why do we never throw the ball down the field?

Since we have 2 rookie buckup QBs at the moment, its the best Alex takes all the meaningful snaps. Kind of like last year which failed miserably as we all know. Harbaugh/Organization doesnt want to put the team in the situation the change have to make. Alex is not the future but he needs to do well to make us fell any hope for the season.

Because Alex dont like to throw deep in meaningful games.

At the risk of being too positive after a loss, I thought this was Smith's best game in years. The interception was disappointing but other than that he made plays with his legs, threw a very nice long pass after the errant snap, and generally played with heart and toughness. His team mates were very positive about his performance so he is building a leadership perona.

At the beginning of preseason I thought the 9ers would be blown out by any decent team and struggle against the very worst, at least until mid-season when they would start to settle into the new offense and defense. They are ahead of schedule, though the loss was agonizing.

Haven't figured out why the run game is so bad but someone mentioned switching blocking schemes and that is probably the reason. No one is pointing fingers yet and that is also a good sign. They will continue to improve and I would expect they will still have a decent record this year--8-8 or 9-7.

They desperately need speed and playmakers at WR and DBs. I thought Edwards and Crabtree would become a good pairing but that seems unlikely now. Ginn is just not able to catch consistently...and explain that to me! Can catch a punt but not a pass? Depth perception? Morgan is one of my favorites but he is a 3rd or 4th at best. At the moment...is Rogers the only DB playing decently? Whitner? Wow did I overrate these guys...or is it the loss of Spencer?

Originally posted by dj43:

Originally posted by 1stAndGoal49ers:
49ers definitely need to take more shots down field. Stretch the defense out. As of right now the opposing defense has to know the ball will almost never be thrown more then a handful of times over 15 yards if that. And that only makes it harder to "Singletary" the ball up the field.

We've got to get a healthy deep threat receiver that can catch the ball before we can just chuck it down the field. Edwards was out yesterday and Ginn can't catch. What do to?

Well you have a point. But it's not always what a guy runs the 40 in that makes him a deep threat in as much as can beat the jam at the line of scrimmage,change directions and sell the route to get separation? And in order to do that you have to at least call a play that allows the WR the opportunity to do this.

Originally posted by 1stAndGoal49ers:

Originally posted by dj43:

Originally posted by 1stAndGoal49ers:

49ers definitely need to take more shots down field. Stretch the defense out. As of right now the opposing defense has to know the ball will almost never be thrown more then a handful of times over 15 yards if that. And that only makes it harder to "Singletary" the ball up the field.

We've got to get a healthy deep threat receiver that can catch the ball before we can just chuck it down the field. Edwards was out yesterday and Ginn can't catch. What do to?

Well you have a point. But it's not always what a guy runs the 40 in that makes him a deep threat in as much as can beat the jam at the line of scrimmage,change directions and sell the route to get separation? And in order to do that you have to at least call a play that allows the WR the opportunity to do this.

DAL just beat us with their practice squad player and he didn't appear very fast as Whitner closed on him quickly.

It is not always about having the perfect receiver before you can throw deep. Brandon Lloyd is a deep threat now. Even Jason Hill got more deep balls as soon as he went onto another team.

Either Smith doesn't like throwing he jump ball or we don't call them. I have a feeling we are not the only team in the NFL that doesn't call the deep ball play and it is more that the QB passes them up.

What we need to do is hike the ball over smith more often so he suddenly can't think about what he's doing, and just plays with his god given talent... just heaves the ball 50+ yards on the run perfectly into his receivers hands. Do it.

Originally posted by moe8092:
Alex Smith.

You dont need to defend Dallas's defense on this one. Look back to last week; better yey, go back to Alex's history with the team. His game is based on short, high percentage passes regardless of the playbook. Its just defendable this year bc the WCO calls for short, high percentage passes.

