Some of you may be wondering why Frank Gore and Alex Smith were not finalists for my midseason offensive player awards. Afterall, they are both having the best seasons of their careers.
First, I’ll address Gore. He’s excellent, but he’s benefitting big-time from the 49ers offensive line. He’s regularly running through gaping holes at the line of scrimmage. He’s averaging 5.5 yards per carry, and that’s impressive, but Kendall Hunter is averaging 5 yards per carry, too, and there are probably two dozen running backs who could average 5 yards per carry behind Mike Iupati and the 49ers O-line.
Now, Alex Smith. He is completing 69.4 percent of his passes and is on pace to throw 24 TDs this season. Those are big improvements for him.
But he is benefitting from the defense and the running game. He usually doesn’t have pressure to score a lot of points because his defense is so strong, and he rarely faces obvious passing downs. As a result, he frequently can use play-action passes.
Also, he’s been inconsistent. He was excellent against the Packers, the Lions, the Bills and the Cardinals, but he was not-so-good against the Vikings, the Jets, the Giants and the Seahawks.
If he can be more consistent in the second half of the season, he will challenge for an award after the season.
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I think AS does not get enough credit. I can not believe the QB he has become. I think allot of his trouble was because of CK. How many drives did take us to the red zone and all of the sudden we started to run the wildcat or Gore up the gut.
I think AS is going to prove something the second half.
Larry , your a Smither. Blame all of the poor play on CK, makes no sense at all.
Larry I have been on AS bandwagon from the git go. Using the CK thing eh doesn t hold water. I dont like the shuffle either but it has no effect with AS performance. I do believe it may have had an effect on the team performance tho. AS is not the MVP of the offense – yet.
Niners offensive MVP is Gore. It’s cool listening to FG about AS and AS about FG. Those two are the only players who’ve gone thru it all. And the love/admiration/whatever you want to call it they have for one another is telling by their choice of words and in the tone of their voice when discussing the other.
Larry I agree that Alex played a good game last Monday and hopefully can continue to improve his game but come on man with your ck comment! Ck is not the reason for our offense not producing! In matter of the face he has been productive in very limited time.
On the other hand I do believe our coaches should use him in a manor that does not disturb Alex’s flow and rhythm. Go Niners
Well, this post should drive the haters crazy.
Ad something to the conv moron or stay away. Or just cut and paste Grants article and pick away at it. It’s what you do….
Who made you boss dillweed?
You mean the Smithers, I agree with Grant that AS is very inconsistent.
Why Claude?
@ bay:
I’m just waiting for you to take notice that Grant said Smith was excellent in 4 games this season and complain about Grant’s lack of objectivity. It’s what you do.
@ Jack:
It’s been a rough few days for the haters. First, Smith produced, again, the kind of game they claimed he never could produce. Yesterday, Harbaugh stated that the talk of Smith’s alleged confidence issues was nonsense. Then, Ray Ratto of all people told them that they’re delusional.
You can tell it’s wearing on them. The 49ers played a great game Monday night and thoroughly dominated a division rival on national TV. Even the east coast media has taken note of what Smith and the 49ers did. But the haters can’t bring themselves to enjoy any of it. If they haven’t stayed away from the blog, they have become unhinged. Look at the content and tenor of ninermd’s and Neal’s comments today.
I just figured that Grant mentioning Smith’s “excellence” would be too much for them. Perhaps I am being too hard on them, but I doubt it.
Thanks for the response Claude. From the way I read it I would think the exact opposite. Grant’s reasoning for not including Smith is exactly what both md and Neal have been saying all day, inconsistency.
It would seem to me that those who would be the most upset would be Smith’s supporters.
Either way, I agree with Grant in that he does not fit into one of those spots just yet. Hopefully we will see more of the Smith we saw on Monday in the second half.
@ Jack:
Today, they’re talking about inconsistency, but that’s because it pretty much is all the haters have left. Their former arguments against Smith, which were numerous and still being asserted recently, have pretty much been disproved.
Maybe I missed the comments, but who on the other side of the debate has denied Smith’s inconsistency?
Moreover, it’s pretty clear, to me at least, that Smith’s play to date is an improvement from his play last year. Maybe not in every area and not consistently, but I think he is having a much better year. (He certainly didn’t have any games last year like the Arizona and Buffalo games. I’d say the Green Bay and Detroit games were quite good as well.) That can’t sit well with those who desperately want Smith off the team.
Looks like some fans are looking for the perfect game, guess 18/19, 232 yards, 3 TD’s just wont cut it. Maybe next week Alex Smith, then the next week, then the one after that and so on and so.
Axel. Maaaaybe fans are looking for consistency for games like that. What do you think? Could that be possible? Or is he a consistent qb?
I think the word consistent in football means you have to be dead accurate, perfect execution, dialed in every Sunday. The league is too good with a lot of good players, teams, and coaches who make being consistent very difficult.
Players, coaches, and entire teams have bad games because of this. Its the players, coaches, and teams that rebound from bad losses that matters. Considering the record the past two years, I would say be happy. It could be worse like the Dallas Cowboys, SD Chargers, Philadelphia Eagles. Teams that are suppose to be good but their QB is killing them.
Claude,
I agree with what you are saying regarding Smith. Just read it a little different is all.
Claude, I have said many times AS has played 4 great games, but he has played 3 poor games too, and one below average, I know in Smither world , he has been outstanding in every game for 7 years.
