This is an epic moment in 49ers history.
We’ve all wondered if and when Colin Kaepernick will become the 49ers starting quarterback. If he starts against the Bears Monday night and plays well, the Colin Kaepernick Era starts and the Alex Smith Era ends. The transition could happen that fast.
You’ll hear Harbaugh say things like: “The offense has momentum going with Kaepernick. This is no knock on Alex, who has done a great job for us. He’s a team player and he supports Colin 100 percent.”
I admit this scenario rests on two hypotheticals:
- Smith won’t be cleared to play because of the concussion he sustained against the Rams.
- Kaepernick will play well.
If those two things happen, it’s easy to see why the 49ers would hand the team over to Kaepernick. They’ve been looking for a way to make the transition all season. It’s obvious.
As soon as the 49ers lost their first game to the Vikings, they started mixing Kaepernick into games because they wanted to give the offense more spark.
Alex Smith lacks spark. He’s conservative and efficient. Kaepernick is faster, more aggressive and his passes have more zip than Alex Smith’s. Kaepernick looks to extend the play. Smith looks for a place to fall to take the sack.
If the 49ers win a Super Bowl this season, it will probably be with Kaepernick at quarterback, not Smith. The defense isn’t as dominant as it was last season, so the 49ers need a playmaker at quarterback.
Is this the end of Alex Smith?
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LOLOL Grant stirring up trouble. You so crazy, Grant.
I hope Alex get cleared. I think Sundays game showed Colin just isn’t ready. He doesn’t seem to work through his progressions well and needs to improve his accuracy.
However, this is not to say that he will never be ready. I liked a lot of what I saw, he shows promise.
But Alex is unquestionably the best QB on the roster right now and we can and do win with him behind center
Blah blah blah
Well said, Leo.
The End of Alex?
Hey Grant….
How about asking…..”Is this the End of the World?”
That’s much more dramatic!
I agree with you on this. If Kaep can fill in for Smith, play well and beat Chicago, who arguably has the best defense in the league this year, It just may be the end of Alex. The fact is we used a 2nd round pick, which we traded up for, to select Kaepernick so if he shows that he is capable of playing at a high level and winning then why wouldnt we go with him? We know exactly what we have in Alex.
On a side note, if Kaep does get the start i would like to see James activated. I think he and Kaep using the zone read would really put a defense in a jam.
That being said i dont think Kaep will start vs the Bears. I think Alex will be cleared and Harbaugh will go with him.
Agree with Adam here. Regardless of what we may think (either way), I don’t see Harbaugh switching QBs in the middle of a Superbowl run unless Smith is knocked out long term.
Adam who would you deactivate for LJ ?
Celek.
I totally agree with you Adam. LMJ needs to be in there for the zone read. LMJ has the experinece, the speed and quickness and a great feel for that type of offense. But, who do you deactivate? Not Gore, Hunter or Dixon.
This is probably the first time that I actually agree wih what Grant has written. He brought up a few great points.
Wow! Grant is a master of Harbaugh’s coach speak. Kudos!
Kaep isn’t ready. Still needs more conditioning.
I was not going to post for a couple of days because I am on vacation, but Grant way to go to upset the Smither’s applecart, Reminds me of the REM song.
It’s the end of the Smither’s as we know it.
It’s the end of the Smithers as we know it.
It’s the end of the Smithers. as we know it and I feel fine.
Don’t worry Neal. Smithers will still let you post here when you retrun. As long as you and Grant worship at our feet when both your predictions go completely haywire.
Nervous much?
I’ll be at the game… if coach goes CK it’s going to be very interesting. I feel like this SF QB drama is never going to end. Shoot… what if Alex isn’t cleared and CK gets banged up and Tolzien comes in and plays well?!? I want Shaun Hill back :P haha
I”ll admit, I’d like to see Tolzien in some live game action. He had his ups and downs during Preseason, but he’ll turn out to be a good QB in the NFL one day.
I wrote about this yesterday. Comparing Alex and Colin to Drew Bledsoe and Tom Brady. Drew took a nasty hit, and was out 7 weeks, Tom came in and they won and that was that.
Drew was not a horrible QB, kinda like Alex when you put all emotions aside. Heck he completed 18/19 then 7/8 before the concussion. He’s decent and efficient and if he was consistent we would all be happy.
It was exciting to watch Colin play, but you also held your breath, waiting for him to not mess up too bad. Alex on his best day is a pretty good QB and can get the job done. It just seems that either he has is either very inconsistent, or a good coordinator knows how to take away his strengths and then his weaknesses are exposed and then he is mediocre in a heartbeat.
Personally as much as I would love to see Colin take over, I think Alex gives the team the best chance to win now. It’s a team game. The D and ST is why we lost to the Rams. Not QB play.
Bledsoe had already been to a Super Bowl. Comparing Alex Smith to Tommy Maddox is more like it Fan. Both struggled early in their careers for one reason or another, eventually got into a better position and led their teams to the playoffs, then got contract extensions which were easy for the team to get out of without creating cap trouble, then got hurt.
The question now is, Can Kaepernick play the role of Ben Roethlisberger and take this team to the Super Bowl as Roethlisberger did in his 2nd year?
Nobody knows, but the odds of that happening are pretty significant.
@Razoreator
You’re omitting one fact, and that is the Rams offense had a field day against our defense. With that being the case, do you anticipate the defense being able to revert back to their standard of play for the remainder of the season, and, don’t you think that L.Smith, B.Belechick, and the other HC’s that remain on the schedule aren’t looking at the tape from games the 49er’s lost this season, and how to exploit the defense? There’s more to a Super Bowl run than a change at QB…..I’d love to see Colin Kaepernick come in and be successful…if he succeeds, and the rest of the team plays well, odds are the 49er’s win, but we also can’t assume that the rest of the team (ST, Def. & Coaches) will be infallible to the extent they were vs the Rams…..
Technically it was a tie.
Emotionally it was a loss.
If Alex doesn’t go down we beat the Rams. 2+ quarters of not even holding the ball on offense was taxing to the defense.
LMAO!!! alex smith would have done nothing better then colin kap!!!! kap put 17 points on the board and it should have been more!!! he put up 17 with a missed fg and haurbaugh holding him back!!!! when haurbaugh had to let him lose cause the game was on the line he drove down the field 3 times in a row for points! we would have won that game and should have won that game cause colin did everything to give it to us!
I guess you did’nt watch the game like the rest of us..2 fumbles,missed wide open Kyle williams,air-mailed Vernon Davis,took sack in OT..
Randy,
Every QB misses a wide open receiver every once in a while. Alex Smith misses multiple open receivers every game. Kap mosses one and its the end of the world. You’re crying about an overthrow?? At least Kap threw the ball to VD. Smith has stopped doing that. He only checks down to crabs these days. And about Kap taking a sack?????!? Alex is the sack king!!!! You’re killing me with the Bias son!
Randy to be fair here this was cks first game without any work with the first team! Have you watched Alex or any other nfl QB miss wide open WR or take sacks!
Ck can and will get better with maturity but it will require time and experience!
@ Grant:
Smh.
Trolling again?
Grant i’m not sure “faster and more agressive” are the traits that harbaugh looks for in a QB. I believe he looks for steady and mistake free. It will be interesting if Kaep puts up 300 yards and 3 td’s but loses one fumble and throws one int wether that would be acceptable for harbaugh going foreward.
Coach,
Harbaugh chose CK, so obviously he has the traits he looks for in a QB.
Jack i agree but i’m not sure he will replace smith untill he sure that Kaep’s turnover ratio will be equal to smiths
And you knw jh not tb chose ck because yu were in the room with them.
A true loser you are
How will he be sure without playing him? What has he done to show that he can’t?
