Texans 24 - 49ers 21: QB controversy emerges, coaching fails the 49ers
by David Fucillo on Oct 25, 2009 1:40 PM PDT
in San Francisco 49ers News
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First off, thanks to Fearless Frog for posting this graphic in one of the game threads. I think it's perfectly fitting for this recap. It's safe to say that this game will go down as possibly one of the more bizarre in recent memory. I say that due to two things: The dramatic improvement of the offense in the second half and the emergence of Alex Smith as the 49ers 2nd half QB. Of course, both of these things are probably related.
Given the big Alex Smith news of the day, I wanted to open with one quick comment. We'll have an Alex Smith vs. Shaun Hill thread coming up either tonight or tomorrow morning. We'll have plenty of front page discussion on this topic, among many others. Please hold off on creating FanPosts to discuss the QB controversy.
And controversy there now is. After Shaun Hill was woefully ineffective in the first half, Alex Smith replaced him in the second half and had arguably his best game as a pro. He's had more yards in the past, but today he just seemed as effective a QB as he's ever been. Of course, as was pointed out by several folks in the game threads, the Texans did not game plan to face Alex Smith. Sure they knew he was there, but the second half of this game was definitely not to be expected. The second half showed a 49ers offense that was incredibly dynamic, whether it was Vernon Davis, Michael Crabtree or Josh Morgan, among others.
As interesting as things were leading up to this week with Crabtree, things just got a whole lot more interesting for tomorrow's Mike Singletary press conference. Does he name Alex Smith the QB? Does he wait to see what happens in the first day or two of practice? As for Smith, are we seeing a revival of his highly touted drafted status? Or if he gets the start at Indy next week, will a week of game-planning by the Colts be enough to show us the Alex Smith we saw in the past? Soooooo many questions to be answered.
I know the QB discussion will dominate, but there was plenty more of note in the game. After the jump we look at the good, the bad and the ugly, and then look ahead to the Colts matchup.
The Good
Vernon Davis - What can you say about The Disease? After a slow start with Hill, Davis had a monster second half with Alex Smith, finishing with 93 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns. I know we're only through week 7, but Vernon Davis might finally be making the leap. After a relatively quiet first two weeks, Davis has blown up over the last month.
Michael Crabtree - Crabtree might have been overshadowed in the end by Davis and Alex Smith, but the rookie showed why he (and many others) believed he was the best wide receiver in the draft. Crabtree showed some very impressive skills in grabbing 5 receptions for 56 yards. More importantly, he made some huge 3rd down grabs.
Alex Smith - Are we seeing the proverbial return of the prodigal son? A QB switch can sometimes jump-start an offense, but did anybody really expect that kind of performance? Smith finished 15/22 for 206 yards, 3 touchdowns and 1 interception. He showed some of his old mobility and seemed to be able to read the field much better than Shaun Hill. We'll have plenty more on this impressive showing.
Patrick Willis/Justin Smith - The 49ers defense had to spend a ton of time on the field, but things could have been considerably worse in the end. Amidst all this, Patrick Willis and Justin Smith were doing what they could to make plays.
Dashon Goldson - Goldson gets his own line for stepping up to make some plays, including a huge forced fumble and recovery by Steve Slaton (the 49ers scored their 2nd touchdown of the game after that). Goldson now needs to start showing some consistency.
The Bad
Owen Daniels' defender(s) - Daniels just wrecked the 49ers defense all game along. While Andre Johnson didn't have a big game, it didn't matter considering what Daniels did to the 49ers the entire game. Gotta step up against those elite tight ends (a group Daniels is joining this season).
Frank Gore - Gore struggled mightily this game, and maybe a good share of the blame goes to the offensive line and the play-calling. Nonetheless, the numbers are under Gore's name. Aside from the two big runs against Seattle, he's really struggled this season.
49ers Coaching Staff - While Jimmy Raye did show some ability to mix things up when Alex Smith took over, there were just too many game management miscues. Smith probably gets some blame due to his rustiness, but the coaching staff had it's fair share of struggles. At the same time, I won't go "ugly" because I think things could have been considerably worse.
The Ugly
First half offense - Words cannot describe how awful the offense was in the first half. The offensive line was ineffective, Shaun Hill couldn't make plays. All in all, not something they'll be hanging their hat on anytime soon. The question becomes whether the changes made in the second half will stick, or whether the team will decide to go back to what was not working in the first half. Let's hope for the former...
Arnaz Battle - While there is plenty of blame to go around for this loss, Arnaz Battle will get a lot of it given his muffed punt that Houston turned into 7 points. I'm curious to see if we'll be looking at a new punt returner next week (Spurlock?).
Next Week
@ Indianapolis Colts - Well, this is certainly a much more interesting game. I was intrigued no matter what, but now the 49ers might be rolling out Alex Smith. We'll have to wait to find out more, but it's tough to tell what 49ers team will show up in Indianapolis. Given how the Colts are playing, the 49ers are likely to need a whole bunch of points to hang in this game. The Colts are clicking as well as anybody on offense at this point so the 49ers defense will certainly have its hands full. This is certainly going to be an interesting week!
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NOPE
Extremely proud adoptive parent of Paul E. Stanley, deserved all-star and hacker extraordinaire
Thanks to roger
I've never been happier to have Crabs
2 cents
Everyone is talking about Texan D game planned for Hill not Smith. Do you think Smith knew he was going to start the 2nd half with a spread like offense (not at all what we normally do) and throw as well as he did?? Obviously he had no time to properly compare either. If he does start, you can believe that he won’t have to pass as much as he did in the 2nd half and play from behind. He can settle a little more, shake off more of the rust and get in rhythm.
by agchee on Oct 25, 2009 1:45 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs
Yea, they’ll probably run the ball a little more, because of the fact they had to play from behind, but we’ll see, let’s hope the line does a better job against the Indy D. And they really have to play better on the D line, there were a couple of big runs by Slaton, and i’m pretty sure the Colts don’t have better RB than the Texans, they do have Addai and that kid from UCONN or wherever.
so it’s basically just Addai? he’s been OK this year, so all in all we have to look at the passing game and be worried about that
"be worried" is an understatement
we couldn’t stop daniels and johnson, NFW we’re stopping clark and wayne. NFW.
Extremely proud adoptive parent of Paul E. Stanley, deserved all-star and hacker extraordinaire
Thanks to roger
I've never been happier to have Crabs
by bondslegend on Oct 25, 2009 10:40 PM PDT up reply actions
We did okay ve Johnson
2 catches. One of which was a perfect throw and catch in double coverage. Such a tough catch he injured himself making it. Though I’m not assuming that parallels what may happen in Indy.
You gotta bring ass to get ass.
Forget about Daniels and Clark
Peyton Mannings ability to be an onfield play-caller should be our biggest worry. Doesn’t matter who he’s throwing it to. Collie, Garcon, Clark, Wayne, Baskett, Brown, Addai, etc… all those guys are lethal when Peyton’s at the helm
usually happens when QB’s come in for relief. He’s already sat on the sideline and has had plenty of time to watch the game unfold. I’ve seen way too many Moses Moreno’s and Tim Rattay’s that have come in to light it up for a half only to be exposed a couple of games down the line. Smith deserves a shot but he isn’t starting QB until he can actually play well on a consistent basis.
Also, if he was good all this time, you’d think that he would’ve played well during preseason when the job was actually up for grabs.
by ThermoElectro on Oct 25, 2009 3:24 PM PDT up reply actions
I disagree with this
Some QBs really struggle coming off the bench (Derek Anderson)
What we've got here is a failure to communicate.
by SportsChicken on Oct 25, 2009 4:49 PM PDT up reply actions
And moses moreno and tim rattay are?
those guys didn’t have the talent to be picked first overall
Extremely proud adoptive parent of Paul E. Stanley, deserved all-star and hacker extraordinaire
Thanks to roger
I've never been happier to have Crabs
by bondslegend on Oct 25, 2009 10:40 PM PDT up reply actions
i think his point is
you could find plenty of QBs who struggle off the bench because they aren’t good QB’s. Alternatively, there are bad QB’s who have played well off the bench, only to have their ineptness exposed later.
Other kids may be sayin' hi-ho, but The Gooch just says yo.
Pre-season
If we’re basing everything around that, hardly anyone looked good., especially the secondary and pass-rush, both of which have been solid (minus the Atlanta game). Of course our running game looked other worldly in pre-season and you see how that has turned out. It’s not like Alexis stunk in his limited play from two games. He was average, along with Hill. Tie goes to the incumbent.
You gotta bring ass to get ass.
I think Alex Smith put it best himself:
"Starting the second half, down three scores, you’re seeing some stagnant looks from the defense, they’re not throwing as much at you."
see. he just admitted the defense wasnt trying. alex smith has always been successful against no pass rush, but trust me, he will fail when given the opportunity. nate davis isnt far away.
I take full responsibility for my irresponsibility.
Yes
because he faced no pass rush at all in that game. Not once did he avoid pressure
/eyeroll
Extremely proud adoptive parent of Paul E. Stanley, deserved all-star and hacker extraordinaire
Thanks to roger
I've never been happier to have Crabs
by bondslegend on Oct 25, 2009 10:41 PM PDT up reply actions
you are as dumb as bonds himself bondsfakelegend
Alex avoided the pass rush time after time
wow.
just.
wow.
/facepalm
Sharlon Schoop - de favoriete Nederlandse honkbalspeler van McCovey Chronicles.
You always have to be one step ahead of your drunk friends
--Daisy Owl
name-calling
Please don’t call people dumb. It adds nothing to the conversation.
by David Fucillo on Oct 26, 2009 3:51 AM PDT up reply actions
Uh...didn't he avoid the pass rush a few times?
Idk…call me crazy, but I could swear I saw something like that…
Yea, they have to put up some points in Indy, but i’m just afraid that the Indy defense is pretty good, they’re playing at home against an offensive line that just isn’t that great, and let’s up hope that the niners can put up some points and hang with the colts. The key to this game, just like it was to the Houston game, is to get to the QB. They have another tough TE to match up with again with Dallas Clark so let’s see what happens
I gotta believe they are going to have to spread the field out.
even in the 2nd half the playcalling was way to predictable — any time they sent out an extra TE you just KNEW they were going to run the football. It’d be nice to get Gore some carries when the field is spread out with receivers
"Your best?!?!! Losers always whine about their best. Winners go home and &^%@ the prom queen"
Exactly, spread the field out and make it more unpredictable for the Defense. This game was just way toooooo predictable, everyone knew what was coming, run up the middle or a run outside
the playcalling has been way too predictable for the first 6 games
"Your best?!?!! Losers always whine about their best. Winners go home and &^%@ the prom queen"
Westcoast Spred Offesense anyone lol. Can’t believe im saying this but GO ALEX SMITH!!!!! LOL
by 49erSalvatrucha on Oct 25, 2009 1:46 PM PDT reply actions
As usual Fooch you did a fine job of noting things judiciously
What we could expect from a soon to be lawyer. :-)
by ChesapeakeBay9er on Oct 25, 2009 1:46 PM PDT reply actions
thanks
I figure there is so much to be discussed there’s no way I can roll everything into this. That and I always like having more posts available over the course of the week!
by David Fucillo on Oct 25, 2009 1:49 PM PDT up reply actions
I see a big monster offensive lineman in our future.
But will McCloughan be picking him?
by Bob In Beaverton on Oct 25, 2009 1:49 PM PDT up reply actions
The question is
can we depend on NYG to be Arizona
by ChesapeakeBay9er on Oct 25, 2009 1:49 PM PDT up reply actions
Hey did that TexansForever leave?
I miss that guy already :-(
They call their best player "Kung Fu Panda" and they complain that people aren’t taking them or the game seriously enough? -Nick
LOL . . . reasonable?
If you didn’t constantly agree with his homer-ism he called you out for reading comprehension issues. He was the lowest common denominator as far as discussions.
He's from Texas.
They call their best player "Kung Fu Panda" and they complain that people aren’t taking them or the game seriously enough? -Nick
Yep
And his offense didn’t dominate us the way he assumed. Heck, without a muffed punt we win.
You gotta bring ass to get ass.
And without a fumble by Steve Slaton it's 24-14. WTF is your point?
I now see where you guys get it. All week long you were telling me how GOOD you played in losses to the Vikings and Atlanta.
Congratulations on playing well in another loss….
"An open mind is like a fortress with it's gates unbarred and unguarded."
The ROSENFAIL : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAKAKE-uq-8&feature=related
by TexansForever on Oct 25, 2009 5:22 PM PDT up reply actions
Awe, the little boy has yet to grow up
You should be grateful you got a win. Niners were horrid on offense for a half, commited self inflicted penalties and muffed punt (your team had nothing to do with any of that) and all this in your stadium. Yet with all those favors you were likely tightly puckered in the fetal position scared of another Texans loss in the late 4th. We gave you one; be happy not pissy. Now we’ll try and do you a favor by heating Indy next week.
And since we don’t play again for four years, come back and join our board when you have a winning season. We’ll see which happens first.
You gotta bring ass to get ass.
You didn't give us shit.
We beat the snot out of you in the first half, then you ALMOST caught up in the second half.
Enjoy the loss.
"An open mind is like a fortress with it's gates unbarred and unguarded."
