Box score: alex 9/15 and it sounded like a repeat of last yr. Then I saw the game on NFL..

Originally posted by BobS:
Wow, starters vs starters we led the RAIDERS 3-0 at halftime of a preseason game and that is enough to predict this is going to be the best team we have seen in a long time? Three elite running backs?

Dont forget that fades and slants were open all day

Originally posted by redmanc07:

Originally posted by SybErkRimInAL:
he looked good, minus that INT. How the f**k do you not see a 270lb DE out in the flats?

Happens more than you think. Thats the whole deal with passing lanes and what not. Im assuming he was zeroed in on that corner on VD and when he saw where he let the ball go 2 there happened to be fat daddy dropping to that area.

Harbaugh explained that one rather well.

Originally posted by Paul:

This is very representative of previous years -- look at the play detail. Smith looks like a goof ball, yes. But check out the RT 77, he gets blown by, and the FB 41 is somehow left to block a DT that pushes him right back into the pocket. Well designed play!! Comedy.

Originally posted by redmanc07:

Originally posted by SybErkRimInAL:
he looked good, minus that INT. How the f**k do you not see a 270lb DE out in the flats?

Happens more than you think. Thats the whole deal with passing lanes and what not. Im assuming he was zeroed in on that corner on VD and when he saw where he let the ball go 2 there happened to be fat daddy dropping to that area.

Yep.

He got pwnt by teh zone blitz. It's a WCO killer.

He read wrong. It happens.

Originally posted by pasodoc9er:
Alex actually was 3/6 initially and all three incompletes were right on the money. The fourth incomp. was a well advised throw away. I make that 9/15 really a 13/15, and alex looked good in doing it. Two things happened: first, the OL which stunk against the Saints, played like a real OL and both blocked for alex and also our elite 3 RBs. Poti got out on a pulling play and double dipped two defenders. Staley looked solid, wragge looked like someone i hadn't seen play before, and same for the few other remaining Ols from last yr. Better yet, it looks like we may have 3 , maybe 4 legit OL starters on the bench. Yeah, it is preseason, but the young dudes on OL played like something we haven't seen on the OL in yrs.

Big difference between this yr and last 8 yrs, was that if there was a weakness on OL, JH coached away from it...something i got hacked off at BM and noln, erWreckson et al...when they didn't use that simplest of all tactics. Guys, this team blocked like a pro team(unheard of last 8 yrs), the receivers made some terrific catches, ran good routes, and it didn't hurt to have Braylon there to get attn off other guys. His one hander was a beaut.

As for D, we still need help on CBs, but they will come around, or JH will coach around them too. Overall, this was the one best game this team has played in the last 10 yrs and that is from two things: a) we finally got a coach who is an OC, a DC, and a HC...plus he is smart, and knows his business...something BM, noln, nor erickson never did. b) baalke and JH really have an eye for talent, and took advantage of all the early cuts, the many UDFAs, and the guys who were cut on salary basis. I get the feeling that we finally got a tremendous front office and an even better HC/OC. Granted this is all just one game and it is the preseason. But anybody who saw that game and wasn't excited at OL, QB,RB, DL( aubrayo is another one who is better off gone), WR, LB...well they just weren't paying attn. The fact that we have so many OLs in the mix is just unbelievable. JH, Baalke maybe paraghe, finally figured out the Bellicheat philosophy: don't keep players too long, and if somebody doesn't cut it , cut him. Also, the NE philosophy of bringing in lots of new guys each yr is very obvious in this draft which means also getting rid of dead wood...baas, aubray, heitmann. With the salary cap, a team has to draft well, really well , and bring lots of new guys on board each yr. We did that this yr and man does it ever show. As for alex, well, he got his OC/HC, and Sat it looked like the guy we actually drafted out of college. Unbelieveable, but he could finally be coming into his own with a...wait for it...a great HC who is also a qB coach and OC. Bring 2011 on.

Didn't Alex look better against the Raiders last year than this year?

Just commenting because I just watched it again as I go back through the replay. 10 yard DE drop, and he got there quickly... wow. Watch a lot of football and can't say I see a DE drop back so quickly and deeply as that often. Great D call and Alex got snookered by it.

Originally posted by HearstFan:
This is very representative of previous years -- look at the play detail. Smith looks like a goof ball, yes. But check out the RT 77, he gets blown by, and the FB 41 is somehow left to block a DT that pushes him right back into the pocket. Well designed play!! Comedy.

Heh. Slick waxed balls.

