposely pounces on that shoulder for a sack that could’ve been avoided?!?!? This blog will turn to a morgue!
Smh.
Ok, I can agree that Alex can improve his decisions on sacks, but check it out. One of the most important plays early in that game, a potential momentum changer, was the spastic snap over Alex’s head. His ability to extend that f***** up play and throw it away for an incomplete was a game preserver. Ok, so his long sack looked like caca, but he’s competing. Remember, Sean was his friend, he learned from him, but he’s blessed with more talent.
OK, to your point. Yes, Harbaugh can coach ‘em up.
Lots of QBs could thrive under Harb’s influence and support. True dat.
IMO, Harb’s could help any QB EXCEPT P.Manning, because PM wants to run the PM Offense. Brady would accept it.
And now to close out my soliloquy:
I come to bury Ceasar, not to praise him…….
Oh never mind.
brotha
Had JH wanted Hill, TB would have delivered Hill. A 4th round pick would have snagged him I’m sure.
AS wasn’t on the team. Only Carr was. JH handpicked AS. 23J can’t handle that. So, he makes up stories.
Mike Nolan a genius? I think I just threw up in my mouth a little.
He’s fine as a top DC.
No argument there, but the genius thing is still a but much.
Bit, not but.
That’s like saying Ryan Fitzpatrick is the next Joe Montana.
They said that about CPennington (next JM – not his fault) a few years ago and CCollingsworth and DMarino couldn’t stop laughing on “Inside the NFL” program. Of course, both lost to the great one in the SB.
These JH interviews are getting better. He seems more open and engaging with the media and that’s refreshing
This is crazy if anyone is watching MNF
Manning has three INTs already. Rough start
Good thing we got Smith. Younger, smarter and more durable!
and HOMEGROWN!
@ Hofe
$2 Steak is from La Mesa, San Diego County
Prime
That’s like passing up on the 1998 Mercedes to go with the 2006 Toyota
I understand the coined phrase by JH, I’ve had some $2 steak myself. LOL AS is getting his props. He’s a good kid and deserves the accolades!
Nick that Mercedes has tons of mileage and at best has two maybe three years of good football. That Toyota is only 28 years old and is hitting its stride. It also has one of the best mechanics in the business tuning it and refining it daily. Now which car has it better long term?
Prime
The ’98 Mercedes has salvaged title and high mileage. So, I’d rather have the 2006 Toyota. It’s efficient, durable, and follows diections really well.
Manning is three for three so far. 3 positions, 3 INTs. But I wouldn’t count him out.
Wow. Denver just lost their last challenge. Sloppy, sloppy game so far from both teams.
Dont forget the refs. I have seen some bad ballgames but this one is hard to watch.
From what the replays show, each interception appears to be Manning’s fault.
Poor throws and (like AS) will admit it in the post game presser.
Yeah he will which is a good thing. Not everybody is a poor excuse like Jay Cutler.
Cutler’s line play was abominable. That tackle (forget his name) shouldn’t be on any 53 man roster. Lots of great qb’s have chewed out their linemen on the sidelines. And I don’t even like Cutler, but if that was, oh say, Favre, everybody would talk about that being leadership (except the shoulder business…that was childish)
Cutler has a history of poor leadership and just being a down-right &$@.
MWN,
You were too nice, Cutler is a &$@hole.
Yeah I know. He’s actually something something, but I don’t have the desire to stoop to his level.
MWN,
Bad back?
I don’t follow Ex.
MNF debacle anybody?
PM has done his best to setup his JM impression. Alllll part of the plan.
After one half, it’s very apparent neither team can hang with the Niners.
Biggest problem I have is with Delaney Walker — he’s always had terrible hands. Everyone used to pick on VD for his hands and he practiced like a demon and overcame it. Until Delaney does I wouldn’t trust him catching the ball. Better to have a slower tight end with good hands than a guy who will blow a easy catch that could move the chains. He is a good blocker though.
9ersrok
Isnt it funny how things turn around. DW came out of school as a WR who couldnt block. now he has bulked up in to a TE who cant catch and relies on his blocking. I guess hands are like everything else: use em or loose em
Hofe – Are you glad we didn’t draft your boy Pat Devlin now and his WCO potential? :-) 3rd stringer on Miami (undrafted).
Alex is on fire, Harbaugh knew more than me and many others that’s for sure.
Actually, I think PD would play better than all of the “flavor of the month” QBs Jordo has suggested incorrectly over the last couple of years! But yes, AS is the guy to lead this team to the SB.
At least Jordan can still watch his boy JJ QB a local pro team. He signed with Sacramento of the UFL today : )
Kinda disappointed no other team gave him a shot.
Is that the same league that Nate Davis plays in?
Nate wishes he could make it in the UFL : )
Jack,
I saw that too. I think Grant better hand over a shiny nickel and bow down to his new Huckleberry. : )
Hey guys I’m watching MNF and I think. That Peyton M. Is kicking him self in the rear for not coming to play for JH… LOL
Willie
PM will get in the playoffs with 8 wins. Maybe 6 in the AFC West. He won’t play the Cards/Seattle D’s for 1/4 of the year.
If he came here, he wouldn’t need to kick his rear. It would get kicked plenty by the opponents.
Music to my ears DS94 hope you are right ….
Willie – Hoferfan will be jealous of that avatar. :-)
BTW Willie – Welcome to the best NFL blog on this big blue marble.
Hey there Willie. Welcome and hope you stay for a while.
Hey MidWest thanks….
Hey Crab15 and MidWest thank you for the welcome GO NINERS…..
Damn, Gegg Williams signed off on a lot of crap.
http://assets.espn.go.com/pdf/2012/0917/greggwilliamsdocument.pdf
yes he did.
The courts will still rule in favor of the Saints players. After all, their right to headhunt and purposefully cause injuries is being violated.
Wow. I haven’t followed the Saints case very closely but this affidavit makes Jonathon Vilma look like quite the liar. I thought the penalty was severe but now it looks like the NFL had a good case for the suspension.
On a related note, I think there is quite a bit of evidence the Giants engaged in something similar against the 49ers. There were a number of quotes from Giants players about Kyle Williams concussions. I also recall seeing a play in the regular season game where Vernon Davis caught a ball over the middle and it looked like a Giants defender intetionally went after his lower legs/ankles when he tackled him. At the time I thought it was weird that the dback went so low but with the other evidence there may have been some information passed to the Giants players about Davis’s ankles. Now Coughlin was so upset about the Bucs going after Eli on the kneel down but I think his players might be pushing the envelope of intentionally trying to hurt guys. Perhaps karma was giving a little payback to the Giants….
Blake Lively or Jessica Alba?
Hope 9erGirl’s not in here.
I’ll step up then, Alba.
Jessica Alba hands down.
Alba when she was in Dark Angel. She was an actress then. Since then, nahhh. Used her looks more than her skill. Sad really. She had a lot.
MidWest – Man card NOT revoked.
DS – No answer is better than that wishy washy answer.
True, but without her, no one would have wanted to see the Fantastic 4 movies. Not that they were worth seeing.
Crab, was my MAN CARD really in that much question?
MidWest – My magic 8-ball said: Very doubtful :-)
Good to know. :-)
Based on the most recent pictures of her, I would say Jessica Alba still has plenty skill ; )
Crab
Wishy-washy?
Telling it like it is. I liked her when she wasn’t so popular. She stopped being interesting to me as her popularity went up. Same boring movies. Nothing interesting. Didn’t take chances like other actresses I like do/did.