The ROSENFAIL : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAKAKE-uq-8&feature=related
by TexansForever on Oct 25, 2009 7:40 PM PDT up reply actions
Wow you really are a baby
Haha. Oh man, here I thought a real guy was just getting caught in the emotion all week with his homerism. Nope. Just a boy. Or girl. Who doesn’t know enough about football to provide genuine analysis. I guess those years Houston was without a pro team left at least one of you short in the development department. Maybe a decade from now you’ll have caught up.
You gotta bring ass to get ass.
Thought you were a fan (sportsman-ish if you will)
Not the case, good win though, good luck through the season.
"Optimist Prime"
"Child Please" -Ochocinco
It's the Shogun!
Sorry your defense sucks homie deal with it. You gave up a 21-0 lead so I mean not much you can say except you escaped barely haha, don’t hate just be glad you won.
by 49erSalvatrucha on Oct 25, 2009 10:25 PM PDT up reply actions
Must have been
as painful for him to watch that 2nd half as it was for us to watch the 1st.
Good thing they have an okay kicker haha.
I don’t think they will get a wildcard. Probably going to go to Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Cinncinati, or the Jets for the 2 spots.
Funny, we actually STILL have a better shot at going to the playoffs than them even though they barely escaped with a W
RAGE'D
How does it feel to give up 3 TDs to Alex Smith?
"Mayhap a hidden door lurks nigh. Let us search the environs."
by Fearless Frog on Oct 25, 2009 7:28 PM PDT up reply actions
You have the same amount of losses haha!!!
If you play like you did in the 2nd half, Buffalo, yes Buffalo will rip you up LOL
And....
without the offensive linemen tackling Willis from behind, Slaton doesn’t score that second TD
by sanfranfanmdk on Oct 25, 2009 6:29 PM PDT up reply actions
Let's not forget that
I know penalties get missed but that was in open space and they still didn’t see it. I mean come on. That’s Willis. He runs that play down 100% of the time when not held.
You gotta bring ass to get ass.
Yeah
Am i confused, or was that the same Head Ref that officiated the extremely homer Vikings/Niners game? I mean I saw a bunch of things, like how does Bruce get grabbed on that one pass play in the 1st half and the penalty is called on him? That alone could have kept the drive alive and lead to a field goal…and I saw another play where Gore was out of bounds by like 2 yards, then a guy comes a choke slams him into ground and no late hit call…i mean there are bad calls every game, but when you lose a game by so little, it makes a HUGE difference
by sanfranfanmdk on Oct 25, 2009 6:46 PM PDT up reply actions
Love the picture
great job, fooch.
Hopefully Smith can play like this after teams start prepping for it.
thanks
Our resident Seahawks fan Fearless Frog posted it during the game. Great idea
by David Fucillo on Oct 25, 2009 1:48 PM PDT up reply actions
COME ON, BILLS.
They call their best player "Kung Fu Panda" and they complain that people aren’t taking them or the game seriously enough? -Nick
And now Romo might be hurt in Dallas.
FIRE BRUCE BOCHY NOW!!!!!!
AND TAKE BRIAN SABEAN WITH HIM!!!!!
GOOD
well not like in a i wanna see him die way but in a cowgirls are annoying way
by whitemike1644 on Oct 25, 2009 1:50 PM PDT up reply actions
There is no controversy...
Smith is ScotM’s boy, and still a #1 overall pick. What I loved about this game was that the offense as a whole has a lot more potential than the one prior, due to a QB that can throw the ball to several receivers. What surprised me was the playcalling in the second half. Who would have thought Raye would spread the offense out? This was more of an offense than can dictate the game, rather that an offense that just takes what the defense gives you.
The difference was Smith, and they have more of a chance to win against teams that can pass on them now if Smith can play like he did today going forward.
Well, we're waiting....
INT
You can’t put that on Smith either. He had a bit of pressure and was hit as he threw. Looked like he was trying to hit Davis deep. I think Crabtree just let it go because he thought the same thing.
Yeah, that or I actually sorta thought Crabtree lost it in the shade/sun transition
You could see that he went out of his way to NOT go after the ball.
They call their best player "Kung Fu Panda" and they complain that people aren’t taking them or the game seriously enough? -Nick
I think that was intended for davis who was deepest on the play
But Smith couldn’t step into his throw, due to pressure in his face.
You gotta bring ass to get ass.
All that us Alex Smith fanboys wanted people to acknowledge is that the whole “STFU and produce touchdowns regardless of context” mindset was crazy. If a team doesn’t have a line, and if the team doesn’t have receivers, the young QB isn’t going to look good, no matter who he is.
Add in the Nolan nonsense of “well, maybe some nancies need to take the tampon out and git back on the field” when Smith had a serious injury, and I never felt too bad about making apologies for Smith. The Niners have a 25-year-old QB who is still a huge question mark. It cracked me up to watch Niner fans covet Matt Schaub — not here, just in general — because if Schaub had Smith’s career path, things would be waaaaay different for Schaub.
by Grant Brisbee on Oct 25, 2009 1:50 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs
I want Jimmy Football
to suffer for a long time.
It’s a slap in the face to the memory of Billy Mays.
by Bob In Beaverton on Oct 25, 2009 1:50 PM PDT reply actions
U R 5
Sharlon Schoop - de favoriete Nederlandse honkbalspeler van McCovey Chronicles.
You always have to be one step ahead of your drunk friends
--Daisy Owl
Gameplanning for Smith
I don’t think a gameplan for Smith would have been that much different.
Hey, remember that one time when we were arguing and I was wrong? Yeah, me either.
interesting though.
Smith worked in the spread offense for Utah, and Crabtree at T-Tech. If we use VD to open the middle all we are missing then is the vertical threat.
"B-Roy is the best shooting guard I have played against"
-Ron Artest
and smith and crabs...
have alot of snaps together over the bye week
by whitemike1644 on Oct 25, 2009 1:51 PM PDT up reply actions
Is that so? And is that what paid off?
Not disagreeing with you at all. Asking honest questions.
by ChesapeakeBay9er on Oct 25, 2009 1:52 PM PDT up reply actions
i think going forward
its going to help it.
you have to realize also that smith has the most time with all of our WR’s given hill hasn’t been here as long… but either way i think that Hills arm is the reason raye’s play calling changed so much.
i mean how many times did we come out in a 4 or 5 WR sets. i’ve seen it happen before that a hand full of times but in this game it was used much more, and i think that says alot about how they feel about Smith vs. Hills arm’s
by whitemike1644 on Oct 25, 2009 1:56 PM PDT up reply actions
and looks like going fishing probably didn't sit well with anyone...
mean while the coaches saw smith throwing passes the last two weeks.
hope Hill’s fishing trip was worth it because i think it might have cost him his job.
by whitemike1644 on Oct 25, 2009 1:58 PM PDT up reply actions
I wondered: did the play calling change
Or did Smith just have a better arm to fit the ball into zones 10-15 yards down the field? And did the Texans t-off less at the QB knowing that Smith has a better arm and better mobility?
You gotta bring ass to get ass.
They played zone for 3/4 of the second half and rushed 4.
Smith never saw much pressure.
"An open mind is like a fortress with it's gates unbarred and unguarded."
The ROSENFAIL : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAKAKE-uq-8&feature=related
by TexansForever on Oct 25, 2009 5:24 PM PDT up reply actions
thats what im wondering too
Raye didnt look so bad in the second half. Maybe we just had the wrong QB
Well...
isn’t that what Brandon Jones is suppose to be? I mean he is supposedly fast lol
by sanfranfanmdk on Oct 25, 2009 6:33 PM PDT up reply actions
3-4
after next week but then we should start winning again.
remember folks- we aren’t going to be a great team this year, but we can def. be good enough to win the NFC West
Sam Fuld is the more accomplished Major League Hitter- Gordon Wittenmeyer
True
and with a passing attack maybe Gore can find some space to run in.
by Bob In Beaverton on Oct 25, 2009 1:53 PM PDT up reply actions
well
Gore did start running better after a few Smith completions.
Sharlon Schoop - de favoriete Nederlandse honkbalspeler van McCovey Chronicles.
You always have to be one step ahead of your drunk friends
--Daisy Owl
I think one of those runs was wide to the left too.
Stay away from Rachal.
by Bob In Beaverton on Oct 25, 2009 3:53 PM PDT up reply actions
good to know.
thanks PIKAgiant
The probability that you just read my signature: 1
by girltothemax on Oct 25, 2009 1:55 PM PDT up reply actions
The Raiders must have seen the type of game Crabtree had, because they are throwing more to DHB.
FIRE BRUCE BOCHY NOW!!!!!!
AND TAKE BRIAN SABEAN WITH HIM!!!!!
You can’t pay a guy 21 million guru and only have 2 rec’s ;)
by Hoopers Judge on Oct 25, 2009 1:55 PM PDT up reply actions
Smith
All this talk of the Texans not game planning for Smith is bull for the most part. You can’t plan for the touch that Smith put on those footballs. Some of those balls were well thrown and as i said had touch to them. Also he seemed to be able to see recievers down field and not be afraid to throw it to them.
agreed, you game plan against Brady or Peyton but not Hill or Smith
The game plan was as much for stopping Gore and just keeping a halfway decent QB from making big plays. It had little effet (their gameplan) on the difference between Hil and Smith, in my opinion
by ChesapeakeBay9er on Oct 25, 2009 1:57 PM PDT up reply actions
power running vs spread
do they seem similar to you? Defending against them requires different strategies.ll
Okay, seriously, can we stop this?
We’re talking about a professional team here.
Yes, putting in Smith and going to a spread type offense was a change from the first half. Do you seriously think that A PRO FOOTBALL TEAM (except the Raiders) does not possess the ability to make adjustments?
Shit, half the game is making adjustments to what the other team does.
They call their best player "Kung Fu Panda" and they complain that people aren’t taking them or the game seriously enough? -Nick
This going to be an interesting next week
by 49erSalvatrucha on Oct 25, 2009 2:04 PM PDT up reply actions
hey i'm just happy to see any adjustments
"Pat is still just scratching the surface." - Coach Singletary on LB Patrick Willis
Yep
And people forget that Alex likely had near zero snaps this week, so his timing with the WRs in this game plan should also be off. Yet he looked excellent. Now with a week as the #1 in practice, plus another week for Crabtree (and not railing 21-0 when he enters the game) Alex and the offense should do better next week.
You gotta bring ass to get ass.
For sure can you say upset special and statement game. 49ers al grito de guerra haha
by 49erSalvatrucha on Oct 25, 2009 10:30 PM PDT up reply actions
I disagree
Yes, you can’t plan for some of the ability Alex showed, but game planning is huge. After Houston prepped for the Shaun Hill offense, (power running, short passes) in comes smith with a spread.
That is a huge difference.
What about our offense?
We haven’t shown anything close to what we did offensively in 2nd half all season. Receivers, Oline, QB. None of them knew it was going to be that kind of half either.
I agree with brundylop
it wasn’t necessarily Smith that the Texans falied to plan for as much as it was the spread offense.
As a Texans fan since day one
I can assure you that this is the case. Don’t underestimate the idiocy of our defensive coaching staff.
Good game, btw. If it had been five minutes longer, you probably would have won. Good luck the rest of the way.
When I'm on the mic, I'm like global warming, you can't ignore me.
by tehGrindCrusher on Oct 25, 2009 2:19 PM PDT up reply actions
They would have a different type of pressure package. Not all QB’s are comfortable in the same areas. The safeties would play to take away certain passes. Of course gameplanning would’ve mattered.
by ThermoElectro on Oct 25, 2009 4:17 PM PDT up reply actions
The fact that you understand this makes you instantly among the smartest people on this board.
Both of you should break off and form a “we understand football” Niners blog.
"An open mind is like a fortress with it's gates unbarred and unguarded."
The ROSENFAIL : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAKAKE-uq-8&feature=related
by TexansForever on Oct 25, 2009 4:49 PM PDT up reply actions
So your telling me that if a starting QB gets hurt in a game the back up will come in and throw 3 TDs in one half.
I want me some Buster
and if that’s the case and the only reason Smith did so good was because of preparation then why doesn’t every team in the NFL switch QBs in the second half to catch the defense off guard.
I want me some Buster
TF's homerism makes him blind
His need to cover his high expectations of trash talk make him dumb. Forgive him for he knows not what he says.
You gotta bring ass to get ass.
What is that you don't get?
It’s not the QB it’s the OFFENSE + the QB.
If you switch from Hill and a running offense in the first half to Smith and a spread pffense in the second half it’s a completely different scheme.
As SEVERAL of your own fans have pointed out, it makes a huge difference when your team has game planned against specific plays and offensive schemes and then you run something completely different.
This is not a diificult concept….well except for people in San Francisco apparebtly.
"An open mind is like a fortress with it's gates unbarred and unguarded."
The ROSENFAIL : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAKAKE-uq-8&feature=related
by TexansForever on Oct 25, 2009 5:26 PM PDT up reply actions
So your coaching staff can't make adjustments?
Sounds like pretty pathetic situation.
You gotta bring ass to get ass.
Huh?
The offense didn’t change, the QB did. Your arguing about a very insignificant, moot point… is your favorite music artist Tom PETTY?
I now understand why the State of California is such a miserable, bankrupt, rat warren.
Slide into the ocean already so we can increase the collective IQ of America.
"An open mind is like a fortress with it's gates unbarred and unguarded."
