The fans made their opinion heard, loud and clear, here
tonight. They want Carr!
Many of the Niners, though, remain solidly behind Alex
Smith.
Vernon Davis said he went to counsel Smith after Mike
Singletary lit into the 49ers quarterback in the fourth quarter. Davis said
Smith initially didn’t handle the tongue lashing very well and Davis wanted to
make sure he stayed in the game.
“I pretty much told him ‘Alex, speak up. You’re going in
the game,'” Davis said. “I told him he’s going in the game no matter what
anyone has to say. I felt like I needed to say that … I wanted Alex to stay in
the game because I believe in Alex.”
Said Frank Gore, “I didn’t really want David (Carr) to come in.
Not for any reason. I just wanted Alex to stick it out. I know he’ll keep
fighting. I want the best for Alex.”
The support Smith is receiving from influential players in
the locker room matters. And I’m guessing it will make it hard for Singletary
to start Carr on Sunday against the Raiders, even if he wanted to. (There is
also the matter of Carr probably not being an upgrade at the position). After
the game, Singletary said “it’s possible” when asked if he was open to a
quarterback change.
• Maybe Singletary should have been getting in Smith’s
face long before Sunday night.
For much of the season, Singletary, at least publicly,
has been soft on Smith. Early in the season, he made a habit of making
sour-milk faces when asked if he was considering benching his starting
quarterback.
As late as last week, in fact, he dismissed suggestions
that Smith was performing poorly. After Smith’s two critical interceptions
against Atlanta, he said he thought his quarterback played “pretty decent.”
But tonight Singletary snapped. And Smith, as if someone
turned his power switch on, began starring.
After throwing four touchdowns in the season’s first 19
quarters, Smith threw two touchdowns in the final eight minutes.
In the Niners’ final three drives, Smith threw 12 of 16
passes for 123 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.
• The Niners have lost three games by a combined eight
points. In those defeats they have committed 12 turnovers — six interceptions
and six fumbles — and had a turnover differential of minus-nine.
Five games into the season, they still have no answers
for why they routinely self-destruct.
“The thing we knew we could not do was turn the ball
over,” Singletary said. “But, yet, we did it. So we just have to keep working
at it.”
Said linebacker Takeo Spikes, “It’s the turnovers. We’re
killing ourselves. And the next question I know you are going to ask is how to
do we handle that. Trust me, if I knew, we wouldn’t even be having this
conversation right now. We really wouldn’t. So I don’t know … go take a survey
or something.”
• Eagles coach Andy Reid on Michael Crabtree, who had 9
catches for 105 yards, both career-highs: “Crabtree, I thought, played out of
his mind, he had a phenomenal game. He had some moves out there that for a wide
receiver were something.”
• Safe to say WR Josh Morgan is a glass-is-half-full
type. Here’s Morgan on why he believes the Niners can turn their season around,
“Because all we really have to do is win 10 games. Win 10 games and we’re still
in the playoffs.”
•If it’s possible to have a bright side at 0-5, here
goes: Crabtree and Davis (104) became the first Niners to have 100 receiving
yards in the same game since Jerry Rice and J.J. Stokes did it on Jan, 3, 2000 …
San Francisco converted 8 of 13 third-down attempts (61.5), their highest
conversion rate since Dec. 14, 2003.
• Smith and Eagles quarterback Kevin Kolb combined to
complete 12 of 12 passes in the first quarter. It was the fifth time in the
past 15 years that both quarterbacks had combined to complete every pass
attempt (minimum 12) in the first quarter. Here’s a look at the other tandems – not
exactly a who’s-who of brilliant signal-callers. Trivia: Please name the only
future Hall of Famer in the bunch:
* Oct. 1, 1995: New England’s Scott Zolak and Atlanta’s
Jeff George (14 of 14).
* Dec. 13, 1999: Denver’s Brian Griese and Jacksonville’s
Mark Brunell (12 of 12).
* Oct. 21, 2007: New England’s Tom Brady and Miami’s Cleo
Lemon (12 of 12).
* Dec. 14, 2008: San Francisco’s Shaun Hill and Miami’s
Chad Pennington (12 of 12).
* Oct. 10, 2010: Philadelphia’s Kevin Kolb and San
Francisco’s Alex Smith (12 of 12).
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