My thoughts on the game/Alex Smith

[Crimsoncrew]

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.

There is some truth to that. But I can't help but wonder to what extent teams blitz because Smith can't handle the pressure and to what extent they blitz because they know that someone will get into the backfield untouched. We had the players to pick up the Cowboys blitzes, but on every sack Smith took except possibly the last (I haven't seen it), defensive players got to him almost immediately. No one who is criticizing Smith has cited any of the sacks as being his fault specifically based on the videos I provided. It's just a generic, "It's Smith's fault." If that's so, explain why.

I can't speak for the scrambles or the two incompletions Smith threw in the second half, but based on what I've seen of the OL in this one, I can't give them the benefit of the doubt on those plays. Smith actually did make the D pay with the two TD passes and some conversions in this one. That's as much or more than we've seen from him in the past.

 

[sayheykid1]

There is some truth to that. But I can't help but wonder to what extent teams blitz because Smith can't handle the pressure and to what extent they blitz because they know that someone will get into the backfield untouched. We had the players to pick up the Cowboys blitzes, but on every sack Smith took except possibly the last (I haven't seen it), defensive players got to him almost immediately. No one who is criticizing Smith has cited any of the sacks as being his fault specifically based on the videos I provided. It's just a generic, "It's Smith's fault." If that's so, explain why.

I can't speak for the scrambles or the two incompletions Smith threw in the second half, but based on what I've seen of the OL in this one, I can't give them the benefit of the doubt on those plays. Smith actually did make the D pay with the two TD passes and some conversions in this one. That's as much or more than we've seen from him in the past.

I don't think the o-line did very well but why would anyone think that Smith might be able to handle the pressure? Seven years of data seems to indicate he cannot.

 

[clyde_carbon]

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.

This post is absolutely correct. It's time to look at the common factor, year after year, and that's the QB. A QB that can't make pre-snap reads and adjustments, cannot change blocking schemes, isn't pocket-savvy, and doesn't make quick decisions and hot reads to make defenses pay for blitzing will make the OL look worse every single time. I'm not saying the OL is playing well, but I refuse to believe they've been as bad as they are over the years after all what we've invested in the position And coaching. Look at the Colts' OL - they look absolutely horrid with Collins behind Center. Another example is Detroit, where Stafford's ability to read defenses and quick release makes them look much better than they actually are.

Smith isn't horrible. He's a good backup and a great teammate - but simply put the guy just makes the players around him worse than they are because he lacks the pure Quarterbacking instincts. He cannot make adjustments and he cannot make defenses pay for blitzing, which means our OL and running game both suffer, which in turn makes Smith look like he isn't getting any help. The sooner the fans and more important the coaching staff realize this the better off the team will be.

 

[clyde_carbon]

I don't think the o-line did very well but why would anyone think that Smith might be able to handle the pressure? Seven years of data seems to indicate he cannot.

It's a proven fact that he can't handle the pressure. Smith will always look decent in a non-pressure situation where he's starting the season or coming fresh off the bench, but once he's situationed into the position and defenses start dialing the blitzes and manipulating coverage he'll start making his usual mistakes.

 

[ViperVisor]

I refuse to believe they've been as bad as they are over the years after all what we've invested in the position And coaching

You look like a clown in how you keep falling back on the crutch of I can't give evidence of it but I can just feel that Alex Smith is THE problem.


Smith passes thrown since 2005
1558

Other guys
1369

Why did Peyton Manning throw 29 TDs in 2003, 49 TDs in 2004, 28 TDs in 2005?

Did he find a magical amulet in 2004 but then lost it? NO, context matters. The things around him worked better along with him being all he could be.

Have Pirates and Orioles not invested lots of high picks and money into players?
They have but mostly failed.
Brian Matusz has given up as many Earned Runs in 44 innings as prime Pedro or Maddux did in a season.

 

[BeerMe]

Why nobody is talking about the secondary as a the reason for losing is beyond me.

Fact: Alex Smith and the O put the Niners in position to win.

