SB Nation Bay Area Editor's Pick
An Open Letter To Niners Fans From A (former)David Carr Apologist
by Jordann on Sep 27, 2010 5:24 AM PDT
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How's it going guys. My name is Jordann and I hail from Battle Red Blog. Yes, I am a Texans fan. And yes, I do feel your pain.
I moved to SF about three months ago and the first thing i've noticed are all the 49ers billboards spread through out town. I don't really have anything against the 49ers, and for the past four years i've actually found myself cheering for them more than usual. After being bombarded by the advertisements and television programs for the past three months, i've taken a liking to the Niners.
Now that i've gotten the introductions out of the way, i'll get straight to the point. When the "Fire Alex Smith" bandwagon rolls in, PLEASE don't hop on the "Start David Carr" bandwagon. I understand the frustration because i've watched all three games this season and i've rooted for the Niners in all three of them. Alex Smith is NOT that bad compared to David Carr.
As you know, The Texans drafted David Carr with their first overall pick in 2002(SHOULD'VE DRAFTED PEPPERS). When you start for an expansion team, it's obvious that the odds are stacked against you. And a lot of fans understood that. We needed to supply him with an O-line that can give him time to throw, Receivers to throw to, and a running game to keep the defense honest. Year in, year out, I (along with thousands of fans) would make excuses for David Carr. Every RB dump off(there were tons of them) would be blamed on the lack of receiving talent. Every sack and interception would be attributed to the horrible O-line play and the lack of running game.
But every year, the Texans would do something to fix those problems that are stated above. As the team improved, the franchise QB did not. But even then, you can still find me squeezing out excuses for David Carr's lack of production/awareness/intangibles/ability.
Enter Gary Kubiak. In his fourth season in the league, David Carr had the honor of working with Coach Kubiak. You know, the same guy that worked with Shanahan and HOF John Elway. Many of us viewed this as a franchise saving move. If anybody can turn Carr into a legitimate starting QB in the NFL, it would be Kubiak.
When you make a mistake, or when you put a ton of eggs in one basket; it's hard to admit that you're wrong. David Carr had his best season wearing a Texans uniform(or an NFL uniform for that matter). He started all 16 games completing 302/442 passes for a 68.3 completion percentage. He also sported a career best 82.1 QB rating. Being the Carr Apologist that I was, I chose to ignore the fact that he threw 12 interceptions compared to 11 touchdowns with a 6.3 YPA. All's well in Mittensville until news broke that the Texans traded two 2nd RD draft picks to the Falcons for Michael Vick's back up, Matt Schaub. This move confused me because I thought that David Carr still had some potential and would continue to grow under Kubiak next season. A couple of days later, David Carr was cut. And I was shocked.
What did the Texans see in this back up QB that made them cut their franchise QB that got a contract extension a year(or a couple) ago?
Fast forward to 2010 when everything was already clear. Schaub turned out to be the better QB, and David Carr couldn't even beat Matt Moore and Old Man Testaverde for the starting job in Carolina.
TL;DNR
David Carr is not the answer to your QB woes. I've received numerous texts and facebook updates from Niners fans saying that Smith should be benched or to start David Carr. Unless you like your QB to overthrow receivers, dump to RB's when receivers are open, try to run for a first down on 3rd and 15, hold on to the ball too long and drop in fetal position when the opposing team is blitzing. If that is your cup of tea, then by all means; call for David Carr to start. But if you want to avoid the same heartbreak that I(along with thousands of Texans fans) went through, it's better to give Alex Smith a chance and just look for a viable replacement in the coming draft.
This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Niners Nation's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Niners Nation's writers or editors.
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All very good points...
Which I completely agree with. There isn’t a franchise quarterback on the roster. We’ll probably just have to sit through a long, not particularly good season.
Or the OC can keep the playcalling simple
and not get too cute with the game plan. The niners strengths are the running game and the defense.
I know it’s not going too well right now, but if they couldve stuck with a simpler game plan with less HB Dives, things couldve changed.
"Fuck you motherfucker!"
-Bernard Pollard-
The game plan's been simple to the point that...
KC’s defense was calling our plays before we did. I’m not sure that’s helping.
Isn't Piolo running the team?
And KC’s defense was calling SF’s plays before they ran it?
Sound fishy lol
"Eff you mothereffer!"
