(Nobody has told me that's what he's doing. And I'm not reporting there will be a change at quarterback. I'm only saying that's what I expect to happen.)
Up to this point, the quarterback situation has played out like a lot of people thought it might. And Smith's ascent to the starting job is something many within the 49ers' organization had anticipated as far back as when Smith's old contract was ripped up to keep him around at a reasonable price:
--Shaun Hill was the clear choice - the safe choice -- to be the starter at the beginning of the season. Based on his play at the end of last season and his ease at running the offense during training camp, he earned the starting job to open the regular season.
--Supposedly "faithful" 49ers fans booed Alex Smith at the team's practice facility when his first pass attempt of training camp fell incomplete. Smith did not need to be rushed into the lineup again. He needed to sit back and spend more time learning and preparing mentally for the time when his chance arose.
--It's been written here and everywhere else that Smith has the higher ceiling. He has better physical tools than Hill, whose best attribute as a quarterback might be "moxie." Hill needed the 49ers' run game to succeed, and the 49ers' run game - aside from two long Frank Gore runs against the Seahawks - has been non-existent.
--Team management brought back Smith on a two-year contract because they could not bear the thought of seeing him go somewhere else and emerging as a quality starter. GM Scot McCloughan never gave up on Smith. And public opinion turned swiftly against Smith only after his shoulder injuries kept him off the field for nearly two full seasons. Still, it was best that Smith be seen as somebody coming to the rescue, rather than the appearance that he was again being handed the job without earning it.
--It was obvious what offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye thought during training camp when he said it is imperative in his offense for the quarterback to be able to make throws down the field to complement the team's power-run game. Hill has a lot of good qualities, but he'll never be a feared vertical passer. Smith's problem has been inconsistency with the short passes. His intermediate and deep balls are very good, and his style is a better fit for this offense.
--So this might be the best-case scenario for the 49ers. Hill began the season, as expected, and Smith immediately played well after replacing him. The 49ers are 3-3, so all has not been lost as a prelude to Smith getting another chance to be the team's starting quarterback.
--There is a reason so many top picks at quarterback do not succeed. One reason is those quarterbacks selected high in the draft generally go to bad teams and are asked to turn things around quickly. The 49ers were a very bad team when Smith arrived fresh out of college. He was a project, arriving from a spread offense in which his reads were different. He had to learn the basics, such as the footwork required in taking snaps behind center. There were a lot of factors working against Smith in his first two seasons. And no matter how good he was - or wasn't - the last two years of shoulder injuries could not have been avoided.
--Now, finally, we might get a chance to see Smith and form rational opinions about his ability to play quarterback in the NFL. Let's remember, he is still only 25 years old. And this is the best chance he's had to experience success.
* * *
Yes, Smith played well in the second half of Sunday's game against the Texans. But let's not get too carried away with it. After all, even he said the Texans gave him some "stagnate" defensive looks. "They're not throwing as much at you up by three scores," Smith said.
It was funny to read this morning's Houston Chronicle on my way out of town. The Texans' defenders were not expecting to see No. 11 enter the huddle at the start of the second half. Heck, they didn't know who he was.
"I didn't know who the guy was when he came out," said Texans defensive end Mario Williams, the No. 1 pick in the 2007 draft. "I really didn't. . . . He definitely managed the game for them. He was getting rid of the ball and moving the ball."
Said cornerback Dunta Robinson, "We were zeroed in on one guy (Hill) for so long, and then you put in a guy who has absolutely nothing to lose. He's going to throw it up and do whatever he can to make sure he's going to stay on the field."
Robinson said he knew Smith's identity, but everybody in the huddle was asking, "Who's No. 11? I think it threw our game off a bit. I didn't get to explain it to them, but now I think they all know who 11 is."
This is my favorite. It comes from
Texans coach Gary Kubiak said, "When you're the backup guy and your team's struggling, you can just go in and cut it loose. And that's what he did. He went in there and made some great throws."
* * *
Matt,
You alluded to this briefly during the pre-season mentioning that if Alex gets the starting nod and starts off badly, he is through. Better to have Alex coming off the bench. You also mentioned that Alex was throwing the ball as well as you have ever seen him throw. Raye and O-line is taking much if not all of the heat - doesn't the philosophy on offense dictate some of that heat? Singletary interviewed sever OC's and they didn't take the job - was that due to the fact they wouldn't have full autonomy with the offense? BTW, Singletary got the HC job based on wins last year - seems to me "smash mouth" football wasn't the offense used to win. Martz was creative with what Hill could do and he mixed up the plays accordingly correct?
Good stuff Matt!!!
Better believe Indy's Def. will know who Alex Smith is.
This is where bellycheat comes in. Don't name a starter and everyone is probable
Lets not forget what Smith had when he first got here.. Hype, No Weapons on offense, No Defense, and No Oline...
Now he has (technically) the same offense as Norv Turner, ALOT of weapons.. Gore, Davis, Crabs, and Morgan.. A better offense of line.. and a Defense to back him up..
Im not saying Smith is the answer.. But this will be a REAL measuring stick for him.. Everybody including Hill knew he wasnt gonna keep the job longer than a year.. But if Smith can get this offense to at least score 17-27 pts a game.. Our defense will be that much better and rested..
Now I am curious.. Brandon Jones was awesome in Training camp with Smith throwing him the ball.. Does he get the nod as 3rd or 4th WR in 3 and 4 Wr sets? I mean Lets face it.. besides that one catch Bruce just doesnt have the much left..
Personally I think it should go.. Jones and Crabs starting.. Why? I think Morgan will be more dangerous and get more opportunities vs LBs and 3rd Sting CBs.. Jones can be the burner on the outside with Crabs doing what he did Sun.. Davis clearing the middle.. Morgan can be super dangerous in the slot..
Thoughts?
