Hi Matt

i figured out that this is not a important game for crabtree..maybe shaun hill...but crabby

what do you think?

Matt..

I'm sick to my stomach... Patrick Willis just touched George Bush's hand

I get the following error when trying to open the blog.

"YOU ARE NO LONGER LOGGED IN.
PLEASE LOG BACK INTO COVERITLIVE AND TRY AGAIN."

I am getting it too

Me too

Play calling in that first offensive series was horrible.

Cant get to blob

let's see if it works in germany.....i like these early games

shaun's second sack but crabtree was open ovr the middle

So, for all of you saing don't gripe...we are whiners and this and that. This offense is terrible. Raye makes Hostler look like Walsh. This is pathetic!

crabtree first reception was like sticking his little toe in the big pond.......did the ball take too fluttering long to get out there?......OK OK hill fans i was just kidding.....

so so lucky on that punt return because neither of those penalties called really affected the run back ...it was almost past the point of the punt returner .....

boy, going from shade to sun really screws up my viewing of the action

We're right on track... Time of posession 49ers 5:28 Texans 12:18

were is rossum

FOR THE LAST F*CKING Time PUT BATTLE AND ROMAN ON THE STREET, THEY SUCK!

So this is the foorball we get after a bye?

and don't forget the 1 total yards gain for all that time

I know we all saw that hold on that TD pass to Slaton... anyway, how does this offense coming out of the bye looking worse than when they went in?

probably be some kind of PST vs EST excuse and hill will be protected for another week.....really hill fans i am just kidding...

no this time it is the defense and special teams that are blowing this game with a little help from the niners' OL

looks like hill will have to start passing a lot especially if texans get another score.....will they start moving hill around in the pocket or move the pocket around?

If Raye is not fired sometime during this season, or at the very least, after the season, I think fans around the country that have any shred of hope that the Yorks might have learned anything in all these years of futility will be gone.

The Yorks are the WORST owners in all of sports, letting Singletary make the decision to hire Raye. PATHETIC! McCloughan. Also Pathetic....how do you decide to be a running team in the offseason and not upgrade the worst OL in the NFL?

PATHETICCCCCCCCCC!!!!! CAN'T STAND THIS ANYMORE!!!

must be humid in houstan.....tree is sapping a lot.....better get him hydrated..... big crabtree 1st down on 3rd down....yahoo

THe Defense has looked confused on several plays in the secondary - the offense looks "offensive" (what is #62 doing in the game???). Looks like players & coaches took the Bye week off...geez. they don't look ready.

8 hill pass attempts and crabtree already has as many catches as the raiders #7 pick

Bring On Smith!! Game Over. We look worse than we did during the preseason. 8 and 8 is a pipe dream. Horrible. And this is after a bye.....

I changed my mind. Make that Singletary too. There's no more time to fool around anymore Yorks. Hire Shanahan and let him run the whole damn show and keep your kid King out of things.

OK all you homers, put a positive spin on this one!!

Oh yeah, I forgot, the pasting by the Falcons was just like that game where the Niners got beat by the Eagles and went on to win a championship. Not.

Terrible coaching. Terrible execution. Time to play for next year.

WTH is Chilo doing in this game. False starts, giving up sacks. This is a sorry display of football. I thought the DEF was doing okay until the last play especially with the OFF putting them in the hole.

Can Hill go down the fill. What's up with the 2 yard outs, I guess that's all you can do when guys are in your face at the snap.

tao spikes out of the game....softened up the defensive middle.....

i have to say smith at QB would do nothing for this game so far....defense is looking like burnt toast......

and u can kind of see Houston's running game is opening up and the passing game is hitting some big plays

so hill doesn't have any incentives in his contract that are even remotely reachable so maybe we will see smith in this game but it will maybe an unfair evaluation but it is what it is

Absolutely PATHETIC! Look in the Blackberry for Shannahan. This offense isn't cutting it right now.

not a big fan of the play calling..

Good thing we're in the NFC West. We still actually have a chance to compete for the division title. Isaac Bruce is not doing anything to deserve his starting job. Hill is looking no better than Alex right now. Keep Heitman, move Staley back to RT and let the rest of the guys go. Awful pass by Hill, Crabtree was open.

unbelievable.....jason hill and brandon jones are inactive for this game.....just unbelievable.....especially after just seeing that sideline pass to bruce were bruce doesn't have seperation speed to go get one of hills good medium depth pass...lucky for the pass interference call....willing to extrapolate my perceptions that hill and jones speed would have been beyond the defender's intended pass interference call to haul that pass in for a TD. It serves the texan defense well to get pass inteference calls because the niners offense can't sustain drives.....

look at hills pathetically slow pass to crabtree who was wide open for 10 seconds and he ends up throwing it out of bounds

hill didn't show much speed up the middle on 3rd and long.....

this will be interesting to see if smith comes in at

Why the h*** is our biggest offensive free agent acquisition still not even activated for the game, nor Jason Hill?

Singletary is a freakin' idiot!

Hill's strengths use to be his quick release and good decision making. He's not really showing that anymore. We have no Oline and No QBs.

49ers are getting thoroughly beaten.

We waited two weeks for THIS???

I'm ready to put Singletary's head on a stick along with Raye and McCloughen.

Calling Mike Holgrem. Calling Mike Holmgren.

Singletary should be considering dropping trou.

I have been one of the upbeat guys for the season, but Brandon Jones not getting a chance, S.Hill ineffective play, an offense with "NO" 4 WRs packages, I'm really starting to question how this will all play out. I'm really disgusted with the offense as well. Two good drives and 2 long Frank Gore runs is all we've done in 6 games.

dwelling on the QB point for a bit longer ..... it sticks in my mind that slow pass from hill to crabtee who was open on the sideline and it was inaccurate and slow....

this can't be ignored

will SF get a chance to kick the field goal....answer is noooo

houstan should not punt just run around for 7 seconds

This is beginning to look like a 6-10 team.

WE ARE WHO WE THOUGHT WERE!!!!

This is beginning to look like a 6-10 team.

WE ARE WHO WE THOUGHT WE WERE!!!

Jimmy Raye's offense = total confusion.

It's not just personnel. How many more times will he try to run up the middle on 2nd down???????????????