I think it was a bold answer. Saying that you once liked an actress who is sure to get a few drools on this blog and going against the grain and not have her on your list.
That’s wishy washy? Ok…..
No DS. Being single and preferring country beauty over Hollywood beauty is going against the grain.
Midwest
Never said it wasn’t. But you lose a bit since you’ll let them play around with you and won’t turn them down cold
:- )
Truth is. Virtually all of the Hollywood actresses/actors are hot. It is what each has chosen to do with their looks/which roles they choose to play (always the same, or look for different ones?) that is the determining factor if I like them for me in regards to both actors and actresses.
Least, that is how I do it.
I really don’t let them mess with me DS. It’s a big reason I’m still single, which I don’t mind. It’s gives me a better chance of finding the right one.
That’s nice midwest.
:- )
The bigger question is, how does Ryan Reynolds keep scoring hot women? The guy shouldn’t have been able to pick up Honey Boo Boo’s Mother after making Green Lantern.
Stranger things have happened.
@Crabs
Oh, take one for the team, huh? Such a sacrifice!
You do fine down there in the Southland. One thing y’all got: a whole passel of fine, fine ladies. I’m NorCal, but I imported one of San Diego’s finest!
Tuna – Very proud of ya.
San Diegans ARE fine!!!
Both
No worries, Crab – my vote is for Alba (mostly ‘cuz I have no idea who Blake Lively is, lol!).
Who would you vote for………oh, nevermind – wrong crowd.
49erGirl,
Nice. Thanks for almost making me drive off the road!
philly – Why didn’t I think of that? :-) Nice job bro, hope you get in here more often.
Prime:
“AES, your a loser, I can’t talk football with people who can’t let certain issues go and instigate boring arguments! Besides you don’t know where you stand on any argument, remember flip flopper?”
@Prime aka “Mean Girls” club
How convenient that now you don’t know where I stand. Let me simplify it for and your twin DS.
I said throughout TC (even when MC got injured) that MC was our Starter.
I believe that I made it clear to you and DS.
Remember this:
Michael Crabtree, 49ers 2012-13 Starting WR.
I don’t believe that you two twinkies know what the term flip-flopper really means, unless you can prove to me where and when I compremised on MC.
You on the other hand (and your slumber party buddy DS agreed), said that MC our leading receiver last seasons stats were “meaningless.”
Now you run to your “Mean Girls” buddy DS to find solice by saying that the most critical thing you said about MC is that he needed to get in shape.
So by this statement to DS, are you now implying that calling MC’ stats “meaningless” less critical then saying he needed to get into shape?
Prime, either man-up and say that you were wrong to call our leading WR’ stats “meaningless” or at least show some class and stop calling out others who want to point out flaws (IMO minor) in AS.
If you and the drama queen are really about the team, at least try to act like it.
OBTW, I’ll be waiting for you to show me where I flip-flopped on MC (lol).
({IGNORE})
AES
Look at a post from yours 6 months ago. A month ago. A week ago. Today. Remove the dates, and nobody can tell the difference.
Same line. Same lie. Same instigating. Same AES.
Yes DS, and you are clean of any BS around here, right?
Give it a break bud.
You and Prime like to stir things up, but can’t handle being called on your BS.
Why did you come at me this morning when I gave kudos to FDM?
Seems like playing the ‘innocent card’ around here no longer works for you bud (lol).
DS, is this guy for real? He must be related to 23welcher. Lies, delusional and now annoying!
Prime
The Ignore button would be handy here.
It is 100% on AES/Jack/others to shut it down. Nobody is hurting MC. Praise is coming from everywhere.
Youare a politician AES. Just like a particular party. You argue to get something. The other side says ok here it is…and you get pissed about it. Yell and scream, then throw it back into their faces. Unrelenting. Unhappy. Just one thing on your mind. Fight. If they agree with you, disagree with yourself. Just fight them.
Hey. It’s ALL IN AES. Well you are in, something that lacks a pleasent odor.
You will be waiting a long time then flipper. We tried that already, remember when you begged me to find you some quotes where you said you have always been “All In” with Alex. I did and now you want me to research more of your crap? Get serious!
Prime
Don’t waste yor time. Just remember what AES said. Then when he isn’t “All in” with AS/CJ Spillman/Staley/etc. remind him then and there.
He’ll mess it up. Promise. Hate breaks thru.
Speaking of Michael Crabtree… I was just watching the NFL network’s highlight spot for the niners smearing of the lions:
http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/2012091613/2012/REG2/lions@49ers#menu=highlights&tab=recap
:At one point they are showing the crabtree 3rd down catches and andrew siciliano (announcer guy) asks the gang if this is the year that Crabtree emerges… And Skeezeballs McGee aka Deion Sanders yells a single word; “DALLAS” out of nowhere and with no follow up. I’m no conspiracy theorist but is that whole thing about Crabs just wanting to play for the cowgirls still a thing? That would just be sadly disappointing. Is there some other context that I’m missing?
Dangle
AES would have a fit if anything about MC and Dallas having a thing ever existed. He bashed me for suggesting it. He thinks my hate made it up.
Grant, You need to delete this post of Dangles. It proves AES wrong. And AES is a pure Niner fan. You know that of course. Because he says he is “ALL IN”. Nobody else is. Just him. You can trust him. He is flipping. Not flopping.
@dangle
Your motive here is as clear as day. Trying to tarnish Crabtree with any story you come across huh?
So just for the sake of humoring your story, let’s say that Crabtree would like to play for the cowgirls.
Would it be the first time a player made a remark about hoping to play the team he grew up cheering for?
Hasn’t A.Rodgers and T.Brady made the same comments over the years about wishing they had played for the team (49ers) they grew cheering?
I think we could also agree that if any of these two players been drafted by the 49ers chances are we would have about two-three SB’ rings. But having said that, that is just as hypothical as your point about MC playing for the cowgirls.
No new revelation here dangle. If you surveyed all football players you may be surprised to find how many would love to play for their hometown team.
Your motive here is merely much ado about nothing, which is why you have DS’ enthusiastic endorsement (lol).
dangle
Hmmmm. Now, how did I know AES would have a heart attack about it?
AES is a book. One that has the same words in the same order printed on every one of its 300 pages.
AES, Ready to admit I wasn’t lying yet? How your multiple posts at me were not only boring but that you were wrong and I was right about this?
Nope. Can’t hurt for me to askk though.
DS,
It doesn’t matter if MC has a huge cowboy tattoo on
back like you Prime’s tattoo on yours.
He is a 49er.
Paid by the 49ers.
Leading the 49ers in receptions.
Spoken highly by his head coach.
Held in high respect by his teammates.
If you want to immerse yourself in any little personal victories that don’t mean squat in the larger scheme here, have at it.
Afterall, you drama queens love to create drama (lol)!
@ AES, DS:
Would you two please get a room?
claude
Actually I am trying to leave the room. AES is a freaking crying baby every second starting stuff up when there was nothing to start up. Complimenting MC is a problem with him.
He moaned about “In JH I trust”. End of story.
By the way claude, I could say the same thing to you and 23J. Just saying.
A few take aways through 2 games:
- SPEED – the defense always seems to be 2 steps ahead of the opponent, and they swarm to the ball better than any team in the league.
- DEFENSE – There ability to shut down the run from the Nickle/Dime packages makes things so much easier on the secondary. They are able to line Goldson 15-20 yards deep, and still have him make plays at the LOS like they have 8 in the box. They need to lock him up long term.