“A true loser you are”
And you are Yoda?
No.
Everyone raved about Kaep coming in with the “Wildkaep” offense when it was successful. Defenses were stumped, he was running all over the place, and it was the talk of the town.
And then teams adjusted and shut it down. He hardly came on the field after the NY game until he was forced into action… And he was terrible his first few drives.
Thus is the cycle of the NFL. New trends appear, people tout them as the next big thing, and then teams adjust and shut them down. It’s a perpetual chess match to try and stay a step ahead. There isn’t a whole hell of a lot of film on him, so he may excel for a game or two, but when teams adjust their schemes to him, his shortcomings will be highlighted. He’s got the tools, but I’m not sure he’s quite ready to take over the team… yet.
Call it the Wildcat effect, or better yet the Troy Smith effect. He stormed onto the scene when he was here and forced into action, making throws Alex wouldn’t dare make, and leading the 49ers to a win. And then teams adjusted, and he was useless behind center.
Kap is not troy smith..lol.
Sure he is. Both are (were in Troy’s case) Niner backup QBs. One difference, Troy won the Heisman.
kap is taller, faster, stronger arm, more accurate then troy smith! so it is not a comparison!!! even after that horrible start colin had which is expected he still ended the game with a 64.7% completion rate which i will take any and every game from every qb! the only gameplan a defense can have for a mobile qb is to not recklessly rush the passer they have to slow down the rush and stay in their lanes. which gives qb’s more time to throw. having colin in the game will make gore better! because the back side has to hold for the naked boot leg! and with no backside pursuit there is an extra lan to run! this is why the jets had such a great run game with tebow as there qb even with the defense putting 8-9 in the box!
J – Kaep rush for 66 yards and a touchdown against the Rams.
Irrelevant, he was in the game to run the offense, not be a running back. He had a designed run that netted a TD, but most of those yards were from scrambles. He also missed a throw to VD that likely would’ve been a TD, and missed a wide open Kyle Williams (in fairness, Alex has missed plays like that too.)
He’s getting there, but he’s not ready to lead the team yet. Too many holes in his game that good teams can exploit.
J
After 2 quarters??? You’ve gotta be kidding me. We don’t expect a pro bowl performance from Kap right away. It’s not like we’re getting one from Smith.
First of all its unusual for any player to lose his job to an injury. Its not unheard of but unusual. Most in here no I like AS, and I still think AS is the best we have at the moment. If this happens tho I will be on board with whoever is QB. Must admit tho if it isnt AS I will be looking for Tolzien as the heir apparant. Maybe CK can sway me but so far I am only lukewarm with his ability.
Shawntae Spencer and Brandon Jacobs would like you to tell that to Harbaugh
Shawntae lost his job because he could only cover LF, Brandon Jacobs never had a job to lose in the first place.
Mike a better example would of been Bledsoe losing his job.
Maybe he might sway you? LOL!! News flash: Nobody cares if you’re swayed or not. Harbaugh is obviously grooming Kaepernick to take over next season, but it looks like it may happen sooner rather than later. I realize an Alex lover is most likely a Tolzien lover due to their similarities, but you need to get over both of them. Alex will be playing for another team, and Tolzien will holding a clipboard for years and years.
I have been concerned about this game for some weeks, and I thought our best hope to win was that Alex Smith so rarely turns the ball over. The Bear’s defense is a TO machine, and Smith has become very good at protecting the ball. As others have pointed out elsewhere, Kaep needs to work on protecting the ball more. He does not look ready to face a defense like Chicago that will go after the ball. If he starts, I would expect two INTs and two to three fumbles from him. The 49ers might still win if Cutler is out, but it will be a tough game.
So, long story short, if Kaep does start next Monday, I do not expect him to have the great game that could lead to Grant’s scenario above.
How many fumbles did he lose on Sunday?
come on Jack you know wether you or your team recover your fumble is just pure luck. In the long run it does’nt matter how often you get your’re own fumble back as much as wether you fumble or not. wendell tyler recovered alot of fumbles only because he fumbled alot
I don’t agree that he is going to throw 2 int’s and have 2-3 fumbles. There is nothing to support that right now.
Jack
CK carries the ball away from his body, yes nothing happened last week, but anyone with any football knowledge knows that a ball carried away from the body is an fumble waiting to happen. Dont get so defensive about CK he isnt iron sharp. He will learn those lessons in due time. My problem is that its a lesson that should of been learned in pre season.
I saw that too under. Kaepernick will have his own set of issues, especially early on.
Come on, Jack, you know that the 49ers were very lucky to recover both of those fumbles. Recovering fumbles is pretty much a 50/50 proposition.
The issue is that the fumbles happened, not who recovered them. Let’s hope if CK starts against the Bears, he exhibits more ball security than he did on Sunday.
That’s a much better way of putting it exgolfer, and I agree.
I accidently replied below instead of here, but since Jack (whose opinion I am normally in line with) wrote, “There is nothing to support that right now.” after I posted my reasoning below, I will repeat it here:
“He was lucky not to lose the second one, and the Ram’s defense is not the ball attacking defense of the Bears. Also, I watched Kaep for years here in Reno, and he is fumble prone when facing a very physical defense. Also, the Bear’s defense is the type that gave him problems in college when passing. Now, if it were the Cal Bear’s defense in 2010, then I would be 100% behind Kaep.”
I will elaborate here. For you, there may be no data to support my prediction, but for me there is. I watched him for four years, many times in person. I saw him struggle with fumbles with big, physical defenses. He is athletic enough to get some of those back, but the tendency is there (and did not state he would lose 2-3 fumble, but rather that he would fumble that many times). As for the INTs, go find film of Kaep against large, aggressive pro-style defenses in college. Almost all his interceptions in his last two years came against such defenses, and the Bears are such a defense, and among the best in the NFL right now.
I will cede to you that your football knowledge and experience far surpasses mine, but I have watched Kaep run hundreds of plays, and while I have seen differences already in his game form college to the NFL, it is obvious to me that many of his problematic tendencies are still there – we saw some of them last Sunday.
JPN,
I saw it, and appreciate you sharing your knowledge of Kaepernick from his Nevada days. We’ll see what happens. He does have a tendency to hold the ball with one hand when trying to escape. Hopefully they can get that cleaned up.
Whoa, did 23J break in to the PD last night and hijack your laptop (lol).
CK would have to play out of this world crazy for AS to be displaced.
Didn’t M.Flynn have a great game in AR stead last year, what is he doing these days?
AS is not going anywhere Grant.
Nice try bud
Are you seriously comparing Alex Smith to Aaron Rodgers? One is a QB who carried his team to a Superbowl win and the other, well, the other didn’t. There is no comparison between those 2 QBs.
Situations Houston, situations.
Houston he didnt compare AS to AR. The comparison he is making when AR didnt play and Flynn came in and had a great game. Many in here wanted Flynn based on that one game. Flynn is sitting on the bench. What he is trying to say one game doesnt make a QB. Kolb and Cassel are another examples of people overreacting to players who had a small stretch of success and parlayed into big contracts and are at this moment not very good. One great game doenst ensure a productive carreer.
Houston,
I believe my Flynn comparision fits Grant’ question.
I read Grant’ question as complete hyperbole.
How did you read it?
My point was that although Flynn had a great game relieving Rodgers last year, there was no way that he was going to unseat AR.
I get your point regarding AR’ resume when compared to AS. No argument there.
But AS did help the team get to a place that we have not sniffed for over 15 years; A Championship Game.
Which in effect, makes his resume much more attractive than CK’s.
Now, if you’ve been here for a while you know that I’v been labeled a ‘hater’ by the AS Damage Control Team because I’ve exposed some flaws in AS’ game.
Hey, it is what it is (lol).