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.
I'm Thinking MVP Sports Bar Downtown but let me know if any one know's a better place.
C'mon Matt, don't throw facts into the equations because some of the people here don't want to hear them. They've wanted to throw to throw Smith onto the trash heap since the 21 year old kid couldn't turn a horrible team into a SB contender in his first 2 years. That would have taken 200 David Copperfields to pull off a magic trick like that.
The return of Alex Smith! His last 2 years were filled with injuries and Jim hostler at OC ...not a good combo.Alex has the tools and it showed. His demeanor was calm he was very accurate on longer throws than ive seen shaun throw this year.I think our passing game looked how it was suppose to look in the second half.Give Alex a shot and I believe he will perform well.Now if we could only get that running game going then I think this offense will be something to fear.
Great to see Smith play well. But it shouldn't distract from some discussion about what was going on with the clock management, especially at game's end.
Smith alluded to problems with sideline communication, but what are the details regarding what made them take the delay of game penalties, especially the one that made a manageable 4th and 5 and more difficult 4th and 10 to end the game?
Also, I thought Singletary's decision to go to the half with 3 timeouts and not even force Houston to punt with 6 seconds left (anything could happen) recalled shades of Mariucci in his final game as 49ers coach vs. Tampa in the playoffs. Spineless. I expect more.
Matt, I have to ask you:
what happened at the end. Alex seemed to not be getting the calls in fast enough. was there some communication problem? if the radio in his helmet wasn't working, there is supposed to be someone on the sideline hand signaling in the plays in, right?
I've not heard anyone address this yet.
Also, was it just me? But even though I realize the team was down 21 points, didn't it seem like there was a different style of playcalling with Alex in? as if the OC opened up the playbook because the QB is physically capable of making certain throws?
I am glad you brought up the point about Martz. I was savagly attacked here by the Singletary fan club when I dared to question his firing Martz and hiring Jimmy Raye back in March. I am not one to throw out I told you so and so forth, but Raye has turned out to be exactly who some of us thought he was.
However all that is now water under the bridge. I am a Niner fan, and I want my team to win. If Sing / Raye now realize that the present Niner roster is not suited to run the "smash-mouth" "we will impose our will" type of football, and decide to run an offense more suited to the team's strengths I will be the first to give them kudos.
The big problem nobody is talking about is the O line. If Pashos and Snyder are seriously injured, we will field a line of Sims, Rachal, Heitman, Bass, and Staley. Dwight Freeney and Co will think they have died and gone to heaven on Sunday. Alex Smith will be running for his life the whole game.
I think Raye needs to put in a run and shoot type of offense from the get go. let Alex roll out in a three or four wide-out set. Maybe a no huddle might work. Anthing as long as it is not the standard Raye offense we have seen in every game until the second half last Sunday.
Go Niners.
At least we have a legit QB to go to rather than sticking with someone whose best arsenal is 'not making any mistake'. Smith is NOT Peyton, Drew or even Warner but he can make plays when things break down rather than taking the phantom sack (just kidding) because you hear footsteps. Hill is VERY LIMITED...
Nice Read...
MM - "Nobody has told me that's what he's doing. And I'm not reporting there will be a change at quarterback. I'm only saying that's what I expect to happen"
cmon men - even that annoying guy that comments alot didn't mention this?....like weeks ago.....:)
"Up to this point, the quarterback situation has played out like a lot of people thought it might."
...hmmm ...really?....i thought S.hill was a winner and only an injury will keep him from starting?.....hmmm......apart from the ORG ...who are this "lots of people"?
" GM Scot McCloughan never gave up on Smith. "
.....so did one annonying guy on this blog who kept informing everyone not to give up on him
"The 49ers were a very bad team when Smith arrived fresh out of college"
---really?.....hmm...would be nice if someone brought that up more often than S.Hill wins games....
This is how I see this all panning out...
Smith stays as starter and builds chemistry with the 3 young up and coming Offensive threats... Davis, Crabs and Morgan. With Alex in I expect to see Brandon Jones playing into this mix as well. We HAVE to use the strengths this team has. This will allow the running game to open up as well.
Put Smith in Shotgun out of the gate and mix it up. If we score first for once maybe our D will be fired up and put the smack down on the opposing Offense.
We have all the pieces minus O-Line... we MUST draft 2 of the best coming out next year.
I've been rooting for Hill but I think this is Smith's team now. He showed yesterday that he can get the ball downfield.
Smith to Crabtree babay!!!
Oneniner ....I agree!
It's definitely make or break time for Smith. This is probably the best case scenario for his success. Unfortunately, he has Raye for an OC and a sieve for an offensive line. I hope the kid does well but from everything I've seen from him my expectations are rather low.
Matt, can you ask Sing if there will be any other changes? Isaac Bruce is really struggling. Chilo Rachal is simply awful at this point. He shouldn't be on the field until his effort improves and he learns his assignments.
i hope Smith keeps it up but to be realistic Smith's throws were a little bit off (some high throws that were on target but high) and he had a costly mistake with the delay of game on 4th and 5....all in all very good performance and hopefully this sparks our lame offense
Perhaps keeping all those WRs was in anticipation of Smith's eventual take over.
"Up to this point, the quarterback situation has played out like a lot of people thought it might."
apart from the obvious McGm, york and ORG who made it clear they supported A.Smith (which thks to you - you did report)
I am curious about this "lots of people"
The reporters that cover the niners?
ESPN?
NFL network?
Fox Sports?...maybe Fox news covered it?
The fans that booed him during his FIRST DAY OF PRACTICE?
The fans that comment on the blog?
Or is it those that just read the blog?
Fans of other teams?
Maybe fans of soccer?
Fans of Alex Smith the tight end?....
fans of utah football?
Old niner fans?
Coach Nolan?
who were this people?
