some quick thoughts

[Flyingiguana]

The one down the sideline? Crabtree was too far inside for the spot Smith was throwing to because Smith's "spot" was 5 yards out of bounds.

the throw was perfect if crabtree ran down the sidelines. the corner disrupted his route tho

 

[tzill]

the throw was perfect if crabtree ran down the sidelines. the corner disrupted his route tho

It didn't look that way in the park; it looked like the throw was quite OB. What I find interesting is that they keep asking Alex to make a throw that he's displayed an inability to make accurately -- the deep sideline. I've got to conclude that the Niners believe that we need to show this play even though it has very little chance of success.

 

[bvanthielriceyoung]

couple of other points I forgot to put in originally:

-The tacking was very questionable at times. Luckily it didnt burn us too bad but we need to shore this up. Lot of poor techniqe and guys not wrapping up.

-Larry Grant has played very well in filling in for Willis. No where near the level of Willis but is a solid play in his own. I'm guessing we lose him in the off season.

-Kudos to the 9er fans that were at the game and for being so loud. Really pisses me off to see so many Steeler fans there but was expecting that due to early reports in the year that a lot were sold. Some reports from last night were saying it was like 50-50 split between the fans in attendance. Atleast it didnt sound like that on TV, 9er fans seemed pretty loud given the situation.

 

[bvanthielriceyoung]

This is true, however, I can't think of a time where Crabtree was really asked to make a tough catch in traffic. Smith doesn't seem to be willing to force balls in. Whether that's a lack of trust in his receivers, or in himself, or just an extremely cautious approach, it hinders Crabtree (and the other targets) opportunity to prove they can make that tough catch.[/QUOTE]

Yup, that was going to be my response. Smith is very cautious with the ball(could be coaching or just Smith), and probably for good reason because we are winning, but it does limit what Crabtree can do and what he can show.

 

[Flyingiguana]

It didn't look that way in the park; it looked like the throw was quite OB. What I find interesting is that they keep asking Alex to make a throw that he's displayed an inability to make accurately -- the deep sideline. I've got to conclude that the Niners believe that we need to show this play even though it has very little chance of success.

he's hit that throw in the past. i think he's putting it in a spot where only crabtree has a chance to catch it. throwing to where crabtree ended up running the route can result in an interception. u dont want that ball popping up with the range of pittsburghs safeties

the big miss for smith was the end zone throw to williams. smith thinks he's gonna stop when he wasn't.

 

[NinerSickness]

-Larry Grant has played very well in filling in for Willis. No where near the level of Willis but is a solid play in his own. I'm guessing we lose him in the off season.

You see him take off like Keanu reeves at the end of the Matrix to get up & bat down that pass? What a great kick in the junk to a QB.

What hyperbole?

 

[Cut My Red I Bleed Gold]

he's hit that throw in the past. i think he's putting it in a spot where only crabtree has a chance to catch it. throwing to where crabtree ended up running the route can result in an interception. u dont want that ball popping up with the range of pittsburghs safeties

the big miss for smith was the end zone throw to williams. smith thinks he's gonna stop when he wasn't.

That one was on Williams, he should have sat down on that route. If you watch it again you can see that if Smith doesn't put that where he does it's a pick either the LB or SS...and at that point the pocket was crumbling around him.

 

[Mozart'sGhost]

The one down the sideline? Crabtree was too far inside for the spot Smith was throwing to because Smith's "spot" was 5 yards out of bounds.

Ha ha. + 1.

 

[deep9er]

That one was on Williams, he should have sat down on that route. If you watch it again you can see that if Smith doesn't put that where he does it's a pick either the LB or SS...and at that point the pocket was crumbling around him.

my view too.

at first it looked like Smith threw it badly, but on replays from behind the end zone, we can see why. for me, wasn't Williams at fault either, he was running so fast don't think he could've 'sat'? plus, he can't see the LB about to clog the lane in front of him.

just a broken play that wasn't fixed.

