Which Smith should start Week 10?

Originally posted by BrianGO:

Originally posted by Joecool:
I think Sing's leadership comments mentioned by the commentating crew tells me he doesn't think too hard in whether he feels compelled to put Alex back in the game.

I think Alex should start but be benched if he plays like his normal self and has 3 quarters worth of droughts.

The thing is, Alex rarely gives a coach a good reason to bench him. Here is why...
If a defender is running at Alex Smith unblocked, Smith will most likely sprint in the opposite direction away from the defender and then throw the ball out of bounds. Was it Alex Smith's "fault"? Not really. Because there was a defender coming unblocked, so how can you blame the quarterback? Naturally, the line is blamed for the play.

The difference is that someone like Troy Smith would not turn around and run, but rather run at and around the incoming defender, who would now have to spend 2-3 seconds turning around, and regaining his momentum. By that time Troy Smith would have the ball out or he would have scrambled for some yards.

Another example...
Alex Smith is pressured, so he throws a hard and high (but catchable) pass at the check down receiver, the ball bounces off the receivers shoulder pads and into the arms of the defender. Was this Alex Smith's "fault"? Again, one can argue that it is the receivers fault because a receiver is "supposed" to make the play. The receiver is "supposed" to make the play, but boy wouldn't it be nice if the quarterback made a better play?

IMO, football is not a game of "mistake avoidance," it is a game of play making. So if you never make a play, but also never mess up a play, you are worse than another player who makes plays but messes up just as many.1) You MUST make mistakes if you want to make plays.
2) You MUST make plays if you want to win in the NFL.
Therefore, mistake avoidance is a formula for losing in the NFL.

Even if Alex Smith had zero interceptions this season, it is still dangerous to think that a mistake free quarterback is the key to victory in the NFL.

Excellent post. I totally agree.

An NFL QB can't play not to lose; he has to stay aggressive and play to win, even it it means a mistake or two along the way.

We've seen enough of Alex Smith to know that he tends to fall into the former category, not the latter. Time to move on, IMHO.

Originally posted by AJ_Larrea954:
If Alex is healthy put him in.

hes still the best qb on the team...troy is a nice novelty, but that luster wont last against a real defense

Originally posted by HessianDud:

Originally posted by DesiDez:
From Peter King MMQB, who gave Troy Smith his offensive player of the week award

Quote:

Troy Smith, QB, San Francisco.

Smith hadn't started an NFL game in 34 months -- since a Dec. 30, 2007 win over the Steelers as a Baltimore Raven. And to find out you'll get the start while in London, five days before the game, when you've never worked with the first-unit offense .... Pretty amazing deal. And Smith played well: 12 of 19, 196 yards, one rushing touchdown, one passing touchdown, no interceptions, and a gaudy 115.2 rating. "I'm not looking back at what should have been or what might have happened,'' Smith told me from London, after the Niners beat the Broncos in the league's international game at Wembley Stadium. "I'm just taking this chance and running with it.''

As I said on NBC Sunday night, you'll almost certainly see Troy Smith replace Alex Smith, regardless of Alex's health, when the 49ers come off their bye in 13 days against the Rams. My take is that Mike Singletary sees Troy as the make-something-happen sparkplug he never saw in Alex -- or in backup David Carr.

Alex's injury is a perfect "reason" to hide the benching, much like the personal reasons we heard earlier in the year for guys like Michael Lewis. Hopefully, Alex will request for his release.

I do think Troy showed enough to get another chance, and the bye is the perfect time for him to get more practice. Hope we see Troy given more command against the Rams to get an idea of how good he is/can be.

I think Niner Talk has been riding his nuts way too much, but I hope he gets another start or two. And I agree, the injury is the perfect excuse to do this; if Troy fails, then a healthy Alex can step back in with no drama.

Its guys like you that make everyone else on the board overstate how they really feel about a player one way or another. The reality is, most of us don't hate Alex, we just think he is mediocre. When it comes to T.Smith he showed some good potential, won the game and gave us a little spark of hope. The fan in me wants him to be the future, but the truth is I have no idea if he is the real deal. Only more playing time will tell. But guys like you are so blind to the flaws of Alex and the good of other QBs, we are always in a position of bashing or defending a player. I for one am tired of arguing the great Smith debate. Believe what you will, you will anyway.

P.S. This is only the second win out of eight games. Excuse me if I do kind of feel like it's the Superbowl..

