How much are Harbaugh, Edwards, West Coast Offense, etc. worth to Alex Smith's game?

Originally posted by YungAce:
I miss the Alex Smith Bandwagon

That helped the zone out of cluttered Smith threads

I was wondering where that thread went.. We used to have the smitty bandwagon, the shaun hill starship, and the david carr car wreck.

We need something like that for Smitty, tolzein and Kaep.

Originally posted by Joecool:
BTW, if Smith plays like he did in preseason, then we will lose. Regular season, he will need to play faster.

Dude, you mean if the offensive line plays like they did in the preseason we will lose. You could've put Joe Montana behind that line and he would've look horrible. I've watched enough football in my life to know that statement is true.

Originally posted by 76Razor:

Originally posted by FL9er:
http://www.csnbayarea.com/09/09/11/bRattob-Shut-up-about-Alex-Smith-/landing_ratto_v3.html?blockID=561850&feedID=2800

best thing i have seen from ratto in a while!

Best think I have sen from ratto in a while since the last best thing I have seen from Ratto in a while.

BTW, this not talking about the man who will not be named goes for what think he is capable doing also.

Originally posted by 76Razor:

Quote:

Originally posted by FL9er:
http://www.csnbayarea.com/09/09/11/bRattob-Shut-up-about-Alex-Smith-/landing_ratto_v3.html?blockID=561850&feedID=2800

best thing i have seen from ratto in a while!

LOL.

INCREDIBLE article. No matter where you fall on the matter, this is just awesome. The barrage of comments attacking Ratto are a riot - a bunch of whiny, sniveling, man-child types with nothing more to say than, "You're fat, Ratto!"

I agree with him. It's time to give it a rest.

Originally posted by 76Razor:

Originally posted by FL9er:
http://www.csnbayarea.com/09/09/11/bRattob-Shut-up-about-Alex-Smith-/landing_ratto_v3.html?blockID=561850&feedID=2800

best thing i have seen from ratto in a while!

Finally. Awesome article.

Gotta love all the knuckle dragging mouth breathers that leave dumb comments on his page. "U R TEH FATZ DOOD AND ALECKS LUVR...DOHNT TEHLL ME TO SHT UP...THAHZ NOT CLAZZY! BREENG BAK CARMAZEE. K. THANX."

Originally posted by dj43:

Originally posted by buck:
We should change the question. The team, not an individual player, is the priority.

So maybe a better question would be: What does Alex have to bring to the team?

I can think of four things.

1. He has to start 16 games.

Last year, Alex played in only 11 games. He started 10 of them.
The team needs him to play well enough and stay healthy enough to start all 16 games.
For him to stay healthy and play well, the team will have to protect him.

2. His touchdown to interception ratio needs to improve.

Last year, he threw 14 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Critical elements that will lead to this improvement: better ball placement and no stupid throws.

But, in all honestly, some of the picks were not his responsibility. The receivers must also step up. If the ball hits their hands, they have to catch it. If the throw is close but not on target, the receivers have to go get it. To some degree they may have to carry Alex—and yes good receivers do that.

3. He has to throw for more 1st downs.

Last year, only 30.1 % of his passes resulted in first downs. Last year, the team was 25th in time of possession. More first down throws, will improve our time of possession. Gore will get more touches and the receivers will get more attempts—the offensive skill players will be more productive and a lot happier.

4. Alex needs to improve his completion %.

Last year, he completed 59.6 on his passes. Last year, the play-off quarterbacks completed 63.2% of their passes in the regular season.

If Alex can do these four things, we might surprise a lot of people.

This season, or any season, is not just about Alex Smith or any individual player. It is about the team.

We need to ask: What does a player bring to the team? How each player and each unit contribute to the team and its success?

3 and 4 are almost a guarantee with the WCO. In the past, the passing game was used only in desperate times. In WCO, the pass is an integral part of the offense and is designed to move the chains, not have to pick up 18 yards to keep a drive alive.

I agree with all of the above but you said it when you mentioned the entire O.

Jim and the WCO will drastically improve the entire O due to the scheme alone, that is once we get up to speed with the entire playbook.

The oline will be better once they learn the new blocking schemes, which requires more of a unit instead of individual approach. Of course, this unit stunk in the preseason but I expect them to improve each week and by mid season they should be a very solid unit.

The wr's will become more of a weapon in the WCO with getting the ball early in space and letting them make things happen.

Our running game should drastically improve! Why? well, we will no longer be a run it up the middle on 1st and 2nd downs (no more with the other team knowing what play we are running). If the D has to honor the pass they will be less likely to be keying on Frank and vise versa.

Alex will benifit from all of the above.

Oh, and the qb's now have the ability to call an audible!

Originally posted by Joecool:

Originally posted by dj43:

Originally posted by Joecool:

Originally posted by dj43:

Originally posted by Joecool:

Originally posted by djfullshred:
How is "whatever changes the 49ers make" good for Alex Smith?

