SAN FRANCISCO – The Week 2 grades for the 2-0 49ers, who dominated a very good opponent for the second week in a row, yet won by only 8 points for the second week in a row, too.
ALEX SMITH: A. Smith may have played even better Sunday night than he played against the Packers last week. He completed 20 of 31 passes. At least six of his incompletions were good throws receivers just dropped. Over the first two weeks of the season, Smith has only thrown about 5 bad passes, and he hasn’t turned the ball over once. He threw two beautiful touchdowns to Vernon Davis. On the first one, Smith audibled out of a run play at the line of scrimmage so he could throw to Davis. That was a great call by Smith. The offense converted 4 of 11 third downs – not great, but the ones they did convert were essential and difficult. Smith’s best third-down throw was to Michael Crabtree, who was running an out on third and seven. Smith prefers to throw over the middle where the ball’s flight path is shorter, but on this play he threw it about 15 yards to the sideline. If Smith can start making this throw consistently, the Niners’ offense will have no holes.
OFFENSIVE LINE: B+. Like last week, the run blocking was fantastic and the pass protection was pretty good. They gave up some pressure in the first half, but Alex Smith bailed them out by throwing quick passes. Smith couldn’t bail them out all night, and he ended up taking 3 sacks.
RUNNING BACKS: A-. Frank Gore had another fantastic game, rushing 17 times for 89 yards and a TD. He also had the key block on the 49ers’ first third-down conversion of their final drive. The coaching staff doesn’t overuse Gore as the previous staff did. Gore gets about 15 carries a game, and when he does carry the ball, he still looks like one of the best running backs in the NFL. Kendall Hunter continues to be a terrific change-of-pace back, gaining 23 yards on five carries tonight. This group would get a flat A, but both backs dropped a pass. Bruce Miller did, too.
WIDE RECEIVERS: B+. Randy Moss played about half the snaps, and he caught just one pass. Over the first two weeks, the Niners have mostly used him as a decoy. Mario Manningham caught three passes and dropped one. He also ran a reverse for 29-yards. Michael Crabtree had a terrific game. He dropped one pass, but he caught six, including three pivotal third-down conversions on the 49ers’ final drive.
TIGHT ENDS: A-. Delanie Walker dropped another pass – it seems he drops at least one per game. But he did make some key blocks for Frank Gore. Vernon Davis was not double covered, and so he caught two touchdowns. Even though he’s still the best player on the 49ers’ offense, defenses seem less willing to double-cover him this season, out of respect for the other offensive players, like Michael Crabtree and Mario Manningham.
DEFENSIVE LINE: B+. Aldon Smith recorded 2 sacks, and no other Niner recorded 1. The defensive line did make Stafford back pedal in the pocket and throw off balance for most of the game. Sometimes they created pressure, and other times Stafford just imagined it. The D line also held the Lions to a measly 3.2 yards per rush.
LINEBACKERS: B. None of these four players defended the pass particularly well. Aldon Smith got juked in the flat, Ahmad Brooks gave up a deep pass down the middle, NaVorro Bowman lost running backs coming out of the backfield a couple times and Patrick Willis gave up a touchdown to Brandon Pettigrew at the end of the game. But the linebackers did help shut down the Lions’ running game.
SECONDARY: A-. They held the best receiver in the NFL – Calvin Johnson – to under 100 yards receiving and no touchdowns. They also completely took the Lions’ No.2 and No.3 receivers – Nate Burleson and Titus Young – out of the game. Before the season it seemed like this unit was the weakest on the defense. Sunday night, they were the strongest.
SPECIAL TEAMS: C. Kendall Hunter did not return kicks well. He fumbled one, and returned another to his own 15 yard line. The kickoff coverage unit also allowed Lions’ returner Stefan Logan to return one 40 yards. David Akers saves this group’s grade. He made both his field goal attempts despite the strong winds.
COACHES: A-. Defensive coordinator Vic Fangio called a near-perfect game, as the Niners’ defense completely dismantled the Lions’ offense. Offensive Greg Roman called another conservative game, which is part of the reason the Niners only won by 8 points despite owning the Lions all night. On the final drive, Roman called a run on first down and there were 0 wide receivers on the field. Gore lost yards 4 yards on that play. But Roman instantly redeemed himself, calling 3 perfect third-down passes to extend the drive and run down the clock.
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What do the Smith haters have to say now? Granted only game two, but he is doing what he is supposed to do. Help win games. It is still a team effort and they all seem to have confidence in each other and that works.
Granted only…
1. Going 13-3 last year.
2. Tied 2nd best record in the NFL.
3. Winning his first playoff game.
Getting to the Title game. Likely leads the team to victory if not for a ST fumble.
4 Has beaten DB/AR/Stafford in 3 of last 4 games.
5. Beat GB in GB. Something that hasn’t happened since Grant was just potty trained.
6. Became the franchise leading QB for most passes without an Int. Add in the playoff tally, and he’s crushed that record. This on a team who had JM/SY be their QB. In that time, we’ve only lost 2 games.
DS ,
Everyone knows that . Please enjoy the victory and move on.
Why should he move on? He should enjoy the victory for a lot longer. All 49ers fans should enjoy it.
After all those years of losing no one has a right to tell a 49er fan to calm down on celebrations. We desrve every second of gloating.
You should move on.
iTeo
What makes you think one can ‘t do both?
Until JH came, AS wasn’t doing what I always thought he could. What he is doing now. More specifically, on this blog, for years I’ve read a lot of horrible things being said of the guy. Now, that he has been given the chance with a real HC, he is doing it.
Some here don’t acknowledge any of that either. They suddenly become “team” guy when AS does well. And blame AS way too much for any losses. Like the team didn’t contribute to the loss (Did you notice how often the past weekend you heard the QB leading the comebacks? Comebacks are a QB stat). And for years I’ve heard how we should have picked/gone after other QB’s. Well, AS has beaten nearly them all now. Tom Brady’s time is coming as well.
Gloating is part of what makes sports so much fun to watch. Believing in something for a long period of time despite having no real reason to, and then seeing it come to fruition….that is gloating worthy. If you think not, it’s best that you not reply. Because I ain’t changing my mind on this a bit.
DS really you need a buffer before you reply. Write your response down and walk away. Don’t send it. Just walk away. Then come back 10 minutes or so later. Do some research first.
Alex Smith was consistant the last 2 years he was with Singletary. He had a shoulder injury with Nolan. Even then though, he didn’t play bad. He had NO weapons.
Alex Smith had a pretty good year with Martz (for a QB in Martz system). Martz QB’s always have high interceptions and are sacked and hit ALOT.
Here’s an honest assessment of the Offensive coordinators A. Smith has played for. Most of us could out play call them on Madden (pick a year).
And one last thing now that I’ve shown I respect Alex Smith, don’t compare his QB legacy to JM or SY until he’s won this organization a SB title. He could go the rest of his career and not throw an int. That might make him accurate, but JM has 4 superbowl rings. Steve Young has 3 rings. Alex Smith still has 0.
I know you’re excited, but let’s keep it in perspective. Alex Smith is doing a great job. He is an amazing QB. He isn’t JM or SY for this organization yet.
Jason
They finally did get rid the guy. Feel free to follow his lead.
Don’t tell me a thing. Buffer yourself. You’re not looking any better.
LoL Jason, you need to do your research. Alex Smith never played a regular season game when Martz was here.
@ Hammer
He played and was hurt in the preseason under Martz. My humor is lost here apparently. You all take this far too seriously.
A Smith sat out all of the 2008 year with that shoulder injury. Giving him the best year any QB has had under Mike Martz.
LoL Jason. Applying the **Buffer** to myself now.
Way to go Jack/Jason. Turn a fun thread into what you are. Keep it up.
Jason,
I think she is calling us a couple of fun guys : )
SWEET!!! I think that’s a compliment! I’ve never seen DS compliment anyone. Thanks for Hammer!
zzzzz
Boring
Jason,
DS has a hard time speaking football, especially when it comes to staying away from scenarios that make sense only to mental midgets. But hey, look who responds favorably to her on here. Not the sharpest tools in the shed.
zzzzz
Stop it you two (lol). I have enough people wanting to date me on this site. They really are lonely.
You think of me more than the Niners win. You are here to discuss football, aren’t you?
You haven’t been before, but I still hold out hope!
@jason You think Steve Young has 3 rings? I hope you’re counting ones that he has as a backup, because as a starter he only won one, and I’m surprised no one else noticed that.
Steve Young has 3 rings. He has 1 as a starter and 2 while Montana was the starter. That equals 3 more than Alex Smith has. Also, Steve Young was used in several games during the season of both of Joe Montana’s superbowl 23 and 24 wins. Steve Young was never a backup like other teams used backups. Steve Young took snaps each season.
Jason
And the “It was a joke” post is coming up quickly I hope.
Steve Young took snaps in the other 2 seasons because JM was hurt. You can’t count the backup role as a SY Super Bowl. He was on the team. And deserves credit. But SY is not a 3 time Super Bowl winning QB. JM took him there twice.
By your own criteria, David Carr is a Super Bowl QB. He was on the Giants in 2008. Played in 3 games. And had a QB rating of 144.1. Gee. Carr is right up there then.
Please Jason. You made a mistake in your ramblings against me. Admit it. Move on. Don’t try to say SY is a 3 time Super Bowl winning QB or imply at all that he won 3 Super Bowls. He didn’t. He won’t talk about the other two. Only the one he led.
Who said he was a 3 time SB winner? He has three rings. Period. He contributed all three of those seasons. Period. He won 1 superbowl.
However, Didn’t Steve Young win the games he started? He had a 41-0 win against Chicago (1987) and he also won in Minnesota (1988) He didn’t take over for Montana permanently until (1991).
That’s more than David Carr did. I could defintely be wrong here, but I don’t think David Carr took the field in 2011 for NY. He didn’t contribute to a single NY win. He also didn’t win a game in 2008 if I remember correctly.
That’s the difference between the two. Steve Young Set passer records as a backup to Joe Montana.
Alex Smith is in the same spot Steve Young was in in 1993. He was a great QB who didn’t start and win a superbowl. Until he does so, you can’t say he is better than the other two with credibility.
Jason
Mike Wilson has 4 Super Bowl rings I believe. Jerry Rice has 3. What do you make of that?
All players get rings. It should be that way. But in no way did SY lead the team to either Super Bowl. He looked fine in the regular season. But come playoff time, it was all on Joe Montana. Regular season exists to determine playoffs. JM led the team. Steve Young was a backup. Especially in 1989. Our team was awesome. We subbed in All pros for All pros on Defense.
Lesson: Don’t point out how many rings a QB gets if he wasn’t the leader. I love Steve Young a lot. He gets credit for 1. Not 3.
Thank you for pointing that out DS. I agree with you..
The thing that impressed me the most in this game was Alex Smith looking better than any other QB in the NFL… He Completed 66% of his passes tonight and still had 7 drops! This team is teetering on one side of winning games and the other side of blowing out really good football teams. Once the entire team starts to click, aka Brandon Jacobs and Ted Ginn Jr. return, this team will be unstoppable. Alex Smith should make the Pro Bowl this year, but he won’t because he’ll be playing for a Super Bowl…
Tony/Maven – Only two games but “Clutch” is in Pro Bowl if vote was tomorrow.