I would start another thread, but it would get locked. I am curious why 22% still want Alex. I would like them to explain their reasoning. We had so many people wanting Nate Davis in after a couple mediocre preseason performances, now Troy Smith gets a high QB rating and you want Alex back? I thought women didn't make any sense sometimes, but you guys take the cake.

Facts that people need to know when discussing Alex Smith as a starting QB in the NFL:

- Career 17-30 record as a starting QB
- Career QB rating of 70.2
- By comparison, Smith has slightly better career numbers than Rex Grossman (69.6)
- But he hasn't even been able to outplay such names as:

--------Jeff George (80.2)
--------Elvis Grbac (79.6)
--------Scott Mitchell (75.3)
--------Tim Couch (75.1)
--------Tony Banks (72.4)


Really...what else do you need to know to answer this question?

But, but, but, but, but, but (insert Alexcuse)......

Originally posted by BobS:
I would start another thread, but it would get locked. I am curious why 22% still want Alex. I would like them to explain their reasoning. We had so many people wanting Nate Davis in after a couple mediocre preseason performances, now Troy Smith gets a high QB rating and you want Alex back? I thought women didn't make any sense sometimes, but you guys take the cake.

Its called love......

Originally posted by Oakland-Niner:

Originally posted by HessianDud:

Originally posted by DesiDez:
From Peter King MMQB, who gave Troy Smith his offensive player of the week award

Quote:

Troy Smith, QB, San Francisco.

Smith hadn't started an NFL game in 34 months -- since a Dec. 30, 2007 win over the Steelers as a Baltimore Raven. And to find out you'll get the start while in London, five days before the game, when you've never worked with the first-unit offense .... Pretty amazing deal. And Smith played well: 12 of 19, 196 yards, one rushing touchdown, one passing touchdown, no interceptions, and a gaudy 115.2 rating. "I'm not looking back at what should have been or what might have happened,'' Smith told me from London, after the Niners beat the Broncos in the league's international game at Wembley Stadium. "I'm just taking this chance and running with it.''

As I said on NBC Sunday night, you'll almost certainly see Troy Smith replace Alex Smith, regardless of Alex's health, when the 49ers come off their bye in 13 days against the Rams. My take is that Mike Singletary sees Troy as the make-something-happen sparkplug he never saw in Alex -- or in backup David Carr.

Alex's injury is a perfect "reason" to hide the benching, much like the personal reasons we heard earlier in the year for guys like Michael Lewis. Hopefully, Alex will request for his release.

I do think Troy showed enough to get another chance, and the bye is the perfect time for him to get more practice. Hope we see Troy given more command against the Rams to get an idea of how good he is/can be.

I think Niner Talk has been riding his nuts way too much, but I hope he gets another start or two. And I agree, the injury is the perfect excuse to do this; if Troy fails, then a healthy Alex can step back in with no drama.

Its guys like you that make everyone else on the board overstate how they really feel about a player one way or another. The reality is, most of us don't hate Alex, we just think he is mediocre. When it comes to T.Smith he showed some good potential, won the game and gave us a little spark of hope. The fan in me wants him to be the future, but the truth is I have no idea if he is the real deal. Only more playing time will tell. But guys like you are so blind to the flaws of Alex and the good of other QBs, we are always in a position of bashing or defending a player. I for one am tired of arguing the great Smith debate. Believe what you will, you will anyway.

P.S. This is only the second win out of eight games. Excuse me if I do kind of feel like it's the Superbowl..

i have no idea what you're talking about.

Originally posted by HessianDud:

Originally posted by Oakland-Niner:

Originally posted by HessianDud:

Originally posted by DesiDez:
From Peter King MMQB, who gave Troy Smith his offensive player of the week award

Quote:

Troy Smith, QB, San Francisco.

Smith hadn't started an NFL game in 34 months -- since a Dec. 30, 2007 win over the Steelers as a Baltimore Raven. And to find out you'll get the start while in London, five days before the game, when you've never worked with the first-unit offense .... Pretty amazing deal. And Smith played well: 12 of 19, 196 yards, one rushing touchdown, one passing touchdown, no interceptions, and a gaudy 115.2 rating. "I'm not looking back at what should have been or what might have happened,'' Smith told me from London, after the Niners beat the Broncos in the league's international game at Wembley Stadium. "I'm just taking this chance and running with it.''

As I said on NBC Sunday night, you'll almost certainly see Troy Smith replace Alex Smith, regardless of Alex's health, when the 49ers come off their bye in 13 days against the Rams. My take is that Mike Singletary sees Troy as the make-something-happen sparkplug he never saw in Alex -- or in backup David Carr.