Shaun Hill has NO BUSINESS starting in the NFL. There is a reason he never started until he came here, and that becomes more and more evident every game he plays. We were absolutely desperate when we gave him his starting shot last year.

But it's not all Shaun's fault obviously. The play calling is horrendous AGAIN, but we all knew that was going to be an issue as soon as we hired Jimmy Raye. Every NFL analyst and expert in the US said that was a very bad hire. Jimmy Raye not only has had NO success in the NFL as on o.c., but NOBODY else wanted him. So why did we sign him?

The team was unprepared and undercoached AGAIN. For the second straight week, the game was over by the 2nd quarter. That has to fall on the head coach. Niner fans, brace yourselves for the reality that Mike Singletary may not be the right guy to coach our team out of this awful abyss we've been in. I hope he succeeds, and I like Mike Singletary, but he needs to be held accountable like any other coach in the league would be. Two weeks of fielding a completely uncompetitive team has to bring up the question: Did we hire the right coach?

I hope so, but things aren't looking good right now. Good teams don't do this.

if singletary changes QB at half time it will be letting hill off the hook...so i don't see a change coming

does crabtree have 80% of the snaps so far....with as few plays as the offense gets off it may not take long for crabtree to get that incentive.....once the offense starts sustaining some drives. How many total offensive plays does SF have this year? Crabtree if he starts all the time he may have that 80% by the 12th game.....

but i did hear he was getting tired in this game already

Pee-euwwww!

Why dont they design plays that highlight what the team can do well?

Oh that's right, they cant pass.

Oh wait, they cant run either.

Hey, how did that bye week go?

Jimmy Raye needs to be fired. NOW. A chimp could craft a better game plan.

Their tight end is having a huge day because Roman is in at SS. Is he not responsible for the tight end in pass coverage?

Also, Raye is looking more and more like Hostler.

The defense was doing well but 3 consecutive 3 and outs and one first down on the fourth drive by our pathetic O put our D in a hole. This is looking pathetic.

I thought Singletary was going to make changes in the O line. Chilo Rachal gave up a sack to a 39 year old Jeff Zgonnina. If I was Rachal I would quit the game out of shame.

So much for the Bye week preperation.

I wonder how Skeebers and Top_Cat are going to spin this one.

It's hard to put a positive spin right now. The 49ers O-line is horrible specifically Chilo & you would think that the coaching staff would have already pulled that bum for good. Hill is definetly hearing foot steps & the 49er defense is on the field way too long. When is it time for Alex to come in?

Why dont they design plays that highlight what the team can do well?

Oh that's right, they cant pass.

Oh wait, they cant run either.

Hey, how did that bye week go?

Jimmy Raye needs to be fired. NOW. A chimp could craft a better game plan.

Well....

Ask & you shall recieve. Alex can't play worse than noodle arm Hill

smith to crabtree !!!!

unbelievable....this is crap putting smith in at this point just to save hill for later

Alex lovers....here's your chance!! LOL!!

SWEET!

hmmmmmmmmmmmmm wheres oneniner

no that was a nice touch pass to davis and who gets the penalty...yeah defense

R we all going to have to apologize to 1Niner? LOL

WTH cares, nice plays for 7 :o)

Looks like Alex Smith's arm is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much better that pea shooter Hill's.

Maybe Smith is the best QB right now given the crappy o-line the 9ers have.

Let the QB controvery begin.

Ahhh.... what were you saying about Alex jg again?

I´ll support who coach Sing appoints. Go Alex!!

Two great passes one to Crab and one to VD, his armo and movility do look good.

Lets go, get back in the game!!!

Go Niners!!!

Alex Smith to VD for the TD...yeah

well i guess smith's pass left davis unprotected and he took a shot.....will this be held against smith?

Those Alex Smith haters aren't real Niner fans. Just haters.

Let's go Alex!!!!

I think oneniner just had a spontaneous orgasm.

Who knew Shawntee Spencer would be our shutdown corner.

Do it again Alex!!!

i think i was saying .....'now {sic} that was a nice touch pass to davis...'

or maybe the shot davis took may be blamed on smith leaving a receiver unprotected.....

i don't know?

now was the smith drive a sustained drive?......i suppose not....wasn't about moving the chains it was about striking quickly
and looking downfield to make plays is probably a result of having that stronger arm

OK, what can alex do from 85 yards out.....i would be encouraged with a field goal

a scoring drive FG or TD may just inspire the defense enough to pick their game up......i suspect they have been playing down because the offense can't get anything going....and of course the defense has been on the field 70% of the time

Bad play calls kill the momentum and this drive. Not good Raye.

Everyone loves the backup QB. And the D has no film study on him so things could actually happen here. Not with delay of game penalties, however.

"Those Alex Smith haters aren't real Niner fans. Just haters.

Let's go Alex!!!!"

You could say the exact same thing for the Shaun Hill haters. Having said that, Alex looked good on the first drive and has an unquestionable better deep arm. Maybe that will open up the run but let's see how he does for this entire half.

It's real easy to come off the bench in a 21-0 blowout with no pressure, but I hope he can sustain the poise and make good decisions out there.

ray has alex 'game managing' for no gain on 1st and 2nd downs and then alex follows up with a delay of game to make 3rd down extra difficult..... that same pass to VD may have been enough to make a first down....maybe not

has anything changed on the OL going into the 2nd half Matt?

OK Alex - Let's ROCK!

commmme on.....

perfect pass to crabtree called back

Morgan has his head so far up his colon it's almost funny.

crabtree should have 4 catches and 58 yds

big 3rd down play coming up...

there is a big catch by strong hands crabtree and a strong pass from smith.....damn

this is going to help gore out, i just know it.....

hill didn't do anything wrong...

let me tell u, hill wouldn't have completed that pass to crabtree

do the announcers really know what they are talking about when they said that smith is getting more and different kinds of plays than hill?

another big 3rd down play......

this is a sustained drive

get jones or hill into the mix and this opens up the offense

Alex!!!!!! Yes!!!!

BYE BYE Hill, you are now the back-up. It's exactly where you belong.

Now our chimp-OC needs to remember this isn't 2009 BC and continue to call plays that the OL line talent (or lack of) can actually execute.

why is the OL playing well all of a sudden? Matt I need some answers.....is anything different from the 1st half? Is it really just a QB change that makes the OL look better?