I think the question should be, how is this going to help Frank Gore? He is going to be the straw that stirs the drink in this offense. I doubt they are going to trust Smith to fling the ball around too much - at least not if the running game is working.

Our offense goes as Frank Gore goes. It's up to the coaches, Alex, OL, and the WR's to decide if they want to help out. NO opponent is afraid of Alex Smith. Every opponent has the Stop the Gore, Stop the Niners game plan 1st.

Gore and now Kendal Hunter will be vital to our success.

A critical part of WCO is that is spreads the ball around. It does not rely on just one guy/position.

I agree Gore is the greatest threat on the team, however, if JH has the WCO operating well, Gore will be even more effective, as will Vernon Davis and Edwards and Alex and everyone else on the offense. It is why the WCO has been the model for some of the best offenses the game has seen in the last 30 years.

As someone else has said, why is this WCO thread only about the QB? It is really about the offense as a whole. We finally have an offensive philosophy that is proven successful as opposed to the stuff in the recent past that has a HS concept at its center, if that.

Yes it does. It heavily relies on the QB to spread the ball. That's why I say Alex needs to help Gore out by letting the Defensive Coordinator know that he can be beat from the pass.

My point was that it is not JUST the QB. Of course the QB is the center of all offenses. It is the most important single position in all of sports, blah, blah, blah. However, if Vernon doesn't learn to read and adjust, and if the slot doesn't settle into the zone at the right time, etc., etc., the QB has no place to go.

That was my focus...

I think we can all agree that if Smith plays like he did against SD and for the Oakland game, sans that one throw, we will be happy.

Don't worry about Vernon Davis. He will provide his. Let us worry more about the guy who still has more to prove than a 3rd grader in Geometry.

BTW, if Smith plays like he did in preseason, then we will lose. Regular season, he will need to play faster.

Do third graders generally have a lot to prove in Geometry?

Originally posted by LambdaChi49:

Originally posted by 76Razor:

<blockquote class="quote"><div>Quote:</div>Originally posted by FL9er:
http://www.csnbayarea.com/09/09/11/bRattob-Shut-up-about-Alex-Smith-/landing_ratto_v3.html?blockID=561850&feedID=2800

best thing i have seen from ratto in a while!

Finally. Awesome article.



Gotta love all the knuckle dragging mouth breathers that leave dumb comments on his page. "U R TEH FATZ DOOD AND ALECKS LUVR...DOHNT TEHLL ME TO SHT UP...THAHZ NOT CLAZZY! BREENG BAK CARMAZEE. K. THANX."



I couldn't believe the comments..

Originally posted by Joecool:

Originally posted by dj43:

Originally posted by Joecool:

Originally posted by djfullshred:
How is "whatever changes the 49ers make" good for Alex Smith?

I think the question should be, how is this going to help Frank Gore? He is going to be the straw that stirs the drink in this offense. I doubt they are going to trust Smith to fling the ball around too much - at least not if the running game is working.

Our offense goes as Frank Gore goes. It's up to the coaches, Alex, OL, and the WR's to decide if they want to help out. NO opponent is afraid of Alex Smith. Every opponent has the Stop the Gore, Stop the Niners game plan 1st.

Gore and now Kendal Hunter will be vital to our success.

A critical part of WCO is that is spreads the ball around. It does not rely on just one guy/position.

I agree Gore is the greatest threat on the team, however, if JH has the WCO operating well, Gore will be even more effective, as will Vernon Davis and Edwards and Alex and everyone else on the offense. It is why the WCO has been the model for some of the best offenses the game has seen in the last 30 years.

As someone else has said, why is this WCO thread only about the QB? It is really about the offense as a whole. We finally have an offensive philosophy that is proven successful as opposed to the stuff in the recent past that has a HS concept at its center, if that.

Yes it does. It heavily relies on the QB to spread the ball. That's why I say Alex needs to help Gore out by letting the Defensive Coordinator know that he can be beat from the pass.

For sure it is about more than one guy - I really get tired of everything about the 49ers offense being spun into "what does it mean for Alex Smith?". That is why I went for intentional subterfuge by bringing up Gore.

As a lead where I work, I do not build my team around weaker performers. I look for stronger performers as the anchors, and help the weaker ones work in a way they can handle with a development plan. I think of my own job alot when I see these Alex Smith debates. It is a somewhat similar situation IMO.

That was an excellent article. Thank you, Ratto.

The only good thing I have ever seen out of Ratto, he is absolutely correct there is nothing more to say on the subject that hasn't been said already. All there is to do is root for the team or find a new one.

Not as much as the O-Line can protect and give him time to execute.....

Good article

Originally posted by unst4bl3:
I was wondering where that thread went.. We used to have the smitty bandwagon, the shaun hill starship, and the david carr car wreck.

We need something like that for Smitty, tolzein and Kaep.

How about this:

The Alex Smithers thread


The Colin Kaepernickson Water Gate Scandal thread


And the Mel Gibson Scotland Tolzien thread

Am I being too optimistic to expect Alex to be as good as or better than the year that Norv was here?