The truth is that Alex just doesnt think outside the box. You dont need 7 step drops to go deep. Look at what Dallas did with NY last week. Everytime the Jets blitzed, Romo aired it out for his receivers to go grab it. High risk high reward. We3 played a depleted secondary, and Im shocked that Alex barely attempted to expose a 2nd string secondary playing one on one coverage bc of the blitz. Someone better teach Ale the "it" factor, or else every team we play this year is gonna throw blitzes at us, and you're gonna see a lot of games where we lose with Alex throwing for 15/23 158yds. 1TD. May look good for the stat gurus, but certainly not a winning stat. Romo played horribly today; still put up over 250 yards passing and won his team the game. Thats the difference.

You are wrong. See Alex Smith's 2006 season with Norv turner, and the second half of 2009 when he got inserted for Shaun Hill. The dude can, and has thrown deep. Just another example of blind Smith hatred overruling logic.

Originally posted by 49erfeeeever808:
I think he meant few years ago....

2009
Rodgers Stats

Sacked, 50x (most in NFL)

QB Rating, 103.2 (4th in NFL)
Yard/Game, 277.1 (6th in NFL)
Touchdowns, 30 (4th in NFL)
Interceptions, 7 (Tied for 2nd least in NFL)

http://www.nfl.com/stats/categorystats?tabSeq=0&statisticCategory=PASSING&qualified=true&season=2009&seasonType=REG

The key of the passing is the line allowing the QB time to throw. A line may allow a lot of sacks, but if it gives the QB 3 seconds to throw, then it's much better than a line that only gives 2 seconds or less.

Originally posted by dtg_9er:
At the risk of being too positive after a loss, I thought this was Smith's best game in years. The interception was disappointing but other than that he made plays with his legs, threw a very nice long pass after the errant snap, and generally played with heart and toughness. His team mates were very positive about his performance so he is building a leadership perona.

At the beginning of preseason I thought the 9ers would be blown out by any decent team and struggle against the very worst, at least until mid-season when they would start to settle into the new offense and defense. They are ahead of schedule, though the loss was agonizing.

Haven't figured out why the run game is so bad but someone mentioned switching blocking schemes and that is probably the reason. No one is pointing fingers yet and that is also a good sign. They will continue to improve and I would expect they will still have a decent record this year--8-8 or 9-7.

They desperately need speed and playmakers at WR and DBs. I thought Edwards and Crabtree would become a good pairing but that seems unlikely now. Ginn is just not able to catch consistently...and explain that to me! Can catch a punt but not a pass? Depth perception? Morgan is one of my favorites but he is a 3rd or 4th at best. At the moment...is Rogers the only DB playing decently? Whitner? Wow did I overrate these guys...or is it the loss of Spencer?

Lots of good points here...

Nice post, man.

Originally posted by dtg_9er:
At the risk of being too positive after a loss, I thought this was Smith's best game in years. The interception was disappointing but other than that he made plays with his legs, threw a very nice long pass after the errant snap, and generally played with heart and toughness. His team mates were very positive about his performance so he is building a leadership perona.

At the beginning of preseason I thought the 9ers would be blown out by any decent team and struggle against the very worst, at least until mid-season when they would start to settle into the new offense and defense. They are ahead of schedule, though the loss was agonizing.

Haven't figured out why the run game is so bad but someone mentioned switching blocking schemes and that is probably the reason. No one is pointing fingers yet and that is also a good sign. They will continue to improve and I would expect they will still have a decent record this year--8-8 or 9-7.

They desperately need speed and playmakers at WR and DBs. I thought Edwards and Crabtree would become a good pairing but that seems unlikely now. Ginn is just not able to catch consistently...and explain that to me! Can catch a punt but not a pass? Depth perception? Morgan is one of my favorites but he is a 3rd or 4th at best. At the moment...is Rogers the only DB playing decently? Whitner? Wow did I overrate these guys...or is it the loss of Spencer?

I was only upset with the one decision by Harbaugh. But besides that, and the fact that we lost, everything else was about what I expected or much better.