I am curious to know who this "lots of people" are.....
Were they in space?...or were they on the moon?....cuz u know i can't log into the server on the moon
How come i never heard about this people?...dammit....i need to get direct tv
If i knew there were this lots of people - we could have had a protest like the tea baggers.....
..dammit there goes my billboard.....
Why does Bruce keep getting the Veteran preference, while with every other player it's "who gives us the best chance to win" bruce cant get open and is not as good as Morgon, or Crabtree, lets Activate Jones, and let Bruce come around for practice and TEACH some veteran leadership.
"We have all the pieces minus O-Line... we MUST draft 2 of the best coming out next year."
WOW.....really?
what happened to drafting a QB?...lol
...i see alot of egg faces....faces with egg splashed on it.....ha ha ha
Rick, I wasn't really a Martz fan - because to me he came across very arrogant and didn't really look at Hill and Alex last year - did you see the Mike Shuman interview? The real point I was trying to make is that the wins last year that got Singletary his HC job were not won with the philosophy on offense he is trying to win with this year. In terms of Raye, he is really just doing what Singletary (or Hills limitations) is asking him to do. Singletary has proved to make changes - just wish he took on an attack mindset with the offense like he does with the defense. Maybe he will now?!! Believe me, the O-line will look better with the added number of plays Alex adds to the offense. Doesn't mean he won't get sacked but the opponents can't stack the box and play a short field on defense any longer with Alex in there.
Whoever is at QB, the fact will remain that this is not a good offense and will not be this year. They may be better at times with Smith (I hope so) but there will also be times where they are atrocious. Who starts will have little difference on the results I am afraid. Though a Smith hopeful, I would be content with Hill starting a few more games and Smith be the relief man.
I love it! I to was wondering about why a so called "running team" would keep 7 ( I believe) WR on the roster.
Talking about WR. I to would like to know about Brandon Jones. One of the top paid WR on the roster and still a no show so far????
Virus - The TV announcers were complete idiots and didn't recognize what Alex was doing, just like it took them 5 minutes to realize he had replaced Hill. As discussed on the radio during the live broadcast, Alex wasn't getting the plays in from the sidelines (Funny how that always happens to road teams during 2 minute drills - I have no doubt teams employ radio jamming devices to mess with the road team - Dirty little NFL secret). Alex had to take those delays to avoid burning Timeouts. It was smart QB play even though it cost us 5 yards.
I think one of the biggest problems this team has is they are spending too much time reading what their OC is saying in print, "we are not a come from behind team". They played 2 completely different halves yesterday. I give Alex his due I think he did a really good job. But once the Texans got up on them early by 14 the whole team seemed to believe what everyone was saying and they were playing a "we can't' game not a "we can".
Down 21 zip I'm sure sing had some choice words at half time and in comes Alex and he takes them right down the field for 7 to Vernon. You could almost see the 9er players saying to each other gee maybe we "can" and just like that the defense stiffens, the O line suddenly starts punching people in the mouth and Alex takes them down for another score.
Sing should fire anyone on his staff that says this team "is not a come from behind team" (yes, I'm talking to you Ray) whether they are or they aren't stop telling them that!!!! what does it do to the fight in a team when they get down early by 14 and the OC is going around telling everyone they can't come from behind?
Because I tell yeah Mr. OC if your offense can't come from behind... you might as well save the air fare next week.
H-67, I agree completely that this is Singletary's team, top to bottom. It is his O philospohy. He owns it. One mark of a great coach is how he adapts...we shall see.
I said you deserved credit... but don't be a tool about it.
Smith played 1 good half. and he's got more physical gifts. nobody ever doubt that... But a 3 interception day against Indy and all the good will built up will quickly vanish.
I won't make any judgments on Smith till I've seen him over a 3-4 game span.
MM,
I need a job. Anyway you could get me a job editing your blog site? I am a huge 9er fan and would love to work from home as I have a newborn baby girl. Any thoughts?
Ok offense did not play well at all in the first half, but am i the only fan that was furstrated with the defense and the special teams? Defense played passive and with out emotion and they gave up several huge plays. Speical team was not special and our return game was non existant on punts! Matt, can you please ask coach about the defense and why they appeared not prepared for Houston? this is the second game that our defense is not playing with confidence and look out of position to make plays.
Now that AZ won against the Giants and took the lead in teh division we can not afford to loose any more games. Please football gods, give us the indy game next week!
The good thing about Smith is that if he proves he's capable this season, he's obviously very signable as far as an extension is concerned-the guy didn't take a pay cut for no reason...
I'm not ready to crown him anything but he looked better on sunday than i can ever remember seeing him-I really hope this move works out.....
There are some aspects of the big picture that may finally getting to Singletary -- after all he has had limited coaching experience and to some extent he's learning on the job.
1. In today's NFL you cannot have the combination of a punishing running game and a philosophy of running-to-set-up-the-pass relatively immobile QB without having a top-five O Line. The defenses are getting god at shutting of the run. The offenses which are winning and running successfully have superior pass offenses (e.g, Cincinnati).
2. The O line is not going to improve in a hurry, even next year. It's way to thin. Sing will have to adjust his philosophy to fit the personnel. I think he's already doing some of that. No more of "we will impose our will" but more of "we will have to get the ball into the hands of the playmakers". The playbook has to be altered to hide the inadequacy of the Oline.
3. While the Niners do not have the luxury of shifting to a WCO in the season, they can adopt a more open offense like that of New England. Teams took about half-a-dozen games to figure out that stopping the Niners offense with Hill was as easy as stopping the run (not that difficult with considering the Niners guards) and taking out the short passing routes. Next week, Indy will have studied Smith and will probably have multiple blitz packages ready to rattle him.