The ROSENFAIL : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAKAKE-uq-8&feature=related
by TexansForever on Oct 25, 2009 7:41 PM PDT up reply actions
please end this
Everybody involved in this discussion is stirring up unnecessary crap. STOP.
by David Fucillo on Oct 25, 2009 7:45 PM PDT up reply actions
Sorry Fooch
Just read your post. I don’t like an outsider coming in and being disrespectful and off point but I’ll refrain from responding.
You gotta bring ass to get ass.
agree
I think the safest option at this point is to simply stop responding because it’s only devolving. But thanks for sticking up for the site.
by David Fucillo on Oct 25, 2009 8:58 PM PDT up reply actions
Andale look at the hater why don’t you go back to your texan blog cabron
by 49erSalvatrucha on Oct 25, 2009 10:32 PM PDT up reply actions
Did anyone else noticed
How well Smith was moving the football around in good way? Didn’t stay long on one receiver, went through his reads well, and was looking off safeties.
yes
very strange in a good way.
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by girltothemax on Oct 25, 2009 1:56 PM PDT up reply actions
Hill used to be that way, but for some reason stopped.
FIRE BRUCE BOCHY NOW!!!!!!
AND TAKE BRIAN SABEAN WITH HIM!!!!!
Maybe Nolan had something to do with it?
The probability that you just read my signature: 1
by girltothemax on Oct 25, 2009 1:58 PM PDT up reply actions
oops sorry
that wasn’t supposed to be there
The probability that you just read my signature: 1
by girltothemax on Oct 25, 2009 2:00 PM PDT up reply actions
Ok but I think I get it
Nolan was holding him back ..just trying to guess your possible discussion.
by ChesapeakeBay9er on Oct 25, 2009 2:02 PM PDT up reply actions
no "deer in headlights" look
he was surprisingly composed. maybe getting married and having time off helped him sort stuff out.
He had a bit of it on the last play
But the rest of his performance today way outweighs that.
The future ain't what it used to be.
You can
take the deer out of the headlight, but you can’t take the headlights out of the deer.
I should be a head coach with statements like that. :P
I mostly liked that he had an arm
and his accuracy problems seem to be behind him.
Thrown into a game down 21-0 with one of the worse pass-blocking OLs in the NFL is not an easy assignment, I don’t care what the defense was planning to defense.
FIRE BRIAN SABEAN... UNLESS HE KEEPS DRAFTING WELL. .. AND SIGNS UNDERRATED PLAYERS LIKE AFFELDT OR PHELPS. .. OR ALRIGHT WHO'S PLAYING WITH THE ALIEN MIND-SWITCHING RAY?
-------
PARPG- Indy post-apocalyptic roleplaying game currently in early planning stages.
my 2 cents
I think the big question is how much of the 2nd half resurgence is due to either Jimmy Raye or Alex Smith? It was awesome to see the passing game open up, but the ground game was the usual up the gut crapshoot (2 yard gain or 2 yard loss? Who knows?) If the playcalling is the culprit, then we’re in for a long season, because the coaching staff doesn’t seem open to diversification, unless it’s to take advantage of personnel changes.
I belive that if they had a better Oline then the running game could be more effective.
by Hoopers Judge on Oct 25, 2009 1:56 PM PDT up reply actions
So how much of the playcalling
had to do with Hill’s passing limitations? Or his limitations with seeing the field? Smith actually looked like an NFL quarterback today. Hill, not so much.
One thing is clear: Smith, between scrambling, rolling or just throwing the ball on a three-step drop seemed to find the time to connect passes.
One half is a small sample size, but Smith looked good. And Hill’s play has been looking worse and worse by the game.
by Bob In Beaverton on Oct 25, 2009 2:00 PM PDT up reply actions
+1
One half is a small sample size
by (Florida) Danny Tuccitto on Oct 25, 2009 2:09 PM PDT up reply actions
Yes, a small sample size for Smith. Not for Hill. Hill has looked progressively worse from week to week and never gets off to a fast start.
by randolphforpresident on Oct 25, 2009 2:40 PM PDT up reply actions
He played great...
even not being in camp, and was a great shape the whole game.
Well, we're waiting....
Not until
We hear the announcer say “He got Crabs in the end zone!” Or “Crabs! Crabs! Crabs!!!” :-)
by ChesapeakeBay9er on Oct 25, 2009 2:06 PM PDT up reply actions
he played fantastic
I think he’s going to be very good
"Pat is still just scratching the surface." - Coach Singletary on LB Patrick Willis
Actually, I don't think enough has been made of this
it’s early days still, obviously, and the more he plays, the more teams will be able to plan, but you can certainly see why the 49ers were so high on him.
It’s nice to have a player that you can think “throw it to X” when you’re watching a play, rather than “oh jeez, please someone be free”.
Actually, Vernon Davis is starting to be in that category, too
Incidentally
I was VERY turned off by Taylor Mays yesterday.
Tell methodrampage to move over and make room on the “Mays is overrated” bandwagon.
They call their best player "Kung Fu Panda" and they complain that people aren’t taking them or the game seriously enough? -Nick
I was never a Taylor Mays fan. It’s because he plays defense for USC which has made him overrated.
FIRE BRUCE BOCHY NOW!!!!!!
AND TAKE BRIAN SABEAN WITH HIM!!!!!
Oh, I love USC.
But Mays really didn’t impress me at all against Oregon St yesterday. Canfield is not that great and he picked apart the USC secondary.
They call their best player "Kung Fu Panda" and they complain that people aren’t taking them or the game seriously enough? -Nick
Mays is terrible
He goes for the big hit instead of wrapping up. There were at least 3 plays yesterday where the Oregon St. player was able to get an extra 5+ yards because Mays tried to blow him up and failed.
Sharlon Schoop - de favoriete Nederlandse honkbalspeler van McCovey Chronicles.
You always have to be one step ahead of your drunk friends
--Daisy Owl
I have a Mr Al Davis on the phone?
He sounds interested in what you’ve described
by bobnothing on Oct 25, 2009 3:42 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
my 2 cents
I think the big question is how much of the 2nd half resurgence is due to either Jimmy Raye or Alex Smith? It was awesome to see the passing game open up, but the ground game was the usual up the gut crapshoot (2 yard gain or 2 yard loss? Who knows?) If the playcalling is the culprit, then we’re in for a long season, because the coaching staff doesn’t seem open to diversification, unless it’s to take advantage of personnel changes.
Im thinking Raye just let Alex Smith loose because he can get the ball down the field. He had 2 playbooks, one for Smith and one for Hill lol.
by 49erSalvatrucha on Oct 25, 2009 2:03 PM PDT up reply actions
I said it earlier
but Raye is a smart coordinator. He knows his team and what they can and can’t do and his willingness to go to a spread, something we should have done earlier in Smith’s career really shows that he adapts to the players on the field (something that pissed me off endlessly about Martz).
If Alex starts next week we might get into a shootout with indy which would be awesome
by 49erSalvatrucha on Oct 25, 2009 2:05 PM PDT up reply actions
wow, are are you serious?
i cant beleive how fast people are to jump on the Alex Smith bandwagon after 5 years of general incompetence followed by 2 quarters of almost winning a game.
I take full responsibility for my irresponsibility.
You have to admit
he did look good. I am not 100% sold yet but it looked promising. Arm, accuracy, mobility, etc
5 years
um what?
1 terrible year.
1 mediocre year
3 mediocre games pre-injury
3 bad games playing injured
nothing else.
Sharlon Schoop - de favoriete Nederlandse honkbalspeler van McCovey Chronicles.
You always have to be one step ahead of your drunk friends
--Daisy Owl
There's no problem in being enthusiastic about a major change
I dreaded him for years, but everyone deserves a second chance. This off season he seemed to become humble, his best friend off’d himself, his injury. Instead of being a pussy, he kept working hard. Every time he talked to the press he said he keeps training for when they call on him. They did, and he did a good job for half a game. A bandwagon is defined as: a popular trend that attracts growing support. Alex Smith is DEFINITELY not a popular trend and doesn’t have much support. These are people happy with an improvement on their team. Cheers!
Singletary lost the game
Battle at punt return was just inexcusable.
Getting plays in was too slow the entire 2nd half.
Also, the defense isn’t elite until they start giving up FGs instead of TDs when put in bad situations.
Why wasn't Coffee at returns? Hurt?
Sorry for sounding dumb here but I thought he was supposed to be on returns. Not that he would have done any better.
by ChesapeakeBay9er on Oct 25, 2009 2:03 PM PDT up reply actions
That got clarified on Friday
Walker and Robinson would still be back on KO, Battle on punts.
You gotta bring ass to get ass.
Is that 2 games in a row he's lost now?...
Putting in Smith almost saved the game.
Well, we're waiting....
Plays coming in is on the coordinator and communication equipment, not our HC
Battle was a punt returner but I do get your point, since as we’ve discussed Rossum should not have been let go.
You gotta bring ass to get ass.
Stupid Trent Edwards was sacked for a safety. That’s why I never trust Furd grads.
FIRE BRUCE BOCHY NOW!!!!!!
AND TAKE BRIAN SABEAN WITH HIM!!!!!
Mike Singletary
“The most important message is that we want to win. I could be stubborn. I could be a knucklehead and say, “You know what? He wasn’t here, Josh (Morgan) is going…”
The probability that you just read my signature: 1
by girltothemax on Oct 25, 2009 2:05 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs
Can we put the "Hill wins games" thing to rest now?
Well, we're waiting....
by drummer on Oct 25, 2009 2:06 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs
it's just one game
The probability that you just read my signature: 1
by girltothemax on Oct 25, 2009 2:08 PM PDT up reply actions
I'm not trying to disagree with you on that one
but like I posted a few mins. ago, HIll did win us games. He just looked really bad this game.
The probability that you just read my signature: 1
by girltothemax on Oct 25, 2009 2:11 PM PDT up reply actions
And in the last game.
And he wasn’t so hot against the Rams either.
GROUGTHINK ALERT
The first Chester Arthur fanboy ever.
that's why I said "really bad"
The probability that you just read my signature: 1
by girltothemax on Oct 25, 2009 2:16 PM PDT up reply actions
Before you got here
I was the biggest Hill supporter. Ask drummer.
I am just saying that Hill gives us an element Hill cannot. It is premature because I have also seen Smith when he’s played horrible. If he plays like that the rest of the season, the NIners have a great chance to win alot more
Pick your poison?
Cause lots of people still question Smith’s leadership and composure. But Hill doesn’t have the athleticism.
Smith's leadership and composure?
He is only 25.
I guess he needs to “grow up” more?
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by girltothemax on Oct 25, 2009 2:19 PM PDT up reply actions
old enough.
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by girltothemax on Oct 25, 2009 2:21 PM PDT up reply actions
Yeah
not so sure about that…
If thats your pick you look about 16…
So saying Smith needs to grow up is kinda funny
I am so not 16!
When I said he prolly needs to grow up, I was only responding to those people who keeps questioning Smith’s composure and leadership. Again, he is 25.
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by girltothemax on Oct 25, 2009 2:24 PM PDT up reply actions
I meant from the coaches.
They felt Hill had better command in the huddle and the locker room. Which equals better command of the offense and the team. Something that is big for Sing.
I don't disagree with you
I’m just throwing it out there. Smith reminds me of Eli Manning. Not a lot of words or emotion. Hopefully he grows more into that leadership role.
I so hope you're right Drew K
But I guess my point was that Hill wasn’t picked as the leading QB at the beginning of the season for nothing.
The probability that you just read my signature: 1
by girltothemax on Oct 25, 2009 2:17 PM PDT up reply actions
DONT GET BLINDED!!!!! i like wins though, and yes he played pretty good today, let’s see what happens over the course of a season, just like 2006, he played good 2006, and i want to see that same performance or something similar, and i think he’s reverting to that now
exactly because he can get out of the pocket
hill just falls.
by whitemike1644 on Oct 25, 2009 2:28 PM PDT up reply actions
I think this is pretty clearly the best game of Smith's career
He’s only had a better YPA in one game (StL in 2006) but in that game he only completed 50% of his passes. I remember that game. It was a classic “squint and try to believe he looks like he’s getting it” game.
Here he game into the game with a demoralized team, way behind having to throw, and made a lot of good throws. I can hardly even hold the pick against him, (4th and 10, under a minute on the clock … no choice but to throw the ball).
Smith has given us mirages before – games where it looked like it was coming together, only to have us see it dissipate in the following weeks.
But he’s also never looked this good before.
Given how bad Hill has looked this year, I have a hard time understanding how you couldn’t give Smith another two starts to see if this is for real.
he did win the niners a couple of games
I mean going back and forth between hill and smith is what’s going to happen anyway.
The probability that you just read my signature: 1
by girltothemax on Oct 25, 2009 2:07 PM PDT up reply actions
Would you really want that though?
I think 6 games is a good eval of what hill can and can’t do. Smith needs a turn.
I want Smith to prove himself, he hasn't shown his true potential yet
so yeah, I want Smith to start
The probability that you just read my signature: 1
by girltothemax on Oct 25, 2009 2:09 PM PDT up reply actions
Always want to see him show what he has
Didn’t think he ever got a good shake. But I never disagreed that Hill was consistent enough to earn the start either. I think its good that Smith earn it and show whether or not he can be the starter.
If it does that's worrisome.