Much better:
1) Alex Smith is making plays in this offense. "Making plays" meaning: Throwing off balance, throwing on the move, throwing with pressure.
2) Pass rush was fantastic. McDonald is a beast, Aldon Smith was a half step from a sack several times but Romo gets rid of the ball so darn quick. Brooks was good too, and Haralson wasn't too bad either. (Obviously, we all now JS is a beast).
3) Bowman is a player, he will be a very good player in this league, he is already a good player.
4) Play calling was pretty good. It's not the play callers fault that Smith doesn't throw deep. He doesn't have the moxie of a Cam Newton or Tony Romo. He likes to play it safe, that's just how he's wired.

What I expected:
1) Gore not getting going. At this point, teams are game planning for Gore 90% and game planning for Smith 10%. With more passing yards, we can take the pressure off of Gore. The pass sets up the run in the WCO. On one-on-one's Smith needs to go down field more. Give Vernon a chance to catch a jump ball.
2) Pass defense. Much of it was to the TE. We have a third string safety and a backup corner in their right now. Tony Romo might make mistakes, but he makes up for them with big plays. That is his MO.
3) O-line was able to give Smith some good time in the first half. Then their defense made adjustments and destroyed our play-action before it got started in the second half. Our half time adjustments need work. We need to get away from the roll outs and quick screens.

Need to get better:
1) We need a more aggressive mindset. If you get awarded a 15 yard penalty for a first down, you take it. 15 yards is a lot; time off the clock is important when you're ahead in the 4th quarter. If you're down by 10, with 11 min left, you take the 3 points, but if you're up by 7, you've got to take advantage of huge, momentum changing penalties. Expect to score a TD, burn some clock, go for the win. Prepare for the worst, but don't fear it.

Originally posted by BrianGO:

Originally posted by dtg_9er:
At the risk of being too positive after a loss, I thought this was Smith's best game in years. The interception was disappointing but other than that he made plays with his legs, threw a very nice long pass after the errant snap, and generally played with heart and toughness. His team mates were very positive about his performance so he is building a leadership perona.

At the beginning of preseason I thought the 9ers would be blown out by any decent team and struggle against the very worst, at least until mid-season when they would start to settle into the new offense and defense. They are ahead of schedule, though the loss was agonizing.

Haven't figured out why the run game is so bad but someone mentioned switching blocking schemes and that is probably the reason. No one is pointing fingers yet and that is also a good sign. They will continue to improve and I would expect they will still have a decent record this year--8-8 or 9-7.

They desperately need speed and playmakers at WR and DBs. I thought Edwards and Crabtree would become a good pairing but that seems unlikely now. Ginn is just not able to catch consistently...and explain that to me! Can catch a punt but not a pass? Depth perception? Morgan is one of my favorites but he is a 3rd or 4th at best. At the moment...is Rogers the only DB playing decently? Whitner? Wow did I overrate these guys...or is it the loss of Spencer?

I was only upset with the one decision by Harbaugh. But besides that, and the fact that we lost, everything else was about what I expected or much better.

Much better:
1) Alex Smith is making plays in this offense. "Making plays" meaning: Throwing off balance, throwing on the move, throwing with pressure.
2) Pass rush was fantastic. McDonald is a beast, Aldon Smith was a half step from a sack several times but Romo gets rid of the ball so darn quick. Brooks was good too, and Haralson wasn't too bad either. (Obviously, we all now JS is a beast).
3) Bowman is a player, he will be a very good player in this league, he is already a good player.
4) Play calling was pretty good. It's not the play callers fault that Smith doesn't throw deep. He doesn't have the moxie of a Cam Newton or Tony Romo. He likes to play it safe, that's just how he's wired.

What I expected:
1) Gore not getting going. At this point, teams are game planning for Gore 90% and game planning for Smith 10%. With more passing yards, we can take the pressure off of Gore. The pass sets up the run in the WCO. On one-on-one's Smith needs to go down field more. Give Vernon a chance to catch a jump ball.
2) Pass defense. Much of it was to the TE. We have a third string safety and a backup corner in their right now. Tony Romo might make mistakes, but he makes up for them with big plays. That is his MO.
3) O-line was able to give Smith some good time in the first half. Then their defense made adjustments and destroyed our play-action before it got started in the second half. Our half time adjustments need work. We need to get away from the roll outs and quick screens.