Axel consistency for smith would be keeping the 3rd down % and redzone % high. Not 2 weeks out of 5. Consistency would be hitting receivers down field accurately not every once in awhile. Consistency for him would be getting out of the pocket and throwing the ball away instead of taking sacks. He used to be good at that. Consistency for him would be getting his audibles in without having to call timeouts. He’s been bad and good with that. See these are the little things elite qb’s do. Are these to much to ask for a qb that apparently is a genius of this offense and an elite one at that? Like I told prime… If he can just be consistent with these things. He WILL be an elite qb.
I personally am not asking him to be DB or AR. I just want him to be consistently good at these things.
MD,
Why even try to respond to Prime Welcher Axel Smith? He is BS younger brother, and both have been on their own since their parents kicked them out of the house when they turned 51 years old. They just have each other. Very sad and tragic.
Maybe because MD has a half brain and actually wants to talk football jive turkey gobbler. Unlike you who all he ever says is one game good, 2 bad, I’m an idiot, one game average, mommys basement, I’m uneducated, primate, I don’t know how many players dress on game day.
Get a life my little pet!
Neal… Me and prime have went through the name calling before. I think we both saw a middle ground and backed off of each other. There are smith fans that i can respect even though we don’t see eye to eye.
It use to be onelame only that I could never personally stomach. He’s a goner “Again” and now the only person I would love to see in a dark alley would be bs.
You guys have your fun with each other. But some others ill help y’all pile on. Lol
Hof and prime are OK with me. Even though they are weirdos they’re alright. Lol
There you go Neal! MD I respect your stance on Alex, I don’t agree and you don’t agree with me, but the reason we don’t name call anymore is cause we bring football talk into it. Neal,23welcher all they do is spew garbage, no opinion with substance is like a fart, hot air!
Axel – Is this the man?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9XWSeKdOuc
Ha ha ha… Hater or realist? Sounds like the same exact thing I’ve been saying. Let me guess . Grants a hater too?
Grant is a realist and is fair with the judgment on Smith. Go ahead Smithers call him out on these comments. Like you did with me. Because again. These are the EXACT same things I’ve stated. Wheeeeeeew! #youcanthandlethetruth
Ninermd even the strongest doubters cannot deny the win totals.
Nope the 49ers are a good winning team. Because if you’re giving credit to smith for the wins, then he is a total bust, because his career wins aren’t very great.
MD, come on man, Grant has never been a believer in Alex Smith, this is why the winning is so sweet!
Prime… I disagree. I think Grant calls it like it is. Smith has improved, but everything he stated is true. And it’s not just Grant or me that see these things. Everyone “well almost everyone” sees these facts.
Look man. I don’t hate Smith I am really pulling for the guy to improve. But he has some issues with consistency and he is benefiting from a great run game an defense. There’s nothing wrong with that if THEY are winning. Every qb in the league is under a microscope. That’s the life of the price position. He’s said it before and other qb’s have also. That’s the way it is for the qb. But if he doesn’t help win a Super Bowl this season and doesn’t pitch in more than last season. He’s more than likely gone. First half is done. He was inconsistent. But there is a whole second half left, and he could improve in that second half. And by improving I mean Td’s have to go up, keep the ints where they were last season. Quit taking sacks that he doesn’t have to take or shouldn’t be taking, keep it going with the 3rd% and the redzone%. He been a little better with those two this season. That’s all some fans (including me) is asking for. With some consistency. I don’t have to have a DB type of qb. It would be nice, but smith isn’t that qb. I personally believe that if Smith can stay consistent even with games like Monday night, he can and will be an elite qb. And if he does then he carries his weight and we win superbowls.
Good post md. My only disagreement is discounting Smith’s performance because of the run game. Sando also had a nice piece yesterday showing Smith’s improvement in the red zone. Maybe someone can post the link.
Jack I’m not discounting his performance because of the run game. I’m saying without it being so good. That would mean more throwing. And we saw earlier this season when the running game isn’t working and Smith is throwing more than often. It doesn’t work to well. I’m saying the strength of the offense is the running game. By far. That doesn’t mean just gore. We are ranked #1 in the league. It’s bad a$$… Lol
Good post MD, but not sure it’s a superbowl or bust that will decide Smith’s fate in SF.
He has had bad games and good games, what QB has not? If the season ended today, do you think the Niners bring him back?
Now Prime Axel is saying AS has had bad games and good games, eating strange candy for Halloween.
I think everyone, doubter or fan can admit he has had good games and poor games, who in the league has been 100% perfect to date?
Prime… As of right now. I don’t think they would. Because of CK. the playing time he got IMO said something about the qb position. Again there is still half of a season left. And lots of time for Smith to erase the erratic first half and play a solid second half. I think it’s Super Bowl or bust for Smith. We will see I guess. Now I was saying this at the beginning of the season because of the offseason FA debacle. As Hoff would say… Tbd
Are we really blaming the poor passing versus the great running on the QB? My position is it is on the OC. The playcalls should never be 3, 4, 5 passes in a row or conversely 3, 4, 5 runs in a row. The game plan that has failed as some say above by being pass heavy is all on the OC. The key is keeping the opponents defense off balance. The pass game works well when the plays are alternated with runs and not pass or run heavy. Keep it straight!!
Hoferfan67, what did you think of the game plan last night, the playcalling and abdandoning the run for the pass after the Cards loaded up the line?
Got ya md.
Axel, I thought GR adjusted superbly with the playcalls and utilizing the underneath patterns a la original WCO. He needs to be more consistent with his game plan and also should include VD. I’m sure he will…
Hof I don’t see a big problem with the play calling. Some calls make you scratch your head, but it ultimately comes down to execution. Heck I liked the way they came out throwing just Didnt care for the non consistent execution. You can’t be ranked #1 in rushing with bad play calling.