So while I may not be a part of the Alex Only religion, I WILL say that he is the best QB we have on the team.
We are 6-2-1 with AS at QB. Still a favorite to go deep into the playoffs and possibly the SB.
I’m not ‘head over heels’ on AS, but I’m not about to forfeit a promising season by taking a chance on an unproven player (CK7) either.
AS, (with his flaws) still gives us the best chance at winning, and as a 49er fan I want the best player(s) on the field.
I’ve said enough here to show my hand in how much I like CK, but he is not ready to take over the reins.
Even if he throws for 4 TD’ and runs for 2 more TD’ (if he plays against the Bears), AS will not lose his job.
undercenter, i can buy that explanation but I read his post completely different. It seemed like he was comparing the AR/MF situation to the AS/CK situation where AR = AS and MF = CK. AS does not have the credentials as a passing QB that AR has and it’s not close. AS is alot more likely to be unseated as the starter than AR is in GB. I think it’s a poor comparison. A much better comparison is the Bledsoe/Brady, or Maddox/Roethlisberger comparison. Bledsoe had a lot more credibility than AS so it’s probably the Maddox comparison that makes most sense. Not sure who posted that but I agree with it.
AES,
Stand by. If Kap gets the chance to play this Monday, you may never see Smith play for the Niners again. Kap is go an shock you AES.
Just like Troy Smith or Josh Johnson? You worry me 23 welcher because every prediction of yours has failed. Dont jinx Kap please, he is being groomed so your predictions might kill his career like it did with those other 2 QB’s.
@ 23jordan:
Kap is go an shock you AES.
The only person Kaep is going to shock this year is you. You said he wouldn’t play this year, remember? Remember when you said that? You know, it was around the time you informed us that your inside source had told you Josh Johnson was the No.2 QB on the depth chart.
Silly jordan. If you weren’t such a mean-spirited, hate-mongering welcher, it might be fun to have you around the blog, you know, for laughs.
23J, you know you’re my bro, but please read my response to Houston, CK7 is not ready.
I like CK, having watched him since he played at Pittman High in Turlock. He is fullfilling a dream by playing for the 49ers, and know he’ll have a good career on day, but it won’t start next Monday.
Adam707,
Alex isn’t ready either so what’s the difference! The future is now. Alex is done. Kap is warm. Bring on the Bears. Tell Alex to take his followers with him. Beat it Smithers. See ya!!
Grant, let’s take this a few steps further if Kaepernick plays?
What if Kaepernick has a good game, but loses? Would Smith be back? And what if he has a good game and wins against the Bears, but then plays terrible against the Saints with a loss? Would Smith be back?
And what if the Seahawks win their next two games and are in position to make a run at the division? How would that affect the QB decision making with playoffs on the line? Stick with Kaepernick for the remainder of the season after pulling a Singletary/Troy Smith and take your chances? Or put the QB back in that took you to the NFCCG? Playing musical QB’s is what cost Singletary his job as well as the shot the 49ers had at making the playoffs if he had started Alex instead of Troy against the Rams. I don’t think Harbaugh would be fired, but I’m sure ownership would not be happy if they missed the playoffs because of QB changes.
I think Harbaugh is smarter than that. Smith will be back even if Kaepernick plays against the Bears and wins. Next season is a whole other situation.
Its kinda sad when u think about it..we went from joe montana..To we need Alex Smith to win..haha..Sad day in niner history.lol
a franchise is lucky to have one QB of JM’s ability to follow him up with one of SY’s ability was unheard of then to have another QB as good as JG was unbelievable having a solid QB like AS is’nt sad at all
Those three Qbs were playmakers coach.Alex is the anthesis of them..there was an article on sfgate where Alex was interviewed and didnt know what make a play meant.lol.Playin it safe works to a point..but..not always..not if u wanna win
He was lucky not to lose the second one, and the Ram’s defense is not the ball attacking defense of the Bears. Also, I watched Kaep for years here in Reno, and he is fumble prone when facing a very physical defense. Also, the Bear’s defense is the type that gave him problems in college when passing. Now, if it were the Cal Bear’s defense in 2010, then I would be 100% behind Kaep
Meant this as a reply to Jack above.
JN
You have to tackle the guy to make him fumble. JH will stress ball security to him just like he did Smith. You guys make it seem like he’s automatically going to fumble because they are playing the bears. If you are careless with the ball, you will fumble against the raiders too!
I’m more worried about the receivers hanging onto his passes than I am Kap fumbling. I’m worried about a deflection off of receivers hands. Kap’s passes have way more velocity than Smiths.
Did he not fumble twice against the Rams? One which would have sealed the game if not for Miller recovering it?
Against an opportunistic defense like the Bears, they are praying Kap plays and that he takes off running so that they can strip or pound him into turning it over. This is probably how they have won all their games man.
Actually FDM, that was the last fumble. 2nd on that same drive. The first was the fumble QB-C exchange that FG, being FG turned into a nice run. Had that been lost the Rams are in scoring range very easily.
FDM,
Go watch the game again. You were too busy looking for Alex in the locker room. You missed a good game from Kap.
Ill bet you a month off of the blog that Kap doesn’t fumble if he plays. Same bet to you BS!
I wanna see what Kap can do
Alex Smith’s past 28 attempts: 26 completions, 307 yards, 4 TD, 0 INT, 151.9 rating. #49ers
Alex Smith is the 4th rated passer in the league, prior to sunday’s game, Smith has won 20-5(80%) of his starts over the past 25 games, Smith’s efficient QB play is why the Niners are a Super Bowl contender!
I don’t think Alex Smith will miss the Bears’ game, but if he does and Colin Kaepernick plays VERY well, then i’d agree there’s a good chance he stays the starter. To say the Niners have been looking for an excuse to give the job to Kaepernick is STUPID! Alex Smith was made Team Captain this season, Harbaugh continues to talk this guy up, Smith has the confidence of the team and has done nothing but produce.
“Kaepernick looks to extend the play. Smith looks for a place to fall to take the sack.”
Didn’t Kaepernick fumble the ball after a sack, almost losing the ball if not for a recovery by one of his teammates? I don’t know if this has donned on Grant, but perhaps there’s a reason Alex Smith pulls it down and looks to pick up what he can yardage wise? Aaron Rodgers also pulls it down and runs than fumble.. I guess perhaps the Packers should start looking at his back-up too.
Slow and steady has been winning the ‘race’ up until this point, so let’s just go the opposite of that fast and aggressive because why it won’t yield the same results, it’ll be more EXCITING!
As long as the Press Democrat is apparently giving anyone that can spell a blogger job.. I actually miss the “Vernon Davis doesn’t get enough catches” scandal, it’s a little less sad and probably required more brain power to come up with.
Actually you don’t even have to know how to spell. They have built in spell checker sotware to correct any mistakes.
Actually AS only has about 5 years worth of real game experiencse, and QBR raises steadily since 2010.
So does your “slow and steady” equal 8+ years? Wow..
See Above.
http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=8625400
SMH..
It’s funny how people have selective memory. Kaep missed several throws very high and a wide open Kyle Williams that would have been a TD also causing 3 and outs, tiring the defense. 2nd he’s very lucky his 2 fumbles were recovered by his own team. 3rd his 3rd &7 sack in OT in Rams territory was inexcusable for a “fast” QB. He also scored 10 points against the rams in 4 quarters! (3-5 rams) he also has no touch and plays with the same Boom or Bust style as Troy Smith. No QB controversy what so ever. A good team would cause several turnovers with Kaep as QB. Has a looong way to go.