C15
I hope not. I want AS having as large a chip on his shoulder as possible heading into the playoffs. AS will get more money besides with a Super Bowl win.
DS94 – Too late, the old Alex is ancient history now.
“Clutch” is here to stay.
Pro-Bowls are largely stat driven. AKA yards/TD’S thrown. Lack of Int’s mean little.
Look at it like this:
AS has about 450 yards passing in 2 games. EM had almost100 yards more today in 1 game. He’ll get the press. And AS will get 10 seconds of time. You could also say the same for MC and WR x right now.
This team isn’t designed for offenive pro-bowlers. It is designed for offensive Super Bowl champs.
PS We’ll have lots of defensive pro-bowlers. AS/MC won’t get in because fans/reporters look at stats. Those 2 might get a nice share of player votes if things stay this course. But not many fan/reporter votes. They’ll say: The Niners have enough pro-bowl players.
Alex “$2 steak” Smith…..will it stick
The team looks good, but there is still plenty of room for improvement. It’s a great feeling to see them dominate their first two opponents and know they haven’t played their best game yet. This is a special bunch of players and you can see the maturation process taking place across the board.
I agree that there is room for improvement. If there wasn’t, then the team would already be Super Bowl champs.
Iconic image tonight of Alex smith making throws with blood dropping down his nose!
Classic Schwartz line: “We knew there was going to be some times when a one or two-yard run was a good play.” Oh really Jim?
Being one dimensional is better if you are only good at one dimension.
Not good BigP. Exceptional. If you’re one dimension good, then you’re the Niners of the Nolan/Singletary era.
I was referring to the Lions offense. The only thing they can do is pass, I don’t know why they even tried to run the ball. It seemed like a waste of a plays.
Hey, Oneniner! Where have you been?
Using 4 different names to take shots because he was banned.
Again! Lol
I miss oneniner. Like I miss a rash on my a$$…
Come on bay keep it classy
I think alot of people are missing the boat on crabtree’s improvement this year. For the 1st time in his pro career he is playing pain free. he is faster in general but much more explosive in and out of his cuts. which brings me back to my biggest concern with MC. How long can he stay healthy. Take it from someone who like crabtree suffers with a chronic foot problem they do’nt just go away. hopefully he will stay healthy he has played outstandingly so far this year and he and smith seem to be developing a good rapport. I believe moss being a one year pick up and crabs feet are the real reasons the 9ers drafted jenkins.
“…which brings me back to my biggest concern with MC. How long can he stay healthy.”
Seriously now? You hear the announcers curse every game. “So and so hasn’t missed a FG from this range since before the internet” and then what happens? He misses it.
MC’s injury is like that. Don’t bring it up oldcoach!
Bay, Md, Neal, Nick, Crabs 15, MSC, Big P, And anyone else who can be objective,
I don’t know If you have the game on tape, but tell me what you think about Crabtrees look and body language when the camera pans to the bench after the 2nd VD touchdown. That to me can be a potential problem if we don’t spread this ball around in the red zone. Crabtree is not happy about getting chances in the red zone. I head what he said after the game. He was a team player. That look does not tell me that. What do you guys think??
In the on-field postgame interview he definitely was not effusive in praising alex, who had just finished talking about how great MCs play was. I believe in regard to alex he said “pretty good” or “fairly well” or something like that…. which you can interpret however you want. but crabs has always been kind of wierd when talking to the media, so I’m going to withhold coming to conclusions and just let his work on the field to the talking.
^ supposed to be a reply to jordan
But Dangle, did you see him on the sideline sitting on the bench after the VD 2nd touchdown? Take a look at that.
Jordan,
I didn’t notice it at the time, but if he did feel that way, he’s on the wrong team. The reason these guys are doing as well as they are is because they aren’t fixated on the stat sheet. I hope Crabs enjoys winning more than padding his stats but if it turns out he is not happy and it starts to affect team moral, he’ll be playing elsewhere. Harbaugh is not going to allow players to bring down the team because of selfish needs for personal glory.
Rocket,
Crabs may be fine. I could be wrong. I just know what I saw. I know Crabs is different. However, I’m used to him smiling instead of frowning. We’ll see. If it is something, it will fester if he doesn’t see the end zone.
@3jordan, you said J.Johnson would be the 49er starter by the 3rd week, where’s your boy? hahaha..
Could be wrong, dude, when have you been right about any 49er player?
Jordan, I missed it but i’ll check it out. And I just read your thesis up there. Nice to hear you can say a couple nice things about alex. Winning is the best deodorant.
Jordan,
I noticed that too, but would be careless in making any judgement from it.
Jack,
I just know that Crabs looked like he gave up the TD and we were d0wn by 21!
Jordan,
You don’t know what was going on prior to that camera shot is my point.
Exactly, maybe somebody cracked one off nearby….
Exactly Bray : )
I would’nt read to much into crabtree’s interviews or body language he’s just a strange cat. he reminds me a little of harbaugh when hes behind the mic. he looks like he would rather be any where else in the world. from what i understand he is tied up for 2 years making next year his contract year and we all know what happens in a players contract year. after that i do’nt really care jenkins should be ready to step in by then.
Are you a psychologist now too?
If crabtree and the other key offensive players stay healthy this year i see crabtree with 90 catches for around 1200 yards and 9 td passes and he’s still gonna be a weird dude[but who the hell cares]
Its because Mr. Crabs has meaty claws.
coach (Lombardi) – So if you have a quiet personality that makes you weird/strange?
There are many die-hard Niner fans that read this blog but rarely post anything (quiet fans).
Those weirdos.
crabs weird aint necessarily bad its just different. i’ve been called weird a few times and took it as a compliment
Crabs, was this for me???
23J – No…..old coach (Lombardi).
Bray,
Classic! Haha!
Jack,
I saw it too, it looked like what J23 is saying, but you’re 100% correct. It’s out of context.
Jack/xgolfer – I’m on the wrong planet if you guys can’t see what happened. Look at the video a second before Akers extra point and PAUSE it. MC is walking in front of VD off of field (after he most likely conratulated VD) two players are laughing while looking at MC (who was probably laughing too) and then MC goes and sits on the bench to rest with his teammates (VD followed Crabtree to the bench area).
You guys caught the tail end of MC sitting on bench looking down.
Look at it again, if MC was pissed he would not have left sidelines and gone out toward V.D.
He was not in game on the touchdown.
Crab,
When they showed him on the sideline he had a bad look on his face. It doesn’t mean anything more than Jordan stirring up controversy where none exists. For all we know it was like Bray said, maybe one of the guys broke off a good one on the sideline : )
Hammer – I hear ya but I just think MC was a little winded. He did congratulate VD before he sat down and he had just caught those three 3rd down passes on that TD drive. It was 4th quarter too.
Trust me, if MC sucks or pouts I will be in here saying so.
Crab,
I didn’t think he was pouting at all. Just mentioning I saw it.
BTW, it looks like we may end up in a log jam at the top of the Tea Party picks this week.
Hammer – Yes I noticed your stellar picks this week. :-)
Catch me if you can pal.
Just need to focus on getting 1 pick better every week Crab. Can’t look past next week.
Crab, you missed my comment to you a little while ago. You are now known as “The Ambassador”! :)
Hofe – I missed that one (will look for it), is that a negative or a positive?
Should I change my avatar? :-)
Some just can’t enjoy the ride! GT
23 – I just watched it, MC was not in game during the 2nd VD T.D. If you rewind to before MC is sitting on bench, it shows him coming off the field after celibrating with V.D. Also, when he’s coming off field with VD he must be excited because two teammates are laughing while looking at Crabtree (MC’s back is to camera).
Fact is, Crabtree left sidelines and went out onto the field to celibrate with V.D. and then simply sat down. Nothing there at all 23J.
Crabs, you my boy but I just looked at it again and I didn’t see crabs go anywhere near VD. VD was the last player off of the field. I saw Cox talking to VD when he was headed to the bench. Crabtree was in front of Vernon. The camera showed no interaction between the 2 of them. I could be wrong bro. I hope I am. You know I’m in support of Crabtree. I always have been.
Give it a break ! You’re one of them, who criticize crabtree. lol !
23 – Yes MC is coming off field in front of VD (with VD). They were the only two players coming off field in that picture. What else would MC go on the field for but to congratulate him? No brainer. Crabtree went out onto the field from the sidelines. If he was upset he would not have gone out there.
23, we go way back but this is ridiculous bro. What more could you want than mopping the floor with GB and Detroit?
Best team since 1994-95, time to enjoy the success. Alex is playing lights out, just go with it bro.
Crabs, I dont get it with him, he is always on the negative with the 49ers. How can anyone really believe this guy is a 49er fan? He is a complete troll, no other way to explain it.
Fdm
I don’t want or need you to get it with me. I don’t think you were being addressed in this post. You’re sticking your face in something that wasn’t concerning you. Your post had a little DS (shi-starter) in it. I was having a discussion with crabs. I don’t solicit your comments. Thanks.
Dont be a baby 23welcher, you have dished it before, now take it like a man. A man who backs up his claims and honors his bets!
Dont be a baby 23 welcher. You are always dishing it out, so be a man and take it. You know a man who honors his bets and if he dishes it out, should be able to take it?
Crabs,
So what does our discussion have to do with Smith bro? You brought up Smith for what reason? I was speaking on Crabtree. I didn’t say I was right. I just asked if you saw his body language bro. You sound like one of these other cats telling me to go with it like I’m not or something. We are better than that. You know what I think about Crabtree. So you should know I’m making an observation and not kicking up dust. I just simply asked if you saw his face on the sideline. If he congratulated VD on the TD, they didn’t show it on the T.V.
Its just always negative with you 23 welcher, thats all. No one takes you serious cause your all piss and vinegar!
Don’t over-analyize MC on the sidelines too much. He’s a different breed and marches to his own drum. He had a great game, that’s really all that matters at this point :-)
49erGirl/Dangle-
I’m with you two regarding Crabs, we needn’t over-analyze. I’m glad I didn’t have strangers psycho-analyzing me if I had a grumpy day at work! Jeez, that would make me grumpier. If we judge him by his performance, its enough.
Besides, I want guys hungry for the ball; they’ll want to make the most of their chances on the field; MC/MM/Moss/KW/KH, etc.
Except for Md and Crabs, a loser asking another loser for advice.
Just want to ask you welcher, you said Alex would be exposed again against a blitzing team and that he could not put back to back games together, so I love to hear your bull excuse now?
And so what Crabtree looks angry, he got praised by his teammates in every single post game interview and JH gave him a game ball. Why you always stirring negative stuff up, is your life really that miserable? Dont answer that I already know!
Prime,
You’re just a Bitc- kicking up dust daily. Trail DS. That’s what you’re good at.
Poor 23 welcher crying cause he was wrong again! Alex, clutch, winner!
It’s great to see JH do magic with the system fit game manager. Just goes to show how many QBs in the league could successfully run this offense, including Kap! Game managers come a dime a dozen.
