SANTA CLARA — Here is what Alex Smith said at his locker Wednesday afternoon, courtesy of the 49ers.
You talked to Peter King about WR Randy Moss’ influence on the team. Have you seen his work ethic rub off on the other receivers? Have you seen his influence in action?
“All of our guys work hard, I didn’t mean it in a sense like that. Here’s a guy that’s, I mean how many years has he played in the league? I’m not sure, but anytime you get guys that have played 10- plus years in the NFL, they’re doing something right. They aren’t here and they don’t play that long for accident. Here’s a guy that’s a Hall of Famer. Even me as a quarterback, I don’t play that position, but yeah, you watch the work ethic, you watch the little things that go on day in and day out and he’s been a great example of that. It’s not just showing up on gameday. For people that think that, it’s not how it works. The guy just comes in and work, day in and day out, takes a lot of pride in what he does, run and pass. I think that’s been great.”
Does the run part of that surprise you? A veteran like that?
“I didn’t have any expectation, but in the meeting rooms, the attention to detail for sure. The questions asked, yeah, especially in the run game, no question. You can tell it’s something that he thinks about a lot and takes a lot of pride in.”
The bye week came right at the halfway point for you guys this year. 6-2, pretty good first half, what’d you see reflecting back and as you look forward now?
“For me, you have a few days off and you enjoy it with your family a little bit. Not really reflecting I guess, we’ll have time for that in the offseason. I mean, you hope you’re playing you’re best football come November and December. You hope as the season goes on, you’re playing better and better. As you move into the back half of the season, yeah, these are huge games. A majority of division games come this time of year, so you hope you’re playing your best football.”
How was the tempo in practice yesterday? Did everyone pick up where you left off?
“Yeah I thought it was great, great to get some reps out there. A day early, kind of knock some of the rust off, so to speak, from the days off. Thought it was great, didn’t see much. Guys came out and ran hard, was a lot of energy.”
RB Frank Gore was saying yesterday that this offensive line was giving him holes that he’s never had to run in before and the best O-line he’s ever played for. What’s your impression of how great this unit has been?
“I think they have a lot on their plate, week in and week out. We ask them to do a lot, run and pass. Really, our balance starts with them, the ability in the run game and then protect in the pass game. They have a lot of on their plate and they’ve done it, week in and week out. They continue to execute, it’s not just physically but mentally. They come into games ready to play, they know what they’re doing, they know their adjustments and they go out there and make them. They play fast. Really allowing us to be so balanced, it starts up front.”
I wouldn’t dare ask a scheme question, but teams, including the Rams, Jeff Fisher talked about what a unique run scheme you guys have, the very unique things you do that no other NFL teams are doing. Can you just talk about the creativity of it in a general sense?
“Yeah, I mean, better question for the coaches. But for me, I do feel like for one, everyone’s involved in the run game and we present a lot. I feel like we’re not predictable. Sometimes, stuff’s coming in the week and we’re going out and running it and a little bit learning it there. Don’t feel like they’re certainly out there knowing what we’re doing. We do a lot. We run inside, we run outside. We run all the schemes that there are. It’s fun.”
Not predictable in the sense that also you line up and they don’t know, ‘Okay, here comes a run?’ It could be run…
“Yeah, for sure. I mean, that’s the great thing, especially when you are balanced and you’re staying ahead of the chains, putting positive plays together that, run and pass. If you’re effective in both, it really makes it tough on a defense. And the more multiple you are, the better.”
What about the Rams defense?
“They’re good. Good across the board. It starts up front, really good D-line. Lot of guys that can make plays and win one-on-one. Very good at the linebacker level and then got a lot better in the secondary as well with the two new corners. Playing good football. They do a lot. They disguise well in the back end. They’re a little unorthodox in some of the coverages they play. It’s just not your typical things you see week-in, week-out. So, new stuff to get ready for.”
Is it comfortable to have some veterans back there as opposed to last year when they were just plugging guys in?
“Yeah, some veterans and [CB Cortland] Finnegan came over and was with that system in Tennessee. Two veteran guys at safety that really know what they’re doing, play well, disguise well.”