Alex!!!!!! Yes!!!!

unbelievable! Are YOU crappin me?? Smith can throw a forward pass??!! LOL!! Man I'm gonna eat crow on this! What next with this team?!?!?!!

49ers are still a mess. Penalties, big plays given up on defense, etc.

They wont win unless they get more turnovers.

Even if Chimpy Raye calls good plays for the rest of the game. You got us too far behind Chimpy!!!

Thanks Chimpy for wasting the ENTIRE first half you primate!!!!

damn VD

Alex!!!!!!!!!!!

Thank you 9ers!!! Thank you MS for putting in A. Smith!!!

Thank you ALex!!!

and mark roman misses a key tackle. unbelievable.

Let's go defense....Guhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh choke. Slaton for 31.

I guess Alex Smith has "It!"

Crabtree is the real deal!

Putting Alex in the spread/shotgun is what he excel at in Utah under Urban Meyer.

We look so much better, even the O Line is playing better under Alex.

i would have called a timeout.....that was a gift of 30 seconds to houstan

Bad clock management Sing. Call TO before the 2 min warning.

Chimpy Raye must now adopt to this change in offensive strategy or he must GO.

but don't forget roman loosened up slaten for goldson strip fumble so roman did good.....and look roman just did a good job tipping the ball away

one more time Alex!

OneNiner for President

Penalties, penalties, mistakes. Reflects poor coaching.

OneNiner for President

Alex did the only thing he could, get rid of the ball as he was being pressured. He played Great!

We have a QB, we have receivers, What we need is a better O Line & a Pass Rusher.

The same thing we needed at the start of the season, SCOTTY!

Ouch! That hurt.

BUT.... there is now some light at the end of the tunnel. Good night Hill. Say Hello! to A. SMITH! He is back and our new starting QB (or at least he should be)

Alex looked very good, much to my surprise. His running ability made a big difference. He will start next week

Where is Oneniner? With Alex, VD and Crabs this team has an offense. They must start Alex from here on out.

It's ok Alex, awesome job. We have a brighter future now! We have offensive weapons now! Crab, VD, Gore and Alex! Great debut Crab!

what the heck is going on with alex and delay penalties...

and now an interception

looks like too many 9r receivers in the middle of the field....think some wrong routes taken.....also looks like play calls were getting in late.....

i really don't know what to make of this......smith did not handle the end of the game well at all......he showed a lack of urgency and i just don't get it....unless.....here comes the alexecuse....he just hasn't been in this situation for two years so he wasn't quite game ready for that situation.....

THANKS GUYS FOR ALL THE PRAYERS AND THOUGHTS! I LOVE YOU GUYS!
The coaching staff acts confused! That isn't helping the team in during the tough times in the game! Too much confusion! But good move to put Smith in! He played like a NEW MAN!

should i go to the gym and work off the nervous energy in the middle of the night or watch the panther-bills game for draft purposes and then go to the gym in the wee hours of the morning....don't have my girl here to work the energy off....oopps TMI

The huddle team should have been in the no huddle the series before instead of wasting time huddling!

All of you people that have bashed oneniner all season owe him an apology. You guys have said some pretty mean things, he seems vindicated.

49ers season is going into the dumper. AGAIN.

Indy will DESTROY them next week.

Do we need coaching changes?

With all the #11 and #15 excitment. What happend to our D? You cannot spot a team 21 points (7 were Battle's fault).

oneniner gets kudos from me! Alex looked like a NEW MAN! Poor coaching is starting to be a problem weekly! OC has NO imagination! What about the no huddle??

We have a bunch of injuries on D. But take away the Battle fumble, and we only gave up 17 points against one of the best offenses in the league. And that was with the D getting no rest because of 3 and outs in the first half. We held them to 3 points after the half.

That 2nd half had me pumped. We still have a long way to go, but I can't tell you how refreshing it was to see Alex Smith back in there, and Raye finally open up the offense. Smith played very well IMO. Honestly I wasn't surprised one bit, and I have a feeling he is here to stay. I think we'll see much more of the same throughout the rest of the year from this offense, although the stupid penalties cannot continue to happen.

For what its worth --- one thing I noticed is that Alex Smith was telling the coaches to hurry up and call the plays during the last drive.

I really think both of the delay of game penalties were on the coaches. I think he wanted the plays from the O coordinator, and they just weren't coming.

i am interested to understand why the OL played better the 2nd half....and would hill have been better with that protection? Probably but he wouldn't have been able to throw those out routes crisply....

crabtree has clearly demonstrated his good hands this game....i figured it would help hill retain his job but in fact it helped smith....one with that 3rd down play and later on when crabtree caught the back side of the ball because it was thrown pretty hard on a short pass by smith.

I think takeo spikes out of the 2nd half hurt the niners quite a bit.....clements is getting schooled a lot, and even with andre johnson out texan's still torched the secondary.

so how will indy game plan for smith.....will they just blitz and blitz just to show the rest of the league what's up.....they could afford to since peyton can just pick our secondary apart at will IMO......

ray better scheme for some quick screens and slants......

i never got the feeling that hill audibled much at the line of scrimmage.....wonder if smith will be able to read the defenses enough to audible at the LOS.

what would of smiths QB rating been without that last interception?

All things will be equal if the Cards lose tonight and we do have a little more hope for the offense with Smith, VD, Gore, Crabs and Morgan. if the Cards lose, I will feel pretty good.

BRING ON THE ALEX SMITH ERA! I love to see all of you Hill lovers hanging from Alex's sac now!

A lot of questions:

1. As Brian Billick asked several times, does this mean the Niners finally abandon the so called Smashmouth, 60% running, we will hit you in the mouth stuff for good and go to more spread formation, wide open football?

2. Where is the pass rush?. Last time I dared to criticize Manny Lawson his defenders on this blog jumped all over me. Today the man was once again invisible. If we are going to play 3-4, we HAVE to have pass rushing line-backers. Today, the only time there was any pressure on Schuab was when we blitzed. This cannot continue.

3. There were 11 penalties on the Niners today. Coming off a bye week this is inexcusable.

4. Why was Chilo Rachal playing today. I thought he was going to be benched. He looked hideous out there again. Was beaten like a drum on one play by a 39 year old D lineman.

