By Lowell Cohn: Put this loss on Harbaugh's tab

So far, Lowell has not been wrong. Harbaugh is playing too safe. A coach with a capable QB doesn't play this safe no matter how new the coach is. So this brings up questions about the QB. Too many teams around the league with new coaches and QB's make it work but, for some reason, #11 is always in the too safe coaching.

Originally posted by 190836:
I know ya all been waiting for his greatness's article. Here it is:
http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20110918/SPORTS/110919485?p=all&tc=pgall

How about you give the ol' ballcoach more than two games before you string him up and flog him publicly, Lowell?

Christ, even the late, great Bill Walsh was getting MURDERED during his first season. Things weren't so hot that second season either, if you recall.

Two games into the season and you're already drawing conclusions? You know better than that!

Who is this ugly guy?

It's all hindsight. But I thought the reason you kicked field goals was because you ran out of downs before scoring a touchdown. When given a new set of downs, and additional yards, and an extremely accurate field goal kicker as back up ... why not go for the jugular? We win that game if we manage to eat another 3-4 minutes and kick that same field goal.

Originally posted by 5280High:
The only mistake Harbaugh made was not putting Hunter in the game, all his other supposed mistakes are "hindsight = 20/20" mistakes. There were lanes to run through but Gore couldnt hit the hole in time, Hunters size and speed would of turn those 0-3 yard gains into 3-7 yards and sustained more drives. I still love Gore and he has his place in games where our O-line can dominate, but the oppenings against dallas were small and closed quickly, Hunter is the only back on this team that had any chance of making something out of the poor blocking.

Fact: Individuals in the secondary lost this game, not coaching, the O-line wasnt great but did not specifically lost this game, not scheme and for once not the QB play.

On all those big plays our secondary was around the ball but did not make a play, either a missed tackle or going for the int instead of knocking the guy out of bounds. We have only two quality starters in the secondary and the rest are simply backups who miss opportunities to make the play. The one positive thing about this loss is that it wasn't due to clock management, DB's showboating, a special teams fumble or any WTF moments. One bad penalty, and then two lost matchups later and the cowboys win. The defense is still weak on the back end and will continue to get exposed throughout the season. The only thing there is to do now is to try and work in Aldon and Culliver to start getting more speed and playmakers(hopefully) on the field.

Excellent post.

The secondary, like the OL, is a work in progress and will take awhile to jell, to learn to play together. Its difficult to be patient, but fact is this team--coaches and players--has only been together for a coupla months. There is alot of room for improvement.

I think you're right on about Gore vs. Hunter.

Frank, God bless him, appears to have lost a step--not on the back end of his runs (which he never seems to get to anymore) but on the front--from the handoff to the LOS. I noticed this last season when Westbrook took over for Frank. Westbrook hit the hole more quickly, before it closed. Frank's just not getting off as quickly. Hunter could be the answer, and I thought Harbaugh should have put him in earlier, in the third quarter, to give him some live action reps, to rest Frank, and to see if Hunter might make a difference.

Originally posted by oldninerdude:

Originally posted by 5280High:
The only mistake Harbaugh made was not putting Hunter in the game, all his other supposed mistakes are "hindsight = 20/20" mistakes. There were lanes to run through but Gore couldnt hit the hole in time, Hunters size and speed would of turn those 0-3 yard gains into 3-7 yards and sustained more drives. I still love Gore and he has his place in games where our O-line can dominate, but the oppenings against dallas were small and closed quickly, Hunter is the only back on this team that had any chance of making something out of the poor blocking.

Fact: Individuals in the secondary lost this game, not coaching, the O-line wasnt great but did not specifically lost this game, not scheme and for once not the QB play.

On all those big plays our secondary was around the ball but did not make a play, either a missed tackle or going for the int instead of knocking the guy out of bounds. We have only two quality starters in the secondary and the rest are simply backups who miss opportunities to make the play. The one positive thing about this loss is that it wasn't due to clock management, DB's showboating, a special teams fumble or any WTF moments. One bad penalty, and then two lost matchups later and the cowboys win. The defense is still weak on the back end and will continue to get exposed throughout the season. The only thing there is to do now is to try and work in Aldon and Culliver to start getting more speed and playmakers(hopefully) on the field.

