SANTA CLARA – Jim Harbaugh spoke in the defensive meeting room Monday afternoon. Here’s what he said about the 49ers 26-3 loss to the Giants.
Q: How do you think Alex Boone did at left tackle after Joe Staley got hurt?
HARBAUGH: Did fine. I don’t think any of us had our best day. It certainly wouldn’t be very human if it didn’t hurt today. But there’s no time. You’ve got to dust yourself off and ride. That’s our frame of mind.
ME: Why are you playing Colin Kaepernick so much? What are you hoping to get from him that you’re not getting from Alex Smith?
HARBAUGH: We’ve just been using Colin as an added weapon. We feel like we’re getting plenty of everything from Alex Smith.
Q: Frank Gore didn’t have any carries in the second half. Do you feel you should have gotten the ball to him more often in the running game?
HARBAUGH: Without going through each thing that you go back and look at – could’ve done that or would’ve done a different thing – certainly as coaches we go through a lot of those things, but I wish we would have had something better for the guys in certain situations. Offensively, pretty much every one of our opportunities on drives to put points on the board didn’t end the way we wanted them to. Whether it was just getting three points, or not making the field goal, or turning the ball over, or having a penalty or not having the right play call. Those things you look at, you scrutinize you go on and see if you can’t do a little better the next time.
Q: When you fell behind by two touchdowns at the beginning of the third quarter, do you guys scrap the plan and go into catch-up mode, or do you still stick with what you guys had envisioned for the game plan?
HARBAUGH: No, not until we’re down by three (touchdowns) late in the third quarter did we feel we needed to get into the no-huddle tempo to try to maximize your possessions and give yourself enough possessions to get the game won.
Q: The first two drives were good but they stalled near the red zone. Why did they stall?
HARBAUGH: Again, different things on each drive. We won’t go back and say, “Here’s where it was,” break it down play-by-play. We had two good drives to start the game – two 12-play drives – and we didn’t finish them like we would have wanted to. Offensively, every time we were seizing momentum it didn’t seem like we were able to keep hold of it.
Q: You guys gave up six sacks. Did you feel like the quarterbacks were under heavy pressure?
HARBAUGH: It was what it was.
Q: David Akers has missed 5 of his last 10 field goals. Are you not concerned by that? Do you have to sit down and talk to him and Brad Seely and see what’s going on?
HARBAUGH: Do I have to sit down and talk to David and Brad and see what’s going on? No, I have total confidence in David and I’m sure that we’ll make field goals.
ME: 15 of the first 21 offensive plays came from shotgun formations. Why did you decide to come out and play that way against the Giants?
HARBAUGH: That was part of the plan. It was what we felt would work. We felt there were some new wrinkles that we could apply and have them work. You take some risk. It didn’t work as well as the way we had foreseen.
Q: Your defense didn’t get much pressure on Eli Manning. Does that concern you?
HARBAUGH: Yeah, you’d like to get more obviously. Eli did a nice job; he really did. He got the ball out quick and he threw some very accurate passes. Statistically, yardage was fairly even. They did a better job capitalizing on their opportunities than we did.
Q: Will the team even watch the film of the Giants this week?
Harbaugh: We will go over it more and more on tape than watching the game because we’re going to have to move on right away to Seattle.
Q: Should have Tarell Brown gone for the ball against Victor Cruz on a key third-and-6 late in the first quarter?
Harbaugh: Cruz did a good job, ran a good route. And that happens, not just that time, but other times too.
Q: What has been the problem with your kickoff coverage team?
Harbaugh: I’m not going to really go through line by line. That’s our job to cover those kicks and get them contained in coverage.
Q: How do you put the Giants game behind yourself personally?
Harbaugh: Like I said, just dust off and let’s ride. We’ve got a ball game, we’ve got a football fight coming. And we’ve got to get ready for it.
Q: Were your guys fatigued at the end of that game? For three quarters the run defense was good, and then the Giants really seemed to gash you guys in the fourth quarter.
HARBAUGH: I didn’t sense that they were fatigued.
Q: Do you know why your run defense got gashed in the fourth quarter?
HARBAUGH: Mmm-uh (shaking head).
49ers RSS feed
Loading ...
Gotta use that weapon more. Unleash the beast! There will be no 35 yard ropes from Alex Smith. Get Kap more reps. He is a weapon!
23jordan, What cost the niners loss yesterday’s was their stupidity, Bad coaching and they themselves stopped the momentum right off the bat.. A. Smith was pefect throwing to different recievers in the 1st quater. A. Smith got them to the giants 27 yards and 3rd and 2 to go.. Alot of fans can’t understand why they put CK in , everything was going great down the field and harbaugh change the momentum they were doing? They had a good rhytm going.. they killed themselves.. Harbaugh and G. Roman should be blame for the wild cat play that didn’t worked all, because the Giants were waiting for them and they knew CK plays, they didn’t fool the Giants defense..
By putting in CK in the start they screw up.. and please whoever thinks that CK is weapon come on, he was the distruction in the 49ers offense yesterday.
I would love to see Harbaugh start this so called 49er weapon, and see how seattle seahawks beat the niners on thursday.