- OFFENSE – Smith and Co look to be incredibly in synch 2 games into year 2 under Harbaugh/Roman/Chryst. They have started giving Smith multiple calls to choose from at the line of scrimmage and he is making teams pay. Good example, the audible to set up the 1st TD pass to Davis, beautiful. The additions of Manningham and Moss are helping to finally free up space for Crabtree to show his skills. Manningham has some jets, and the respect teams are still giving Moss is making life easier for his teammates. The O Line looks like a bunch of maulers, and they have held up pretty well thus far. The continued emergence of Hunter is only making Gore better. The competition between the two has raised both of their games. It should only get better once Jacobs works his way back into the mix.
– DEPTH – This team is extremely deep from 1-53. Love the creativity of the staff to get everyone involved in the game plan, from Special Teams to Offense and Defense. I think every active offensive player other than CK and ST saw action last night. That type of thing keeps every player focused and ready everyday in preparation for that weeks opponent.
Through 2 weeks there are almost no negatives to point to with this team. After the Jets game the first quarter of the season will be done and we should have a much better gauge on how they stack up to the rest of the competition. I said 14-2 before the season started, and I don’t see any reason yet that they can’t hit that mark. Fun time in 49erville again. It’s Alright Now!
Good read Hammer.
Hey do you know how many times Kendall Hunter fumbled last year (if any)? The fumbled kick return last night sucked.
That fumble was the first of his career.
That was Mr. Hunters’ first NFL career fumble.
Great post Jack.
@ Jack:
Good Analysis.
You glossed over something, however, in your praise of the offense. The 49ers’ passing production is terrible! They rank 25th in passing yards/game (196)! Alex Smith ranks 24th in passing yards/game (218.5)! (Apparently, the yards lost on sacks count against the team’s total, but not the QB’s.) That’s almost as bad as last year.
As everyone* knows, with that kind of production, the 49ers won’t stand a chance this year against all the high-flying, volume passing yardage offenses they will face. Just wait until they play one of those teams. The 49ers are doomed; DOOMED, I tell you.
What? They’ve already played two such teams, and they’re 2-0? Throwing for fewer than 200 yards/game? So, the idea that they must throw for big yards in order to compete is b/s?
Wow, that was unexpected.†
* Although this comment was created as a response to Jack’s “take aways” comment, it is not directed at him. It is directed instead at those commenters (they know who they are) who keep yapping about the 49ers’ allegedly poor passing production in 2011 because they insist against all evidence that passing yardage is the true measure of a QB’s and team’s passing performance.
† I hope everyone is familiar with sarcasm
>>† I hope everyone is familiar with sarcasm
Sarcasm, yes. But familiar with those footnote characters? No! Well done, claude.
@ribico:
Thanks.
The † character was imported from MS Word. I like it better than **. It classes up the place.
Rib
Those footnotes are lawyer-esque, wouldn’t you say?
Claude,
The sad part is you have to point out it’s sarcasm.
Bottom of the league in yards yet #11 in yards per attempt and #2 in QB rating. Not good enough! We must have yards to feed our fantasy expectations. Forget wins, losing with 400 yards passing is much more interesting.
Disclaimer: for those unsure this is a continuation of the sarcasm Claude started. Carry on.
Jack
Agree with everything except 1. Lock up DG. Dont get me wrong i love DG just not at 8 mil a year. especially with bowman Aldon and Cully still set to be paid. S is the lowest franshise tag # of the 3 which to me means that CB OLB and Bowms are priorities before DG is. the way aldon is playing he is gona get paaiiiiiddddd and Bowman doesnt come off the field. Cully is the heir apparent at CB and IMO those 3 are more valuable comodities than DG. And thats just the D. The only bad thing about having a ton of awesome players is having to pay them huge money at contract time. Lets hope TB keeps drafting gems to replace people who leave in free agency.
Jack,
One ‘weakness’ that I see on this team is the special teams coverage unit. They gave up big yardage to an average Detroit unit. After giving up a TD to Cobb versus Green Bay, I was expecting better coverage, but didn’t see much improvement against Detroit. It looks like the loss of Colin Jones and Blake Costanzo are being felt.
Jack,
Great breakdown and I agree with pretty much everything you said. In particular the observation you made about the space being created for Crabtree and all of the receivers for that matter. Last year it seemed as if every pass was contested because defenders were so close to the receiver and the LOS. This year in only two games, I’ve seen more players running with a gap on a defender than I remember seeing at any point last season. The new additions are paying dividends big time, along with the Oline doing a strong job in pass protection.
Defensively, I think most of us believed the secondary would be the weakest area of the defense, as in pretty good but susceptible to big plays. However, after the first two games, it appears they are much better than I thought. The Lions did a nice job in max protect keeping the pressure off Stafford, but the DB’s were holding up beautifully. Culliver in particular appears to have taken a big step forward in his development. He was on Megatron a lot on Sunday and didn’t look like he was intimidated at all.
I figured they’d take a step back in wins to 11 or so, but I may have underestimated just how good this team can be. It is definitely a great time to be a Niner fan.
@DS/Prime -
Wow, you guys (DS and Prime) sure suck the life out of this blog. I’m a fan of Alex, but your non-stop nonsense is hard to take. Hell, I teared up when he beat the saints with his throw to VD. And it wasn’t because we beat the saints, but rather I saw a good guy finally experience success with his team.
Get over it. Alex is earning his praise and Crabtree is playing well. Neither need you to carry or crush their jocks. Enjoy the moment–I enjoy a good debate but neither of you are coherent(plus you both just look petty at this point). If J23 and Bay are the far left of American politics, then you guys are the far right. Or vice versa. Whatever.
If it is so important to you that you rub Alex’s success in someone’s face, your life is too little. If you are just trolling, then I guess you should be commended for being so committed to a professional athlete who will never waste two seconds of his life worried about what some blog persona writes/says.
go Niners.
Not going to help.
But +1
Thank you for saying what everyone else is thinking. They must pay a pretty penny for hits on this blog. I can’t see the benefit of having DS, AES, or any of the others (the 4 of you) who put up 200 comments on the same petty stuff.
This is the desperate house wives of inside the 49ers blog.
can’t
Jack’s 5:16 post was cool with you then? AES’s rants when nobody is doing anything gets the pass from you?
Great if it does. Nice entry onto the blog by the way. Bashing 2 regulars. You weren’t good at being the new kid were you?
Welcome.
@cantbreakpar
You are going to write the same scold to bay, 23J, houston, etc? Waiting for it.
ribico
Can’t doesn’t know any of the history here. The racism comments started by md that have been tossed my way because I like 2 white guys on the team. Bay’s attack wanting Primes mom dead. 23J’s cuss rants last year (he hasn’t done it this year, and I like that change in him).
If the worst thing Prime/myself have done on a blog is a little “I told you so” is such a horror to can’t, he is 5 alarm fire with a lot of what has been said here.
Boy Rib,
you have a crush on me or what? I’ve been told I look good in my skinny jeans but this is ridiculous. I’ve been pretty supportive and fair this season. Hate to quote Hofer, but right now it’s good times. The team is well rounded, no apparent weak links. So why the jab? If DSLadyboi and Primehate want to troll let them.
Have I been ultra critical of AS? ABSOLUTELY. I don’t care about his handling and his history. Sad story with all the OC’s bad head coaches etc… YES. Bottom line he had to play on the field and he didn’t. Until this year. We are only two game in and I am happy for him and my team. No excuses just making plays.
All the jock sniffers were crossing their fingers hoping with good coaching he could get here. I on the other hand never thought he could get here. No one knew for sure. For two games this season, its beginning to look like I was wrong. If Alex can turn out to be good or great, I don’t mind being wrong.