Excellent post.

The secondary, like the OL, is a work in progress and will take awhile to jell, to learn to play together. Its difficult to be patient, but fact is this team--coaches and players--has only been together for a coupla months. There is alot of room for improvement.

I think you're right on about Gore vs. Hunter.

Frank, God bless him, appears to have lost a step--not on the back end of his runs (which he never seems to get to anymore) but on the front--from the handoff to the LOS. I noticed this last season when Westbrook took over for Frank. Westbrook hit the hole more quickly, before it closed. Frank's just not getting off as quickly. Hunter could be the answer, and I thought Harbaugh should have put him in earlier, in the third quarter, to give him some live action reps, to rest Frank, and to see if Hunter might make a difference.

This could be said about almost every game last year also.

The players lose games but the coaches put them in position to lose them. In this game, the coaches decided to play conservative and shut it down...again, to allow the opposition hope and momentum. Then the players lost it.

Both are to blame and the decision to not accept the penalty is NOT hindsight. Most knew the moment it was made that it was not a good decision.

THEY WERE WHO WE THOUGHT THEY WERE!

Originally posted by Joecool:
This could be said about almost every game last year also.

The players lose games but the coaches put them in position to lose them. In this game, the coaches decided to play conservative and shut it down...again, to allow the opposition hope and momentum. Then the players lost it.

Both are to blame and the decision to not accept the penalty is NOT hindsight. Most knew the moment it was made that it was not a good decision.

Just how do you know that "most" knew the moment it was made that it was not a good decision. You do a poll or something? Mind sharing the actual numbers?

The NFL "book" has always been that you never take points off the board once they're up there. So Harbaugh's call is not without precedent.

Now, after the fact, you come in and disagree with the call?

That's your perogative, but please don't try to convince us that its NOT hindsight.

Originally posted by oldninerdude:

Originally posted by Joecool:
This could be said about almost every game last year also.

The players lose games but the coaches put them in position to lose them. In this game, the coaches decided to play conservative and shut it down...again, to allow the opposition hope and momentum. Then the players lost it.

Both are to blame and the decision to not accept the penalty is NOT hindsight. Most knew the moment it was made that it was not a good decision.

Just how do you know that "most" knew the moment it was made that it was not a good decision. You do a poll or something? Mind sharing the actual numbers?

The NFL "book" has always been that you never take points off the board once they're up there. So Harbaugh's call is not without precedent.

Now, after the fact, you come in and disagree with the call?

That's your perogative, but please don't try to convince us that its NOT hindsight.

Hindsight is agreeing on something, it not working, and then realizing you should have done the other. Listening to all the talk, if you don't think a lot of folks did NOT like the call to keep the points, then I don't know what to say. There were many people who didn't agree with the call the moment it happened and felt it was not a good move. THAT is not hindsight. That's a bad decision at the time.

This never take points off the board is such an old school and backward mentality because it doesn't include context. Do you know why most coaches now go for it on 4th and 1 over taking a 55 yard FG? Because the percentages are better. SO, if you want to stick with never takes points off the board, then why don't you point out why he went for the FG to begin with, which was a VERY risky move.

But wait, because it is written makes it right. That's a bunch of b******t and backward thinking.

If the concensus is that the O-line is the biggest problem on offense than we have to roll Alex out and let him throw the ball 30 times. Why are we running the ball on over 50 percent of our plays when we can't run the ball. They are stacking the box on a weak O-line which I imagine puts CB's one on one with our receivers. Let Alex make a play. If you think he can't do it, than put Kaepernick in. I personally think Alex can be successful rolling out.

Originally posted by Joecool:

Originally posted by oldninerdude:

Originally posted by Joecool:
This could be said about almost every game last year also.

The players lose games but the coaches put them in position to lose them. In this game, the coaches decided to play conservative and shut it down...again, to allow the opposition hope and momentum. Then the players lost it.