Hof…. Did you stop to think that maybe they started the year with being a little deeper in that playbook? They say its huge. I know we’ve seen some new wrinkles and plays so far this season. Remember the OC has new weapons also. And he’s probably trying to utilize those weapons with plays that may fit their style. The play calling may look odd because its new to our eyes. Aka deeper in the playbook. I think he’s done a good job at keeping defenses guessing.
MD, yes you can. I’ve been very spoiled watching BW game plans and his adjustments at halftime. Just plain brilliant! No one and I mean no one was better! I was lucky to have met him and my father in law played tennis with him. I like GR. He is a straight shooter but the game plan against the Vikings and the NYGs was terrible. It fits right in with the team not playing well. Now I’m looking forward to the second half with MM and RM acclimated to the offense. All good things to come. Good times.
MD, btw, you should thank the SFGiants for redemption of your A’s by beating the DET Tigers!
Hof good post on BW and how we were spoiled. Kind of reminds you of a certain qb #16 and the one we have now. Maybe through that you can see how this town is an always will be spoiled about the qb position.
And I am mad at the Giants. They may have sucked out all of the good ju ju SF had. Odds are really stacked on the 49 ers and a parade of their own. Greedy bas**rds. Lol
The playcalling has been as puzzling as ever this year. The short passing game calls worked against the Cards cause the WR for once made plays, game changing scoring plays. Alex Smith has not had that support all year.
HoferFanofAnyWRotherthanMC – Happy Halloween bro. Why the burning love for Manningham?
The 49er organization is better off if our draft picks are more successful than our free agent signees!
“Home grown” is always better than store bought.
Primetime and DS, do you agree with me?
Alex and MC are becoming a solid duo, what’s wrong with that?
Crab,
You’re right! MC was outstanding Monday night. Why is he your favorite again?!! LOL The 11-15 connection!!!! Ooh Rah!!
Alex and Crabtree are true Niner blood. Blood is thicker than water! Do any of you bloggers agree it’s better for our “home grown” draft picks to be more successful than our free agent signees?
Crab, MC is losing his attitude and seems to be getting along with his QB. Yes it is better that the homegrown players do better. I’m sorry but MC’s hold out will last until the 9ers win the Superbowl and he is voted the MVP! Same problem but different with AS. Until he wins a SB and is consistent… The 11-15 connection. Good times.
Hofe – Face the facts, Alex and MC are “bread & butter” now. Just go with it bro.
Give Baalke some props Hofer! He is drafting very well, why don’t you admit it?
Crab,
I’m with you bro. Just having a little blog fun. I want the team (all of the team) to do well. They (we) can learn from the Giants good fortune. Teams win championships period! Good times.
Alex Primate
You know little about football. That’s an outrageous claim about WR not giving AS support until last game. The main reason for big YAC numbers on Monday was the way Arizona was playing D – corners were playing man with little safety help over the top.
Bo Jackson held out an entire season Hofer, then he went to KC Royals and played baseball. Tampa Bay gave up his rights and then the Raiders picked him in the 7th rnd next year.
Cornelius Bennett was drafted by Colts in first rnd (2nd overall pick) and he held out. Bills got him later. It happens Hofe.
Hey Cal boy, the only outrageous thing on here is you trying to talk football. How many games have we seen our WR break tackles and make plays this year? It’s not the defensive scheme, it’s guys simply just making plays. Moss juking guys and Crabtree competing for the ball and breaking tackles and competing for extra yards. They showed up plain and simple.
Now shut your pie hole and go back to hating. It’s what you haters do best!
C15
No, AS and MC aren’t bread/butter yet.
AS and VD/FG are bread & butter. Both of them have told the media/fans/reporters/etc. that they don’t know a damn thing about AS when they doubt him, question his skills, think he sucks, etc.
Until/if that happens, AS will never be bread and butter with MC.
This doesn’t mean AS and MM are either. At this point, no WR satisfy the bread butter requirement. The OL/FG/DW/pretty much everybody who is not a WR does.
I haven’t heard a WR tell anybody to shut the hell up regarding AS sucking. If you have evidence please provide me proof, and I’ll change my mind.
Crab
I get what you’re saying. But AS and MC are not home grown for the current regime. In fact AS was a mediocre handme down and JH has turned his career around. I’m excited that AS and MC are living up to their potential. When we get decent production from the offense, this team is hard to beat. Go Niners.
DS – Glass is half full. :-)
Live long and prosper!
6-2 first place! MC & AS are jellin now!
DS
If AS continues to improve and consistently plays like he did on Monday, no one will be using AS and ‘sucking’ in the same sentence. The reason it comes up, however, is that there are expectations from a 1st overall pick, 8 year veteran, 2nd consecutive year under JH, loads of weapons on O, etc and regression to the mean.
Nick – Home grown is home grown, ask Cheech & Chong. Lol
Crab 15, I do agree. I was harsh on Crabtree this summer because his play in last years playoffs warranted it. I believe the real players show up in the playoffs.
Now he is having a good year, I love the guy now, I’m sold, I’m not praising him one game then saying I told you so the next game if its bad, like the jive turkey gobbler club. Players struggle from game to game, it happens. I root for all players all the time.
Crab, I’m with you. A few on here are negative and will never see upside. Who cares?!! We’ll enjoy the ride bro!!! Good times.
Looks like Steve Smith is on the trading block. How bout Kyle Williams or Ted Ginn and a 4th for Steve Smith? Would you guys do that deal?
DS, Cal boy wants Alex to have one incompletion or less every game, then and only then will he consider Smith a legit QB.
Prime – Glad to hear he’s earned your respect bro. What a flawless kick-ass game from Alex Monday Night!
