My thoughts on the game/Alex Smith

[Mozart'sGhost]

Another things worth mentioning..the play action passes were absolutely useless in the second half. Dallas didnt fear our run, nor should they have. Faking a handoff just gave Dallas that much more time to get to Smith. I did think we could have used the draw play more often..especially from shot gun formation. In OT on first down we ran a draw from shot gun and had the largest run gain of the day..7 yards. That was followed up by a play action pass from under center and we ended up with 3rd and super long.

That's a good point and probably accurate. I didn't think about that.

 

[BeerMe]

Sorry, but this is an absolutely ridiculous post. Alex Smith was as bad as any part of the team in the second half. For the love of God, enough with the excuses. It's borderline lunacy at this point. Get the fuck off his nuts.

Wow....

 

[clyde_carbon]

Fuck off, Clyde. In the first half - again, the only part of the game that I saw - Smith was clearly the best offensive player on the field for the Niners. The run game was useless, and Smith was sacked at least twice before he had time to throw.

As for delusion, the only delusion is pretending that Smith is the only problem with this football team. Smith is absolutely a problem. But our inability to hold a lead, pass block, or run the ball consistently seem to have become common themes.

Then don't comment about a game that you only saw half of. I don't know if this is unfathomable to you, but Alex Smith was a completely different QB in the second half, and was one of the prominent reasons why Dallas won. Every single week you make it a point to defend Smith from every angle, and this week you're citing him missing his top two WRs and the OL? Give me a fucking break already Crimson.

Smith was NOT the only reason we lost this game, as I said repeatedly. But as much as you'd love to deny it, he DID play a big role in the loss. He missed wide open WRs, his pocket presence was horrid as he took a few unwarranted sacks and created phantom pressure on himself, he threw a devastating INT that led to Dallas evening the score, and he used multiple timeouts because he couldn't get the offense lined up in time.

The only person I saw on the board that blamed the loss soley on Smithw as Sickness. But enough about the OL, enough about the WRs. Smith is not gonna get 5 seconds to throw every time he drops back, and our WRs are not gonna consistently get separation. These excuses are getting tiresome and sickening.

I don't understand where this unwarranted and unmerited loyalty towards Smith comes from. Are you really claiming that Smith has improved now? Is that a fucking joke? He made a few nice throws in the first half, but then went on to have a horrible second half. He played two teams with horrible secondaries. He hasn't improved - this is the SAME Alex Smith we've been seeing for years now.

I'm sick of the pro-Smith crowd jumping down anyone's throat that just so dares to criticize Smith and hold him somewhat accountable for his losses.

 

[deep9er]

I didn't see the game, but saw the box score. So at the end of the season Smith is going to have a 75% completion percentage and average 140 yds a game?? Why are they not throwing the ball downfield?? I am happy that Smith is being more efficient so far, but I think it's a bit of a mirage. If they were throwing the ball downfield and he was having to make more difficult throws it might be different. I didn't see the game, but so far it looks like they are afraid to open up and its pretty boring to watch.It's gonna be like the last 2 seasons where the only time I enjoy the games is when they go down by 21 and have to use the spread to catch up.

depends on how many times a game you think they should throw it downfield? next...what is your definition of 'downfield', in the air for 15 yards, 20 yards, more?

looking ahead, don't think anyone will disagree with throwing it 'downfield', EVENTUALLY we need to get there. but for here and NOW, do we have the talent to increase downfield attempts? i say no. as it is, downfield passes are low percentage plays, asking THIS O-line and THIS QB to execute is asking for poor percentages.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

Then don't comment about a game that you only saw half of. I don't know if this is unfathomable to you, but Alex Smith was a completely different QB in the second half, and was one of the prominent reasons why Dallas won. Every single week you make it a point to defend Smith from every angle, and this week you're citing him missing his top two WRs and the OL? Give me a fucking break already Crimson.

Smith was NOT the only reason we lost this game, as I said repeatedly. But as much as you'd love to deny it, he DID play a big role in the loss. He missed wide open WRs, his pocket presence was horrid as he took a few unwarranted sacks and created phantom pressure on himself, he threw a devastating INT that led to Dallas evening the score, and he used multiple timeouts because he couldn't get the offense lined up in time.

