SANTA CLARA – Alex Smith spoke at his locker Monday afternoon. Here’s what he said.
Q: How do you rebound from a 26-3 loss?
ALEX SMITH: Definitely not right away – that’s not me. Waking up, thinking about it, replaying it. Obviously we’ve got to put this one away quick with a quick turnaround Thursday. Big division game.
Q: Do you like having a short turnaround after a loss?
ALEX SMITH: In some ways it’s nice. You can’t dwell on it. As a team you’ve got to move on.
Q: What do the Giants do in coverage that’s so vexing for you guys?
ALEX SMITH: Yesterday I thought we started well. Couldn’t end anything. Couldn’t finish anything well. Then we got down a couple of scores and we got one-dimensional. We gave our defense a short field. For me, the interceptions I threw late were the ones I thought about the most. It’s third down and you’re trying to make a play, but you’re just making matters worse. That’s what I was really kicking myself for.
Q: Were they dropping seven guys into coverage?
ALEX SMITH: That’s the thing. When they get a lead like that, they don’t have to bring pressure. They have a bunch of D-linemen who can get after the passer. They’re tough when they get a lead like that.
Q: Why did the first two drives stall right at the end?
ALEX SMITH: The first two? I thought we had good balance. We were moving it, mixing it up. We just didn’t capitalize down there. We had some third down situations where we couldn’t connect – the one tipped ball…I forget what the second one was, but moved it, changed field positions, got down there to kick the field. To only come away with three points, it was tough.
ME: You started the game passing more than usual, lots of shotgun formations (16 of the first 22 offensive plays. What was it about the Giants’ defense that made you guys think that was an effective way to attack them?
ALEX SMITH: Different reasons. One, we’re very conscious that they’re a good D-line. They knock down more passes than any D-line in the NFL. They’re all tall, they’re all long, they all put their hands up. So a little bit get back there and get away from them a little bit. Two, I thought we had good balance out of that formation. The week before we were running it well, even out of the shotgun. We wanted to continue that. We had good balance early, like I said. Just got away from it. Got down multiple scores, got one-dimensional and started forcing things and then it really got bad.
Q: You guys have played very well in your wins and very poorly in your losses. There have been some wild fluctuations. Do you see any reason for that inconsistency?
ALEX SMITH: A lot of reasons – there’s not one, for sure. It’s funny, offensively you turn on the film and it’s easy to ask questions about pretty much everything. None of it looked good. It wasn’t good enough. A lot of times that is the case with a loss. A lot of things played into it, but the turnovers were the nail in the coffin. You’re not going to overcome those, especially when you’re down. In some ways it is nice to have the short week. We’ve got to move on from this one and get ready for a big division game.
One observation: Smith said the offense had “good balance” out of shotgun formations in the first quarter. Greg Roman called 16 shotgun plays in the first quarter and 12 were passing plays. That is not good balance.
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interesting answer to shotgun question….to avoid the tipped ball syndrome
If that was the case they’d run shotgun on every pass with Alex’s late release point.
Yet he still had 3 tipped balls. The 1st one killed a drive and the other 2 were almost intercepted. Boleyn dropped the last one. The 1st tipped ball on 3rd and 2 1/2 from a perfect pocket. So you know it’s an issue but you still can’t avoid it? c’mon man!!!
I said it in TWO THOUSAND and FIVE, SIX, SEVEN, EIGHT, NINE, TEN, ELEVEN and now TWELVE: Alex Smith is a bust.
unfortunately, let’s go ahead and add THIRTEEN to your list. at this point i don’t know what he needs to not do anymore to give someone else a chance..
Red,
They knew this would be his last year. That is the reason why he got the contract that he did this year. After his mediocre season last year, Manning almost replaced him. There is NO may in he’ll that Smith will be a starting QB on this roster next year. JH can’t fix any more of Smiths game. What he has just isn’t enough.
you said that last year…you cant keep saying the same thing over and over again….grow up already……smith is the qb til coach says so…..do you not listen…..
He has a template of comments that are all the same. Ask him about JJ…
Funny how people that you’ve never seen here have said this since 1937 By God! True today as it was the day I said it!
Definitely multiple posters on this thing. Wish they’d get this under control.
Has harbaugh announced he’s benched smith yet……….not yet? well then come hell or high water Go Alex
“Definitely not right away – that’s not me. Waking up, thinking about it, replaying it.”