I’ve been a Niner fan since Cedric Hardman days. Mid-forties club Lol! Hofefully Hofer is older than me.
Niners are lookin good Prime! We are back!
Crabs we are a legit football team now built for the playoffs. Barring injury, I would not want to play us in the playoffs.
This offense has potential to be really good, its taken sometime but it’s coming soon. And the defense, well you know what they are all about.
Prime – Simple as ABC but one of the best comments i’ve heard in here all week “built for the playoffs” ……….right on!
Spot on Grant…
Well since most don’t watch every play of every game and QBR supposedly does, all QB’s except Tom Brady and Peyton Manning are wildly inconsistent.
It’s just that on average a bad game for Eli Manning or Aaron Rodgers in terms of QBR isn’t as bad as a bad game for Alex Smith (though they do occasionally have as bad or worse of a performance). Alex also has a history of being a below average QB by this measure. While he improved last year, he was still on the below average side.
That said, Alex has improved a lot from last year and that’s all I can really ask. And technically, QBR-wise, Alex has had 2 great games, 2 good, 0 above average, 1 average, 1 below average and 2 bad games. He’s yet to have any stinkers, of which he had 3 last year, 4 in 2010 and 5 in 2009 (2009 is the start of the QBR project).
Though whether QBR properly measures a QB’s play is another discussion entirely – in conclusion, if you take it at face value, QB’s are for the most part wildly inconsistent and you need more categories than just good/bad.
@ what the:
Thanks for providing context, factual support and thought in your analysis. I hope you keep posting.
Qbr lol that stat is the biggest joke.
What is the second bad game? Seattle? The game the Niners won and Smith made one bad play, just before which Maiocco tweeted that his passer rating was 112? And you characterize his play as only good in SF’s first two wins, games in which he had passer ratings of 125 and 107, respectively?
I’d argue he’s had four great games (GB, Detroit, Buffalo, Arizona), three mediocre games (Minnesota, NY Jets, Seattle) and one bad game (NY Giants).
From Matt Barrows’ blog a week ago:
Question: Is Alex regressing (more ints/lower comp %)? Are they asking him to do too much? Just bad luck? What gives?
Answer: 77.9, 84.5, 74.0, 101.0, 45.5, 61.5, 136.7. Those are a sampling of Eli Manning’s quarterback ratings from last season. Which is to say, even Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks go through massive fluctuations from week to week.
Add Barrows:
A week before Smith posted a ho hum 74.5 passer rating in a win against the Seahawks, Tom Brady posted a ho hum 79.3 passer rating in a loss to the Seahawks.
That Thursday night cannot be classified as a bad game. No one played well that game, on a short week and against a divisional rival, both teams grinding it out, it was wash on both sides. Russell Wilson played terrible but that does not make him bad QB.
The bad gsmes are the ones we lost. The good ones are the ones we won.
w t ……”QB’s are for the most part wildly inconsistent”
and that’s because their performance is affected by the other 10 offensive players on the field with them, the OC’s play calling as well as their own play, not to mention the other teams D. A whole lot of variables going on. It’s not surprising why the QB position is the most difficult position to play in sports.
DS94everXev says:
October 31, 2012 at 4:02 pm
Niners offensive MVP is Gore. It’s cool listening to FG about AS and AS about FG. Those two are the only players who’ve gone thru it all. And the love/admiration/whatever you want to call it they have for one another is telling by their choice of words and in the tone of their voice when discussing the other.
What in the hell is this jibberish? Like you know them personally. Can you read into my typing all knowing and see that I’m calling you a complete ——- wheeeeew!
If the offensive line continues to improve, they may well earn offensive MVP’s.
Cheers to that. They have become beasts up there. And not to long ago they were average.
The word that comes to mind for this “award” series is ostentation.
Write on
Sorry, I’m a Niner fan. Glass is half full:
With Smith:
1) 4th rated with a 102 QB rating
2) 70% completion is outstanding, regardless of “checkdowns”.
3) Speaking of checkdowns, Smith is right around 8 yards average which is 5th in the league just behind Manning (Peyton), RG III, Cam Newton and Josh Freeman. He’s ahead of Rodgers in passes over 20 yards.
4) Tied with Manning (Peyton), Rodgers, Ryan in passes over 40 yards.
5) 1st down percentage is 40%. That’s better than Roethlisberger, Rodgers, Manning (Peyton) and just under Tom Brady by a fraction of a point.
6) Quality over quantity: He does all of this with the fewest attempts in the league.
We have a balanced attack on offense, not much more needs to be said other than… we’re winning and the stats and splits prove out that Alex isn’t nearly as bad as the vocal 5% minority would like to have you believe he is.
With Frank Gore:
1) Gore is 6th in the league in total yards. The O-line is fantastic in run support and so are the receivers and tight ends but Gore is also doing a lot of the heavy lifting himself. He does (as the color analysts used to say) some nifty running.
2) Five times so far, Gore has rushed over 20 yards in a single carry, that’s fourth in the league.
3) Yards per game, he’s in the mid 80s which is still top 10, might be top 5 (I’d have to look again).
4) Gore is three yards behind Arian Foster on ten less attempts per game.
5) Which means… 5.5 avg yards per attempt with anything over let’s say 100 attempts (we can’t count the guy who only rushed seven times) Gore leads the pack. #1. CJ Spiller has more yards per attempt but has 25-30 fewer attempts.
6) Six guys have one more rushing touchdown than Gore this season. That’s it. Foster has five more and is way out in front of everyone else.
Sorry, I’ll stick with Smith and Gore.
Adam, excellent read. A lot of positive all around. Damn, no 9er football this weekend!! Can you say withdrawals??!
