Posted By: Darren (31/08/2008 12:00:58 AM)
Comment: Jason, when Mike Nolan leaves, Alex Smith will be the happiest player. Nolan has ruined him and SMith knows it. Smith is hoping for payback when the Yorks axe Nolan. Nolan sounded like a 5-year old kid on sugar high, whoever on KPIX thought of miking him needs to be FIRED!

Posted By: Darren (30/08/2008 8:05:22 PM)
Comment: Matt, why didn't NOlan boot the 50 or so FG? I don't care what it would've done, the 49ers should have tried to tie it, gone into OT like Panthers/Colts. I hope this is not an example of what's to come. And I'm tired of vs. ARizona as the opener...3 years ina row now?!

Posted By: Don Roberto (30/08/2008 11:55:40 AM)
Comment: Hey Matt, Maybe you've covered this. How does the deal go down on the dismissals? Does Nolan personally sitdown with each casualty and man-up with the bad news, or does some other hack handle it? (scott,jed,mike...) El Don

Posted By: BIGJAY (30/08/2008 11:16:14 AM)
Comment: l am not sure what chance Clayton has of being on the 53 man roster but l believe he is deserving of a spot.

Posted By: SFJay (30/08/2008 11:04:52 AM)
Comment: I was amazed that JTO did not play at all. He barely played in the 3rd preseason game as well. You would think for a guy with no experience at starting and very little playing time in the regular season they would want to get him as many reps as they could, but hey Nolan knows best.

Posted By: ninernutt (30/08/2008 10:25:36 AM)
Comment: Three puzzling and very disturbing things about Nolan and this team: running back Michael 'whatever' is one of THE least instinctive runners who keeps a job and Clayton doesn't; if JTO goes down, why will Alex be the very first off the bench to replace him, and; why is it, since you only have P-Willis and one or two other "quality" defensive players, don't you go to more unpredictible and exotic blitz packages throughout the game rather than just 2 or 3 times throughout a season.

Posted By: grafe (30/08/2008 10:22:06 AM)
Comment: really hoping clayton can stick around somewhere, i liked him last year and wish he could stay on the niners but it doesn't seem like that's gonna happen

Posted By: Chico John (30/08/2008 9:53:45 AM)
Comment: Matt: In this modern era of the NFL, it seems meaningless to have the season ticket holders and fans pay full price for a preseason game. It looked on T.V. as if the crowd didn't exceed 40,000 people. If you know in advance that the starters won't play and the soon to be cut players will be playing, it isn't worth the effort. The play calling doesn't resemble the regular season plays, and it is not much more than a scrimmage. I hope they cut the preseason to two games, and add two meaningful games to the regular season. Thomlinson of the Chargers will not play in the pre-season because he doesn't want to get hurt. Tell that to Vince Lombardi, it's an insult to the game.

Posted By: Lesrok (30/08/2008 9:44:05 AM)
Comment: Did anyone else notice Nolan slyly flipping the bird to the camera during his end-of-the-first-half interview? Matt, I'll bet you have seen Justin Smith go up against Joe Staley many times in practice. Who usually gets the best of that matchup?

Posted By: Louis (30/08/2008 9:37:17 AM)
Comment: Well, I think it's official. Cut Alex Smith. Nolan should stick to his guns and let O'Sullivan play without having to look over his shoulder every week. It's not like Smith's going to add anything off the bench. At least this way they could keep someone who might actually be able to help the team, like Clayton. Any chance Nolan pulls a Del Rio and shocks the world today, Matt?

