My thoughts on the game/Alex Smith

[sayheykid1]

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.

Or move on

 

[Mozart'sGhost]

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.

I can't believe they are that much better though. As you said, Smith is under pressure before he sets his drop. he is going to panic a little sooner under pressure than Brady becuase of his experience with this line. he knows they won't hold. brady knows his line will be able to hold and he can get off passes at the last minute if necessary.

 

[Mozart'sGhost]

Or move on

To whom at this point? That's not an option right now.

 

[sayheykid1]

To whom at this point? That's not an option right now.

Garrard

 

[Crimsoncrew]

Ok, I wanted to go pass attempt by pass attempt looking at Smith, break this down very minutely.

1st Drive:

1st and 10 from our 20 - Cowboys rush four. Swing pass to Gore, who gets back to the LOS.

2nd and 10 from our 20 - Cowboys rush four. Pressure up the middle from Ratliff and Smith is hit right after he throws. Play action pass to Edwards, incomplete. It looked like Smith might have been a bit late on the throw and Jenkins closed quickly, though still looked like it could have been caught.

3rd and 10 from our 20 - Rush five. Gore gets the outside man and Davis gets just enough on Ware who stunted from inside out to give Smith a clear pocket. First down to Edwards, who was very open across the middle and gains 20.

1st and 10 from our 40 - Screen pass to Walker for 9. Nothing fancy.

3rd and 2 from our 49 - Rush four. Designed roll-out to the right. Not much open. Smith flips it to Walker at the marker and Walker can't bring it in. Tough to see on the computer and I didn't get a good look in the live game, but it's not really clear why Walker dropped this one. Looked like it was in his hands, though it might not have been a first down regardless.

2nd Drive:

1st and 10 from our 32 - Rush six, one on a delayed blitz up the middle. Smith immediately hits Ginn in the void created by blitzing LBs, gain of 8.

1st and 15 from our 39 - Rush three, all to the offensive right. Smith drops back, first read not there, he moves up the field to his left and shovels to Gore who gets 11.

1st and 10 from their 41 - The bizarre screen detailed above. Smith is sacked for a loss of 9. One of the worst play designs I've seen. Smith fakes a pass right, turns his back to the defense, and didn't get close to making the throw before he was swarmed under by three guys.

3rd and 10 from their 41 - This might be Smith's best play. Looks like he's going to burn a TO, instead he calls for the shotgun snap. Boys bring six immediately with a seventh coming in from the defensive backfield. Pressure comes up the middle and from the left side. Smith just barely gets off a perfect out pass to Ginn at the sticks for a gain of 13 or so. This was a big-time play.

2nd and 9 from their 26 - Smith in gun. Snap goes over his head. He grabs it, rolls right, and throws to Gore in the endzone. PI prevented what would probably otherwise have been a fairly incredible TD.

1st and 10 from the 1 - Kind of unclear what the playcall was. Smith rolled right like last week's TD run. Never really looked to throw, but didn't make an immediate bee-line for the pylon, either. Strange play. TD Gore on the next play.

A brief moment to opine: this was a great drive for Smith IMO. On two occasions he hit Gore to take advantage of the blitz, and the endzone throw to Gore was fairly incredible given the near-disaster. Some very strange playcalling and/or execution flaws.

3rd Drive:

2nd and 12 at their 49 - Rush four. Smith has time, appears to look off the safety to the middle of the field and then throws to Gore in the flat. It's possible Gore was the second read, but I get the sense it was a designed play. Gore makes a nice move on the sideline to stay in bounds and pick up 7.

3rd and 5 from their 43 - shotgun, they rush four. Good protection and Smith completes a dart to Morgan on the sideline. Morgan slips the tackle and darts upfield for a few additional yards.

3rd and 4 on their 26 - Shotgun, they bring six. Smith rolls right by design and hits Morgan for 10.

2nd and 6 from their 12 - The rush three. Smith has time and throws hard to his second read, Ginn in the middle. Ginn drops it. Pretty quick dart, but the defender was closing. Should have been caught for a 5-yard gain.