-Bernard Pollard-
Ummm...
Yeah, I think that may have had something to do with Raye’s firing. He used to coach in KC. I bet they went over their old game film & terminology after they noticed that Raye was running the exact same plays in SF. He also used to coach in Atlanta, so we would have had more of the same this coming week.
Trust me, learning english isn’t a waste of time. It is actually sort of useful.
-randolphforpresident
by Dubs fan in Boston on Sep 27, 2010 2:06 PM PDT up reply actions
I have to rec this
Thank you for writing it.
The most popular player on the roster is the backup QB. Let’s just not forget how bad he is when we talk about benching Smith.
7
You're welcome.
Alex Smith can be pretty bad, but if you keep it simple for him (RB dump offs and TE posts), there’s no way the he’ll lose the game for you.
And im not saying that Carr shouldn’t be in the NFL because he obviously has something that the coaches see, I just don’t think he’s a starting caliber QB. If Alex Smith goes down in the middle of the game, I can see Carr managing the game while Gore destroys the other team’s defense.
Pulling Alex Smith from the starting lineup will do nothing but destroy the confidence that he’s slowly starting to regain. I’ve watched the Saints game, and he looked great in that final drive. Stepping up when he needed to and making things happen.
"Fuck you motherfucker!"
-Bernard Pollard-
Unfortunately with Smith...
he does that once every three or four games. The rest of the time he plays like a wino. He’s never been consistently good. That’s why people might be grasping at the Carr straw.
Think'n you might wanna change your ( sig ) , just a head's up ...!!
I'm your " Huckelberry "...it's juz my game ...!!
Sorry!
Some blogs are okay with it, some are not. I gotta be more aware with that.
Thanks for the heads up!
"Eff you mothereffer!"
-Bernard Pollard-
lol
I liked it.
Thanks for the point of view being a Texans fan. I however, even though I do like Carr, will be calling for Troy Smith when the time comes. That’s just who I want to see get a chance and what he can do.
I would say the same thing
/liked Troy Smith waaay to much in college
"Eff you mothereffer!"
-Bernard Pollard-
I concur with T. Smith, I wanna see him after the buy if Smith keeps sucking
I rec’d the OP too. But to be honest, if you did a find/replace on his article and replaced “Titans” with “49ers” and “Carr” with “Smith”, you would have been telling the story of many Niner fans.
lol is that sig in reference to the Colts/Texans game in Week 1?
"All during film, I'm calling him Bam-Bam, like from 'The Flintstones,' because he hits everything. He is the truth" - Chad Ochocinco on Patrick Willis
Yessir.
It’s taken out of context sometimes but Reggie Wayne knew that he deserved every single word that was said to him.
In the first quarter, Pollard went for a pick that was already out of bound but Reggie Wayne still pushed him mid air as if it was going to count when Pollard lands.
A couple of quarters later Reggie Wayne immediately steps out of bounds after catching a pass from Manning. And who was covering him? Bernard Pollard.
Hilarity ensued.
Pollard: Keep your a** inbounds!
Wayne: Mumbles incoherently
Pollard: F*** you motherf***er! F*** you motherf***er!
Here’s the video. Language is NSFW
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDFp3e2s-mM
"Eff you mothereffer!"
-Bernard Pollard-
Good times
(Okay… nobody heard that, let me quickly change the topic) “While we have a moment 60 minutes is…”
Trust me, learning english isn’t a waste of time. It is actually sort of useful.
-randolphforpresident
by Dubs fan in Boston on Sep 27, 2010 2:09 PM PDT up reply actions
lol yeah I remember watching it Live.
me and my buddies were laughing our butts off. I love how Gumbel seems like he kinda hears it and tries to start talking over it.
"All during film, I'm calling him Bam-Bam, like from 'The Flintstones,' because he hits everything. He is the truth" - Chad Ochocinco on Patrick Willis
also this is a good post. Carr is terrible
"All during film, I'm calling him Bam-Bam, like from 'The Flintstones,' because he hits everything. He is the truth" - Chad Ochocinco on Patrick Willis
I dunno. Just change it...
I’ve heard so many other people besides Pollard say it, usually just before they break a bottle over someone’s head.
Troy Smith
I personally thought Alex should have been pulled from the game yesterday, but me and the few other Niners fans we have out here in Jersey, were hoping it was Troy Smith that would be coming in. I have zero faith in Carr to really do anything except take sacks.