Posted By: Josh (30/08/2008 9:29:50 AM)
Comment: This is a post I made on the 49ers Message board that I wanted to get your opinion on matt: It's hard to argue against the obvious... Alex Smith is a Bust. As someone has said on another thread, "Welcome to a long time ago." As a long time "Die Hard" 49er fan I was really pulling for the kid, but he just has not improved. This was clear to most of us by his second season. His throws seem to be in slow motion, so they are very easy to read. I really do believe that he will never develop into anything more than a backup QB in the NFL. Please think back (I know it hurts) to how bad the 49ers were before Nolan and McCloughan arrived. I know for a fact the we are a MUCH better team than we were before they arrived. There have been several bad decisions made by both of these men in their respective areas of operation, but not any more or less than can be expected by a first time HeadCoach and GM. I have seen experienced HCs and GMs make just as many head scratching decisions as these two. The biggest mistake made by both of these men is the drafting of Alex Smith. If you think back once again, there was only two choices that made sense at that time. Of course in hindsight you can see several other players could have been taken that would have helped the team. But at that time it was between Alex and Aaron for the first pick...there is no denying that...and the 49ers HAD TO draft a QB. The 49ers really wanted neither! They wanted to get out of that spot. The problem was that they were stuck with the pick, and both were and are not worthy of a first overall pick. Can you really blame Nolan for drafting Alex? Yes. Can you hold it against him? thats up to you. At that time could he have done anything different? No. I really think he has done a good job, but the things that are out of his control have made things difficult for him, and have come back as his fault. Coordinators leaving for other jobs, one leaving him no time to get an experienced OC in his place and the play of Alex. The gameday mistakes are common in the NFL even by long time coaches (Gibbs 2 timeouts and others). Does that let him off the hook? No Way! We are all accountable for our choices and decisions, but I don't hold things against people that were out of their control. I know he does care for the 49ers and wants them to be a winning football team, and I really do hope O'Sullivan plays well....cause you know that if the 49ers are winning with O'Sullivan, all the Alex Smith problems go away! Thanks Matt!!!

Posted By: Jason (30/08/2008 9:28:17 AM)
Comment: I'm glad Smith and Martz seem to have, if nothing else, a good working relationship. CBS5 showed the "interaction" between Smith and Nolan after his TD to Bajema and Smith didn't want to give Nolan the time of day (and Nolan was actually complimenting him), and I swear I could see Smith rolling his eyes as Nolan was talking to him.

Posted By: pete (30/08/2008 8:59:15 AM)
Comment: any chance Claton makes the team over Foster? Robinson is too valuable on special teams and as a receiver but Clayton seemed to be more effective as a runner than Foster

Posted By: shobbrobb (30/08/2008 8:17:16 AM)
Comment: More of the same from Alex Smith!...Along with more EXCUSES from the brain dead.

Posted By: dcsham (30/08/2008 8:00:08 AM)
Comment: It's almost painful now to watch Alex Smith play quarterback...feet shuffling...tentative...passes floating over the heads of wide open receivers...that deer in the headlights look we've all come to know so well. I just can't see the 49ers offense performing at any acceptable level if Alex Smith has to play QB for any extended period of time this year.

Posted By: THS GRINCH (30/08/2008 7:55:06 AM)
Comment: Matt is the vibe diffrent around the Niners this year?There seems to be a quite confidence and seeing coaches and players on the sidelines laughing and joking with eachother is something I havent seen in a while..Your thoughts?

Posted By: THA GRINCH (30/08/2008 7:52:52 AM)
Comment: Its a good sign the Niners are getting better when some good players actually dont make the 53..Clayton has more upside for this offense than Foster does..

Posted By: NinerFromMexico (30/08/2008 7:25:08 AM)
Comment: Hello Matt, I've been a reader of this blog for a very long time, but this is the first time I write. I've been a 9ers fan for many years and I live in Monterrey, Mexico (Ramiro Pruneda's college town). I am happy he has a shot to play with the niners even is only in the practice squad and as the international player. I have been wishing for Alex Smith to show the potential since day one, but as of today he has showed he is just a backup QB and he is very far from being a real winner in this league. As many other readers, all I want is to win games, and hopefully with JTO we can go over the .500 this season. I know it is difficult for Clayton to make the roster, but would be very disappointing to see him leave to another team with all the potential he's shown. A concern to me going into the start of the season is the defense. They had a great showing against Green Bay, but with Chicago was not very good. If we are going to win some games this season is because the defense played extremely well, and the offense is playing error-free, not great, just not turning the ball over so many times as last season. How is Defense looking at training during the last weeks? You think we can relay on it to stay on the games? I want to thank you for all your hard work. Best regards from Monterrey Mexico.