3rd and 6 from their 12 - Smith in the gun, they bring six. We pick it up fairly well and Smith throws a beautiful fade to 5'10" Kyle Williams. Great play by OL, Smith, and Williams.

These two drives were the two I saw in their entirety, and they were phenomenal IMO. Smith made just about every throw we asked him to, showing touch, accuracy, and ability to improvise. At this point, I didn't know who I was watching. It sure as hell didn't look like Alex Smith.

Fourth Drive:

2nd and 10 from our 30 - They bring seven; Hatcher comes untouched and hits Smith as Smith completes his dropback. No chance to do anything here. If he had an audible, probably should have called it.

Fifth Drive:

1st and 10 from our 20 - Shotgun, they bring six and get immediate pressure up the middle. Smith dumps to Davis, presumably his hot read, who slips a defender and gets upfield for 11.

1st and 10 from our 31 - Shotgun, they bring six again. Protection is pretty good and Smith throws a long ball to Ginn. Ginn makes a great catch, but can't get his feet down. They didnt show the replay, so I can't say how close he was to being in. The pass was a good one, maybe a bit high.

Very sloppy here getting the next play in. Over 30 seconds burned, I think.

3rd and 4 from our 37 - Shotgun, they bring four. Smith throws a bit ahead of Ginn just behind the sticks. Ginn brings it in but his
momentum carries him back past the first down marker. Gave them the first down, but the clock runs down.

In this half, Smith was very impressive. Took two sacks that couldn't have been avoided, but he made a lot of nice throws and repeatedly made Dallas pay for bringing pressure when he had a split second to throw. He was decisive and accurate, and playing like a guy who gives us a legit chance in this division.

Can't do the second half now. I'll try to get to it tonight if the video is still up.

 

[Mozart'sGhost]

Garrard

Good lord!

 

[sayheykid1]

Good lord!

Why not, at least as a stop gap to Kap or someone else? He seems better suited for a Harbaugh WCO than Smith and he has won a lot of games.
What is Kap going to learn from Smith? How is Smith going to run Harbaugh's offense?

 

[sayheykid1]

Ok, I wanted to go pass attempt by pass attempt looking at Smith, break this down very minutely.

1st Drive:

1st and 10 from our 20 - Cowboys rush four. Swing pass to Gore, who gets back to the LOS.

2nd and 10 from our 20 - Cowboys rush four. Pressure up the middle from Ratliff and Smith is hit right after he throws. Play action pass to Edwards, incomplete. It looked like Smith might have been a bit late on the throw and Jenkins closed quickly, though still looked like it could have been caught.

3rd and 10 from our 20 - Rush five. Gore gets the outside man and Davis gets just enough on Ware who stunted from inside out to give Smith a clear pocket. First down to Edwards, who was very open across the middle and gains 20.

1st and 10 from our 40 - Screen pass to Walker for 9. Nothing fancy.

3rd and 2 from our 49 - Rush four. Designed roll-out to the right. Not much open. Smith flips it to Walker at the marker and Walker can't bring it in. Tough to see on the computer and I didn't get a good look in the live game, but it's not really clear why Walker dropped this one. Looked like it was in his hands, though it might not have been a first down regardless.

2nd Drive:

1st and 10 from our 32 - Rush six, one on a delayed blitz up the middle. Smith immediately hits Ginn in the void created by blitzing LBs, gain of 8.

1st and 15 from our 39 - Rush three, all to the offensive right. Smith drops back, first read not there, he moves up the field to his left and shovels to Gore who gets 11.

1st and 10 from their 41 - The bizarre screen detailed above. Smith is sacked for a loss of 9. One of the worst play designs I've seen. Smith fakes a pass right, turns his back to the defense, and didn't get close to making the throw before he was swarmed under by three guys.

3rd and 10 from their 41 - This might be Smith's best play. Looks like he's going to burn a TO, instead he calls for the shotgun snap. Boys bring six immediately with a seventh coming in from the defensive backfield. Pressure comes up the middle and from the left side. Smith just barely gets off a perfect out pass to Ginn at the sticks for a gain of 13 or so. This was a big-time play.