4. Raye (and his staff) are not doing his (their) homework adequately. There is not excuse for coming out flat on the offense after a bye week. Against Atlanta they did not study enough tape to spot the occasional blitz packages that the Falcons have used effectively this season (although Hill and Smith remarked that they had seen the tape on their own). I don't think Chris Foerester is doing a sufficiently good job with the O line, especially Rachal.
We have used up all our margin of error for making it to the playoffs. The defense has to be able to play smart stop Manning on third downs if we are going to have any chance next week.
Really doesn't matter "who called it" or "who thought this or that" - I want to see a team improve week after week. Niners have a philosophy on defense that is working *if* they aren't on the field two thirds of the game. They haven't proved the current philosophy of offense will work. Time to make changes and we'll see how they progress over the next several weeks...
"Smith played 1 good half. and he's got more physical gifts. nobody ever doubt that... But a 3 interception day against Indy and all the good will built up will quickly vanish. "
I disagree.....I don't care if he throws 10 picks.....he still has a huge upside compared to S.Hill
that is a fact...nobody can deny...he his also the best QB on the roster - hands down
It isn't like this is first time he his playing.....A.Smith is no rookie, he has had success in this league
None of you should be suprised he played this well....didn't we think he was going to be this good after the season where he took a 4-12 team to 7-9....if not for rookie OC hosteler
..this is just a reminder to the forgetful ones that with time and talent this A.Smith guy can play just as well as P.manning.....no doubt in my mind....
Its not make or break time for Alex Smith. Its build the offense to the strengths of the personnel. What that means is the vertical paasing game has to include short, middle and deep threats of passing plays. With Hill it was run or dink and dunk. How easy is it if your a defensive coordinator to prepare for runs and short passes of 5-15 yards.
This goes back to bad coaching and I have to hold SING responsible. Smash mouth football in conjunction to the attempt or illusion of deep passes once in awhile results in it working. Running and dinks and dunks gets you by as we have seen for the first 6 weeks, now you have to spread the defense and keep them honest. I mean cmon! thats football 101 and it amazes me why these professional coaches just dont get that.
I am looking for people Oregon49er! Ask Matt Via an email if you are interested.
Like I said before. Wipe your chines! Until A.Smith rips off 4 wins in row or doesn't cost us any games all of this is MUTE! But is sure makes for great banter don't it! This is why we love the NFL. We need our QB to LEAD US to the Playoffs. Not the Defense not the Running Game but our QB. And like I have always said about A.Smith. You give this kid time to develop, he will be throwing BB's through a garden hose from 50 yards
Nice insight, Matt. You nailed it.
I'm with oneniner, blows my mind how many closet Alex Smith fans we have this morning.
".. quarterback situation has played out like a lot of people thought it might.."
Revisionist claptrap.
"Now, finally, we might get a chance to see Smith and form rational opinions about his ability"
So my view, based on watching Smith perform in many games, that he was a below average NFL QB was irrational?
I'm not alone in that opinion. The rest of the NFL believes the same.
Smith had everything in his favor yesterday and he played great. Next week, we'll see. I hope he does really, really well but I wouldn't bet a dime on it.
However I would bet that when we look back on this game in 5 years time, we'll remember one and only one thing. The emergence of Michael Crabtree.
I am not a big Martz fan either. I am a believer in the WCO, and Martz came from the Coryel / Gibbs style of offense.
All I am saying is that with the team we had at the end of last year, Martz would have been a much better OC than Jimmy Raye. Singletary showed a lack of judgement when he made the switch. As for Raye, his offenses had always averaged around 18 point per game. It looks like more of the same this year.
BTW: Can you show me any evidence that Singletary has an attack mindset when it comes to Defense. To me, the D looks pretty much like the same vanilla, "bend but don't break" style that Nolan preferred. There is no pass rush, the CB's always seem to lineup 10+ yards off the receivers, and the safetys seem very timid when it comes to making hard hits. I could be wrong but maybe Singletary's playing style (all that linebacker eyes stuff that Madden used to talk about) has created a personna which is not real when it comes to his coaching style.
"And like I have always said about A.Smith. You give this kid time to develop, he will be throwing BB's through a garden hose from 50 yards"
LIAR - no you didn't
you said he was BUST.....You strongly stated your point that A.Smith was one of the worst picks niners ever made...
now yu need 3 or 4 more games...from A.smith who took your beloved 4-12 team to a 7-9 record and showed up during a game after not playing 1 1/2 seasons
If those 2 past yrs didn't show you enough to "think"...why should we expect the next 3 games will show u anything
clean that mess off your face....you got sum crow stuck on your mustache...
Matt,
The 49ers have played poorly in the first half of the last 2 games. The 9ers allowed the Falcons 35 points to set a franchise record for scoring in the first half. Then the 9ers only gained 50 yards of total offense against the Texans which set a franchise record for least yardage given up in a half.
Obviously, personnel changes need to be made but what about the coaching. Not all of this misery is due to one or two guys not performing. The game plan must be partly to blame. What is Sing doing to address the teams lackluster starts from the coaching perspective?
I am with you 100%....but i will bet on niners upsetting the colts nezxt week....
i feel it...i really do....because of one player = crabtree - something about him woke A.smith up...
let see your thought on this...its just something that popped into my mind...
Do you think without Rice - Steve Young would be in the hall of fame?
John,
How do I ask Matt via e-mail? I don't know his e-mail address. Could I give you my e-mail address?
I am not a big Martz fan either. I am a believer in the WCO, and Martz came from the Coryel / Gibbs style of offense.
All I am saying is that with the team we had at the end of last year, Martz would have been a much better OC than Jimmy Raye. Singletary showed a lack of judgement when he made the switch. As for Raye, his offenses had always averaged around 18 point per game. It looks like more of the same this year.