Fact: Our secondary couldn't cover a kid in a wheelchair with low batteries.

I don't even like Alex Smith, the dude is inaccurate as fuck, but he didn't lose this game.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

This post is absolutely correct. It's time to look at the common factor, year after year, and that's the QB. A QB that can't make pre-snap reads and adjustments, cannot change blocking schemes, isn't pocket-savvy, and doesn't make quick decisions and hot reads to make defenses pay for blitzing will make the OL look worse every single time. I'm not saying the OL is playing well, but I refuse to believe they've been as bad as they are over the years after all what we've invested in the position And coaching. Look at the Colts' OL - they look absolutely horrid with Collins behind Center. Another example is Detroit, where Stafford's ability to read defenses and quick release makes them look much better than they actually are.

Smith isn't horrible. He's a good backup and a great teammate - but simply put the guy just makes the players around him worse than they are because he lacks the pure Quarterbacking instincts. He cannot make adjustments and he cannot make defenses pay for blitzing, which means our OL and running game both suffer, which in turn makes Smith look like he isn't getting any help. The sooner the fans and more important the coaching staff realize this the better off the team will be.

Two thoughts. First, Smith did make the Cowboys pay for blitzing several times in the first half. That is part of what I'm referring to when I say he looked improved. His TD to Williams came on a six-man pressure, and he completed a nice first down pass to Ginn where he was smacked as he threw. On four of the sacks he took, he literally had no chance to make a throw - I haven't seen anyone actually dispute this based on the tape I provided. Even when teams blitz, the OL has to give Smith time to hit his back foot and make a throw. They didn't do that this week. If the OL can't, then Roman needs to call exclusively three-step drops and we need to stop running play action.

Clyde, you say that Smith can't adjust to pressure, but then you rip him for failing to do just that. As Deep said, what do you expect? If Smith can't do these things, we need to help him more with playcalling and better blocking.

 

[CalamityX11]

PA was pretty much useless in the game.... I don't think we as a team has exexcuted a well design PA under the new offense even in Preseason...

 

[Mozart'sGhost]

I don't think the o-line did very well but why would anyone think that Smith might be able to handle the pressure? Seven years of data seems to indicate he cannot.

Maybe the O line should keep the pressure off him like the Pats do for Brady. Any QB struggles with pressure in his face, even Brady as we saw in the Super Bowl loss to the Giants and the playiff loss to the Jets last year.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

Maybe the O line should keep the pressure off him like the Pats do for Brady. Any QB struggles with pressure in his face, even Brady as we saw in the Super Bowl loss to the Giants and the playiff loss to the Jets last year.

I've actually been pretty surprised how much Brady has struggled when he's been pressured over the past two weeks. Obviously he does a tremendous job of changing the play at the line or beating pressure with a quick throw to Welker, a TE, or a RB, but if you can get a defender within a foot or two of him, he's often erratic.

Expecting a pocket like Brady often gets is unrealistic. Brady's OL might be the best pass-blocking unit in the league, seemingly regardless of who they put on it. Plenty of that is a testament to him as teams are reluctant to pressure him in case they don't get there, but watching a rookie RT shut down Cameron Wake had me scratching my head and wondering why we can't stop Jason Hatcher one-on-one.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

Two thoughts. First, Smith did make the Cowboys pay for blitzing several times in the first half. That is part of what I'm referring to when I say he looked improved. His TD to Williams came on a six-man pressure, and he completed a nice first down pass to Ginn where he was smacked as he threw. On four of the sacks he took, he literally had no chance to make a throw - I haven't seen anyone actually dispute this based on the tape I provided. Even when teams blitz, the OL has to give Smith time to hit his back foot and make a throw. They didn't do that this week. If the OL can't, then Roman needs to call exclusively three-step drops and we need to stop running play action.

Clyde, you say that Smith can't adjust to pressure, but then you rip him for failing to do just that. As Deep said, what do you expect? If Smith can't do these things, we need to help him more with playcalling and better blocking.

