SANTA CLARA — Alex Smith spoke at his locker Thursday afternoon. Here’s what he said about his injured finger, and the perception that he has lost confidence.
Q: After the Seahawks game, there were a couple of national stories written about you and your confidence.
ALEX SMITH: How’d they say it is?
Q: Not good.
ALEX SMITH: Oh, OK.
Q: They said your confidence was shaken in that game. What’s your reaction to that?
ALEX SMITH: I think people are just reading into a lot of different stuff and have no idea of what’s going on around here. My confidence is no different than it was a week ago, than it was a month ago, than it was a year ago. No different. Games change week-in and week-out. There are people who expect the same thing over and over again. That was a good defense we played on Thursday night. We played them on a short week. Look at what they did against a lot of good quarterbacks this year. Look what they did against Aaron [Rodgers]. They beat Tom Brady. Look at what they did against [Tony] Romo. I think people are thinking…I don’t know what they’re thinking. [My confidence is] no different.
Q: How about your finger? How is that doing?
ALEX SMITH: Getting better. Getting better every week. It’s just something you deal with. It’s not something I think about a whole lot out there, or try not to.
Q: Is it able to improve given that you have extra time off this week?
ALEX SMITH: For sure. Not having to do a ton with it, letting it rest over the weekend was nice.
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In other news: Said National reporters to take to Twitter to remind the 49ers beat reporters that their articles were about HARBAUGH not having confidence in Alex Smith, not Alex Smith losing his OWN confidence. Big difference. Grant – Which reporter posed the question as if Alex has lost his own confidence?
@CamInman RT @MikeSilver: “did we question his confidence, or coaches’ confidence in alex? Pretty sure it was the latter bro” > Valid point
It was Matt Barrows.
Those Sac Bee boys!!!
Mike in SF,
Good stuff – thanks for posting!!!
This is not story-maker at all. What Panda did last night however is. And this coming from a non-Giants fan.
Reporter – “How is your finger Alex?”
Alex – “Take a good look at it.”
Lol
AS says
I think people are thinking…I don’t know what they’re thinking
Come on Alex, tell us how you really feel. Use that as motivation, become more accurate, go through 3rd and 4th reads, don’t panic, develop better field vision, and start throwing to open receivers.
Maybe you haven’t lost confidence Alex but some of the faithful have lost confidence in you.
Just the ones who didn’t have any to begin with because they are fixated on passing yards.
Maybe you haven’t lost confidence Alex but some of the faithful have lost confidence in you.
Who cares?
Well said!
And a brand of offensive football that wants a big arm, throw it deep QB on every single possession. Oh if only we could have the glory days back!
Bring on Jim Drukermiller!
Unlike what JH said he wouldn’t do. He didn’t exactly say that his finger wasn’t bothering him. We needed to ask him if his finger is affecting his play? Is it bothering him? Did it affect his play these last few weeks? Let’s see if Alex can make ALEXCUSES much like the Smithers can. Hofer said his finger is giving him problems. I guess thats good enough. After all, he is related!
“I think people are thinking…I don’t know what they’re thinking.”
Quote of the year from AS!
dot, dot, dot?!?! AHHHH!!! I was hoping he’d let us have it!! ALMOST!! Almost.
@23J
To AS’ credit; He makes no excuses. Never has. I don’t believe he ever will.
Now as far as the AS supporters? Oh well (lol).
AES,
I don’t knock him for that. He doesn’t make excuses. He just continue to say that he left a lot out there and that on all the throws that he misses, he’s gotta hit those throws. Unfortunately, he continues to miss those handfull of throws every game. I realize that every QB missed throws every game. He just seems to miss more often (maybe because he throws less) and he just seems to miss the ones that hurt( Like6 -9touchdowns this year). Also, his are not just the bad throws, its also the throws that he does not make.
But…..he doesn’t miss more often. You get the hard facts thrown in your face by Rocket, Claude, et al, literally every single day, yet you cling to this delusion that he’s inaccurate.
I will give you the criticism about “the throws he does not make”. I want to see him be a bit more trigger happy too…
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/jim_trotter/10/18/49ers-survive-seahawks-thoughts/index.html
Here is one of them. This guy sounds familiar. Sounds just like a certain stud on this blog. Now I don’t like blowing up people’s heads but it rhymes with. Finermd. Wheeeew! This sucks. I just wished our qb would just become consistent.