Yeah bye week is tough. I either go do more yard work or find a semi-interesting game to watch. :P
Adam
One more stat of interest. AS has the same TD total as EM. Even though EM throws about 40 times a game, and the Niners like to run it in the redzone, or put CK in there instead of AS.
Makes you wonder where the 2 would rank if they both had similar attempts per game.
Adam: I’d read your Niners blog every day if you had one. You give facts and not just vapid opinions or skewed perceptions based on emotional delusions.
+1
Open, along with Rocket, I agree Adam is one of the best reads here!
Well I don’t know about all that but thanks for the compliment. Usually lot’s of good posts on here by 90% of the guys and gals. But. much appreciated just the same. :)
That’s good stuff Adam. The Smith average yards stat is impressive, only .2 yards off Manning’s pace.
Yeah, in raw numbers Smith is looking better than last year and last year he shocked a lot of folks. As long as he keeps making progress it’s all good.
This post from Sando yesterday further illustrates the improvement in Smith’s game over last season.
http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcwest/post/_/id/80021/101espn-st-louis-audio-miklasz-show-39
Red zone rating is a huge improvement on average.
Great work Adam.
AS has had two amazing games that no doubt have padded his overall stats and numbers to more than make up for a couple of average games.
His play so far reminds me of a basketall player who scores 50 points in one game, but only scores 10 points the next three.
At the end of those 4 games his scoring average will still look respectable because of the 50 point game.
Once again, I would like to see a few things be corrected in AS’ game, but he is definitely on the rise.
Alex is the man for this team.
There’s always room for improvement. I think it’s Malcolm Gladwell that says something like: “you have to do a thing thousands of times before you ever get any good at it.” I think, if I remember his lectures correctly, he uses the Beatles as an example – the consummate professionals.
It’s all in the reps and everyone being on the same page. None of this happens in a vacuum. When they’re firing on all cylinders it’s reminiscent of the glory years of the Dynasty. Everything is rhythm and chemistry. When the right plays are called, when they play their brand of football, when the players KNOW their assignments and execute it’s a thing of beauty. But… all those things have to work.
To prove this out, all you have to do is look at Skelton and that new kid in Seattle. If those two guys have a little more help around them, the Cards and the Seahawks are in a much different conversation. Skelton impresses me but he’s taking a beating and he won’t have a long career. The kid in Seatlle has a bright future if they can get some receivers around him. You have to have an O-line that pass protects and receivers who can work their way open and catch the ball and get YAC. Those are two of the three legs of the platform.
The other thing, and Harbaugh always says this: “the other team has veto power.” They aren’t going to just give you what you think you deserve.
@ Adam
You make good points. I think Gladwell said in one of his books that 10,000 reps are a benchmark for mastery, whether its hoops or football or Cello or gymnastics.
Yeah, you’re right, I think it was Outliers and 10,000 sounds right. The guy is fascinating to read/listen to.
@ Adam:
It’s good to see you back posting with some regularity. Please keep contributing.
Eh… the angry posters make it so it’s not a lot of fun to hang out.
If it’s all kept to football then it’s fun. If not, it’s better to skip it. :P
Excellent post Adam.
Re. C.J. Spiller, he’s had an inordinate number of huge runs, that have skewed his avg. It’d be interesting to see the median number of yards gained/rush, which is really a better indicator with sample sizes under a thousand. I’d hazard that Gore would be out in front on that category.
Hoferfan67 says:
October 31, 2012 at 7:47 pm
Crab, MC is losing his attitude and seems to be getting along with his QB. Yes it is better that the homegrown players do better. I’m sorry but MC’s hold out will last until the 9ers win the Superbowl and he is voted the MVP! Same problem but different with AS. Until he wins a SB and is consistent… The 11-15 connection. Good times.
@Hofe
I find it baffleing that you label MC with attitude issues. You are not the only poster who has noted this either. And yet, there has been no substantial proof to validate that label.
His head coach and teammates have always spoken highly of him, so why does your opinion of him vary from theirs?
And even if MC did have a bad attitude as you say, why would a good game like last Monday suddenly make you think that his attitude is better?
Is your theory based on how many catches he makes?
If MC is not being targeted in a particular game because of the coaches game plan, will the bad attitude label be placed back on?
I’m sorry Hofe, I just don’t see any substantial evidence that validates your opinion.
AES, MC has done nothing on the field or off to field to warrant having the label as a bad attitude. He is maturing into a bonafide WR. Monday night he showed up big time. Still lots of work to do, but the bad attitude label is unjustified.
AES, you’re too serious. Read the rest of the comment thread. Good times.
Why am I too serious for merely asking you to point out why you question MC’ attitude?
If that’s your way of dodging the question, it’s cool Hofe. So be it.
AES, I said read the whole comment thread. You grabbed one piece. I was messing with Crab15 – that’s what we do give each other grief. I mentioned MC’s attitude for his benefit since that is his favorite player. Are you following me now? LOL
Warning long winded dribble ahead.
The season starts with high expectations, and why not coming off a 13-3 record beating the Saints in a great game only to lose to the Giants due to futility With the additional weapons on the Niners and last years performance why not have high expectations.
First of all, it is still good old fashion football that wins in the NFL, starting with defense and controlling the football. You can have all that high flying offenses with no defenses all you want I will take good running, great blocking, hard hitting, smart football anytime anyplace.