I can make a case of that selective memory for Alex fans..6/7 seasons of Alex in fact.vs one game from kap..no comparison really
He didn’t miss KW. He flat out never saw him running deep and uncovered. So much for the theory that CK looks deep before checking the ball down. At worse AS misses the throw. CK has A LONG WAY TO GO TO EVEN SEE ALEX SMITH WITH THE HUBBLE TELESCOPE. No way does he replace AS this year. Next year, he will be fighting off ST more than AS is fighting CK for the starters job.
The Rams did a great job of disguising their coverage. As a result, he never came off his pre snap read of cover 2. There is no telling if Smith would have caught it either.
What is missed on that play, is it actually ended up as a 15 yard completion to Hunter, that was called back on a Goodwin holding penalty.
And he stiff armed a defensive lineman to the ground.
Jack
IF, me, a fan can see nobody near KW at any point, a paid Pro should. KW was 20 yards open. Nobody missed anything Jack. There was a holding penalty because CK held the ball too long and rolled out.
Had CK seen KW, that ball is gone before the penalty. If CK is at least as accurate as I am, that is a TD.
Funny how you bring this up, but you are much more critical of AS who didn’t throw to RM who actually had the entire defense within 10 yards of him and a guy across from him pre-snap.
DS,
As I said, he missed the read. What else would you like me to say?
Hey BS,
the QB position is the hardest position to play in all of sports. CK came in and protected the ball. Moved the ball. Made all the right choices. Looked to pass first even though the Smithers call him a “running QB”.
He attacked down field, moved the chains. Brought his team back from a deficit to tie the game and actually put them in a position to win had ST not failed him.
Did he not see KW on the streak? Yeah. He missed him BS. AS misses wide open routes all the time with eight years experience behind him. AS when he does see the deep route to WR’s more times than not misfires. Enough nonsense already BS. Your Dalai Lama approach to football doesn’t work kid.
To be so critical of CK who finally got his first real action and passed with flying colors is just lame. Guys like Hof who many times has said CK can’t pass from the pocket. Or BS who now wants to focus on the fumbles. Anyone who has played sports knows those little things can be drilled and corrected. What cannot be drilled are things like accuracy, vision, instinct.
I’m backing off of jumping all over Smith because I can see he’s playing better. Very efficient. Managing very well. But that safe game still isn’t equating to points. He left the game almost at half time and his yardage total was under 80 yards and at one point trailed the rams by 14-0. Not going to get it done. I for one wanted Smith to finish this game Xilicious because I wanted him to prove that he could bring the team back against a tough D.
Whether folks like Grants article or not, one thing that will be watched very closely is scoring. If CK manages to move the ball and score, then IMO that will be the undoing of Smith after this year. All these new fancy weapons and Smith hasn’t done enough with them. You can already see CK looking to attack more than AS. Trust me, it aint the system.
Jack
The point is, don’t harp on AS if he misses a read or throws a checkdown instead of throwing as easy deep pass as opportunity he’ll ever get. Also, don’t say stuff like CK looks to throw downfield where AS doesn’t. KW was open for a LONG time. Disguised coverages or not, the Rams were naked there. I would have been much cooler if he had thrown it and it fell Inc. Sometimes you get excited and miss an easy throw. That happens to all QB’s.
By the way I’m not saying you have said all these things. Just would like you to keep the grading the same for 2 QB’s who have seen the same amount of film ain the same system and have been in the same system for the same length of time from here on out.
Bay
CK is okay, but he didnt protect the ball, he got lucky, and on several occasions he is running with the ball away from his body. Highly susceptable to fumbles but that is easy correctable. Other then that CK was ok I need to see more from him before I can issue a yea or nah.
bay bay go away. Please come back no other day.
Oh, this is DS. But I’m sure BS would agree. Why of course he would. That would be wuss boy. Who is of course you.
I am grading them the same DS. The difference between the the Smith-Moss miss and this one is almost no one wants to excuse the mistake.
“Looked to pass first even though the Smithers call him a “running QB”
Bay, below is a quote from MLombardi and the grade
CCasserly gave to CK on his play last Sunday…
Michael Lombardi NFL.com
“If Colin Kaepernick has to start for the San Francisco 49ers next Monday, look for the Chicago Bears to try to force him to be a quarterback, not a runner. Right now, Kaepernick is a runner, not a thrower.”
Charlie Casserly on NFL.com gave CK a C+ grade after looking after the game film mainly due to his lack of decision making and accuracy from the pocket.
He did give him accolades for his athletic ability and strong arm. There is a video clip on NFL.com.
@jack harbaugh will play Kaep he may have to this week my question is if Kaep throws for 270 to 300 yards and 3 td’s but fumbles once and throws a int will harbaugh value the improvement in yards and td’s or will he devalue a qb that does’nt take care of the ball as well as smith.
Coach,
Do they win? If so, he will be quite pleased with his performance. Harbaugh still praised Smith after the Seattle win even though he threw an interception in the red zone.
Jack harbaugh praises smith if he gets his helmet on correctly
Is that why he slaps him silly during per game? To make sure his helmet is on just right ; )
I like Kaep and believe he’s the QB of the future but Alex is playing at a probowl level this year (3rd in passer rating and 8th in QBR) and for now the 9ers are better with him under center. However I’d still like to see what Kaep can do with a full week of practice and a game as the starter (curiosity killed the cat I know).
Both Alex and Kaep are signed for 2 more years after this one so I could see this discussion lasting a while longer before the 9ers are forced to make a decision on this issue.
One other thing I think is interesting is the 9ers use of pistol formation. They used it a lot with Alex against the rams but I don’t recall them using it with the master of that offense Kaep. If Kaep starts against Chicago I’ll be curious to see how much they use that formation.
Woah…hold on there dog. Pro bowl? I think not.. Alex doesn’t have nearly enough TD’s or passing yards to be in that elite class. Alex’s stats read like what he is, a very good game manager. Imagine if Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers threw passes similar to the kind Alex Smith throws. The would both complete about 90% of their passes. But they are play makers to take risks. No risk, no reward. It’s a game. That’s what it’s all about
Typically a QBR score above 65 is probowl quality play. Right now Alex is at 69.8 right above Drew Brees(69.3)
Also Alex is 3rd in YPA above both Brees and Rogers as well as 27 other NFL starters.
Serously, if those 3 QBs went into a supplemental draft today, you would still pick Alex above them? Hell, anywhere near them?
Did I say I’d take Alex over them. Rogers in a second. but the discussion is Alex vs. Kaep. And Alex is having a great season. Kaep is yet unproven.
If AS is cleared you have to start smith. Smith got us to where we are now. Had he not gotten hurt we probably beat the rams. Chicago has the best scoring defense in the league, no way you start kaep who hasn’t even started ever. If alex isn’t cleared, then we have no choice.
LMAO @ “he 49ers will be in the SB cuz of Kaep” comment.
D Coordinators will start throwing things at CK that he hasn’t seen at Nevada or a 49er practice, and that’s when AS and his veteran QB’ing experience is an asset.
Per a journalist, Eric Branch:
“Alex Smith’s past 28 attempts: 26 completions, 307 yards, 4 TD, 0 INT, 151.9 rating.”
Oh yeah, let’s go with the inexperienced guy.. he’s alot more daring than the other guy.. so he should automatically be better, right? So what Smith has produced like one of the top 5 QBs this season, he’s not clearly as exciting or as entertaining as the other guy, and that’s what REALLY matters!
@ six-ace-deuce:
From another journalist, Matt Maiocco:
“[Colin Kaepernick] is not going to be taking Alex Smith’s job anytime soon.”
http://www.csnbayarea.com/pages/video?PID=Y9FI9e6VpN3yPl4aSgdWZbrjhtLFrYrY
Stay tuned…
Yea, but those “journalists” of get a fraction of the comments that Grants site does.