On the money here. If you simply rely on Alex and let him come through (i.e. 4th quarter 3rd down conversions to crabs two weeks ago even when 3rd and long) it keeps both momentum and builds confidence in the QB. If wildkap fails, now you put Alex in a tougher position and then blame him for the interceptions when throwing under duress from a worse position.
I mean what signals are you sending to your #1 QB? In a critical game, we have to pull you out and try something else to make sure we win this thing?
Weapons without a guidance system are just as likely to take you out as they are the opposition. CK doesn’t have it yet.
CK would get himself killed against Seattle. After yesterday, I don’t want another test of this weapon as a QB for a long, long time.
Amen, brother! I didn’t see the game, but I’ve read plenty about how they brought in CK every time we started to move the ball. What are they thinking, bringing him in after Alex completes a 55-yard bomb to Moss or each time we get into scoring range? Why mess with our rhythm? Hard to run an offense smoothly while rotating in and out your starting qb.
That was the worst sequence of all time after the 55 yard pass by the coaching staff. We had a real shot to still win, and they called those plays?
Ninerman is exactly right 100% thats wat i was sayin we r messing up the rythmn. Also aldon smith should only be a pass rusher.
“Weapons without a guidance system are just as likely to take you out as they are the opposition. CK doesn’t have it yet.”.
Ummmm, what do three INT’s say about Smith’s guidance system? Is it programmed to throw to the opposition? Child please.
49erman,
The Niners didn’t bring in Kap on 3rd and 2 from the 27 and the play failed. The Niners had smith in on 3 rd and 3 and Your man Alex Smith threw a pass to Crabtree that got tipped at the LOS while Smith had no pressure. End of drive.
The only time Kap hurt the team is when he took that 11 yard sack on 1st down after the pass to moss. Other than that, Smith killed several drives with picks including the 1st one that killed all the momentum we had. He threw a jump ball dead duck to delaney for a pick on 1st down!?????? WTF???
23jordan, unbelievable probably we where watching a different game all I know, is everytime Alex put the 49er team in teh position to go forward, they bring CK to kill the rhythm..He was the cost of the niners defeat yeasterday, the so called experiment ( wild cat ) that didn’t even fooled the Giants defense..After the 55 yards Moss catched , they brought in CK to kill the momentum..
By the way D. Walker and Alex Smith since Singletary era’s A. Smith don’t have any chemistry with D. Walker.. Celeck would be better TE for Alex to throw too, intead.
That was a dead duck for sure, but man I was screaming for Delanie to make a play on the ball, I thought he could’ve have easily caught the ball if not prevent the INT, just like Cruz did later in the game.
49erman,
Neither Celek or Delaney are great tight ends. Delaney has been blocking like a demon in this offense and in special teams. VD will struggle with his blockingbif his production tails off. Much like it did yesterday.
As far as Kap killing the teams rhythm, you are not looking at the facts. The 1st three drives of the game stalled because of plays from Smith not Kap. Kap played a few snaps in the 1st half and more in the 2nd.
BS-
Saying we had a real chance to win the game after the 55 yard pass to Moss is a real stretch. We hadn’t moved the ball all game through the air and at the rate Smith was piling up picks, he was probably going to throw another one.
You gotta give time for your quarterback to establish rhythm and set the tone of the game. Whether it ultimately becomes a running game or a passing attack. Smith started but never got that chance.
49erman,
Chemistry has nothing to do with the fact that Smith threw a bad pass to Walker. The ball was short and hung in the air too long. Just call it like it is and move on to Thursday night. I expect Smith and the rest of the team to play much better.
Big P,
You’re right about the read, and the pass itself, both were bad.
Having said that, it doesn’t absolve DW from not trying to break up the interception.
It seems to me that’s all that people are saying. Those who are commenting on DW’s not fighting to break up the INT, aren’t making excuses for Smith, as much as they are simply saying that DW should’ve tried to break that pass up. I don’t see why that’s such an incendiary point of view.
Grant – Good questions, did you tally the shotgun formations yourself?
What was your next question going to be, if you had one?
Thanks, I did. I could have followed up by asking him why he thought a shotgun game plan would work, but I figured he wouldn’t answer.
How would you have followed up?
Grant, you did well. Obviously JH’s demeanor was such that he didn’t want to be there and was just going through the motions. Who could blame him?
Thanks, Hof.
You are generally a very well balanced team. What was it about the Giants defense that you thought you could exploit by going to the shotgun so frequently early on?
Good call. I’ll ask Greg Roman that question tomorrow.
Grant – I would’ve followed up by asking:
Was the heavy shotgun usage due to having only one pass reception from your entire group of WR’s in the NFC Championship game, were you worried about the Giants ability to apply pressure on the QB?
Grant,
That was a good question and I think it caused Harbaugh to come as close to saying they screwed up as he’ll ever get.
The fact is they played the Giants twice last year and split with them. Both games were tight and a lot of what the Niners did worked. As the old saying goes “Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water.”
Starting out with New Wrinkles instead of establishing what you do best (the running game) is overthinking it. They strayed from what they are in reaction to what they thought they needed to do to beat a Giants team they could’ve beaten twice last year.
I’m not seeing the difference between these two questions so why do you think one will work versus the other?