Doesn’t change two facts in this room, DS is an amoeba and Prime is trash. Thank god Grant finally had the sack to get rid of Oneniner. Rid the room of trash and it will start to smell better in here.
>>you have a crush on me or what? I’ve been told I look good in my skinny jeans but this is ridiculous.
You are one of the most notorious AS haters on the board. Now that you are on the AS bandwagon doesn’t paper that over, Bay.
>>Sad story with all the OC’s bad head coaches etc… YES. Bottom line he had to play on the field and he didn’t.
And you don’t see the problem, the dichotomy, there?
My challenge to cantbreakpar stands. If he’s going to call out the gloaters, he needs to call out the haters as well. His problem is lack of historical perspective on this board. He hasn’t seen the sewage piled on AS’s head by those, including you, I mentioned in my first post.
ribico
I would have been cool with them “doubting” AS. It is a blog. Any and all players are open for discussion/criticism.
But what the haters have done is go well beyond that. When “Alice” was banned as a nickname for Alex, bay replied back to Grant “Why?” He really didn’t get it.
And, bay. I know you feminized Alex and myself because you are lonely at night. Take care pal. Cinemax has lots of movies on late at night for you to release yourself with.
@ Rib,
I’m not on the bandwagon. I’m enjoying what he is doing. I am enjoying that my team is winning. Smith in two games looks like an NFL QB. I’ll give my assessment at the end of the season. For now, I am really enjoying watching a team that has no glaring weaknesses.
As for you DSladiboi feminizing players in sports is nothing new. You would know this if you had ever played sports. You haven’t. As for feminizing you, you did that to yourself. You said a while back that you had a hubby. In our english language, a hubby is a husband.
How many of you guys have been golfing and left a put short… The follow up comments by your buddies are calling you Sally, or asking if you tripped on your high heal while putting.
In high school we used to say “she was afraid to hit the hole”. Stuff like that. Is it sophmoric? YES. Is it meant as a put down? Yes. Get over it. This is a blog. It’s obvious who played sports in here and who wants to get into a debate just for the sake of it. Funny how 49erGirl doesn’t get offended by this stuff and she is a real girl. Not a fake one like DS.
Every
Bay your just sour because everything you have said Alex can’t do he has and everything you said he isn’t, he is.
Spin it anyway you want and come up with your bogus stats and analysis, either way you were wrong and it’s egg on your face, or should I say crow?
Alex Smith, winning QB ( that’s burns you doesn’t it)
@cantbreakpar
So everything bay has written here is cool with you then?
Gotta be fair man.
Rookies who come on here pretending they know when they simply dont understand the history of these guys. Cant break par, you spoke to soon without knowing all the facts.
Regardless, welcome aboard.
FDM,
cantbreakpar was pretty accurate for a “rookie”. There are 2 extremes on this blog, Bay/Jordan on one end and Prime/DS on the other. Fun stuff.
I’ve been working all day — lunchtime and time to respond in general to your comments…
Don’t assume I don’t know the history here. I’ve been following the blog for 3 years now and have seen both sides(the Alice stuff <<stupid and uncalled for, etc. etc.). If i'm recalling correctly, I jumped on 23J at one point last year. They've been as delusional at times as you guys. Get over it.
DS — i'm pretty good at being the new kid. My attack wasn't intended to be personal, rather it is an observational attack on your blog persona? Can you understand the difference? A blog is pretty two dimensional and difficult to express the nuances of conversation without the benefit of facial expressions, body language, etc.
@DS, Ribico, FDM — Again, don't assume that because I don't have blog fever and post every 15 minutes, that I don't know the players. And thanks for the welcome.
The guys that bring some football facts to back up their arguments like Adam, Claude, JackHammer, Ceader, 49r girl, among others, etc. are actually worth reading, even when their opinions differ.
Carry on, I'll stay in the corner.
Cool, i guess I can have two screen names. Cantbreakpar = mark peters.
Now that’s certainly a double poster!
And Jack you are right there in the middle either needling it or policing it. You add just as much drama as they do so what is your point?
FDM,
My point was that cantbreakpar knows of what he speaks.
can’t
A little playful talk-back is fun. Those examples I gave to you were not fun talk-back. If you can’t tell the difference, so be it. You need to prioritize which comments are over the line a lot better.
And I can tell you from experience that it is different reading it vs. participating on the blog.
Hey Grant: next time you are able to ask some questions. Can you ask about smiths audible calls. It seems he has gotten a lot better at this. Watching the game yesterday I noticed he changed quit a few plays. And they were great calls. Has smith mastered this yet like the offense as JH said.
md,
Have you watched much Stanford football over the last 5 years?
Nope! Watched last sat though. :-)
Only reason I asked md is that it would help answer your question.
They are sending in multiple play calls, and then Smith makes the decision at the LOS. Harbaugh/Roman did the same thing at Stanford with Luck. It’s just another way for the offense to stay 1 step ahead of the defense.
It is interesting that it is Harbaugh who implemented this type of system, given his history as a player under Ditka. Ditka went so far as to take away Harbaugh’s ability to audible.
@ Jack:
Ditka went so far as to take away Harbaugh’s ability to audible.
I guess we know where Singletary got that great idea from.
There’s been controversy here over the value of comebacks (mostly to denigrate our starting QB). But how about this. If the QB DIRECTLY contributes to the team falling behind, and falling behind BIG, then those same QBs should not get credit for engineering a comeback.
Yes, I’m looking at you Bros Manning and your combined 6 picks leading to 42 points in your 2 games this weekend.
ribico
You know I agree with most of your posts, but I can’t with this one.
JM himself says something to the effect that he has so many comebacks because he played poorly the first 3 quarters. If the team wins in a comeback, the QB gets most of the credit. Even if the deciding points were scored by the D for example.
EM did win. PM (no shock to me) did lose. You can’t clump EM (who won) with PM (who lost). Winning is the goal. Who did what is not of importance. Wins are.
I’m just not getting why people are falling over EM for his “miraculous” 500 yard, 25 points in the 4th qtr comeback. If he hadn’t been incompetent in the 1st half, and I mean jarringly incompetent, it’s moot.
Come on Jack, others… who’ve claimed games are won and lost with plays during the ENTIRE game… bash Eli with me!
ribico
You aren’t lacking hope with you asking Jack/others to join in. From their perspectives, they should be hacking away at EM big time. I mean, he lost to Dallas in NY in week 1. Who then went to Seattle and looked horrible. The Giants beat a TB team which sucked last year (but only after we beat them). So AS leading the Niners to the largest margin of victory since before Grant was born was dismissed as any success by AS.
There is a word that some have been throwing my way lately. If they don’t join in with you, then they are no better. That word is VERY descriptive of them.
I know they won’t. You know they won’t. But keep hope eternal!
Ribico,
Your stance that winning is not about how the team plays the entire game demeans the accomplishments of the 49ers and Smith thus far in 2012. In both games so far the offense has made the plays early on to put the team in position to win. Up 23-7 in the 3rd quarter in GB, and by 8 for almost the entire Lions game.
I get that you are stuck listening to Eli talk non stop back there. Why should I complain about the play of Eli Manning so far? Will that change the fact that he has won 2 Super Bowls? Get over it.
You’re partially right Jack. People here complain about the “east coast” media and they are either A. fawning over eastern time zone teams and/or B. lack of respect for west coast teams, in particular our fave.