Patience grasshopper!!
Yeah. But you have to admitt. Smith doesn’t look as comfortable as last season so far. I thought he’d be a lot more comfortable and consistent starting the season. Lets see. Tbd in your words. Wheeew!
MD,
Another national indictment of our lack of a QB. Saying what we’ve aseen for years. there will be no super bowl with this guy. What a waste of a defense!
Trotter will be labled a hater immediately.
Waitwaitwaitwaitwaitwait. Hold up. Hold up. If I may interject. AngusinCanada, are you insinuating that Alex is an accurate passer?!?!
Guap, he is by ALL accounts and stats.
I don’t know, Hof. That’s a tough pill to swallow ma’ man. When I think of Alex Smith, I don’t think of accurate passing. We can split hairs and spin this every which-a-way, but I don’t have the energy for it. I think I’ve been here long enough for folks to just agree to dissagree with me and move on, LOL! But it’s not a knock on him. I just don’t think Alex is as accurate as some of you on here think. From my account ;)
El Guapo, Augusin,
You know as well as I know that when JH said smith was accurate before he brought him back last year, we thought that was the biggest joke in the history of this blog. Alex smith has NEVER been accurate. I don’t know what stats Hofer is talking about. This man still overthrows running backs wide open in the flat. He can’t accurately throw a 4 yard out to Crabtree so that Crabs can get some YAC. I dont want to get started on the deep ball. Stats don’t tell you about Alex Smith. watching him play tells the story.
If I hadn’t seen the stats myself, I wouldn’t have guessed they were as good as they are. We, me included, focus on the misses, it skews our perceptions.
He’s got issues, no doubt, but they’re more decision making related than physical, imo.
I hear ya Jords. I see the same thing. Well then, AngusinCanada. As it pertains to Alex. Seems like I’ve been doing more “focusing” than admiring this season. I hate to piss n moan about Alex, but damn. I’m just growing very weary of his inconsistencies. But like Hof said , “Patience grasshopper!!”. I’ve been waiting for 8 seasons now … one more ain’t gonna hurt. Ba-DOOM-pssh!! LOL!
@Hofe
This is a prime example of how stats are deceiving.
While the numbers/stats show that AS is completing passes.
They fail to show that some of his passes (although caught) are not leading his receivers where they can catch passes in stride to utilize momentum.
Some time ago a poster here said that AS purposely throws the ball high to MC because that’s where he likes to catch it. Really? Please!
Others say that AS puts the ball perfectly in VD’ numbers, and most of the time he has.
If this theory is right, then AS has to be the most accurate passer in the NFL. But even the most staunch AS supporters know better (lol).
Hofe, AS still needs to become more accurate (IMO leading his receivers in stride) to reach the next level.
When it comes to trying to use stats to convince me that AS is an accurate passer, I must yield to Justin Smith: “Stats are for losers.” (lol)
GO SFGIANTS!!!
Stats are not deceiving.
Yes they are.
Example:
If a QB has a ball bounce off a receiver’s hands that should have been a catch, and falls into a DB’s hands for an INT, guess who is credited with the INT?
Right, the QB.
Example:
If a receiver has a pass thrown to him and it touches the tips of his fingers on an all out jump or dive, guess who get’s blamed for a drop?
Right, the WR.
AES
Please actually analyze the game for once in your life. The times MC drops the ball, it not high. He almost always drops balls that perfectly thrown. As a QB, guess where I’m throwing the ball then to ensure it is caught?
And if you don’t think a QB can pruposely throw to a particular spot, you don’t know.
*it is not high*.
How many high passes has MC dropped? I can’t recall one. There is something to that.
BS,
High balls go off of receivers fingertips and often turn in to interceptions. High balls also leave receivers exposed in the rib cage area. Receivers don’t like getting upended either if they have to jump. Crabtree is often animated and irritated because Smith often puts the ball in places where Crabtree can’t catch it in stride and run. Your analogy is quite shallow.
Yes, Alex always throws it to the perfect spot. He threw it to the Seattle defender last week because Gore prefers stripping the ball to actually catching it. It just didn’t work out that time.
