Two Thoughts From The Bucs Game

[Mozart'sGhost]

Too soon?...Hahaha!!

Yeah, the pass to Walker was outstanding. Overall, I think Alex is earning some fan appreciation points thus far.

Back in the days when he had Antonio Bryant I thought Smith threw a pretty accurate deep ball (although most were called back on a Kwame Harris penalty of some sort). Now it seems to be a weak point. The deep ones he threw to Walker and Williams on Sunday were pretty ugly. I'd like to see them at least work on that a little. Smith, to this point, is doing what he does well but watching the highlights of Roethlisberger "flip" the ball downfield with accuracy and strength really makes me see what we are missing in Smith. He certainly is throwing with more accuracy and confidence though,

 

[southbaysportsfan]

I don't know. I think most fans are still a little skeptical of Smith. He made a couple of funny throws yesterday but the first TD to Walker was pretty and he threw some nice balls on crossing routes as well. he doesn't get sacked or throw INTs either. I hope the fans get behind him.

He did make a couple "funny throws", but I wonder how much of that had to with him maybe soaking in the moment a little too much and trying to get that career high 4th TD pass. This was really the first time all year he threw some really bad balls. I have to think based on the first 4 games of this year, that if the game was close he wouldnt have thrown those balls.

 

[Mozart'sGhost]

He did make a couple "funny throws", but I wonder how much of that had to with him maybe soaking in the moment a little too much and trying to get that career high 4th TD pass. This was really the first time all year he threw some really bad balls. I have to think based on the first 4 games of this year, that if the game was close he wouldnt have thrown those balls.

I think you are correct.

 

[Ray_Dogg]

I still find it odd that people expect perfection from Alex Smith.

 

[MW49ers5]

Back in the days when he had Antonio Bryant I thought Smith threw a pretty accurate deep ball (although most were called back on a Kwame Harris penalty of some sort). Now it seems to be a weak point. The deep ones he threw to Walker and Williams on Sunday were pretty ugly. I'd like to see them at least work on that a little. Smith, to this point, is doing what he does well but watching the highlights of Roethlisberger "flip" the ball downfield with accuracy and strength really makes me see what we are missing in Smith. He certainly is throwing with more accuracy and confidence though,

Haha! Accurate in context, accurate in memory. K.Harris, I believe to this day was a double agent. When ANYTHING good happened with our offense and there was a flag, Niner Nation didn't need the ref to tell us who it was on.

Regarding the two passes you mentioned, the deep to Walker was nearly pin-point accurate, I think Walker may have missed Smith's go sign, which was too bad because that was six in the pocket.

Walker had two steps and was headed toward the corner when he throws up his right hand, Smith gives him the go sign and for some reason Walker starts to run horizontal, then he turns up field, then he turns himself inside-out only to watch the ball land precisely where he was headed when he first threw up his hand.

The deep to Williams was one wobble shy of a Shaun Hill special, so that will account for a big portion of the loss in distance right there. I'm guessing it slipped out of Smiths hand. However, your point, especially when it comes to 9's, is spot-on. Calibrating verticals takes time.

 

[deep9er]

I still find it odd that people expect perfection from Alex Smith.

yes, but IMO its the minority?

i'll ALMOST take what he's doing now for the rest of the regular season.

 

[CalamityX11]

yes, but IMO its the minority?

i'll ALMOST take what he's doing now for the rest of the regular season.

It's winning us games most importantly....

Say the good, say the bad about Alex, but his lack of turnovers(INTS or FUM) is making this offense work and preventing the defense from fighting off at difficult field positions....

He's not throwing picks after picks or throwing it where his recievers aren't ready... he's been pretty accurate and making the right decision(most of the time)... 1 pick all year(knock on wood) that's fantastic.

 

[Mozart'sGhost]

Haha! Accurate in context, accurate in memory. K.Harris, I believe to this day was a double agent. When ANYTHING good happened with our offense and there was a flag, Niner Nation didn't need the ref to tell us who it was on.

Regarding the two passes you mentioned, the deep to Walker was nearly pin-point accurate, I think Walker may have missed Smith's go sign, which was too bad because that was six in the pocket.

Walker had two steps and was headed toward the corner when he throws up his right hand, Smith gives him the go sign and for some reason Walker starts to run horizontal, then he turns up field, then he turns himself inside-out only to watch the ball land precisely where he was headed when he first threw up his hand.

The deep to Williams was one wobble shy of a Shaun Hill special, so that will account for a big portion of the loss in distance right there. I'm guessing it slipped out of Smiths hand. However, your point, especially when it comes to 9's, is spot-on. Calibrating verticals takes time.

Someone once told me we'd be better off putting a traffic cone out there at Right Tackle than Kwame Harris and for some reason that cracked me up. Sean Hill, ha ha. When I think of him I always think of Morgan telling Singletary "But coach, it came down like a punt". Anothe poster said he thought Sunday's wobbler to Williams was slightly tipped at the line of scrimmage. I did not notice that.