@ 23 welcher:
More ignorant nonsense from the King of Ignorant Nonsense. I posted this video of your theme song on the game prediction post, but I doubt you saw it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1k5K08jm4U
Enjoy.
Claude,
You could also go with “King of Fools” by Social D.
Killer band.
Claude,
“King of Fools” would work, too.
Great band.
Sorry for the double post. The first one went to the bottom.
Just like this one. Oh, well.
Bring something to the table besides a useless whine Other 23jordan. I’ve seen enough of those on other sites from bitter fans.
Midwest, claude,
You idiots are wasting your time telling me what you post. You sound like a couple of hens pecking for the main rooster. Save yourself some time idiots!
@ 23welcher:
Welch welch welch welch welch welch welch. Welch welch welching welch welch. Jack Welch, Racquel Welch, Representative Peter Welch. Welch’s grape juice, Welch’s grape jelly, Welch’s fruit snacks. Welcherino welchelele welchadiddledoo. Welch, welch, welch.
Sorry, I couldn’t hear you over all of the welching. Were you saying something ignorant again? Perhaps another lame prediction that Alex Smith is going to fail? Or that he isn’t going to be on the team this year or next year? Or that Josh Johnson will be starting by game 6? The cream rises to the top!
Keep on welching, man. It’s what yo do.
I heard that is offense to the country of Wales… lol
Jack Welch. Read his book – outstanding. Grant you’ve been dropping book names you’ve been reading. If you want a great perspective on business, read JW’s book.
Translation: I can’t think of anything so I’m going to whine about Alex Smith being the QB.
Other23, give it up. You’re sinking fast, and now you just grabbed onto a concrete block. No a good idea.
We’re 2-0. Against two playoff teams!
We shouldn’t be whining about much of anything. Come on people. If you behave like this after this start, how will you behave following a loss?
With glee? I’m betting some here will.
MWN,
$$$$ on the concrete block crack.
Sounds like Welchers Sour Grape Juice to me…a little peeved that J.J. isn’t the starter at QB this year as you predicted? You need to let the game manager thing go 23, at this point it really has no substance. The important thing is the 49er’s are winning….I really could care less if Alex or Kaep or Tolzein starts, as long as the Niners come out on top at the end of the game.
23J
You mean like how 49ergirl trails me? And hangs onto every post you write like it were scripture?
If you call out Prime, gotta call out others. Somehow you don’t. Like FDM said. You can’t take what you dish.
PS If you have issues with prime, don’t involve me. You and AES are quite similar in that regard aren’t you?
The thing is Jordan, when VD got the touch down, I don’t know if Crabs was open, they do need to share the ball more often, Crabs and Moss need to get into the end zone and get touch downs. This sort of stuff is probably happening in every club. Crabs will get his TD’s, I am not worried about, only game 2
J23… I saw the look on the bench. I don’t know if he is a big celebration guy. I wouldn’t take it to heart. However in gb I did see him being missed again in the end zone. I can understand his frustration but he’s not bigger than the team. Smith is getting better every game on spreading the ball around. He will got his shots and td’s as the season go’s on. I’ve never heard of him being disruptive of the team so until he starts being that way. Id take it with a grain of salt. MC is in his own world.
Did you get a chance to see that play again Grant? That was not knee high.
A pass at the waist is considered “low” in NFL terms.
Lots of passes are intentionally thrown low, in many circumstances. Lots of curls are thrown low, so the receiver doesn’t get killed, and if he misses it, it doesn’t pop into the air to be picked.
Lots of throws are aimed right at the hip pocket, very easy to catch while striding, as was the case with the throw to Crabtree that they’ve been discussing. Crab’s a great receiver, but he dropped a pass that was right where it needed to be.
uh…that was supposed to be a response to some other comment…
What is the Immaculate reception considered?
A historical blunder!
Sorry, this was my reply to DS’ “what was the immaculate reception considered?”
Special Teams might even be a C- or D when you consider the ridiculous off sides on the kickoff.
Something else worth mentioning is how expertly Alex handled the bad snap early in the game. Scooping it up and throwing it away was brilliant!
I agree. I don’t think anyone even realized what a huge play that was at the time and how it changed the game. If Alex Smith just falls on that ball like 31 other QBs would have done, the team is out of field goal range.
Instead, he did an unbelievable job of collecting the ball, getting out of the tackle box, and then throwing it past the line of scrim. to avoid any penalty with pressure in his face. As a result of this, the 49ers were able to kick the field goal, getting a roughing the kicker penalty, and ultimately scoring the TD instead. They won the game by 8, but this was 4 of those points. That was one of the best plays of the game in hindsight.
Jason,
You’re right about that, that was a big play.
Although, I’m not sure he did get outside the tackle box, but it doesn’t matter because Kyle Williams was close to where the ball went out of bounds. It wasn’t going to be intentional grounding in any case.
That seems like the 3rd or 4th time Alex has done that over the past few years. Impressive
I’m glad to see people pointing that out: that seems to be becoming a strength of AS’s: to not get flustered. I wish Grant would see it the same way though. In his live game blog he blamed AS for not catching a “good snap”.
He also made it a point to say that AS threw a “low” pass to MC that hit MC in the hands, implying that it was AS’s fault. He then defended that statement in the comments made by others when they called him on that fact that while it was low, MC should have made that catch.
What’s the old axoim? If it hits your hands you should catch it? I guess that only applies to AS according to Grant.
What has impressed me most about Alex this year is his accuracy! Most of his incompletions were drops, and the ones that weren’t drops were very catchable (with quite a bit of contact on the receiver. If those drops don’t happen Alex looks like he’s playing better (more consistently) than any QB in the league. It seems like he’s in a fortress of solitude in regards to public perception. He calmly executes on every down. And he’s throwing with more velocity too! As this team gets better, we’ll start seeing quite a few “perfect” drives, and even some perfect games where our offense completely dismantles even the best defenses.
+1
@ninersroc
I think that doctor who DB directed AS too has really played a large role in it. But don’t dismiss the fact that AS is a guy who needs to understand things well before he starts playing as well as he can. Alex flat out said something similar to that. He isn’t a playground type QB. He pretty much said that as well.
Last year he didn’t know much about the offense. He led the team to 13-3. This year he knows a lot about the offense. JH said he is an expert and a Pro-Bowl QB. Who are any of us to doubt him since he’s done what he’s done?
Agree with the grades more or less.
Interesting stat comparison for Harbaugh QBs from today’s games:
Alex Smith: 20 of 31, 226 yards, 2 TDs, 0 int, 3 sacks. Won game
Andrew Luck: 20 of 31 224 yards, 2 TDs, 0 int, 2 sacks. Won game.
That is interesting, nice nugget.
It is also pretty close to JM’s career average yards thrown per game (211). When done right, a QB should not be measured by yards thrown.
I was sad seeing Josh Morgan leave but after what he did in their game today, kinda glad he left. That was a selfish win costing game.
I will have to check it out, not sure what he did. Good analysis from Grant. Enjoy his comments and oppinion. I know we all differ at times but I do enjoy this sight and his and his fathers point. I do not understand the harsh critique of them by fans at times but maybe critisim is the sign of respect or flattery!
The fans here emulate what they read of his dad’s style and try to respond as such here. They are sarcastic, negative, and doomsday propheciers. The only problem with that is they can’t do it as well as the latter Cohn. They just come across as bitter and uneducated. Grant does a fine job. Those that are stable enough to understand that an opinion doesn’t always have to match your own are able to enjoy the writings.
Morgan just let his emotions get the best of him, I’m sure he regrets it more than anybody else. It was a bit of a ticky-tack call anyways, the db pushed him after the play, and he shoveled the ball at the db.
Should’ve been a personal foul on the DB and unsportsmanlike conduct on Morgan, offsetting penalties and then play on. The DB grabbed his facemask, or, worse, stuck his fingers in JM’s face, right in front of the fake ref.
That DB was Cortland Finnegan. I’ve watched him play for a number of years and there is not a bigger turd in the NFL. His main talent is pissing off opponents to take them off their game. I guarantee you that wasn’t the only incident between Morgan and Finnegan in the game.
I think you’re right exgolfer. However, it seems the referees always catch the last retaliation. Still a shame. I liked Morgan and I am sure he is catching a lot of flack. Truth is, the team should have never been in a position with their QB playing lights out to need a FG there at the end in my opinion.
Grant has written about two games without writing a clunker. This is his longest streak and is ahead of the other beat writers. I see the maturation process in high gear. ;- ) Irony is not a board… -L-
Good job grading Grant. It’s going to be interesting to see this team evolve as the season goes on. Can’t wait.
Good grades Grant, now lift your game on the Niners predictions, instead of a blow out, we almost blew it.
They didn’t almost blow anying. The refs have 21 points on this 49ers Defense. The Zebras are the highest scoring team in the NFL. Their defense took a TD away from BAL and cost them a win.
The 49ers won this week just like they won last week. By 2 scores. A look good score at the end of the game is meaningless to anyone but Vegas.
+1
Oh so if they loss, it would not really be a loss, because the refs blew it, does not work that way Jason, I know you have all of the answers
Sorry Neal, but Chris is right on this one. This game was never in doubt.
Hey Jack,
Who is Chris? Do you mean Jason? Also if Detroit recovered that onside kick, they could of tied the score, the game was in doubt to me. Why did Collingworth and Michaels know they were going to kick the ball deep but not the Niners? Did you see Harbaugh after that kick, it was a huge sigh of relief. Plus with the crappy Refs the game to me was always in doubt.
@ Neal:
Why did Collingworth and Michaels know they were going to kick the ball deep but not the Niners?
Why is it you are so so certain that the 49ers didn’t know where the kick was going?
I thought that was terrible on the part of the 49ers. Williams made a very tough play to fall on that cleanly….easily could have bounced around, right into the hands of a Lion running full speed….tie game.
If you put a guy back there, at least if the Lions recover the onside kick, they’ve gotta march 50 yards.
I repeat. Terrible. 9ers got the lucky break on that one.
AngusinCanada,
Well said. I agree with you and Neal. That was a really risky move to not put anybody back there. Brad Seely’s in-game decision making are – at times – questionable.
I’ve got to agree with Angus on this one. For a coach who seems fairly risk averse I was surprised Harbaugh allowed that alignment on a sure fire onside kick attempt.
Much to do about nothing…
Claude,
Williams had to hustle to get that ball, it was a difficult play,what would happened if he fell, or kicked the ball when he was going after it. He should of been deeper.
@ Neal:
I am not debating the merits of the formation. I just wondered why you were so certain that the 49ers did not know where the kick was going.
I think the 49ers are number 2 right now in the power rankings. The problem here is that the top 5 teams in my book are all in the NFC.
I have Houston listed as number 1. I list them at number 1 because I think Houston has a better defense than the 49ers and a more potent offense. I know they haven’t beaten anyone yet and they have a fairly easy schedule. I think GB, BAL, NE, and CHI will all test that Defense. They also play Denver this week. We’ll see.
You don’t become #1 worthy by playing bad teams. Look at GB last year. 15-1 against a bunch of losers. Then get whooped the first time they face a good team.