I sort of liken here to Fox News. A lot of content to get everyone riled up and feel good about their opinions being absolute. But for something that mirrors reality? Must. look. elsewhere.
@ Jack:
Don’t encourage this nonsense.
Ouch!
Claude,
I don’t see it as nonsense, and Grant isn’t the only writer talking about this question today.
@ Jack:
It’s pure nonsense. While one other writer has entertained the question (in order to increase page hits, just like Grant) no one else is writing nonsense like:
… it’s easy to see why the 49ers would hand the team over to Kaepernick. They’ve been looking for a way to make the transition all season. It’s obvious.
Alex Smith lacks spark. He’s conservative and efficient. Kaepernick is faster, more aggressive and his passes have more zip than Alex Smith’s. Kaepernick looks to extend the play. Smith looks for a place to fall to take the sack. and
If the 49ers win a Super Bowl this season, it will probably be with Kaepernick at quarterback, not Smith. The defense isn’t as dominant as it was last season, so the 49ers need a playmaker at quarterback.
Claude,
You think Barrows only entertained it for blog hits?
@ Jack:
Yeah, he generally doesn’t do a lot of multi-level, hypothetical on top of hypothetical, pull-something-out-of-his-butt speculating. But he received a reader question that he know would generate a lot of interest and he led with it. That’s my take, anyway.
Now that we have covered the throw away parenthetical in my comment, would you care to discuss the actual point I was making?
Claude,
I agree with Grant’s takes on this more than I disagree.
“… it’s easy to see why the 49ers would hand the team over to Kaepernick. They’ve been looking for a way to make the transition all season. It’s obvious.” I agree that if they had been looking for a way to make a change this is a good way for everyone involved, and does not scapegoat Smith.
“Alex Smith lacks spark. He’s conservative and efficient. Kaepernick is faster, more aggressive and his passes have more zip than Alex Smith’s. Kaepernick looks to extend the play. Smith looks for a place to fall to take the sack.”
I disagree that Smith lacks spark, and there is no doubt he is conservative and highly efficient. Kaepernick is faster, has more zip and on Sunday looked like he did a much better job of extending the play.
“If the 49ers win a Super Bowl this season, it will probably be with Kaepernick at quarterback, not Smith. The defense isn’t as dominant as it was last season, so the 49ers need a playmaker at quarterback.”
Don’t totally agree with the first sentence here, but if the Rogers keeps having trouble, the defense won’t be as dominant, and they will need more production from the entire offense to make up for it.
Did that answer your question or point? Not trying to be a funny guy here.
@ Jack:
Thanks for responding. You and I see this completely differently.
“… it’s easy to see why the 49ers would hand the team over to Kaepernick. They’ve been looking for a way to make the transition all season. It’s obvious.” I agree that if they had been looking for a way to make a change this is a good way for everyone involved, and does not scapegoat Smith.
Yeah, but I notice you didn’t say you agree that the team “obvious[ly]” has been looking for a way to make a change. That’s pure baseless speculation, in other words, nonsense.
“Alex Smith lacks spark. He’s conservative and efficient. Kaepernick is faster, more aggressive and his passes have more zip than Alex Smith’s. Kaepernick looks to extend the play. Smith looks for a place to fall to take the sack.”
I disagree that Smith lacks spark, and there is no doubt he is conservative and highly efficient. Kaepernick is faster, has more zip and on Sunday looked like he did a much better job of extending the play.
Again, the spark comment is nonsense. So is the suggestion that efficiency is somehow a negative. I think it is a tad premature to draw any firm conclusions from Sunday. First, it was 3.5 quarters of play. In addition, it wasn’t particularly representative of what will happen going forward. Kaepernick went in relatively unprepared so the circumstances weren’t the best for him. On the other hand, the Rams probably had not spent much time preparing for Kaep, so their schemes and play were not representative of what Kaepernick would see from defenses in the future. I don’t know how those two things balance out, but the combined unknown should encourage reasonable people to hold off on making bold pronouncements about what Kaepernick can or cannot do.
I note your silence regarding the nonsensical and unnecessary slam at Smith regarding looking for a place to take a sack.
“If the 49ers win a Super Bowl this season, it will probably be with Kaepernick at quarterback, not Smith. The defense isn’t as dominant as it was last season, so the 49ers need a playmaker at quarterback.”
Don’t totally agree with the first sentence here, but if the Rogers keeps having trouble, the defense won’t be as dominant, and they will need more production from the entire offense to make up for it.
First, the first sentence is part of the nonsense. Second, the offense has been more productive this season, significantly more productive. It just hasn’t been consistently significantly more productive. I don’t see how a second year player who hasn’t had much playing time to date is going to be the answer to the consistency problem. I also find it amusing that Grant and others think that this is the time that the 49ers are going to move on from Smith. The man is coming off of 18-19 and 7-8 performances.
Anyway, until we know how Smith is recovering from the concussion, I think this entire discussion is just a lot of mental masturbation. I understand why fans would engage in it, but Grant should have known better.
@ Jack:
Sorry, disregard the “You and I see this completely differently.” I wrote that before I had closely read what you wrote. I should have removed it before posting.
Claude,
First off, the entire comments section is as you put it “mental masturbation”.
As for, “I note your silence regarding the nonsensical and unnecessary slam at Smith regarding looking for a place to take a sack.” Not quite silence, I thought I addressed that with my comment stating that Kaepernick did a much better job of extending the play.
I finally got to watch the first half with all22, and I must say, his performance was much more impressive than what it looked like from watching it on TV.
@ Jack:
Fair enough. We’ll just have to agree to disagree on the value of this post.
Dang Claude, I was hoping to debate with you : )
Jack you are not smart enough to debate claude.
You’re probably right. Since Stan doesn’t hang out here much, Claude has claimed his GENIUS status : )
Knock it off kolombo.
The closer we get to Thanksgiving for more jive turkey gobbling we’ll hear.
Ribico, Are you Prime’s basting apprentice?
Jack, do you forget where the Jive Turkey reference came from? The main man referring to nonsense like this.
Ribico,
As the great LC said of the turkey gobble quote,
“Harbaugh would have been better off saying he did not want to address the subject at all. Journalists understand that. He did not need to do all that gobbling. He may think journalists are gobblers but, come on, he is the King Gobbler, a 200-pound self-baster.”
It makes perfect sense and it is a great reference to those who pretend they know or those who make wild predictions or assumptions.
I believe Prime Time coined it by referring to the haters who just talk garbage.
http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-network-total-access/0ap2000000087647/Harbaugh-It-was-a-lot-of-gobble-gobble-turkey
FDM,
Yes, Prime has anointed himself as the blogs Master Baster.
OK, Grant took my comment down. Jack, let’s just say you and I have differing opinions on LC.
I realize that Jack, Prime is funny, you need to grow up.
But the greatLC also was quoted..To paraphrase,
“I’ve been wrong a million times before, and will be wrong a million times again…”
And that was not long ago. LOL
FDM,
We obviously have different views on humor.
You are just sour Jack cause he picks on you.
No. I just don’t find him humorous.
How could you, his crazy remarks are usually directed at you or the other haters. I would not think its funny either if he was directing his hysteria at me.
Simple FDM. I skim to the next post. I already have that ignore button so many want added.
I have officially hit the ignore button with Master Bater, I actually feel sorry for him. It obvious he is s lonely unhappy soul.
Funny, FDM says Jack needs to grow up. Prime is the problem child on this blog. This clown just continues to heckle anyone that criticizes Alex Smith. I don’t even engage this clown anymore. Jack, continue to be objective and keep it real.
Be critical of Alex all you want. Just substantiate it with some facts to support it. If you are going to throw out lies and nonsense, of course I’m gonna heckle you.
I love seeing you haters cry after every win and make prediction after prediction and they NEVER come true!