The defense I have been told is the best in the league right now. I read that they are number one in this catagory and on and on. They might be number one in the stats but they arnt the best defense in the NFL. And no it doesnt have anything to do with the lack of a consistant pass rush or the secondary not up to par. The Giants have the best defense in the NFL, well that was until this past Monday. What happen had nothing to do with the sacks or holding the Cards to 7 yards rushing or Goldson hit or Justin not having any sacks. It has nothing to do with how poorly the Cards offense is. You see, for me something has been missing from the defense. They had it Monday like they did last season. Some call it swagger, you could see it in there body language. Others call it focus the defense was just on fire. Nothing tangiable here no stats to back up my observations just my eyeballs and my thoughts. The Niners defense gave up 290 yards passing in that game. From the begining of the season I stated the the enemy cant run the ball there going to pass it. I have no problems with the 290 yards I expect it. If the defense Walks on the field like they did Monday from here on out, they then will be the best defense in football.
The offense so much to say. For the first time in years there is not a glaring weakness on the offense. Alex Boone has stepped in and has done a remarkable job for a job that many said he is too big for. Anthony Davis has really stepped up his game. The offensive line is the best run blocking line I have ever seen. Thats why I am into – Pound the ball we win, thing. Alex Smith is having a fine year there are bumps in the road for him yet. There is no question that AS can play the QB position. He has proved many times in the last couple of years. What I need to see from Alex is several good, not great like Monday, but good games in a row. The offense as a whole shoots themselves in the foot lots of times. Frustrating penalities and miscues coupled with strange playcalling have ended promising drives.
Captain checkdown or king of the checkdown, love it when Alex is being praised for the job he is doing. The WCO is built around the checkdown the short pass and yac. Along with the checkdown comes a running game. What I saw Monday was the WCO working like Bill Walsh was back. Biggest difference was the type of run plays used. The Niners have taken the run into a different level. All phases of the WCO was working, short passes, yards after catch (another important part of the WCO) run game, distributing the ball, everything was clicking. When the Niners run the WCO properly they wont be stopped. You all clamorerd for the WCO you got to see it in full clairity and in its purist form last Monday Nite. Alex Smith is very well suited for this type of play. Long live the King of the Checkdown.
Play calling mystifies me. Sometimes its brillant and other times I just shake my head. For the most part I dont like the shuffle, I have to admit it does make the defense have to prepare for it, still dont like it. The days of run, run, pass, punt are definatly behind us. You have no idea what is coming at you playing the Niners. So much to prepare for.
Seems like VD is a big issue on how he is used. VD is already established, the old adage of stoping the run and VD you can beat the Niners is gone. Right now I believe a lot of the playcalling is designed for the WRs Moss, and Mario, and Crabs to establish them. Thats the final thing before this offense explodes. Establishing the WRs is going to make this team tough real tough to beat. Crabs is looking better and better each game he plays. Gore is Gore wouldnt have it any other way. Hopefully I didnt keep you guys up all nite reading this.
Pound the ball we win.
I agree with your points. A couple of other positive growth signs on the offense: 3rd down conversion percentage is up 10% over last season (which is a good start but I’d like to see it be at least another 10% so we’re closer to 50%) on average and red zone scoring is at a respectable 61% now.
Defense needs a little work in the redzone. 47% conversion (score) isn’t terrible but the 30s would be nicer! More bend, less break. Shutting down opposing offenses on third down is looking pretty respectable. Offenses are converting on us at about 30%.
Some good signs. Still more work to do but we’re winning more than we’re losing – that’s all that counts :) We’re ranked fourth or fifth in power rating, I’d like to see that back up a bit but with wins, that will continue to change up.
Good to hear about 3rd down performance I was hoping it would get to about 45 percent but shoot 50 percent sounds good to me. All things are looking good right now,
Yeah, it’s just under 40%. I think some of that is ridiculous penalties. We get in to third and a mile and they can’t do much other than hand the ball off and hope for the best. Personally I’d take a shot down field but most likely the tendency is to do that exact thing and defenses will hold back and only rush three or four and put the rest in coverage.
Who’s hot right now in third down conversions is the Steelers. Whew… 52%! That’s pretty sweet if you can hit that. We’re right below Detroit and the Giants.
The other good sign is the 7th fewest fourth downs per game (avg) this season. Last season on average we were doing better than average but not by much – as we know (the reason Lee was a Pro Bowler, right?)
All this seems to bear out Harbaugh’s (and Hofer’s :P) “all arrows up” comments.
Second season in the same system seems to be bearing fruit.
Second season in the same system seems to be bearing fruit.
It sure does its got a lot to do with the success right now. It benefits the all who were here last year not just AS.
Thats rather remarkable about the steelers. I look at it this way there is room for improvement across the board for the Niners and if the improvement comes look out football world this will be a force to be reckon with.
Adam
Regarding the redzone stat for the Defense, it hasn’t changed much since the horrid Giants game. Because teams aren’t getting there.
Under – Long winded (admitting it is brilliant)…Great post!
The lack of V.D. is the only negative situation right now. Even if VD is doubled, Roman has to design some special plays for him.
Ground and pound Undercenter!!
Happiest place on Earth is truly S.F.
Corona Ca. is 2nd happiest Lol.
Thanks Crab as for VD I dont see it as a problem. Teams are going to have to deal with him later in the season. Kind of like a Trojan horse thing. Its there and at the right time something inside will be released and look out.
C15
I think it was Barrows who wrote an article about how teams are so focused on VD to the detriment of stopping anything else. MC and the rest simply have to make teams pay for expending all their effort to stop VD. Like they did Monday night. AZ is as good of a defense as there is. And they couldn’t handle VD without leaving themselves exposed to MC and company. That gameplan will more or less work against any team. Our players simply have to perform.