Alex's injury is a perfect "reason" to hide the benching, much like the personal reasons we heard earlier in the year for guys like Michael Lewis. Hopefully, Alex will request for his release.

I do think Troy showed enough to get another chance, and the bye is the perfect time for him to get more practice. Hope we see Troy given more command against the Rams to get an idea of how good he is/can be.

I think Niner Talk has been riding his nuts way too much, but I hope he gets another start or two. And I agree, the injury is the perfect excuse to do this; if Troy fails, then a healthy Alex can step back in with no drama.

Its guys like you that make everyone else on the board overstate how they really feel about a player one way or another. The reality is, most of us don't hate Alex, we just think he is mediocre. When it comes to T.Smith he showed some good potential, won the game and gave us a little spark of hope. The fan in me wants him to be the future, but the truth is I have no idea if he is the real deal. Only more playing time will tell. But guys like you are so blind to the flaws of Alex and the good of other QBs, we are always in a position of bashing or defending a player. I for one am tired of arguing the great Smith debate. Believe what you will, you will anyway.

P.S. This is only the second win out of eight games. Excuse me if I do kind of feel like it's the Superbowl..

i have no idea what you're talking about.

I think he might have quoted you incorrectly, ive read what you wrote and what he wrote a couple of times and that is the explanation i came up with

Originally posted by Norcal9erfan:

Originally posted by GhostofFredDean74:

Originally posted by Norcal9erfan:

Originally posted by HessianDud:

Originally posted by DesiDez:
From Peter King MMQB, who gave Troy Smith his offensive player of the week award

Quote:

Troy Smith, QB, San Francisco.

Smith hadn't started an NFL game in 34 months -- since a Dec. 30, 2007 win over the Steelers as a Baltimore Raven. And to find out you'll get the start while in London, five days before the game, when you've never worked with the first-unit offense .... Pretty amazing deal. And Smith played well: 12 of 19, 196 yards, one rushing touchdown, one passing touchdown, no interceptions, and a gaudy 115.2 rating. "I'm not looking back at what should have been or what might have happened,'' Smith told me from London, after the Niners beat the Broncos in the league's international game at Wembley Stadium. "I'm just taking this chance and running with it.''

As I said on NBC Sunday night, you'll almost certainly see Troy Smith replace Alex Smith, regardless of Alex's health, when the 49ers come off their bye in 13 days against the Rams. My take is that Mike Singletary sees Troy as the make-something-happen sparkplug he never saw in Alex -- or in backup David Carr.

Alex's injury is a perfect "reason" to hide the benching, much like the personal reasons we heard earlier in the year for guys like Michael Lewis. Hopefully, Alex will request for his release.

I do think Troy showed enough to get another chance, and the bye is the perfect time for him to get more practice. Hope we see Troy given more command against the Rams to get an idea of how good he is/can be.

I think Niner Talk has been riding his nuts way too much, but I hope he gets another start or two. And I agree, the injury is the perfect excuse to do this; if Troy fails, then a healthy Alex can step back in with no drama.

Did you not read that

Quote:
Smith hadn't started an NFL game in 34 months -- since a Dec. 30, 2007 win over the Steelers as a Baltimore Raven. And to find out you'll get the start while in London, five days before the game, when you've never worked with the first-unit offense

??

Oh, and he did get us the Win. Nothing else matters and that's more than enough for me.

ok. this is kind of exactly what i'm talking about with the nut riding.

I'm excited to get the win, too, and i'm very excited about what I saw from Troy. But I'm not going to completely s**t my pants over what may be a mirage. Remember JTO in Seattle? That was just as impressive a performance as Troy's. That's all I'm saying. Kid earned another start, for sure, and with him getting the bye week to prepare for the next game, we will know a lot more about him next time around. Until then I'll stick with my cautious optimism.

Originally posted by valrod33:

Originally posted by HessianDud:

Originally posted by Oakland-Niner:

Originally posted by HessianDud:

Originally posted by DesiDez:
From Peter King MMQB, who gave Troy Smith his offensive player of the week award

Quote:

Troy Smith, QB, San Francisco.

Smith hadn't started an NFL game in 34 months -- since a Dec. 30, 2007 win over the Steelers as a Baltimore Raven. And to find out you'll get the start while in London, five days before the game, when you've never worked with the first-unit offense .... Pretty amazing deal. And Smith played well: 12 of 19, 196 yards, one rushing touchdown, one passing touchdown, no interceptions, and a gaudy 115.2 rating. "I'm not looking back at what should have been or what might have happened,'' Smith told me from London, after the Niners beat the Broncos in the league's international game at Wembley Stadium. "I'm just taking this chance and running with it.''