 

[MW49ers5]

Someone once told me we'd be better off putting a traffic cone out there at Right Tackle than Kwame Harris and for some reason that cracked me up. Sean Hill, ha ha. When I think of him I always think of Morgan telling Singletary "But coach, it came down like a punt". Anothe poster said he thought Sunday's wobbler to Williams was slightly tipped at the line of scrimmage. I did not notice that.

That's funny!

 

[zman1527]

The deep ones he threw to Walker and Williams on Sunday were pretty ugly. I'd like to see them at least work on that a little. Smith, to this point, is doing what he does well but watching the highlights of Roethlisberger "flip" the ball downfield with accuracy and strength really makes me see what we are missing in Smith. He certainly is throwing with more accuracy and confidence though,

I think that long one to Walker may have been fine - walker twisted and turned. If he had gone straight it might have been fine. Mebbe he lost it in the sun. The one to Williams was off a fair bit - shoot him: QBs never ever make a bad throw.

 

[Mozart'sGhost]

yes, but IMO its the minority?

i'll ALMOST take what he's doing now for the rest of the regular season.

Hell yes. 6 TD passes and only one pick

 

[MHSL82]

Hell yes. 6 TD passes and only one pick

Technically, 7 passing TDs, 1 rushing TD, 1 INT, and one lost fumble. Sounds pretty good to me. That goes for a 22 TD/3 INT/3088 yards season. By definition, taking him the way he's playing now means that. Whether he in fact keeps it up, who knows. The 7-1 ratio for any QB is bound to drop. Heck, even Favre magical year was on a 5-1 ratio. I'm hoping for at least a >20/<8/>3000 with a >10-6 record.

 

[MW49ers5]

Technically, 7 passing TDs, 1 rushing TD, 1 INT, and one lost fumble. Sounds pretty good to me. That goes for a 22 TD/3 INT/3088 yards season. By definition, taking him the way he's playing now means that. Whether he in fact keeps it up, who knows. The 7-1 ratio for any QB is bound to drop. Heck, even Favre magical year was on a 5-1 ratio. I'm hoping for at least a >20/<8/>3000 with a >10-6 record.

With the exception of Brady's 9-1 last year (36-4). (I'm pretty sure Brady walked around in a robe and healed the sick Mon-Fri last year ).

As for your #'s, '82, I'd take those in a New York minute!

 

[MHSL82]

I think that long one to Walker may have been fine - walker twisted and turned. If he had gone straight it might have been fine. Mebbe he lost it in the sun. The one to Williams was off a fair bit - shoot him: QBs never ever make a bad throw.

Don't know if this was posted, but wanted to put it somewhere for two reasons. 1. Since when has Alex released the ball and made decisions "too quickly"? 2. The Walker scramble pass seemed to get no love, where the Troy-Walker hail mary got tons. Alex's pass was safer and more of an educated guess throw. He even did the same point to the endzone as Troy did. From Sando's Blog

"Smith hurt the Bucs multiple ways. One of the Bucs' defensive players complained to 49ers left tackle Joe Staley that quarterback Alex Smith was getting rid of the ball too quickly, making it tough to get sacks (Tampa Bay had none). Smith's three touchdown passes validated the complaints. On the first one, Smith lined up in the shotgun, faked a handoff and threw quickly on perfect rhythm for tight end Delanie Walker. Smith took a three-step drop on his second scoring pass, throwing quickly for Vernon Davis, who broke a tackle at the 8-yard line. Smith used a three-step drop on his third scoring pass as well, this one a quick lob for Davis in the end zone. Smith's footwork and timing were often excellent. He also appeared more instinctive in avoiding pressure. He ducked pressure on one play, tucked the ball away briefly as he escaped and then threw quickly toward the sideline. He missed Walker after scrambling on another play, but he kept his eyes downfield, giving him a chance."

I think one think MozartGhost didn't mention but am sure he considered was the "ugly" Walker pass was a broken play scramble.

 

[BINGO]

He did make a couple "funny throws", but I wonder how much of that had to with him maybe soaking in the moment a little too much and trying to get that career high 4th TD pass. This was really the first time all year he threw some really bad balls. I have to think based on the first 4 games of this year, that if the game was close he wouldnt have thrown those balls.

That's not true! In the Dallas game, there were 2 or 3 passes that sailed on him that could have gone for first downs. Receivers were open during those crossing routes...

 

[Yadahell]

Re-watched the game and I was so impressed with blocking of the entire team. VD was amazing at sealing the edge a couple times and even Crabs crushed a DB blocking down the field a bit. I loved the energy the oline played with too. I'm hoping they can have the same energy and execution versus this aggressive Detroit dline.

The energy in the Candlestick crowd was the best I have seen in the 10 years I've been going to games. I certainly hope this game wasn't an aberration.

 

[MW49ers5]

Re-watched the game and I was so impressed with blocking of the entire team. VD was amazing at sealing the edge a couple times and even Crabs crushed a DB blocking down the field a bit. I loved the energy the oline played with too. I'm hoping they can have the same energy and execution versus this aggressive Detroit dline.

The energy in the Candlestick crowd was the best I have seen in the 10 years I've been going to games. I certainly hope this game wasn't an aberration.

Agree! Agree! Agree!