GC “I could have followed up by asking him why he thought a shotgun game plan would work”
JH “What was it about the Giants defense that you thought you could exploit by going to the shotgun”
If anything the second question is asking the coach for specifics about their game plan which is exactly what I would assume he wouldn’t want to do.
Coffee – Don’t you think shotgun was used to help the passing game (less than 200 yds passing last meeting) and WR’s caught only one pass?
I think Roman/Harbaugh expected a lot of pressure on Alex and wanted to buy him some extra time.
The coaches were already very confident in our running game.
I would have asked. “Coach I understand that teams game plan for each other but in your previous 3 victories you didn’t run your offense out of the shotgun, why did you feel a need to change things up for yesterdays game when the other approach seemed to be working?”
No, I think the shotgun was used to force the Giants to stay in nickel and dime packages and to keep them from stacking the line.
That would make sense if they had then tried to run, but that wasn’t the case.
Nope because they were trailing and they’ve already admitted that they blundered the plan yesterday.
They weren’t trailing in the first quarter when they ran those first 21 plays Grant is referring to.
It was 16 of the first 22 plays, actually. I missed a snap. Gore took four handoffs from shotgun formations in the first quarter.
Harbaugh/Roman must have changed their normal offensive game plan after they watched tape of NFC Championship game again.
When your WR’s catch one pass for 3 yards in an NFL game against an opponent and you lose, something must change next time you play same opponent.
Not really Crab. There is something about this Giants team that causes them to get away from the run. They did it during both games last year and again yesterday.
On the film from last year it looks as though the Giants do a very good job of disguising the defense and creating the appearance of a stacked box, when in reality they are trying to get them to throw.
On the first int from Alex they could not have defended that play any better, safety high with a DB underneath. Smith’s only chanced was to put it on a rope.
My reference to the use of shotgun wasn’t limited to Grant’s example which wasn’t the only time the team ran the formation yesterday. He used the example simply to point out the heavy use of it and I’m certain that our overall use of the shotgun throughout the game was a lot heavier then normal for this team.
They blundered by not taking advantage of the formation, they why of that we’ll never know. When they might have wanted to reverse course in the third quarter and get back on track it became too late as we started slipping behind.
What was the ratio of shotgun to under center for the entire game and how does that compare to the previous games we’ve played?
I’m talking about the first quarter – the scripted plays they ran when the game was close.
Hammer – If you have the tape from NFC Championship, let me know how many times Niners are in shotgun formation first 21 plays? When you have time please. Thanks bro.
The 49ers used shotgun formations 7 of the first 22 plays in the NFC Championship.
I wonder how many runs Alex changed into passes during the first 21 plays. Now that would be a good question to ask.
When they’re given two plays in the huddle and Alex calls either “let it roll” for the first one or “kill kill” to run the second. I wonder how many of those he decided to pass instead of run.
Good question.
Grant – Thanks, so there was an offensive strategy change.
Yesterday, 16 of the first 22 plays in shotgun formation.
In NFC Championship, 7 of the first 22 plays in shotgun formation.
Weren’t the first 21 plays the 49ers’ most successful, as far as gaining yardage goes? I realize they didn’t get into the endzone off of that production [some of the burden for that may fall on GR's play calling], but the 49ers’ offense was the most productive early in the game.
>>the defensive meeting room
I bet it was ;)
I believe the CK experiment is over for now. They need to work on their core offense especially in the RZ. Balance is the best prescription – 3 runs in a row in the RZ doesn’t cut it, add in some MM, MC, and RM. They have the weapons they just need to utilize them well. At times, I think GR still thinks this is 2011. Now on to Seattle…
Run the ball,play action, punt to live another series. It’s ugly but effective. No more trickery. Line up, be patient and play to your strengths. It’s the 49er way.
Disagree here Prime
W were literally getting 4-10 yards a carry. FG/KH didn’t matter. That isn’t ugly. That was dominating. Had we done that whole game the Giants defense would have wilted. We stopped ourselves once again while playing the Giants.
That’s a great call Hofer. Losses suck but hopfully the take away here is to establish a core offense. I don’t understand why in the world Hunter isn’t touching the ball more. The kid is amazing on the field. I think the coaches out thought themselves against NY. I’d like to almost see a 75/25 split run/pass. If you have backs picking up 4 and 5 yards a carry, you keep doing it until the team shows they can stop you. And by stop you, I mean on 3 or more consecutive possessions.
Seattle has a great secondary. I suspect we’ll see a heavy run offense on Thursday. I just wish Seattle was coming off a more physical team than NE. I think NY showed that the way to beat NE is to be physical. You have 4 backs right now you can punish defenses. Let’s activate and use them Thursday. Then you can cut Jacobs. Make him punish Seattle first though.
Hofer,
You said that last week and the week before. I told you that it’s here to stay. Kap is a weapon and weapons are used to win games. You need to call 4949 if you don’t like the offense. You should call because your boy Alex is killing us. Bet Kap plays Thursday??? You’ve been wrong 3 weeks on a row about this? You should be wondering if Smith plays this week! Mr 41.3 QB rating!
“….We feel like we’re getting plenty of everything from Alex Smith…”
means to me Kap was an experiment that probably went awry …
Jg,
The unfortunate thing about JH is that we know that we can’t take everything he says with truth because hes not always telling the truth.