As I said on NBC Sunday night, you'll almost certainly see Troy Smith replace Alex Smith, regardless of Alex's health, when the 49ers come off their bye in 13 days against the Rams. My take is that Mike Singletary sees Troy as the make-something-happen sparkplug he never saw in Alex -- or in backup David Carr.

Alex's injury is a perfect "reason" to hide the benching, much like the personal reasons we heard earlier in the year for guys like Michael Lewis. Hopefully, Alex will request for his release.

I do think Troy showed enough to get another chance, and the bye is the perfect time for him to get more practice. Hope we see Troy given more command against the Rams to get an idea of how good he is/can be.

I think Niner Talk has been riding his nuts way too much, but I hope he gets another start or two. And I agree, the injury is the perfect excuse to do this; if Troy fails, then a healthy Alex can step back in with no drama.

Its guys like you that make everyone else on the board overstate how they really feel about a player one way or another. The reality is, most of us don't hate Alex, we just think he is mediocre. When it comes to T.Smith he showed some good potential, won the game and gave us a little spark of hope. The fan in me wants him to be the future, but the truth is I have no idea if he is the real deal. Only more playing time will tell. But guys like you are so blind to the flaws of Alex and the good of other QBs, we are always in a position of bashing or defending a player. I for one am tired of arguing the great Smith debate. Believe what you will, you will anyway.

P.S. This is only the second win out of eight games. Excuse me if I do kind of feel like it's the Superbowl..

i have no idea what you're talking about.

I think he might have quoted you incorrectly, ive read what you wrote and what he wrote a couple of times and that is the explanation i came up with

that's the best I can come up with too.

Originally posted by HessianDud:

Originally posted by Norcal9erfan:

Originally posted by GhostofFredDean74:

Originally posted by Norcal9erfan:

Originally posted by HessianDud:

Originally posted by DesiDez:
From Peter King MMQB, who gave Troy Smith his offensive player of the week award

Quote:

Troy Smith, QB, San Francisco.

Smith hadn't started an NFL game in 34 months -- since a Dec. 30, 2007 win over the Steelers as a Baltimore Raven. And to find out you'll get the start while in London, five days before the game, when you've never worked with the first-unit offense .... Pretty amazing deal. And Smith played well: 12 of 19, 196 yards, one rushing touchdown, one passing touchdown, no interceptions, and a gaudy 115.2 rating. "I'm not looking back at what should have been or what might have happened,'' Smith told me from London, after the Niners beat the Broncos in the league's international game at Wembley Stadium. "I'm just taking this chance and running with it.''

As I said on NBC Sunday night, you'll almost certainly see Troy Smith replace Alex Smith, regardless of Alex's health, when the 49ers come off their bye in 13 days against the Rams. My take is that Mike Singletary sees Troy as the make-something-happen sparkplug he never saw in Alex -- or in backup David Carr.

Alex's injury is a perfect "reason" to hide the benching, much like the personal reasons we heard earlier in the year for guys like Michael Lewis. Hopefully, Alex will request for his release.

I do think Troy showed enough to get another chance, and the bye is the perfect time for him to get more practice. Hope we see Troy given more command against the Rams to get an idea of how good he is/can be.

I think Niner Talk has been riding his nuts way too much, but I hope he gets another start or two. And I agree, the injury is the perfect excuse to do this; if Troy fails, then a healthy Alex can step back in with no drama.

Did you not read that

Quote:
Smith hadn't started an NFL game in 34 months -- since a Dec. 30, 2007 win over the Steelers as a Baltimore Raven. And to find out you'll get the start while in London, five days before the game, when you've never worked with the first-unit offense

??

Oh, and he did get us the Win. Nothing else matters and that's more than enough for me.

ok. this is kind of exactly what i'm talking about with the nut riding.

I'm excited to get the win, too, and i'm very excited about what I saw from Troy. But I'm not going to completely s**t my pants over what may be a mirage. Remember JTO in Seattle? That was just as impressive a performance as Troy's. That's all I'm saying. Kid earned another start, for sure, and with him getting the bye week to prepare for the next game, we will know a lot more about him next time around. Until then I'll stick with my cautious optimism.

I think people are just excited about getting a win, and seeing a QB who can actually make plays. Anyone who thinks TSmith is the next coming of Joe (or anything close) should have their head examined....but this league is about winning, and Troy found a way to win. To me, that's cause for excitement and optimism (though it's also cautious, like yours).