Ranks are earned. You need to earn it by beating supposed “top” teams. GB and Detroit both made the playoffs last year. We beat them both.
Houston is a better team. They already beat SF pretty decidedly. Anything more is a waste of space on this blog because you illustrate a clear misrepresentation of every stat and fact you utter.
See that *buffer* post of yours. Apply it to yourself.
Any kind of respect you ever might have had is gone. Houston beat SF in the pre-season!
Jason. You are clearly a deranged individual. Change your name. Seek help from a professional. Preseason losses mean nothing. Every football fan knows that. Do you really think PM does that against our D if we are playing for real? Give me a break. Watch the game and learn.
I agree here with you Jason. I laughed when I read DS response. She makes an argument then attentuates her argument in her second paragraph.
Since you probably don’t know what that word is here is an explanation.
DS wrote:
“You don’t become #1 worthy by playing bad teams. Look at GB last year. 15-1 against a bunch of losers. Then get whooped the first time they face a good team.”
First of all, you rewrote Jason’s opinion with more supporting facts.
What you are saying is that GB and DET aren’t “top” teams because they never played anyone. So, following your reasoning, SF hasn’t beaten anyone “good”. You’re also saying that SF is not even “good” by your own account.
Silly.
>>They already beat SF pretty decidedly.
When?
@ Ribico It was a joke that DS is so out of touch with facts that mentioining a game that never happened would get a rile out of her. Any response to DS is a waste of space but hey, Grant deserves the hits. :)
@Jason
“you illustrate a clear misrepresentation of every stat and fact you utter.”
Please tell me the stats. Please. Because I don’t use many stats.
Chris
Houston hasn’t played the teams the Niners have.
And please. Don’t join the crowd who thinks they know more about me than I do.
Jason
Still waiting for the stats you claim I misrepresent.
Funny how you have time to not discuss football on a football blog.
>>@ Ribico It was a joke
Looked a lot more like justification of your #1 ranking for Houston. But if you say so…
ribico
I guess you don’t have the great sense of humor Jason has.
Don’t we all wish we did? I caught him making a stupid comment, and he throws in the “it was a joke” card. Without giving any indication that it was.
He showed me.
Rib,
Maybe a reference to the preseason game?
ex
Didn’t you laugh? Bad sense of humor from you if not.
The last time the two teams met in a real game, the Niners were down by like 21 points or so in Houston. AS takes over for Hill, and throws 3 TD’s to VD starting VD’s TD record for a TE. AS nearly wins the game in a huge comeback.
Know why that matters? I don’t. It was 4 seasons ago. What happened then means nothing. Just like a preseason game means nothing for anything but job security and depth and talent evaluation.
Alright DS, don’t take this personal. I am not saying you are a bad person. I don’t know you to make any judgement calls. I am merely critiquing your arguments.
In each opening paragraph, you state your argument. Then, in each concluding paragraph, you undermine the thesis of your argument.
Case in point and I’ll plagiarise Chris for the first example:
Chris wrote:
DS wrote:
“You don’t become #1 worthy by playing bad teams. Look at GB last year. 15-1 against a bunch of losers. Then get whooped the first time they face a good team.”
First of all, you rewrote Jason’s opinion with more supporting facts.
What you are saying is that GB and DET aren’t “top” teams because they never played anyone. So, following your reasoning, SF hasn’t beaten anyone “good”. You’re also saying that SF is not even “good” by your own account.
Then you rant on about stats and the probowl:
DS wrote:
“Pro-Bowls are largely stat driven. AKA yards/TD’S thrown. Lack of Int’s mean little.”
Ummm, INT stats are a part of the equation. So is “team success”. On one occassion that comes to mind Brett Favre got in with a high number of INTS, but he is the only one that comes to mind. However you continue the deconstructing your argument…
“…AS/MC won’t get in because fans/reporters look at stats. Those 2 might get a nice share of player votes if things stay this course. But not many fan/reporter votes. They’ll say: The Niners have enough pro-bowl players.”
News flash here, NE and SF both sent the most Probowlers with 8 each.
Then you say about gloating and how great Alex Smith is:
DS wrote:
“Until JH came, AS wasn’t doing what I always thought he could. What he is doing now. ”
And follow it up with:
.”..Believing in something for a long period of time despite having no real reason to,…”
If Alex Smith is good, (which he is) you have every “real reason to believe” in him.
So turn down the volume of the other vocies in your head while you’re typing. Finish one thought. Hit enter. Then start a new thought. :) Have a great day!
@jason
Everybody here is right. Everybody here is wrong. Keep posting long enough and I bet you will be too. Imagine that.
Jason
In the start of EVERY season, people use the previous years results as the expected result.
Both Detroit and GB made the playoffs last year. We beat them both. Now, come week 12, you can’t really use last years results to mean as much. By then, there has been sufficient data from the current season to judge THIS team. Not last years team.
And winning in GB is something that hasn’t been done in such a long time, you could have been born that year and now be declared an adult (age 18) while never having seen a Niner victory in GB. You don’t think that is a big deal? I do.
“Ummm, INT stats are a part of the equation. ”
Yeah. I know that. But if you’ve been here last year, you’d know that a lot of people didn’t care about AS not throwing lots of Int’s. They wanted more TD’s. More risk. Int’s could be the most important stat. They are a TO. FYI TO’s are the only stat I really care about.
“News flash here, NE and SF both sent the most Probowlers with 8 each. ”
Yeah. Never said they weren’t. My statement had to do with stats being important for Pro Bowls. Neither AS nor MC will have great stats compared to others. Looking at the stat line. EM threw over 500 yards! AS threw for less than half that. When people (fans/reporters) look at that, they will say “Well EM threw for over 500 yards. AS threw nor less than half. Both won. So, EM is better because he threw more yards.”
“If Alex Smith is good, (which he is) you have every “real reason to believe” in him.”
Until the W’s showed up, you can’t conclusively say AS is good. I say I beleive in AS that he could be good. Does not = AS is good. You can think something is good when you order it at a restaruant. Until you actually taste it, you don’t know if it does or not. In this case AS is like a meal that came from top grade farm (1st overall pick). But the chef didn’t know how to cook it, and damn near ruined it (MN/MS). Now the food was still good. Hadn’t been destroyed yet, so a new chef shows up (JH) and knows how to actually cook the damn thing (AS), and we finally get the meal we expected.
Please don’t confuse facts with beliefs. I thought AS could be good does not equal he is good. What in AS’s career proved he was good before JH? Not much.
Jason, every comment you make is self righteous, you think you know more about football than one else here. Give it a break, opinions are like a**holes, everybody has one. If you think you are a expert, you would not be giving your 2 cents on here, every second.
I agree with you. If I thought I were an expert, I wouldn’t start every comment with “I think”. I certainly wouldn’t start every comment I make with “I think” if I thought I knew more about football than anyone else here.
Thank you though for pointing that out to me. I’ll take a few moments to make sure that my comments are more clearly written to show they are just an opinion from someone who LOVES football.
Jason,
Don’t change a thing. Some on here don’t like their views to be challenged and they will call you a “know it all” in an attemp to put you down. I have first hand knowledge of that. Keep calling it like you are seeing it, and be able to back it up and it will be all good.
DS is taking this too seriously. Jason opened with “I think”. Since when does that make anyone self-righteous or saying they know it all about football? We all have opinions and the beauty of the blog is that they all differ.
I agree that Houston is better than SF right now in what they judge in power rankings. I also thought the houston winning reference was in regards to the preseason but the sarcasm he addresses DS with makes sense that it was a joke.
I don’t remember anyone electing DS as the blog mom.
Chris
I might be a SOB on death row who can kick your butt. Stop with the mom/women stuff. You sound like a jerk.
And my initial reply was quite fine. If you have a problem with it, you have a lot of problems. What in my first reply makes you think I am taking it more seriously than you are?
“I don’t remember anyone electing DS as the blog mom.”
She is self-appointed. But like most self-appointed people in charge, nobody listens or cares to obey – which can send her into an almost comical tizzzy at times.
(queue the stalking/obsession rants now…..)
Ahhh!
Niner girl still follows me around. Go on home now honey.
Sorry sweetie, I’m not following you, but will leave when I dang well please.
But thanks for being so darn predictible!!!
Can you throw one of your tantrums next and go off on your whole “don’t talk to me, leave me alone, you just can’t stay away, 49erGirl is mean to me” rants?? I love those – they’re hysterical (in more ways than one)!
Kinda like your blow out prediction 49er girl, all steam no whistle?
49ergirl
Come, come. Let’s make up. Give me a kiss and things will be alright.
Again you reply to a post that had nothing to do with football. Just me. I’m thinking you do want me to join your crowd. Why the attention if not? You are looking for a girlfriend here. Just admit it. And what if….I’m not a girl? Will your world collapse knowing you were wrong? Don’t worry sweetie-pie. I won’t do that to you. It’ll be our little secret. OK?
:- )
Thanks DS, that was funny!
My world collapse because of your gender???? ROFLMAO!!!
You think a bit too highly of yourself!!!
DS,
Kisses in the work place is sexual harassment, you better keep this site clean, because if you are thrown out, their goes your social life, your credit, and any future job opportunities. Watch it !!
49ergirl
Every time last year somebody called me a “he” you intervined insisting you know otherwise. You wouldn’t just leave it at that. Arguing the point in fact.
All the while not arguing with those who hate the QB. Supporting them in fact.
Neal
Ever heard of lunch time? And the worlds population is a lot lower if people don’t get together from work.
The bright side of your argument. Maybe you aren’t conceived.
DS, let’s keep it to football. I don’t think you’d kick my butt. I think you’d like me. I’m a pretty fun guy. I think you are quick to think that comments that disagree with you are insults. I’m not interested in insulting you. I am interested in hearing what you think of my opinion. That’s all.
This whole blog is about opinions. You can agree or disagree but is it really necessary to make it a personal fight? That’s what I meant by taking it too seriously. That’s all. :)
Chris
If you want to keep it football, stop with the gender thing. Fact is, many don’t. They bring it up. You participated in it as well.
Taking it too seriously is when somebody keeps telling others they know that which they don’t. Lately you haven’t been talking football with me. Stick to your own rule.
I don’t take this blog seriously. People here who tell me that I can’t gloat over the past year + and be happy are taking this blog to seriously because they can’t admit they were wrong. Even while we have been in one heck of a winning streak.
That is what I call taking the blog seriously. Deal or move on.
San Francisco is better than Houston and I don’t think it’s close. Both teams have good balance on offense and stellar defenses. My opinion is the 9ers have the best defense in the NFL and Houston is somewhere in the top 5.
I think the question of Houston and SF will be answered by week 10. The greatest part of this argument is that each team has a mirror schedule of the other.
So, you can actually compare the two teams by how they performed against the same opponents. That’s almost unheard of in the NFL. +1 Schedule makers!
Don’t know if it was relevant to his involvement, but Randy did not look too happy after the Niners last TD. I think he could be the focal point going into the Viking game. Just hope he holds it together and continues to be a positive for this team. Don’t wanna lose this guy mentally. Gonna need him in the playoffs
You know, I didn’t notice him smiling once. I hope they look at him more and give him touches. We don’t want to Lose him for sure.