DS,
If Alex thinks MC is best catching high balls, why did he continuously throw them at his feet in the biggest game of the year?
BSillicious44367,
Can you take a step back in your spaceship and read how dumb your comment was? Talk about football knowledge???? Wow.
Little P and 23 whomever
Go away. Not needed
Jack
MC was covered. One 3rd down pass in particular (the last offensive play of the game think) MC was covered, and AS threw a ball that could not be Int, hoping that a PI gets called. Had he thrown it anyplace else, it could have been picked off, and the game ends. As it turned out, in hindsight, AS should have thrown it risking the Int since that was the last play for the Niner offense (KW fumbled the punt).
Also, if a QB is going to miss a pass, it is always better that it hit the ground rather than sail over the WR’s head. If it hits the ground at his feet it is just an Incompletion. If it sails over the head, it can be a Int. Much more damaging. So, I think AS generally throws low to avoid that possibility.
Most of AS balls at the feet are basically throw aways. Guys who are covered or had he thrown the ball chest high would lead the WR into a crushing hit by a defender (how often have you seen that by the way? They guy knows how to protect his WR’s.).
Better question for you is how come all of MC’s drops in the NO game (he didn’t even get open in the Title game) were perfectly thrown passes that weren’t high?
Look at all the times you say “Great catch MC!” the balls are high. He never makes great low thrown ball catches.
Be in La-La Land as long as you like. But there is something behind MC making the high catches pretty much every time, and him dropping the chest/waist high catches and him almost never getting the low passes. You don’t like my explaination, come up with one of your own.
23
Can you check my ships engines? They aren’t working. Just stick your head in there to see if you can ID anything wrong, while I turn it on.
@DS
I will actualloy yield my answer to 23J. He just gave you a keen insight on why it’s not a goos practice to throw the ball high.
Try to learn something for once (lol).
BS,
I’m not going anywhere. Get used to it. I know you like to think that you are important here, but nobody really cares. According to you, every mistake Smith makes actually has a brilliant strategic initiative behind it. Every ball is thrown perfectly, and every sack and INT are on the line and receivers. It’s amazing that nobody tried signing Smith when he was a free agent. It’s amazing that he was actually a free agent, you never see NFL teams let their starting QBs’ test free agency. I’m guessing that you will try to swap your food stamps for a #11 jersey and a pair of milky blue contact lenses to use as a Halloween costume this year. Then again, you probably have that costume on right now.
BS says “Can you check my ships engines? They aren’t working.”
1. Nobody wants to check your engines.
2. Tell us something we don’t know.
Big P, why do the haters keep bringing up the offseason free agency thing over and over again? Have we not established on the blog that no one was willing to take a look at Smith because everyone and their dog knew he would end up in SF? If you know otherwise or have some literature to support your arguement, please provide the link. Otherwise its just hearsay.
FDM,
Hate is threatening people with physical violence, you should know this better than anybody. You didn’t establish anything. The entire NFL still rolls their eyes at the situation. Everybody knows that Harbaugh wanted Manning, which is why Smith visited Miami. Smith claimed that he was in the loop about the Manning chase and looked forward to competing, yet he visited the Dolphins anyways. Why did he visit the Dolphins if he was so confident about competing with Manning?
Big P says “The entire NFL still rolls their eyes at the situation. Everybody knows that Harbaugh wanted Manning, which is why Smith visited Miami.
Are you part of the entire NFL, how do you know this? Again, is this your opinion or is it actually true, you need to provide some facts to back that up Big P.
Big P says “Everybody knows that Harbaugh wanted Manning, which is why Smith visited Miami. Smith claimed that he was in the loop about the Manning chase and looked forward to competing, yet he visited the Dolphins anyways. Why did he visit the Dolphins if he was so confident about competing with Manning?
Maybe he visited the Dolphins based on his agents advice so that when it came to signing a deal, he had some leverage to get that extra million he eventually got as well as the added year. I believe the original offer on the table was 2 years 13 million. Then I think it ended up being 3 year, 22.5 million.
http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/7715336/2012-nfl-free-agency-san-francisco-49ers-alex-smith-agree-new-contract-sources-say
See Im not saying the entire NFL, Im going off what was reported, insted you make claims that the NFL says this. Do you work for the NFL?