I’m here behind enemy lines. I don’t think the “east coast” media has a regional bias as much as bandwagonism (Alex Smith – GREAT now!) and distraction by shiny things (ELi throws for 500 yards in INCREDIBLE comeback).
Ribico,
I think you bring up a good point about the all inclusiveness of stats. INTs aren’t always on the QB. A tipped ball by the receiver should be ruled a fumble by the receiver in my opinion and not an INT. A receiver runs the wrong route, again, it is hard to blame a QB. If the line can’t hold protection long enough for a 3 step drop the and QB is hit as he throws, I believe that one is on the line. (Manning’s last night didn’t appear to fall into any of those categories)
I think that is why they give credit to the QB for a 4th quarter comeback. There is so much that isn’t their fault that, but that is still piled on them that they justifiably have to give them credit elsewhere.
Maybe you’re right in that it is time to add some more depth to stat lines.
Manning Shmanning I’ll take Alex…………and NO MORE SCABS!!!!!!
old coach
By scabs you mean the replacement refs. Right?
yes replacement refs are scabs
I know what the general definition of scabs meant. I just didn’t know if you were using the term to describe any of the QB’s who fans here have clamored for in a less than flattering light.
Alex Smith Tea Party ranking after week#2
Crab15 24
ninermd 22
pirate49er 20
Angus in Canada 20
rocket 20
Jack Hammer 19
Nick Row 19
hjt396 19
D Rogue 18
49erGirl 17
Coffee’s for closers 17
elGuapo 17
msclemmons67 16
oldcoach 16
Maliboo 11
DClark 10*
Medicone 10*
exgolfer 8
MidWestNiner 7*
*First week played. Group avg is 15.5
Some good things happened this week. I picked my Niners to win and…ummm…I picked my Niners to win.
I never pick the 49ers in my weekly pick’ems. It’s win/win for me. If they win then I don’t care about the lost point in the pick’em contest and if they lose then at least I get the point in the contest.
i’d like to say that i’m a whole lot better when picking with the spread but that would not be true this yr. i ca’nt seem to pick my nose this yr. it might be a very expensive year for the old coach
Coffee – Grant’s giving 4 Niner playoff tickets to winner and 4 (2013) pre-season Raider tickets to 2nd place. :-)
Not a bad idea though.
It’s ON now Crabs!!! Grant, get those tickets ready for me : )
Hammer – I will play it safe and dink and dunk with my picks to stay on top. :-)
DS/Prime – Don’t freak, just a joke. You know I’m sold on Alex. My 4 yr old son is sportin a hand me down #11 jersery from his older brother.
Ordered a new #11 for the 9 yr old and a #55 for the wife (nflshop.com)
???
ok.
Coffee,
I went 16-0 on my picks that you deleted.
Just kidding, I only had 9 or 10 winners this last week.
I’m gonna win this bad boy
me too
Coffee I’m signing up late but I would still like to enter. Maybe I still record more wind by going undefeated for the rest of the year. Send me that info bro.
Good luck folks. But here is the winner. Wheeeeew!
My only goal…to not finish dead last!
Need more people to sign up, each time we get someone new my score gets a little better then the avg.
p.s. I’m thinking if a team goes two consecutive weeks without making picks I’ll assume you’ve quit and will delete the team…Maliboo I’m looking at you!
Damnation, this is what I get for going against my m.o. Could have picked up a point against all of ya, that’ll teach me.
MSClemons67, and 23jordo
Tell us again how we should have given P.Manning 19mil a year (resulting in us not having enough $ to sign 5 or 6 of our own players on d) How is that workin out for ya? And before u say “oh now that he had a bad week here come the smithers” let me remind u that im neither, and was away when u and jordo lamented nobody mentioning PM when a few of the posters that “freaked out over 9ers evaluating him” clearly stated that despite his good performance it was still better to sign 5 or 6 of our D guys and not pay PM 1/5 of our salary cap.
Memo to 23 J. The steelers suck vs no huddle spread O (see every game they ever played vs NE in the Brady era) thats why PM thrived in week 1. How did he do vs the vaunted ATL d? 3 picks in 15 min on terrible throws doesnt look like an upgrade at qb to me, but hey its a matter of opinion.
But just for fun lets compare
PM 43 for 63 68.3% 494 yds 7.84 ypa 3 td 3 int QB rat 87.7
AS 40 for 57 70.2% 437 yds 7.67 ypa 4 to 0 int QB rat 115.6
and did i mention he makes twice what AS makes?
Oh and BTW this doesnt take in to account his health which is still to be determined. Enjoy your 28 extra yards per game passing il take our elite d thank you.
I dont expect you to respond, and what would u say anyways the numbers speak for themselvs.
If u do develop a conscience though send ur appologies to 4949 centenial Blvd care of Alex “game managing us all the way to the superbowl” Smith
bos
Dude, you didn’t get the memo. Stats aren’t of any use if it proves all those guys wrong. Stats are proof though if they prove them right. Get it now?
If you do, please explain it to me. Because I don’t get it.
Yeah. That is the world we live in here.
Bos,
Credit JH for the resurrection of Smiths career. This is the only offense that he can play in. The offseason showed you that when nobody was interested in him. JH and this offensive staff are geniuses. Smith couldn’t perform under any other system before this one. JH has taken this personnel and put them in a perfect situation.
None of this changes the fact that Smith is a system fit and a game manager. We’ve played 2 games this year and Smithbhas done exactly what he has been asked to do, manage. We are averaging 190 yards rushing per game. Our scoring defense is tops in the NFL. Smith has not been asked to win a game like the elite QB’s in the league are asked to do. We will see what happens if our running game gets stopped and he’s forced to throw further than 10 yards.
He’s got the perfect scheme to suit his skillet, which we all know is limited. It’s enough for us to win and right now that’s good enough for me. I’m not convinced but I respect what he’s done.
As for Manning. His numbers in this offense would be ridiculous. Everyone on this blog knows that. He was a fool for not wanting a super bowl trophy. Only he could’ve chosen Denver. Only you could think that Alex is a better QB than Manning. Remember, 2 games. Thank you Jim Harbaugh for a masterful offensive scheme.
Jordan,
Believe it or not – and I certainly don’t – people used to say that Montana could only succeed in the BWWCO, or that he was a system QB.
Before you go berzerk, I’m not comparing AS to JM, just their situations.
The thing is, and this is what you Cultists just can’t grasp, is nothing in football operates in a vacuum. Everything is interdependent.
For instance, John Elway languished under the horrible coaching of Dan Reeves in Denver. We’ll never know what Elway would’ve done if he was coached by BW, Don Coryell or some other offensive guru. He may not have done any better, or he may have been even greater than he was.
If JM had somehow ended up being coached by Dan Reeves, instead of BW, I don’t believe he would’ve won four SB titles. He still would’ve been great, but not as great, IMO.
A person that finds themselves in the situation that allows them to rise to their full potential, is truly lucky. This not to say the individual doesn’t bear responsibility for their achievements, or lack thereof, but rather that the individual’s ability to succeed is necessarily affected by their environment and opportunity.
@exgolfer:
Nice comment, but you know it is falling on deaf ears. I don’t understand those who don’t believe that coaching matters. I also cannot think of any successful QB who has been through what Smith has been through. The “elite” QBs have all enjoyed system stability and QB-friendly coaching.
exgolfer,
Great points. Elway had a great career but Reeves kept the shackles on him. He might have set unreachable records had he been allowed to play like Marino or Kelly were from the same draft class.