I'm glad to hear that.
When the Ravens released Troy Smith, I wanted the texans to go for him because we didn’t have a capable back up.
I think TS can do a lot with this offense. He does have the tendency to scramble, but he’s faster than Alex Smith. Somebody like him can make the passing game and the running game better.
"Eff you mothereffer!"
-Bernard Pollard-
I've seen enough of Carr in preseason to know he is no way better than Alex
Coach Boone: And who's team is this, Gary? Is this your team? Or is this your daddy's team?
Bertier: Yours.
Coach Boone: Now get on the bus. Put on your jacket first and then get on the bus.
Thank you.
Im glad that you and everybody here are aware of that. Unlike the Niner fans that I associate with IRL.
"Eff you mothereffer!"
-Bernard Pollard-
Do you guys think Doug Flutie would want to come play for us?
I kid, I kid…
Coach Boone: And who's team is this, Gary? Is this your team? Or is this your daddy's team?
Bertier: Yours.
Coach Boone: Now get on the bus. Put on your jacket first and then get on the bus.
by Amigo on Sep 27, 2010 1:16 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs
thousands of fans would make excuses for David Carr. Every RB dump off (there were tons of them) would be blamed on the lack of receiving talent. Every sack and interception would be attributed to the horrible O-line play and the lack of running game.
Yeah, that sounds like Alex Smith’s career.
every year, the Texans would do something to fix those problems that are stated above. As the team improved, the franchise QB did not. But even then, you can still find me squeezing out excuses for David Carr’s lack of production/awareness/intangibles/ability.
Sounds even more like Alex Smith’s career.
Alex Smith is NOT that bad compared to David Carr.
Are we sure? I’m starting to think they are the exact same person. They were both first overall picks. They are both excuse machines. They are both busts. They should both be backups.
We don't need 8 in the box. We have 52 in the box.
Still
Even if you don’t believe in Alex Smith, you can’t really be advocating to the beta version of Alex Smith, right? Andy Luck?
Trust me, learning english isn’t a waste of time. It is actually sort of useful.
-randolphforpresident
by Dubs fan in Boston on Sep 27, 2010 2:10 PM PDT up reply actions
i dont think it matters who starts for us this year.
we are not contenders, and we will be drafting a new qb next year anyway (i hope).
We don't need 8 in the box. We have 52 in the box.
Great points.
From what i’ve been hearing, another knock about Alex Smith was he’s never had the same coordinator for more than two years. Im not sure how true this statement is, so call me out if im wrong.
David Carr ran the same offense for three years. He had that stability(coaching wise) that Alex Smith didn’t have. Even when Chris Palmer(Texans OC 02-05) was fired, the guy that replaced him had the same offensive philosophy(Troy Calhoun). And for a rookie, that’s an important thing.
Another difference that they have is that David Carr never did put that extra effort in learning how to be a professional QB. His teammates would always talk about his lack of leadership and how he would be the first one to leave the practice bubble. I don’t know about Smith, but i’ve never heard that being said about him.
And I agree with your final points. They are both excuse machines. If you are calling Smith a bust, I have no evidence that you’re wrong. You’ve watched the guy ever since he was drafted and if that is your evaluation, you are probably right.
But when you sit a QB and replace him with an older version of him, it will yield the same or even worse results.
Im hoping that if they do sit him, Troy Smith can take over.
"Eff you mothereffer!"
-Bernard Pollard-
i didn't know that David Carr had a bad work ethic.
that’s never been a knock on Alex Smith. he puts in the effort and tries to be a good QB, he just doesn’t have the natural instincts/intangibles or feel for the game.
i guess effort is probably why Alex is ahead of David on the depth chart. it’s hard to say either one is more talented than the other.
We don't need 8 in the box. We have 52 in the box.
You were wondering about David Carr?
Hopefully you got the information that you were looking for about him. If there are any questions, feel free to ask. If I can’t answer it for you, I know somebody from BRB can.
"Eff you mothereffer!"
-Bernard Pollard-
Mr. Carr
He is terrible, I want to see Nate Davis get a shot, he has truly showed he has the talent, Carr always looks bad. Davis should be the 2nd string QB, sometimes I wonder about the Niners ability to judge talent.