I remember seeing on America’s Game where the (pardon me while I spit) Cowboys put in 2 QBs and it didn’t work for them. The team had to finally tell Landry, “Stop it darn it!”
by ChesapeakeBay9er on Oct 25, 2009 2:10 PM PDT up reply actions
Chicago is getting destroyed in Cincinnati.
FIRE BRUCE BOCHY NOW!!!!!!
AND TAKE BRIAN SABEAN WITH HIM!!!!!
Panthers Scored two points
The sad thing is that that’s more than we scored in the first half.
by ChesapeakeBay9er on Oct 25, 2009 2:12 PM PDT reply actions
Eagle beaters?
Sorry had to say that. But yes they suck but right now at 3-3 so do we.
by ChesapeakeBay9er on Oct 25, 2009 2:15 PM PDT up reply actions
2, I think
They call their best player "Kung Fu Panda" and they complain that people aren’t taking them or the game seriously enough? -Nick
Chilo Rachal needs to be on the list of Uglies.
Holy hell, was he awful. Nearly every QB pressure was his fault. Half of those were from 3 or 4-man rushes where guys just ran right by him. Eerily reminiscent of Kwame Harris on his worst of days.
"It came down like a punt, Coach!" - Josh Morgan
Less holding! Less filling!
Is this a lite beer commercial?
by Bob In Beaverton on Oct 25, 2009 4:00 PM PDT up reply actions
Hate to keep askign stupid questions
but why was Chilo in and not Adam?
by ChesapeakeBay9er on Oct 25, 2009 2:19 PM PDT up reply actions
That's not a stupid question
But I guarantee it has a stupid answer
Hey, remember that one time when we were arguing and I was wrong? Yeah, me either.
by SanFranSoldier on Oct 25, 2009 2:21 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
Thanks
I mean the plan was to have Coffee on punts and Snyder in at RG. Why didn’t that happen?
by ChesapeakeBay9er on Oct 25, 2009 2:23 PM PDT up reply actions
I believe they shared some of the PT
But then Pashos went out with an injury so Sims came in for him. Then Staley went out so Sims switched to his side and Snyder took Pashos’ sport and Rachal was back in. Yep, it was that bad in the 2nd half and Smith still led the guys to 21 points.
You gotta bring ass to get ass.
Kwame
will always be the all-time leader in false starts.
But Chilo is becoming an epic fail. They really do need to do something about that.
by Bob In Beaverton on Oct 25, 2009 3:58 PM PDT up reply actions
my 3 cents...
…smith played real well, obviously, but (a) all of his success came when HOU was only minimally interested in preventing yards, and (b) we’re talking about one half of football. so i think it’d be unwise to leap to conclusions in re smith “resurrecting” his career or being “the savior” of the 49ers’ offense.
point # 2 is that this game was nolan-esque from a coaching perspective. all those delays and wasted timeouts were petty nolan-esque. what’s really a disgrace though is that the performance we saw today was based on two week’s-worth of preparation. how does a team have 2 weeks to prepare for a game, and come out as flat and unprepared as the 49ers did today? again, nolan-esque.
point # 3…again, i ask, “of whom in the niner front ofice does arnaz battle have naked pictures?” why is this guy on the roster? why has he been on the roster for the last 5 years? has he EVER been any good? i wish i could find a job where i’m mediocre at best, but make millions for upwards of a decade. financial analyst maybe?
by (Florida) Danny Tuccitto on Oct 25, 2009 2:20 PM PDT reply actions
i wish i could find a job where i’m mediocre at best, but make millions for upwards of a decade. financial analyst maybe?
You’re aiming too high. If you become a financial analyst, the real way to make money is to be catastrophically terrible.
GROUGTHINK ALERT
The first Chester Arthur fanboy ever.
sounds like...
arnaz battle is just a financial analyst disguised as a 49er
by (Florida) Danny Tuccitto on Oct 25, 2009 2:25 PM PDT up reply actions
believe me...
…i noticed every fail he had today…just weren’t as epic as usual…my favorite was when he tackled slaton and made no attempt to strip the ball, then dashon goldson (aka real safety) comes in and strips slaton. it was a perfect microcosm of the difference between roman = passive vs. NFL-caliber safety = aggressive.
by (Florida) Danny Tuccitto on Oct 25, 2009 2:27 PM PDT up reply actions
Give Roman credit
That knocked down pass at the end stopped the clock and allowed us to still have a T.O. on our final drive. If we complete the comeback and win, that would be a hero play and Kubiak would be grilled for throwing there.
I did notice that Hudson came in on some nickel situations.
You gotta bring ass to get ass.
Yeah, point one was what I was thinking through most of the second half.
To his credit, when they pulled within a score, he managed to keep it going
did he?
they got to 21-14, and then the D immediately let HOU go down the field for a FG…the niners only had 2 drives when within a score, and they didn’t do anything with either of those drives.
by (Florida) Danny Tuccitto on Oct 25, 2009 2:40 PM PDT up reply actions
hm, that's true
I agree, overall, that it’s not possible to read too much into Smith’s performance, of one half, beyond saying,
‘Well done Alex, you did as well as the circumstances allowed’.
I don’t think we should overreact to his play, beyond being pleased with it. Will he do more? Let’s hope so.
Overreact??
3 td’s in one HALF isnt something to overreact to?? Get real!!!!!! He looked SOOO much more able than Hill!
Yeah... I mean, look
Smith came in in almost the ideal situation for him.
There’s no pressure – they’re already 21-0 down, so if he stinks it up, does he look worse than Hill? Not at all.
The defense is playing softer, there’s going to be more receivers on the field.
It’s basically all upside for him. And, credit to him, he had a decent game.
Am I going to lose it and say that it was amazing? Not yet. Cause for optimisim, sure.
And looking better than Hill’s first half performance? Not so hard, I think.
Don’t get me wrong – I am happy with Smith doing well, and I’d like to see him continue to play well.
Will he?
Ur an idiot
“Decent” performance??? Whatever….
and 21-0 isnt like 45-0, because 21-0 is only a couple of good drives away from a game, so no, i dont think the defense was playing softer.
Smith was the ONLY reason we had a shot at the end. If Hill stayed in the game it would have been a 45-3 loss.
woah, woah
let’s not get personal here -
maybe it’s just a difference between us, personality wise. I’m just less effusive than you are.
also, ‘Ur an idiot’ is about the funniest thing that anyone can write on the internet… ever
No, it's better when it's "ur and idiot"
They call their best player "Kung Fu Panda" and they complain that people aren’t taking them or the game seriously enough? -Nick
Frankly, yeah.
One thing that bugs the shit out of me about the internet is the massive amount of LOLWUT/UR/WAT/OMGZ and shitty spelling on purpose.
It’s not that much more to type “for” instead of “4” or “you’re” instead of “ur” or “to” instead of “2” or any other however damn many shortcuts people take when they type.
It’s not a text message or twitter, there’s no 160 character limit. You look a lot more intelligent when you can type coherent sentences using actual words. (That’s you in general, not you specifically.)
They call their best player "Kung Fu Panda" and they complain that people aren’t taking them or the game seriously enough? -Nick
swearing
This is not a game thread so no swearing. I won’t delete the comment because of the length.
by David Fucillo on Oct 25, 2009 3:19 PM PDT up reply actions
ummm
I guess that is ur personal preference 4 spelling eh? But who cares, you get the message and that is all that matters. Sorry if its something that “bugs” you, but you have to realize we live in an age of texting, twitter, etc so Ur, 4, LOL, are common place in any avenue of expression on the internet. If you want to teach everyone the basics of English, this isnt the place.
I never said it was.
Although it makes me take the poster way less seriously.
That’s just me though. 4 realz. LOL.
They call their best player "Kung Fu Panda" and they complain that people aren’t taking them or the game seriously enough? -Nick
I wouldnt
because you have plenty of 20 somethings out there who talk like that on the internet, yet who can actually type complete emails for work ;) (at least thats how it is my case :) )
agree to disagree
Granted, it’s a different story in the middle of a game thread vs. trying to actually type out a coherent argument
They call their best player "Kung Fu Panda" and they complain that people aren’t taking them or the game seriously enough? -Nick
Hard on the eyes!
The creative spelling is almost, but not quite, as annoying as ALL CAPITALS!
True, true
Maybe its a difference of opinion, and I can accept that…I’m just very excited because I have never been high on Hill to begin with, so I was excited just to see Smith come in the game.
comments
Nothing is gained by calling somebody an idiot. Please do not do that anymore.
by David Fucillo on Oct 25, 2009 3:19 PM PDT up reply actions
Yeah my mistake
Wont happen again….I can use persuasive arguments, rather than name calling…my fault.
what?!?!?!?
how did alex smith stop the texans from scoring another 21 points?
I take full responsibility for my irresponsibility.
All Im trying to say
is get excited about the team! I know your trying to be a realist, but give credit where it is due.
Sure there were areas we can improve (coaching- getting the plays in, running game, etc) but Smith had an A++ performance today. Get excited when that happens! Dont try to talk it down!
dude, I'm not trying to talk it down -
I’m just giving my reaction, the same as you are.
Don’t let me piss on your parade – if you’re excited, be excited! It’s not your fault that all the joy has been sucked out of my life, and that I’m a lifeless husk how can’t raise a smile
You are not allowed to reference the obvious or point out the defense playing zone with no QB pressure.
Logic has no place here.
Smith is the second coming. Next week he will throw for 580 yards and 6 TDs.
"An open mind is like a fortress with it's gates unbarred and unguarded."
The ROSENFAIL : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAKAKE-uq-8&feature=related
by TexansForever on Oct 25, 2009 7:44 PM PDT up reply actions
my 3 dollar bill comment to your 3 cents
(a) all of his success came when HOU was only minimally interested in preventing yards
I don’t know, I am pretty sure Houston’s defense is interested in trying to prevent 3 touchdowns, but I am no expert :)
(b) that half of football was a better offensive performance than a couple entire games under Hill.
and I agree with you, I think Battle has some photos of management punching tom cable’s coaching assistant, which is why they are not pressing charges on Cable :)
…smith played real well, obviously, but (a) all of his success came when HOU was only minimally interested in preventing yards, and (b) we’re talking about one half of football.
True, its only one half of football, but I disagree – strongly – about the context of those yards.
Up by 21 at the start of the second half, Houston had to know Smith was going to throw, and you can’t possibly think that the game is over at that point. And after that impressive a drive, followed by a punt on their side, the game was back on … and Smith put together two more scoring drives.
They were not playing prevent. They were not giving up yards for time. You don’t do that up 21 at the half, and you really don’t do that up 14 in the 4th quarter when the other team just showed the ability to score quickly.
Don’t trivialize how good Smith was today. He’s never been that good before, and he may not be that good again, but he was really, really good today.
point # 2 is that this game was nolan-esque from a coaching perspective. all those delays and wasted timeouts were petty nolan-esque. what’s really a disgrace though is that the performance we saw today was based on two week’s-worth of preparation. how does a team have 2 weeks to prepare for a game, and come out as flat and unprepared as the 49ers did today? again, nolan-esque.
I don’t think it was “flat and unprepared” so much as I simply don’t think our offense can get it done with Hill as the QB, not while our run-blocking is still (charitably speaking) a work in progress. You can only put so much lipstick on a pig.
I disagree about the context of the yards too
According the F.O. model it makes sense but the Texans were not playing prevent defense the 2nd half. They played the same defense they played the 1st half, rushing 4 and dropping everyone else in coverage.
Alex had to fit in a number of contested 3rd and Mid passes the 2nd half. The better argument is the Texan defense just isn’t that good but our offense made them look good in the 1st half.
shocking...
as it may seem…i wasn’t alluding to any “FO model” there. just the basic idea that it’s easier to gain yards down 21-0 than it is to gain yards in a close game. don’t think FO invented that idea. it’s pretty “duh” without the stats.
by (Florida) Danny Tuccitto on Oct 25, 2009 4:43 PM PDT up reply actions
I actually think it's easier to gain yardage up 21-0 than trailing
When you have the ball and the lead you control everything. You can call whatever play you like and the defense is over-pursuing trying to make a play since they’re losing. That what we did when it was 24-21; over pursued and Houston got a huge run. I think what Alex did was difficult since neither he as an individual nor the offense as a unit had any cohesion or confidence. Yet he gave them life and did so staying within the game plan. It wasn’t one deep TD on a blown coverage or a 10 yard drive after a turnover. He drove the team three times and on the one where we punted, Bruce was held but instead called for offensive-PI.
You gotta bring ass to get ass.
"I actually think it's easier to gain yardage up 21-0 than trailing "
Which goes to show you have never played football, and probbly ANY sport, in your life.
"An open mind is like a fortress with it's gates unbarred and unguarded."
The ROSENFAIL : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAKAKE-uq-8&feature=related
by TexansForever on Oct 25, 2009 7:45 PM PDT up reply actions
I think a more logical response would be that teams tend to play more conservatively both offensively when they are ahead by a large amount than when they are behind by a similarly large amount.
There are other things to factor in such as that the losing team might give up or that the winning team is just plain better, so it is not so simple as black and white like TexansForever is making it out to be.
Also, having played a sport does not make you an expert on it. If you had played or coached in the NFL then that would be a point you could make to back up a logical argument, but the high school and even the college game of football is worlds apart from the NFL.
Well, it depends ...
