49ers 2012 Free Agency Review: QBs

hopefully alex can be more confident in his ability to throw the ball over the offseason of work with the coaches and our receivers. he has shown us that he can make the throws if he has to, but if he doesn’t think he has to then too often he’ll just hold on to the ball and take a sack. this shows up in the 4th quarter come from behind drives, at these points in the game he knows he has no other option, it’s either make the play throwing the ball or lose the game, and he comes through pretty well. when he’s not put in that position though, it seems like he just gets too conservative, like he’s too scared of potentially missing a throw to try it and he goes well there’s always the next down, there’s still time in the game.

he’s missing the swagger that the elite quarterbacks have, the confidence in his own ability to go out there and make plays at any time in the game, not only when he has no other options. if he can’t develop this mindset, we need to move on to someone that does.

Alex’s numbers last year don’t compare all that unfavorably to Brady’s age 27 season. Not quite as good, but a poor man’s Brady w/ better td/int stats. Brady didn’t break out to his current all-world level until his age 30 season in 2007. Give Alex another year in the system and some better weapons and maybe an improved line, and see what he can do.

Don’t see any other real options. This team was supposed to be a project with a 2-3 year plan. I truly believe Alex will be even better next season after a full season in this offense working with Harbaugh.

Can’t deny having an elite, or great QB (by NFL standards) could get this team to the Super Bowl with the way it’s constructed, but I don’t see that as a realistic option. Here’s to hoping Smith can develop into one.

I’d consider elite/great about 1-7 in the NFL… I’d put Smith somewhere around 14-15

but if he pulls a Derek Anderson and has a terrible year next year after finally being good (I don’t think this will happen, different circumstances) then we throw in Kaep and see what we’ve got with him

The team would be foolish to even contemplate brining in Peyton Manning, Matt Flynn, or any other quarterback except for depth. At this point, Tolzien is a complete unknown. I was pretty high on Kaepernick after they drafted him, but I’m not sure if he’ll ever be starting-caliber. He looked completely lost when he did get playing time. But, I suppose with Harbaugh’s tutelage, either one (or both) of those guys could be a starter some day.

If Alex Smith continues to improve in all facets of the position, we’ll be just fine. Next season, I would love to see him throw for 3500-3700 yards, 22-24 TDs and KEEP THOSE TURNOVERS LOW! Maybe 6-8 INTs and 2-3 lost fumbles. I don’t think that is out of the question.

I think it’s crystal clear what our priorities should be in free agency/the draft: Wide Receiver and Corner Back. I also think we need to find a solid Right Guard, whether that means swapping positions with guys we already have or through the draft or free agency.

I marked it down as a 5. Smith had a solid year, and we have an untested quality in Kaepernick. If Alex fails, Colin deserves a shot before the 49ers pick up another QB from the draft of free agency.

Harbaugh paired with a quarterback he immediately got 14 wins out of, or paired with a hand-picked second round prospect? I’m completely happy with that.

First, hes STILL injured. Second, what kind of money would it take to even sign that man? I’d rather give Alex the second chance he deserves because after the past 7 seasons, even with an NFC championship game appearance, there is nowhere else to go but up!

I like the foundation that has been put in place and I honestly think Harbaugh can get an even better year out of Alex. I still think since CK was hand picked that he may well be the future, but for now, I say go with Alex.

And I know its been said hundreds of times but with a second year in this system, he may just surprise us again. Also, this is my first post on NN but I’ve been here since the beginning of this season and I wanted to say reading all of your posts this year was awesome and I’m sorry it wasnt until now I joined in! Lets look forward to another awesome draft and a super bowl win!

Resign Alex, sign Matt Flynn let all 4 QBS compete for the job. May the best man win. After all coach Harbaugh Himself said we’ll let them through balls out there and the best will win the job. The qb job is earned not just a given.

Definitely need to have better QB play. The difference between this year and years past is the interceptions are down. that is the only difference in his game that I see. I’m no QB coach but he doesn’t look all that much better than he was before.
Making better decisions? yes.
Getting muuuuuuuuuuuch better coaching? yes.
Looking more fomfortable in the offense. yes.
All that said, still does not have more talent than he did before. The biggest factor is the defense is playing out of this world so people are ok with Alex and the offense not putting up better points.

I like how he can throw the ball where guys can catch it instead of at their feet and over their heads. haha I know Alex doesn’t do that every throw but c’mon people. Why should we be ok with an NFL QB throwing the ball into the ground twice a game?

I finally have real optimism after how that defense played all year. Here’s hoping we resign our pro bowl secondary.

I think everyone saw improvement from Alex. A lot of credit is due to the staff and mainly Harbaugh for seeing something in him that most of us didn’t see. Most of us, including myself, were screaming for a change at the QB position. Kaepernick got a year to be on the sidelines and absorb the NFL, something Alex never got a chance to do. He was put on the spot and he was just not ready for it. I loved what I saw from Tolzien when he played against us in the preseason. He’s talent waiting to develop. Leaves me thinking that we should work with what we have. Our answer might be closer to us than we know it. But only time will tell. I trust our staff to make the right decisions… as for now…GO NINERS!!!

so hopefully he can improve for next season under Harbaugh or if we can get a better QB then go for it

Most of you are much more easily satisfied than I am. My view is that Alex has reached a grade of B but isn’t likely to get appreciably better … that is, isn’t likely to ever become an A. I don’t understand not wanting to go for the best … in everything I do.

Who is available that is a better option than Alex?

Can’t compare Alex’s numbers to the rest of the league. No other team plays like this. The closest might be Flacco, but I’d take Torrey Smith and Boldin in a heartbeat on our squad.

Other teams know we can run, and know we can run block. So they overload to stop the pass – it’s the only current understandable way to get at the niners as they are currently built. John Harbaugh knew this, and proved it. If they just played to stop the run, they are trying to match up to our strength, while handicapping themselves against our perceived weakness (passing game), and only a couple of teams out there want to pick that fight. So right there Alex has fewer opportunities total, and (even though way less predictable than singletary’s tecmo bowl play choices) his opportunities when he does get them are going to be a lot more obvious than many other teams. Hence even more pressure coming.

If we can give the man a consistently better chance to do something, his decision making will only get better. Not worse. It couldn’t – that wouldn’t make any sense. Take his 44 sacks down to 22 and he’ll be half as concerned about the inevitable pressure on his 500 attempts. That’s some math I’ll stand behind. Half as concerned = twice as decisive.

Sure he might hold on to the ball too long, but when one of his best skills is NOT FUMBLING, why the heck not? He’s trying to make plays. More to the point though, get the pressure off him, get some downfield threats that force double-teams, and you’ll get better play. Get better play, it opens up the run. Better pass + better run = more clock for us. Less clock for them = fresher defense. Fresher defense on fewer opponent possessions = a scary proposition.

It all starts with pass protection. Always has, always will. And that’s why we should feel good. Fix that one thing, and we’ll see some pretty amazing things start to come together. Combine that with the seemingly natural progression of QBs when they get closer to 30 years old, of being able to understand the pocket and move within it (a la Brees and Brady, which they didn’t really demonstrate earlier in their careers), and that’s pretty compelling. Kudos to Alex for not throwing any of those guys on the line under the bus all year, despite the number of freight trains they let through on so many occasions.