You haters need to start supporting your arguments with facts or simply state, this is what you think. These claims that you make are just hot air out of your 2 hole.
FDM,
He didn’t leverage anything, they gave him a little extra to soothe his hurt feelings after Manning turned them down.
Barrows also delivered this nugget in his blog: “Smith, according to sources, is upset at the 49ers, perhaps not because the monetary offer they made him – reportedly $24 million over three years – but because of the job security it provides. Smith felt the 49ers made a commitment to him as their future starter that was not reflected in the contract offer.”
This was reported after Smith had previously claimed that he was happy with the contract on the table. He went to Miami and their owner didn’t want to pay him $8 million a year because they felt he was very similiar to Matt Moore. “Ross said 49ers quarterback Alex Smith wanted to play in Miami, but he could not justify paying $8 million annually when Matt Moore – already on the roster with comprable production – could be the starter.” Yeah, great leverage, especially when the Niners can cut him after each season of the contract with a minimal cap hit. At the end of the day, if you don’t have anything to hide, you don’t wear hoodies at midnight to evaluate Manning. Actions speak louder than words.
BigP
U know JH. He is not a disclosing extra info type of guy. So he had plenty to hide. He knew the wet dream ESPN was having following PM around like he was driving a white bronco. so imagine if they spotted JH at duke the 11 pm sportcenter would have a lead “Manning to the 9ers” and it would create a distraction. Had AS signed the contract on the table instead of “testing the waters” this whole thing would have been moot
Little Pee
How about you learn to grow up and graduate from that pre-school in Danville and go to Elementary School.
Bulls spit is worth more than you. Literally.
AES
If you are referencing anything 23 writes as “keen insight” that tells me a lot about you.
FDM
Big P has been obsessed with this stupid PM thing insisting that the Niners were in the running to offer PM a lot more money than they have to AS and a number close to the amount he got in Denver.
He has this silly link, that somehow, every Niner beat writer in the bay area has never heard of, or investigated. Yet it is reliable. Yeah, right.
To date DS, they will cling to the Manning thing and speculation to what the Niners coaches are thinking til the end of time. Its called desperation.
I have asked this question for weeks to the haters and not one has come to the fore front and answered it.
If Smith is inaccurate, cant throw deep, can’t throw people open, can’t win it with his arm, why are teams not stacking the box with 10 guys and forcing Smith to throw it on every single down?
FDM
“If Smith is inaccurate, cant throw deep, can’t throw people open, can’t win it with his arm, why are teams not stacking the box with 10 guys and forcing Smith to throw it on every single down?”
They are doing that. You just have to be at the game to see it.
Big P,
Tell FDM= Freaking Dumb Man, that he just got owned. That is checkmate FDM. Big P just laid the whole scenario out for you. If Peyton Manning signs with the Niners along with Alex Smith, who on the blog thinks Alex Smith was going to get 7 millions dollars a year to back Manning??? You would have to be completely out if your mind. Alex Amith would’ve been lucky to get 2 million to back up Manning. Alex Smith was not going to be here.
Leverage??? Alex Smith had not had any leverage in contract negotiations since he was a rookie.
23welcher, all I hear is tears. The Manning thing never happened cause the organization was smart enough to not give up all its depth and pay a now 36 yearold “average” QB 90 million. How much better is DEN. Are they SB bound, not right now they are not.
Alex Smuith is here, he is JH’s guy, deal with it or go find another team. 31 other flavors to chose from. Buy now!
Big P,
That’s funny. BS puts its foot in its big dumb moth again by saying that Matt Barrows is a bay are beat writer that nobody knows. Look up Sacbee.com BS. Now you see why I gave the alien the nickname. The Alien really tries hard up here with the blog. The Alien thinks that quantity is quality. The alien thinks that it knows 49er football. The Alien really is an Alien!!!!
FDM
I don’t think Denver has even beaten a team that they couldn’t beat last year yet. So how much better is Denver? And how much more money will those extra 1 or 2 wins cost them compared to an “average” QB?
How cute!
It’s wuss boy #2! How does it feel to be both a welcher and a wuss?