Based upon this poll almost 80% of the fans want Troy to be our starter even after Alex is healthy. This is incomprehensibe. If our defense had just played better, our record would be 6-2 now. We lost four of our games by 3 or less less points. If the other players (besides Alex) had done their job, we would have beaten NO, ATL, PHIL, CAR. With better performances from our OC, OL, receivers, and defense, we would have been a really good team, even with Alex playing as he has. As I have pointed out before, Alex's passing rating has exceeded Aaron Rodgers over the last four weeks.

Now, the unclear thinkers clamour for handing the reins over to someone who is unproven, with much less experience. It would be a terribly risky move, especially when this team actually has a chance to win the division. We saw Troy make errors that would ordinarily cost dearly. This is no time to make reckless, feckless, panicky moves.

But as with Singletary, I have no confidence in our fans' ability to think rationally.

Originally posted by valrod33:

Originally posted by HessianDud:

Originally posted by Oakland-Niner:

Originally posted by HessianDud:

Originally posted by DesiDez:
From Peter King MMQB, who gave Troy Smith his offensive player of the week award

Quote:

Troy Smith, QB, San Francisco.

Smith hadn't started an NFL game in 34 months -- since a Dec. 30, 2007 win over the Steelers as a Baltimore Raven. And to find out you'll get the start while in London, five days before the game, when you've never worked with the first-unit offense .... Pretty amazing deal. And Smith played well: 12 of 19, 196 yards, one rushing touchdown, one passing touchdown, no interceptions, and a gaudy 115.2 rating. "I'm not looking back at what should have been or what might have happened,'' Smith told me from London, after the Niners beat the Broncos in the league's international game at Wembley Stadium. "I'm just taking this chance and running with it.''

As I said on NBC Sunday night, you'll almost certainly see Troy Smith replace Alex Smith, regardless of Alex's health, when the 49ers come off their bye in 13 days against the Rams. My take is that Mike Singletary sees Troy as the make-something-happen sparkplug he never saw in Alex -- or in backup David Carr.

Alex's injury is a perfect "reason" to hide the benching, much like the personal reasons we heard earlier in the year for guys like Michael Lewis. Hopefully, Alex will request for his release.

I do think Troy showed enough to get another chance, and the bye is the perfect time for him to get more practice. Hope we see Troy given more command against the Rams to get an idea of how good he is/can be.

I think Niner Talk has been riding his nuts way too much, but I hope he gets another start or two. And I agree, the injury is the perfect excuse to do this; if Troy fails, then a healthy Alex can step back in with no drama.

Its guys like you that make everyone else on the board overstate how they really feel about a player one way or another. The reality is, most of us don't hate Alex, we just think he is mediocre. When it comes to T.Smith he showed some good potential, won the game and gave us a little spark of hope. The fan in me wants him to be the future, but the truth is I have no idea if he is the real deal. Only more playing time will tell. But guys like you are so blind to the flaws of Alex and the good of other QBs, we are always in a position of bashing or defending a player. I for one am tired of arguing the great Smith debate. Believe what you will, you will anyway.

P.S. This is only the second win out of eight games. Excuse me if I do kind of feel like it's the Superbowl..

i have no idea what you're talking about.

I think he might have quoted you incorrectly, ive read what you wrote and what he wrote a couple of times and that is the explanation i came up with

Yikes! Total fail and face palm on my part. I hit the wrong quote. I'll go crawl back under my rock now.

I for one am very happy we won the game. Its the first win I have seen this year (missed all of the raider game). It just feels good to finally win a game. I want Sing fired as much as anyone and realize that a loss would have made things interesting during the bye week.


But yes the win does feel DAMN GOOD.

Originally posted by GhostofFredDean74:
Facts that people need to know when discussing Alex Smith as a starting QB in the NFL:

- Career 17-30 record as a starting QB
- Career QB rating of 70.2
- By comparison, Smith has slightly better career numbers than Rex Grossman (69.6)
- But he hasn't even been able to outplay such names as:

--------Jeff George (80.2)
--------Elvis Grbac (79.6)
--------Scott Mitchell (75.3)
--------Tim Couch (75.1)
--------Tony Banks (72.4)


Really...what else do you need to know to answer this question?

But, but, but, but, but, but (insert Alexcuse)......

Yep, behind the same o-line, with the same playbook, the same skill players, with a new system, no Vernon Davis, in a different time zone, with a limited game plan, and 3 years of rust! Troy Smith out performed Alex Smith!

Enough said!