In regards to the media portrayal versus actual developments:
The Bay Area media has in many cases been very critical of our quarterbacks. Initially, Montana was underrated until he won his 3rd and then 4th championship, tying Terry Bradshaw for the highest all time. Steve Young had it the worst and in his case the fans were also extremely critical. On top of that, Eddie Debartolo was not an owner that would accept anything less than championships for long. In 1992 Steve Young had a fantastic statistical year but may have been a miserable failure at winning fan approval. In the 1992 NFC Championship game, as Joe watched from the 49er sidelines, Steve Young lost to the Cowboys at home in Candlestick Park. The 49ers needing a come from behind victory stuck with Steve through the game while the legend that fans had been accustomed to seeing pull off such victories was on the bench. The move clearly alienated the fan base and Steve Young was simply not the popular choice, if he was any choice at all. Many 49er fans did not trust or believe in him. Part of the reason for this was that in the late 80's and onwards, Steve was perceived as an unworthy competitor to Joe. He was not perceived as being cool under pressure and people feared that he was ultimately not a winning quarterback. Joe was traded the subsequent year to cement Steve's position as the #1 quarterback amidst great criticism from fans and writers. That year Steve went on to have another great statistical year but lost to the Cowboys again. For many fans, that was the last straw. The voices that wanted Steve traded instead of Joe became louder. By many, he was declared a loser while Joe, the perennial winner and legend, was perceived to be supplanted by the the 2nd string failure. In 1994, despite a completely revamped defense, Steve Young could not defeat Joe Montana and the Chiefs. Many 49er fans openly cheered for Joe to defeat Steve and spite the 49er franchise for selecting a "loser" over a proven winner. The 49ers were also blown out by the inferior Eagles. But then things eventually turned around to the point where Steve overcame his demons to lead SF over the Cowboys and to a Super Bowl victory.

The lesson from that aspect of history may be that some players can eventually rise to occasion and become winners with improvements to other areas of the team. It may take a better coaching staff like when Steve had Mike Shannahan or a better defense when they acquired Deion Sanders amongst other greats, but with certain improvements perceptions can change. Despite having Rice, Taylor, Jones, Watters, Sapolu, Barton and others forming the greatest offensive arsenal, Steve could not defeat the Cowboys until he had a dangerous defense with one of the greatest secondaries in history. In Alex Smith's case, he does not have even one proven league leading player, let alone a former Super Bowl MVP and now GOAT, like Jerry. The coaching staff was not guided by great coaches like George Seifert, Mike Shannahan, Ray Rhodes, Bobb McKittrick and others. With a better coaching staff, continuous infusion of new talent and upgrades across the board, there is no telling what Alex Smith's ceiling can be. Many wrote off Steve Young after years of failure. There are still some that will say that Joe could have reached the 5th championship sooner and there was no true purpose to retaining Steve. Then again, success has shown to come in different packages with an ever unique array of story lines. Not every player will lead the drive culminating with "The Catch" and then go on to four Super Bowl Championships. Some, like Steve Young will face much failure despite some of the greatest casts of players and coaches supporting him, to eventually become a champion. Others may have neither the great coaches nor the all world players and face adversity. As the coaches and players evolve to a higher level of performance, so may that quarterback and team. Alex Smith's refined performance, the new coaching staff, and the coming roster improvements may suggest that such a change is more likely than it has been in the last several years.

Do we need a separate thread for this, Alex Smith has a few other threads this could go in?

Doc
Welcome back. We watched the same game. It was not a mirage. I followed JH down here at USD when he developed Josh Johnson, a non-scholarship player from Oakland, into Div 3 offensive leader and NFL QB with Tampa Bay. God, were they fun to watch. When he signed with Stanford, my SC friends laughed at the hiring from a Div 3 school. They are not laughing anymore. As a side bar, I actually emailed Bill Walsh, suggesting that JH would be the best candidate for the job. He was on the evaluation committe and sent back an email that JH was actually under consideration. What I saw at USD and at Stanford will be replicated with the Niners. The skeptics will not believe their eyes when they see the offense. You are so right about JH coaching around weaknesses. Like you, I found the Niners unwatchable for the past 8 years on offense. As a loyal fan since 1956 I was able to gut it out and watch the crap anyway. Like Montana just voiced yesterday, we are finally on our way back with JH. Praise God.