The only person I saw on the board that blamed the loss soley on Smithw as Sickness. But enough about the OL, enough about the WRs. Smith is not gonna get 5 seconds to throw every time he drops back, and our WRs are not gonna consistently get separation. These excuses are getting tiresome and sickening.

I don't understand where this unwarranted and unmerited loyalty towards Smith comes from. Are you really claiming that Smith has improved now? Is that a fucking joke? He made a few nice throws in the first half, but then went on to have a horrible second half. He played two teams with horrible secondaries. He hasn't improved - this is the SAME Alex Smith we've been seeing for years now.

I'm sick of the pro-Smith crowd jumping down anyone's throat that just so dares to criticize Smith and hold him somewhat accountable for his losses.

A few thoughts.

First, I stated very clearly that I only watched half the game and asked about Smith's performance in the second half. You need to pay more attention.

When Smith deserves criticism, I criticize him. I have reviewed five of the sacks Smith took at some length. On four of them, he had no opportunity to make a play. Maybe he should have changed the play in a couple instances, but I'm not going to fault him when he gets his as he finishes his drop. Our OL was straight outplayed once again. On the fifth sack, he had time to throw to his first read. I don't know if that was open, but he was hit from the backside as soon as he looked toward his second read. I'm not asking for five seconds. I'm asking for more than one and a half.

Despite your mischaracterization, the INT was not devastating. It was an INT. It led to seven points by the other team. It was bad. That happens in football. Even with the "devastating" INT, we were leading by 10 in the 4th quarter.

The only time I aggressively came to Smith's defense was in the thread in which Sickness blamed the loss entirely on Smith. I hadn't even read that thread when I created this thread. If I had, obviously I wouldn't have asked what people thought about Smith.

As for improvement, Smith looked like a completely different QB in the first half. He was accurate, poised, and threw well against pressure. Maybe that fell apart in the second half. Based on the three sacks he took in the second half, two of them were entirely on the blocking, and on the third Staley got beat by an upfield rush.

 

[deep9er]

Then don't comment about a game that you only saw half of. I don't know if this is unfathomable to you, but Alex Smith was a completely different QB in the second half, and was one of the prominent reasons why Dallas won. Every single week you make it a point to defend Smith from every angle, and this week you're citing him missing his top two WRs and the OL? Give me a fucking break already Crimson.

Smith was NOT the only reason we lost this game, as I said repeatedly. But as much as you'd love to deny it, he DID play a big role in the loss. He missed wide open WRs, his pocket presence was horrid as he took a few unwarranted sacks and created phantom pressure on himself, he threw a devastating INT that led to Dallas evening the score, and he used multiple timeouts because he couldn't get the offense lined up in time.

The only person I saw on the board that blamed the loss soley on Smithw as Sickness. But enough about the OL, enough about the WRs. Smith is not gonna get 5 seconds to throw every time he drops back, and our WRs are not gonna consistently get separation. These excuses are getting tiresome and sickening.

I don't understand where this unwarranted and unmerited loyalty towards Smith comes from. Are you really claiming that Smith has improved now? Is that a fucking joke? He made a few nice throws in the first half, but then went on to have a horrible second half. He played two teams with horrible secondaries. He hasn't improved - this is the SAME Alex Smith we've been seeing for years now.I'm sick of the pro-Smith crowd jumping down anyone's throat that just so dares to criticize Smith and hold him somewhat accountable for his losses.

i'm ok with your intent, believe it or not. we do have to judge with a more open mind, not simply defend. of course its ok to opine on how he played, good OR bad.

to me it appears others are judging Alex Smith relative to Alex Smith, while you're still looking at him relative to top NFL QB's? Alex Smith did have a better game than HIS usual, but of course he didn't play up to better NFL standards.

considering Alex's history and the short off-season, what amount of improvement were you expecting game 2? it can't be much cause you're smarter than that, right?