OK – this bothered me. I know it’s Monday and I’m in hypercritical mode, but still…NFL QB’s have to have a short memory when things go wrong. He has to be able to put things behind him quickly – from one play to the next play. If he throws a pick, he has to fuh-get-a-bout-et, and move on with the game plan like it never happened. HE CANNOT LET MISTAKES RATTLE HIM!!! He needs to focus on a picture where he’s decimating Seattle’s defense and run with that – the power of using positive mental imagery can do wonders.
No, I am not blaming the loss on Alex. I agree with several others who think Kaep was way over-used on Sunday – I put a lot of this on Roman. The play calling was odd – I don’t know if they were trying to outsmart the Giants by getting away from the power run and the things they do best, but it obviously did not work.
I also think the coaching staff needs to make up their minds with the QB – leave Alex in for at least 95% of the plays, or go with Kaep as the starter. Pick a QB and stick with it – this 75% Alex, 25% Kaep is no bueno. Bring Kaep in at WR, or on 3rd down if they offense is struggling, or in goal line situations if they need a change-up. But on 1st or 2nd down for no apparent reason makes absolutely no sense what-so-ever!!! No team (that I’m aware of) has ever had a successful season with a rotating QB situaiton. Rotating backfields yes – QB’s…..not so much.
Urgh!!!
+1000
Good vent…
Unless they are giving him a bigger and bigger role because they are going to make a switch at some point.
I think that’s what they’re trying to do, but I don’t agree with how they’re going about it. A lot of people compare this to when Walsh was rotating Montana in and out of the line-up. But, 1979/80 was somewhat of a throw-away season – Walsh could afford to experiment. This is not a throw-away season.
If they thought Kaep was ready, then they should have put him in as the starter at the beginning of the season. Trying to get him game-time experience without committing to him is unfair to both Kaep and Smith.
Alex gives them the best opportunity to win at this point and they need to stick with him as their starting QB until they’re ready to pull the trigger and make Kaep the full-time starter (whether it’s this season or next season). It’s creating a self-promoted QB controversy, which is crazy! Plus, the rotation is not helping Alex’s confidence and we all know he needs his confidence to be successful. His worst moments as a 49er have come when he played timid.
49erGirl,
He was in for only 4 plays until they were down 23-3. That is about the same as the previous 2 weeks.
9erGirl – What’s up sweety? Did you see the stolen Harbaugh transcript? :-)
Jack – thanks for the clarification. I still think the situations they brought him in on early were odd. The way the game was going something just didn’t feel right about it. It wasn’t just because they didn’t work – they didn’t feel right before the plays started. I didn’t think it was all that great against the Bills either (but I liked it against the Jets). Sorry I can’t give you an x’s and o’s breakdown of why I thought they were making a mistake(s) – just going off of what I felt at the time.
Crab – yes, I saw your transcript – very funny! Wish I was in a laughing mood today or I’d have enjoyed it more! Will hopefully have my sense of humor back tomorrow :-)
49erGirl,
you didn’t like the substitution because you saw that ugly 11 yard sack after the 55 yard pass to Moss. No Kap didn’t have any explosive plays while he was in. That 35 yard pass was a thing of beauty before the half. If we had made the FG, you would have felt differently.
You didn’t like the substitution because Kap didn’t have a heavy impact on the game in a positive way when he came in and because Smith played like crap. It’s natural because you are a fan of the team. I understand.
Know that Kap is a weapon and Alex Smith knows it as well. He knows that Kap does things that he can’t do. He respects coaches decision to play Kap. Kap is going to continue to play. He is not going to allow a blog or the fans to bench Kap. Kap is going to continue to play. Alex needs to perform better. Remember, no excuses this year!
“I still think the situations they brought him in on early were odd. The way the game was going something just didn’t feel right about it. It wasn’t just because they didn’t work”
9ergirl, thanks for calling it straight. Some just can’t look beyond their agendas.
JH thought the same thing and stated so in the presser!
What the rotation is doing is losing yards and/or down. Plain and simple.
Bring CK in on second down, lose distance and/or down. 3rd and a mile! Good idea.
Stupid.
Still having a hard time with this…WTF?
http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Elk-Grove-man-stabbed-near-Candlestick-3948115.php
txtree – That sucks, have you heard any more details? Niner fan stabing Niner fan?…….That’s sad man.
Nope, I live in Texas, so I was hoping to hear more about it, maybe Grant can follow up with the news dept?
Stabbing not stabing, spell check you idiot!
Txt – Good idea, I’m sure Grant is aware of the story.
How did you become Niner fan living with America’s team? Did you move from Cali?
Txtree – Thought you might enjoy this, based on your avatar.
http://www.tpwmagazine.com/archive/2006/dec/legend/
Grew up in Pacifica and Cotati…joined the USAF in 1979, got stationed in Texas my last post, job is here. Get to travel the world, work with some of the worlds finest, so no complaints….