Jordan,
You keep saying this is the only offense Smith can play in yet for years many wondered why the 49ers hadn’t incorporated a spread attack to take advantage of what he did well in College. You continue to underestimate what Smith is doing right now.
Claude,
Thanks.
As the great Yogi Bera one said, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him stick his
f—ing head in it.”
Are you a Social D fan? Baba Booey?
Thanks, Rocket.
The two systems you mentioned would’ve been perfect for Elway, there’s no telling what he would’ve done in Miami or Buffalo.
Claude,
A few weeks ago you posted a map that showed which NFL games that were to be shown for the coming weekend. Do you know when during the week the map for the coming weekend is posted? I’m jonesing to find out if I’m going to get to see the 49ers vs Vikings at home. I cheaped out on the NFL Package on Directv this year.
xgolfer – Call Directv and tell them your neighbor got 50% off NFL Sunday ticket and you’ve had Directv longer than neighbor.
Worked for me ;-)
Ask for Supervisor if needed, stick to your guns and you’re in.
Crab,
Thanks for the suggestion.
@exgolfer:
I think Thursday, but am not sure. In case you need it, here’s the link again: http://the506.com/nflmaps/
Thanks, Claude.
I think Fox has the double header this week. If so, there’s a reasonably good chance that the 49ers vs Vikings will be shown hear in LA.
I guess I should be singing “I was Wrong” right along with Jordan. CBS has the double header.
23jordan, does Phil Jackson’s triangle offense mean anything to you? It should, it allowed your screen name to become a “system player” and subsequent champion. Nothing wrong with the right coach and system.
Ribico…. Shaq, Kobe, horry and the rest of the mighty lakers and crappy bulls still flourished after Jackson left. Apples and oranges buddy. Oh and GOOO LAKERS!!!! Wheeew
BOS
That’s quite a sample size you have there.
Nick
Did you bring up sample size in the pre-season? Because if you did, the sample size is a lot bigger now and the population actually matters now. It didn’t in the pre-season.
DS
I’m just pointing out that 2 games are just that – 2 games. It’s hard to draw conclusions at this time in point.
what about pre-season? I’ve not compared PM to AS stats this season, yet, because that would be meaningless. It’ll be interesting to do so mid-year, however.
* point in time
nick
I really don’t remember, and I don’t care to go back and look, so I asked you straight up.
People were comparing the QB’s during preseason. AS included. Using stats from very limited play in a non-game planned manner to make their case for each QB, and a few about AS not deserving of being the starter.
And if it is silly to compare AS to QB x right now, then it is equally silly to compare player x on the Nines to player y on z team. And just as silly to compare any two teams to one another. The number of games is the same (n=2) in all cases.
If you think that, that is cool. There is a certain logic behind it. But if you want to compare players or teams to one another and some how not want to compare AS to PM, then I’m calling you out on it. That isn’t fair.
It’s cool either way (compare is useful vs. not useful). But just be consistent. That’s all
:- )
Nick, I agree with you. Any time someone says something, it’s perceived as an insult or an attack on Smith. Objectively, Smith hasn’t played against a good defense and won yet. He lost to Baltimore. He lost to a healthy NY team. I’d like to see him take that next big step.
The difference between Aaron Rodgers and Alex Smith is here:
1. (A) The 49er defense doesn’t need Alex Smith to score 35 points a game. The biggest joke about GB was that Aaron Rodgers had to score 36+ points a game, because his defense was going to give up 35 points a game.
1.(B) The term game manager is put on Alex Smith because with the 49er Defense, the offense can walk off the field with 17.5 points. Aaron Rodgers can’t count on his defense to hold onto a 28 point lead.
*My disclaimer: I like Alex Smith. He never quits. He never complains. He just suits up and gives it his all week in and week out.
@Chris:
Objectively, Smith hasn’t played against a good defense and won yet.
Objectively, that is incorrect. In 2011, the 49ers beat Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Philadelphia and Seattle (twice), all of which had Top 10 defenses.
The biggest joke about GB was that Aaron Rodgers had to score 36+ points a game, because his defense was going to give up 35 points a game.
GB gave up 22.4 points/game in 2011.
It’s not that difficult to find these facts. Why wouldn’t you check them before making those assertions?
Nick
I work with what im given. If this blog could launch 600 hits over a suposedly missed read on one play of a PRESEASON GAME than 1/8 of the regular season is a decent start. the sample size doesnt matter its a matter principle.
Some people thought that PM at 36 coming off 4 neck surgeries costing 19 mil a year was an upgrade at QB others disagreed. back then we could only go on opinion now we have a bit (not much il give u that) more info on which to base our opinion. Like it or not we all will keep an eye on their numbers this year.
But i maintain my position Id rather have AS and all our D back than a QB past his prime with health concerns who costs twice as much
claude
Maybe it’s just interpretation, but I didn’t read Chris comments about the GB defense giving up 35 points as some point of fact.
The message is true. That message being that the GB offense does have to score a lot because the defense does not stop teams from scoring. I think Chris was exaggerating anyway.
FYI – Sometimes it isn’t possible for people to check the facts/stats before they post. Some mobiles may not download pages easily and a lot of those stat websites have pictures and such that take a long time to download. So, one may choose to go from memory and or exaggerate a bit. It’s cool.
Chris,
The perception was that the Packers defense was terrible last year and the offense had to score at will to win games, but perception doesn’t always match reality.
The Packers were in a few shootouts no doubt about it and the yards they gave up ranked them at the bottom of the league, but what you have to remember is often times opponents were playing from behind and had to throw the ball more than normal to try to stay in the game. That leads to more yards allowed but not yards that will hurt you because you are playing with a lead. The Packers were 19th in points allowed and only gave up 20 more than the 12th ranked team, so it wasn’t nearly as bad as it seemed.
In 7 games during the regular season the GB defense gave up less than 20 points. They were also involved in 5 shootouts that skewed the point totals a bit. Bottom line is the defense wasn’t nearly as bad as it was made out to be for them last year and they absolutely manhandled the Bears 4 days after the Niners beat them this season, so sometimes you just have to look at the games individually and give it to the quality of the opponent.
A question to all the new AS bandwagon hoppers. Why? After vilifying him last season, what strikes you so different about him now? He’s not turning the ball over, but he didn’t last season either. True, he is up the QB ratings, but that is more due to the “elites” starting off slow IMO. The team is winning? And they weren’t last year? He’s still taking sacks, he’s still not going downfield. If you hated him last year, you should still hate him now. Props to Houston and 23J for their unwavering hatred.
In my estimation, he’s basically the same player, playing the same as last year. The main difference? A #1 WR that made it through training camp and actually got some pre-season reps. And the rest of the WR squad that includes members not pulled for the practice squad or likely to be cut before the end of the regular season.
ribico
If the Niners ever lose a game, then ask the question and see how many are really being truthful about their praise for AS. I’m betting, none are.
The biggest difference to me:
1. He doesn’t need to throw anybody open! All the time this blog has spent on “AS needs to throw guys open” is washed away. It is the job of the wR’s to get themselves open. And AS has been the most accurate QB in the league at getting the ball to the WR in a spot whee he can catch it.
2. The guy is really smart. Never had the chance to use this skill of his before since he was always on first base with a new system. It’s like buying a Ferrari and preventing the car from going beyond first gear. Just stupid how things have happened.
1. I think you’re mistaking what throwing a receiver open is. It leads to YAC. You want to hit the receiver in stride where only the receiver can get the ball or the other reference is when you are throwing to a spot on the field and not to where the receiver is standing and waiting.