Wrong buddy your boy CK killed the niners RHYTHM.. Wild Cat ? Your boy CK didn’t fool the Giants. Thats why the 49ers suffered the terrible loss to the giants. I’m glad it back fired in harbaugh’s face, this CK experiment got to stopped or else the 49ers are gonna lose more games.
49erman,
the CK experiment is not an experiment. That is your long term starter marinating on the bench. Alex’s poor play in the red zone coupled with his poor play against stronger defenses IMO has the coaching staff desperately seeking a spark elsewhere.
You are already questioning Harbaugh? What are your coaching credentials?
What world do all of you live in? I was at the game and CK was def a mistake to play him so much. I’ll put my money where my mouth is and bet anyone on here minus Smith getting hurt that CK hardly plays Thursday. Harbaugh point blank said “yes” when asked if he felt CK playing so much killed their rhythm. When Gore get’s a 100 we win… when we abandon the run we lose. End of story
Bay, experiment is over plain and simple. The offense deflates when CK comes in. It’s no mas!
I like to see CK in the game, but no more than 5% of the snaps, and defiantly not in the middle of drives. Best use is inside the 10 yard line.
I would be surprised if CK gets even 5% of the snaps on Thursday.
Bay, get a grief of yourself. You know and some fans here knows CK hasn’t showed anything yet that his the future for the niners..
You give CK too much credit !
The so called weapon with CK back fired in Harbaughs face, good for harbaugh he thinks he can fool every team.. Hope your done with your so called wild cat experiments, because all the damn teams in the NFL has CK’s number.. I dare Harbaugh to start CK next week and the week after that and see how far the niner team would go down the west division.
So what’s your relationship to Alex Smith?
Just a concerned long 49er fan.
49erman,
Your post wreaks of desperation.
Kaepernick’s stats:
5-9 for 89 yards passing
12 carries for 112 yards and 2 TD’s, 3 if he doesn’t kneel down at the 1
Really sounds like a back fire. Everybody has CK’s number?
#1 Defense
#1 Rushing game
#26 passing game
Pretty much the same as last year, right? You could say the NFL has Smith’s number.
BigP, All the stats you have said about CK, it doesn’t matter. The last two games he played with the 2 TD’s where against lowly teams like the Jets and Bills. And he was doing it with his feet and not with his arms, unfortunately the other teams already know CK when he comes in, what play its gonna be. ” RUN”
Really, if the NFL has A. Smith’s number he wouldn’t even be among the top 7 rated QB for the last 6 weeks in the NFL.
The issue here is why did the coaches bring CK in, while the Alex and 49ers offense, were doing good moving the down the field. It just doesn’t make any sense. They stopped the Rhythm of the offense and the momentum.. It cost the niners to lose the momentum that they already build up for the game.
If i can remember, the 49ers held the ball for 11 mins and the giants held for 3 mins.
Big P,
49erman is a really young person. No disrespect to him. I told him earlier today that CK only played 4 plays in the 1st half. He swore that CK killed the Niners first 2 scoring drives. He’s still learning football. He doesn’t even realize that in the s ecnd half, the Niners never had any momentum!
49erman,
“The last two games he played with the 2 TD’s where against lowly teams like the Jets and Bills.” That’s funny, didn’t Smith have his best career game against the “lowly” Bills? “Really, if the NFL has A. Smith’s number he wouldn’t even be among the top 7 rated QB for the last 6 weeks in the NFL.” And yet hear we are again with a top flight running game and defense and the passing game is ranked #26. I don’t think Kaepernick is ready to be the starter and I have said that many times. The reality is he is inserted into games because he is effective, as the numbers show. The other reality is that Smith’s play is adequate only because this team has a top notch defense and running game. No play-action and Smith is in trouble.
BigP, You forgot about the GB Packers and the Detriot Lions who have elite QB’s and a good defense. Alex Smith played very well against the two playoff teams. Please don’t discard those games, unless your are just finding an excuse for CK. I’m not defending Alex, Smith was among the top 7 QB rating in the last 6 games in the NFL..
23jordan, how can the 49ers have any momentum in the 2nd half? They already lost it in the first quarter. Because of the earlier plays and mistake by the coaches to bring in CK to run the Wild Card, which killed the Rhythm and disrupted the offense that we had earlier in the game. I been following your post, you don’t need to be a genius to know you are an anti Alex Smith diehard..
By the way, thank you anyway for the comment no disrespect to you also. You have the right to your own opinion, I respect that also.
The obvious question is. are you thinking of starting kaep? You should ask tgat
James,
If Alex found out about the question, not the answer, it would destroy Smiths fragile confidence. We all know Smiths confidence can be shattered into pieces with a test from a butterfly! He has no confidence and he only has it when we play horrible teams.
Tears not test*
If Smith’s confidence was shattered, Alex won’t be playing as the starter for the 49ers. Think about it, he’s a more confident QB, than those previous niners QB who didn’t make it in the NFL and the other young QB’s played briefly in the NFL and lost their confidence.
Ajordan he looked confident vs new orleans last year. maybe you meant he lacks confidence against most winning teams. you’re opinions would carry alot more weight if you cut down a little on the hyperbole
Old coach,
Smith played great in the last 2 series of the game. On the other hand, look at the last Cards game. The Raven game. Looknat the NFC championship game. The viking game. Yesterdays game. think about the Jet game. Sounds like Smith may be leveling off or regressing???