Thanks for the link…
One of my co workers calls me old grizzly…so that my icon…
Grizzly – Right on thanks!
Tree…. Sounds like a gang thing. You’d be surprised at all of the thugs that come out to the games an tailgates. Not because they’re fans, but because its the cool thing to do,there are ladies everywhere, its a public place where you can drink, and start crap with other thugs. Growing up the way I did and where I did. It’s not hard to figure out. Clowns like this fueled by alcohol and surrounded by friends give them a sense of courage. You’d be surprised at how many of them couldn’t name more than 5 players on the team or what our record is. These idiots are trying to stay up with the loser raider fans. To be honest ill miss the stick but I can’t wait to start tailgating at the new stadium.
Looks like this has more to do with what gangs they hang with than it does what team they root for. Why else would the gang task force be involved in the investigation?
Hate it when they merge the two together like they’re related – trying to sensationalize the headlines because of the shooting last year at the preseason game against the Raiders.
When gang members kill each other in LA, do they print “Laker fan stabbed near Staples Center”?
There’s no more time to dwell on the Giants game. I agree with Harbaugh. The time for hand wringing and secod guessing is over. Let’s go on the SeaHawks game and kick some ass.
+1
Total agree Houston time for the Hawks. This is going to be another tough game. Hawks have a very good secondary and with Lynch pounding the ball they will be tough to beat.
“Hear, hear,” Houston!
Nooooooo Joe Buck’s doing Giants/Cardinals game right now! I can’t get away from this guy, he drives me nuts. Can’t stand him!
What the Buck? Maybe I’m the only one who dislikes this dude?
He’s a Cardinal fan. His dad called the Cardinal games for years.
Jacktoo – Thanks, I forgot about that! East coast bias everywhere! That’s some real Fox Sports b.s. putting a Cardinal homer in there.
Are you a S.F. Giants fan too?
Joe Buck can’t keep his mouth shut for 5 seconds! Anybody watchin Giants game? Sorry to talk baseball on football blog. Big game though Niner brothas.
Who’s the guy who sounds like Jimmy Dean doing the color?
I’d still rather have Kruk and Kuip: “Too much boiler…not enough shirt,”
“One observation: Smith said the offense had “good balance” out of shotgun formations in the first quarter. Greg Roman called 16 shotgun plays in the first quarter and 12 were passing plays. That is not good balance.”
However, that was when the niners moved the ball before stalling out. In the first quarter we dominated time of possession.
I understand why most people are jumping on Alex; because he played horribly after the first quarter. But I don’t hear the same anger towards the DB’s who couldn’t cover and the Dline and LB’s who could pass rush or stop the run, or the special teams who couldn’t cover kicks or Ackers who suddenly can’t kick, and the coaches who had a terrible game plan. The whole team stunk, not just Alex.
I hated that we didn’t run the ball against the Giants. It was succesful and we stopped.
I don’t like when Vernon is getting double covered we don’t use him to pull the coverage towards him and throw to other receivers. We just can’t seem to adapt very well on the fly. This applys to Alex and the coaches.
It seems that when things aren’t going well the energy level on the whole team drops. Maybe the team is a little softer than last years team.
What really concerns me is the lack of pass rush and the lack of take aways.
I am really beginning to wonder if this team is as good as last years.
The Seattle game is going to be a real gut check
“But I don’t hear the same anger towards the DB’s who couldn’t cover…”
That’s because some here are heavily invested in Smith losing. They dug themselves a bunker a couple years ago and can’t come out of it without losing face. They have to cheer for him to fail in order to prop up their own egos. It’s all about being proven right.
You’ll see this for the rest of the season. All Smith has to do is miss just one pass and you’ll see everything from fair critiques to batsh!t crazy people acting like they actually know what they’re talking about. :P
Wouldn’t worry too much about it. The whole team flopped hard. All three phases were bad.
the problem is that when oppose team impose their way in field and scoreboard, alex smith don’t have neither experience or stability for put the team on his shoulders because he is a system guy.
what makes special qbs like eli &peyton manning, tom brady, aaron rodgers, drew brees are they train every week for this situation when your gameplan don’t work and you have to keep cool against pressure and seek a weak spot on defense and being effective in process.
personally i don’t think alex smith has what it takes for be like them just because he has been playing to follow what they say to do instead of do what team needs to win and that really bothers me.
Alex Smith and BS are the same person, they just can’t admit, that they freakin sucked today and just move on. Why can’t he say that I was horrific and say that is not what a #1 draft pick in the entire NFL should play like. I will be better against the Hawks, I guarantee it.