2. Agree with you completely.
Chris
I think the WR s are actually open pretty much every time. It is an opinion and there is no way to state that as a fact. If you don’t see it the same, I can’t tell you otherwise.
I completely respect your opinion. I am sorry, I misread what you meant then.
I’m neither a big Alex fan nor a fierce critic, but I already notice some changes in his game for the better this season. Particularly on the three-step drop, the ball is coming out of his hand without hesitation and with more velocity. There is a confident zip in the ball. His mechanics appear to be slightly different (the bending at the knee, feet placement, follow-through, etc.). Finally from the first two games, it seems to me that Alex is reading the defenses better and is timing the releases better relative to the rush. Now, it’d help if the receivers start holding on to the ball more often.
Niners have now won 50% of the games in which Smith has started (34-34), and have a record of 17-4 in the last 21 games played. They are 12-0 when Smith’s QB rating is 100+. Since he now has a good grasp of the offensive system, and is working with a coach who has faith in his ability, I think there is scope for considerable improvement before he hits the ceiling.
AS will hit the ceiling when the rest of the team does. With a Lombardi trophy.
The grandios stat comparisons after 2 games is AWESOME!
How’s about we let them get at least a quarter of the way through the season before going there.
ribico ….”he’s basically the same player”
I disagree.. he’s a much better player now than last year because he ‘knows’ the offense as do the rest of the guys on offense. He’s had a year under Harbaugh and G-RO and his confidence is way up. I’ve seen a highly competent NFL QB these first 2 games where we only saw glimpses under prior coaches. It just started to surface last year on a regular basis under this coaching staff and yes he still needs to improve certain aspects of his game but this kid certainly looks to have a much higher ceiling now that he’s surrounded by good coaching and talent( previouslyAlexcuses). A whole lot higher than the haters have been trying to convince everyone as well as themselves. LOL
@61,
funny I’ve been trying to say the same thing. Yet because I note that Alex looks improved this year all of a sudden I’ve jumped on a bandwagon.
All of us that see improvement this year also saw from last year that improvements were needed.
You want to argue that or just argue for the sake of argument?
niner61
Would you agree that this AS is what we would have had earlier had we better coaching for all this time? I think it goes without saying that a QB will be a lot better in a system in year 2 than in year 1. Especially with a lockout in year 1.
As JH pointed out. It isn’t just AS who had to deal with new offenses. And who had to grow and know the offense. If AS is the only guy who does, he still looks bad. The other players have stepped it up as well.
FG/KH/MC/VD have all improved. Say 5% each this year. While the effect is not a 1:1 deal, the culmination of all those 5% (20% in all) AS is by a result of them being better, improved as well.
Is it the QB who’s improved, or the entire team? As JH has emphasized, everyone is in year 2 of the system now. Not to mention the near complete overhaul and upgrade to the personnel on the receiving end of the ball.
I maintain that compentency now revealed was there last year as well.
“I maintain that compentency now revealed was there last year as well.”
I agree. Nothing unexpected. It’s just the time to learn the playbook and such was available. Nothing really new per say. Just a significantly higher leveled up version of AS.
@bay:
Rather than argue with you (even though you are, as usual, full of it), I will simply point you to rocket’s recent comment to TIM in the Harbaugh on Alex Smith post. Everything rocket says about TIM applies to you as well.
PS – Smith ranks 24th in the league in terms of passing yards/game. According to you, that means he is below average. Are you sure he has improved?
@bay… “You want to argue that or just argue for the sake of argument?”
No, just wanted to point out, secondarily, that it seems there was a lot of validity to some or all the ‘alexcuses’ that a certain group of haters stubbornly refused to give any credibility to. The primary point was that I’m watching a guy that is pretty darn good right now and still making major strides in his improvement under JH and staff.
Do the names: McNabb, TSmith, NDavis. VYoung, MFlynn, Kolb, Hasselbeck, Lienart, Manning, Vick … ad nauseam ring any bells. These are some of the QBs the “Alex lynch mob” wanted to replace him with. Want them leading this team right now, not me. Most of the, and I can’t sugar coat it any other way, ‘knowledgeable Niner fans’ here just wanted to see what he could do in a good system with good coaching and good surrounding talent before we gave thumbs up or down. I think if you look at the Bears right now, you see how well a supposedly good fantasy type QB suffers in the same type situation Alex had to endure. Me, I’m just happy drinking in the “lies” that Harbaugh’s been feeding us about Alex being a quality QB and seeing how those lies are becoming reality! My thumb was pointed upward last year and it’s staying that direction fer sure, fer sure! LOL What’s the old saying .. pride goeth before a fall or something like that. Just swallow your pride, admit Smith may become a lot better QB than you thought so you can really enjoy the success of this”TEAM”. God it’s fun to be a Niner fan again!!!!
Rib
Ah but u see U made my point. Alex is the same except his weapons are better. 115.6 QBr is better than 91.2 because MM and RM are better than Swain and Edwards. If u gave him megatron or a Johnson those numbers would be even better. so for those who dumped on him last year and blamed just him for the shortcumings shoulod have been looking at his weapons or lack there of. VD was lost early on last year now since the last quarter of last year he looks like an absolute beast with the same AS at QB. And to disagree with u on One thing and Colinsworth mentioned it on the 1st TD to vernon that “last year AS would not have made that play” because he didnt know the offence as well (no offseason, first year with playbook etc.) but now that he knows the ins and out he can be himself (cerebral more so than gunslinger) and through 2 games he has 1/4 of the td’s he had last year but he still protects the ball so i can see another year of 5 or so picks but his td’s should improve to 25-30 range which would rank him pretty damn good
Ribico,
Thanks rubicon!
Don’t cross me, Jordo!
@ ribico:
Nicely done.
Classic! lol
Not hard when Jordan serves up a hanging curveball.
$$$$$$$$, Rib.
Do you think J23 got that? His typing “Rubicon” had to be a spell check thing, right?
That’s likely, ex. I could be wrong, but 23J doesn’t strike me as the type who’s into classical Roman history.
Rib,
What do you mean Roman history? The Rubicon is a brew pub.
Really? Then the die is cast. Drinks for everyone!
Rib,
The only thing I don’t agree with you on is AS’s QB rating.
Besides two games being a little early looking at such things, Smith’s current rating would often win the QB rating title. So, by definition, his current rating -whether it’s meaningful, or not, two games in – is elite.
claude balls says:
September 18, 2012 at 8:26 am
@ AES, DS:
“Would you two please get a room?”
(lol) I get your point Claude. I’ll try to stay away from these two (Prime/DS), but I can almost guarantee that they will look for any opportunity to take a cheap shot.
I took your advise a couple of weeks ago. Have taken
Hofe’, Hammer’ Textree’ and Rockets in the past to leave these guys alone. I can ignore their cheap shots for a couple of days but I at some point there’s a need to respond.
But just to show you and the bloggers respect, I’ll keep from the petty drivel as of now.
9/18
9:25 am
(lol).
AES says “(lol) I get your point Claude. I’ll try to stay away from these two (Prime/DS), but I can almost guarantee that they will look for any opportunity to take a cheap shot.
Is that the baby in you who can’t take a little rebuttal and term it as a cheap shot or is it your true agenda where all you want to do is scrap?
Be honest now in your answer floppy! You have been known to be called out and then turn it all personal so think carefully before answering.
Prime
All AES has to do is come to grips with reality. When we cheer for MC, cheer with us. Why fight us when we are cheering the guy?