Both are to blame and the decision to not accept the penalty is NOT hindsight. Most knew the moment it was made that it was not a good decision.

Just how do you know that "most" knew the moment it was made that it was not a good decision. You do a poll or something? Mind sharing the actual numbers?

The NFL "book" has always been that you never take points off the board once they're up there. So Harbaugh's call is not without precedent.

Now, after the fact, you come in and disagree with the call?

That's your perogative, but please don't try to convince us that its NOT hindsight.

Hindsight is agreeing on something, it not working, and then realizing you should have done the other. Listening to all the talk, if you don't think a lot of folks did NOT like the call to keep the points, then I don't know what to say. There were many people who didn't agree with the call the moment it happened and felt it was not a good move. THAT is not hindsight. That's a bad decision at the time.

This never take points off the board is such an old school and backward mentality because it doesn't include context. Do you know why most coaches now go for it on 4th and 1 over taking a 55 yard FG? Because the percentages are better. SO, if you want to stick with never takes points off the board, then why don't you point out why he went for the FG to begin with, which was a VERY risky move.

But wait, because it is written makes it right. That's a bunch of b******t and backward thinking.

You can't argue with the facts, so you try to change the terminology?

When did you change your name to "Webster?"

It became "hindsight" a moment AFTER Harbaugh made the call, and someone disagreed with it. You have NO IDEA how many disagreed, or agreed, at that moment.

Relying on the "Listening to all the talk, lots of folks didn't like it" argument is hardly persuasive. Can you define "all" or "lots," exactly? No. How many people may have agreed with the call at the moment? You have no idea.

Just how do you know that "many people . . . didn't agree with the call the moment it happened. . . ?" Fact is, you don't.

No one said or wrote anything about the call until AFTER it was made. So, by definition, any questioning of the call--right or wrong--is HINDSIGHT. Also known as "second guessing," which is always much easier, since the second guesser is not under the stress of the moment, does not have any pressure on him, and has the benefit of the original decision maker's result (which was usually not good, or there would be no need to second guess.)

Fact is that it was only the second NFL game that Harbaugh's ever coached. And his team--coaches and players--have only been together a couple of months. Yet when some hack sportswriter says he thinks Harbaugh made a mistake, you immediately jump aboard that bandwagon. If Lowell Cohn suggests rehiring Nolan, or Singletary, you'd agree with that, too?

Please.

Try to remember, there's a reason Lowell is only a sportswriter, and not a head coach. He can criticize a strategic move all he wants, and will always choose one that didn't work out as well as hoped.

That's what he does. It doesn't mean he could have done any better, or that the new HC is lost, or that the team isn't headed in the right direction. Just mean's that Lowell can stroke his ego at night and think to himself, "Gotcha on that one, Harbaugh."

So what.

Did you see Alex on third down yesterday? was beastly! We should pass more in those situations.

He can just shut up, i'm sick of him "For goodness sake, just run the ball and end the game" Shut your big mouth if sing ran it and lost you be blaming him for not passing, you can't win if your players arent doing their jobs and covering the guys and making the tackles!

Okay geniuses, what would you have said if he did what you suggested and they turned the ball over, lost yardage and had to punt, or been forced to kick another field goal and missed. You know darn good and well you would be riding Harbaugh's case for not taking the points.

The truth is, the offense was doing little to make any believe it was going to move the ball, much less score. I mean, did you turn the game off after half time?

Considering most coaches would do what Harbaugh did, I'd say you are talking out the side of your necks.

But then again, it's easy to run your mouth after the fact.

Why is it you bozos seem to want to put the guy on the hot seat before he has any time to do anything with this team? Two games in, and you're acting like he was expected to go 16-0 and win the Super Bowl and is an utter failure for not doing so.

Get real.

This is on harabaugh's tab. It was a bad call. It is a thread if the defense stops the cowboys on 4th and 5. There were three threads last week on the same conservative b.s. even though we got bailed by Ted ginn. Not so this week. SHould have gone for the throat vs. Seatle last week and again vs. Dallas this week. Instead last week we pulled a houdini and this week we got burned by playing not to lose.