or slow down all “togather.” Gore the most dominant RB in the NFL? I love Gore but…wow. I’m gonna go way out on a limb and say Charger fans and Vikings fans, among others, will take serious issue with that. My guess is Alex Smith will throw 7 interceptions in a third of the season. .......Or are the Niners going undefeated through the preseason, regular season and straight through the Super Bowl too? Maybe Patrick Willis will make a tackle every time the other team snaps the ball. Lets just assume the Niners get 22 starters to the pro bowl and we win that too, just for good measure.

youre right about Vince, but he also has won a national championship and has led a realatively untalented offense to playoff contention his first two years in the league. Lets let Alex prove he can win a couple games in a row before we start making those comparisons. Ryan Leaf won his first two games as a rookie, but that didnt really make him good did it?

Even if they had given Gore the ball more last year, it’s highly unlikely it would have made them THAT much more likely to win. I’m almost willing to say that if they had given the ball to Gore more in those 10 losses, it may have taken some away, but it would have look more like: When Gore gets the rock 16 times or less, 0-5, and when he gets the ball more, 5-6. There were times the 49ers abandoned the run, not because they wanted to throw (or even because the HAD to), it was more because the run wasn’t working anymore. Think about it, even with 8 men in the box, they couldn’t get a passing game going. There is no way in the world that a running game can dominate for 60 minutes.

1. Give GORE the DAMN BALL and 2. Alex has not had the luxury to be coached by one coordinator like most QB mentioned and deemed busts (Leaf, Vick, Grossman…etc) for two consecutive years… I thought Norv did a good job until he left and Hostler took over…. now with Martz I see good things in Smith’s future.. but don’t expect an MVP Nominations if his coordinators keep shuffling in and out.

I don’t think the 49ers fell behind last year because of lack of defense. Their defense was a VERY respectable unit, and was especially so when the game was close. The reason the team fell behind, and the SAME reason the team is likely to fall behind again this year, is the lack of offense. You site better WRs and a better OL, and I say that everyone will have to wait and see. One man, Staley, does not an entire offensive line make. Coming into last year, fresh off of a 1600+ rushing season for Gore, the offensive line was thought to be a strong point of the team. It didn’t quite work out that way for a variety of reason (including but not limited to age, injury, and just plain sucktitude).

Smith has been given plenty of opportunity to do something with himself. Michael Vick was always behind a shoddy offensive line and NEVER had a decent WR to throw to. All he had was a converted basketball player and a decent running back behind him. Antonio Bryant, Arnaz Battle, and even Jackson were all probably better than the WRs that Vick had to work with and that’s not to mention the talent difference on the offensive line. I’m not comparing the two. I’m just saying that after two or three seasons in the NFL, you’d think that Smith would have an idea on how to “work with what you’ve got.”

Again, I’m a big Smith supporter and I’m not ready to call him a bust. I’m just saying that it’s not that incredulous to say that all he’s shown to fans (and the front office) is that he sucks for a variety of reasons. You say give him this year. What if he sucks again and Martz leaves? Give him another year? When does the cycle end?