Are you pleased with the strides you guys have made on third down and red zone and what contributes to that?
“I haven’t looked at that stuff enough. You’re just trying to go out there and play down-in and down-out. I think it really starts staying ahead of the chains, not getting in bad third down situations. Third-and-short’s a lot easier than third-and-long. And same in the red zone, just a matter of executing down there. Just looking to get better and better obviously. Right in the middle of it right now, so just trying to take the right steps.”
Do you feel more confident down there with the weapons you have and the timing you guys have had these last few weeks?
“Love getting everybody involved, for sure. That kind of goes into all this, get down there and give them a lot to think about, not predictable. Everybody’s got to get their hand in there and makes it tough on the defense.”
They said that you guys are sort of a blueprint for what a lot of teams want to do at this point and that your coach said that just makes him want to kick them in the shins. Is that about right?
“I don’t know. Don’t know what to think about, I don’t pay a lot of attention to some of that stuff during the week. There’s a lot of coach-speak that goes on back and forth. I certainly don’t read about it, I only hear it through you guys. So, I don’t think we’re certainly where we want to be. We know what we’re capable of, but a lot left ahead of us.”
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This kid works his tail off. I hope GR learns how to involve all of the offensive weapons so that AS can be as successful as he needs to be to keep moving toward the playoffs and ultimately the SB. GR seems to be a good guy and a hard worker. I guess I’ve been spoiled by the outstanding game plans and halftime adjustments by the great BW. TBD. Good times.
Hof right now Roman is the best “run game” offensive coordinator in the NFL. Like every good coach, he will eventually develop into the complete offensive coordinator.
My prediction was by week 12, this offense could be scary good. I think it’s balanced but with a little more time, it’s gonna be very hard to plan for and hopefully stop.
Prime,
It’s frustrating but GR is a good guy and he gets it. I agree, he’ll come around just in time for the playoffs. Stay tuned…
Good times.
When JH named him as his OC I was very encouraged. Everyone talked about his knowledge of the game and he has been creative, and almost to a fault.
No longer are the 49ers predictable like when they played the Chiefs 2-3 years ago and the Chiefs defense was calling out the plays at the line of scrimmage. That thought of Jimmy Raye still haunts me.
The one criticism I might have with this offensive staff is possibly their stubbornness in staying with the run in certain games and or getting away from it too early. To me the Cards, Bills, Packers game were the best play called games. He was dialed in from start to finish.
Roman is the best run game coordinator, if he had the same position with the Cardnals, he would be the worst. Thank the GM and the Head Coach, for having one of the best O-lines in football and ofcourse Frank Gore, who is a bull dog. GR and AS are similar, some games great and some games very inconsistent. GR is still learning his position, he is still green and inexperienced. With each game he learns more, you would hope.
Neal,
Isn’t it interesting how Roman’s worst games come at the same time as Smith’s? I wonder if those two things are related some how.
Jack,
Those are my thoughts Jack exactly, AS is a actor, he has to follow his lines, he can’t improv and he has to follow the scrip, and if Roman scrip is not good, he fails… That is why AS needs a good writer.
Jack
Notice how AS looked bad when the defense WAS bad allowing over 20 points in each of those losses. We haven’t lost a single (opponent) low-scoring game yet this year. That tells me the Defense is key. And we can score more than the opponent in such games.
It’s a team game.
DS,
The conversation was about Greg Roman/Alex Smith. Save your blaming of the defense for Alex having a bad game for another thread.
Jack
Last I checked, AS, Roman, Defense are all part of the team. For all my time here, I’ve stated it’s a team game. So, I will do so here as well. Thanks for your input, put I’ll stay true to it being a team game.
If you don’t think the D is part of the same team as Roman and AS, more power to you. Though it would be wrong.
PS How is it bad to direct a thread away from AS? I think he gets more than enough time here. You complain about too many AS posts, but you now complain about a non-AS centered post. Interesting thought process you have going on.
DS,
The 49er defense didn’t cause Smith to miss Moss or not throw it to an open Crabtree in the endzone in Minnesota. The 49er defense didn’t cause Smith to throw an interception against NY when even he admitted not really seeing it on the throw to Walker.