2nd and 9 from their 26 - Smith in gun. Snap goes over his head. He grabs it, rolls right, and throws to Gore in the endzone. PI prevented what would probably otherwise have been a fairly incredible TD.

1st and 10 from the 1 - Kind of unclear what the playcall was. Smith rolled right like last week's TD run. Never really looked to throw, but didn't make an immediate bee-line for the pylon, either. Strange play. TD Gore on the next play.

A brief moment to opine: this was a great drive for Smith IMO. On two occasions he hit Gore to take advantage of the blitz, and the endzone throw to Gore was fairly incredible given the near-disaster. Some very strange playcalling and/or execution flaws.

3rd Drive:

2nd and 12 at their 49 - Rush four. Smith has time, appears to look off the safety to the middle of the field and then throws to Gore in the flat. It's possible Gore was the second read, but I get the sense it was a designed play. Gore makes a nice move on the sideline to stay in bounds and pick up 7.

3rd and 5 from their 43 - shotgun, they rush four. Good protection and Smith completes a dart to Morgan on the sideline. Morgan slips the tackle and darts upfield for a few additional yards.

3rd and 4 on their 26 - Shotgun, they bring six. Smith rolls right by design and hits Morgan for 10.

2nd and 6 from their 12 - The rush three. Smith has time and throws hard to his second read, Ginn in the middle. Ginn drops it. Pretty quick dart, but the defender was closing. Should have been caught for a 5-yard gain.

3rd and 6 from their 12 - Smith in the gun, they bring six. We pick it up fairly well and Smith throws a beautiful fade to 5'10" Kyle Williams. Great play by OL, Smith, and Williams.

These two drives were the two I saw in their entirety, and they were phenomenal IMO. Smith made just about every throw we asked him to, showing touch, accuracy, and ability to improvise. At this point, I didn't know who I was watching. It sure as hell didn't look like Alex Smith.

Fourth Drive:

2nd and 10 from our 30 - They bring seven; Hatcher comes untouched and hits Smith as Smith completes his dropback. No chance to do anything here. If he had an audible, probably should have called it.

Fifth Drive:

1st and 10 from our 20 - Shotgun, they bring six and get immediate pressure up the middle. Smith dumps to Davis, presumably his hot read, who slips a defender and gets upfield for 11.

1st and 10 from our 31 - Shotgun, they bring six again. Protection is pretty good and Smith throws a long ball to Ginn. Ginn makes a great catch, but can't get his feet down. They didnt show the replay, so I can't say how close he was to being in. The pass was a good one, maybe a bit high.

Very sloppy here getting the next play in. Over 30 seconds burned, I think.

3rd and 4 from our 37 - Shotgun, they bring four. Smith throws a bit ahead of Ginn just behind the sticks. Ginn brings it in but his
momentum carries him back past the first down marker. Gave them the first down, but the clock runs down.

In this half, Smith was very impressive. Took two sacks that couldn't have been avoided, but he made a lot of nice throws and repeatedly made Dallas pay for bringing pressure when he had a split second to throw. He was decisive and accurate, and playing like a guy who gives us a legit chance in this division.

Can't do the second half now. I'll try to get to it tonight if the video is still up.

Very impressive?

 

[FourBeeDen]

Why not, at least as a stop gap to Kap or someone else? He seems better suited for a Harbaugh WCO than Smith and he has won a lot of games.
What is Kap going to learn from Smith? How is Smith going to run Harbaugh's offense?

Just curious... what evidence did you use to come to the conclusion that Garrard is better suited for WCO that Harbaugh and his staff are employing? Please cite examples and referrences that can be evaluated and not just opinions

 

[h-hour]

Garrard

I'd rather give Tolzien a chance over top of bringing that bum in here.

 

[threelittleturds]

Garrard

You're kidding, right? The NFL isn't Madden 2011. You can't just sign and plug. When is the last time a team signed a QB during the season and he led them to the playoffs, or turned everything around on offense??