5. How are we going to stop P. Manning next week?

...i don't even know where to start....:)

aaaaahhhhhh....my boy is back........aaaaaahhhhhh

please pass the crow around.........

I don't even know how to feel......My team lost but I got my QB back...

.....My FRANCHISE QB is back....ha ha ha ha

There are clearly coaching problems with the team! It wasn't that the OC called a more wide open game on his own! He had to the way the game was going! But wasting the time no huddling until the last series was a huge blunder!
Smith was hot and needed the ball to be in his hands more!
Confused coach staff! It's a problem that is becoming more and more apparent each week! I was MS fan but now am wondering!

For the first time this season, I am a happy 9ers fan. I've waited patiently for Hill to show he is a career backup and finally Sing realized a change was needed. For all of you Hill fans, he only excels coming in as a backup only. Alex had more quality drives in this one game than Hill has had all season. Sorry to bust your bubble. I have been an avid Alex Smith fan since day 1. I wont go into my A. Smith pitty party but he hasn't had weapons and he had a horrible Coach.

Anyway, The 49ers offense actually requires a defensive gameplan now and I am excited again even thought disappointed in the loss.

It's amazing how good an O line can look when the QB can throw the ball further than 2 yard dump offs all game.

Allen Rossum Update: Hurt on his 1st Kickoff Return for the Cowboys. Sing knows what he's doing.

Matt,

During the bye week you kept hinting that Smith may be an answer for the offense - why didn't you call it outright?
If the Niners had a pass rush, we would have won the game. Raye called some good plays just took too long to materialize and get plays to Smith. Interception by Smith was caused by being hit, not a bad pass. If the OL gives Smith time, both the pass and the run will open up and will be a threat. The defense will play better as well because they will not feel the need to score points - less pressure on them. Time to support Smith!!!

The O line played better in the 2nd half because the Texans D had to back up after Hill went to the bench. Hill has been holding back the niner offense all season. The WR's were more productive today than all season!

Anybody see Top Cat lately? He must be consoling Hill in the locker room.

(Sorry Cat, u r my dog....but you have to give credit to Alex for doing the job he could do)

Ha ha ha - Congrats Oneniner. You stuck to your guns!!! I worry about his first start being on the road in Indy, but he should be fine

it is kind of too bad our rhetoric is significantly reduced to hill vs smith.... instead of 9rs against the nfl as it should be.....i too am caught up in this dilemma, my bad

now it is up to smith to continue his comeback if singletary allows it......

anybody can come in and do just fine running the opposing team's offense during the week (isn't that what i heard earlier this week?). Well with only taking what 20 reps during preseason with the first team and a day of reps a couple of weeks ago with the first team in practice, i would say smith did well...hope it wasn't beginners luck because his mind was so clear.......but again in the final analysis, has smith shown us some IT factor?....don't know.....the varnish got scratched up at the end of the game with smith's lack of game management skills......

VD with 3 TD catches....that is the ray's offense by the way so maybe smith can save ray's job...

Awwww, MS won't sleep tonight because he lost a fan. He made the QB switch. He put in Crabtree. He made choices other coaches find difficult to make (although he should pull Chilo). He has some improving to do, but new coaches make blunders. And for all the Shanahan, Holmgren fans, these guys are out of jobs for a reason. Denver couldn't field a good defense for the past few seasons and Seattle declined every year after the SB appearance.

...for the first time - i don't have to say anything...

everything i want to write is being written......

i am just going to enjoy this moment and read the comments....

I don't think it was a Singletary thing. I think Jimmy Raye is the one responsible for getting the plays in, and it didn't seem like Raye was getting them in fast enough. I think there were two occasions that Smith was telling the coaches to hurry up and get him the play.

Now, I'm trying to keep in mind that Smith has probably gotten ZERO reps in the two minute offense. But again, in watching the game, it wasn't an issue of Smith not moving the offense. He was yelling for someone to get him the next play in.

I think Singletary is the right coach for our team... But I don't know that I'm much of a Raye supporter.

Sing just said: They need to look at film before deciding the starter at QB.

...thanks Mike.....i believe in the red and gold.....

Yeah but if we had Rossum we would have won today. But I was in favor of him being cut because he only does one thing ,but i was wrong(But Battle lost the game for us).

And speaking of being wrong,I must apologize to alex smith . I had said over and over that he was right on the verge of being a bust and probably was a hopeless cause. He looked like a different person than he had ever looked like in his time in the NFL. He NEVER looked so ecisive and confident before.No deer in the headlights today.
They did make a few changes on the O line and did give him more time thyan they gave hill,but alex was clearly the better QB today and it was not even close . Where have you been alex,I have been waiting for you since 2005? Like Eric Davis said today after the game,it was only one half of play,so he needs to keep it up if he wants to take the spot long term. But I think he should clearly be the starter next week,and I nevewr thought I would be able to ever say that about Alex again.
I still think Nate Davis is the future but if alex keeps it up he might give Nate a run for his money.

I just hope that the Cards lose a couple games in a row !!!

........"The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge"........

Smith looked really good - too much to overcome with limited reps, down 21 points, and a run-first playbook. We now have the pieces in place to run an aggressive offense. With Smith getting the reps with the 1s, more practice time for Crabs and a better game-plan, the future looks bright. We need to have Jones and/or J Hill active so we can run a 5-receiver set. If Raye goes back to the chicken-sh** run-first offense next week I'm going to scream! Clearly we can move the ball with Smith and a passing offense. I hope Raye moves in that direction and doesn't wait until we're down by 3 TDs to bring it in...

Smith looked really good - too much to overcome with limited reps, down 21 points, and a run-first playbook. We now have the pieces in place to run an aggressive offense. With Smith getting the reps with the 1s, more practice time for Crabs and a better game-plan, the future looks bright. We need to have Jones and/or J Hill active so we can run a 5-receiver set. If Raye goes back to the chicken-sh** run-first offense next week I'm going to scream! Clearly we can move the ball with Smith and a passing offense. I hope Raye moves in that direction and doesn't wait until we're down by 3 TDs to bring it in...