 

[Crimsoncrew]

i'm ok with your intent, believe it or not. we do have to judge with a more open mind, not simply defend. of course its ok to opine on how he played, good OR bad.

to me it appears others are judging Alex Smith relative to Alex Smith, while you're still looking at him relative to top NFL QB's? Alex Smith did have a better game than HIS usual, but of course he didn't play up to better NFL standards.

considering Alex's history and the short off-season, what amount of improvement were you expecting game 2? it can't be much cause you're smarter than that, right?

Hitting the nail on the head, Deep. Smith's mechanics and accuracy are improved to date this season. When he has time to throw. He's not an all pro. He's never going to be. But if we give him some time on a regular basis, and support him with a run game, he can get the job done well enough for us to be competitive this season. At this point, he doesn't even have time to hit a hot read, though.

 

[spacedoodoopistol]

to me it appears others are judging Alex Smith relative to Alex Smith, while you're still looking at him relative to top NFL QB's? Alex Smith did have a better game than HIS usual, but of course he didn't play up to better NFL standards.

This is definitely a good point....you better believe the bar will be moved consistently. They won't spend 100,000 posts ripping the guy then one day say "oh well, maybe I was wrong about some things". There is a lot of pride at stake.

 

[numone9er]

Hitting the nail on the head, Deep. Smith's mechanics and accuracy are improved to date this season. When he has time to throw. He's not an all pro. He's never going to be. But if we give him some time on a regular basis, and support him with a run game, he can get the job done well enough for us to be competitive this season. At this point, he doesn't even have time to hit a hot read, though.

Yep, we know Kap isn't ready and that Smith is improving. For a guy without his top 2 WR's and an unstable run game i thought Smith did well. I don't see how that's making excuses for him when those are clear facts. I don't understand the problem people have with that assessment.

 

[h0ckeysk83r]

Yep, we know Kap isn't ready and that Smith is improving. For a guy without his top 2 WR's and an unstable run game i thought Smith did well. I don't see how that's making excuses for him when those are clear facts. I don't understand the problem people have with that assessment.

Exactly, the fact is that smith is our starting QB and there is nothing we can do about that. None of us here believe he is going to be a HOF, but as our QB he is the one we will critique and talk about. Nobody here is saying he is the savior but we are assessing how he did in the game. That is all.

 

[threelittleturds]

For what it's worth on that play-action\screen pass.. (because that is what it looked like to me) I've never seen anything like that before and I'm not surprised Smith got sacked before he even had a chance to throw.

I'll have to watch it again on the replay, but if my memory serves me correctly on that play. They did the usual screen pass thing, but Smith turned his back to that side where they let the rushers by, while he was faking a pass to the other flat. Now, that seemed very odd to me at the time. It seems like they were trying to do too much misdirection and the defense just went straight for Smith.

Usually on a screen pass the QB never takes his eyes off the side where the guys are coming free... that seems like one of the worst designed plays I've ever seen. I can't imagine that even working in practice.

 

[sayheykid1]

This is definitely a good point....you better believe the bar will be moved consistently. They won't spend 100,000 posts ripping the guy then one day say "oh well, maybe I was wrong about some things". There is a lot of pride at stake.

If Alex Smith ever shows me that he is a good QB that can win games for the Niners and should be a starting QB, I will say that I was wrong about thinking I knew what kind of potential he had.

 

[zman1527]

Crimson, pretty solid review. Clyde, I have to agree, I used to like reading your posts and insight but its getting harder and harder to agree with what you are writing.
I think Alex played a pretty solid game, in fact, the team as a whole played a pretty solid game. There are always going to be mistakes made and for the most part ours were limited. The thing that got to me the most was the "lack of killer instinct" Harbaugh showed. It was only his second game, so hopefully he learns. Lets be honest, we are all happier with him then we were with Nolan or Singletery. As Ray-Dogg said, its time to live and die with Alex. Harbaugh needs to open everything up for Alex and let Alex succeed or fail. This is a great situation for Harbaugh, if Alex fails he can blame Alex and if he has success then Harbaugh will look like the greatest coach in the game.
All in all I would give the niners a B. They looked better than they have previously. Please Harbaugh, unleash the offense and play to win versus playing to "not lose" as it appears the niners have played in both second halves this year.