BS,
You are here because you have alienated everybody else in your life. Go watch some Star Trek or attend a Star Wars convention and be thankful that my taxes help pay for your government cheese.
BOS9er,
You just made my point for me, they did have something to hide, from Alex Smith. Yes, Smith could have signed the contract and said he was happy with the offer, but obviously wasn’t. He thought he was worth more money and a longer commitment and it turns out he wasn’t. They weren’t even willing to franchise him.
FDM,
Ask yourself, why were the Niners unwilling to make Smith any higher than the 20th highest paid QB?
Mike Sando of ESPN says: “Coach Jim Harbaugh called Smith “elite” and promoted him for the Pro Bowl last season. Supporters could always point to Smith’s No. 9 ranking in NFL passer rating for 2011 (90.7 set a career high for him) even while Smith and Harbaugh discounted raw stats as a meaningful way to measure quarterback performance.
That was all fine, but money trumps talk and stats. And when Smith became a free agent last offseason, the 49ers let him test the market, something teams almost never allow franchise quarterbacks to do. Smith ultimately commanded a game manager’s contract from the 49ers, a three-year deal giving the team an out after only one season.
Despite that No. 9 ranking in passer rating, Smith ranks 20th among NFL quarterbacks in compensation for this season. That salary ranking lines up closely with Smith’s No. 22 ranking last season in Total QBR, the metric ESPN developed to take into account a fuller measure of a quarterback’s contributions.
Players with high NFL passer ratings and relatively low QBR scores generally aren’t asked to carry their offenses. They’re efficient passers, but not the most valuable quarterbacks. They’re more apt to sign modest contracts.”
BS sure gets into your head Big Piss. Wish I could do that.
Go run off and find more BS articles that nobody besides yourself give a crap about. Then try to throw it in our faces.
Xev,
Go back to your box.
Lol, you sure laugh alot to your own comments, and so do the rest of us in seeing you say all year you are all in, but really its just comemnt after comment saying the complete opposite, lol is definatley accurate.
FDM,
The village idiot that wants to pick fights with people on the blog. lol Tough man !!!
Neal, have another cup of coffee or maybe a downer to relax yourself. Your a bitter person.
Being bitter is an emotional state, being a liar is a character flaw.
Big P,
FDM is technically not a liar because he doesn’t remember the lie he told. He’s got ROMNESIA!!! Bwahahahahahahaha!
BigP – Here’s the link I promised you. You’ll need to skip about 700 posts to get what you want.
http://49ers.pressdemocrat.com/2012/03/inside-the-49ers/niners-sign-qb-josh-johnson-to-2-year-contract/
Crab,
Hahahahha! That is funny sh$%! That dude is such a tool. You know damn well he remembered saying it, he just didn’t think somebody would find it.
“ALEX SMITH SAYS HE HAS NOT LOST HIS CONFIDENCE”. I believe that. You can’t lose what you never had.
AS will throw for under 190 yards and leave his team in a dog fight. However with the defense and running game leading the way they will squeak one out. 20-16 Niners.
Bayareafanatic:
A few seasons ago I was countering one of your posts on Alex Smith by saying that there was no way to assess Smith’s true talent because of the poor Niner coaching.
Your response was, “What’s his record?”.
So, by your standard, since the start of the 2011 season, Alex Smith is the best QB in the NFL!!!
Are you surprised at the change of tune?
The anti-Smiths will only use stats that fit their argument at that point in time.
Like Bill Parcells always use to say, “you are what your record says you are”.
Dr.
Some comments are made out of frustration. It’s human nature. Yes Smith is winning. Yes this is way better than two years ago.
But we also have to recognize where we are as a team and our opportunity to win. We have to ask ourselves what type of a window we have to stay on top.
Lastly we have to ask, do we have a franchise QB?
Last year we hid our QB’s league low production with the baddest defense on the planet and its record amount of turnovers. We knew it couldn’t be sustained.
To sustain our dominance, the offense was going to have to pick it up. All I heard from the Smithers during the off season was that Smith would be better. All arrows up. Second year under Harbaugh, better weapons, better Oline. Hell, people even threw out stats. Ten more TD’s a thousand more yards.
Now it’s back to all the old excuses. ” Harbaughs system doesn’t require a QB to throw for all those yards. Or they say, ” look at his record “. We’ve all heard this garbage.