You single out one game. To date, that was the best game of his life. What about the other 80 games??? What about yesterday? What has he done for you lately? Here’s comes another one of this games! Will he disappear again?
jordan i agree with you in part but tone down the hyperbole and i and many others would agree with you more often
Old Coach
I doubt many would, how many fans do you think would gloat over such a bad game your team played??
Old Coach,
You gotta enjoy the blog more! I keep it real coach. I call it the way I see it. I just don’t say it the way they want me to. Don’t allow it to offend YOU. I mean no disrespect to you because you’ve never disrespected me. You give what you get. They don’t get it.
Keep it real???
How, with your inane comments?
You are just seeking attention.
Great. You got some…
Txtree,
I know the team didnt play a bad game. The did not play a bad game. They didn’t play shutdown but they didnt play bad. Our kicker hurt us but we can’t expect him to be perfect. Alex killed us. Paint it any way you want to.
I talk about JH and Roman not trusting Smith. You guys say he does. When JH tries to show me that he trusts Smith, Smith plays like this. He gave Smith the load and Smith spit the bit. He couldn’t handle it. It may be harsh but it’s true. Nobody threw those picks but Smith.
Textree
Why do you take it so personal? I never direct my posts at you unless you respond to my posts. My posts aren’t going to change. They’ve been the same for over 3YEARS! not gonna change. You’re wasting your time trying to change them. Just use your ignore button.
DEFENSE not team**
23J – What’s the battery life on that iPhone? Are you parked under Golden Gate bridge using cig charger? :-)
You are fired up.
I did not think JH had to show YOU anything, you probably are feeling good about yourself. Fine…Go on shouting about how the starting QB of the team you are supposed to be a fan of can’t win. If that was true, I think we would have seen them yank Alex sooner. Fact is they have been winning with him, just not in the style that some want, which is a wide open pass happy offense. That is not what this team does, they are a ball control offense. Last year we were winning the turn over differential, and the offense was a big part of that. This year? We are not. So go ahead, chant about Game Manager, call any one who disagrees with you a “Smither”, what ever trips your trigger, but be honest, you get a great amount of joy shouting you glib statements, even if they are inane. So is that the kind of 49er fan you want to be?
Benny,
Please cite the comment from JH that you speak about. I watched the presser from work and I didn’t hear that comment. I believe JH said that Kaepernick was another weapon on this team. I’ll bet you that he plays Thursday and it won’t have anything to do with Smith getting hurt. name the bet. We can Paypal the
cash to Grant to hold. I even trust a few of these
posters up here to hold the cash. Kap is going to play
and he is going to play well. Smith isnt good enough to keep Kap off of the field.
23jordan
You are a broken record. We get it, you dont like Alex Smith. He played a poor game, no doubt about it. easily his worst game in 2 years. However, he came into this game as the #1 rated passer in the league. He is a good QB, not a great one. The entire team took a dump yesterday, and placing the blame on one guy is pure ignorance. Take off your blinders, if you think CK is the answer you are delusional. He is not even close to being ready. Smith played a huge role in getting them to the NFC championship and should have been in the Super Bowl if not for KW. Try to inject a little knowledge and intelligence in your posts instead of the same old bs.
Smith played a huge role? You must have seen only one game. Call the defense huge. Your post sounds like BS to me. Gotta be a fan of the team and not a player. You said it yourself, he played poorly yesterday. If Smith plays poorly, we lose every game because other teams try to make Smith beat them. He has to have a decent game or we catpnt be successful. He is the weak link. Ask the giants or just look at the stats from yesterday’s game.
@jordan you have never written anything that offended me. i might disagree with what you wrote but you have never made it personal. the point i’m trying to make is you’re criticisms tend to be on the grand and slightly over wrought side. if your criticism were slightly more nuanced alot more people might agree with your opinion but do’nt ever stop posting you make this blog alot more interesting
Old coach,
My man!!
Total nonsense regarding the ‘breaking momentum’ talk.
The CK project worked fine in previous games. NYG just happened to play it very well on Sunday. Stop using CK as a crutch to save face for AS!
Last week (even after we won) CK became the target of many jokes and sarcasm. It’s obvious that CK is beginning to be a thorn in the side of the AS crowd. I know I’ll get the standard irksome replies from the AS crowd, but who cares, this is ridiculous. How many more excuses do we have to endure when ever AS has a bad game?
I’m not even asking for AS to be replaced here. I have no agenda. It’s just tiring to hear one excuse after another.
CK had some good numbers against poor teams before yesterday. But so did AS.
It’s time to do as AS said, and just shake this one off and get ready for Seattle.
AS (to his credit) is not making any excuses. He hasn’t (that I know of) mentioned anything regarding his injured finger.
Let me put it this way: Alex Smith has ‘manned-up’ throughout his career and after any game where his performance has been sub-par.
Perhaps it’s time for his staunch followers to man-up as well.
All phases of the team underperformed yesterday. No one is excluded from the spanking we took at the hands of NYG.
NO EXCUSES!
QUIT THE BLAME GAME!
AES,
Agreed. The CK disrupted the rhythm is a great excuse. The reality however is that he had been in for a total of 4 plays prior to the Giants going up 23-3.