Bob S, the point wasn' t that in a preseason game we were up just 3-0. Point is this team looked great , played great, and looked for first time since seifert like a real professional team. Sure AD whiffed on a couple blocks( but Hunter nailed the passrusher on both occaisions). Yes the CBs are a weakness. But a great coach can either coach up those guys or coach "away from " weak links.(eg, CBs). Even better is that i just have this gut feeling this may be our best draft in 10 yrs, and i was skeptical after the draft, but not disappointed. So if we need help at CB, there are still a lot of draftees out there that won't get an adequate look, may get cut, or there may be some guys who don't sign because they wanted to much $$. Whether it is finally having another coach in the mold of GOAT Walsh (see Joe Montana's comments under sportswire), or having a GM who can spot talent that others don't see, or a combo of both, we finally are on the right track, and this is only 2nd preseason game with no OTAs, etc.

Miami, BM does refer to "bowel movement" as in "BigMike", otherwise known as "bowel movement mike(BM)". All i can say is that is what his coaching reminded me of most. He was a joke from the time he was signed, Jed learned from his costly mistake, and we have moved on to a coach cut in the mold of Coach Walsh. Mind you, i am not comparing JH to Walsh, just noting some very positive similarities that Joe M commented on also.

As for those who don't see the difference this yr, the unspeakably bad play of #77 on the film clip(thanks for that) with the swinging door phantom blocks, as well as false starts(oh heck, don't get me started), just show a completely different team this yr, and I think this is 100% JH, pure and simple. It didn't hurt that baalke , out of BM's shadow, appears to have presented JH with some admirable talent.

As for the comment about 3 elite Rbs, frank still has it, and Hunter looks like a younger, faster frank. Omon, playing on 3rd or 4th teams, looked impressive also. If there was one thing i really liked it was the way Hunter accelerates after he hits the hole. That kid looks in the pros exactly like he did at OKla St...fast and furiuous, and
NOT AFRAID to block. He laid out two blitzers, quite an accomplishment for a rook who can also run.

Am I excited? Heck yeah, because I have seen nothing to excite me these last 10 yrs after watching 20 yrs of a great football team. It is early, but i think we are back. IF we flame out next week, or sometime later, I still saw the spark on Sat, and it was real...and it was impressive. Also, even tho i finally thru in the towel on alex last yr, i maintained all along it would be hard to rate him because the OL stunk and worse, he never had a great coach. This yr, we will see the real alex. He may be good, bad, or indifferent, but my money is on good...100% due to JH and baalke.

Originally posted by oldman9er:
Just commenting because I just watched it again as I go back through the replay. 10 yard DE drop, and he got there quickly... wow. Watch a lot of football and can't say I see a DE drop back so quickly and deeply as that often. Great D call and Alex got snookered by it.

Was that a good gamble on their part or what? It was as if they knew the playcall already.

Originally posted by SJniner7:

Originally posted by oldman9er:
Just commenting because I just watched it again as I go back through the replay. 10 yard DE drop, and he got there quickly... wow. Watch a lot of football and can't say I see a DE drop back so quickly and deeply as that often. Great D call and Alex got snookered by it.

Was that a good gamble on their part or what? It was as if they knew the playcall already.

Alex threw towards the sidelines a few times, the Def. play wasn't truly a gamble but an adjustment

Originally posted by 49AllTheTime:

Originally posted by SJniner7:

Originally posted by oldman9er:
Just commenting because I just watched it again as I go back through the replay. 10 yard DE drop, and he got there quickly... wow. Watch a lot of football and can't say I see a DE drop back so quickly and deeply as that often. Great D call and Alex got snookered by it.

Was that a good gamble on their part or what? It was as if they knew the playcall already.

Alex threw towards the sidelines a few times, the Def. play wasn't truly a gamble but an adjustment

I look at that INT in much the same way as the NO game: The opponent threw something at us that is not usually done in a PS game but it did give us something to look at and work on.

Zone blitzes were DESIGNED to counter the WCO. As such, by Oakland throwing it up there, it gave Alex and Harbaugh a chance to see it and make a correction. Hence, I expect Harbaugh will make the adjustment to the read just like he changed the blocking scheme after the NO debacle.

Sometimes you learn more from your failures than you do from your successes.

Originally posted by dj43:
I look at that INT in much the same way as the NO game: The opponent threw something at us that is not usually done in a PS game but it did give us something to look at and work on.

Zone blitzes were DESIGNED to counter the WCO. As such, by Oakland throwing it up there, it gave Alex and Harbaugh a chance to see it and make a correction. Hence, I expect Harbaugh will make the adjustment to the read just like he changed the blocking scheme after the NO debacle.

Sometimes you learn more from your failures than you do from your successes.

Good point. I'm not sold on Alex at all, and likely won't until he puts together a string of successful outings. On the other hand, I feel this years offense is being coached better and it is refreshing to see a 49ers offense actually making adjustments to what defenses are doing. This is encouraging news for 49ers from a long-term perspective. I'm not sure how it'll translate to early success this year, however.