When you’re behind a lot, you have to throw, and your opposition knows this. So in theory it should be HARDER to throw. Teams do relax a bit, but you know – they stop relaxing when Smith leads that first TD drive. The notion that the Houston defense wasn’t at 100% when Smith was leading that third drive, that somehow they were “planning” to give us the ball with a FG to tie as time wound down, is absurd.
And Smith hit deep strike after deep strike. The notion that he was somehow taking what the defense was giving him is bizzare, because he was hitting the one thing the defense didn’t want to give up: passes down the field. It’d be one thing if Smith dinked and dunked his way down the field, chewing up lots of clock.
But he didn’t. Two of his TD drives took under four minutes off the clock. He was eating that defense for breakfast.
Now, sure, maybe it’s a fluke, and maybe he won’t be able to repeat that performance. But the whole notion that the defense was relaxed … it’s not like we were down 40.
No, Houston wasn’t blizting much in the second half … but they weren’t in the first half, either. They didn’t need to.
Watching some of the highlights
It seems even the blitz pickup with Smith in there was better. Small sample size for sure. And possibly the pickups were as good in both halves except Alex sidestepped pressure better than Hill. But I can’t help but wonder if good QB play, thus resulting in first downs, points and a belief that we would win, made everyone in that huddle a bit sharper and more focused. The whole “success breeds success” mantra. If so, we’ll see if their play carries over as much as the play of Alex.
You gotta bring ass to get ass.
Don’t trivialize how good Smith was today.
i don’t think i’m trivializing how good alex was today. i’m trivializing what how good he was today means for the future. we can give him his well-deserved kudos for playing well today — i did say he played really well, after all — but i don’t think we should extrapolate this one half into 10 games were he to start for the rest of the season. it’s really amazing to me how quickly memories fade. his whole career, he’s shown flashes of brilliance interspersed between overall mediocrity. things may be different now with better receivers around him, but sue me for taking a wait-and-see approach. listening to the postgame on KNBR, and reading some of the commentary on here, you’d think that niner fans expect him to throw for 3 TDs per half every week for the rest of the season. it ain’t happening. that’s not “trivializing.” that’s just being realistic.
I don’t think it was "flat and unprepared"
if that’s not a flat and unprepared 1st half performance after having 2 weeks to get ready for the game, please tell me what is.
by (Florida) Danny Tuccitto on Oct 25, 2009 4:00 PM PDT up reply actions
Flat and unprepared
Our defense opened the game with a 3 and out and forced a punt on three of the first four Texans drives. Our KO coverage against an excellent return team was outstanding. We weren’t flat and unprepared. We had an anemic offense that didn’t get a first down until the 2nd quarter. 2/3 of the team did fine. It was the other third that made the first half so bad. That’s on Raye and/or Hill.
You gotta bring ass to get ass.
It's on Hill NOT RAYE
The play calling opened up when Smith got in. The Texans defense appeared different because it wasn’t a sure thing that we were running. This is why if Smith were consistent he’d be the starter, becasue he can make all the throws from 0-60yds. Offense will open up with Smith and the O-Line looked better since he appears to have better pocket presence. He was stepping up in the pocket where Hill usually steps into a player or just takes the quick dump off.
"Optimist Prime"
"Child Please" -Ochocinco
It's the Shogun!
Doubt it, as long as the OL executes
We have enuf weapons on O, sure we can use a few more, but we have enuf
"Optimist Prime"
"Child Please" -Ochocinco
It's the Shogun!
Future
For now, we’ll find out what Alex has left or has grown into having. And for the first time in his career, he has weapons.
You gotta bring ass to get ass.
I stated this in the offseason
I think he needed more time to become comfortable in the playbook, simply because every year it was a new OC. This year new OC, he had the preseason in it and 6 weeks in the regular season. His practicing with the team and Crabs during the bye week was good as well. He still needs to work on touch passes over the middle, you know leading the WR so they can actually get some Yac yards.
"Optimist Prime"
"Child Please" -Ochocinco
It's the Shogun!
He will be playing before the end of the season
We’re going to have to see if he can cut it before the end of the season. Or should I say before the draft next year.
Now, will Brandon Jones get more snaps?
He and Alex had a good rhythm in training camp and his ability to go deep fits Smith’s strenghts.
You gotta bring ass to get ass.
Actually afte rreading this
I completely agree as well. :-)
I agree with what Danny said about not overhyping Smith, but i do think he played excellent today.
by Brendan Scolari on Oct 25, 2009 11:58 PM PDT up reply actions
I hope those naked pictures
are for blackmail purposes only.
#1. As I said above, this is a small sample size. However, Smith did play well. Someone joked that Raye had one offense installed for Hill and a spread offense for Smith. I am a little baffled as to where the hell the spread came from. It seemed to work pretty well for a half.
#2. Absolutely. The team has looked really flat starting these last three games (I include the Rams game). But having two weeks to prepare and looking so bad suggests to me that a.) the talent on the field starting the game reached its potential (although that seems to have been proven false by the second half), or maybe Singletary has lost the team a little. I heard a stat that the average team coming out of a bye wins only 53% of its games. You’d think it would be better. Good teams do better. The Niners do a lot worse than that.
#3. I would have been happier with Spurlock returning today. And why couldn’t Battle have gone instead of Sheets? I hope someone sticks a mike in front of McCloughan’s face to get an idea about who’s doing the roster management and what was behind those roster moves. Yeah yeah yeah, Sheets didn’t know his blocking assignments. That’s apparently not a qualification for playing time on the offensive line.
by Bob In Beaverton on Oct 25, 2009 4:15 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
i don't mind the loss...
coming out of a bye. it’s just the seeming total lack of preparation and general “heads up their asses” appearance of that 1st half, which is totally unacceptable when you have twice as long to prepare and get your head out of your ass.
by (Florida) Danny Tuccitto on Oct 25, 2009 4:59 PM PDT up reply actions
We only lost 1 T.O. in the 2nd half to running out of time on the play clock
That’s not bad when you’ve got a backup QB, rookie WR, and injuries on the o-line. Not acceptable but for me understandable.
As for Battle, ugh. I recall someone (maybe more than one person) on this board commenting with appropriate sarcasm that his good pre-season play was keeping him on the roster and once again we wouldn’t be able to get rid of him.
You gotta bring ass to get ass.
Completely agreed
Loved Smith’s play, cautiously optimistic about him but in no way should he be anointed the “savior”.
The time management gaffes were awful, beyond awful actually. I have no clue why Sing didn’t call a timeout before the 2 minute warning in the 4th quarter, instead letting 40 seconds run off the clock.
And yes, Battle is just a complete fail.
by Brendan Scolari on Oct 25, 2009 11:52 PM PDT up reply actions
No one else mentioned this
And I too wish he called one. Ultimately it only would’ve saved us 6 seconds (if we call it, Houston runs their 2nd down play which takes us to the 2-min warning. Instead we let them run their 2nd down play after, then called T.O. at 1:54).
Still, those 6 seconds could’ve been the difference between getting a FG attempt and running out of time.
You gotta bring ass to get ass.
Crabtree and Morgan. Bruce?
Crabtree had the expected excellent game, this will continue the rest of the season and will get better. He had 2 catches for 22 yards from Hill, and 3 catches for 34 yards with Smith. With either QB he’ss put up decent numbers, and its for a different thread what kind of numbers he will put up with Hill not at QB.
Anyway, Morgan has had a good season, and in this game as the 3rd WR had some excellent plays and overall a great game.
Bruce had a consistent game as he does with what was given to him.
But with Morgan’s game, does it look like he will be taking away Bruce’s time?
(Maybe not if we have Smith and a lot more 3 WR sets)
It's only week 7
but I think we can safely come up with a list of things that NEED to be addressed on this team, if not from within the organization over the remaining weeks, then definitely in the offseason.
1) Most important, the OL. The most disappointing part of the McCloughan regime is that, when you think about it, he’s had 5 years now to build a competent OL and he’s still only 2/5 of the way there. AND, 1/5 of that was on the roster before he got here (Heitmann). Now, maybe Snyder steps up and solidifies the RG spot over the rest of the season, and that would be great, but I’m not counting on it. In any case, one way or another, this unit needs to be fixed this offseason. I have no doubt that part of the problem is coaching and would shed no tears for a departed coach Foerster, but at least a share of the blame lies at McCloughan’s feet as well.
2) More playmakers on D. It’s very apparent that we have a good defense with some standout guys (Willis, J. Smith) but we’re missing a couple things that could make us elite. A playmaker in the secondary. A true, consistent, passrush threat.
Now the good news:
The skill players are set, or nearly so. We may still need a QB, time will tell on that one. But with a competent guy behind center today, suddenly we had plenty of weapons. Crabtree and Morgan should only get better. Davis has arrived. Gore is Gore. That’s a pretty solid nucleus. Get a line that can give a QB some time and open up some holes on the ground and we’re in good shape.
What I’m looking for next week:
1) I think Alex Smith has to get the start. I mean, it was just night and day between the two halves. And maybe that’s not so lucky because it could be an UGLY loss against the Colts. But what I think we need to see is a little more game awareness on his part. Those delay of game penalties were not good today— I’ll cut him some slack because he may not have been as mentally ready as he would’ve been as the starter, but that needs to get fixed in a hurry.
2) No more Chilo. I don’t think I need to say more than this. He’s still a young guy, and I hope he improves, but right now he’s not helping us at all.
3) The pass to set up the run. I think Smith maybe made some teams sit up and take notice today. With some of those deep passes over the middle to Davis, he might have forced safeties to sit back in coming weeks which could open things up underneath for the ground game. If Gore gets going, this could be the beginning of something good.
4) Let the Reverend preach from the slot. It’s clear that Bruce is not one of this team’s best two receivers, and I don’t know why he should be starting over either Morgan or Crabtree at this point.
Idolizing Robb Nen since 2002...
by Smoke on the Water on Oct 25, 2009 2:27 PM PDT reply actions
I couldn't agree more
Bruce has been productive for a very long time but it just isn’t happening for him anymore. Time to start rotating him out and getting Morgan in as our Number 2 receiver. Lets see more spread formations which will cause the secondary to sit back more. That will open up the running game for us more.
We can’t do that with Hill. He simply doesn’t have the strength for the long ball, nor the touch necessary. He’s so petrified of throwing interceptions that he puts it where his receivers can’t get it.
They need to do more of it.
I thought they would once they got Crabtree in. Morgan has potential—just needs to develop it. Crabtree is going to be really special I think. He did not look like a rookie.
Re: delay of games.
One was because Morgan was the 12th man in the huddle. There was going to be a penalty called no matter. Smith actually was clever enough to go to the sideline and chat with the coaches because he knew a penalty would be called anyway as soon as they lined up.
I think one of them was because one or more of the wide receivers were late getting set. That may have been on Smith or it may have been on the receivers not getting lined up right to start off.
I think there was one definitely on Smith.
On #3, Walsh’s early teams established the pass to open the run, something entirely upside down to football thinking until then. Nowadays it’s not necessarily one having to set up the other, but if you have the potential to spread out the ball to someone other than the bell cow you get the defense a little on their heels.
by Bob In Beaverton on Oct 25, 2009 4:27 PM PDT up reply actions
Morgan was in motion and before the snap he moved forward, towards the line.
"Whether you think you can, or you think you can't, either way, YOU'RE RIGHT !"
Chilo needs to sit on the bench for a while.
FIRE BRUCE BOCHY NOW!!!!!!
AND TAKE BRIAN SABEAN WITH HIM!!!!!
with...
a box of chocolates?
should his name be changed to “chilo gump” until further notice?
by (Florida) Danny Tuccitto on Oct 25, 2009 5:41 PM PDT up reply actions
is he a FA after this season?
I wouldn’t be opposed to throwing money at him. We really need a kick/punt return specialist, and he’s done some interesting things on offense, as well.
"It came down like a punt, Coach!" - Josh Morgan
So, I'm not going to come out and say that Alex Smith is the solution to everything and anything
But, if he is able to establish himself as a competant starting Quarter Back, it means the following things:
1. The 49ers have a starting QB that’s pretty cheap!
2. They won’t need to draft a QB in the first round
3. They can get a OT, CB, whatever the BPA is in the first round next year; there’s no need to trade up and chase a QB.
the fact is, if Smith does emerge into The Guy, it suddenly makes the next two years much much brighter.
Also wanted to give him credit for sticking this out – how many people would have come back from a very serious injury, general opproprium, loss of the starting job, then taken a pay cut and worked that hard to try to rehabilitate himself?
Regardless of talent, that’s impressive.
Smith is an option not an answer
There is no panacea for this team there is no one thing we can say that will be…BOOM! It’s not that simple. There needs to be growth. I’m not saying that I"m against Smith in fact at this point I"ll be willing to eat crow. (Might taste better than this cold pizza) but there are many changes that need to be done on this team.
by ChesapeakeBay9er on Oct 25, 2009 2:38 PM PDT up reply actions
No, no, I agree
don’t get me wrong – I don’t think that one half proves anything either way. Just, that if it’s the beginning of something good, rather than a blip, it really would open up options for the team as they continue to build.
I like Nate Davis
as the eventual quarterback, but it sure would be nice if there was a reason for him to sit and learn for the next couple of years.
by Bob In Beaverton on Oct 25, 2009 4:30 PM PDT up reply actions
I'd Rather see what Smith us regardless
Hill plays not to turn the ball over which means nothing when you dont move the ball and lead the league in 3 and outs. All of the playoff teams can score. Can someone tell who the hell the special teams coach is?