Undercenter
I made the same comment about our passing game looking like the WCO passing game in its purest form Monday night. JH is defining how to run the ball in a whole new manner just as BW did with the passing game. The NFL is not equipped to stop us when we don’t screw up (penalties) and our playcalling stays true to who we are.
That was a fun game to watch I love the WCO it has always been an effective offense.
Is homegrown one word? Lol……You guys know I’m not the most articulate blogger.
What confuses me about baseball is you can have an ANGEL be a PAGAN.
What the fukc is that all about?
You can also have an angel be a demon, or… wait for it… The Devil hisself.
It’s on very few great teams that an OL is the MVP of an offense. The vast majority of the time, it’s the QB. That Grant points out that 24 TDs would be a considerable improvement for Alex should indicate to all the Sniffers out there that neither Grant, nor most, yet credit Alex with the talent that normally correlates with his recent productivity.
I believe that Alex Smith is not the same player that we have seen the last 7 years. I truly think that he is a different quarterback than he was under Mike Singletary and Nolan. Do I think he is a good QB, I think he is above average, I think hes as good as Jeff Garcia was. I think he’s better than Joe Flacco, and Mark Sanchez. In my rating he is a little above average, he will never go down in history as one of the greatest QB’s ever but if he becomes consistent he will be a solid QB. The O line is obviously the MVP and I would say the Dline is also an MVP as well.
You guys and this article are the dumbest thing I have ever read. Alex Smith doesn’t deserve to be mentioned because he has a good Defense? If that’s the case, then don’t mention Eli Manning, Matt Ryan, Matt Schaub. Also, the point you try to make about Frank Gore gaining 5 yards per carry because of his line, that is the dumbest thing I’ve heard today. If that is the case, then Emmit Smith should have never won any rushing titles or awards, because he had one hell of a line. When you honor the running back you honor the Offensive line, so for them to not even consider Frank Gore is a disrespect to the offensive line.
When this team wins a Super Bowl, hopefully this year, you should all have a Nice Warm Cup of STFU. Go watch baseball if you want to “Analyze” everything. Enjoy the fact that they are 6-2 and we don’t have to worry about them going 1-15 for a while.
Habib
There are some who would like the Niners to have been 1-5. Then AS is benched. And that is the desire they have. Not wins, but to see AS fail. Because then they are right about something which they get no reward for being right about. Haters hating.
Emmitt Smith was mediocre at best
No correction Johhny, Emmitt was the all
purpose back, winner and the engine that drove the Cowboys to all those winning years. He is just like Frank Gore, hopefully the SB part.
Johnny , calling Emmitt Smith, mediocre at best, has got to be one of the ridiculous statements,I ever heard on here.
Neal:
Or it’s indicative of bias, right?
He’s nowhere near Payton, Sanders, Bo Jackson, Thurman Thomas, etc… but he did have a couple of tremendous blockers almost his entire career. In his case, the line made the back.
Johnny,
I can’t stand the Dallas Cowboys, Jerry Jones, Jimmy Johnson, Michael Irvin and the rest of those clowns. No too many backs are as good Payton, Sanders, or Bo Jackson. Thurman Thomas was also a damn good back. Even so calling Emmitt just a average back, because he had great lineman, I disagree with , along with the decision makers in Canton.
I am not a Emmit Smith fan by any means but to say he is average is ridiculous. The dude is the all time leading rusher and a three time Super Bowl champion. Would Barry Sanders have better numbers rushing behind that Cowboys line? I believe so, but Smith did it and was productive over a long career. You don’t make it to the HOF by being average.
While i understand alex is not AR or PM he is still one helluva man and a real human being. His attitude and you his work ethic should be an inspiration to anyone. I for one use hm as an example of whatpeople should be like to my kids. I applaud AS and hope he is around the team foe the rest of his life
10000000% …
Great dude, role model, and all around team player, he’s just not the greatest QB around. That said, if he consistently plays like he did on Monday (throwing to both wide open AND covered receivers with equal success) he will have turned a corner and established himself among Niner QBs.
@ Johnny:
Just to be clear, you are not saying that Smith has to consistently complete 94% of his passes in order to turn a corner and establish himself, right?
Also, while it would be great if Smith “established himself among Niner QBs,” the team doesn’t need him to approach the Joe Montana/Steve Young level to win the Super Bowl or to have me conclude that he has real value.
All he needs to do is play an active part in winning 2 SuperBowls. Joe Montana is the greatest of all time, but Steve Young doesn’t belong in the conversation with him. If Alex wins 1 SB, then he’s on par with Steve Young. I’d like to see him win 2 SBs, so we can put to rest the ridiculous assertion that SY even breathes the same air as Montana.
Smith and Young are very similar. Both total washouts until the right system/coach came along and helped them to salvage their own careers. Young had both Walsh & Montana to learn from, so Alex is at a distinct disadvantage to Young, in comparative terms. I personally prefer Smith to Young, but I never wanted to see #16 forced to wear #19. That was a disgrace, and in my opinion, Young never achieved enough to justify cutting Montana.
So… 94%? No. Not at all. Just 2 SBs. That would be nice.
I rarely comment on Alex because most people here have made up their minds on him one way or another. A couple of things I’ve noticed:
As the season started and the media focused on eastern teams, Mike Vick was talking about improving some elements of his game; notably Game Management, ball protection, and checking down more often. You know, those things AS is scorned for.
When you listen to former coaches broadcasting, especially Gruden (WCO), he talks about taking what’s there by, wait for it, checking down.
After the AZ game when being interviewed, Alex said the absolutely right thing to my mind. He was glad for his performance and results but he noted the schizo nature of the (his) passing game and he wanted to improve that. Schizo meaning good one game, then not so good another.