49erGirl:
“If they thought Kaep was ready, then they should have put him in as the starter at the beginning of the season. Trying to get him game-time experience without committing to him is unfair to both Kaep and Smith.”
@49erGirl
Great points 49erGirl. Especially the “throw away” comment.
But I choose this section of your post because I happen to believe that Harbaugh is committed. He’s committed to use every weapon as much as possible.
He’s committed to using R.Moss, M.Manningham, M.Crabtree, FG, VD, KH, DW, the Jumbo package, Alex and CK7.
I believe that he will also use BJac and JMic James more sooner than later because he is committed. Harbaugh is committed to do whatever it takes to throw the defense into absolute confusion.
If he finds that one package will not work, I firmly believe he already has the next package ready to unveil.
Running is still our ‘meat and potatoes’ but special wrinkles seem to be a part of Harbaugh’ DNA (lol).
Running the ball to set up the pass is old school and every winning team’s formula not just this year’s 9er winning formula. They’ll go back to it and shelve the gimmicks that don’t work and never have!
Correction Hofe. They worked well until yesterday.
No need to panic, Harbaugh will find another way to package plays for CK.
And Harbaugh will also need to give CK a crash course on passing in the event that AS gets injured and misses any time.
The only way I see CK sitting out games is likely for the reason that Harbaugh wants him to solely concentrate on passing in practice.
AES, you don’t get it. There are absolutely no winning teams that platoon their QB! There is a reason…it doesn’t work! Yesterday and today all of the analysts were scratching their heads. GR is not in college football anymore and needs to go back to what works!
I don’t mind that they do it. I mind the frequency with which they do it. Once or twice a game would be fine.
A bunch of times when you see it isn’t working is a Singletary/Raye move.
“Once or twice a game would be fine.”
They did it 4 times in the first half, and his 3 plays netted them about 40 yards and an attempt to pull within 4 going into the half. By the time he got the majority of his snaps they were down 23-3 and grasping at anything to get the offense moving. This is great low hanging fruit.
Hoferfan67 says:
October 15, 2012 at 8:24 pm
AES, you don’t get it. There are absolutely no winning teams that platoon their QB! There is a reason…it doesn’t work! Yesterday and today all of the analysts were scratching their heads. GR is not in college football anymore and needs to go back to what works!
@Hofe
With all due respect. It does not matter if I get it or not. This is not about me. I’m merely defending Harbaugh’ committment to use every weapon at his disposal.
We gave Harbaugh ‘carte blanche’ and coined the phrase “In Harbaugh we Trust” and now after one ugly loss we are showing signs of wilting.
Harbaugh will not be influenced by or grouped in with how other teams operate. He will live or die by doing it his way.
AES, even coaches learn by their mistakes. Now on to Seattle…
As you said earlier; TBD
So if Harbaugh comes up with a pi$$ poor game plan and the Niners get exploited we are suppose to say it was the right move?
He said publicly it was a bad plan when asked about the offensive rhythm, specifically Kap. Nothing wrong with agreeing with him. The constant shuffling was horrible game plan, he admitted it.
Grant,
1. The weak offer to Smith.
2. The “evaluation” of Peyton Manning.
3. All those top secret practices in minicamps and before preseason.
4. Bringing in JJ to compete for a job.
5. bringing in all these weapons( toys, decoys) to distract opposing defenses and fans.
6.Not having Smith throw very much in the preseason.
7. Not having him throw to Moss at all in the preseason.
8. The trip by Smith to the footwork guru, confidence builder guy! Lol
9. Our conservative play on offense for most of the season.
10. Smith being defensive and throwing Newton under the bus when asked about throwing downfield or for more yardage.
11. Harbaugh declaring Smith the master of this offense.
12. Not activating Jenkins knowing full well that he is our deep threat. Smith didn’t throw deep to jenkins or anyone else all preseason.
13. Smiths reluctance to throw deep all regular season long up until last week against Buffalo.( please take a look at his throws, all poor spirals except the floater to VD.)
14. Alex being asked about his throws and having Smith respond by talking about his shoulder, whether or not his shoulder felt fine. (He wasn’t even asked)
15. JH bringing in Kap every time they need a deep jump ball in a game before the half.
16. Kap being slowly but surely integrated into this offense as the season progresses. Throwing the deep routes. ( often, not all the time)
17. Goodwin telling reporters that throwing the football really isn’t our game.
Grant,
I have a question that I’d like for you to ask Harbaugh and Alex Smith. Is Alex Smith having any problems or pain with his shoulder?
You must be salivating at the prospect. Froth most likely.