Originally posted by ZRF80:
This is exactly what I was afraid of. We got our asses handed to us in the first half. That was the "real" 49ers squad. Inept on the offensive front with a defense trying its best to hang in the game. Alex Smith played atrocious. It was a tell tale of how this season has gone for us, and in the case of Alex Smith.......confirmed our suspicions that he's the same ole bust that he's always been.
But then GB got soft. They let off the aggression. The Niners became desperate (as we do in games where we're blown out by halftime) and started airing it out. All of a sudden, Alex looks like a hero. Attention is diverted away to OFF-FIELD issues (eg playcalling, coaching) instead of the garbage that is being displayed on the field.
Now..............even though we lost this game in the first half.........everyone is touting a MORAL VICTORY. No longer is Alex the bust that he's been since he became starter this season, but rather the unsung hero who brought his team back from extinction. Yeah, Ive seen this movie before.......try San Diego and Philadelphia 2006........where we were blown out by halftime + a piss poor performance by Smith, only to have him pad his stats against loose defenses in the 2nd half. End result = blind supporters flashing the "I love Alex Smith" badge and asking for his jersey to be retired next to Montana's.
And now we come full circle. Again, Alex comes up short in the first half. Niners get put out of the game. GB backs off in the 2nd....Alex gets a chance to open it up a bit (we'll forget the INT that led to GB's TD of course), and now we're shouting for a contract extension. Go Alex ! We know you're capable of "almost" winning it, and we'll ignore that you're one of the main reasons behind the loss to begin with.
Im sick of this s**t. There is no such thing as "moral" victories when you've been rebuilding for 7 years. There's no such thing as "moral" victories when your 1st round daft pick QB gets outshined by one who has a worse oline and supporting cast. And there's no "moral" victory with fans that find every damn excuse in the book to forgive their lame QB, who is ridiculed (watch highlights on NFL Network) by every major media outlet, but think they have a diamond in the rough that needs only a probowl RB, 2 probowl WRs, and 3/5 probowl OLinemen to showcase his REAL skills.
I really do wish that we would have lost, so we could finally start accepting the truth, instead of pretending that Alex will be a star if we use the spread offense. Yeah, like teams wont prepare for that. And then what, when we cant even get a completion with the spread ? Are we finally going to accept Alex as the bust that he is ? Oh no. We'll probably blame Raye or the oline as we always do.
PS - That INT wasnt Alex's fault. It was tipped by the leaf that was blowing in the wind.
+
Alex throws seven passes in the first half and that makes him a bust!? I guess Gore could be declining bescause he only had five carries also, huh!? Im not defending Alex here at all but by the end I probably will. How about assignong the blame to our defense and get off of his back. We all know they cannot get off the field.
He's played one full season since arriving here. Plus we all know the rest of the story. You have a first year HC and everyone wants to win a SB. This team is far from that. The playoffs are a question marked but not out of reach.
We've payed him so much money there is no reason not to see what he can do for the reast of this year and all of next year. Is Raye truly a great OC? No, just a MS puppet. They need someone to step in like the Titans did and say let the kid do what he does best and run with that. No one is truly sure if he is a bust or a starter that has had some bad breaks. We should want to find out though and then complain when he isn't here anymore, if that happens.
I know lets throw Nate Davis in with no O-Line and a limited playbook and see what happens! Or draft a QB and throw him in next year and see if he'll save the franchise! Does that sound familiar?
If Smith doesn't improve and show he is the starter for the next few years then draft a QB in April. Davis hasn't looked bad though so why not groom him for a few years. Or if you do draft a QB let him sit a year and make Alex earn his money that he has been paid?
My point is this teams woes cannot be blamed on a single person. There is far more problems then him. No QB could survive on this team!