Jack,
Shhhhhhh! Please don’t make it any harder on Hofer, Ribico, 49erman, BS and Prime. They really believe that fantasy!
23jordan, lets face it your boy CK is not ready as a starter in the NFL. He can’t be a NFL QB just with his feet. He needs to throw the ball and make some play. I’d rather have Scott Tolzien throw the ball with consistancy. If Alex Smith gets injured it’s gonna take a couple games for CK to start, and guess who’s gonna be the starter Tolzien.
49erman,
That might be the funniest thing I have read all day. Thanks for the laugh ; )
49erman,
You’re hilarious. Tolzein to start if Smith gets hurt. Did you watch the entire game yesterday? Did you see the throws that Kaepernick made? He made 1 poor throw, he made 2 iffy throws. He made at least 3 really great throws. Did you see the late throw to VD. did you see the throw to Manningham before the half?
Let me see if you can be honest. can ales smith make that throw to manningham before halftime?
I do believe it broke the rythm, but it certainly wasnt the reason we lost. The Giants did to us what I was expecting the Niners to do against the Giants, beat the crap out of us. We wait many, many, years for an idenitity we finally have one and what happens for some unknown reason it changed.
Thanks Hammer. Those numbers only work to further support my premise.
Like I said, I have no agenda. Alex is our STARTER!
Just tired of the excuses. If it’s not one thing it’s something else.
Quit finding excuses and blame.
Let’s win as a team. And let’s learn to lose as a team.
Yeah ok, I’m pissed about yesterday’s loss, but the blame game is ridiculous and makes us look like wussus (lol).
23jordan, bottom line CK sucks !
To soon to start ST or CK….
“Agreed. The CK disrupted the rhythm is a great excuse. The reality however is that he had been in for a total of 4 plays prior to the Giants going up 23-3.”
Jack,
It seems to me that the so-called “excuse” was addressed by JH:
“Certainly QB Colin Kaepernick in the two previous games, very successful plays. Is there ever a fear that by putting him in too much you disrupt the flow of the offense?”
“Yes.”
I guess JH is just using it as an excuse also??
Hofer,
I agree with Harbaugh, that is a concern, however that question did not ask him if it caused a disruption to the flow yesterday.
Nice try, but just another failed attempt by local media. The follow up question should have been, “Do you think that was the case yesterday?”
Jack, when has QB shuffling ever worked? History? This is a winning team with a formula that is working. Again, I don’t care who the QB is the flow is disrupted. QB’s do need to establish a rhythm. National and local media and analysts don’t understand it. It’s disruptive period.
Hofer, it was 4 plays while the game was in doubt, 3 handoffs and the last offensive play of the 1st half. I don’t agree with you.
If you’re talking about Kaep in yesterdays game then you forgot then 3&6 in the first Qtr when we were moving the ball and Kaep came in and handed it to gore for a no gain followed by a punt. That was a clear case of Kaep disrupting the flow. It was early in the game, we were driving well and for no reason Kaep comes in on an important early 3rd down and gets no gain.
I asked myself out loud during the moment, why did they put Kaep in when the offense looked like it was moving well, isn’t it too early for him to be doing this.
“Is there ever a fear that by putting him in too much you disrupt the flow of the offense?”
“Yes”
Jack, read the question above again…JH answered yes. Enough said…
Coffee,
It was actually followed by a missed FG. Should we blame that on CK too?
Hofer,
I agree with Harbaugh’s response to that question, but it was a poor line of questioning because they never followed up on if he felt that it was disruptive yesterday.
They set it up but didn’t finish. Just like the offense on those first 2 drives.
Grant,
There are 2 questions for tomorrow:
Is there ever a fear that by putting him in too much you disrupt the flow of the offense? Followed up by, “do you think it was disruptive on Sunday?”
Got it.
You ask those, and I will owe you a bottle of wine.
I’ll ask those for free. Any other questions I should ask?
Jack doesn’t know wine. LOL
Grant, shake things up and ask if CK is the QB next year!
Or, better yet, is CK being groomed to take over next year as suggest by JJohnson on the Fox pre-game show.
Jimmy Johnson really said that?
*post game show* watching the G-Men
Grant ask:
How much are down and distance situations discussed with your quarterbacks during practice?
Sure I do Hofer. Got a great tip on a Mexican Cab from LC the other day ; )
Grant, yes! He didn’t understand the platooning unless they are positioning CK to take over. TBradshaw followed up by saying they have the number one QB and it messes with the continuity shuffling QB’s in and out. Good stuff…
Hey Jack,
Did you see my response on LC’s blog to that read? I was hoping LC would respond but not to be!! I did mention GC though! LOL
That’s why I brought it up : )
Win or lose, good times!
I totaly agree with you Hof, this shuffleing of QBs is not good. An occasion here and there is ok but every game eh I dont think so.
Jack said “Coffee,
It was actually followed by a missed FG. Should we blame that on CK too?”
Nice counterpoint, way to address the issue with a rational and logical retort. Guess as long as Grant continues to blow sunshine up your ass you’ll say just about anything.
We all need a little sunshine Coffee.
Sorry, but I don’t share your point of view regarding the use of CK yesterday. Didn’t seem to hurt Smith and the offense much last week when they rolled up over 600 yards, but in a loss this is low hanging fruit.