Exactly
Hill plays not to lose. Smith plays to win. There’s a big difference in attitude and the type of throws that you make.
O'Sullivan didn't jus throw Int's he fumbled also
He put up turnovers at a rate that rivals only Jamarcus Russell
JTO played to win.
It’s just that he lost.
by Bob In Beaverton on Oct 25, 2009 4:31 PM PDT up reply actions
+1
The probability that you just read my signature: 1
by girltothemax on Oct 25, 2009 2:38 PM PDT up reply actions
And he's been pretty good.
Sharlon Schoop - de favoriete Nederlandse honkbalspeler van McCovey Chronicles.
You always have to be one step ahead of your drunk friends
--Daisy Owl
(excepting this year)
Sharlon Schoop - de favoriete Nederlandse honkbalspeler van McCovey Chronicles.
You always have to be one step ahead of your drunk friends
--Daisy Owl
You can't really blame him for all of the special teams inefficiencies.
Rossum being inactive and gone has resulted in an anemic return game – that’s not his fault.
Some of his best special teams studs from recent years have left or been hurt (Keith Lewis, Jeff Ulbrich, Billy Bajema…)
We have given up some returns that were all-around poor efforts, but I just don’t think that you can hold him personally responsible after so many years of ranking in the top third in the league in those categories.
"It came down like a punt, Coach!" - Josh Morgan
Our coverage units were awesome today
The Texans have excellent return men.
You gotta bring ass to get ass.
On the flip side our punt unit couldn’t get off the field without a penalty. Probably cost the team 35 yards of field position including 10 yards before the last drive.
6 yards on the last drive
Ball bounced at the 12 and it went half the distance from there. And yeah, that sucked but the penalty was on Wilhelm, just singed to replace Ulbrich. And the rookie Taylor had a blatant hold on punt block. ST units always suffer the most when injuries happen. That final holding call hurt because it had zero impact on the play. Those 6 yards might’ve helped just in terms of field position.
You gotta bring ass to get ass.
Also to be honest
They were bailed out by a penalty on that punt return for a TD. I’m sure the penalty had something to do with springing that return however the spacing and coverage on that play was terrible. Three 49ers were within a foot from one another. The Texan returner just took a step left to avoid them and he was off to the races.
I get what you're saying
But when a team commits two penalties on the return, it does make it seem as though a long return would never happen without it. Actually, I’m always stunned when a team has a hold an illegal block but only gets like a 5 yard return.
You gotta bring ass to get ass.
or 0.
cough.
Sharlon Schoop - de favoriete Nederlandse honkbalspeler van McCovey Chronicles.
You always have to be one step ahead of your drunk friends
--Daisy Owl
If Alex Smith can step up, we can spend our 1st round picks on Offensive Line
Admitedly I was rooting for Alex Smith this year in training camp even though for a few years I actually booed him while at home games. I also like what he did when he played during a couple of the preseason games, he had fire, and really put up a kick ass tackle. If he can step up, and grant you, it’s a very big if, then we can improve the sucko offensive line we have with next year’s draft.
Jimmy Ray’s once again predictable 1st half play calling has got to improve, it’s so obvious my wife knows what they are going to do. Shocked to see Smith get the nod, they better stick with him, flipflopping would kill us.
I am very excited by this loss, I think it could be the start of a big improvement for our team!!
Yeah I agree that it could be our turnaround point.
We played well against the Vikings! We really aren’t a bad team. We just have QB and O-line issues, which aren’t small problems. I also agree we need to draft good o-linemen. People were talking about us drafting another QB, but I don’t see how we can afford to waste another pick on another QB and not strengthen our weak o-line.
OT: anyone have a clip of Alex Smith making that block in preseason?
by PiKAgiant on Oct 25, 2009 2:35 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs
I just figured out why Vernon Davis is called the Disease
lol
The probability that you just read my signature: 1
I'm speechless.
God damn it 49ers. Why can’t you just lose in peace without any hope? >:(
"Mayhap a hidden door lurks nigh. Let us search the environs."
Yeah but now you look like you have a young an awesome offense.
What bizarro world are we in where Alex Smith looks competent?
"Mayhap a hidden door lurks nigh. Let us search the environs."
by Fearless Frog on Oct 25, 2009 2:48 PM PDT up reply actions
They haven't been consistently good, but they've always had potential to be pretty great.
They had a surprising year last season and a lot of people had them picked as sleepers to win their division this year. Their offense is definitely capable of greatness.
"It came down like a punt, Coach!" - Josh Morgan
Sing
doesn’t knock his players in public. Red Zone channel just showed his non answer to the Smith/Hill question. He got off that topic quick as he could and then showed some man-love to Crabtree.
Am I reading it right?
Brady and Smith are tied for the most TDs so far this weekend?
by ChesapeakeBay9er on Oct 25, 2009 2:47 PM PDT reply actions
I WANT WINNERS. THAT'S A JOKE
I GUESS WE CAN POINT THE FINGER ALL OVER THE FIELD AND BLAME THE O-LING AND THE DEFENCE, BUT THE REAL BLAME AND THE FINGER SHOULD BE POINTED AT THE OWNERSHIP, THEY NEED TO BRING IN SOME COACHES THAT REALLY WANT TO WIN AND NOT COACHES THAT SAY I WANT WINNERS. I LIKE THE HEAD COACH BUT HE HAVE NOT SHOWED ME ANTHING YET. REMINE ME OF LAST YEAR COACH THAT GOT FIRED
wat
"Mayhap a hidden door lurks nigh. Let us search the environs."
by Fearless Frog on Oct 25, 2009 2:49 PM PDT up reply actions
There's this key on your keyboard
it’s called Caps Lock..might be good to use it.
by ChesapeakeBay9er on Oct 25, 2009 2:49 PM PDT up reply actions
Why isn't there elementary school on weekends
America’s future………..WTF
"Optimist Prime"
"Child Please" -Ochocinco
It's the Shogun!
be nice.
The probability that you just read my signature: 1
by girltothemax on Oct 25, 2009 2:54 PM PDT up reply actions
Maybe
To be fair to Gore the 49ers didn’t bother to run the ball in the 1st quarter and than found themselves down 14-0, killing any chance for him to run the ball.
Our best run came in the second half with Smith at QB
When he is in the D has to play differently. It’s easy to say that Hill should remain the starter, but you can’t overlook the fact that every WR had it’s best game and Raye didn’t look as plain with the same formation over and over. I think you have to consider starting Smith next week. Hill can only do so much and with our O-Line it will nev3er be enough
"Optimist Prime"
"Child Please" -Ochocinco
It's the Shogun!
I am sure
they will at the very least consider Hill. With that spread offense, he was pretty good. That last play (4th down) he had Bruce at the 1st down marker and there wasn;t a Texan within 15 yards. He locked the target and didn’t fully go through progressions.
Looked miles better than anything Hill has showed (ability wise). Better arm, scrambled and got out of the collapsing pocket, etc…
not to mention its really refreshing to see crisp spirals from our quarterback
by randolphforpresident on Oct 25, 2009 10:59 PM PDT up reply actions
Either way, the O-line was not getting any push or opening any holes
Hopefully the pass will back defenders off….assuming that Smith can continue on like today
Gore Rushing attempts this season plus Coffee's rushing attempts this season
equal up to 149 attempts. AD and Chester = 157. Take it for what you will.
by ChesapeakeBay9er on Oct 25, 2009 3:03 PM PDT up reply actions
All season actually
We’re ranked 24th in the league in rushing. We’ve only had two 100 yard games this season (and one of those was exactly 100 yards). In fact, other than our game against Seattle we’ve looked pretty pathetic on the ground.
We don’t have an O-line that’s built for rushing.
It's gonna be very hard against the Colts next week...
I just hope they know what they’re up against.
The probability that you just read my signature: 1
i just hope they can hang in there and play a better first half than they did today and see what happen in the 2nd half
I'd be happy with a 1 point win
I’m not greedy, I don’t need them to destroy the Colts.
Who just destroyed StL. Eeek.
They call their best player "Kung Fu Panda" and they complain that people aren’t taking them or the game seriously enough? -Nick
more from maiocco:
For the record, rookie WR Michael Crabtree played 48 of 49ers’ 54 offensive snaps. That’s 89 percent of the team’s plays.
That’s more than any other WR. Considering the fact that we ran a lot of different formations (many that I’m sure we didn’t expect to see coming into this game), it’s just really impressive that Crabtree played so often and so well.
He was spectacular at not telegraphing the balls coming his way, and he showed that he’s got amazing hands. Some guys catch passes and some guys make catches – the ability to attack the ball in the air and reel in passes with strong hands are what separates guys like Fitz, T.O., Andre Johnson and Marques Colston from the rest of the pack.
I’m really excited that he’s a 49er.
"It came down like a punt, Coach!" - Josh Morgan
by shlecko on Oct 25, 2009 3:09 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs
Don't forget, T.O. had the dropsies here
Yet always blamed Garcia. Before it was all McNabb’s fault.
You gotta bring ass to get ass.
People, Alex Smith looked good
I know it’s been said repeatedly since half time, but I just have to vent –
contrary to my profile picture, I just wanted the best QB we had to start, so I was fine with Hill starting the season and i was fine with Hill starting this game!
But I finally got to watch this game (the first one I’ve seen this season since I live in chicago). I was the ONLY 9ers fan in an entire bar filled with steelers and skol vikings (ehh), the bar had our game on mute and was blasting the Steelers game and whenever that game went to commercial break, people would see the stats for the 49ers (1 yd total offense!?) and laugh. And then go back to skoling and terrible toweling or whatever the heck they do…anyway,
between the dismal offense, the beers and whatever, I was calling for alex smith by the second quarter…(but silently or else it would have looked like i was talking to myself and that would have been weird :)
And when he came out after the half – I had to refrain myself from going around shaking people and yelling WE’RE STARTING ALEX SMITH, WE’RE STARTING ALEX SMITH!
And did he ever deliver. When he was 21 we asked him to be our franchise, and after a decent soph year, his arm was almost torn from his shoulder. Once he fully recovered, we asked him to get us back from 21-0 and he came back with 206 yds for 3 TDs and an int, in one half!!
I doubt we’ve seen the last of Hill, but I hope Smith gets a chance to start Indy next week. And what about Crabtree!! VD!!! what! things are lookin up!
Bar full of Steeler fans
You can go to the bar on Wednesday and it’s full of Steeler fans . . . they don’t have jobs.
haha!
or a sense of humor either – I ended up hanging out with some vikings fans who were pretty hilarious with their trash talking against the steelers and even farve, so it was good
It could be 5:02pm on a Tuesday & I promise you Delhomme is fumbling something.
dude is a turnover machine.
I might have to go postal if this is an actual question
If Smith throws 5 INTs next week it still gives us a better chance because the team cannot play the conservative game against Indy.
Just asking for Opinions
I’m with Smith. His confidence is gonna be high. He has better chemistry with Crabs, and the offensive line didn’t look as bad since the D had to worry about the pass. It should be a no brainer.
"Optimist Prime"
"Child Please" -Ochocinco
It's the Shogun!
I have thoughts on what was different with Alex this time but I will wait until Fooch posts his official thread.
Knowing Singletary
I bet it’s Hill but on a very short leash. I hope I’m wrong and he goes with Smith.
I doubt because hes going to but the best player out there with the best chance to win and right now is Alex Smith
by 49erSalvatrucha on Oct 25, 2009 3:24 PM PDT up reply actions
I'm ok with Hill starting on a short leash
Reason being is if Smith starts and throws two picks in the 1st Quarter we’re back where we started with Hill and 3 and outs all day. This might light a fire under Hill’s butt. Either Hill has to produce or we’ll have Smith coming off the bench right away.
Hill is who he is a fire under his butt isn't good
he needs to show alex how ot lead
"Optimist Prime"
"Child Please" -Ochocinco
It's the Shogun!
Correction
I meant trying to get Kurt Warner. LMAO.
i screwed up today starting Matt Ryan over Kurt warner in fantasy… luckily i have over 104 points without Matt Ryan playing well
I thought the passing game looked very promising today. Had Alex Smith been sent in before the second half, we probably would have won the game. I don’t think coaching failed, though, considering the impending circumstances associated with having named a starting quarterback. Lets just say it normally wouldn’t look too consistent if the coaching staff were to bench somebody who they named the starter and put some other guy in.
I need Carolina to score some points!
I’m pretty sure they’ve already lost this game.
Also, I just cannot bring myself to watch the Cowboy game. Buck and Aikman take all the life out of a broadcast. They’re as dynamic as Shaun Hill’s 1st half.
Buck will suck your soul
Or maybe he just sucks.
by Bob In Beaverton on Oct 25, 2009 4:39 PM PDT up reply actions
Also, can some explain what happened in the Bears game
The Bengals jumped out early and I didn’t see any picks from Culter so who screwed the pooch for the Bears?
also - Buffalo 17 - 2 Carolina?
bet that’s been a fun game to watch
LOL
Gus Johnson and few of his calls . . . he can be over the top but it’s entertaining and makes you look up.
oh man, I just turned the TV on and this is the game
quite glad I decided to go for a post 49ers walk…
Carson Palmer's been lighting it up
Cedric Benson has a score to settle.
Ochocinco is turning it on.
I dunno. Bengals are a pretty good team this year though.
The offensive line, as a unit, is our worst problem.