Posted By: Sean (30/08/2008 7:12:52 AM)
Comment: TBC needs to come back down to earth because he hasn't established anything. I will not be disappointed if he is cut.

Posted By: Jake (30/08/2008 6:47:50 AM)
Comment: I still don't understand why keep basically a special teams guy in Michael Robinson who has done NOTHING as a running back and let a pure running back like Thomas Clayton go??? Makes no sense!

Posted By: mike in MD (30/08/2008 6:43:53 AM)
Comment: Didn't Baas have a torn pec? Good to see him out there again.

Posted By: Logan (30/08/2008 6:41:09 AM)
Comment: Are there any 49er fans in Chicago on this board? i'm looking to get a group together to get a bar sponsor and have them put on games with volume. Post here if interested.

Posted By: JR (30/08/2008 5:49:39 AM)
Comment: Watching the game it is evident Alex is still hesitant in throwing the ball. Several throws seemed late or not having led the receiver enough i.e. to Hill in the end zone. If he leads him, it's a TD. Alex struggles with the "O" and getting extended playing time can only help, but JT not playing at all?? Hello Nolan. It's not like he's a seasoned vet who doesn't need the work. A couple of series would have been helpful. Golston continues to play better than Roman. D. Thomas looked just like B. Moore missing two early tackles because he didn't hit low. Grant and Haley looked much better. Lelie doesn't add value. Keep Ziegler!!

Posted By: Robby (30/08/2008 2:49:53 AM)
Comment: With the season ending injury to Jay Moore and the shoulder injury to Haralson, TBC's spot on the roster is set. I'm not sure how Franklin's injury and Field's injury are going to effect things. But I do know this. In Lelie's two off-seasons with the team and his one full season, he has shown nothing. Clayton on the other hand has shown that he can find a way to contribute. With the recieving abilities of Davis and Walker at TE, plus the fact that every running back (including Clayton) can catch the ball, Martz will have more then enough weapons if the team keeps Clayton over Lelie.

Posted By: mt (30/08/2008 1:21:45 AM)
Comment: Looks like the Niners will be, at minimum, a much more interesting team to watch this year. Looks like there's better defensive and offensive talent. Does that make covering the team more interesting, Matt? Does it make it easier to get/perform interviews because the players are happier? Are they happier?

Posted By: Jon in SoCal (30/08/2008 12:53:41 AM)
Comment: Is it just me, but even when Smith overthrows Hill a bit, it looks like JHill barely gets both feet off the ground when he jumps.

Posted By: Graham (30/08/2008 12:52:09 AM)
Comment: Matt, thanks for the updates. Know it's probably taxing to watch a meaningless game. I really appreciate your work!

Posted By: ninermaniac (30/08/2008 12:50:25 AM)
Comment: Hey matt, That game was intense. The whole time i thought who the heck theyre going to cut at LB and RB. I HATE to see this happen again, but its good for the faithful. That Darren guy is sabatoging this forum, dammit. MAYBE reduce the WORD COUNT! if you decide to reopen the blog. Us Faithful will still keep blogging

Posted By: 19-0'Sullivan (30/08/2008 12:30:50 AM)
Comment: Does anyone still feel like Alex Smith should be our starter?

Posted By: jkc (30/08/2008 12:06:54 AM)
Comment: Congrats to Thomas Clayton. I'm glad to see him turn it on and finally get the NFL game.

Posted By: Jon in SoCal (29/08/2008 11:21:47 PM)
Comment: Matt: Although Smith says he is fully healthy, part of me thinks that he is still affected by the shoulder injury. He may have lost of bit of strength and flexibility in the joint. I know that Alex doesn't make excuses, but do you think that he is still having problems and that it contributes to his lack of accuracy and arm strength

Posted By: Dirk (29/08/2008 11:15:15 PM)
Comment: Who had the radio devices on defense?

Posted By: Pedro (Mexico City) (29/08/2008 11:14:41 PM)
Comment: So Matt? Whats the Situation with the NT, are both our Starter and our 2nd String hurt?

Posted By: Marc - NJ49er (29/08/2008 11:09:10 PM)
Comment: Looking like the QB saga continues Matt. Alex needs to learn how to lead before he can ever expect to run a Mike Martz offense.