Bottom line, we can win with Smith, but this season having patched all of our weaknesses, the one is even more glaringly obvious. More of the same from Smith. It will win now during the season, but it won’t get us to the promise land.
Bayarea says “We have to ask ourselves what type of a window we have to stay on top”.
You just pay for your tickets and watch the games and cry like you do after win and every loss like they are the same when it comes to Smith.
The organization will do what is necessary to win. Your tears and whinning about Smith has played its course. Leave it up to the professionals.
Funny thing.
Before last year, we weren’t on top. Now we are, and look who is not enjoying it. Already looking forward to the next streak of losing for a decade are we?
Also, look at who the QB, and leader of the team is who got us up there. But he doens’t matter at all. What a joke.
Hey Smithers, I have a question for you. How much better would this team be if it got consistent, above average play at QB?
I’ve said this before. The Niners are a hard team to beat because of defense, running game, special teams, and solid coaching. AS is the weak link on offense and is being managed by the coaching staff not to make mistakes.
Nick
Im not a smither but please allow me:
MUCH BETTER, just like NE would be much better if they had an above average secondary. And BAL would be better if they had a good QB and all of their players wern’t injured.
U see when u take a weak link (every team has them) and replace it with a strength OBVIOUSLY ur team gets better.
Now Nick I have a question for U, 2 actually.
1 How reasonable is it to expect elite players at every position?
2 Which NFL team would u swap rosters with right now (all 53 players faults and all included)?
BoS9er,
You missed my point. I wanted to bring up the flaw in Smither’s argument that criticizing Alex Smith is equivalent to ‘hating’ the team. That’s nonsense.
Nick I hear you, but constantly dumping on him doesn’t serve any purpose because right now there is no better viable option. Every team has flaws including ours. I dont want to speak for all the smithers but what annoys me is the giddines that some on here express when we loose or AS plays poorly just so that they can say “ha told u so” That i believe is hating. Critisizing the flaws on ur team is not as long as its constructive. Saying Alex sucks is pointless. Saying I wish alex would be more poised out of the pocket or go through his progressions better is more constructive. However when the haters get going the discourse goes waaaay down and we all start bickering
Bos9er
Well said. There are many more games to play. Let’s see how things go. I’m hoping that we see more of the type of QB play we saw against the Bills.
I do too. Im not sure we’l see it this week with their good Pass d but by the end of the year we should have a better idea. and its not like we can do anything about it now
Bay,
So then what do you propose they do about it? That’s what leaves me smh when I read the Alex Smith sucks comments. Jordan has gone full Kap after ripping him in preseason, you don’t think it’s time for Kap yet but continue to complain every week about Smith. What do you want them to do? Whether you like it or not, this is what they have. Smith is the best option on the roster. No amount of whining and complaining will make Kap magically acquire the wisdom of a 5 year vet. Smith has had ups and downs this season, but the team is 5-2. The passing yards won’t be what you want them to be because that is not how this team plays. They win ugly. That’s just the way it is.
Rocket,
I never ripped Ck. I may have felt like Josh was better, still do. But I wasn’t high on Kap until I saw him play. Saw his composure in real games. Saw his speed and a more accurate arm on most of the throws he’s had. Keep cheering for Smith and getting the same minimal results from a declining player. Ill be here to remind you again how bad he is in Tuesday.
What specifically about CK did you like in “real games”?
Hofer
He liked that he wasn’t Alex Smith
Jordan,
In the preseason you repeatedly said Kap couldn’t read defenses, was a pick waiting to happen and you even said they should trade him.
You like him now because JJ isn’t here. I’m not trying to pick on you dude, but you have been really vocal on here the past couple of weeks and you need to step back a bit. Smith is the starter and should be unless he gives them reason to bench him. Winning games is the goal and he is doing that. If he keeps them from doing that in the future, you will get your wish, but I will say, be careful what you wish for.
You also need to understand something: I don’t cheer for Alex Smith. I cheer for the 49ers. Smith is the QB of the 49ers so I want him to do well and will address falsehoods that get posted in here about his performance. However, I also accept that he is limited in some areas as a QB and will likely never achieve elite status. I’ve always seen the good and bad in Smith and will continue to do so, while hoping he succeeds and the Niners win a SB. That is the difference between you and I. You’d rather see him fall flat on his face so you can believe you were right rather than see the team win with him at QB. That is what I object to when I read your posts Jordan.