Roman is directing the #3 offense in the league in terms of yards per play. He is doing much better than some of the others in this thread want to give him credit for. Just as Smith is doing better than most want to give him credit for.
In fact in this thread, 3 of Smith’s most ardent supporters are talking somewhat negatively about Roman. What’s that all about? Roman and Harbs resurrected Smith’s career.
Hammer says “Roman and Harbs resurrected Smith’s career”
Are you trying to say that is a bad thing?
How do you even get that thought from what I am typing FDM?
>>The 49er defense didn’t cause Smith to miss Moss or not throw it to an open Crabtree in the endzone in Minnesota.
Jack, are you saying those isolated plays had more of an effect on the outcome of that game than:
A. A 16 play, 82 yard MN TD drive allowed by the defense to open the game.
B. Followed by an 11 play, 80 yard MN TD drive (capped by a 23 yard Ponder TD scramble)
C. A 12 play, 86 yard MN TD drive in the second half.
D. 140-some yards rushing given up.
Our defense is good, even great, on most occasions. That game they were not. It was a total team letdown.
Jack
AS was a FA when JH came. That means AS had to convince JH to give him that chance.
Don’t pretend otherwise.
It wasn’t like AS was in the middle of a huge contract and JH was stuck with AS at all. JH’s first task was to talk to AS (this was his choice). JH was giving AS that chance regardless of the lockout. But JH doesn’t do that if AS doesn’t deserve that. And that is all on AS.
AS convinced JH to give him that chance.
Just asking a question Jack, take it easy guy.
Ribico,
Who said anything about the team winning and losing? Those isolated plays led to missed points, which played a large part in them not being able to keep up with Minnesota. Having to settle for FG’s instead of getting touchdowns cost them 8 points, the blocked FG another 3. Put the missed opportunities together and you get 11 points. How many points did they lose by in Minnesota?
The defense did not play up to their usual standard, and the offense missed too many opportunities to pick up the slack.
Now you are going to hear how Manning was courted by the 49ers and how Smith was the only choice and no one else wanted him.
Funny thing is when the Niners were in the Nnamdi sweepstakes, the Niners backed out. Nobody talked or asked why. Was it maybe that the 49ers held true to their philosophy that it’s all about team and that they would have had to part with a lot of their depth and cap flexibility to sign either guy.
The point is the haters will never recognize the value of TEAM!
DS, Great Smith had to convince Harbs to keep him. That doesn’t diminish the turnaround Smith has had under their guidance.
FDM, Just trying to figure out how you got that idea is all.
Exactly Prime and in the 2 losses this year some have put it on Alex when in reality, both loses were because of an entire team meltdown. Thats how they win, that is how they lose, the value of team.
Just a question Jack, can you answer it or not?
Maybe Jack can write a blog about how he talks out both sides of his mouth.
Jack I have a question for you. You don’t talk to any players or the coaches or upper management, so why would anyone take what you say seriously? I mean it’s all your opinion and pictures so how is that any different from the rest of us?
Prime he is just providing a different insight is all. Right or wrong, accurate or not, take it for what its worth. He enjoys it.
The answer to the question is NO FDM.
stupid questions don’t deserve answers
Jack
I have watched the Vikes game several times and I keep coming away with the same thoughts. First the Niners offense didnt have one three and out. Two the defense couldnt get off the field which is very apparant in the first half. Third the block field goal at the end of the half. AS missed Moss in the endzone. Moss also missed on a somewhat difficult throw from AS but have seen him and many other receivers catch that ball. Gore had a huge turnover on a drive. And at the end of the game, the line allowed a hit and created a fumble on AS. The problem I had with AS he took some huge hits that I still dont understand why he is taking them. AS did not have a bad game against the Vikes. The Niners lost that game from as a team.
Jack
Seattle missed a lot of plays as well. Ones that had they made, they score well over 20 against our defense. If you are going to call out individual plays, I can do that with ANY QB.