BTW: Can you show me any evidence that Singletary has an attack mindset when it comes to Defense. To me, the D looks pretty much like the same vanilla, "bend but don't break" style that Nolan preferred. There is no pass rush, the CB's always seem to lineup 10+ yards off the receivers, and the safetys seem very timid when it comes to making hard hits. I could be wrong but maybe Singletary's playing style (all that linebacker eyes stuff that Madden used to talk about) has created a personna which is not real when it comes to his coaching style.
watching and listening the press conference. smith is the starter.
John, how do I e-mail Matt? Could I give you my e-mail address here?
Matt, please let me know if you could help.
watching and listening the press conference. smith is the starter.
Crabtree vs DHB
Round 1: no contest. Al Davis should retire, or draft in front of the niners again next year.
Crabtree: The dude's got frog hands. You have that confidence that he will catch every pass his way. Every catch.... with this confidence, the QB will play much better going forward.
Crabtree: Porsche, speed and agility
DHB: Camaro, lots of speed but no substance
Per 49ers press conference, it's official, re-enter A.Smith as the starting QB for the San Francisco 49ers.
I feel bad for S.Hill, unfortunately his opportunity could not be made the best of. I was really pulling for him.
However, I want to see wins. If A.Smith gives them the best chances for that then I'm down for the cause. I would never root for a 49er to fail.
Oh yeah, Crabtree's a beast.
Of course, the 9er coaches need to adjust to take advantage of their strengths. With Smith, they should go to more of a 3 receiver set. That unbalanced line they run is really really bad. However, if Smith plays poorly can you really see him ever being the 9er starter? This is his shot. Thus, it's make or break time for Alex.
Realfan, I couldn't agree more on the Crabtree and Smith thoughts. BUT, Matt did call this exact scenario before the season so it's hardly revisionist.
"What is Sing doing to address the teams lackluster starts from the coaching perspective?"
- HE CHANGED THE QB, WHICH IN TURN CHANGED THE PLAYBOOK - THAT IS CHANGE REAL FANS CAN BELIEVE IN...
watching and listening the press conference. smith is the starter.
I'm not the biggest Alex Smith fan but I'd be pretty excited to see him do well and come out of the bust-category. It would be great not to have to spend another draft pick so soon after picking him on another QB. Hopefully with him in Raye will stop calling so many of those lame run up the middle plays that go no where and start using the weapons we do have-- our many many receivers. And I'm with the everyone else on here re: Jones. What a ridiculous waste of money to have him sitting out. Let's get him in there and see what he can do.
The Alex Smith era begins, again.......
ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
....♪♪♪♪♪♪...It's been a long time coming
But I know a change is gonna come, oh yes it HAS....♪♪♪♪♪♪........
Feels really good the toture is over....THANK GOD.....finally, we can get back on track on building the RIGHT chemistry...with the RIGHT TEAM
Singletary is the real deal - he's making the correct changes based on what he is looking at on film. Makes you wonder if Crabtree was in training camp during pre-season if Smith would have been named the starter from the get go. The way it is working out is probably better though.
look at the guy with no inch of credibility...
Now he says .."With Smith, they should go to more of a 3 receiver set. That unbalanced line they run is really really bad."
No - they shouldn't - They should have listened to you when you called him a bust.....maybe they should have traded him or even cut him.....cuz he was the worst QB ever
Now Houston 9er has ideas on how to use A.Smith.....lol..plz shhh.....we don't need anymore of your useless thoughts....
I am OK with the decision to start Smith, but don't call me a Smith fan this morning...or a Hill either.
I'm all about the 49ers and am very skeptical that we have anything approaching a Manning, let alone some of the Hall of Fame quarterbacks we've had in the last 20 years.
Singletary said no one wanted to see the "same old Alex," which was a low level of competence. I'm one of those people. If he's truly matured and is great as his fans here say, wonderful. If he hasn't, let's get someone better.
I'm going to be much more supportive of Smith than the Hill bashers were about Hill. I want to see Alex do well - for his sake, yes, but more importantly for the team.
Alex Smith is our future. We have the receivers, we have the running back, excellent kicker & punter, we have good depth on skill positions. What we don't have is anybody dominant on the O Line. They are average at best. On defense we still need that pass rusher to emerge.
We are getting closer, but that O line is a real liability at this time.
I am Bay Area born and bred and a longtime Niner fan. I am also a first time user of this forum that is SO FRUSTRATED with Niner management for choosing Jimmy Raye and his offensive style that I just needed to vent.
Apparently Niner owners, coaches and management are satisfied with their decision to employ Jimmy Ray and his offensive philosophy, play calling and performance 6 games into the season.
As Matt pointed out back in January "in eight years as an OC Raye's teams never made the playoffs, and only once did he have a team finish above .500."
Regardless of whether on not the Niners have the right personnel (and quarterback) on the field it appears that Jimmy Raye's 2009 record will be par for the course.
Apparently Jimmy Raye is the best the Niner organization can do on the offensive side of the ball. Pathetic.
Great to see the FUNDAMENTAL change on offense. this is very encouraging, because it shows that the Coaches are finally seeing what the fans/amateurs have been seeing since the Ram's game. For the first couple of games, there was not enough film for the opposing defense to go on. The niners do not have a good line for run or blitz pick up.
With the spread offense, or a version of it, the offense really opened up. it is simple math, right? 3 wideouts, TE, and tailback coming out or stay in to protect, leaves 6/7 in the box to rush and run defense.
I HOPE the coaches see that this is the way to go the remainder of the season, or else, i don't care if Alex Smith can run like rabbit, he will be killed if they try to run the same old Run up the middle and get 2 yards offense.
I am Bay Area born and bred and a longtime Niner fan. I am also a first time user of this forum that is SO FRUSTRATED with Niner management for choosing Jimmy Raye and his offensive style that I just needed to vent.
Apparently Niner owners, coaches and management are satisfied with their decision to employ Jimmy Ray and his offensive philosophy, play calling and performance 6 games into the season.