I didn't think Alex would have an impact til next year and I am surprised Hill's play was so terrible that they had to turn to Alex so soon. I hope he is comfortorable enough in this offense to be successful over the long haul. And while the crow is being passed around then I'll go ahead and eat some on Crabtree because he had a solid game today and I hope he continues to prove me wrong about being too slow and too small.

it shows the team still believes, thats why they fought back

VD, looks real good.

Crabs, also looks good.

Sure would have been nice to have Jason Hill for the end of the game? Great coaches call to have him incative.

Still think the game plan stunk! Would like to have seen Hill with a wide open plan.

I think Raye basically said WTF and had no choice but to open it up. Smith made some nice plays, but I want to see it from the 1st Q. Big diff in pressure starting versus coming into a blowout.

The running game looks terrible. Sorry, but still think Gore is average.

Oneniner, is your "period key" stuck? Your formatting is more annoying than you are! But I will say this, you guy looked good. Maybe all this sitting did him some good. If he can continue to play well I will be happy to eat crow.

The worst thing of all. Just does not look like we will be better than 8-8 if that. The offense just looks confused. I don't think Raye thinks all that fast.

What happened to Spikes?

Dave in Davis: What do you mean a run offense? We have had a very well balanced offense all year,with MORE passes than runs,by far.
Raye would pass even more if the line had not shown that they can't seem to give the QB 3 seconds to pass. But with the 2nd half changes in the line,they actually looked better and were sometimes giving as much as 6 seconds ! About time!

I for one had been supporting Shaun Hill. I'm not going to apologize as I have always been about the team winning. At this point it appears that Alex is the better option. Hopefully he can keep it up next week if he starts (as he should). It will be great if he can prove me and others wrong regarding his play. The one thing I did like is the opening up of the offense to something Alex can really work well in.

Crow tastes bad. Would have tasted better if Smith had won. He's definitely won the starting job tho.

Crabtree looked good. Jed should fire Scott and himself for not having the kid signed 3 months ago. May end costing us the playoffs.

I'm real disappointed in Battle. You could argue he lost the game for the Niners. His overall contribution to the game was negative.

And Bruce is too slow.

I would like to see them both sit against Indy and we get Hill & BJ up.

O-Line is bad but I don't know how it gets better.

Pass rush is bad and ditto.

Play scheming/calling is bad and ditto ditto.

Overall this sucks. Playoffs don't look too good right now.

Props to you young man . . . you stuck with your boy and it appears that he's back.

I know we just lost but.....

We need to give some credit to our coaching staff putting in Alex and starting Crabs.

There is always room to improve (clock management, opening up the playbook), but I think we should be happy where this team is heading. I don't think anyone should be calling for MS's head or even the OC's. We should look at next week like the 1st game of the season cuz with Alex Smith it will look entirely different than what we have seen in the previous games. I see a road victory of
28-17 next week in Indy. No, I am not intoxicated. You heard it here 1st! D will step up and the 9ers look born again on Offense. Let's see.

Agree with you regarding Singletary - but Shanahan and Holmgren just ran their course - their tenure was up. They need new surroundings to rejuvenate their philosophy. Coaches leave teams all the time and do well at their new digs (example: Parcels, Coughlin, Dungy). I'm not saying that the Niners should look to them, just saying that they aren't through. I think Singletary is proving he isn't as rigid as we thought and is making the right changes before it is too late.

A little learning is a dangerous thing.

Are you a f*****g idiot? Theres always going to be more pressure when you're down by 21 points and have no choice but to pass!

Basically, the only good things this team does are the things that Singletary doesn't care for. He wants to be a power running offense, we can only move the ball through the air (even with Hill that was the case). The O-line is atrocious, yet Raye keeps calling runs up the middle - the only team we get positive rushing yardage is with gimmicks and outside runs. The defense gives up far too many big plays. This loss is more on the defense and coaching staff than the offense. Let's hope Smith keeps playing well, we may have a QB and WR.

I know I just ranted for a few but I guess here is what really gets me....

We had two weeks to prepare for TX and we came out looking terrible! Don't we all need to be worried about this? Does this not say something about the coaching staff? ATL had two weeks p prepare for us and they had our number from the first snap. Lookig so bad after a bye makes it real tough to have faith in the coaches that they will do the right thing. Also watching #62 get beat like a drum sucks as well.

LaMBERDS: I did apologize to Alex because he actually looked like an NFL type QB for the first time ever today. I was shocked.
But I will certainly never apologize to any troll who ONLY loves alex and hates on Hill or any other player who wears a Niners uniform.

I thought that alex was probably a bust because he played like a bust in every game he ever played in until today. But I alwayds was consistent in saying I would cheer for him if he ever got in a game,because I cheer for every Niners player at all times,unlike one former Niners fan who ony loves ONEniners player,lol.
But I think that guy was banned over a month ago,so I guess I will just forget about him,that troll is old news.But alex might just be good news, unbelievable !

We need to get rid of Chimpy Raye and most of the O-Line!

Are you serious? your sick because PW shook hands with GW? get over your self!!! people like him keep it possible for idiots like you to be able to make stupid snide comments like that. grow up!!

yeah A. Smith in the house!!! Now we will win the west for sure. 1 half of a game and best QB performance all year.

The buck stops with MS. He picked Raye for OC (maybe he had no choice)! The play calling was horrible! In the 1st half there was no imagination. Raye began to pass because he had to in the 2nd half!
MS said this is a smash your mouth football team! It doesn't have the OL to be that kind of team! It can't run unless the pass sets it up! MS, as HC, should have seen that and made the moves needed for pass first!
Raye works for MS not the other way around!
MS said Hill was his man! Is he?
How many times can Gore run up the middle and get nothing? Is MS blind to that?
You can't be a HC that says this and that and keeps doing it whether it works or not!
The use of the clock sucks! And this isn't the first time! Who's the bottom line with that?
I noticed Morgan, Smith and Crabtree stayed on the practice field on the days off! And they were basically the only guys who produced!

The buck stops with MS. He picked Raye for OC (maybe he had no choice)! The play calling was horrible! In the 1st half there was no imagination. Raye began to pass because he had to in the 2nd half!
MS said this is a smash your mouth football team! It doesn't have the OL to be that kind of team! It can't run unless the pass sets it up! MS, as HC, should have seen that and made the moves needed for pass first!
Raye works for MS not the other way around!
MS said Hill was his man! Is he?
How many times can Gore run up the middle and get nothing? Is MS blind to that?
You can't be a HC that says this and that and keeps doing it whether it works or not!
The use of the clock sucks! And this isn't the first time! Who's the bottom line with that?
I noticed Morgan, Smith and Crabtree stayed on the practice field on the days off! And they were basically the only guys who produced!

hey smarty pants i am not talking pass rush but pressure to perform! Down 21 you are pretty much written off. Don't be an a-hole.