He’s not ready.
Jimmy Raye es until!!! Mandanlo al demonio.
by 49erSalvatrucha on Sep 27, 2010 9:03 PM PDT up reply actions
Carr and Smith are pretty similar
They have similar histories and similar faults as Quarterbacks. I hated the Carr signing and still question whether it made any sense at all. I think signing Carr must have been Scot McCloughan’s parting gesture to the organization (Scotty probably knew he was on his way out). I’m not a fan of Alex Smith, but to all those who want Smith gone: be carr-ful what you wish for: he is unlikely to fare any better than Alex and will probably be worse. I really hope our new OC Johnson will pull Nate Davis off the Practice Squad and put him back in at #3. Now is not the time to be cautions, if Nate can make things work better than Carr, then they should put him in.
Alex Smith lovers read this
cause this exactly where you are now, i think Alex Smith is a great guy, calm, quiet, humble nice you name it, but he CANT DO IT, its unfair for us and its unfair for the team and for him too, its been 6 years and STILL i cant wake up from this nightmare and keep in mind im a CAL fan i felt like shit when we decided to draft this guy instead of Aaron Rodgers, ugh 1 of the worst days of my life.
IF we go 0-6, lets give Nate Davis a chance… Probably he is going to make some major mistakes but what the hell? lets go for it ! what do we got to loose…. If he sucks, well… we are going to draft a guy like Locker, Luck or Malllet.
No Carr I want to see what T. Smith brings to the table.
by bmcrae83@yahoo.com on Sep 28, 2010 5:23 PM PDT reply actions
Smoke and Mirrors
Yes Alex sucked it up on Sunday, I was there! I am just trying to figure out how our “indestructible” front seven get off the hook here? We were destroyed in all facets of the game and even though coach wouldn’t admit it after the game we were definitely out coached on all sides of the ball. We talked smack all week long on how we would dominate the Chiefs and how they weren’t going to run on us and we were humiliated. We are victims of our own hype! We were the “sexy” pick to go all of the way and we started believing our own press. One thing has occurred to me, we bought the Singletary tough guy routine hook line and sinker. We believed it so much that we thought that we were unbeatable. I just think that a quarterback is not the answer here. It starts with leadership and motivation that doesn’t involve posturing and chest thumping by the head coach. Being a great coach and a great motivator takes a lot more than the tough guy routine. I always have been and always will be a Niners fan, and I’ll still be one long after Mike and his pants dropping, bug eyed, intimidation express blow out of town. As much as Smith struggles, don’t let the him take the sleight of hand blame from the higher ups without looking at who is pointing the fingers first.
And . . .
I agree with everything you are saying, but please don’t use it to let Alex Smith off the hook. I have been saying for two years now he isn’t the guy. He’s inconsistent and can’t accurately throw deep, so the defenses load the box, and then we’re left with very few options.
Sing and Smith both need to go before we can start to recover.
Until then, I agree with the other post as well, give Nate Davis a shot and at least let’s see what we’ve got, or what we don’t have. Because Carr sucks, and having another terrible QB is no longer an option.
What IF
What if Singletary, and a lot of the fans that post here, are wrong about Nate Davis? When do we get a chance to find out?
It had better be sometime this year. It would be crazy to let all our QBs walk after this season, but the way things are going that’s a very strong possibility. We need to give Davis a chance and need to assess what we have in the kid.
My fear is he’s now in Singletary’s dog house. So he won’t let him play. And I just gotta say, that’s one of a number of reasons why Singletary should not be our head coach. We are about to go 0-5. Flacons, Eagles. Sorry, we can’t win either game with Alex Smith as our QB.
After the Raiders game we have to start experimenting for next year. I would bring in a new head coach, maybe even let Solari take over as the interim coach, and get Sing outta here. Let Davis have 3 or 4 games to prove himself, or fail. Then we’ll know where we stand for 2011.
We know what we have in Nate Davis...
A (very) poor man’s Atlanta-period Michael Vick. Davis runs around out there and makes it up as he goes. Against 3rd-line talent it works. We saw that it didn’t against even second stringers. The offense with Davis would look very much like Oakland’s with JaFatass Russell at QB. And yes, Singletary should go, but it won’t salvage the season. May as well let him finish out the year, while conducting an intensive search for candidates to replace him.
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