"What's Changed?" - thru Game 4 of 2011

My overall impression of the team thus far in this season is that there's a much more prevalent expectation to win. Harbaugh has a confidence in what he's doing because he's done it before and because he's one of those workaholic coaches that leaves no stone unturned. I think at this point in the season, any win is pretty much a gift considering the team has been playing and practicing together for a little over 2 months with an entirely new coaching staff and philosiphy.

The offense, obviously underperforming, can largely be attributed to poor offensive line play and perhaps that unit just needs time together as well. This team, as opposed to teams in prior years under the previous coaching regimes, will get better and continue to add complexity to the offense and defense, making them more difficult to predict and therefor allowing the talent of the players to shine through.

As I said, any win at this point of the season is pretty much a gift and the team is already playing with house money. If they can play .500 ball until week 10, I believe they'll be a very dangerous team to have in the playoffs.

GAME 4 ON THE ROAD AGAINST THE EAGLES:

Great Win!

BIGGEST CHANGE. Alex Smith and the rest of the team played a "COLD-BLOODED GAME." This was Harbaugh's comment himself - describing Alex and his central role in the comeback. These Niners are beginning to play with cold-blooded, matter of fact, efficiency when it is most needed. Singletary placed a premium on emotion; Harbaugh instills cold-blooded execution. I LOVE IT!!

VERSATILITY, VERSATILITY, VERSATILITY. For the second straight game, we saw great contributions from Kendall Hunter and Miller to complement Frank Gore's straight ahead running.

Alex Smith. The trend is going up. Yes, it is a bonafide positive trend that I'm close to thinking he will sustain for the long run. (I can't believe I just said that). He'll never be Mike Vick-esque in escaping pressure, but what he did in the 2nd half is something we've been waiting for a long time!

Aldon Smith and the rest of the front four/seven. Sustained pressure throughout the season. Any other QB, we would have had 4-6 sacks.

Turnover Ratio: Plus 8 after this game. And we got payback for the curse of Nate Clements, somewhat, with Justin Smith's fumble strip on Maclin. We may be at plus 17 or higher before the season is over. We just have it this year. A big play defense at the most critical time needed.

The biggest change is we don't give up as a team when we are down on the road like we used to. And Alex is much better. And we don't have a SingleBrainCell offensive mind anymore.

Originally posted by SanDiego49er:

The biggest change is we don't give up as a team when we are down on the road like we used to. And Alex is much better. And we don't have a SingleBrainCell offensive mind anymore.

Alex Smith, among others, said that the locker room at halftime was calm, coaches and players were going through what adjustments needed to be made. Singletary (definitely) would have been throwing tantrums in the locker room, yelling and screaming about being out-fysical'd, and dropping his pants. Antics and histrionics with no substance.
It may work once or 2 times, but players gain longterm confidence when they know the coaching staff gives them a fighting chance with adjustments to the game plan.

In-game, everytime we see Harbaugh on the sideline, he's doing something with the game tactics. He's talking on his mike, he's looking at his playsheet, he's calling plays, he's pointing things out to Alex. Under Nolan and Singletary, when things were falling apart or we needed to come back from a big deficit, you'd almost always just see them standing there doing nothing (other than yelling at players or at the referees), while the assistant coaches were trying to do everything.

Originally posted by Bluefalcon61:

Originally posted by SanDiego49er:
The biggest change is we don't give up as a team when we are down on the road like we used to. And Alex is much better. And we don't have a SingleBrainCell offensive mind anymore.

Alex Smith, among others, said that the locker room at halftime was calm, coaches and players were going through what adjustments needed to be made. Singletary (definitely) would have been throwing tantrums in the locker room, yelling and screaming about being out-fysical'd, and dropping his pants. Antics and histrionics with no substance.
It may work once or 2 times, but players gain longterm confidence when they know the coaching staff gives them a fighting chance with adjustments to the game plan.

In-game, everytime we see Harbaugh on the sideline, he's doing something with the game tactics. He's talking on his mike, he's looking at his playsheet, he's calling plays, he's pointing things out to Alex. Under Nolan and Singletary, when things were falling apart or we needed to come back from a big deficit, you'd almost always just see them standing there doing nothing (other than yelling at players or at the referees), while the assistant coaches were trying to do everything.

Yup. We have a real HC. First time in almost a decade. Makes a difference. A master QB developer too.

Originally posted by Bluefalcon61:

Originally posted by SanDiego49er:
The biggest change is we don't give up as a team when we are down on the road like we used to. And Alex is much better. And we don't have a SingleBrainCell offensive mind anymore.

Alex Smith, among others, said that the locker room at halftime was calm, coaches and players were going through what adjustments needed to be made. Singletary (definitely) would have been throwing tantrums in the locker room, yelling and screaming about being out-fysical'd, and dropping his pants. Antics and histrionics with no substance.
It may work once or 2 times, but players gain longterm confidence when they know the coaching staff gives them a fighting chance with adjustments to the game plan.

In-game, everytime we see Harbaugh on the sideline, he's doing something with the game tactics. He's talking on his mike, he's looking at his playsheet, he's calling plays, he's pointing things out to Alex. Under Nolan and Singletary, when things were falling apart or we needed to come back from a big deficit, you'd almost always just see them standing there doing nothing (other than yelling at players or at the referees), while the assistant coaches were trying to do everything.

LOL. Very true.

Players, and people in general, want to be coached. They don't want to be told that they are not playing with enough "effort" and other b******t non-sense.

I'm sure Singletary has been yelling at the Vikings in the locker room, trying to "inspire" them to "play with more effort". Result: 0-4.

we are 3-1 and an impressive plus 6 in t/o's

I told my wife at half.... I was just hoping to be in this game.....

Originally posted by SanDiego49er:
The biggest change is we don't give up as a team when we are down on the road like we used to. And Alex is much better. And we don't have a SingleBrainCell offensive mind anymore.

Feels great, doesn't it!

Of course, the season's not over, and there are many hurdles ahead.

But it's great to feel this way today. Two wins on the road. In a row. Sweet.

There doesn't appear to be any "quit" in this team. Gonna be fun to watch!