STFU about balanced offense. All year it's been run, run, run, punt until we're behind then its pass, pass, pass.

That may average out to be arithmetically balanced but anyone that knows anything about football can see it's the exact opposite. It's unbalanced and dysfunctional.

Balanced is when the defense doesn't know what's coming next and pass or run, either is as likely to succeed.

I think Smith's chemistry with Crabtree was a big reason he was brought in. The offense got excited. Having smith in should stimulate the run game too.

We have a BIG test against Indy next week. Our offensive line NEEDS to step it up, and our D-line NEEDS to put pressure on Manning, otherwise I'm fearing a blowout loss. We can't expect Alex Smith, VD, Crabtree, and Willis to do it all by themselves.

..aaawwww........you feeling sad.....oneniner was right all along........awwww......its ok ..dude ...eat sum more crow...

you are pathetic.......be a man and apologize for being a donkey.....

I'm with you about Chilo but without the muffed punt we win that game.

Hey Druck, you are probably a pretty decent dude. Why use that screen name? That guy was a tool! Didn't he get busted for assulting a woman?

......cmon dude....it was so obvious without S.Hill we win the game.....

FYI - those that love quoting QB ratings.....this one was made just for you

A.Smith QB rating 118.6.......ha ha ha ha ha

I'll eat his crow for him but don't gloat for too long dude. You've been shown to be right for one half game. That's all.

If the offense/Smith stinks up the joint against Indy, the majority chat will be about which QB to draft next year.

even with that interception

"...for the first time - i don't have to say anything...

everything i want to write is being written......

i am just going to enjoy this moment and read the comments...."

gloat, oneniner... for at least one week, you deserve it. it's up to the coaching staff now to adjust and realize that if they are going to play smith, they really need to spread the offense and play to his strengths. he's much better in a spread like offense like college. and the game has obviously slowed down for him...and nobody ever questioned his arm strength, just his touch... which he showed plenty of. I will comment on Crabtree in MM's next post, but as one of his biggest advocates on this blog, I imagine you know where that will go.

again oneniner... congrats

Breaking news...

There are still 10 games to go in the season! We are not even to the half way point of the season and we have some pansies talking about firing the coach? Get real. If the rest of the season is like the second half of the game we will end up a 10-6 team. I will take that.

My tivo stopped recording (aaaahh) just after the 2 minute warning, so I missed what happened right when Houston was about to punt it back to us. Did Battle fumble it or something? Did we have any chance at the end to tie?

Smith looked really good in the pocket -- as relaxed as I can remember. His passes were on target, with touch or speed as necessary. I have been a detractor of Smith all year, and I have to now admit, that he looks like our best shot, for sure. Fully ready to admit that the patient oneniner is probably right. I only way probably, because it was just one half, but Smith really did look much, much more matured. It looked like a spark to me. God, I wish we won though.

I think Sing is being diplomatic about who is going to start. It will be Alex Smith. There is no way that he is going to look at that "tape" and conclude anything else. Smith absolutely should start.

I also hope, that Sing looks at the tape and concludes, hey, maybe we're not a smashmouth team, and we should open -- it -- up. Might as well -- good luck stopping Manning next week.

Michael Crabtree? Hill said he attacks his catches. Does he ever. Very impressive hands. Smith's poorest passes (and not really that poor), were the ones that Crabtree snagged out of the air above his head. He looked good.

Tough loss. The defense has some problems now. But that spark gave me a lift, as I have been down on the offense since game one.

Why should he eat crow? Yes, Alex played well, but all he did was pull a Shaun Hill (come in and throw a curve to the defense)...except he didn't win. Also, how about those delay of game penalties that Alex got for us? Way to be "franchise".

I love how some people think that they know more about player development as a Subway sandwich artist than those who work in the NFL. He had a good half, but he's had four bad YEARS. Simmer down, kid.

Nice adjustments made at halftime. Nice job coach Singletary. He made a decision, and I think it was the right one. Shaun had his chance, and it hasn't worked out. If we wanted to save this season, something needed to change now.

Alex Smith can just make the throws that Shaun Hill can't, plus he's more mobile and a lot faster. Alex Smith just has a lot more football talent than Hill.Period.

Crabtree looked good. A threat on the outside is going to make Vernon Davis a nightmare mathcup for other teams. Finally.

This just in.....

There are still 10 games left in the season. Anyone calling for the HC's head now doesn't deserve to wear the red and gold. If we finish off the season with the way we finished the 2nd half of the game, we will be a 10-6 team. I will take that. Won't you?

I admire your moxie, but 10-6 is not realistic at all.

Raye has made it clear from the beginning that we were going to center our offense around Gore and try to run the ball 60% of the time. We don't have the O-line to execute a ball control, run-first offense. With Hill and no Crabtree we didn't have the skill players to execute it consistently either. Looking at the stats you'd think we ran a balanced offense when in actuality I can count on one hand the times we've thrown the ball down the field successfully with Hill - the "pass plays" have been screens, outs, and dink-n-dunk passes that defenses have quickly caught on to. With Smith and Crabs we showed today that we can spread the field. I hope Raye adjusts his gameplan accordingly.

Jimmy Raye sits upstairs, and maybe the com link "accidentally" didn't work in the Texans' stadium at the end of the game, leading to the delay-of-game penalties.

Our QB of the present and future emerged today, leading WRs perfectly and "throwing" them open. Lasers, not ruptured ducks! We have 10 games left! Go Niners!

OneNiner and IndianaJim, you had it right. Top Cat and 9er1, where were those passes '7 yards over receivers' heads and 5 yards behind" that you ridiculously predicted for Alex?

Those two delay of game penalties in the second half weren't Alex's fault. If you noticed, the o.c hadn't told them the play yet either time. Alex was pointing to his helmet and looking toward the sideline. There was a good deal of confusion coming from the sideline throughout the game on offense. Slow playcalling, time management, and personnel confusion were all issues.