Harbaugh needs to pull tape of that Houston game from 3(?) years ago, when we got down like 24-3 at half. Alex took over in the second half, they opened up the offense and zinged down the field several times. It was a joy to watch. I just do not understand this super-conservative philosophy they have had the last several year where they just will not throw it down the field. Geez, even do it once in awhile to just shake up the defense.

Finally, our stars, Frank, Vernon, and Patrick have to make several impact plays each and every game. Not zero like they did on Sunday.

 

[TheNinerMind]

Jesus. The guy had 2 touchdowns - three if you were to count the play in which the ball was snapped over his head, he nabbed it, rolled far right and found Gore in the end zone only to have a pass interference call. He converted a massive percentage of his 3rd downs. This is the game we're going to have an Alex Smith meltdown??? Yes, he was sacked five times, but Crimson is right in that he had zero time in all but one of them.

Let's talk about that 2nd half. The 49ers had 5 drives in the 2nd half that didn't end in points. On 4 of those drives, Alex Smith was sacked. And as was covered, nearly all of them he had no time. And I don't mean he took a 3 or 5 step drop, didn't fire on his first read and was sacked. I mean he couldn't complete his drop.

I don't want to receive some Cazic-like response similar to your earlier responses in this thread so I'll say Alex wasn't great, and wasn't "the answer." But he was good yesterday. Pick another loss to go all Cazic. This isn't the one.

 

[bigninerfan56]

Then don't comment about a game that you only saw half of.

That time of the month Clyde? I hear cranberry juice helps. Stop acting like a #@$%&.

 

[clyde_carbon]

A few thoughts.

First, I stated very clearly that I only watched half the game and asked about Smith's performance in the second half. You need to pay more attention.

When Smith deserves criticism, I criticize him. I have reviewed five of the sacks Smith took at some length. On four of them, he had no opportunity to make a play. Maybe he should have changed the play in a couple instances, but I'm not going to fault him when he gets his as he finishes his drop. Our OL was straight outplayed once again. On the fifth sack, he had time to throw to his first read. I don't know if that was open, but he was hit from the backside as soon as he looked toward his second read. I'm not asking for five seconds. I'm asking for more than one and a half.

Despite your mischaracterization, the INT was not devastating. It was an INT. It led to seven points by the other team. It was bad. That happens in football. Even with the "devastating" INT, we were leading by 10 in the 4th quarter.

The only time I aggressively came to Smith's defense was in the thread in which Sickness blamed the loss entirely on Smith. I hadn't even read that thread when I created this thread. If I had, obviously I wouldn't have asked what people thought about Smith.

As for improvement, Smith looked like a completely different QB in the first half. He was accurate, poised, and threw well against pressure. Maybe that fell apart in the second half. Based on the three sacks he took in the second half, two of them were entirely on the blocking, and on the third Staley got beat by an upfield rush.

I know what you said, and I'm saying that you shouldn't base your opinion on the game and/or Alex Smith without watching it in its entirety. Too many times we've seen Smith perform well one half and and badly the next, or well one game and sub-par the next. Smith is consistently inconsistent - you know this, I know this, everyone knows this. That's why he's the same player. He played well one half, but he completely folded the next when he was asked to put the game away. How many times have we seen this unfold?

Quite honestly the notion that you criticize Smith seems outright Bullshit. All you say is Smith has "disappointed" you, but you constantly follow it up with a disclaimer blaming the coaching or the surrounding cast. You have never recognized the fact that Alex Smith is Alex Smith because of Alex Smith, not anybody else. Is our OL perfect? Absolutely not. Do they share a part of the blame? Yes. But I have NEVER seen Alex Smith change a blocking scheme at the LOS to counter a defense. I have NEVER seen him throw a hot read and make a defense pay for blitzing. We rarely see him slide, step, and maneuver in the pocket and improvise when protection breaks down. The QB/OL are interdependent, and Smith does zero to help the OL play better.