Man the Niners look good. No glaring weaknesses right now. Some points…
Please don’t hand Gore they ball on 3rd and short. Give Boobie a chance at those until BJ is ready to return.
Please don’t try milking the clock with almost 9 minutes on the clock and only up by one score.
Love how they are managing Gore’s touches and giving Hunter a bigger role
Smith looks more decisive and confident. First time I’ve seen him put two high level games together back to back.
Would like to see Moss more involved and would like to see one deep shot to him a game whether they connect or not.
Looks like coaching and continuity in an offense two years in a row makes a lot of sense these days. What was once considered an “Alexexcuse”, is now undeniable evidence of how important those two things are for any QB at the NFL level.
“Looks like coaching and continuity in an offense two years in a row makes a lot of sense these days.”
Matt Ryan, Cam Newton, Sam Bradford, Andy Dalton and Joe Flacco would beg to differ. They all looked better as rookies than Alex did in his 5th year.
Being a slow learner isn’t really a virtue. It’s more of an excuse.
Smh.
So msclemons, how does Bradford look these days working on his 3 OC’s in three years? Matt Ryan has not lived up to expectations as a 3rd overall pick and Newton, well he is great athlete but he wont be in the playoffs anytime soon.
My point is everything you haters have said Alex lacked, he has overcome. Certain players need detail coaching and conitnuity in a system. Iits not a crutch, its a way for them to develop completely. It does not make Alex any less of a player. Go back and see what his college coach said about him, how true does that statement ring true now?
“Being a slow learner isn’t really a virtue. It’s more of an excuse.” msclemons67
Thanks…I have always wondered why you can be so informative about much of football and so ignorant about QB play.
I used to write it off to adolescent moodiness brought on by too much scotch, but now I think you’ve put your finger on it.
@ drsgrosse:
Ouch. Nicely done.
Msclemon,
Compare the personnel around Smith his fifth year to the personnel of those other guys in their rookie years. Then tell me tell the validity of your argument.
FDM,
Well said, and, cue the silence from Bay.
ex
Maybe he is on call waiting on KNBR. They just asked if anybody has any doubt that AS is the leader of the team and if there are any more legit questions he hasn’t answered.
Haters. This is your time. Prove your football knowledge behind 50,000 watts and 10 million or so target audience! Go on air and tell it like it is! Just you do on a blog!
Here is the phone number guys:
(area code either 415, 408, 650, 510, 925, 707) 808-KNBR
Ahhh.
We have a hater on KNBR. Who is it here? Alonzo is the guy on the phone
That could have been LatinoHeat, Vato :)
+1 Bay
Grant: can we give the fans an A for the game. I saw maaaaybe 15 total lions fans at the game. The stick was flooded with red. :-)
Making noise too, gotta love it.
MD,
Agreed. The stick sounded as loud as it did in the playoff games last year. Great to have the homefield advantage back.
@rocket here’s a minor concern about the new stadium; the winds in Santa Clara will be nothing like Candlestick. Do you think that will hurt the 49ers’ homefield edge?
msc,
Hadn’t thought of that but if so it definitely will take a big advantage away, especially in the kicking game. The crazy winds at the Stick leave the kickers talking to themselves even more than usual.
First off, I was wrong about the Pat being a top three team. Or even a top five team. Although I do believe they will get better as Brady builds chemistry with Brandon Lloyd.
Looks like at this point the three best teams in the NFL are Houston and the other two are teams coached by Harbaughs….
+1
+2 go red and gold
Bay,
That may prove to be true down the line, but if you’re ranking teams right now, I don’t see how you can have a 1-1 Ravens team number three.
Right now I wouldn’t put the Ravens in the top five Bay, not after they let the Eagles win. Top five for me are (and this might change after tonight) Niners, Texans, Falcons, Broncos, and Packers. Ok, not as easy naming the top five as I thought it’d be.
I have the same top five. The order of the first two is flipped. Good to see though that I wasn’t the only one to put falcons and broncos there.
Bay,
I don’t think you were wrong. NE will be in the top 5 at years end. They faced a tough matchup as they are grooming replacements on their Oline and the Cards manhandled them.
My top 5: SF, Houston, Philly, Baltimore, Atlanta/Denver
Niners are the best team in football. (But I am admittedly biased…)
Houston is a close second – but I don’t buy into the notion that they have a better defense that the Niners, which is why the are #2 in my book. If they were to play next week, I’d put money on SF to win that game.
Philly started off rough against Cleveland and squeaked out a win, but looked good against Baltimore. They’ve got solid offense and their defense is much improved over last year. If Vick gets injured, they drop off my list….immediately, lol!
Baltimore still has great defense and their offense is better, but they are aging and I’m not convinced that won’t be a factor towards the end of the season. However, they have great coaching and that will keep them in the mix under most any circumstance.
Can’t decide who to put at #5 Atlanta or Denver – both teams are playing each other tonight and should be a great game.
Bottom 5 (in no particular order) – Cleveland, Oakland, Miami, Jacksonville, Tennessee
I’d remove Cleveland and replace them with Kansas City. Cleveland has at least challenged the two teams they have played, while Kansas City has lost by just showing up.
Good point – Chiefs have been awful!
49ergirl, I think you made some great points. I excluded philly just based on turnovers. I think one of the other top 4 teams would take advantage of those turnovers. But Philly is my number 6. Great points though!
Why have AJ Jenkins and LeMichael James been inactive for two straight games? What does that say about these picks?
Why are we 2-0?
Answer that first. Then you can figure out the answer to your question pretty easily.
DS not sure if you answered but did you hear Crabtree after the game praise Alex?
I think the kid gets it now. I also think its funny that everything we said Alex didn’t have and now does is the reason he is playing at a high level.
The audibles last night at the LOS by Alex were phenomenal. He is an expert in the offense as every play he changed was dead on, especially the TD to VD. The guy is a clutch winner, love it!
Prime
It wasn’t earth shattering. Still waiting for him to say 2 big things. The same thing VD/FG always point out.
1. How hard it has been for him since getting here with all the offenses.
2. (This is the big one) Tell everybody to shut the hell up about blaming AS. FG and VD make it a point to let the media know that they don’t know a thing. I’d really like to hear it from MC.
I like how he admitted the drop. That was good. He didn’t do that after any playoff game.
“The audibles last night at the LOS by Alex were phenomenal.”
I agree. I pointed the same thing out during the live game blog.
Rob,
Jenkins and James are not ready yet. They were both picks for the future, and with the depth this team has this should be looked at as a “Red Shirt” season for both as they bulk up and get ready to make an impact starting in 2013.
Not sure if they are ready or not but right now you have to sit players who else would you sit besides the rookies. Before we had to have our rookies show up from day 1 but now the depth is excellent so the rookies dont have to have an immediate impact.
>>What does that say about these picks?
Nothing. It says volumes about the depth of this team.
+1
Rob,
Why have AJ Jenkins and LeMichael James been inactive for two straight games? What does that say about these picks?
It says that this is a deep team and there are better options in front of these guys right now. A better question you should ask yourself is: who would you sit in favor of these guys?
Best answer.
Well said Rocket and Ribico. Isn’t it’s nice to have that type of luxury? Been a long time coming.
Actually I wanted rob to answer it guys. Let him go thru the process.
Jenkins and James were like getting underwear and socks for Christmas. Not exciting but we’ll be darn glad we have them in the future.
+1
Great line, ms!!
AJ Jenkins was active on the first game, just did not play.
@bay.. Lol
Great game last night. Regarding the offense, I feel they open it up just enough to get the lead and then use the running game to use up the clock. I was critical of the playcalling last night by GR. Probably too critical. I believe they passed a slight bit more than they ran, but overall it was a balanced approach. If they had the accumulated yardage for the 7 drops, it would have been a huge night offensively. I’d like to see the 9ers blow teams away, but that is not their style. Teams that throw almost every down do it because they are playing from behind or don’t have a defense that can control a game. I’d just like to see them use more of their offensive weapons especially vertically. It will happen at some point this year. Good times.
Hofer,
You are correct. The mindset and style of this team isn’t condusive to blowing teams out. What we are watching right now is the exact same offense I watched them run at Stanford. I see so many people say they are waiting for the time when more shots are taken downfield and the offense is opened up and I’m telling you right now, that day will never come unless they are playing from behind. The philosophy they preach is to wear down your opponent, play smart disciplined football and don’t put yourself in bad situations where you might make a mistake.
Harbaugh will never run an offense like the Saints, Packers, Pats etc. It’s just not what he’s about. It is frustrating to watch at times because I think we all see chances where the Niners could put opponents away if they were a little more aggressive earlier in the game, but you can’t argue with the results. They have a formula they believe in and stick to and it works.
@ rocket:
many people say they are waiting for the time when more shots are taken downfield and the offense is opened up and I’m telling you right now, that day will never come
But what about all the bright, shiny fantasy football stats? I want big plays! I want lots of passing yards! And if I don’t get what I want, I’m going to yell and scream, stamp my feet and hold my breath until I get it!
Rocket, my gut tells me that teams will start looking more closely to what JH is doing offensively. They will take the approach of a balanced attack and playing very solid defense. The key is a solid defense. Passing for 300+ yds a game is no longer working on a consistent basis. If the best team in the NFL has a unique style as compared to a QB driven league, then it will be analyzed and plagiarized. Can you say cyclical?
It’s about time Claude.
Geezzz. Took you long enough.
I don’t get frustrated by the lack of downhilll passing. The formula is to physically dominate and wear out a team on both sides of the the ball. They let all that beef just pound the defense. We now have an offense that is just as tough as the defense. And like Merrill Hoge says, the Niners offense is balanced and versatile. They haven’t even shown some of the four wide receiver sets. Mario Manningham was a great pick-up. He was making great catches in space. And Crabtree is coming alive. VD is great. The guy that needs to be put on notice is Delanie Walker. Too many drops.
LOL. Sorry Claude no shiny toys but we have an old half ton in need of a paint job available. Not pretty but sure is reliable.
Hof,
Yep it’s a copycat league and you can already see other teams taking notice and trying to incorporate the ideas into their game.
@Hofer I noticed later (during rewatch) that on a number of the plays we criticized, Alex called out the “kill kill” audible at the LOS. It looked like he was audibling to the run when the safeties were high and only 6 or 7 in the box – which is the right thing to do most of the time. The Lions’ front four was just doing really well against “vanilla” runs.
That funky waggle-shuffle-pass thing though… that has to go.
Luke Kuechly played 29 of Carolina’s 78 defensive snaps yesterday.
So, and why should I care?
How many of those 78 snaps were spent in dime and nickel packages?
Why would you draft a linebacker in the top-10 if he can’t play in your dime and nickel packages?
Because you had a huge need for an ILB and Kuechly was the best one and he wouldn’t have been there for them with their next pick.
Kuechly was going to go in the top 20, hard pressed to find many legitimate predictions that had him going higher. If they didn’t take him with their first pick they’d have to give up the rest of them to come back and get him before he was going to be gone.
5 tackles in 29 plays isn’t terrible either. He isn’t lighting up the stat sheet but I still have yet to read anything negative on him in fact it’s the opposite.