They can’t block anyone. They can’t open holes for the running game. They allowed a 3 man rush to get to Smith near the end of the game. 5 on 3, and they STILL FAILED??
With all that said, behind the same sieve of a line, Smith threw for over 200 yards. Game plan or no game plan, the Offense moved the ball and the Texan’s defense gave up the yards. The Texan’s plan was the same as just about everyone we have played this year. Go all out to stop Gore and rely on the poor QB play by the Niners. It worked like a charm in the first half. Hill was GAWDAWFUL! Gore hasn’t looked sharp, but when the team was down 14-0, the running game kinda got forgotten. Smith succeeding where Hill failed is an indictment of how poor a QB Shawn Hill really is. he is GAWDAWFUL! The QB change was warranted. Too bad the only other option the Niners had was Smith. Smith was going to fail eventually. That is his Modus Operendi. Smith folds under pressure. 2 delay of game penalties and a pick. It didn’t lose the game, but Smith’s play at the end prevented the win. Hill’s inability to throw the ball against man coverage with 8 men in the box to stop the run lost the game.
So now we have a QB Controversy. Do you go back to Hill, and have teams load up to stop the run with no fear of Hill’s ability to pass more than 7 yards down field? Or do you go with Smith, and his inevitable failures when he is pressured that lead to defeat? Smith just dont got the intestinal fortitude to play QB. The More pressure you apply to Smith, the bigger the mistakes he makes. Nothing has changed for Smith. He has had the same problem since he was drafted. Very good arm, no ability to manage the game under pressure. So what are the Niners going to do ????
I say you give Nate Davis a try! Let him get some first team reps in practice this week. Then start Smith, because Hill just isn’t going to work. WHEN Smith eventually starts to fold under the pressure, bring in NATE DAVIS and see what you have. He is the only QB on the roster that hasn’t already disqualified himself. Hill and Smith have both proven to everyone looking that they are NOT NFL CALIBER QB’s. They never have been and they NEVER WILL BE!! Give Nate Davis a chance to succeed at the QB Position! The Niner’s haven’t had a NFL CALIBER QB start for them since Jeff Garcia left town. Neither Hill nor Smith have come close to succeeding as Quaterback. It’s not the offensive line (although they are horrible) because Smith was able to throw for 200 yards behind that sieve of a line. We need a good decision maker at QB with the physical abilities to move his feet and keep the play going long enough to make the pass down field. Until the Niners put a guy behind center that can do that, defenses will continue to stack the box with 8 or 9 players to stop Gore. Not that Gore has done all that well this year, but he is still the only threat the Niners have. Crabtree looks like he can be a factor catching the ball. He proved he can get open in press coverage. Now with Morgan on the other side in man to man, both players are getting open more often. Even Bruce and Vernon benefited from Crabtree being on the field. But the Niners need someone behind center that can throw the ball where it needs to be thrown and not throw interceptions. Hill can’t throw the ball past 7 yards accurately. Smith can make the pass, but he has a proclivity to make perfect passes to the OTHER TEAM when under pressure.
I say give NATE DAVIS a CHANCE!! They will certainly start Smith because of the muted success he had with the spread offense that is the only offense he can succeed in. When given a week to dissect what Smith is doing, the Colts will shut that down in a hurry. When Smith fails by throwing 2 or 3 picks, bring in Nate Davis to see if he has what it takes to be an NFL CALIBER QB! Hill and Smith have all but disqualified themselves in their attempts to be NFL QB’s. Lets give Nate Davis a shot at being successful. With Crabtree and Morgan at the wide receiver positions, we get 2 athletic receivers who can beat press coverage and make plays. Throw in Vernon Davis and Gore out of the backfield and you have a pretty good passing attack. Davis is mobile, and can possibly keep the play going with his feet until a receiver comes open. He also has the ability to make the long pass. If you start the game with Smith, eventually he is going to kill you with an interception or fumble. There is plenty of tape to show that Smith folds under pressure. Davis might be able to work behind that Sieve of a line and make the plays downfield. That could open up the running game if the passing game succeeds. But the coaching staff has to do something different than what the have been doing. One definition of INSANITY is doing the same thing over and over, and expecting different results!! Smith was different than Hill in the second half, but we all knew that eventually he would make the egregious error that costs his team the game. That is Alex Smith for better or more often than not worse. Davis gives you a chance to keep the play alive with his feet, and yet still make an accurate throw downfield to move the chains. The Niners need to keep the Colts offense off the field. What better way than to keep moving the chains with an offense that can run AND throw the ball. Hill can’t do it. He has proven that. Smith cant do it. He has proven that. GIVE NATE DAVIS A CHANCE TO SUCCEED AND BECOME OUR QB OF THE FUTURE !!! If he aint the guy, then we will need to draft another QB or pick somebody up on the free agency. There is a slim chance that Nate Davis could be a successful QB in this league! But we will never know if he is stranded on the bench. He could be the NFL CALIBER QB WE HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR !! Hill and Smith have shown the entire NFL who and what they are. LOSERS! We need a winner behind center. Nate could be Great! What do the Niners have to lose?? It would be fantastic to just START NATE DAVIS and see what he can do. Why wait until our team is totally out of the playoff picture. At 3-3 we are fading fast from our playoff dreams. We no longer are in first place in the West. We have a really tough game coming up against the Colts. They need a REAL QB behind Center!! N A T E D A V I S !!!
Another year, another chance to hope for the team !!
GREAT WALL OF TEXT.
They call their best player "Kung Fu Panda" and they complain that people aren’t taking them or the game seriously enough? -Nick
by mikev on Oct 25, 2009 3:48 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
So you're saying we should throw Nate Davis to the wolves?
Sorry, completely disagree. If Davis truly is our QB of the future (which I’m not sold on), I don’t want us to throw him in there and have him eaten alive. A year or two as backup won’t kill him and he’s not good enough right now to lead us to victory.
The More pressure you apply to Smith, the bigger the mistakes he makes. Nothing has changed for Smith. He has had the same problem since he was drafted. Very good arm, no ability to manage the game under pressure. So what are the Niners going to do ????
What could you possibly be basing that on?
GROUGTHINK ALERT
The first Chester Arthur fanboy ever.
Nice post, but you should really try to flesh your thoughts out more.
by Grant Brisbee on Oct 25, 2009 3:50 PM PDT up reply actions
For those who don't feel like reading all of this...
Here is a summary:
NATE DAVIS
We need NATE DAVIS
give NATE DAVIS A CHANCE
Start NATE DAVIS!!
NATE DAVIS!!
Well, we're waiting....
by drummer on Oct 25, 2009 4:26 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
The Process of the NFL QB isn't as simple as saying we need this guy in go play and be great
He doesn’t get any reps as it is and is nowhere near ready to be a starter.
"Optimist Prime"
"Child Please" -Ochocinco
It's the Shogun!
Nate Davis is not ready to take over for anybody yet. Go with Smith for now
by 49erSalvatrucha on Oct 25, 2009 3:45 PM PDT reply actions
plus, he's ill
plus, he hasn’t practiced with the first time offence for at least two months.
it’s not goig to happen this season, barring some serious QB injuries (which, given the OL, is not out of the realm of possibility)
i agree with mr. Fa StRmAn 100%, give nate a shot because right now we have 2 qbs that can’t make one good qb together
I'd rather give Smith the rest of the season
Nate will get his shot in the future. This is the last season for the 49ers to evaluate whether Alex Smith can be the QB. If he really can be the QB the 49ers can use that extra 1st pick to grab another impact defensive player.
VD got me 27 points in fantasy
So glad I started him over Witten, that guy has done nothing for me this season.
i started tony gonzalez over VD;
who wouldve thought that would be a 20-point wrong decision— again.
I take full responsibility for my irresponsibility.
Smith won the job for next week
But keep in mind that the Texans d was playing more conservative in the second half. The o-line didn’t have to deal with many blitzes.
The thing that stood out for me about this game was the atrocious play of the o-line. The niners haven’t had a good O since 2002, and that can be attributed to the o-line. If we wanna see the O become good or even average, the line needs to improve drastically.
Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life, son
by lincecuminyourface on Oct 25, 2009 4:02 PM PDT reply actions
RT looked better today
Not sure if Hill was suppose to fire that ball on the Mario Williams sack. RG seemed to be the only turnstile this week.
I think you're right
sometimes it’s hard to tell without reviewing the film and my DVD recorder died.
by Bob In Beaverton on Oct 25, 2009 4:43 PM PDT up reply actions
I have to watch the game using an internet stream because I'm at college in Pennsylvania
so you guys probably have a much better idea of the game today than me. My stream was pretty low quality and went out a couple times, but from what I saw, the line was not looking good at all. Hill was over jittery in the pocket, but I think it’s safe to say the line was not doing an adequate job of protecting him. Also worrisome was how there was no holes available for Gore or Coffee.
All this may work in Smith’s favor, because he may be more suited to handle pressure than Hill. Honestly, it’s hard for me to remember how Smith was under pressure because he hasn’t consistently played in so long, but we all know he’s capable of using his legs (something that came in handy multiple times today.)
Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life, son
by lincecuminyourface on Oct 25, 2009 5:16 PM PDT up reply actions
on that first sack I’m pretty sure Hill said, “it was supposed to be a run play, it was my fault.”
by randolphforpresident on Oct 25, 2009 11:08 PM PDT up reply actions
Read on Maiocco's blog
It was supposed to go to Crabtree but he misread the route he was supposed to run.
You gotta bring ass to get ass.
Morgan, Crabtree and Jones is the way to go.
Jones can really stretch the defense and Crabtree catches almost everything going his way.
Then you add Vernon Davis and that is the best set of targets that Alex Smith has ever seen. It is a lot easier for a QB like Smith if the receivers actually catch the ball like they did for him today.
"Whether you think you can, or you think you can't, either way, YOU'RE RIGHT !"
are you harkening to Matt Hasselbeck a few years back?
Just seems reminiscent
by ChesapeakeBay9er on Oct 25, 2009 4:32 PM PDT up reply actions
It does... Not sure if Smith is the answer but today he showed that with good receivers he can actually complete passes
It would be nice to have a solid OL in front of him too.
"Whether you think you can, or you think you can't, either way, YOU'RE RIGHT !"
Bay Area people. Saints vs Dolphins game on FOX now.
in case you need something to watch pre ALCS/SNF. I guess the FOX games were blacked out due to the Failders, but it’s back on now.
The Giants have to have a monster game on defense
I’m down like 35 pts in fantasy with Mario Manningham, the Giants D, and David Akers left to play (the other dude has yet to play Lawrence Tynes).
What we've got here is a failure to communicate.
by SportsChicken on Oct 25, 2009 4:54 PM PDT up reply actions
Damn, good luck with that, you never know what might happen, pretty sure Manningham will help you out tonight, and the Giants D will have a tough night though against the Cards, and yea, other than that, i’d assume you’d get a few points with Akers against the Redskins
I'm pretty confident
The Cardinals have a horrible O-line and my league awards 3 pts for sacks.
What we've got here is a failure to communicate.
by SportsChicken on Oct 25, 2009 4:58 PM PDT up reply actions
right on, hopefully justin tuck, and Osi… the other guy at DE will do well. but you need some big points from Mario
Yep
I’m guessing 15 pts from Manningham
20 pts from the Gmen defense
and 5 pts from Akers
It’s do able…..I lead my league in scoring
What we've got here is a failure to communicate.
by SportsChicken on Oct 25, 2009 5:07 PM PDT up reply actions
I'm confident in my team
They have scored over 700 pts this season (through 6 weeks)
What we've got here is a failure to communicate.
by SportsChicken on Oct 25, 2009 5:11 PM PDT up reply actions
How big is your league?
I’m in a 12 team league
What we've got here is a failure to communicate.
by SportsChicken on Oct 25, 2009 5:52 PM PDT up reply actions
Well I lost my matchup
The Giants can’t get anything going
What we've got here is a failure to communicate.
by SportsChicken on Oct 25, 2009 7:48 PM PDT up reply actions
on NFL network
What we've got here is a failure to communicate.
by SportsChicken on Oct 25, 2009 4:52 PM PDT up reply actions
How about Mark Sanchez eating a hot dog on the sideline?
What we've got here is a failure to communicate.
We knew that already
Does Crabtree already have more yds and recs than DHB?
What we've got here is a failure to communicate.
by SportsChicken on Oct 25, 2009 5:00 PM PDT up reply actions
Aww
Next week
What we've got here is a failure to communicate.
by SportsChicken on Oct 25, 2009 5:10 PM PDT up reply actions
Not for long.....
What we've got here is a failure to communicate.
by SportsChicken on Oct 25, 2009 7:48 PM PDT up reply actions
He's looked like a fool for 30+ years
Nothing new with him and the FO taking DHB ahead of Crabtree.
I think we oughta all come up with new meaning for the initials DHB…
Doyou
Have
Bananas?
Anyway, it looks like he’s catching bananas out there
There's no controversy
Alex deserves the start next week.
The things that hurt: 1) Obviously the Battle muff. I do wonder, however, had it been 14-0 at half would we still have seen Smith to open the half? I’m sure grateful we did 2) Not getting a FG before the half. The on drive Hill had came one first down shy of FG range. That would’ve mattered at the end.