My 9:50PM post is perfect. It is all on him. We cheer, he doesn’t. We cheer, AES declares war. Some evidence of something I said awhile ago appears, and he dismissed it. No wrong doing at all by him.
Question: Can AES move on? Because we have.
Add the fact he has clung to the training comments we made about MC as life and death. He acts like Crabtree was undeserving of any critical comments when in fact he was the one 49er who has a lot to prove this year.
Meanwhile all of last year and this year still he is still critical of Alex.
Like you said, he uses this blog to start fights.
@AES:
Thanks.
And there we go.
@ Jack:
Let’s not be hasty. 18 minutes may be a record for them.
Aldon smith involved in a car crash prior to the game Sunday. And still went out and punked the lions. WheeeeW
@ninermd:
Details?
Here you go Claude.
http://blogs.sacbee.com/49ers/archives/2012/09/aldon-smith-involved-in-serious-weekend-car-crash.html
Thanks Jack.
To return the favor, I give you the current view of the stadium construction:
http://www.newsantaclarastadium.com/live-view
Holy crap, that thing is going up fast. Are they certain they can’t have it ready by the 2013 season?
Thanks Claude. I know the new stadium will be fantastic, but I will miss The Stick. I spent many fall weekends as a season ticket holder from age 11-30 going to games with my older brother.
I know most think it’s a dump, but it sure is good to see the old lady roaring again on Gameday.
@ Jack:
I understand, and I envy those 20 years you had.
I’m with you a little bit Jack. I’ve been going to Candlestick for nearly 40 years. I had so many great times with family and friends at the Stick so it will be a little bit sad when they leave. Having said that, I also had alot of great times with family and friends at the crappy little 1 bedroom apartment I lived in during college. My home now is much nicer and I have alot of great memories in this place. Candlestick is truely a dump and needs to go. It will be better in our memories than it really was. The 9ers deserve a better place and so the fans.
Houston, I know what you mean. I went to tons of Niner/Giants games at the ‘stick back in the day (still have my collection of Croix de Candlestick pins). Not so much now that I’m based on the east coast. I came out for the NFCCG (my first time back there in a decade) and was appalled at the stadium’s condition. They’ve really let it run down during the time of the uncertainty of it’s replacement.
There’s a lot of great memories from the stick but I’ll be glad to see it go. Some great games and also many instances of being stuck in traffic for hours trying to get in and out because of sh*tty plumbing causing a flood or some other problem with the old girl.
Bad location, bad stadium construction and a new era of Niner football. Santa Clara can’t open fast enough…actually it can as it looks like they are building it out of lego with the speed it’s going up.
Thx for the help hammer. Doesn’t sound serious. But it seems mr smith might be a fly for problems. Wheeeew guess it could have been worse.
KNBR saying right now that they think AS is the only guy in All Sports who has gone from a #1 pick bust to a really good player, while staying on the same team.
Vinny Testeverdae (sp?) is the only other guy. But he went to a new team. AS didn’t.
>>Vinny Testeverdae (sp?) is the only other guy. But he went to a new team.
Jim Plunkett also comes to mind as someone in that category.
I thought Eli Manning went through something similar in NY. I could be wrong. Drew Brees comes to mind, but he switched teams.
Joe Montana also when he first started with SF.
EM never went thru the coaching changes. NY is a stable franchise. I hate them. But they don’t make rash decisions.
The closest current player who has gone thru the same things AS has I feel is Drew Brees. (By the way, I think DB is better than AR/TB). DB had a team kinda quite on him, and a shoulder injury But he’s had a stable HC offensive system until just now, and we are seeing the difference. I still think DB is the best QB. But the HC matters a lot more than a lot here want to admit.
Eli switched teams. He just did it on draft day.
Eli did switch teams. He threw a fit about going to SD. However, Eli caught a lot of flack from day one in NY. A lot like Smith has caught. I think NY is a bigger stage to perform on and they expect to win now. You make a good point though about having the same coach and staff in place long term.
Interesting side note on Testaverde. He is an extremely wealthy man. At one time he owned almost every Outback Steakhouse in California. He is an extremely shrewd businessman. On top of that he’s a really great guy.
A hidden gem in there houston?
Hofer – I’ll loan you a buck. :-)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1981-Topps-Football-302-Paul-Hofer-San-Francisco-49ers-/390458827776?pt=US_Football&hash=item5ae928e400
Crab, LOL. How do you find this stuff? BTW, so it looks like you are on your way to the 4 9er playoff tickets. I heard they are located in the press box where they serve premium wine and beer. :)
Hofe – I AM the game. Lol
Lucky start in Alex Tea Party league, long way to go. Press box sounds good.
Ready to vaporize the Vikes?
Hey Crab15,
Loved Paul Hofer! I’ve shared with Hofe67 over the years that the 49er Org should find a way to honor #36.
I remember PH coming in to relieve an injured O.J. and gaining over 100 yrds in the 2nd half.
PH’ fearless and reckless running style caused him to have a short career.
I don’t remember any other player during this dark 49er era who represented the team better than Mr. Paul Hofer.
Paul Hofer gave me a reason to look forward to watching my team on Sunday’s when it was not the popular thing to do because of their ineptness (lol).
Thanks for sharing the pic Crab!
AES – I’m old enough to remember watching #36. Bill Ring was tough too but Hofer was way more athletic than Ring.
AES and Crab, PH’s story is a good one, unfortunately, it didn’t finish well. He was an overachiever with some talent and injury shortened his career. He did get a SB ring for 1981 even though he was never the same after the injury. I had #36 as my avatar back when passwords were used here.
San Francisco/Bay Area is the place to be. Vince Vaughn, Owen Wilson celibrating with team in Niners locker-room and Joe Montana at Giants game last night.
Where has Huey Lewis been?
Wish I lived there. :-(
Last year before the season started I posted that Alex was going to have a great year and earlier this year I said Crabtree was going to have a great year, hate to brag but im more happy we are winning again on a regular basis.
Go 9ers!!!
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/17/sports/football/relentless-replay-deprives-nfl-of-the-beauty-of-imperfection.html
Interesting article. The guy who invented the televised instant replay (an inspiration after seeing the Jack Ruby shooting of Lee Harvey Oswald replayed over and over) is dismayed over it’s increasing usage in officiating.
“But forget for a moment the bottom line. Has replay made the game better?
Verna says that its overuse is robbing football of its soul.
“The game has lost some of its sensuality,” he said. “It’s become all about angles now.”
…
Verna never intended for instant replay to become a tool to help officiate a game, but instead saw it as a more artistic innovation designed to show viewers tantalizing inside aspects of a play that they might have missed.”
And ironically for us as Niners fans:
“In 2003, the N.F.L. embraced expanded replay as an enforcement tool. The key moment was a blown call during a Giants-49ers playoff game won by San Francisco. The commissioner at the time, Paul Tagliabue, was irate and called the error the most disappointing moment of his tenure.”
Comments? Rhoden makes some good points. Is there a point in trying to perfectly officiate a game involving imperfect players and coaches? The league couldn’t think of having scab refs with a replay backstop. And controversy of a blown call by humans does keep us engage as fans.
I can see that ribico. If a play isn’t obvious enough on the field to have been over turned, then let it go. At the end, it should balance out anyway.
Of course, in soccer, you have fans clamoring for instant replay. Did you see the women soccer during the Olympics? There were a lot of bad calls. And calls that effect scores. Which is so hard to do in soccer. Much harder than in football.
Why was QB Scott Tolzien active for the game?
Translation:
We needed all three of them active because the Lions play dirty and could have hurt Alex then Kaep.