2 Reasons the Niners lost this game

[FourBeeDen]

The way I see it, is that the Niners as a whole lost this game. Plain and simple. They could not put it away in the end. Bottom line, they need to learn how to finish the game...

Now with that said, some people will not see it that way. Those are the fans on both extremes of the fandom spectrum... On one side there is the GREAT ALEX SMITH fans or as I would like to refer to them as the G.A.S. fans and then there are the ALEX SMITH SUCKS fans or the A.S.S. fans... Whichever side you of the extremes one belongs to, there is one thing that is certain... They are blowing GAS out of their ASS

 

[Crimsoncrew]

not going so far as "every bit as much to blame", but agree the line isn't helping. to be fair to the line, it consist of five players and needs to become a unit (ie needs more time). whereas Alex should already be improving.

all fans want to see big passing plays, explosive plays, but without a running game to foster it, not going to happen. if you can't consistently pass protect, then at least blast a few holes for Gore?

btw - saying things like "We played without two key weapons in the passing game", is what Clyde is pissed off about. Alex Smith could've played better even without Crabtree and whomever else is the other weapon? these are the types of comments that come off as pure excuses.

Frankly, I think the OL is far more responsible for our struggles. They showed in the preseason that they can't handle the blitz, and that has held up in the regular season. Sure, there are five guys on the OL, but four of them were around last year. Those guys were all very high picks, and they need to win their one-on-one matchups from time to time.

As you say, they aren't even opening holes in the running game, which looked to be a strength for Davis, Rachal, and Iupati.

Simply ignoring that our two best WRs were sidelined is silly. Clyde and others constantly complaining about Morgan and Ginn even getting playing time. But suddenly Smith needs to hit them in the quarter second he has between planting on his back foot and getting hit by a DL? That's BS. When players go down, other players need to step up. Not just players at that position, but players at other positions who need to play better to take the pressure off. The OL needs to hold their blocks a half second longer so our backup WRs can get open. Smith needs to throw into tighter windows (which, again, he did several times yesterday). The RB needs to his the hole harder or get open immediately when matched up against an OLB.

 

[imac_21]

not going so far as "every bit as much to blame", but agree the line isn't helping. to be fair to the line, it consist of five players and needs to become a unit (ie needs more time). whereas Alex should already be improving.

all fans want to see big passing plays, explosive plays, but without a running game to foster it, not going to happen. if you can't consistently pass protect, then at least blast a few holes for Gore?

btw - saying things like "We played without two key weapons in the passing game", is what Clyde is pissed off about. Alex Smith could've played better even without Crabtree and whomever else is the other weapon? these are the types of comments that come off as pure excuses.

If the level of talent on the field is a "pure excuse" then what is an acceptable reason for offensive struggles? Apparently missing the top 2 WRs isn't acceptable for substandard play, poor OL play is not an acceptable reason.

Is the only justifiable reason for poor offensive play is that Alex Smith is horrible? The OL playing horrible isn't, the lack of (healthy) talent at WR is not acceptable. . .

For years fans have wanted to get rid of Joshua Morgan because he's not good enough, yesterday he was our #1 WR. This is not an adequate reason for a poor offensive performance?

 

[imac_21]

The way I see it, is that the Niners as a whole lost this game. Plain and simple. They could not put it away in the end. Bottom line, they need to learn how to finish the game...

Now with that said, some people will not see it that way. Those are the fans on both extremes of the fandom spectrum... On one side there is the GREAT ALEX SMITH fans or as I would like to refer to them as the G.A.S. fans and then there are the ALEX SMITH SUCKS fans or the A.S.S. fans... Whichever side you of the extremes one belongs to, there is one thing that is certain... They are blowing GAS out of their ASS

Could you point us in the direction of any poster here who believes Alex Smith is "Great?"

 

[FourBeeDen]

Could you point us in the direction of any poster here who believes Alex Smith is "Great?"

Chill bro.. this was an attempt at levity that obvioulsy failed miserably

 

[sayheykid1]

He's 27th in yards and 29th in attempts. Seems to fit. Given that we're 24th in rushing yards, and Smith is responsible for 27% of those, and that we surrendered six sacks this week, I'd say the OL is every bit as much to blame.

We played without two key weapons in the passing game, and Smith still put up decent numbers. What were we missing in the run game?

And if you want to use the old rating system, Smith is 11th in the league.

150 yards passing is not all that decent in my book. Passing yards mean a lot IMO.

He wasn't terrible, he didn't lose the game but he will never win a game putting up 150 yards passing.

 

[h0ckeysk83r]

I think overall we need to look at something that may be mssing in these arguements. We are only in week 2 with a shortened offseason, we have had not all the time we usually would of had to work on all this stuff. Now this may not matter but i feel we will find out by week 6 or so whether these problems are still here or not. I think this has to at least play a factor, its only week 2 and were 1-1, already an improvement over last year.

If you would of told me that we would be 1-1 after 2 games and took dallas to OT with a shot of winning that game i would gladly take it. New system and some new players it may take a while to get things rolling. At least i'm hoping....

 

[Crimsoncrew]

Chill bro.. this was an attempt at levity that obvioulsy failed miserably

I actually quite enjoyed the acronyms.

 

[sayheykid1]

of course we could've won with a better QB, are you saying Alex Smith isn't a decent QB?

EVERYONE and his grandma knows what we got in Alex Smith, are we now expecting miracles? he's a temporary QB but who didn't know that one either?

i DO feel he'll improve as the season goes on, cause everyone else will too. but lets be realistic about how much and how fast?

I thought he was temporary years ago. I have no reason to believe that they won't sign him again.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

[/B]

If the level of talent on the field is a "pure excuse" then what is an acceptable reason for offensive struggles? Apparently missing the top 2 WRs isn't acceptable for substandard play, poor OL play is not an acceptable reason.