AS has been both good and bad. Let’s just see if his last couple of weeks was more injured finger or if he actually has regressed. There are 9 games left with a bye week thrown in so plenty of time to continue this QB analysis. He can go either north or south. I know the blamers don’t want to hear this, but I tend to believe he will be more north with his healed digit out of the way. TBD.
hof
If AS “sucks” and we still make the playoffs and then he is great in them and we win, nobody will care about the regular season.
Cut Alex, that’s what I propose. Get rid of him, send him to Jacksonville…oh waiot, THEY DON’T WANT HIM AND NEITHER DOES ANYONE ELSE!
Ales Smith is the worst bust in the history of the NFL.
MD,
I’m going to repost this because I think it was so well written. The writer never disparages Smith. He’s just pointing out the obvious. Uses many points that myself and others have brought up.
Lotta validity to what he says and the points he makes. So before many of you get up in arms again, ask yourself what the number one goal is. I know what my number one goal is when it comes to my 49ers….
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/jim_trotter/10/18/49ers-survive-seahawks-thoughts/index.html
The best piece of this article:
“At the risk of stating the obvious, the 49ers coaching staff didn’t trust Smith to make a play in that situation.”
Maybe if Trotter watched a few more 49ers game he would know that they would rather play for a FG then to risk a turnover in those situations. I said this yesterday, they are all about points and limiting turnovers. Listen to JH’s press conference. He does not care for stats much, only the ones that identify points and turnovers. This ultimately dictates the playcalling.
This notion of trust is absolutely ridiculous. If they did not trust him, they would not play him. You cannot mask anything in the NFL.
My question again to any hater, why are not teams not stacking the box on every single play with 10 men, forcing Alex to throw it?
Dude you said you were a coach. Said nothing about being a smart one.
If for once you could answer a question, you may not look so inept.
FDM
If they don’t trust him, they are stupid as hell. Tied with best record in the NFL since they arrived. And he’s started/finished every game.
I don’t think they are stupid as hell. But some here…that is a different story.
DS, back up a minute. How do you mask a QB who cannot throw the ball? At some point in any game, your QB has to throw the ball and move the chains. So for the last 21 games, Smith has been shelttered by a defense and special teams that has been able to move the chains and win games? That is a magic trick I would love to see.
They aren’t passes FDM. That’s the thing man.
The government has some sort of lens that distorts reality and the NFL uses this lens. But only for Niner games. And only with our offense on the field. And only with AS as the QB. They switch lenses whenever CK/ST/JJ/Nate Davis/etc are in as the QB. Or when the other team is playing offense.
Anyway, the passes aren’t passes! But forward laterals. And the haters are so upset all the time because. forward laterals are not legal under the rules.
Well, only the haters go to the games, because they say they do. And only they can see the truth because they aren’t liquored up, and they can see the whole field, so their evaluations are spot on every time.
So, after 8 years of seeing forward laterals instead of passes, wouldn’t you get upset?
The road to peace is thru understanding FDM. Why can’t me, you, others simply understand that they are seeing the truth while everybody else can’t? The agony of it all.
>>At some point in any game, your QB has to throw the ball and move the chains
Nope, not our team. Don’t you know it’s our defense and ST that win games? The defense strips the ball from our opponent at midfield. After 3 straight Smith incompletions, Akers comes in and kicks the 3. This exact thing happens several times a game and we end up winning 9-3 or 12-7
Then Harbaugh calls Alex “clutch” after each game and should be fired.
Trotter is a great writer and there is probably some elements of truth to what he said, but the Niners played this game the same way they’ve played countless others. How many times have we seen them run it in the redzone to play for the FG? It happens regularly; it wasn’t specific to this game. It also made sense to a degree because a FG there put them up by a converted TD. That’s Coaching 101. You have to make sure you come away with at least a FG and the way the defense was playing they believed that would put the game away. Guess what? They were right, and they’ve usually been right over the past two seasons.