Good perspective Brotha.
That’s a great example. The huge plus to AS’ game is that he protects the ball better then any QB in the league.
I keep thinking it must be the younger crowd that never saw a Walsh team play that bashes on Smith. And even then it’s a pretty small minority. So it’s the X-box kids that think everything works like a Madden video game? Just chuck the ball. Or it’s the nerds that do this fantasy football stuff – irritated that Smith doesn’t have 600 yards a game?
It’s a fascinating phenomenon to watch sometimes but it gets really old to see all the stupidity here on the blog.
Adam
You write so eloquent and make way too much sense. You are a very good writer that doesnt talk in absolutes. I totally agree with your sumation on some of the fans. I have never seen a Madden game and I have never played fantasy football. I have also felt that those that do interpret the game much differently then I do.
Wrong. I’m 45 years old. Family had season tix since 78. I was fortunate enough to attend all the meaningful games and then some.
I was at Montana’s last game. I was at the game against the Cards when Montana returned from back surgery. I was at the Young game against the Vikings with the mad scramble and trip into the end zone. I was at the catch 1 and the catch 2 and was there to witness Jeff Garcia’s comeback against the Giants.
I know what special is. Smith isn’t anywhere near consistent enough to even be considered special….
Adam its a new era of 49er football and Harbaugh is building the style of football his way while incorporating a lot of Walsh’s WCO philosophy. The major difference has been the selection of personnel in the draft. This has been mostly accomplished by Baalke and his predecessor Scott M, but what is remarkable is that JH has come in and utlized the strength of the personnel to build a very competitive defense and an offense built around the running game and physicality.
Its not the glory days of old, but its a brand of football that is effective and not so admired by old time 49er fans.
I think Claude said it best a while back, some can’t look past Smith’s pre Harbaugh days. I attended my first 49er game in 1980 as a 6 year old. It just happened to be the NO game. I was there the next year and ran onto the field to celebrate them clinching the division against the Giants. I had season tix from 1985-2003, through all the glory years. Joe Montana was my football hero growing up.
I was one of those who wanted to see Smith gone 2 years ago, but when Harbaugh decided to bring him back last year it was a clean slate. If anyone would make him succeed it would be Harbaugh was my thought.
To me Smith is an average to slightly above average QB. Does he have weaknesses, of course, but to see the response from some who are trying to denigrate his game on Monday makes me just shake my head. Sure he benefitted from great Yac, but it isn’t like Joe and Steve didn’t as well. Remember Montana’s 400+ yard game against the Rams that one Monday night? That came from 2 90+ yard TD’s in which JT took quick slants to the house.
Jack,
greatest 4th quarter comeback I’ve ever seen still. That was amazing.
The YAC argument is ridiculous. It’s recorded both as YAC and passing yardage.
There’s no way to cherry-pick that. I agree with you, when I see these arguments, I just shake my head. Can’t have it both ways.
Yes, JT was a YAC master. Matter of fact, Dwight Clark brought up that same point the other night. Easy for a QB to have a 300+ yard game when he has a guy who can juke like JT could. Randy Moss did a nice JT imitation in the last game.
@ Bay,
I am getting to a point where we just got to see this thing play out with Smith, Smith knows that he is inconsistent, let Smither nation, all 6 of them, a couple with double profiles, believe he is a elite QB, the Niners don’t believe he is elite, money talks, and AS has a reasonable contract, don’t have to worry that he will ever get AR or DB contract of $20 million a year. BS and any of the other morons who think AS would win multiple Super Bowl Championships if he had JM team are a sandwich short of a picnic. MidWest and now even Axel Smith alias Prime Slime admits AS has been inconsistent, not worth wasting time on BS or Hof, who see no wrong with the man toy.
Just sounds like more jive turkey gobble gobble!
Of course Alex has had good game and bad, that’s the nature of the NFL QB! You and the rest of your turkey club keep letting this thing play out and hating whenever you like. The rest of us will enjoy the winning and the jive coming from your big mouth!
Bay you would not know greatness if it was your shadow! Tell the girls to keep working hard!
Your such a low life loser Turkey Lips Prime Welcher with the girl stuff with Bay. Only someone who is a cold callous creep like yourself, who probably has no children would sink so low. You have zero empathy for children.
Neal,
primetrash likes the attention. Thanks for the support but ultimately it’s up to Grant to shut the low life’s pie hole….
I’m surprised Grant continues to let him post insults to kids. Easy solution. BAN.
Cry and more crying Bay. Here is a tissue. You can dish out the Mom jokes and homophobic analogies but when people come back at you, tears are a flowing. Boo hoo hoo baby!
Neal keep jiving turkey!
Prime Slime Axel Smith, must be lonely when all you have in your sorry ass life, is BS ( stands for Big Sister) and your Mommy. Having no girlfriend or wife, no children and 35 jobs in 5 years, must sucked to be you.
Really Grant, we all do our bashing, but to get as low as bashing other bloggers children is as low as it gets. Prime Slime Welcher, Axel Smith is a bitter, depressed loser and is a insult to man kind.
I guarantee you that Prime Welcher will be spending Thanksgiving ALONE.
The other was the 1983 NFC Championship against the Redskins where the refs stole it from us. Great 4th quarter comebacks.
For those who keep arguing it’s the same old Alex Smith. Check out this link and the chart showing how much Alex has improved this year on goal to go situations.
http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcwest/post/_/id/80021/101espn-st-louis-audio-miklasz-show-39
Grant, by your reasoning (Gore benefiting from the O-line) – Emmitt Smith would never win the award on the 90s Cowboys team. What is your take on that?