Guess what? If you lose a game, your QB likely missed some plays. And your WR’s likely didn’t do their job getting open in the first place. And the OL likely didn’t give the QB time to do his job, and the defense likely didn’t do their job in holding the opponent out of the endzone or get a TO(s) or make big stops in key moments. Look at our two losses, and this is much more true to what actually happened in those games we lost, than “AS missed an open RM so we lost the game.” The team stank. Hence my ‘team’ statement.
I don’t have time right now to find the articles Jack, but I remember JH going to AS. Talking with him. Throwing the football around, getting to know him. He doesn’t do that if he thinks like many here did (still do) that AS isn’t any good. The only QB who he had on the roster was Carr. And he flat out said Carr wouldn’t be on the roster.
There is something to that, which extends beyond “He was our only real option.” Perhaps, just perhaps, JH who was nearby in Stanford heard all the crap being talked about AS locally and had a strong hunch that it was indeed crap. So, the first thing he did was get a hold of Alex and find out for himself. He had a deep suspicion that Alex is a very good QB who just wasn’t managed well. If there wasn’t a little something to AS and this was the norm for JH, why didn’t he do the same with Carrr to find out about his only QB on the roster?
Under,
For the most part I agree with you. Smith did not play his worst game against the Vikes, he just missed on a couple of key plays that change the complexion of the game.
And yes the defense struggled, giving up long drives. But at the end of the day they still held them to 24 points. One major difference in that game was when Minnesota had the ball in the Red Zone they came away with 7. When the 49ers had the ball in the Red Zone they came away with 3.
As Steve Young used to say, “settling for FG’s is setting yourself up to lose” or something close to that : )
DS,
Who cares how Smith got on this team last year? Where did I make any points about that? I am glad he is here right now. Roman and Harbaugh have done a tremendous job of maximizing his talents.
Roman deserves more credit than some of the Smith supporters are giving him right now. That was my point.
undercenter
I agree with everything but the last part about AS not having a bad game against the Vikings.
AS had a bad game. The only point where I felt we were going to win the game was after our 3rd quarter TD, and then the D didn’t stop the Vikings. That was followed by the FG fumble.
That tells me that AS didn’t manage the game very well (only 1 time where I felt we were going to come and win it). And if he didn’t do the 70% of a QB’s job well (managing the game), you can’t (or I can’t) say he had even an average game. It was a bad game.
@FDM:
Where are you going with this? I don’t see any point to it.
Prime:
I think you are off base here. I know that you and Jack have your differences, but there are plenty of reasons to take seriously Jack’s football opinions.
His opinions are informed by film study, knowledge of the relevant facts, and years of coaching experience. Jack generally knows what he is talking about, which sets him apart from most of the people commenting on this blog. I don’t always agree with his opinions, but I respect them and rarely, if ever, find them to be uninformed.
Jack
24 points is the magic number teams want to hit. So the D, didn’t hold them from anything.
Who and which comment (quote please) are you getting that Smith supporters unhappy with Greg Roman from this thread? Prime said he is happy with Roman in his 6:03 post. I haven’t done so. Undercenter either. Is it hof’s posts?
I said, or rather some said it was another excuse for AS, that it would take time for the coaches and players to get to know what each does well this year. A lot of people made it seem like things will start out perfectly with these new weapons, and I said it wouldn’t. So far, my statement is more valid than theirs. I am not placing blame at all on Roman for not coming out with perfect passing game-plans because he is still getting to know how to use his players.
I said we would be better in the passing game towards the end of the year than we are in the beginning of the year. That our run game will still kick butt and our D will keep us in games while the passing game gets to know itself. All of that is happening now. No blame on anybody. Perfection takes reps. And reps take time. In the meantime, we are running on everybody and our D (- 2 losses) is doing what it’s supposed to do.
We will be better by the playoffs than we were to start the season and we started the season 2-0 against 2 playoff teams from last year.
DS,
Maybe I’m just a Romer…
His last 6 quarters have been extremely good, maybe the best in his time here.
>>Who said anything about the team winning and losing?
Come on, Jack. All of us. In every post we make. Or are we just rambling on about some sort of philosophical discourse on football theory?
>>Put the missed opportunities together and you get 11 points. How many points did they lose by in Minnesota?