Returning to this, this is from PFF's review of the game:

Five of the six sacks Alex Smith absorbed were the result of blitzes. It wasn’t all bad though, when he wasn’t being sacked, he did complete nine of the 10 throws he got off in the face of blitzers.

I would say that's an improvement over the old Smith. When he had any time to throw whatsoever, Smith made some nice passes.

 

[h0ckeysk83r]

Why nobody is talking about the secondary as a the reason for losing is beyond me.

Fact: Alex Smith and the O put the Niners in position to win.

Fact: Our secondary couldn't cover a kid in a wheelchair with low batteries.

I don't even like Alex Smith, the dude is inaccurate as fuck, but he didn't lose this game.

Thats exactly what i have been saying the secondary blew it big time. The defense let them score 3 straight times. While a case can also be made that the offense didnt put the game away the D was given a 10 point lead and couldn't hold it either. Austin constinuously burned them and they let a no named walk on reality star basicallly win the game. Makes me sick.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

Thats exactly what i have been saying the secondary blew it big time. The defense let them score 3 straight times. While a case can also be made that the offense didnt put the game away the D was given a 10 point lead and couldn't hold it either. Austin constinuously burned them and they let a no named walk on reality star basicallly win the game. Makes me sick.

As well as Rodgers played, why didn't we just have him shadow Austin?

 

[CalamityX11]

As well as Rodgers played, why didn't we just have him shadow Austin?

Someone had to cover Witten..... lol.... it's almost a pick your poison type deal IMO....

 

[coffeeman]

I don't think anyone with a clue would blame Smith for the loss on Sunday. Alex Smith didn't loss the game but he sure didn't win it.
My biggest concern with Smith has always been consistency. Quarter to quarter, game to game and season to season. He once again showed me that he doesn't have the ability to put together 4 solid quarters.
Crimson asked "It's Smith's fault." If that's so, explain why. My response would be it isn't all Smiths fault but what was disappointing to me was watching Smith operate out of the shotgun on Sunday. That is his strength and he looked clueless at times. He made a great throw on a slant pattern and for what ever reason they never even went back to it or tried to use it to open things up. Did this team not know how Ryan operates his defense? Why wasn't Alex better prepared? Did Harbaugh and Jeep do a good enough job or was Alex just reverting back to an old pattern? I don't know the answers but what I do know is what I saw on Sunday looked to familiar.

 

[CalamityX11]

Dallas Cowboys vs San Francisco 49ers 2011 - YouTube

a link for the WHOLE game....

 

[Crimsoncrew]

Dallas Cowboys vs San Francisco 49ers 2011 - YouTube

a link for the WHOLE game....

Awesome. I was thinking of asking if anyone had this. I guess we know how I'll be spending my night. Here's to hoping my wife's meeting runs long.

 

[CalamityX11]

Awesome. I was thinking of asking if anyone had this. I guess we know how I'll be spending my night. Here's to hoping my wife's meeting runs long.

NP, MHSL82 has a sticky thread for the 2011 season highlights, its up there now(same vid)....

on a side note, I am SURPRISED a whole game is viewable through youtube.... better watch it quickly before if it gets taken down for some BS....

 

[MW49ers5]

NP, MHSL82 has a sticky thread for the 2011 season highlights, its up there now(same vid)....

on a side note, I am SURPRISED a whole game is viewable through youtube.... better watch it quickly before if it gets taken down for some BS....

True Dat!!!

(Hey my brother, I know I owe you a PM. I've been away but I'll try to get to it today!)

 

[MHSL82]

NP, MHSL82 has a sticky thread for the 2011 season highlights, its up there now(same vid)....

on a side note, I am SURPRISED a whole game is viewable through youtube.... better watch it quickly before if it gets taken down for some BS....

I wish we won the game and that the YouTube poster was a Niner fan. It would be nice to look forward to the recording every game(though no guarantee since the user could still be banned, busy, or disincentivized from posting in the future).