As Matt pointed out back in January "in eight years as an OC Raye's teams never made the playoffs, and only once did he have a team finish above .500."
Regardless of whether on not the Niners have the right personnel (and quarterback) on the field it appears that Jimmy Raye's 2009 record will be par for the course.
Apparently Jimmy Raye is the best the Niner organization can do on the offensive side of the ball. Pathetic.
I am Bay Area born and bred and a longtime Niner fan. I am also a first time user of this forum that is SO FRUSTRATED with Niner management for choosing Jimmy Raye and his offensive style that I just needed to vent.
Apparently Niner owners, coaches and management are satisfied with their decision to employ Jimmy Ray and his offensive philosophy, play calling and performance 6 games into the season.
As Matt pointed out back in January "in eight years as an OC Raye's teams never made the playoffs, and only once did he have a team finish above .500."
Regardless of whether on not the Niners have the right personnel (and quarterback) on the field it appears that Jimmy Raye's 2009 record will be par for the course.
Apparently Jimmy Raye is the best the Niner organization can do on the offensive side of the ball. Pathetic.
This is great news!!!
It is like we are starting the season over. I think in the long run A. Smith sitting for the last 2 yrs. will do wonders for him. Most QBs SHOULD sit for 2-3 yrs. when they come outa college. I think Alex is smarter, stronger and more prepared now than when he 1st started with the 9ers.
Doesn't that sound great....
Alex Smith, starting quarterback for your
San Francisco 49ers!!!
Glad we are not the raiders. Looks like they may bench their QB too, but they don't have anyone else.
Parrothead, where did you see you were born and bred?
(Kidding, kidding...)
I guess I should say that we should give Alex and Jimmy some time.
I'm tired of changing offensive coordinators.
Let's go, Alex. Let's go, Raye.
And most importantly - let's go, 49ers!
so any "creative" coach will try to mask/hide the deficiencies. on offense, it would be quick passes down the field, sweeps, quick out patterns.
on defense, it would be to trick the opposing offense to run the ball. unfortunately, the secondary is average in pass coverage. Matt Ryan & Schaub had a field day. If they don't play better in the secondary in the Colts game, it does not matter who the QB is for the niners.
You know what was fun? Watching a 49ers QB throw a spiral!!!
Shutup with all your "I told you so" attitude...
Most people on here including myself never ripped Smith the way you ripped Hill. Most people were Anti-Smith because of your dumba$$. Go back and find my posts...
I have always said... If Hill starts and does a great job it's a feel good story of a jouneyman QB who when finally given the chance goes out and exceeds all expectations. If Smith gets the start and does well it'll be the NFL Comeback Story of AllTime.
I'm very optimistic for Smith and agree to just let him go out there and let em fly...Hopefully... Crabtree is going to be Smith's BFF for years to come!!!
It did Aaron Rodgers a lot of good to sit his first couple years behind Favre. He's become one of the best QBs in the league. We can only hope that the same thing will happen to Alex.
This offensive line needs a lot of help, though. The last thing I want to see is Alex start getting killed again because Rachal and Sims can't block anything. Smith is developing and needs time to throw.
Totally agree. I normally can't see the entire defensive alignment on TV so it was interesting to see it live. The 9ers use a 2 WR set and in some cases VD or Walker are split wide. In those formations, the defense had a single guy in coverage and he wasn't even head up. Both defenders were 10 yards off the ball and cheating to the middle of the field. In every case, the play was an inside run between the tackles. It was amazing. The defense absolutely knew the play call by the alignment. The scheme employed by Raye is simply not NFL caliber. I have noticed they aren't calling that play where Morgan goes in motion and blocks the DE. It's like Raye is pulling out his old high school play book and seeing what works. I can not imagine Raye being a long term answer at OC.
Let me guess Houston, you suggest we change OCs mid-season? Doesn't matter if we do it now or at the end of the season. Either way makes no sense. We need to stop changing OCs like we change our shorts (well, most of us change our shorts). I am not saying Raye is hands down the best OC we could have gotten, but we need to ride it out and gain some continuity between OC, QB and WRs. The same philosophy will work with the O-line as well. Keep changing and we are chasing our tails. Raye will learn, just like Smith has.
Houston,
please do not post anymore. Your ignorance is shinging thru your comments.
You are also giving us out-of-state 9er fans a bad name. Do us all a favor and shhhhhh....
OK smith has been identified as starting QB in the Indy game. He will be going up against a battle tested SB undefeated team so he has a lot of pressure on him. Welcome back Alex. now get to work, HA. this game could be like watching pittsburgh vs minnesota yesterday. I see a lot of the same kinds of tendencies that could be played out in indy vs niners. except gore is not peterson so the game will not be as close. farve looked bad at times. would we as fans be semi-OK with the same score 27-17 if the niners play through the whole game?....i think there will be many things that could lend itself to losing this game which maynot be pinned on the QB play like in-game decisions by coaches adn we have seen a few miscues already this season....special teams not being special, although they can be solid at times except for acts of god (sun - OK stoled that from x-mayor) like battles' goof yesterday. The defense has been suspect but i have seen good plays from them....and Roman did loosen up slaton so goldson could strip the ball.
yesterday i didn't really want smith to come in and didn't expect it and said as much....my reasoning was because of the next game vs Indy.....but he did and he did well for basically the same reasons hill did well last year to bring the season to a close...you know, playing teams that basically was just playing the string out....OK not exactly right but the premise is approx considering the texans basically covered their 2nd half embarrassment by saying they didn't know who smith was.
Yet now smith has come in, as i have always wanted, gained a measure of confidence I suppose, but he realizes the dogs or more accurately red dogs where not bearing down on him like they were on hill.