 

[MW49ers5]

That one was on Williams, he should have sat down on that route. If you watch it again you can see that if Smith doesn't put that where he does it's a pick either the LB or SS...and at that point the pocket was crumbling around him.

100% Correct! Williams ran himself behind Farrior - The ball hits the turf at the precise spot where Williams was most open between Farrior & Timmons.

 

[tzill]

he's hit that throw in the past. i think he's putting it in a spot where only crabtree has a chance to catch it. throwing to where crabtree ended up running the route can result in an interception. u dont want that ball popping up with the range of pittsburghs safeties

the big miss for smith was the end zone throw to williams. smith thinks he's gonna stop when he wasn't.

I haven't watched the TV recording yet, so I reserve the right to change my opinion once I do, but I don't think that ball was catchable by anyone. I agree that Alex made sure it wouldn't be picked though. On that Williams throw I don't think there was a window to fit the throw into. It looked to me in real time that the LB had slid over to prevent a TD.

 

[tzill]

That one was on Williams, he should have sat down on that route. If you watch it again you can see that if Smith doesn't put that where he does it's a pick either the LB or SS...and at that point the pocket was crumbling around him.

That's what it looked like in real time; I'll watch the recording tonight.

 

[EaseUrStorm]

If Alex Smith doesn't have accuracy on these throws, would you rather he put this up for grabs for the defense or out of bounds? It is what it is right now. Although frustrating as hell I'd much rather he error on the side of caution to avoid a game changing pick. We lose the turnover battle and 9 times out of 10 its game over against a good team.

You guys know that we have teams so set up now for the playoffs. He's been pretending this whole time he can't hit that pass. In the playoffs he'll get the green light and hit ten in a row and he'll get the green light to try in the redzone. Training wheels coming off!

 

[MW49ers5]

If Alex Smith doesn't have accuracy on these throws, would you rather he put this up for grabs for the defense or out of bounds? It is what it is right now. Although frustrating as hell I'd much rather he error on the side of caution to avoid a game changing pick. We lose the turnover battle and 9 times out of 10 its game over against a good team.

You guys know that we have teams so set up now for the playoffs. He's been pretending this whole time he can't hit that pass. In the playoffs he'll get the green light and hit ten in a row and he'll get the green light to try in the redzone. Training wheels coming off!

I agree, Storm. While this 'live to play another down' mentality is frustrating at times, but there is no question the lack of INT's are contributing to our success.

If we are talking about the pass to Williams in the end zone, Smith did throw the pass with the intent to complete and would have if Williams had, to Bleed's point, just sat down between the two defenders where Smith threw the pass.

 

[BINGO]

-this isnt just about the pittsburgh game, but I'm starting to believe that Crabtree can be a number one receiver. Hes playing really well lately. His numbers would be A LOT better if he had a better QB, more specifically one that can hit the deep ball more then 1 out of 25 times. I've said it before, the number one attribute and underated talent of a receiver is their ability to get open. Crabtree has shown that he can do this consistently. It seems like every week Crabtree is beating a guy deep or for a big play that would go for a TD but Smith misses him.

I have been suggesting this claim for a while now!

-As for Alex Smith, he had a pretty good game. Some nice short and medium throws. Had some good reads. I really wish he could get the long ball down. This really holds us back and leaves so many plays and points on the field. We would be a whole different team if we could connect on these. His touch passes are very questionable too but does seem to make the occasional one so not as big of an issue but one nonetheless.

At this point, I don't even think that Alex is our best QB in our roster. I'm at the point now (so deep in the season) if CK takes over, I don't think our offense would miss a beat. I strongly feel this way folks! We wouldn't ask CK to do anything extra that Alex is currently doing in which CK himself would be unable to execute. A lot of misfires by Alex...and if this trend continues (and it will) we're going to get an early exit out of the playoffs. The better teams - away games in particular. Margin of error against elite teams during the playoffs is what seperate the winners from the losers.