“If you’re talking about Kaep in yesterdays game then you forgot then 3&6 in the first Qtr when we were moving the ball and Kaep came in and handed it to gore for a no gain followed by a punt. That was a clear case of Kaep disrupting the flow. It was early in the game, we were driving well and for no reason Kaep comes in on an important early 3rd down and gets no gain.”
Coffee, good read and the main point of many here. They may as well start CK now than interrupt the series flow. It wasn’t necessary against the Jets or Bills and it sure didn’t help yesterday!
Jack, you are missing the point. AS or any QB knows they don’t get replaced, it affects their Psyche. Name one QB that would like it or would think it is a good idea? Of course it affects AS and his play. If they don’t think AS can make certain plays, accelerate CK’s role and make him the starter period. Most analysts were questioning it unless there was a motive. Bad move by the coaching staff…
I am not missing the point Hofer. If Smith’s psyche is that fragile we have no hope this season.
As I said, this is low hanging fruit for those that need to point to something other then the fact that the team got it handed to them for 3 quarters yesterday. They got away from the run after falling behind 7-3, and Smith could not respond.
Jack, of course you are. I asked you a question earlier, which QB would enjoy rotating in and out? Yes it would affect any QB’s psyche. Name a team other than the Jets that successfully rotates their QB’s?!! Why don’t more teams utilize it if it is so productive? It backfired on the two first series and JH admitted it during the presser today. Either they start CK now or leave AS in without the rotation. Clearly it wasn’t working against a good team!
Jack from a totally subjective obersation, when Kaep’s fist play resulted in a fourth down it toally felt like the momentum shifted right at that point. I honestly questioned why they brought in Kaep because I felt in the moment like it was a disruption to the nice flow they had going on. The team made the FG but in all reality that was the last and only drive to produce any points, the offense simply never recovered after losing that momentum. Do i have a crystal ball to tell me what would have happened if Smith stayed in the game, no but I still believe if he had we would have run a different play and who knows. But I definitely feel like it was too early and the wrong time to bring in Kaep and when it did, it shifted the flow and the momentum and the offense never recovered it.
Coffee, well said and the thoughts/comments of many here today.
holy crap i guess i start leaving out a few letters when i type a little too fast. hmm, mr coffee meet mr. proofread.
Hofer,
No other team has a player that can do the things that CK can do. And before you say New York, I believe CK brings more to the table both running and passing than Tebow does.
As for a rotation. There is no rotation. CK was on the field a total of 4 times during the 49ers 6 first half possessions, actually only participating in 3 of their 32 offensive plays. Of those 3, the only called pass was his completion on their last offensive play of the first half. Again, it is low hanging fruit to blame it on the use of CK, unless you really believe that Smith was frustrated because he wasn’t given the opportunity to hand off to Gore during the 1st two possessions.
You’re sighting numbers of plays played but you aren’t giving credit to the value of the moment of the play. The third and six might just be one of two plays from the first half but it was a pivotal moment. Look beyond the numbers Jack.
If the offense loses momentum that’s far from low hanging fruit.
Coffee,
For the second time, they missed the field goal after CK’s first play on the 3rd down, a called run. You might not have liked the play call, but that isn’t due to CK. They run that same play with Alex too.
On CK’s second trip into the game, during their second possession he came in facing 2nd & 11, and they picked up 6 yards on another hand off. It was Smith who couldn’t get the ball over the lineman and ended the drive leading to the field goal.
From that point on the 1st half belonged to Smith, who proceeded to throw an interception to open their next possesion and become increasingly ineffective.
CK then came back in on the last play of the half to complete a 34 yard pass to Manningham to set up Akers who then missed his second kick of the game.
Certain folks want to make this about them going back and forth, when in reality it was only 3 plays. By the time CK got into the game in the second half the special teams had given up a huge kick return to start the half, Smith had thrown 2 more picks and they were trailing 23-3.
Jack,
Thank you for telling the truth. THERE IS NO ROTATION!!! It sure does make him sound more complicit in the loss though. I wonder what Harbaugh’s respons would have been if a reporter asked him “Is there ever a fear that by throwing three interceptions, you disrupt the flow of the offense?”
JH: “No other team has a player that can do the things that CK can do”
I’m just playing advocate on this one but do you think that CK is better then Michael Vick? From my point of view they are almost the same player at this point, the advantage for Kaep is that he still has the ability to develop into a decent pocket QB.
Coffee,
CK is not Michael Vick. Vick is almost single handedly killing the Eagles. He did some nice things his first season back when he had no pressure or expectations. The Eagles jumped the gun too quickly making him the starter and have paid for it ever since.
I don’t think CK is ready to be an every day starter. A spot start here and there would be ok, but he would struggle over the long haul. A lot of people forget that when Walsh was preparing Young to take over he was able to give Young spot starts because Montana’s back would act up, or some other injury would require it.
I have a feeling that things could get pretty interesting this offseason if this team falls short of expectations.
+1 Very well said. I have said that Kaep isn’t ready, but he sure as hell wasn’t the problem with Sunday’s loss.