MM made a point in his live blog about Alex Smith looking good , in part, because the pressure is off of him. If this is true (and I suspect that there is more than a morsel of truth to this) what happens when he assumes the starting QB role and the pressure is back on?

Really, I do not care who quarterbacks this team as long as they are successful. If Smith is great from here on out, good for him! He seems like a good guy. They could put M. Robinson in at QB for all I care. Just win. I just take issue with "avid" Alex Smith fans acting as if what we saw from him today is what has always been there.

MM made a point in his live blog about Alex Smith looking good , in part, because the pressure is off of him. If this is true (and I suspect that there is more than a morsel of truth to this) what happens when he assumes the starting QB role and the pressure is back on?

Really, I do not care who quarterbacks this team as long as they are successful. If Smith is great from here on out, good for him! He seems like a good guy. They could put M. Robinson in at QB for all I care. Just win. I just take issue with "avid" Alex Smith fans acting as if what we saw from him today is what has always been there.

Honolulu: I already apologized to alex and am still wondering who was really in the #11 uniform today,lol.
If Alex had EVER shown the ability to be decisive and as confident and even mostly accurate ,as he was today,then he would not have been considered a probable bust up until today. I always said that his only glimmer of hope was that he was still very young and the light might just go on for the guy one day. I thought that day had passed without the light going on. But if he keeps it up,than maybe we have a new and improved alex,we will see.
After all,like eric Davis said today after the game,it was only one half of football. And it was the first good half of football in alex's NFL career. I hope he keeps growing and doesn't revery to the pathetic guy we had seen up until today,
Go get em Alex !!! Like I always said,he is a class kid and a great team mate etc. So I have alwaqys been pulling for the kid,but he had always let us down horribly,until todays shock .

MM made a point in his live blog about Alex Smith looking good , in part, because the pressure is off of him. If this is true (and I suspect that there is more than a morsel of truth to this) what happens when he assumes the starting QB role and the pressure is back on?

Really, I do not care who quarterbacks this team as long as they are successful. If Smith is great from here on out, good for him! He seems like a good guy. They could put M. Robinson in at QB for all I care. Just win. I just take issue with "avid" Alex Smith fans acting as if what we saw from him today is what has always been there.

Are you serious? You must have been watching another game.

The way Alex made the passes was night and day from what Hill throws. You cannot put the penalties on Smith. The flags came from Morgan not getting outa the huddle and the OC not getting the play in on time. You need to go back and check your tivo and watch the game all of us watched.

Raptor, all things are possible. If you cannot believe they could do it... maybe you need to hang it up for the rest of the year.

Good God. Sorry about the repeat posts. Some error kept popping up saying that the submission failed.

Um...we had timeouts available. I know, I know, timeouts are valuable, but that is one reason why we have them. The tv announcers made comment about Smith paying attention to everything but the play clock. I'm pretty sure they watched the same game you did.

I never said one thing about the passes that each QB threw, but I DID say that Smith played well. You need to scroll up and read the posts (even the repeat posts, just to reinforce the point) that everyone else read.

DaveinDavis: Do you always believe everything you are told by the powers that be ?
Everyone knew that Raye was pulling the medias chain when he said that he was going to run 60% of the time. No team has run the ball 60% of the time in the modern era,so most of us knew he was just ribbing the media because they were always saying Ray's offense was run,run,run, .Look up the reality of what Raye has done since the season started. He passed 58 % of the time in the first game against the Cards.In this season we have passed much more than we have run the ball. So reality is that Raye is running a well balanced offense that passes more than it runs.
So please stop repeating that missinformation about us running 60% and Raye being a 3 yards and a cloud of dust kind of OC.
Of course the kind of pass plays have been limited by how long the O line can give a QB in the pocket to throw certain pass patterns. That is not Raye's fault,it is the O line and the O line coach.
They seem to have made adjustments as time went by today(because of injury and lineup changes that were meant to help in pass and run blocking). If Raye gets confident in the O line,he will call more long passes,as he has wanted to do all along. Smith's arm will also help ,if he can keep throwing the ball on time,instead of holding the ball waaaay too long,as he always did before today.And if he can actually throw accuratly for a huge change,as he did today. If alex has finally had the light come on,we might be in good shape ...IF !.

Take it easy with the caffeine and the exclamation points.

"You can't be a HC that says this and that and keeps doing it whether it works or not!" - obviously you can. Ha.

"MS said this is a smash your mouth football team!" - no he said he wants his team to impose it's will on the other team. Unfortunately, we're not there yet.

And to the others that have written us off for the playoffs, why? The Cards, if they lose tonight, we still have the tie-breaker. They've beaten no one of note (the Jaguars?).

A.Smith to V.Davis - 3 TOUCHDOWNS !!!

unbeliavable......

been waiting for this day for a long loong loooong time......

sucks it was a L

....memo to Coach Sing ....there shouldn't be ANY F...KING DOUBT NOW - we need to continue what McGM+Nolan started

....A.Smith + Gore + Davis + Crabtree

Allowing these 4 players time to build chemistry is worth more than a win or lose record.....

We need to continue the growth.....

Take it easy with the caffeine and the exclamation points.

"You can't be a HC that says this and that and keeps doing it whether it works or not!" - obviously you can. Ha.

"MS said this is a smash your mouth football team!" - no he said he wants his team to impose it's will on the other team. Unfortunately, we're not there yet.

And to the others that have written us off for the playoffs, why? The Cards, if they lose tonight, we still have the tie-breaker. They've beaten no one of note (the Jaguars?).

I think we saw the real upside to Alex Smith today that Hill just doesn't have. In defense of Hill he didn't have any time, but it was clearly different when Smith came in. Remember he ran Urban Meyer's Utah Spread Offense really well. Perhaps the Niners just misused him behind that horrible O Line of three years ago. But still I know the Texans played a little loose with a 21 point lead, but the throws Smith made were excellent and into close coverage. His decision making was excellent and he didn't lock on to a receiver. He is our QB of the future.

Of real concern is the lack of a running game. We just are not opening up any holes and I fully expect another week of being ranked at the bottom of the league in running. Without a running game the QB is exposed.