Playing Indy could be catastrophic to the team's psyche. Sing wanted a game manager and he still might keep to that philosophy for yet another game. That is why he needs to review the film. He needs to reassess his strategy going forward and he needs to review the tactical attributes available to him. He needs to have a heart to heart with raye also in balancing game managing and playing offense i think the way raye wants and not the way singletary wants. I think singletary was holding raye back making him look like hostler...and if memory serves me smith was 2-1 to begin that season and put the team on his back to beat Ariz down the stretch in the game.
The phrase i was most looking for in my scribblings on this blog Matt came up with, '...form rational opinions about his [smith] ability....' This rings totally with me. I am sure Smith will still exhibit detracting attributes that will still cause fans to demean him....but i am of the belief that this is probably how it always should have been for smith....take the time and let the kid just out of his teens to get used to NFL moxy. Wonder how many fans would have any success at age 20 with a div II team in the NFL. Then it was interesting to me as the months went by how smith handled the nolan debacle, the death of his best friend, the marriage to his sweetheart with hill at his side, and those surgeries. He was growing up.
I too back when smith was drafted did not like the pick (but also knew that quality of that draft was not high caliber and maybe it was only TB that made an offer to take the #1 pick that was apparently measly...what was it TB's 1st and 5th round...maybe it would have been the best option financially speaking...but that has been sort of rectified with the redoing of the contract) and said as much on 9r paradise how i felt about smith when on a rainy night driving staying at an ETAP hotel in Austria i saw him on the jay leno show (or maybe it was letterman i forget) and he acted like a teenager. I knew he did not have NFL quality leadership at that moment.
I didn't bad mouth smith during his baptism because it was clearly apparent the team was in total shambles and nolan was trying gallantly to make things right by bringing in the often injured LT (jonas) to help his rookie QB. Then the davis pick came and once again i voiced my opposition basically because IMO the team should not have put #6 money on a TE who only touches the ball 3-4 times at most in a good game so many other holes existed. It wasn't that i wasn't excited about davis i just thought the financial side was exorbitant. And i am not sold the niners will be able to keep davis for his superb blocking and now his burgeoning pressure on the defenses game planning. He will want big money....maybe he might be franchised for a year.
I think it might take keeping a coach like singletary to keep davis. but i digress...
did i bad mouth hill....i suppose i did because it was frustrating to read how great hill was to so many just because the team won basically meaningless games with him at QB when he was not actually the reason the team was winning. Hill did have his marginal contributions but it was pretty apparent hill was being squeezed and marginalized by scheming defenses. It was always my opinion (yes opinion) that last years wins by hill could have easily been accomplished with smith at QB, and to read the pretty much unwarranted exuberance for hill was just silliness. And i didn't comment much through the first 3 or 4 games this year except to say WOW because damn the niner were winning and swept the division the first time around. I can forgive this over the top love because the niner fans were just looking for a little sweet juice to bring a smile to there game faces. Let me say i appreciate hills giving smith a chance to catch his NFL breath....Now it is time for smith to deliver and he must deliver.
But....
Smith has to be given time to develop....and one also has to realize the OL is porous but smith has legitimate weapons, although, these also have to be developed as well. Keep in mind SB QB Eli threw a high pass to lose to ARIZ last night. on a bright side, Morgan will be happy not
to be catching punts...and although we, including me, are requesting bruce to be phased out quickly for jones/hill let it be noted that he is a great route runner and smith did find bruce. So how ready is the studious smith? Is he in complete understanding of the pass routes and timing. What will take time to develop will be his reading of defenses and that just takes time. Hopefully, smith has reduced his tendency to stare down receivers and has his footwork really improved, quick choppy sets to allow pivoting and does he have a quicker release because the game has slowed down so he sees routes opening up just before they do. And will he develop techniques like looking off the safety or pump faking.
You know that Indy will be sending the kitchen sink to force smith into rushing and making bad decisions which any QB has happened to them. can raye adjust the offense on the fly is also a legitimate question that needs to be answered. And can smith get the plays called fast enough so that when he is under center he has time to audible if he sees something.....peyton should be a good off-handed mentor from across the field on this. Smith needs to demonstrate pocket awareness, but alas that is a chemistry thing that has to be developed.
Good luck to the maturing smith and go niners
sorry for the length...well not really
Raye is over 60 years old. Exactly what do you expect him to learn at this point? I am not advocating firing Raye mid-season. We have to ride out this year and take our lumps. I am saying we have enough evidence now to say hiring Raye was a poor decision by Singletary. I am saying forcing a style on a team that doesn't have the personnel to run that style is poor coaching. I am saying the lack of creativity in this offense is shocking. I am saying it looks like the 9ers will have yet another change at OC this offseason. After 6 games the 9ers have the 29th ranked offense in terms of yards per game. Most of their offensive rankings are 24th or higher. Do you really think Raye is maximizing the offenses potential? If so, more power to you. I happen to disagree.
Wow. Don't post any more because I'm giving "out of state" 9er fans a bad name? Thats actually funny. Just as an fyi... I was born and raised in Santa Rosa.
Exactly what did I write that you classify as ignorant? Jimmy Raye is a bad OC? He's put together one of the 5 worst offenses in the NFL which is a statistical fact.
Was it my opinion that we should hold our horses before anointing Alex Smith as our saviour? I want Alex to succeed but the kid had a good half against very loose coverage when the safety's were either in the box or playing very deep. Let's see him do it a few more times before we say he's finally arrived.
So which part of that is ignorant? Explain.
Thank you Houston. You just proved my point for me.
You said the 9ers are ranked 29th on offense after 6 games. That is my point. They have only played 6 GAMES!!!!
They need to give him and the o-line some time to grow.
Now that they have a capable QB, I will bet the farm they will move up on the rankings as well. IMHO. Thats all.