-

Bowman really isnt playing close to the level that he was at the beginning of the year. Not sure what the problem is but just not near as dominate lately. Still plays pretty good in spurts but was looking like an absolute stud at the beginning of the year.(was somewhat close to Willis's level)

I like Bowman - BUT, if for some odd reason we were to draft yet another ILB like Vontaze Burfict, I wouldn't b*tch about it. It's a moot point because our coaching staff is extremely comfortable in the way in which the ILB duo are playing. And they're still relatively young and Bowman is yet to reach his prime. So IMO there's less than 5% chance Baalke would draft another ILB anyway within the first 2 rounds in 2012.

-Aldon Smith - not much has to be said. Absolute beast and huge piece to have for our team in the future. This pick turned out to be a grandslam.

Look...! He had GREAT game. Many variables/reasons as to why he was in such a beast mode, and one of the reasons was due to the fact that Big Ben was playing in one leg (I was more impressed with Ben in one leg than I was with Smith who was healthy). I can't take away from the fact that despite the many sacks coming as a result of playing against a crippled guy, Aldon was still toying with Max Starks. He (Starks) had no answers for Aldon!

-Kyle Williams continues to show that he has the ability to be a very good receiver in this league. I like him a lot and should be on the field quite a bit. Lots of potential here.

If he had a good QB, he would be our version of Victor Cruz. Actually, I sorta like him better than Cruz.

-

Andy Lee we need to sign him to a contract extension. For how our team plays with our limitations on offense, he really is a huge piece to our team. Sounds odd because he is a punter but he can change the outcome of games.

We SHOULD sign him. We ought to make it as one of our priorities during the early part of the offeason.

 

[deep9er]

If Alex Smith doesn't have accuracy on these throws, would you rather he put this up for grabs for the defense or out of bounds? It is what it is right now. Although frustrating as hell I'd much rather he error on the side of caution to avoid a game changing pick. We lose the turnover battle and 9 times out of 10 its game over against a good team.

You guys know that we have teams so set up now for the playoffs. He's been pretending this whole time he can't hit that pass. In the playoffs he'll get the green light and hit ten in a row and he'll get the green light to try in the redzone. Training wheels coming off!

yep, this is the thing, we all want him to improve on his passing game. we keep asking them to increase the passing offense cause we'll need it in the play-offs.

but in the back of our minds - front for some - we know its asking for problems. Alex Smith isn't like other elite QB's and can't execute some routes. yes, we prefer a little more conservative passing IF it means no INT's. IF this is his limit right now, then stick with it to prevent INT's.

hope your second paragraph is sarcasm?

 

[Flyingiguana]

That one was on Williams, he should have sat down on that route. If you watch it again you can see that if Smith doesn't put that where he does it's a pick either the LB or SS...and at that point the pocket was crumbling around him.

maybe you're right. williams looked more open than i thought he was. i still think smith should have hit williams in the numbers because it was clear williams wasn't going to stop

 

[imac_21]

Ha. That's true. However... if you notice Alex was fading to the left away from an oncoming defender which imo is why the ball also drifted to his left out of bounds. I'm not trying to absolve him of any blame - but that throw was a bit more difficult than I thought it was at first glance... I think Alex made it more difficult by fading to the left, he could have hung in there and made a more accurate pass (possibly) but he probably would have taken a big hit to his throwing shoulder so I can't blame him for that. Generally though he has been inaccurate deep down the sidelines.

Smith always (sadly, not hyperbole) throws that ball out of bounds. His accuracy outside the numbers down the field is atrocious.

 

[imac_21]

the throw was perfect if crabtree ran down the sidelines. the corner disrupted his route tho

You know the games aren't on a Canadian field right?

 

[imac_21]

he's hit that throw in the past. i think he's putting it in a spot where only crabtree has a chance to catch it. throwing to where crabtree ended up running the route can result in an interception. u dont want that ball popping up with the range of pittsburghs safeties

the big miss for smith was the end zone throw to williams. smith thinks he's gonna stop when he wasn't.

Bull shit. He's putting it where no one can catch it. He misses it. All. The. Time.