You could say the exact same thing about missed tackles that might have kept MN out of the end zone or forced them to kick FGs. You seem to have your pulse on obscure stats, how often does a team (and any team, not just a ball control defensive oriented team) win while giving up 24 points? I’d bet big money on “not very often at all”.
The fact remains that loss was total team breakdown.
>>how often does a team (and any team, not just a ball control defensive oriented team) win while giving up 24 points
This season so far 133 games have been played, 29 were won when the losing team scored 24 or more. That’s a .218 percentage. I don’t like those odds, no matter who’s playing QB, no matter what receivers or reads he misses or not. I’m glad our D normally keeps opposing teams well below that.
The 49ers gave up 24 or more points 3 times in 2011. They won 2 of those 3 games.
In 2012 they are 0-2. Missed Red Zone opportunities in game 1, turnovers and a long KO return in game 2.
That .666 average is an outlier. That .200 league average has come back to bite us this year. Maybe it’s the “regression to the mean” that everyone was talking about ;)
Biggest concern I see with Roman is adjustments. He seems slow to make those. Some of his play calling has a little bit to be desired. Roman will come around and eventually be a very good OC.
Do you think that might come from too much input from Geep or Harbaugh who I am sure are in Romans ear during the games?
I think its more from lack of experience. His run game calling is good/great.
Under, as usually, you and I agree 100%. He is balance by the numbers of runs/pass but he calls the plays sometimes at odd times (like three runs in succession in the RZ) and that is my criticism. Let’s hope he worked on his game over the break. Good times.
I noticed that two. When we are on the two yard line and ready to score he runs it up the gut for two downs. Would love to see some play action or some run option to either side. Keep the defense off balance.
Under,
Throwing from the 2 yard line is something Smith is not totally comfortable with. Play action is not extremely effective from the 2 yard line. The defense is too packed together and Smith can’t see into those small windows. He’s not comfortable throwing in that situation. That’s why GR calls running plays.
Hater king has arrived, watch things go south in 5 minutes!
Jordo,
I heard a good line from SYoung talking to TTolbert last week. He said, “don’t take an inch and make it a mile”!
It fits you perfectly Jordo. You are always taking an inch and making it a mile!! LOL Keep tryin’ bro!!
Thanks Hofer,
You mean like Alex Smiths stats this year? He’s 4th in passer rating but we are where as a passing team in the NFL? That’s called having an inch but watching you make it look like a mile. C’mon Hofer!
We are not a passing team.
Hang in there, Jordan. Every silver lining has a cloud!
NY Giants are doing some soul-searching following back-to-back sub-par weeks. Guess where that searching is headed.
“Lewis is hardly alone in his search for ways to counter Manning’s powerful arm and the speed of wide receivers Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks. Teams are increasingly keeping their safeties deep in an effort to prevent backbreaking plays like the 77-yard bomb to Cruz with 1 minute 13 seconds remaining that allowed the Giants to defeat the Washington Redskins, 27-23, on Oct. 21.
“They are staying back and playing those deep routes so we can’t get over the top of them,” Cruz said. “We’ve got to keep hitting them underneath until the big plays open up.”
Tight end Martellus Bennett used a basketball comparison to echo Cruz.
“You can’t live by big plays; it’s like shooting 3’s all day,” he said. “We need to start getting some of the underneath routes, the dinks and dunks.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/08/sports/football/giants-look-to-fix-offense-before-bengals-game.html
Underneath? Dinks and dunks? If Jordo, Hous, Bay, md were Giants fans, they’d be howling right now :)
ribico
It’s the liberal media man. You can’t trust them. That article was written by one who believes that global warming is happening.
I mean, come on man. Those who you named are able to look BEYOND the facts. Into the truth. Big plays are the norm for a good offense. A pass must travel at least 40 yards in the air for it to count as a ‘man’s throw’. That is why it is plenty ok to call Alex ‘Alice’.
That article is full of lies ribico. Because those “fans” know better than the actual NFL players and coaches. They say they do ALL THE TIME here. So that must make it true.
I’m just wondering, to use the revered sage Cosell’s (4 pages Grant devotes to him!) phrase, if the Giants are able to live with this new direction week in and week out.