Crabtree showed why some thought he was the best football player in the draft. What he did today is amazing for a rookie in his first game. He demonstrated his superior hands. He caught more passes in one game that DHB of the Raiders had in all his games. Thanks Al!

With Morgan, Crabtree, VD, and Brandon Jones we have potent receiver corp.

We may have lost one game, but in the long run we may be better off.

My wife and I just got back from taking my daughter to the park. The walk let me clear my head and made me focus on something. Hill vs. Simth...Sing good or bad, Raye - qualified or not qualified? Who cares, as someone earlier mentioned we still don't have a guy who can rush the passer to help out Justin Smith and the o-line is awful! Until those last two things get corrected we will be average at best if we are lucky. This is another year pissed away. I have said this and always say this winner = better than average CB, pass rusher, stud LT, QB and offensive plamaker. We are still missing a few key elements like the pass rusher, play maker and QB. Vernon or Crabs may be the play maker but they have yet to establish themselves.

I couldn't agree more.

Here is a pretty good quote. Eric Davis said on CSN, putting in Smith is just a "bandaid on a bullethole".

This guy could play a little football. Wonder what else he knows.

Going in to this week's games the 49ers were ranked 29th in YPG on offense. Clearly that's not going to cut it if we're serious about playing into January. Raye needs to open up his ball-control offense and take some shots down the field. With Hill and without Crabs it was not possible - now it is.

So you're calling it a season 7 weeks in. Okay. Talk to you next year. Every team in the playoff last year didn't have all those pieces. Heck the SB winner didn't have all those pieces.

Guys - this is football. Teams have to bring it every Sunday. The Saints whipped the Giants and are struggling with the Dolphins. Are the Dolphins better than the Giants, no.

If Battle hadn't fumbled, if holding had been called on Slaton's second TD (and other bad calls). We have lost 2 games we could have won, but then again the Cards and Seahawks win could have gone the other way as well. All I'm saying is every week we have a chance, we're going to win some and lose some, but by no means is the season over. We are still tied in wins at the told of our division and will probably only be 1 game back by the end of the day for a wildcard spot.

"Here is a pretty good quote. Eric Davis said on CSN, putting in Smith is just a "bandaid on a bullethole".

This guy could play a little football. Wonder what else he knows." - Hmmmm. Singletary played a little football (HOFer) and he's a coach and not a commentator, I wonder what else he knows.

Eric Davis isn't an idiot - Ronnie Lott said it on the postgame show - Smith is making the throws. I believe Eric Davis is talking about the coaching philosophy. If he is talking about Smith, I'd listen to Ronnie Lott before I would Eric Davis. Lott says Smith should be the guy. Niners need to quit trying to be something they are not. They do not have the personnel to be a running power team. The Niners have been lining up and other teams have been smashing them in the mouth. Time to open it up!

IF this, if that....look, winners just WIN! End of story. I am sick of - if Roman would have pushed dude out or if Battle would not have fumbled. Winners just win. This team has got three win's. Cards, Seattle and STL. These teams SUCK! Great, we are the cream of the crap.

We get pounded by the ATL and TX has us pretty good until late in the game. Lets face it they had a lot of room before the could lose the game. The Vikes, well we had a good chance but lost. Bottom line, we are 3-3 and not looking all that good. If we want to regularly win we need the things I talked about. If we want luck to be a bigger part of the ingredient....we can keep doing what we are doing. This is not a SB team. You are high on crack if you think so. Maybe the right ingredients are Smith and Crabs and now we will be off to the races. Past performance by Smith is not on our side. Crabs is a rookie. Raye and Sing ahve proven to be very conservative. Maybe this week they all say WTF and the team looks totally different next week. Percentages are not in our favor. Again, I would love to see Smith rip off ten 300+ yard games and go 7-3. Just does not seem probable.

Now if the other quote was stated like that then I would have agreed. In no way, shape or form did I state that ED was an idiot. The previous poster took a soundbite and didn't elaborate. I just pointed out that there are other football people who may have a differing opinion with ED.

"If we want to regularly win we need the things I talked about. If we want luck to be a bigger part of the ingredient....we can keep doing what we are doing. This is not a SB team. You are high on crack if you think so."

Why do people keep putting words in my mouth. I didn't say this was a SB team and no I know nothing about crack. Read my words and don't skim. I'm saying that other than that Pats and Dolphins, no other team has gone undefeated. And when there are losses they are not always close.

Duhhh, if a team had all those parts then yeah, but drafting and developing is not an exact science. It's easy to second guess things when this is not your job. Also, giving up on the season 7 weeks in seems like a more crack induced statement to me.

We're not a 12-4 team and not a 4-12 team, only time will tell where we fit.

Makes me optimistic seeing a REAL offense , more so than watching the typical rope-a-dope offense Raye's been calling in the first half.

The unknown is can Smith continue to show this is the real Alex Smith now or just the typical backup QB coming in with nothing to lose. Will Raye revert to his ultra conservative play calling until the Niners are way behind or will he go toe to toe with the big boys from the start?????

Have to admit Crabtrees hands are impressive!!!

When you play offense and you put some pressure on the other team plus give your "D" a rest, it makes this team one whole lot better. This may not be a SB team yet but with a decent "O" it is a better than .500,also a team other teams would have to take seriously. Hopefully the Niners will not continue their turtle offensive tendencies any longer. Atleast until they have a big lead in the 4th quarter.

I'll give you an "Amen!", brother.

It is a TEAM game, and one hand washes the other.

TOP CAT

STFU about balanced offense. All year it's been run, run, run, punt until we're behind then its pass, pass, pass.

That may average out to be arithmetically balanced but anyone that knows anything about football can see it's the exact opposite. It's unbalanced and dysfunctional.

Balanced is when the defense doesn't know what's coming next and pass or run, either is as likely to succeed.

And STFU about your interpretation of Raye's 60% run to pass desires. He's said it enough to know darn well it wasn't a joke.

What a classy commenter you are.

What up, Sacramento Niner Fans, I'm trying to get a little fan club together of people who want to get together and watch the games at a local pub, let me know who's interested, and any places that might be a good place to hang.

You noticed that too! That's Classy with a capital C.

If you were a regular, you would know Mr Top Cat has repeated over and over and over again how Raye is not a run first coach. I'm sick of reading it. It's freakin' delusional.

Now you can STFU about me.