Kuechly is going to turn out pretty good, IMO.
Ok, but waiting for your reports on Fleener, Wright, and Hill, too.
Not really.
Tuna,
I think all three (Fleener, Wright, and Hill) will turn out to be solid players. I’m not so sure about Kuechly.
GC said “who dominated a very good opponent for the second week in a row”
From what I’ve seen I wouldn’t call the Lions a very good team, at least not yet this year. They struggled and had to comeback to win against the Browns and they were thoroughly outclassed in every department last night by the 49ers. Until they put together at least a few real good performances at this point they are barely an average looking team.
**Rams**
d’oh
OK, but you know who I meant :o
I’m not enjoying all this trash talk by our offensive line. Jeep playing less talking.
I’ve only seen Anthony Davis do a lot of it. Carrying the little tuft between he and Grant onto the field
Boone, Staley and Davis all did a bit of bragging trash talk last night. Which, by the way, is deserved but id rather just they keep playing and not partake in trash talk
I had the same thought Adam.
Not smart. We’re only 2-0, not Super Bowl champs. We don’t need to give other teams bulletin board material for them to remember come playoff time. Just let your play do the talkin’ OL and nothing else.
Smith looks great. Crabtree looks great. The D looks great. The O line looks very good. D. Walker needs to catch the ball. The coaching staff is better at game planning than any other staff in football but they need to call a better game both O and D when we get the lead in the 4th quarter. they do’nt put teams away when they should and that might come back to haunt us. Lastly CK needs to stay prepared with smiths penchant for hanging on to the ball we may need a backup QB sooner than we would like.
I think I’m beginning to see Smith hang on to the ball a little less every week as he gains confidence of the receivers (which is not easy considering all the drops yesterday), and in his own judgment on throwing into coverage.
I thought the O line has crossed the hump in pass protection. I need to watch the game on my DVR to study the O and D lines.
Mood
AS didn’t have to throw into coverage. Guys were open. If they weren’t, he made sure that any attempts would not be Int.
That is why he is the franchise leader in passes without an Int. And a huge reason why we have won so many games.
MC looks to have hit the beast mode button. MC haters hate on. He’s coming into his own. And will lead this team again. Wheeew. Vd is still in beast mode.
MC is benefitting from a second year in the same system, and additional weapons just like Smith and the rest of the offense.
MD, I don’t think MC was ever in the “hater” mode that AS was in. Most just wanted MC to play well and not get down. His body language is much better this year and he is playing better. I’d like to see him get more touches for TDs. Good times.
*category* not mode
I agree Hof, this board was never in full hater mode like it has been with Alex. It was very reminiscent of when Vernon Davis was having a hard time as young player but to compare the comments that Alex has had thrown his way to Crabtree, night vs. day.
MC looks and sounds like a guy who has bought into the 49er way. He is a vaulable assest to this team. stepping up and thats all any of us wanted from him.
Hofer,
There are only a couple MC haters on here, but just like the AS haters there just isn’t much to complain about with either right now without making yourself look like a fool. It’s Alright Now!
Crabtree played very well last year, and is just continuing what he’s been doing for about 11 games now.
Jack who are these supposed MC haters?
FDM,
You’re a bright commentor. Figure it out.
Hof… There are Crabtree haters on here. You say some just wanted him to Play well. Well he did last season. And he is doing it again this season. Maaaaybe the “haters” of smith just wanted the same with smith. I always stated that. I always said if he proves me wrong I’d be fine with eating crow. Because it means we win. This is just another example of hypocrisy. You can’t just pick a player to defend to the death and call doubters haters UNLESS you like every single player yourself. And we all know who IM talking about. A certain smith defender that can’t go I rant without the wins and success of this team not being all smith. It’s a certain alien that trolls this blog every day of its pathetic life.
So I am saying Crabtree with the right coaching and qbing will be a top flight reciever. He looked hungry last night. I like that. He is defiantly a weapon defenses have to watch out for.
He looked great on the field, but not so good during the post game press conference.
Those shades need to go. Go some frames like Vernon Davis had. Those were sweet!
Crabs is not comfortable in front of a mic. Never has been and I’m guessing that’s why he wears the shades.
I know, but those shades swallowed up half of his face. Smaller shades would look so much better.
Gotcha mid. He’s in need of a style makoever in other words.
The whole team is in beast mode Md. Wheeew!
Grade might be a little high on ST, fumble, long return, offsides, returns were basically no existant. Alex threw one bad pass and was very good calling the game. He is becoming a very good QB congrats to him.
Crabtree had his best game as a Niner. He fought for first downs. The third downs were critical in the last drive. Still I dont believe the team is hitting on all cylinders. When they do look out.
The NFC West is no longer the doormat division. This division beat the Packers, Lions, Patriots, Cowboys, Redskins, 6 – 2 not bad. The common denominator is defense.
Good post undercenter,
That was something I mentioned to Grant back in the offseason. The NFC West may be right up their with the AFC North in terms of physicallity. I still think the 49ers will win the division, but don’t see them clinching it until late December this year. Those division games are going to be some slobber knockers.
Yeah, NFC west with some big wins yesterday. Its going to be much tougher this year and definitely is not looking like the pillow fight it was last year. On another note, Congrats to Alex smith who SF gate reports is now a non-losing QB for the first time in his career at 34-34 as a starter!
Undercenter,
The effort by Crabtree to gain extra yards was very impressive. Someone commented that he could become the Niners’ Hines Ward.
I love the national media – the NFC West had a tremendous week, but the coverage was all about what went wrong with the Patriots, Cowboys, and Redskins. Niners earned their respect last year…looks like the rest of the division still has a ways to go.
Personally I think Arizona is much better than people think…their defense is extremely underrated.
Well said 49erGirl. The NFC West looks good right now. The Niners will probably have to get some hard fought wins in this division, and just against the Seahawks.
I haven’t examined the records of the other divisions, but it’s hard to imagine that there is another division that is 5-1 outside its division with wins over teams as good as WN, DAL, NE, GB and DET.
Good to see MC getting his share of love from the media and Harbaugh.
I’ve said from the end of last season that MC’ success will henge on a couple of things.
1. Getting help from other good receivers.
2. AS becoming more accurate.
The signings of RM and MM have already paid big dividends for the offense, and have helped MC immensly.
As AS has become better aquinted with the offense has passing accuracy has improved as well.
The 11-85 connection is still our bread and butter, but the 11-15 is becoming a force on 3rd down efficiency.
I still would like to see MC become better at YAC, but that will come as he gains more confidence with each catch.
I loved the fact that some of the issues that were notable last season (3rd down efficiency, MC becoming a better WR) are showing vast improvement.
All good!
Now it’s time to go to Minn, and get some payback for their last second win against us a couple of years ago (lol).
Frank Gore is averaging 6.1 yards per carry. That’s the 3rd highest average of all RBs who’ve had more than 21 carries this season. Gore only trails C.J. Spiller and Ray Rice.
seems to be the hallmark of a Jim Harbaugh team, big chunks of yardage on the ground that looks too easy, and a smart, efficient passing game to keep defenses guessing.
Pretty impressive number for a guy many thought was on his last leg.
I’m tired of hearing how the “replacement” refs are doing a pretty good job. They kept the Packers and Lions games close, and are robbing the 49ers of their due nationally.
In the hours before last nights game, the news had alot of stories about the refs missing Pass Interference calls. So the refs for the 49er game over reacted and flagged Cully on a ghost call.
And are the replacements ever going to flag pick plays? I’m not talking about the usual brush-bye picks, but the blatant ones that have been going on the last few weeks. (hope Brown’s shoulder is OK)
How can teams game plan if they don’t know if picks are quasi legal? Say your Fangio getting ready for Minnesota… do you change the defensive plan with the notion that picks are now OK? Does Roman need to insert more pick plays into the game plan next week?
Brodie,
I agree the PI on Culliver may have been a little severe, but he had a hold of the receivers jersey. It was a penalty but maybe should have been a holding call instead of a PI. It all depends on whether the ball is in the air at the time of the infraction and that is where we probably miss the regular officials the most. It’s tough to gauge that split second timing for the regular guys; for the replacements it’s got to be damn near impossible.
Anyone seen or heard from 23 welcher?
Prime
Come on man. I told you already. The haters largely vanish early in the week after a win, then by the end of the week, they act like we just lost!
Look no further than TB game last year. Largest margin of victory since Regan was president. By the end of the week, you would have sworn we lost by 40+ points.
His hiding. He can’t stand it, that A smith delievered another good game..This guy 23jordan is not a true niner fan.
He posted earlier and gave AS praise.
49ergirl, Do you believe everything that Jordan say in his post?
I’ve got no issues with 23J. He’s always been straight with me whether we agree on something or not.
The real question is, does anyone care?
Ignore the troll, and he will eventually disappear for good. It’s not worth spending the five seconds on reading his comments.
Can anyone give me a synopsis of how Staley looked in this game?
Were you able to watch the game?
The Lion defender he blocked didn’t do a thing, As evidenced by me not even knowing his name. Never heard it. I think that tells you all you need to know.
I was able to watch Davis get his second TD and the Lions get their pity TD, but not much else due to work.
midwest
You missed quite a game. Mercy rule would have applied had the drops not happen, and the Lions don’t get a few phantom calls in critical points during the game.
We destroyed them. This Niner team can very well be the best one. No weak spots. Smart players. Not giving the opponent any freebies. Man, it is fun to watch.
mwn,
Staley had a nice bounce back game and really didn’t give up much in pass protection while doing his usual great job in run blocking. The Oline overall did a another great job against a very tough defensive front. There were a couple of breakdowns, but overall very solid. It appears they are starting to gel and Boone is proving to be a real good addition at RG.
N Suh had that really nice move (on Boone I think), that was impressive and what Suh should be doing every snap, but other than that i think the other QB sacks,hits,pressures were mostly coverage or playcalling, like the rollout where smith got hit, or couldnt’ find anyone open downfield.
From what I’ve read Dangle, Suh put the move on Big Davis, not Boone.
Thanks for the lowdown guys. Maybe I’ll luck out and get to see the replay on the NFL Network.
@Brodie get used to the replacement refs from what i’ve heard and read the owners are attempting to break the officials union and i agree with you the scab refs are a huge step down. what the owners really need to do is make the officials full time league employees like every other major sport but that might cost them some nickles and dimes and they would rather save pocket change than protect the integrity of the game
OC, thanks for the response. I’m afraid you are right on the money.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the NFL focus group tested fan’s responses to games and decided “we can take this publicity hit and continue locking out the refs…” As with raising ticket prices and increased commercials, the league knows exactly what the fans will tolerate before finding something else to do on Sunday’s. Score it Elasticity of Demand 2, Integrity of the Game 0.
The NFL knows from years of contract negotiating it has the TV networks too scared to criticize scabs to the degree they should be.
This manufactured mess had Alex Smith’s nose and Brown’s shoulder injured on what would have been personal foul and illegal pick penalties. And it robbed the 49ers of clear domination games that were not really that close.
thats a smart perspective
generally agree on grades but a few comments:
Alex: A. He’s turned into the QB i didnt think he could: a reasonable approximation of Griese/Montana on nights like this. If he continues to play like this and we stay healthy, we win the Super Bowl.