Hey Fitzbob, thought you were on vacation with relatives in town. They must be sick of you already as no one will talk to you. This is why you are probably still on here. Loser!
That “200 lb. self-baster” comment is the kind of thing that makes me love reading LC.
This will go down with the Niners will draft Fleener, the Niners must sign Tebow, various blowout predictions, etc.
Oh, to be a pundit. Never having to admit you are 100% wrong.
+1
Do you watch football?
Alex Smith will come back next week and continue to be the starter the remainder of the year. You really jumped the gun on this post, Grant.
Regardless of what happens this year there is going to be one hell of an open competition for the QB spot next summer. I believe the QB spot is going to be a strong spot for the 9ers for a while its the d that has me a little worried. an early draft prediction for 2013 right here…… defense defense defense
I was hoping it was going to be defense, defense, defense for this years draft (maybe with a light sprinkling of offense). At a minimum we need a NT, another pass rusher, and depth at safety. Based on performance this year, we probably need to be looking at a long term replacement for J.Smith (who while still a great player has not been as dominant as in his career year last season – what a shock), a CB, as well as a replacement for Bowman when he leaves in FA.
Good news: we have a bucket load of draft picks!
scooter 2013 is this years draft
Last I checked we are still in 2012 Old Coach… 2013 is next year. My meaning was in the April 2012 draft I was hoping for more defensive players being drafted.
Deezybee, not really, 2 years with a real HC and same system, 20-6 record, playoff win against Drew Brees, 2 fumbles away from a SB, top 10 QB the last 2 years. Let me guess…you also thought the Niners should have benched Steve Young for Steve Bono and Elvis GrBac right?
Steve had a monkey on his back remember? But nah.lol.Steve was one of the greatest qbs of all time..if it wasnt for those damn cowboys and packers.. He’d have as many as Joe..but Steve could make things happen..arm legs..helluva passer. Alex is none of that.lol
Based on the weekend comments, looks like numbers/hits are down eh Grant? So what better way to generate some hits on the blog then relying on old faithful Alex Smith.
Grant said: “They’ve been looking for a way to make the transition all season. It’s obvious.
As soon as the 49ers lost their first game to the Vikings, they started mixing Kaepernick into games because they wanted to give the offense more spark.”
So every team that runs a wildcat option is looking to replace their starting QB?
Grant said:”Kaepernick looks to extend the play. Smith looks for a place to fall to take the sack.”
That is a really subjective statement to make. Would we have won the Saints game if Smith was just looking for places to take a sack? What is the bigger sign of maturity and progress in a QB, making one read and then looking to run or staying in the pocket and giving your receivers time to get open? What you call zip on pass I call lack of touch. Good luck getting a receiver to hold onto one of those lasers when he’s 10 yards away from the line of scrimmage.
Gore seemed to catch one and get a first down.
Exactly, one.
How many were dropped due to lack of touch?
Jack is a monkey!!!
Hack Jammer, looks like you are the new clown hater of the blog with your know it all attitude. Ha!
Coffee,
From the 7 times he dropped back to pass in the 1st half, I am at zero drops due to touch. The Gore drop on the screen to the left side was on Gore. It looks as though Gore takes his eyes off the ball and looks upfield too soon.
Jack you are a broken record.
How can anyone take you seriously when you try to make a point with words like “it looks like though”.
Jack we are not kids. Who are you trying to convince? Anyone with a brain knows we have a weaker chance of going to the SB with CK but you are trying so hard to defend CK when there is nothing to defend. Nobody here hates CK like you hate Alex. We are not like you. You want to be Grant Cohn, we get it.
We are niner fans. And we see no reason to wish or hope or think about a season with no SB appearance. We have suffered long. We have earned the right to be opimistic. So please let’s not encourage this nonsense.
Dang Prime, How many screen names do you have?
Here’s how I see it. Kaep can really only be effective if he can outplay/outrun the opposing teams middle linebacker who will be used as a spy to keep him in check. Seeing how the next middle linebacker the Niners face is All Pro Brian Urlacher, I say the Niners will be wise to sit Kaep and start Smith if they can.
Um, Kaep CAN outrun Urlacher.
CK couldn’t out run the Seattle DE. Urlacher is an All-Pro. He’ll do a lot worse than outrun him. He’ll knock him silly and strip him.
Notice how carefree CK is with the ball?
He outran Lauranitis, and Finnegan on his TD run.
I don’t know if you’ve seen Urlacher play this year DS, but since his knee surgery he’s lost a couple steps.
One hit from Urlacher is all it takes to turn Kaep into Alex Smith. Don’t risk it, Chicago’s defense is better than the Niners. If Smith can go, let him play!
Kap could outrun Urlacher if he were running backwards. Urlacher is the slowest linebacker in the NFL. I like Kap’s chances with a week of reps under his belt. If JH could make Smith serviceable, he could turn Kap into a superstar. All he has to do is trust him a LOT more than he trusted Smith!
I think Grant brings up a good point that hasn’t been addressed by anyone outside of the organization. SF has looked for an opportunity to phase Alex Smith out. Whether you like him or hate him, the fact of the matter is that SF is preparing for a future without him.
I also think that Chicago is an excellent opportunity for SF to start Kaepernick with little risk. I don’t expect Jay Cutler to get medical clearance to play Monday night. So, facing Jason Campbell, I believe SF has a win win situation on its hands. Even if Kaepernick has the projected 2 1/2 turnovers, Jason Campbell should have more. He also is erratic, undecisive, and inaccurate.
Chew, 54 is not the same anymore ! He is still a good LB but he has lost a few steps with age and injuries! Go Niners
Really Grant?
Sorry, I don’t buy your stipulations as being that valid. Of course if AS never got clearance, he’d never play again.
Even if Kaep plays Monday night and plays well, I’d be surprised if it leads to Harbaugh making a permanent switch at QB this season. If Smith and the rest of them team was performing poorly with Smith at QB then sure, but going 6-2 in the 1st half of the season and having an offense that bar a few games has performed quite well just isn’t a situation you change unless forced to.
I still think it will take a long term injury (and no, I am not hoping for this) or a string of poor performances by Smith before Harbaugh made a change.
“Kaepernick looks to extend the play. Smith looks for a place to fall to take the sack.”
Unbelievable.
“Is this the end of Alex Smith?”
No.
I really can’t guess which way Harbaugh will go, but I have a hard time imagining him jeopardizing this season with a largely untested QB.
gobble gobble
Is this the end of Alex Smith? No.
Is this the end of Grant’s credibility? Yes.
+1
Grant lost all credibility long time ago
Grant lost all credibility long time ago
Good thing you all are aren’t regulars.
Grant
Does the PD have an Ombudsman? There was no need to take a comment down that is critical of you.
Odd thing about the play of CK7 is the fact that his strength is running and yet the Rams had him scrambling very ugly in the pocket. His feet were jumping all over the place.
I believe this will be the beginning of the Scott Tolzien battle over CK. The fact that so many of our own fans know our 3rd string QB name says alot already.
very few third stringers have the respect that Scott has from the people who matter, teammates.
Tolzein got outplayed by Josh Johnson and josh got cut. Tolzein won’t get anywhere near the field anytime soon. Forget it.
We don’t disagree often 23, but stuff happens.
1st off I know its more a hope than anything for my boy Tolzien, but he’s one step closer. You don’t stay on a team coached by an ex-NFL QB by luck. If you’re playing for Rex Ryan, yeah luck works, but ppl who know what real QB’s??
Many on this blog already nailed it, just because you have a strong arm doesn’t mean anything. JJ is playing in UFL when many teams could use a starter right now (Paging KC, Steelers). If Tolzien gets cut, roughly 4 teams snag him immediately.
