Well, time for football...

[Black Adam]

first exhibition game in the big easy tonight. not a whole lot of activity these days in the Chiefs board(other than hearing how good camp seems to be going so far), but let's see if it picks up...

not gonna see a whole lot of action from the first team. imo it'll be seeing what comes outta the guys from the 2nd and 3rd teams that'll catch my eye...plus of course staying healthy. can't wait for Chiefs football...

 

[Fountain City Blues]

Should be nice to see the game after I am done watching the Royals tonight. I will be glad to see Hudson back at Center even if it isn't for very long.

 

[Black Adam]

good 1st series by the Chiefs. good job by A. Smith spreading the ball around. hoping they take him out after this series...

 

[Black Adam]

followed up by a good job by the defense and special teams. so far uncle CL likes what he's seeing...

 

[Vedder79]

Been watching the game on-line while changing diapers and feeding my 7 month old. Chiefs first series looked excellent as did the O-Line. Really liking what I'm seeing from the defense. Poe blew up the middle on a few plays. Looking like he might be finding himself.

Holding Brees and Co. to a field goal over a quarter is a good way to start.

 

[Vedder79]

Great return by McCluster as well.

 

[Black Adam]

overall i didn't think we looked too bad. and will only get better as the season rolls along. Fisher got dinged, but i don't think it's serious...

 

[andyham7]

I dont follow the Chiefs very close, Bowe excluded(and Jackson) LSU boys you know!

I think If I did I would be encouraged by what happened last nite. Saint D was last in NFL last year, we know, but Smith lookked sharp. The saint D is much better than the last for many reasons, pass rush and pass D being where biggest strides were made. Smith looked a lot like Brees on that one and only drive and Chase is no SLOUCH either! Guy had to learn SOMETHING all those years behind Brees. NO, lol J/K both those guys are under rated QBs. Good luck KC, I'll be pulling for ya!

 

[ChiefsNuggetsSox]

I like the pace, they kept the Saints on their toes in the first drive Saints players were tired, and it showed.

 

[MHSL82]

49ers vs. Chiefs: Alex Smith returns, kinda, sort of, not exactly


By David Fucillo  @NinersNation on Aug 15 2013, 11:35a 22

The 49ers face former No. 1 pick Alex Smith for the first time since he was traded in the offseason. Naturally, this means we have plenty of media coverage heading into the game. We take a look at the numerous articles, as well as comments from Jim Harbaugh, Greg Roman and Alex Smith.

The San Francisco 49ers fly out for Kansas City today as they prepare to face the Chiefs Friday evening at Arrowhead Stadium. Roster competition is the name of the game in the preseason, but we'd be foolish to pretend there isn't the underlying Alex Smith storyline.

This is a preseason game that doesn't matter in the standings, but it's still the first matchup between the 49ers and their former No. 1 overall pick. The eight years Smith played for the 49ers were a roller-coaster of emotions. It started with some folks having a sense of hope for the future, and others disappointed that the 49ers did not draft local product Aaron Rodgers. Although hindsight is 20/20, that did not diminish that part of the debate.

I don't know if the story of Alex Smith's time in San Francisco is unprecedented, but it was certainly plenty crazy how the highs and lows rode out. The lowest moment had to be when the fans were booing him and chanting "We want Carr!" during the Eagles game in 2010. The high point was the playoff victory over the New Orleans Saints a year later.

Jim Harbaugh came to town between those games and Alex Smith was willing to give it a second chance in the Bay Area. Given the lockout in place, it made sense for Smith to stick around. Even though he was learning a new playbook, he had a lot of the same teammates around, and had an entire offseason at least with his fellow players to get ready.

That being said, he's also repeatedly mentioned how the easy option would have been to move on. He recently spoke with the media about the upcoming game, and had a few comments specifically about that. Eric Branch has a transcription of the Q&A:

For me, the one thing I was trying to do there - I felt like so many times quarterbacks who may have been in a similar situation where things didn't go well - it's so easy to move on immediately. Not to say it's right or wrong, but sometimes I just felt like sometimes the easiest thing isn't the right thing. I wanted to try to make it work. I felt like we had the talent there to do that and I wanted to do that. I felt like once you go down that line of jumping from place to place: I felt like so many guys have done that and I don't feel like it ever turns out very good for them. That was my decision a few years to try to come back and coach Harbaugh gave me that opportunity. And that's why I was willing to do it.
​

Smith media availability meant we had a whole host of articles about Alex Smith vs. the 49ers. Here are a few of those links (I recommend the Q&A linked above first):
Earlier this week, Jim Harbaugh had a chance to discuss Alex Smith. Here is a transcript of two questions about his former quarterback:

Have you begun game planning for QB Alex Smith or watching film? How strange will that be this week for you?
"It's personal with Alex. It probably is different in that way. And, feel like there's a great friendship there and a lot of history. He's a unique person. A very good, in all ways, a good friend. No longer on our team. Not a trusted agent anymore. I know the competitor he is and he wants to win and we do as well. I'll be able to tell you maybe more afterwards. But, yeah I think it will be, it feels different right now. Long and good memories of the time when we were teammates, a personal friendship. Then we wish him the best. A long and healthy and successful career."
How much do you owe him just because of the circumstances in which he took the job, the lockout and what he was able to do, really doing a lot of the work of the coaching staff during those months when you couldn't have any contact with the players?
"Certainly that and a long, long list of things. And, great memories of his leadership and his play. Just the kind of person he was. You go up and down the locker room, a guy that was universally respected by his teammates and his coaches. Long list of great memories."
​

Greg Roman also had a chance to discuss Alex Smith:

Just flipping ahead a couple of days, when you've been so instrumental in the development of the quarterback, what's it going to be like for you to see QB Alex Smith on that other sideline Friday night?
"He's a nameless faceless opponent. Loved working with Alex. Very happy for Alex's success. Very appreciative of all the contributions he made while a 49er. Wish him nothing but the best. He's a fine, fine competitor and quarterback."
​

The other interesting aspect of this matchup is the notion that the 49ers players can actually hit him during the game. When Smith was 49ers quarterback, the rule is defensive players can't hit the quarterback in practice. Now that he's on the other side, the players get a chance to sack and generally hurry him.

When Alex Smith and the Chiefs offense are on the field, I'm going to try and keep an eye on how the 49ers pass rush behaves when they get close (assuming they do). Given that it is a preseason game, there's a little less on the line for the defensive starters, so we'll see what comes of it.

The emotions of the 49ers fan base appear to be mixed. Some fans do not care one way or another now that Smith is on another team. Others are excited to see what he can do with the Chiefs. And others look back fondly, but are also ready to move on.

Whatever your viewpoint on Alex Smith and the Chiefs, it's going to be a little weird seeing No. 11 running around in a Chiefs jersey facing the 49ers defense. I kind of am glad that this first matchup is in the preseason, when wins and losses don't matter. Not that I will be cheering for Smith against the 49ers, but it makes any success have against the 49ers defense a little easier to handle. Of course, when the 49ers and Chiefs square off in the 2014 regular season, it will be an entirely different story.

 

[Black Adam]

k, VERY bad protection from our o-line in tonight's game was pretty much the glaring weakness i saw. special teams continues to do well. i thought the kid Knile did a decent job in spot duty...

i DO give the 9ers cred for staying aggressive for the whole game all the way down to their reserves. still, all things considered a winnable game. just didn't come through. oh, and Tyler Bray really needs to cut down on those jitters. he's STILL trying to win a roster spot, y'know...

 

[MHSL82]

k, VERY bad protection from our o-line in tonight's game was pretty much the glaring weakness i saw. special teams continues to do well. i thought the kid Knile did a decent job in spot duty...

i DO give the 9ers cred for staying aggressive for the whole game all the way down to their reserves. still, all things considered a winnable game. just didn't come through. oh, and Tyler Bray really needs to cut down on those jitters. he's STILL trying to win a roster spot, y'know...

Niners fan here. I felt we blitzed a lot, but I'm not that into the defense. I just know we got to you. I've heard that teams don't scheme for blitz protection in pre-season (something about giving away protection packages). The Niners had that happen in 2011 in Harbaugh's first pre-season game. The Saints came at us. Payton was trying to give Jim a rude awakening. Was sweet to beat him in the playoffs.

You guys won't be able to sustain drives or get any momentum if you have all those drops. A drop is not a loss of 6 or 8, it's a loss of down and potential loss of 40-50 yards (talking about momentum leading to extended drives, not YAC).

As for Bray, he didn't look good. He didn't have the awareness, passed too high, and focused on that Newsome guy too much. Perhaps he was the read, but maybe he's not going through his reads and that's his safety blanket? I did read some positive remarks from Newsome on Bray during camp when others didn't say much. I felt Newsome, knowing he was on the cutable list, tried to hitch his wagon to Bray. Just play.

 

[Vedder79]

First teams looked solid again though the OL broke down at times, granted the 49ers have one of the best pass rushing defenses around, but pass protection is going to have to improve. Drops killed us on the first two drives and is something that needs to be remedied. Special teams again looked extremely good, Demps kickoff return was awesome.

Really was hoping to see Kaepernick play more than the first drive in order to see how our first team D dealt with the 9ers starting O/QB.

Considering our starters have left both games with the lead, it has been a pretty good pre-season for them but it would still be nice to see our second and third teams come in and actually do something. Second string D has been okay but the offence needs to improve. In seeing Daniels and Bray, I really hope that Smith stays healthy the whole season.

Next Saturday against the Steelers should be a good game. Hopefully our starters get close to 3 quarters worth and I'm actually very much looking forward to seeing how Pit plays given their offseason losses/acquisitions.

Hopefully we'll get a good long look at a pissed off Haley face ( )as the Chiefs trounce the Steelers.

Go Chiefs!