 

[Mozart'sGhost]

Why not, at least as a stop gap to Kap or someone else? He seems better suited for a Harbaugh WCO than Smith and he has won a lot of games.
What is Kap going to learn from Smith? How is Smith going to run Harbaugh's offense?

he was dumped by the jags for a guy the 49ers dumped. is that enough?

 

[sayheykid1]

I'd rather give Tolzien a chance over top of bringing that bum in here.

Why do you think Garrard is a bum? He is a heck of a lot better than what the Niners have right now.

Tolzien is like Kap, unproven.

 

[sayheykid1]

he was dumped by the jags for a guy the 49ers dumped. is that enough?

He was not dumped by the Jags for the guy the Niners dumped, he was dumped for that guy's more talented brother and he was only dumped to shed payroll. Garrard will get a job in the NFL soon, if Smith was dumped I am not sure anyone would pick him up.

 

[FourBeeDen]

He was not dumped by the Jags for the guy the Niners dumped, he was dumped for that guy's more talented brother and he was only dumped to shed payroll. Garrard will get a job in the NFL soon, if Smith was dumped I am not sure anyone would pick him up.

Agan, let me ask the question I posted earlier that you seem to conveniently skipped over... How did you come up with the conclusion that Garrard is better suited to run Harbaughs version of WCO? Please cite referrences that can be reviewed and dissected by everyone andnot just going by opinion. Please provide hard facts as evidence...

 

[threelittleturds]

He was not dumped by the Jags for the guy the Niners dumped, he was dumped for that guy's more talented brother and he was only dumped to shed payroll. Garrard will get a job in the NFL soon, if Smith was dumped I am not sure anyone would pick him up.

You're just being stupid now. If Leaf, Couch, and Carr can get second chances... Smith is getting signed somewhere.

What makes you think Garrard will get a job soon?? Is it the repeated reports that he has 5 teams interested in him?? Wow, great insight. This just in, the Earth orbits around the Sun.

 

[EaseUrStorm]

Dallas Cowboys vs San Francisco 49ers 2011 - YouTube

a link for the WHOLE game....

I had missed almost the 1st quarter. Much obliged for putting this up.

 

[sayheykid1]

Just curious... what evidence did you use to come to the conclusion that Garrard is better suited for WCO that Harbaugh and his staff are employing? Please cite examples and referrences that can be evaluated and not just opinions

Smith is not suited for the offense IMO, I base that on what I have seen from him over the past six years.


Regarding Garrard, I will post the opinions of others:

I just don’t see the 49ers making a run at Garrard. He has the traits suitable for the West Coast offense system, something the Jaguars tried installing in 2003. He doesn’t have any apparent connections to the 49ers coaching staff, and would he really be an upgrade over Alex Smith (assuming he wouldn’t come here to serve as a backup)? - Cam Inman

David Garrard is absolutely a “West Coast” type. When you look back on the 2003 draft, at a time when the Jaguars were installing the “West Coast Offense” under coordinator Bill Musgrave, it doesn’t make any sense that they tried to fit Byron Leftwich into that system. The Jags had two quarterbacks on their roster – Garrard and Mark Brunell – that were perfect “West Coast” types, and then they went out and drafted a player who didn’t fit it at all. It forced them to change and that forced coaching changes. - Vic Ketchman

I understand he moves well and is accurate on short and intermediate passes.

Do you think he is ill suited for a WCO style offense?

 

[sayheykid1]

Agan, let me ask the question I posted earlier that you seem to conveniently skipped over... How did you come up with the conclusion that Garrard is better suited to run Harbaughs version of WCO? Please cite referrences that can be reviewed and dissected by everyone andnot just going by opinion. Please provide hard facts as evidence...

I didn't see your post until a few minutes ago.
Do you have reason to believe that Alex Smith is better suited to run a WCO?

 

[sayheykid1]

You're kidding, right? The NFL isn't Madden 2011. You can't just sign and plug. When is the last time a team signed a QB during the season and he led them to the playoffs, or turned everything around on offense??

Alex Smith doesn't know the offense either and Alex Smith isn't leading this team anywhere, is he?