His teammates aren’t giddy about him for nothing, they see something in Tolzien that I as well as many others have already seen. I want to see it against live bullets
Do you have an accompanying article on how CK better win by a zillion points or he won’t be on the team come Tuesday? Because you need to balance out the lunacy of this article fairly. Otherwise you lose the balanced review.
BS thinks your article is BS Grant! It should know!
Still in love with DS, how cute!
23J, please call DS by his real name. It is ‘Douglas Smith’ after all (Alex’s dad). Of course he’s in love with Alex and blind to reality. It is his boy after all.
How long does it take you 23 to switch names to 4th and Alex who is as big a loser as you.?
JJ will be the starter by week 6! Do you hold Grant hostage? Your stupidity is endless. Why Grant thinks you contribute anything but blog hits is a mystery.
You MUST believe I’m a girl, but you’re sexual insecurities would collapse if you thought I’m a guy. All this time you think of me…you’re blowup doll with the optional man/woman vocals might get jealous.
This would spell the end of the current 49ers resurgence. Kaep ain’t no NFL caliber QB. He’s like Donovan McNabb-lite. Most QB’s are coming into the league with NFL-like offensive experience. He was in the pistol at Nevada. The pistol is more gimmicky than the wildcat. I give him 2 years and it’s back to the draft board. The D is good. But they’re going to have to hold opponents to 10 points or under every game to have a shot. If you abandon Smith at this point, it’s 1 and done come playoff time.
Grant i disagree with those who are writing that this is not a legitamite discussion. there is a very good chance that AS might miss one or two games and if kaep plays well harbaugh will have a decision to make. Everytime i try to get a discussion about the 9ers D nobody bites all they want to do is argue the merits of AS and CK so if you ca’nt beat em join em
old coach, pretty sure I gave you a nibble today ;)
spaceborn yes you did i guess its just you and i floating above the fray oh and maybe jack too
Coach,
My take on the D is that Rogers is going to have difficulty with slot guys who have great short area burst like Harvin, Cruz, Amendola, Welker etc. The coaches see it too, the proof is in Fangio switching Brown inside on Sunday. They had not done that in their previous 24 games.
This problem has a ripple effect through the entire D, effecting the run defense, teams are less afraid of 3rd and 5 or less, and pass rush, the passes to the slot are usually quick and don’t allow for twists/stunts to get home.
What are your thoughts? Agree/Disagree?
i was listening to matt barrow on knbr last week he thought the problem was the 9ers were playing approx 40% more man this year and unless you can jam at the line of scrimmage if you are lined up against a quicker opponent in man d you can be in trouble. rogers is’nt big enough to jam and not quick enough to stay with slot receivers in man D. i would like to see fangio go back to 90% zone and man when we blitz
For those of you criticizing grant for this post, matt barrows just posted a story titled what will the 49ers do with alex smith if kaep succeeds
If it happens then I’ll support the move. This isn’t an issue one way or the other. I’m a Niner for life.
This is pretty funny :http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap1000000094594/article/eric-berry-of-kansas-city-chiefs-has-phobia-of-horses
Sled,
VD gave CK a B+
How do you spin that?
After 8 years or so, B+ is a failure to me. But don’t get me wrong, I do like CK and want another SB trophy in SF before they leave, but I see immaturity still in his play and movements. I also see lots of turnovers happening, which is something that Harbaugh can’t stand nor can I. Something I have to tip my cap to Alex for, not many with him and that is his greatest talent.
Plus, what else is VD gonna say? They gotta be good soldiers and fall in line with decisions not made by them.
Sled,
VD gave CK a B+, not Alex Smith.
CK7 has been in the league a season and a half, not 8 years bud.
That’s not a bad grade from a teammate who knows both QB’s.
C’mon man I think the ref to 8 yrs is pretty obvious, that I’m talking from the point of a fan amidst a drought with the same bum QB with very mediocre skill (last yr not counting of course) I want A+ and nothing less and we all deserve to see that by now.
No doubt CK7 is promising, I just put my bet on Scott Tolzien. Much better things have been said about him and he has 0 mins of NFL time. His body language and leadership qualities are intact, CK7 not so much. He reminds me a bit of Kyle Williams (might be other WR) how he’d jump up and do a celebration dance for a 1st down, not a TD, but a 1st down. Guys that get too pumped up and don’t keep their focus until you absolutely get the W.
Grant
Were you following the Neanderthal commentary last night by any chance… cause your article is a dead-ringer for that jerk’s notions.
Grant: I am in no way an Alex Smith excuse maker and did want the Niners to go in a different direction 2 years ago. But, I cannot see how anyone who has objectively watched the Niners for the last 2 years can reasonably make the arguments you are making. I thought Kap just played ok and kept thinking the entire time that if Alex had not gotten hurt, we would have won going away after a slow start. The man went 18-19 and 7-8 in his last two games and people are talking about benching him. Am I the only one who thinks this is insane? The NFL is full of strong armed quarterbacks who could not play. I think some of these “fans” would replace Alex with Geoff George if he was still playing.
Are you all crazy? Talk about overreacting to one relatively average data point. NFL benches are strewn with once promising flashes who came back to earth with a thud. ASmith is 3rd leading passer rating in the NFL, has 2 yr history of winning, ball control football and after one half of performance you’re ready to embrace CK — just like everyone was so high on Kevin Kolb, and Matt Flynn, and JT O’Sullivan, and …
… and Alex Smith.
Yeah, he was the #1 overall pick of his draft, unlike the other guys.
This coming from the guy that claimed Josh Johnson was going to unseat Smith and he got his hands slapped for calling Jenkins the worst pick ever. I will base my opinions on people that have either played the position or in the NFL Kaepernick has more athleticism than Smith, but his accuracy is suspect. No one who has played the game professionally has suggested that starter be Kaepernick, so why should a beat writer be right? Smith will come back for the Monday game and play really well.
With Smith under center, we have won the Rams game. Kaepernick missed a wide open Williams and that could have been a game changer. Kaepernick has great potential, though he needs to be groomed.
Not too long ago we heard similar arguements about Troy Smith until defenses figure out to flush him out of the pocket and blitz the edges.
Grant I would say maybe lay off the predictions for awhile. The credibility factor seems to be diminishing very quickly with this latest entry.
Grant you are spending an awful lot of your legitimate journalistic capital on a nonsensical story. Just saying…
journalism no….editorializing yes
Alex is 3rd in passer rating, 3rd in ypa, and 1st in completion percentage. He also has the highest winning percentage of any qb these last two years. The notion that he won’t continue to be the starter when he returns is hilariously absurd. It almost seems like 23jordan hacked grants account and wrote this entry.
Alex is a system fit. You all toot his horn but you can’t tell us why nobody wanted him in free agency. We will see if he’s the truth when he’s playing elsewhere next year. It’s good that Kap is getting playing time. No matter how many times we suggested that Smuth needs to start getting down or throwing the ball away to prevent from taking these big hits, it’s crazy. I think he might have had the concussion before he took that get from the linebacker before his backwards slide. It certainly didn’t make sense what he did to get hurt. It’s a wonder he didn’t get knocked out sooner.
Kap runs more but at least he knows how to slide. He might be able to prevent himself from getting hurt. That element if tuning with the football is underrated. Rogers is almost impossible to stop because his arm is deadly and he runs judiciously. Tell me when is the last time someone on this blog saw smith escape the pocket and throw a meaningful pass downfield.
Every time you ask a Smither to cite a great play he’s made, they name one pass. The pass to Vernon in the Saint game last year. 8 years, 1 pass. Hilarious!!
Not to mention that 1 pass was rehearsed all week for just that scenario. He is still a robot trying to play QB. Zero natural instincts for the position. Everything has to be programmed into his instruction set. Improvisation causes a short circuit.