OL. A. We ran on them and we passed on them. Even on the sacks, there was an initial period where Alex had time but couldnt find anyone. OL dominated, in my opinion.
my only other concern is that with this conservative play calling, we’re putting too much pressure on the defense, and a more explosive team might take advantage of it. Stafford is not the QB i thought he’d be at this time – he’s not developing. But a real gunslinger might be dangerous.
lets keep F.P. Soft out of the locker room and stay humble, mighty men of the Niners.
I’m not one to defend the lions, I don’t like stafford, their coach, or their attitude, but there are not a lot of teams that are more “explosive” than them. Just for example they had something like 7 fourth quarter comebacks last season and hasn’t stafford been averaging like 400-500 yards passing? I’m not saying they are consistent or disciplined or smart, but stafford to johnson is one of the most explosive and dangerous combinations in the league.
Side note, I totally agree about keeping humble and assessment of alex last night.
Also I think that in terms of offensive playcalling, this teams philosophy is to play just aggressivly enough to win. I think this philosophy is one that JH wants because he wants his players to be fighting all 4 quarters. If you start blowing out teams it leads to complacency.
They did come out 3rd quarter and start running a lot, but then were still able to using the pass plays effectively when needed. But it really wasn’t as close as the final score suggests. What are the percentates on teams needing to score, onside kick recover, then score again with no timeouts, just to put it to overtime?
fesnyc,
Good points but they aren’t going to face offenses more explosive than the two they just beat. The Saints later on maybe, but other than that, they’ve just beat the best offenses they’ll face this season.
Don’t forget the Giants. Their offense can be very explosive at times.
yup, good points by all you guys. I guess i was thinking about the NYG, partly due to just watching Eli rip off those late TDs to win that game, and maybe partly for the NFC championship game in Jan. I guess i’m just finding things to worry about. but i’ve seen 5 Niner teams win SBs, and this one looks pretty stout to me. damn we have it good.
- I’m a little critical of our coverage teams, not as sharp as last year, but correctable
-ST coach used a brilliant formation against the Onsides attempt, forced ‘em into a weak, low percentage attempt. Looked goofy, worked fine.
-$2steak looked really competent running the offense. That may be evidence of what Roman called his command of the system.
-Six drops by a contending team isn’t really up to snuff.
-In a perfect scenario I would’ve liked a bit more pass pressure.
-I think the ILBs may have done better than Grant rated them, perhaps by reputation, but Lions didn’t get that many completions to TEs.
-Lions (w/ the exception of Avril) played fairly disciplined. That team, and maybe their coach may be growing up. It will help them in the long run.
-Lions may share Grant’s assessment about SF secondary based on sticking with the rush attempts.
> Overall a great effort and result. They’re really looking like a good ball club.
Another Happy Monday!
Are everyones posts posting out of order or is it just me
old coach
Did you try to reply to a post above mid west 10:07AM post about Staley? Because my reply worked.
Separate topic: Schiano going kamikaze on kneel down play
What do y’all think?
To me it’s Bush League. After that and his refusal to acknowledge the tackiness, if I’m coaching against him, I’d kick a fifty yard field goal or go for a two point conversion even if I’m up by 30 points with :10 remaining in the game. But other than that it doesn’t bother me at all.
agree Brotha. his team had that game won and they coughed it up like a furball. Mike Williams caught a pass and if he had just turned upfield, he would have gotten a first and the game would have been over. instead they punt and the Giants continue their crazy comeback. Tampa Bay/Schiano blew that game and they knew it and they tried to take out their frustrations…on a victory formation! bush league. if the Giants had fumbled the snap, sure. but if the snap is solid, you’re hitting a guy who is in the prone position.
BT,
Bush league move by Schiano.
NBC??? Hardly a glimpse of Niner cheerleaders last night! Damnit!
Couldn’t even grade them….Incomplete.
Alex Smith playing with blood dripping down his face reminded me of the picture of YA Tittle with blood running down his face, if any of you youngsters know who is YA Tittle. The similarities don’t end there.
Careful. Sacrilege if you compare AS to anybody any good in our history.
I suspect that, in the end, Smith will have a better overall career that YA.
I don’t know, otf. Though I have no idea of the circumstances under which it was taken, that iconic Tittle photo has anguish of defeat written all over it for me. Not the case at all with the AS bloodletting. Was Alex wearing Staley’s helmet last night?
2 words…. WOOOOO HOOOOO!!!
It’s so much more friendly ‘in here’ lately, more football talk, less personal BS, gotta love it.
Based on the large sample size of 2 games (that’s a joke, so take it easy), the NFC West is looking really tough.
Seattle and Arizona have been opportunistic on defense and special teams. St Louis is surprisingly resilient. All teams are getting solid production from their passing game. Arizona has allowed only 2 sacks so far (for comparison, the Niners have allowed 7, SL 6, and Seattle 5). Statistically (based on pts/game and yards/play), Arizon and Seattle are playing better defense than SF, however, they’ve faced weaker opponents.
The next 4 games are outside the division (Vikings, Jets, Bills, & Giants) then we play 3 straight divisional opponents (Seattle, @Arizona, and SL). I think the Niners will be 5-1 before facing Seattle.
Based off the last half of last year and this year. Niners/Seattle/Cards were winners in the 2nd half of last season. They look good so far. The Rams were decimated with injury. They just beat the unbeatable Redskin team which the East coast was loving so much.
So, take the last 10 games. Look at the record of all the teams (- Rams since injury). Can’t count divisional games for obvious reasons, and the NFC west is a butt whopping division.
Nick,
The defenses in this division are especially tough. I’m not a believer in the Cards continuing to roll because of their Oline and QB, but Seattle is going to be a tough out for sure. Their defense is strong, aggressive and have great size in the secondary. With Beast Mode running the ball and the kid at QB not making mistakes they could be a big surprise this season. Even the Rams look night and day different from a year ago. Fisher is a great HC but didn’t think he’d have them playing this well so soon. The division is much better and that is a good thing. As the saying goes Iron sharpens Iron.
Agreed. There’s still a lot of people that think our division is a joke, but they obviously haven’t been paying attention (or maybe they just don’t understand football).
Really great game from the squad. Defense is masterful. They give you a little but they cant take everything away. When you stop the run like we do, the other team is going to complete some passes. The bottom line for our defense is that they havnt given up a thing this year when the game was in doubt. They have controlled 2 of the best offenses in the league. They are clearly the best defense in the NFL.
As for the offense, there are a few things I noticed.
1. Have to respect the play of Alex SMith. Clearly, he has a clear understanding of this offense and more importantly, he’s managing the game as instructed. He is very efficient in the passing game. He’s putting the ball in places where it can be caught. That hasnt always been the case with him. There appeared to be quite a few dropped passes yeaterday. Touch and placement may be important for a lot of those drops. But I must admit that most of those catches should have been made, although they may not be officially drops. I think at least 4 of them were. The only real issue I have with Smith right now is what I mentioned last week and saw again this week. The NFL is so helpful to the QB’s. Smith needs to realize that when he’s under pressure, he can throw the ball away without being penalized. He takes sacks that he doesn’t have to take. Just throw the ball away to the sideline. The perfect example was the sack bu Suh when he rolled out. With that being said, Smith played well. He has to get Crabtree in the end zone.
As for the backs and line, they are playing great. Gore in short yardage is all bad. I say allow KH to hit the hole hard and fast or alow DIxon to try and get his maul on until Jacos comes back. It makes no sense for us not to be able to pick up 1 yard on 3rd down but be dominant running the ball all game. I think the problem is that those jumbo lineman may be clogging things up because they are slower. Lining D lineman up at fullback is not working if the guy can’t hit his hole and find his guy faster.
Receivers are tight ends are playing great. Yes, Walker has dropped a couple of passes but you guys need to see what he does in the run game. He’s just as effective a blocker as VD is now. Dropping one pass a game is not going to kill us when he throws 7-8 great locks in the run game. VD is bulletproof. He’s gets the scoring opportunities because he has the biggest mismatches. He’s getting wide open with the help of Moss and Crabtree is and will be a greater factor as he continues to tear it up.
I will say one thing. Look at Crabtree on the sideline after VD’s 2nd touchdown. They go to both of them on the bench and Cratree is sitting down and he looks pissed. He did the grunt work in the drive but the TD pass went to VD and I don’t think Crabtree liked that. I’ll be willing to bet that he and Moss will start to discuss this issue at some point during the season if the scoring opportunu=ities aren’t spreaded around evenly. I know it shpouldn’t matter who scores as long as the team wins but I don’t know if this is their thinking.( Crabtree and Moss) Go and look at the scene on the bench after that scoring play.
The coaching staff is head and shoulders, better than 95% of therest of the league. Our schemes fit our personell. Smith is no Rodgers but its clear that he has an offense that his suited for his skillset. JH isn’t asking him to throw it 40 times. We have a bully of a running game and nobody has stopped it yet. So Smith just has to continue to hit guys underneath. The staff seems to have helped him with the high ball as well. Just need to fine tune his velocity a bit and he’s good to go. Our defense has just too much talent to be denied. For all of you that complain about Goldson in the secondary, look at how he came up in run suport and was laying licks as well. Goldson is our enforcer in that secondary. Our defensive scheme is perfect.
I said I would be fair and I know this is a fair assessment. Great win for this team. We are the best team in football right now. Those Texans are the only team that is close.
Jordan,
Good assessment and post. Well done. It’s much more fun to enjoy the winning than pick out the negatives isn’t it?
Managing the game as instructed ? In your mind you still think A. Smith is a game manager? Lol ! I don’t think you fully know what is a game manager, and the QB that is making the right plays and making the right decision on his own, to win the game.
Jordan,
Pretty good post, you hit most of the high points of the 49ers’ team win. You are beginning to manage your posts as instructed. You need to get a little more touch on some of your thoughts, like getting the “game manager” references out of your posts. But I have to admit, I respect this post of yours.
Having said that, I saw the same thing you did regarding Crabtree being pissed about not getting the TD. However, I have a different feeiling about it than you do. I hope that face he was making represented a momentary disappointment over not getting the TD [an understandable disappointment, btw], and not a feeling that might fester and become a problem. If he was pissed about not getting the TD, he needs to grow up.
MC is blowing up and I would hate for an immature attitude to derail his success.
On the same vein, I noticed RM appeared to ignore JH as he walked past him on the way to the bench after the second VD TD. I hope it was that RM didn’t hear JH, or something else benign.
xgolfer – Look at the video a split second before Akers extra point. MC is walking in front of VD off of field (after he most likely conratulated VD) two players are laughing while looking at MC (who was probably laughing too) and then MC goes and sits on the bench to rest.
You guys caught the tail end of MC sitting on bench looking down.
Look at it again, if MC was pissed he would not have left sidelines and gone out toward V.D.
He was not in game on the touchdown.
Crab15,
I’m glad to read your post. I will watch it again, but I have no doubt that what you’re saying is true.