Is the only justifiable reason for poor offensive play is that Alex Smith is horrible? The OL playing horrible isn't, the lack of (healthy) talent at WR is not acceptable. . .

For years fans have wanted to get rid of Joshua Morgan because he's not good enough, yesterday he was our #1 WR. This is not an adequate reason for a poor offensive performance?

Agreed. Haven't we excused the OL's poor play for years because of Smith? The two contribute to one another. This week, I saw the Cowboys getting pressure constantly and immediately. Smith did not have anything resembling a chance to make things happen, and when he did - in the first half, anyway - he made the Cowboys pay. There is no excuse for repeatedly allowing pass rushers to get to the QB in under two seconds.

 

[imac_21]

150 yards passing is not all that decent in my book. Passing yards mean a lot IMO.

He wasn't terrible, he didn't lose the game but he will never win a game putting up 150 yards passing.

He was at 7.45 ypa yesterday. In 2010 that average would have put him 9th in the league. That's pretty decent. Using absolute yardage totals is misleading. Would you have been happy with Gore and the OL if Gore produced 150 yards? What if it took him 60 carries?

 

[Crimsoncrew]

Ok, this is for Sick who was asking about specific examples of problems with the OL:

1st and 10 at the start of the 2nd:

NFL Videos: Cowboys defense, sack, 9-yd loss

This is the busted screen. Three guys come through and hit Smith before he's even finished dropping back. Hard to believe Smith didn't fumble. V. Davis and Goodwin blew their blocks.

2nd and 10 in the 2nd:

NFL Videos: Cowboys defense, sack, 9-yd loss

Blitz, Staley goes outside to take Ware. Hatcher comes untouched and basically hits Smith as he hits his back foot on the dropback.

3rd and 8 in the early 3rd quarter:

NFL Videos: Cowboys defense, sack, 6-yd loss

Strange formation; unclear who is to blame and perhaps Smith should have called TO. Smith drops back, blitz off the back side which Gore picks up; Ware just blows by Staley with an inside swim move. Smith sidesteps him, but is hit immediately by Hatcher who got around Iupati to the outside.

2nd and 8 in the late-4th:

NFL Videos: Cowboys defense, sack, 8-yd loss

Play action, Ware comes off the right side completely untouched. Looks like one of the RBs should have picked him up. No chance to throw.

1st and 10 in late-3rd quarter:

NFL Videos: Cowboys defense, sack, 7-yd loss

Smith drops back and hesitates. Ware gets around Staley for the sack. Smith could have gotten this ball off or possibly stepped to his left.

I can't find the sixth sack here. That's the OT one. However, of these five, I would say the blocking (not just the OL) failed completely on four of them. On three, Smith was hit literally as or before he planted. On a fourth, Ware beat Staley as cleanly with a swim move as I have ever seen, though Smith initially avoided the pressure. Now, maybe Smith should be recognizing the blitzes and audibling out of the called plays. But even when the other team blitzes, we've got to give our QB time to at least hit his backfoot on the called pass. That's just inexcusable. All too often it seems that if Smith doesn't throw as soon as he hits his back foot, the pocket just collapses.

I've seen a fair bit of the Pats' first two games, and Brady just sits in the pocket. He could knit a sweater back there, despite a rookie RT and facing some blue-chip pass rushers like Shaun Philips and Cameron Wake. Now, neither of those guys is Ware. Not by a long shot. But we've got to be able to give our QB - whoever it is, but especially if it's Smith - more time to throw.

Revisiting this briefly:

In every one of these videos except the last one, Smith is hit within two seconds. In the last one, he gets to just over two seconds before Ware gets to him. In that play, it was a seven-step drop with playaction and a faked reverse. Smith had the chance to look to one receiver and then Ware hit his arm. Again, Clyde or anyone else, which of these are Smith's fault rather than the blocking or playcalling?

 

[olympicoscar]

Alex Smith will never lead you to the promise land.

 

[h0ckeysk83r]

Alex Smith will never lead you to the promise land.

And nobody here is saying he will

 

[threelittleturds]

Alex Smith will never lead you to the promise land.

That's OK, I don't want to visit Israel anyways.

 

[Ray_Dogg]

Man those videos make me sick. Staley is just terrible. Our blitz protection, terrible. Trying to be cute play calls didn't help either.

 

[RedneckNiner]

Alex Smith has his role in the loss... But Was Alex Smith letting Whitton run free every play? Was Alex letting Miles Austin school him? Did Alex stand their dazing off into to space twice when Dallas fumbled? Did Alex bite on the play action and let some kid who had no nfl receptions until sunday go Beast mode on the final touchdown? I want Alex gone as much as most do but I can't take the easy route and say its all on Alex cause frankly it wasn't.

 

[sayheykid1]

He was at 7.45 ypa yesterday. In 2010 that average would have put him 9th in the league. That's pretty decent. Using absolute yardage totals is misleading. Would you have been happy with Gore and the OL if Gore produced 150 yards? What if it took him 60 carries?

It puts him 22nd this year and he did it against two bad secondaries.

I am not all that unhappy with Smith's performance but it wasn't very good and he still is a bottom 5 or 10 QB in the NFL.

 

[Ray_Dogg]

I'd much rather Alex be the reason for us losing games this season, believe me. So far he's not.

 

[ViperVisor]

It puts him 22nd this year and he did it against two bad secondaries.

Secondaries where guys fall down and let guys run?

Alex has so few pass attempts that if you give him 1 of his passes where a DB falls and the WR got 40 more yards his Yards Per Attempt would be 13th best not 22nd.

Sample size is too small right now.