The Cowboys won by 3, how can you say that an INT in our own redzone that directly led to 7 points in the second half wasn't devastating? Despite the fact that we retook the lead, it killed our momentum at that point, put the defense right back on the field, and led to an instant TD for Dallas. Even if you don't think it was devastating there no point in arguing semantics - it was a horrible decision and a bad pass. Even the right before it to Walker was even worse. That pass a high school QB is expected to make.

Consider this my last reponse to you regarding Smith from now on. The hypersensitivity on this board when anyone dares to hold Alex accountable for at least part of the loss is alarming. Groupthink is dangerous, and in this case disgusting.

 

[Flyingiguana]

smith looked completely in control early on. they were moving the pocket around and using a lot of motion. then they seemed to go vanilla and dallas just broke through.

smith actually reminded me of jake plummer for a bit. minus the 4th qtr comeback

 

[Flyingiguana]

How does a QB with cracked ribs mount a comeback against us with a WR who hasn't call a ball in 3 years???

Only in SF!!!! lol

there is no way you can throw the ball that far with cracked ribs. i call bs. even with pain killers, no way.

 

[EaseUrStorm]

You can put me on the AS is to blame side of the fence over the O-Line in this game. I have definitely tried to give him the benefit of doubt in the past, but not this game. The battle in the trenches to me was lost due to psychological warfare. Once the momentum shifted, the whole defense was in a frenzy dialing it up like he's a wounded animal. It happens too many times to be coincidence, and it will be his big test on how he manages it again for the rest of this year.

If you're playing defense against him, and you know with 100% certainty that all you have to do is keep the pressure on him and he'll shoot himself in the foot, it fuels you. That is the psychological edge that defenses have when they play against us, and is by far the biggest reason why AS attracts so much pressure. It was evident in the 4th quarter that we simply couldn't hit them back, and the defense could smell it like blood in the water.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

I know what you said, and I'm saying that you shouldn't base your opinion on the game and/or Alex Smith without watching it in its entirety. Too many times we've seen Smith perform well one half and and badly the next, or well one game and sub-par the next. Smith is consistently inconsistent - you know this, I know this, everyone knows this. That's why he's the same player. He played well one half, but he completely folded the next when he was asked to put the game away. How many times have we seen this unfold?

Quite honestly the notion that you criticize Smith seems outright Bullshit. All you say is Smith has "disappointed" you, but you constantly follow it up with a disclaimer blaming the coaching or the surrounding cast. You have never recognized the fact that Alex Smith is Alex Smith because of Alex Smith, not anybody else. Is our OL perfect? Absolutely not. Do they share a part of the blame? Yes. But I have NEVER seen Alex Smith change a blocking scheme at the LOS to counter a defense. I have NEVER seen him throw a hot read and make a defense pay for blitzing. We rarely see him slide, step, and maneuver in the pocket and improvise when protection breaks down. The QB/OL are interdependent, and Smith does zero to help the OL play better.

The Cowboys won by 3, how can you say that an INT in our own redzone that directly led to 7 points in the second half wasn't devastating? Despite the fact that we retook the lead, it killed our momentum at that point, put the defense right back on the field, and led to an instant TD for Dallas. Even if you don't think it was devastating there no point in arguing semantics - it was a horrible decision and a bad pass. Even the right before it to Walker was even worse. That pass a high school QB is expected to make.

Consider this my last reponse to you regarding Smith from now on. The hypersensitivity on this board when anyone dares to hold Alex accountable for at least part of the loss is alarming. Groupthink is dangerous, and in this case disgusting.

You know what I said now. You clearly didn't when you made your first post.

Smith isn't a pro bowl QB, so why are you expecting him to be? It was a given that the rest of the team would need to play well for us to win this season. Smith played well enough this game - at least what I've seen of it - to win if the rest of the offense had performed at all or the D had stepped up late.

QBs will turn the ball over. Smith's INT hurt, but it was basically a wash with Whitner's INT. It was no more devastating than any turnover is. You tried to portray it was being worse than it was. Stop trying to weasel your way out of it. You were wrong. Just admit it and move on.

People are defending Smith because Sickness made a dumb post, and you felt compelled to join him in his argument. Don't make this out as everyone springing to Smith's defense. That's just another misrepresentation of the circumstances.