Credit to Smith: Lots of good to say about his play, but the one vet move I appreciated was his taking a delay of game on the final TD drive instead of using a T.O. He knew we’d need that timeout at the end and it was better to lose five yards then and save the T.O. for 40 seconds of game time later. Smart. His pocket presence/movement was also solid. I would love to know how much the Texans altered their defensive game plan when Alex came into the game. There seemed to be one less defender in the box, a more cautious pass-rush and more zone coverage.
You gotta bring ass to get ass.
I agree
You just don’t put a guy that threw 3 TDs in one half on the bench.
What we've got here is a failure to communicate.
by SportsChicken on Oct 25, 2009 5:09 PM PDT up reply actions
There seemed to be one less defender in the box, a more cautious pass-rush and more zone coverage.
Correct. I noticed this immediately. After Smith completed a pass or two (over ten yards!), the defense backed off significantly. They stopped stacking the box, they eased up on the blitzes and their safeties were forced to play much farther back than they ever would with Hill under center.
People have been making the case that Houston’s defense may have just suffered from the lack of gameplanning against Smith, but I would counter with the argument that all opposing defenses so far this year have simply benefited a great deal from the simplicity of scheming against Shaun Hill.
"It came down like a punt, Coach!" - Josh Morgan
You, sir, are correct. IMO.
And it makes sense. For any team, if you make on or two plays down the field the defenders naturally back off, especially as filed position flips. But if you keep going nowhere (or backward) they become more like dogs with rabies. Plus Alex is more capable of burning man coverage with his arm and an overzealous pass rush with his legs.
You gotta bring ass to get ass.
Given how ineffective Hill was
Five drives: 3 3-and-outs … it’s hard to think he would have accomplished anything had Battle held on to the damn ball.
The argument was the 7 points the defense gave up because they were given a mere 8 yards to defend. In other words maybe half time deficit of 14-0 or 17-0 instead of 21-0.
They don't put "What If's?" in a boxscore..
I see Ron’s point valid due to the ineffectiveness of the first half offense. An offense a hair’s breath away from turning the ball over as well.
Well, we're waiting....
And they don't put that in the box score either...
But they did put in Slaton’s fumble that led to a 49ers TD. What if Slaton had not fumbled?
See how that works yet?
Well, we're waiting....
When you are down 21 - 0 at the half, your offense has failed.
Another year, another chance to hope for the team !!
When you score 21 pts and make it a 3 pt game in the second half.
Your offense has hope
What we've got here is a failure to communicate.
by SportsChicken on Oct 25, 2009 5:10 PM PDT up reply actions
Nice job Alex
I cant believe some people in the chat for the game i was in were blaming Alex for the loss at the end- an interception that most would throw on 4th down when about to be sacked (what can he do, take the sack on 4th down?). He finished with a 118 QB Rating. If you want to blame someone blame Battle.
Crabtree looked in sync with Smith, and Vernon Davis and Josh Morgan had arguably their most productive games of the season. That’s 3 receivers producing once Smith was in. I don’t think it’s coincidence. His arm looked great.
Who knows if he keeps it up but he earned a start.
They must be blaming Smith out of habit
They also likely think that Nolan should’ve thrown the challenge flag.
You gotta bring ass to get ass.
by SpurredOn on Oct 25, 2009 6:13 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
I do wonder, however, had it been 14-0 at half would we still have seen Smith to open the half?
Interesting speculation. Sometimes good things come out of bad things.
The future ain't what it used to be.
That's what I was thinking
It was bad enough that we had to make a change but close enough that we could make a comeback.
You gotta bring ass to get ass.
Yeah eventhough it was the last minute
Our guys stepped up to the challenge. I dont even think you can call that stepping up. It was a horrible second half for us.
If you switch things around and the Texans end up having to make a comeback I think the results wouldve been in the Niner’s favor. Yall have a killer defense. It just so happens that they didn’t show up yesterday.
I know Crabtree is our expensive receiver and everything,
but why can’t we have him do punt returns? Didn’t he do that for T-Tech for some time?
"B-Roy is the best shooting guard I have played against"
-Ron Artest
Ask 10Tech
I don’t think he did. I’m assuming he was too valuable to the the Texas Tech offense to risk him out there in the return game. I think the 49ers see things in a similar way.
He got hurt
In the following 43-25 win over Texas A&M, he totaled 71 yards and two touchdowns from 8 receptions. He also compiled his first kickoff return of his career in the game, running the ball for 50 yards. On the return however, he tweaked his left ankle and hobbled off the field.
I don't want that to happen again
What we've got here is a failure to communicate.
by SportsChicken on Oct 25, 2009 7:51 PM PDT up reply actions
Good game 49er's
You are banned from Music City Miracles.
Happy Now Tits?
You are banned from Blogging The Boys.
the dude who said get nate davis ready is really stupid, listen nate davis lets be honest will be a career back-up. if IF alex smith steps up and takes us to the playoffs, we do not need a QB in the draft and we can address the d-line and the worst o-line i’ve ever seen.
look nate davis is really talented but alex smith is too, but guess what alex smith does he combines hard work with his talent and 49er fans don’t worry we will put up 28 points next week but i don’t know if thats enough to beat the colts, i hope it is. if smith does not work out which I hope does not happen then we can start davis in 2011 enough said about nate davis let him be groomed into an nfl qb unlike alex who had it the rough way, go ninerssss!!
comments
First off, no need to call someone stupid.
Second, your comments confuse me. First you say Nate Davis is a career back-up, then you say he’s really talented and we could conceivably start him in 2011. Can you clarify that?
by David Fucillo on Oct 25, 2009 9:31 PM PDT up reply actions
Davis is a starter and a backup, of course!
I also heard him explaining to someone how the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor back in ’41.
HAhahahahahaha are you serious oh **** thats hell a funny oh god
by 49erSalvatrucha on Oct 25, 2009 10:39 PM PDT up reply actions
you both just got chasam'd
have you seriously never seen Animal House?
Sharlon Schoop - de favoriete Nederlandse honkbalspeler van McCovey Chronicles.
You always have to be one step ahead of your drunk friends
--Daisy Owl
Don't tell me, show me
Isn’t that Sing’s philosophy? Smith sure showed everyone who thought he was done, including me. I think that was his best game as a pro but of course that’s not saying much.
I also hate to bench Hill now in favor of Smith but if Smith is comfortable in the spread offense (he ran it perfectly at Utah) – then he’s our best shot at competing with the Colts. Colts’ D will be better prepared for Smith of course but maybe the football Gods decide to help the 49ers a little bit next week.
As for Crabtree, I think it was a better than expected debut. He’s got great strong hands and runs his routes quite nicely. Also, I didn’t see any showboating after he caught a few 1st down receptions – diva what?
With Davis emerging as the top TE he was expected to be, Crabtree also showing why he was so hyped and Gore as a pretty good receiving back – I don’t see why they can’t run the spread offense more often especially when you consider the O-line doesn’t protect very well when the QB is under center.
Win the inning.
Finally kicking this crusade off?
Crabtree finally delivered in impeccable fashion, Davis is a rising star at TE, and Smith just threw his hat in for being on this team for start QB. I’m absolutely disgusted still with the first half performance, as that was what sunk us in the end – I’ve just seen too many arguements that Smith still didnt do the job because a better star QB could’ve pulled it out, but 21 points in a half (and the D getting the rest it needed finally to hold only to 3) is a team doing what its supposed to do.
A job well done by Smith, and perhaps its time Sing and Raye seriously consider him for starting, cause Hill’s not exactly getting it done outside the division (and for Raye to keep this O-book calibrated to what Smith used this afternoon – SPREAD IT!). I’m not exactly buying the whole prep thing either for the Tex-D – we just blew the dust off a few plays and they were laying back, but thats just my opinion.
I have to admit – I was ready to just tune the Niners out again after the first half, and I’m still very skeptical, but if by some chance the Niners play 2nd half football again the whole game against the Colts…hmmm… lets just say Favre ain’t around this time to kick us in the meat again if we snatch the lead. late.
lets just say Favre ain’t around this time to kick us in the meat again if we snatch the lead. late.
Yeah, it’s just Peyton Manning… I mean….he couldn’t possibly do that to us…lol
Just referring to some insane so-called asinine "magic" garbage
That Favre’s relatively good at dropping at the last minute on us. Manning? Sure – if he’s not kicking our a**es already like you said. Guess we’ll find out soon enough.
Props for the Steelers today at least.
Excellent point
Think he might pull a mouth muscle against Trump in the DSRL match later this week (might help us win on Sunday if all he can do is sign language)?
Thats alright we can bamboozle him with this. Audible that Peyton!!
Peyton;s kryptonite…I’ve found it!!
Colts
I do think that Singletary should not publicly name a starting QB at all to the media. Watching today’s game was like having two completely different teams on the field 1st half vs. 2nd half. It’s going to be hard to game plan if they don’t know which “team” to gameplan for.
Sort of works to the Niners offenses’ advantage.
Smith worked primarily out of the shotgun and I think there was only two runs from that formation. I just hope Jimmy Raye doesn’t telegraph plays to the defense by bringing everyone up under center for runs and moving everyone back in to shotgun for passes. He’s kinda been known for this on occasion.
Keys to offensive success for rest of season:
A) Smith has to be effective passing the ball from under center as well as the spread.
B) Gore needs to hit another gear despite bad blocking (watch film on Barry Sanders)
C) Figure out who the heck is going to play special teams and leave it alone afterward
D) If run is not working, get Gore involved in passing game (he can catch)
E) Chilo??? Who? …at least for now, maybe forever depending on…well whatever.
F) and F for Fysical…yes on offense, we still need to stay Fysical (see Hines Ward)
Doesn't matter..
The Colts are used to defending high powered offenses, and the 49ers would be less prepared going into this game without definition of the starting QB.
Well, we're waiting....
less prepared?
I was suggesting not announcing it publicly. But internally start Smith… in other words he would be preping with the 1st team. Preperation would be the same, just dont let anyone on the outside know that.
Similar to holding a royal flush in a poker hand.
I'm sure they could hold out..
on naming the starter, but I don’t see how they won’t know by reports on what they are doing in practice. Besides, all they need to see is the film of this game. Preparing for Hill? Just what will be different if they thought he would start? I think they look at what the 49ers did in the second half, and besides, Manning can still pick this defense apart.
Well, we're waiting....
Maybe certain blitz packages they might run? Idk just saying it might have a mental impact on the defense one way or another.
Peyton’s a surgeon… even on our defenses best day, we’ll be lucky to hold him to 28 I think. I’m still not to convinced that the Colts have a premier defense so I’m not totally counting us out of this one but definitely not going to get my hopes up
it might be tough
if people see Smith preping the 1st team, they may as well just assume he’s the starter. I agree though, it would help the Niners if they could keep it under wraps. It might even be interesting to use both QB’s— one to stretch the field, one to avoid turnovers and take time off the clock.
Other kids may be sayin' hi-ho, but The Gooch just says yo.
The 49ers still have to able to run the ball..
If they can’t, then obviously you go with who can pass it.
Well, we're waiting....
Plus
The Dolphins ran the crap outta the ball against the Colts and were pretty successful. It wasn’t until Henne started passing at the end that they were able to match the Colts offensive intensity. I mean the Colts only had the ball for what 15 minutes? And still managed to win. The only way you can beat them is if they don’t know what to expect. Mix it up like a DJ…dont be predictable, etc
It has to be a balanced diet of both though.
I personally think that we need to come out of the gates swinging like Peter McNally fighting Mike Tyson. Air it out a little more. Maybe that will help get the run jump started? Just a thought
I think it’s gotta be one or the other. I mean we’re .500. Just go with Smith until he throws a bunch of picks in a game or turns it over a bunch. If he doesn’t, then maybe we’ve got something here.
I don’t want to jump the gun yet but he definitely had a much prettier pass than what we’ve seen. Mobility was nice to see also. He escaped the rush on a couple of plays.
I hope that he plays like he did today consistantly. Thats all anyone can hope for right now. Crabtree looks like he’s gonna be a factor. And Davis just looked spectacular in all facets. Gore needs to get his train rolling now and the O-line needs to get it together or we aren’t gonna do anything this year
Not sure what Gore did wrong this game
He should have screamed at the coaches for not getting him the damn ball. The 49ers were behind a couple touchdowns before they remembered he was in the backfield.
2.5 YAC
is what he did wrong…
There’s guys working with less carries than 13 and getting more yards than 32. Average guys at that. Yes the offensive line is to blame as well but there have been times when he could have cut this way or that way and opened things up for himself. Maybe his ankle isn’t fully healed yet, who knows.
I will say that him being back there rather than Coffee, the blitzes are getting picked up 100% better
Those guys working for more yards in 13 carries aren’t playing in games where they are behind several touchdowns. His run production today was more influenced by his teams situation than his performance. Plenty of good RB have bad stat lines when their team is blown off the field early forcing them to pass most of the game.
But I think all or most of those runs came in the first half.
So he didnt have time to adjust his 1st half performance for the 2 nd half since we had to pass the entire 2nd half.
Anyway I think this game revealed we have room for optimism and that our passing game will open up more, creating much more room for the running game. Even if the offensive line doesn’t improve. We were able to move the ball and that in itself will help the running game, if in the worst case scenario the offensive line doesn’t improve.
quarterback
If you think it makes a difference who is the qb against the Colts you better get off the couch, go back to school and finish your high school education. Either Hill or Smith are going to look like crap, neither has a chance.
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