Trotter looked at the Giant game, just like Mike Silver did and formulated an idea that Smith all of a sudden was losing the faith of his Coaches because he played so poorly in that game. If there is an overreaction hall of fame, that game against the Giants should go into it because it’s had a seismic effect on the views toward the Niners that one game in a 16 game season never should.
Rocket I agree somewhat. It’s not just the Giants game. He also references the Seattle game.
“If there is an overreaction hall of fame, that game against the Giants should go into it…”
Rocket, That game was very similar to the Minnesota loss. In both cases the opposition was able to be balanced offensively, their QB’s made the throws, and the offense was unable to capitalize on good early drives leading to turnovers.
Was there some overreaction, of course, but there is after almost every game. You have the Alex has to go crowd, and the QB shuffle crowd. The real issues that led to the loss are often lost in all the hoopla.
I am curious as to why everyone is so quick to dismiss Smith’s sprained finger as a contributing factor to his performances over the past two games?
I know Harbaugh’s comments are difficult to interpret, but I am not convinced it is a non-issue.
Bay,
Yes he does reference the Seattle game, but his feelings are based on what happened the week before against the Giants as much as the pick Smith threw against Seattle.
Jack,
The Giant game opened a completely new range of doubt about the Niners. All of a sudden fans and media alike were abandoning the thought that the Niners could win a SB when it was the exact opposite view a week prior after the win against the Bills. That is severe overreaction.
I agree with your comparison to the Viking game to a degree, but the Giant loss really got more negative attention than that one did and it’s coninued to resonate.
In both games the offense stopped running the football and panicked to a degree. I think we both saw that as a key to those losses along with Smith missing opportunities in Minny and throwing picks against the Giants. The defense in the Viking game allowed long time consuming drives while the Giants benefitted from TO’s and a big KR to open the second half.
So they really were different games in many ways, but the bottom line was the same in both: the Niners have to run the ball to be successful. It’ll be the same in Arizona.
AES* says:
October 26, 2012 at 10:20 am
@DS
I will actualloy yield my answer to 23J. He just gave you a keen insight on why it’s not a goos practice to throw the ball high.
Try to learn something for once (lol).
Sorry for the bad spelling.
Corrections: ‘actually’ and ‘good’
AES, seriously you are asking anyone to anknowledge 23welchers football knowledge as keen insight?
You should be on stage telling jokes in addition to your daily “all in” comments followed up with a complete flip flop 180 degress the other way. Hilarious stuff.
I know that 23J rubs many the wrong way. But look at his 9:24 am reply to DS about why it’s a bad idea for a QB to throw high.
FDM, can you decifer anything good/bad in his reply?
I found it to be a good reply.
I cannot take anything that guy says seriously and to be honest, its the same message of hate 99% of the time.
If you think its keen or insightful, good on you brother. I guess dumb people can say say intelligent things 1% of the time.
So FDM, why is it when you disagree with someone that you resort to name calling?
I can expect that from the likes of Prime, DS, and of course your cult hero oneniner. But I always thought you were better then this.
Oh well, to each his own.
I guess useing the word ‘accuracy’ has become a hot button word when describing AS.
If that makes me a flip flopper then I can live with that.
So let this make your day FDM. AS still has accuracy issues.
Sorry, I couldn’t find a stage when I wrote this.
AES
I don’t read his stuff. If I do, I must watch at least 2 hours of educational programming to gain back the lost intellect I had before I read his post.
And I know the risks of throwing high genius. But guess what? AS has thrown very few Int’s and his WR’s aren’t getting clobbered reaching for those passes.
Guess that means AS throws it high when he wants too. When the risks are low. If not, and he did it all the time because he just isn’t accurate, he’d have a ton of Int’s and his WR’s would be in med van after the game. None of that has happened.
NEWS FLASH
The 9ers are actually better offensively than they were last season, and we are still yet to play doormats StL Miami, and the historicaly awfulll NE secondary here is the link from Maiocco that proves it
http://www.csnbayarea.com/football-san-francisco-niners/niners-talk/Are-the-49ers-better-than-a-year-ago?blockID=793323&feedID=5936
Maiocco is right on, And don’t forget all the hand-wringing over the “much tougher”, “first-place” schedule we had this year. Looks like we are more than holding our own against it so far.