Well Vick sounds more like Kaep then ever cause Kaep almost single handedly killed us yesterday!! Haha no I kid but I don’t think the two are really that different. Neither really is of starting quality and both rely more on their feet then their arms to make big plays.
I think we should probably wait for CK to start at least 1 game before comparing him to Vick. I understand the reason for the comparison, but I think by the time Harbaugh inserts CK into a starting role his feet will be no more than a tool to by time, and escape when necessary.
Time will tell.
Well it was more to your statement that no other team has a player that can do what Kaep can do and I think Vick can do what Kaep can do.
Vick iturningbthe ball over because his offensive line is CRAP. Hes running for his life as soon as the ball is snapped, when it’s snapped correctly. I’d trade Vick for Smith in a nanosecond. Kap can’t control whether a handoff works or not. Just like Smith, all he can do is hand the ball off.
Jordan says, “I’d trade Vick for Smith in a nanosecond.” SMHLMAO!
OMFG, I’d love to see the team GM Jordo puts together. They’d set an NFL single season record in turnovers, fumbles returned for TDs, pick sixes… you name it. It would be fn’ hilarious.
/bonk me for getting the FG’s mixed up but that doesn’t change my point.
For the record I’m not suggesting that Kaep is the reason we lost. I am arguing that when he came in to the game it stunted the offense but I’m not saying that is why we lost the game. Stunted offense is on the list of reasons why we lost but it’s not THE reason why we lost.
OK just want to be clear here.
It’s all good Coffee. The best part about this week is that today was like Monday thru Thursday in 49erland. Only 2 more days and hopefully they can get back on the right side of the outcome.
Hofer:
“Certainly QB Colin Kaepernick in the two previous games, very successful plays. Is there ever a fear that by putting him in too much you disrupt the flow of the offense?”
“Yes.”
I guess JH is just using it as an excuse also??
@Hofe
I don’t see where Harbaugh is making any excuses here. And you isolated the last half of his comment which is unfair. What I got from the context of his comment was that sometimes the CK package will work and sometimes it won’t. Sometimes it may ‘disrupt the flow’ like he said today. And sometimes the CK package will prove to ‘spark the offense’ like Harbaugh has mentioned the last two weeks before Sunday’s game.
No excuses here Hofe.
Harbaugh will not let one bad game change his game planning. Remember that AS did not look very comfortable against the Vikings. The defense was having a miserable day against the Vikes and we needed AS to put the offense on his shoulders to compensate, and he could not.
I don’t particularly believe that the Vikes loss set the CK project in motion because Harbaugh had said during TC that he was going to use CK in special packages during the season.
Now Harbaugh/Roman do need to have a better pulse of the game when inserting CK, but I don’t see CK7 suddenly standing on the sidelines either.
Harbaugh will continue to use the CK packages and in time perhaps even insert a CK/JMic James package just to make things more interesting.
Harbaugh is a mad scientist. And mad scientist rarely make excuses (lol).
AES, respectfully my friend, I disagree. I don’t expect to see CK any time soon. TBD.
Hofer last week you said CK wouldn’t pass. That he was a running back basically.
Bay, lets’s see if CK plays against Seattle. He won’t and if the 9ers win, don’t expect to see him any time soon.
Just finished rewatching the game. A couple things that stood out.
>Penalties killed us in the 1st half.
>Everytime Kap came in except for the rope he threw to MM before half, was useless. He posed no threat as the Giants read and played everything he did very well. The experiment is over.
>The first drive of the 3rd Q, our run defense was absolutely terrible. The Giants gashed us literally. Very uncharacteristic of this defense.
>The two picks in the 2nd half, the first one, bad decision by AS. The 2nd, great play by Rolle.
Overall the Giants defense was better prepared and made the Niners one dimensional like everyone has said. Brilliant game plan by Fewell.
Defensively we held up as much as we could but 3 long drives, 2 before half, an then the start of the 3rd Q were momentum killers.
Giants are a good team and capitalized on all their opportunities, even if they were FG’s.
Trust me, it looked worse yesterday than it does rewatching it.
Kap will play and Smith will continue to flop. The Smith experiment should be over pretty soon. how about the bye week?
Jordo, I’m still waiting for JJ to take CK’s backup role before taking over for AS as starter. Aren’t you??!! LOL
Hofer,
The natural human reaction is to hurt someone when they are hurting you. I don’t care about JJ. He’s not a NINER. AS is a NINER. I’m worried about him. Can’t you tell. You’re worried too. You’re hurt actually. Hang in there buddy. You can leave when he leaves. Bwahahahaa!
Fair enough Hofe. I just didn’t take Harbaugh’ comments as an excuse or (IMO) an admission of wrong-doing for using CK.
I believe CK will see some snaps on Thursday, especially if the offense begins to bog-down.
But as you say Hofe. TBD
AES,
Did you see how Hofer twisted JH words. He thinks he’s here with a few idiots. Kap will be playing Thursday. I think he will play well and have an impact.
Kickoff coverage, or lack thereof, – 2 words, Blake Costanzo….No way this guy should have been let go. Akers is losing his touch and accuracy.
This game was lost on all levels….turnovers, dropped picks, no pressure on Eli, bad special teams. And why does coach repeatedly take Alex out during a drive? 40 yard bomb and then put Colin in? no rhythm for the offense….lucky for a quick turnaround