As I’ve stated elsewhere on this subject, there’s no way we can know what’s in MC’s mind based on one short shot of his face, while he happened to be grimacing. We have no idea why he was making that face. I was just saying that I did notice it, J23′s interpretation is possible and if it is, it’s a problem.
I should’ve been more clear in my initial post, sorry about that.
xgolfer – No need to apologize, I shot my mouth off too much on that subject already.
Let me know if you see what I saw though. :-)
Crab,
I’ve got to be honest, to my eyes, it’s not conclusive that those players on the bench are relating to crabtree or the players behind Crabtree. Either way, we have no way of knowing what Crabtree is thinking, and there really isn’t anything to be gained by guessing.
xgolfer – Thanks for checking, I’ll let it go then.
Time to start discussing the Vikes now.
Crab,
Exactly! 49ers by 3 TD’s.
“There ain’t no forgettin”……Revenge!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=fvwp&v=pgxSzxIxPrY&NR=1
I don’t do grades but I’m really starting to see a trend early on in this season. It seems like this pass happy league has started to realize that you need balance to truly be consistently competitive.
The two best teams in the league right now imo are SF and Houston and they are pretty near carbon copies of each other. Houston dominated yesterday and at the end of the game Matt Schaub had 195 yards passing and no TD’s. That should tell all the Fantasy football nuts all they need to know about how valuable passing yards are to the success of a team. Passing yards are good for entertainment value but don’t win you games very often. What wins games is what has always won games: An offense that controls TOP, puts 1st downs together and doesn’t turn the ball over, and a defense that doesn’t give up big plays, tackles well and keeps the opposition out of the endzone.
I watched Eli Manning throw for 500 yards yesterday and the game was in doubt until the very end. Why, because he threw 3 picks and the Giants defense gave up their own share of big plays. Tom Brady threw for over 300 yards and lost because his oline couldn’t protect him consistently and their ST’s were a disaster. Matt Stafford came in riding a string of 350+ yard passing games and it’s gotten the Lions a 1 point win at home against the Rams and a onesided loss on the road to the 9ers.
I’m old school in offensive philosophy believing you need balance to be a consisten winner, and I’ve been resistent to this belief that the league is all about passing now and that is the only way you can win in the modern NFL. It’s being proven that is a falicy. You win by dominating the battles up front and looking after the ball. You win by forcing your opponent into mistakes and capitalizing on them. Most of all you win by playing sound fundamental football and nobody does that better than the Niners are right now.
The biggest difference I see on offense this season compared to last is not Alex Smith. It’s the Oline giving him time to throw and not giving up jailbreaks to the QB or letting the middle of the pocket collapse. You want to know why Smith is looking and playing well…there is your answer. The Oline is the key to a QB’s success as much as the receivers and running game are, and this Oline is finally playing the way we all hoped they could for a few years now. If Smith knows he’s going to have time, he is more confident; if he is more confident he delivers a better ball to the receivers and the whole engine runs smoothly. Now there were a few drops here and there, but they overcame them because they truly believe they will make the play the next time. There is no hanging of the head coming off the field, it’s more anger and determination to get it done the next time.
When I watch the Niners right now I see a team so well Coached in the fundamentals of football it is amazing to watch. Each part does it’s job and relies on the others to do theirs and it’s so hard to get to that point in a sport with 11 players on the field. The players look so in sync with each other and that is a testament to the great Coaching this team has now.
The Niners are not going undefeated, but they will not beat themselves on most days and they are only going to get better as they gain confidence that they can beat anyone if they play their game.
If you enjoy the intricacies of football, this team is a marvel to watch.
Standing and clapping.
Nice post, Rocket – very well said :-)
Nice post, Rocket. Very well put!
Three cheers for Rocket’s post!
But… but… (sputter)… The rule changes! Favors the QB! Favors the passing game! The last x number of SBs featured elite QBs!
Thank you rocket, a lot of us have been saying the exact same thing for some time now.
Thank you all very kindly. Long winded as usual but I thought it was an important point to reflect on.
Rocket,
Very nice. Not long winded at all, cogent thoughts throughout.
Love your perspective Rocket. Seems like all the pieces of the puzzle are coming together to form a great team!
I’m not sure why everyone is giving the Texans so much praise when all they’ve done is beat two glorified college teams. When the Texans play really well against someone other then the Dolphins and Jags I’ll take notice.
Well, it looks like everything is lining up for the Bears. They figured out how to fix their o-line problems: Make Chilo Rachal a starter.
I hope Cutler’s Medical insurance is paid up.
I just hope “The Turnstile” is still in the lineup when the 49ers play the Bears.
Crabtree wasn’t in the game fot the scoring play by Vernon, he came out on the lay before. Im not certain that Crabs even congradulated Vernon on the TD. All I know is that Crabtree does not look very happy at all. Especially considerig that he had a great game. Does the man feel unappreciated or what?
>>All I know is that Crabtree does not look very happy at all.
If that’s the case (which I sincerely doubt), he needs to find a new team ASAP.
When VD was coming off field Crabtree celibrated with him before he sat on bench, end of story. See for yourself.
What are we fighting about here?
Come on guys! We won. Both AS and MC aren’t going to win any fantasy football numbers. But they showed up last night!
How about we cheer the team instead of booing the team? Is that too hard to ask?
DS,
Do what you asked me to do. Just stay out of it. You are clearly off topic right here and you’re not even close.
Crabs,
How many Cases of Sierra Nevadas are we betting on that? lol. Crabtree never left the sideline. That was DW and Gore celebrating with Alex Smith.
23J – I’ll bet one case of Sierra’s. You’re wrong man.
Check “All-22 Film”. :-)
What’s up, no love for Alex still? What’s it gonna take, Super Bowl win and SB MVP? You know he’s much better now bro, come clean with C15.
Ray Rotto nice article on MC.
http://bleacherreport.com/tb/d8tDk?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=newsletter&utm_campaign=san-francisco-49ers
*Ratto*. Though some might agree more with “Rotto”
“if he isn’t Jerry Rice-esque, he does a pretty decent early career imitation of Fred Biletnikoff”.
Crab’s great hands – he is like Biletnikoff, but doesn’t need the stickum.
Rib,
I love that analogy! I can see a Crabtree / Jenkins combo in the near future, similar to Biletnikoff / Branch.
Biletnikoff was before my time, but I have seen enough to know that the comparison is favorable. A mixture of Crabtree, Manningham, Jenkins and Williams will be nice next year. Things are set for a long stretch of success around 49erland. It’s All Right Now!
Jack,
It is looking very good, very good indeed. I just can’t get over how solid this team is. It makes me want to make like Anthony Davis, and squeal like a child.
Check out the cameo by Chuck Findelin and Seamus O’Toole … Great stuff…
http://www.49ers.com/media-gallery/videos/Locker-Room-Speech-Week-2/165af48a-0f15-4612-834d-aeb5b1f05a66
This is worth two minutes of your time:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdRrP1Kh9TU
Trust me.
Bump.
C Balls – That was definitely worth the 2 min! Thanks.
Nice, thanks for sharing that link Balls
Two minutes of my life wasted. I kid, because frankly, nothing I say is good enough to compliment this clip. Thanks for sharing it Claude. :-)
Damn…if more commercials were like that I might actually watch some of them.
No joke.
Claude,
As usual, you’re right on with your review.
It’s just too bad you have to waste almost the whole two minutes watching some kid run around in field, followed by some weird locker room and high school football footage that just came out of nowhere for me.
It started to get a little better when it got to the footage of Partrick Willis in college and training [do you know who the actor was that played PW? He looks a lot like the actual guy]. At that point in the video, I was still kind of like, “What the f— is Claude talking about?” Then the DuraCell battery logo appeared on a stark black background and I got goose bumps. The whole thing made sense. The little kid was probably running to the store to get batteries because the ones his family had went dead because they weren’t duracell.
The psychologist comment was meant for old coach (Lombardi). The expert, Lol.
Got you crabs. I guess the comments are all over everywhere bro.
I repeat. Mr Crabs has meaty claws.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifE6XkqMX9g&feature=youtube_gdata_player
WOW!!! Is this Herm Edwards little brother? I have a feeling some on here believe like this guy does, that the coaches really do watch their videos and believe they truly had something to do with the outcome of the game. This is THE total armchair qb. Frickin hilarious
md – That was frickin hilarious!! Thanks
ROFL!
wow… hypertension? lol sucks to be a cowboys fan.
I wouldn’t worry about it 23 unless Harbaugh has him sit.
i think harbaugh is a little weird but i dont want any one else coaching the 9ers
coach – Fair enough.
Is this two different 23 Jordans or is it a multiple personality disorder?
Rocket,
Yes and yes.
Or maybe there’s a medicated, and an unmedicated, J23.
Alex Smith has been better than most fans appreciate. His record as a fourth quarter quarterback and his accuracy in the red zone several years ago told you that. However, during most of the time he’s played for the Niners, the Niners have had bad offensive lines. Payton Manning would not have been a Hall of Fame quarterback behind the lines that have tried to protect Smith except perhaps the current one. Quarterbacks are far less accurate when they’re on their backs or running for their lives. Although Singletary was the worst coach in 49ers’ history (absolutely worst tactically and in game clock management, horrible public displays of lack of cool), he saw the problem and drafted as first rounders Iupati and Davis, both of whom are paying off now (although Davis took a long time!). Nolan and Singletary were not good head coaches; except for Norv Turner, they hired bad offensive coordinators who didn’t help Smith one bit. Smith has an offense now that can capitalize on his strengths without exposing his weakness–he doesn’t have a cannon and has, for far too long, not been accurate on too many throws His work with throwing guru Tom House brought a more traditional overhand throwing motion that’s more accurate than his erratic motion of the past. He’s still not close to the most accurate throwers in football, Aaron Rodgers and Payton Manning, but he’s much improved. He also has better receivers this year than he had in many years past and is not having to learn a new offensive system. He’ll complete 65% or more of his passes this year, but he’ll never be a great long passer because he has only average arm strength.
But the guy coming up behind him doesn’t have that problem. If he can become an accurate thrower, Kaepernick will be the Niner version of RGIII for many years to come.
“He’ll complete 65% or more of his passes this year, but he’ll never be a great long passer because he has only average arm strength. ”
Who says (besides fans) that AS only has average arm strength? I say he is above average by a good deal. Throwing it hard makes it hard for the WR’s to catch the balls too you know. Given how we had 5-7 drops depending on how you viewed it last night, a QB who throws hard is a major liability on this team.
Look at John Elway and Joe Montana. JM is way better. Even though he lacked the cannon arm of John Elway. Arm strength is really over rated in the NFL. Smart/decisive/accurate (not limited to chest high accuracy, but throwing it low to prevent your WR from becoming yesterdays news with a FS in the area is accurate as well) QB who knows when to take the risk and when not to will win more than not. Judging from AS’s 6 comebacks last year, I think he knows when to take the risk. And from his career low 5 Int’s he knows when not too.
Grant i completely agree with you with your statement about Alex Smith. The Lion game by far was one the best games for Alex Smith and he played with complete control of the offense. Alex could have had a 300 yard passing game if his reciever would just catch the ball! Go Alex and the Niners