And every time you ask 23jordan why he is welching on his commitment to stop posting, he runs away like a little girl.
Hilarious? Kinda sad, really.
@23welcher – are you related to dick morris, your predictions on niner backup QB’s are always wrong!
I feel bad for ck, you are already projecting he won’t be a niner for long
if Alex is a system fit,and the system is working,then as a 49er fan should’nt you be happy?
On a side note, is anyone not as worried about this “scary” bears team as me. I think these guys are extremely overrated. Yes, they have the takeaways this year but look at who’ve they’ve played.
Jacksonville
Dallas
Tenn
Carolina
STL
Indy-yes i know theyre a great story but, come on..
Detroit
The teams they lost to are actually good teams
Green Bay and Houston
Also, they take the ball away, but for the most part we dont. We are a run first team. Most of the QBs they’ve faced are prone to interceptions too. We should be able to stop the run and force Campbell to throw which will work out for us.
*we dont give the ball away
JS,
My exact sentiments!!
All this QB controversy chatter in vain…
Alex will be back in the lineup against Chicago. However, Smith’s inability to get rid of the ball quickly against the Bears blitz will cause 8-9 sacks against the Bears.
The Bears will stack the box with 8 players all night to effectively stop the 49ers run game. After seeing that the run will be ineffective, Smith will be forced to throw the ball. This will be inneffective because of what I previously stated. Alex will hold the ball, get sacked and most likely knocked out of the game with another concussion.
Kaep will then come in and lead the 49ers to a win by being able to sustain the pocket pressure, step up in the pocket as he showed the ability to against the Rams and if the pressue comes up the middle, he has the legs to run to the sidelines. The extra time and patience he shows in the pocket will allow his WR’s to get open. Expect a lot of PT from Randy Moss.
Kaep is built for a defense like this. Remember the Ravens game last Thanksgiving? I wish I didn’t.
JUST STOP!
It is just sad to think that fans like you all can throw
Alex under the bus – because of a concussion…..
Look at his record – idiots.
Why not throw all the players under the bus? Heck, they all played like crap and have done before. AND he did throw a touchdown in the very short time he played.
Give the man support! Please, don’t treat your high school’s team or your kids team mates like this
As Coach Harbaugh likes to say, “Next man up!”
Yes Sir!!
Yes.
He said the same thing when PW got hurt and Grant replaced him. CK has as much chance of replacing AS as Grant did PW.
And Grant played next-to-great.
exactly
Jack and 23welcher are not fans they are just trolling.
This is just another unnecessary distraction by Grant Cohn to the team.
Imagine while doing your job and you got knocked out and before you leave the hospital some looney is writing stuff about you losing your job which in all accounts you have been performing above average.
Makes no sense at all.
Lol pull the panties out man. You’re way to bs like.
The multiple identities of Axel Primate are at it again.
I could see a QB change if Alex has been bad this year and turning the ball over a lot, but come on you guys are starting to make philly fans look rational.
No doubt CK7 is promising, I just put my bet on Scott Tolzien. Much better things have been said about him and he has 0 mins of NFL time. His body language and leadership qualities are intact, CK7 not so much. He reminds me a bit of Kyle Williams (might be other WR) how he’d jump up and do a celebration dance for a 1st down, not a TD, but a 1st down. Guys that get too pumped up and don’t keep their focus until you absolutely get the W.
@Sled
I like Tolz, but he barely made the team last year and just nudged out JJ this year.
He’s virtually had the same amount of practice time as CK if you take the NFL lockout into consideration. Regardless of what positive talk he has received, he’s still on the practice squad for a reason.
And had he played on Sunday in relief of AS instead of CK, do you really believe he would have done better than CK?
CK manufactured points because of his running and ability to extend plays against a decent Rams pass rush. Tolz in my honest opinion would not have been able to do that.
whoa, whoa whoa!
we know this can’t happen – everyone on this blog “knows” a QB needs 5-6 years in the league, with the same team, and AT LEAST 2 years in the same system before you can decide whether he’s good enough, right?? so by that “logic”, we wont know if Kaep is any good til 2015, right? ;-) Nope, no need to look for an elite passer for several more years to come…
seriously, i dont think this is the last of Alex as a starter for the Niners. i wish we were that lucky, but Kaep probably isnt good enough to send Alex to the bench for good.
Defense and special teams need to step it up otherwise it won’t matter who is qb.
For those who think that AS is the problem, then why didn’t they win after he left the game?
cuz the kicker and special teams collectively blew it.
LMAO. One of your more ridiculous articles, and you compose many in that category.
Is this the end of Alex Smith? – yes.
Grant said “If those two things happen, it’s easy to see why the 49ers would hand the team over to Kaepernick. They’ve been looking for a way to make the transition all season. It’s obvious.”
If they really feel that way it doesn’t matter if Alex is cleared or not they will just go with Kaep for Alex’s safety, I think Grant might be reading more into the coaches using Kaep in those games,but Grant is the PRO.
future starters to b afraid of
offense
lamichael james
colin kaep
aj jenkins
kendal hunter
crabtree
v davis
williams
iupati , davis, and staley
defense
willis
bowman
brooks
aldon smith
dobbs
rick j
mcdonald
goldson
culliver
t brown
whitner
scary and promising talent!!!!!!!
im basing this on justin smith gettn old and rogers playing like crap and sopoaga losing his reps and maningham leaving the team even tho he’s a great weapon, moss wont last too many more years…THE FUTURE LOOKS PROMISING FOR THAT NEW STADIUM!!!!!!
WHAT U THINK GRANT?!
CK may or may not be the starter and Goldson could be too expensive for the Niners to keep after this season.
I still see Smithers. Saying he missed KW… Is this the best that you have? I remember seeing Alex smith miss KW in the NFC title game that would have put us out of reach an into the Super Bowl. But you all don’t want to talk about that. It’s funny because you’re all so blind you never want to bring up how many times AS never pulls the trigger with receivers open down field. So if you’re going to beat one play to death ill beat just these two plays to death.
1 KW being overthrown is the title game
And RM being missed against Seattle.
There you go 2-1 and that’s just the surface of Smiths misreads. All that matters is CK put them in position to win the game and Akers blew it. If it was Alex smith I would give him the same props. So be a 49er fan and give the youngster his due. He played very good for the circumstances he was put in. Haters!
Oh and Grant…… There is NO way Smith is missing this game due to injury. He Didnt want to come out on Sunday. Smith will start 49ers will win.
Grant, how come you do not write anything about our defense! Our defense was just horrible in the first half! The front seven was getting their tail kicked and c Rogers allowed 100% completion to his WR he covered! Why are we playing such inconsistent football! Why our coaches did not plan for any trick plays when the game was on the line!!!!
Maybe I am being negative but this team is not playing with the same intensity as last year! I just can’t see how we could beat a balanced playoff team if we can not generate offense, stop the run and make the crucial field goals! I hope we turn it around for the rest of the season. Go niners
Lol at the Smithers have a fit about a column and a question. You’re all beyond funny. Team first wanna b’s
I hope if we have to go with Kap he plays good, but he reminds me of Mike Vick right now and that could be bad.
There is at least one reason, why JH not would let CK replace AS and that is that JH is in the proces of learning CK to play as a QB, by learning to read the game, the individual play, go through the progression and find the right solution every time, instead of trusting his arm og legs, This is a proces that is going to take some time and it is not, by far, finished yet.
Hmmm. If JH didn’t trust CK, he wouldn’t have let him put it up 17 times. He would have run the ball more.
It’s so funny how you come out of your hole when there is an opportunity to slam Alex. What? Busy at work? Classic hater at his finest! How’s the team doing? Slugging away?