In 2005 Smith came to the NFL as unprepared to play QB as was possible for a first round draft choice to come into the NFL. His position coach was the exrectable Jim Hostler. So he bombed instead of sitting on the bench like he should have.
In 2006 Smith played as well as you'd expect from your typical rookie who came from a pro-set college offense. People SHOULD have been happy. After all, he played about as well as Eli's second and third years. And, about as well as Palmer's second year (and with much worse WRs than Palmer). But, no, it became "Smith is a bust."
If you pointed these things out you were making "Alexcuses" and were an "Alexsexual."
In 2007, in his three healthy games, Smith put on a great show. Sure, he was held back by 13 drops (including 2 TDs dropped) in his 86 attempts. But if you were HONEST in your analysis, you could see that this incredibly abnormal drop-rate OBVIOUSLY impacted his stats and you could, as we say in the industry, "normalize" them to account for this abnormal drop rate and get to a truer picture.
And it was a good picture. Alex's QB rating, but for Jackson and Battle dropping all those passes, would have been a SOLID 88+ in those three games. Just as efficient as Hill and, because he can throw down-field, it was much more effective than anything Shaun "The King of Cheap Stats" Hill could ever accomplish.
When he came back later in 2007, he was truly horrible. But he was playing with a broken shoulder.
In 2008, his shoulder still wasn't ready and he fell apart, finally having it break in training camp.
So, we come to 2009. Smith is absolutely hated and the whipping boy. That he was CLEARLY growing and developing in 2006 and early 2007 are discounted as if it never happened. Further, he got no grace for the fact that he was coming back from two years off. Hell, Tom Brady struggled early this year after missing most of one year. And while I'm not saying smith is Tom Brady, the point is made.
And, the fact is, I'm not surprised at yesterday. It was where Smith was headed. And I won't be surprised when he has some bad games. He is, for all intensive purposes, a second-year QB. Someone who is going to show growing pains. But it's nice to see him go out there and do what I knew he could do and what other SHOULD have seen, if they wouldn't have let their hate, or the hate of others, color their view.Smith may never be a great QB. But he should be a good QB.
They've had OTA's, Training Camp, 4 preseason games, and now 6 regular season games which is almost 40% of the season. I'd say that's enough time to get your act together. It's absolutely enough time to form an opinion that Jimmy Raye is a poor OC.
I actually think they will improve as well. But what is acceptable improvement. If they move up to the top 15 in offense is that acceptable to you? What is the cutoff in performance for you to say Raye is doing an acceptable job?
Matt...
Do you think that the 49ers will stick with the spread offense. One thing about a sspread offense is that Alex looked like a Peyton Manning.
I think spreading out the Offense is the only way a aging Rb named Gore can salvage his dreadful year. He looks weak this year. No vision, no burst, and unable to stay healthy again. Take away his one good game and he has been less than average. Just like the last three year. One good play and he limps off the field. I want winners...I will say it again. I want winners....
We need a bruising back and let Gore go. His upside is so limited to the begging of the season. I say trade,,Gore, Robison, and get some real football players in here who can get the job done on a weekly basis.
now all we need is to search high & low for jonas jennings & ask him to play right tackle again. lol
I take the bet. Your farm vs my farm.
Seriously, 29th is 29th... and 29th is bad... anytime of the year...
If Houston (I live in Houston also by the way) says that Raye Man has proven that he is not the right OC, all he is saying is that we are in the 29th spot, and that is wrong. Furthermore, he is backing this statement with specific observations and analysis of things done and that are reviewable.
On the other hand you say that he will be great because as me you fill that the ship might turn with A Smith as our QB. But, this is part hope and pure speculation.
What I do know is that Doug Flutie was a pigmy in a football world, and his coordinator (whoever he was) designed plays were he would be able to throw the ball without being blocked by mountainous boulders rushing to you. The fact that Flutie delivered was beside the point, the point is, he DESIGNED plays to work with a shortcoming.
Raye only says "We can't throw, let's run". There is very little DESIGN in his playbook so far... now, if this changes with Smith, that will be awesome! And maybe Raye will do tremendously with a weapon like Smith. But this will also mean that he does not know how to work with shortcomings and that will always worry me.
Cheers
SB
Actually no I don't and I don't think Joe would be in the HOF without Rice either. So you have an excellent point.
I'm not sure how much Walsh contributed to all three of these guys.
I struggle with the fact that all the big name coaches whose names are bandied around today, owe all of their fame to great QB's.
Shanahan did nothing without Elway. Holmgren did very little without Favre, Cowher was ho hum until Rotheslburger came along and Dungy needed Peyton.
Gruden is an exception but he did have the opposing team's playbook for his superbowl.
Maybe the perfect storm has to happen. The right QB, receiver and offensive coach in the same place at the same time.
Hi Matt, Alex is finally in a position where can succeed. He has a tight end who can clear out the middle and open up the whole field. I can't guess how good Crabtree is and Morgan looks solid. Watch for Jones to go sideline deep six. Alex has done more than paid his dues, no coaching, no receivers, a head coach who was never there for him and two years of injuries. Through all this the kid never complained. He has his shot that's all you can ask for.
Oneniner...where is Top_Cat???
Realfan49
"I don't think Joe would be in the HOF without Rice"
Really?
Refresh my memory: what were Jerry's statistical lines for Super Bowl XVI, and XIX?
Some of the comments on here are unbelievable, arent they. Joe wouldn't be in the HOF without Rice??? The 81 & 84 Superbowls alone would have garnered Montana a spot in the HOF and Rice wasn't on either of those teams.
He's not sure how much Walsh contributed to the success of these guys. Walsh only revolutionized offensive football with his perfection of the Sid Gillman system. I'd say he contributed just a bit.
I do agree with his premise though. There are many so-called great coaches who have earned their reputations by riding the coat-tails of a great QB.