Need to get better:
1) We need a more aggressive mindset. If you get awarded a 15 yard penalty for a first down, you take it. 15 yards is a lot; time off the clock is important when you're ahead in the 4th quarter. If you're down by 10, with 11 min left, you take the 3 points, but if you're up by 7, you've got to take advantage of huge, momentum changing penalties. Expect to score a TD, burn some clock, go for the win. Prepare for the worst, but don't fear it.

What are you talking about? I hate when posters try and pretend like they know what someone does or doesn't like to do. It's almost as bad as when they try to assume they know what Bill Walsh would do with the players of this team now.

Originally posted by Method:
What we need to do is hike the ball over smith more often so he suddenly can't think about what he's doing, and just plays with his god given talent... just heaves the ball 50+ yards on the run perfectly into his receivers hands. Do it.

I actually think this has a lot to do with it. I may be wrong but, man, when Smith isn't thinking and just reacting, he has made 4 or 5 very impressive plays just this year.

Originally posted by Joecool:

Originally posted by Method:
What we need to do is hike the ball over smith more often so he suddenly can't think about what he's doing, and just plays with his god given talent... just heaves the ball 50+ yards on the run perfectly into his receivers hands. Do it.

I actually think this has a lot to do with it. I may be wrong but, man, when Smith isn't thinking and just reacting, he has made 4 or 5 very impressive plays just this year.

I'm sure Smith was told the moment he put on a Niners uni to be 'safe' by Nolan and Singletary. You have to have some sort of instinct to play qb. Smith has it but has to be within the offense. That play and a few others tells you as much, that he has the instinct to do it. Now let him take a few more risks into the second half of games but not to the end of the game. We will be good.

Originally posted by Joecool:

Originally posted by 1stAndGoal49ers:

Originally posted by dj43:

Originally posted by 1stAndGoal49ers:
49ers definitely need to take more shots down field. Stretch the defense out. As of right now the opposing defense has to know the ball will almost never be thrown more then a handful of times over 15 yards if that. And that only makes it harder to "Singletary" the ball up the field.

We've got to get a healthy deep threat receiver that can catch the ball before we can just chuck it down the field. Edwards was out yesterday and Ginn can't catch. What do to?

Well you have a point. But it's not always what a guy runs the 40 in that makes him a deep threat in as much as can beat the jam at the line of scrimmage,change directions and sell the route to get separation? And in order to do that you have to at least call a play that allows the WR the opportunity to do this.

DAL just beat us with their practice squad player and he didn't appear very fast as Whitner closed on him quickly.

It is not always about having the perfect receiver before you can throw deep. Brandon Lloyd is a deep threat now. Even Jason Hill got more deep balls as soon as he went onto another team.

Either Smith doesn't like throwing he jump ball or we don't call them. I have a feeling we are not the only team in the NFL that doesn't call the deep ball play and it is more that the QB passes them up.

I didn't see many deep routes called this past game. I lay part of that on the recognition that the OL is not capable of protecting for the 3+ seconds necessary to throw it deep.

FWIW, the reason Holley went 77 yards was not play design but poor defensive technique and the wrong defense. It was a basic 12 yard pattern that the 49er blew coverage on.

Originally posted by qnnhan7:

Originally posted by Joecool:

Originally posted by Method:
What we need to do is hike the ball over smith more often so he suddenly can't think about what he's doing, and just plays with his god given talent... just heaves the ball 50+ yards on the run perfectly into his receivers hands. Do it.

I actually think this has a lot to do with it. I may be wrong but, man, when Smith isn't thinking and just reacting, he has made 4 or 5 very impressive plays just this year.

I'm sure Smith was told the moment he put on a Niners uni to be 'safe' by Nolan and Singletary. You have to have some sort of instinct to play qb. Smith has it but has to be within the offense. That play and a few others tells you as much, that he has the instinct to do it. Now let him take a few more risks into the second half of games but not to the end of the game. We will be good.

I would rather him throw an INT 40 yards down field than throw an INT on a curl route. He needs to understand that especially on 3rd downs because you may as well call it a punt. Andy Lee may kick his ass though for taking reps away.