Harbaugh Calls Smith "Game Manager"

Harbaugh is doing what he has to do to mold this team, in his own image. Remember, he was a former Bear QB, so first and foremost Defense and Special teams. He said that if you win 2 of 3 phases you have a better than average chance of winning the game. He knows it is going to take a while for the offense to become at least decent. Look how he played it at San diego and Stanford when he first started.

Harbaugh is in only his first year, you guys know how I feel about Alex, but he is doing what Harbaugh is expecting him to do. JH is not going to make Alex work outside of his ability. There will be a couple of games that the niners will let Alex Smith open it up, but only cause they have to against offensive machines of the opps.

Remember Walsh needed 2 years, before the team became a contender in the 3rd. Not saying Alex is the answer, but he is doing what I hope, that is not to eff it up. JH is trying to build some character into this team, make them tough. first order of business to get a team to believe is not to T.O. the ball as much and screw it up so that the players don't go saying "here we go again" inside their head.

Originally posted by valrod33:

Originally posted by boast:
you're reading waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much into that comment. lol.

this

That

lock this bish up. thread title is false and inciting.

Originally posted by Kilgore_Trout:
So he didn't call him a game manager. Next.

As if that's some sort of insult to begin with, Harbaugh simply said he managed yesterday's game well.

Originally posted by boast:

lock this bish up. thread title is false and inciting.

+1 not to mention it is total bs.

Originally posted by 5280High:

Originally posted by Oakland-Niner:

Originally posted by dj43:

Originally posted by 1stAndGoal49ers:

Originally posted by Blake_Fever:


1) Were the Niners the only team to experience an abbreviated off season?
2) Are the Niners the only team with a new head coach and/or offensive system?
3) Are the Niners the only team with bad O-line play?
4) Are the Niners the only team struggling to run the ball?
5) Are the Niners the only team starting a rookie QB? (oops, my mistake, Alex Smith is in year 7!)

Regardless, Smith's ceiling is being a "game manager", a role he is clearly comfortable with--be a good, obedient drone, run the play, dont improvise, dont take any chances, and whenever possible either throw the ball to the RB in the flat, or no more than 10 yards in the air to any other receiver.

Maybe Harbaugh's not challenging him because he knows this is all Smith will ever be. Yes, the Niners are 2-1, but the offense is obviously sorely lacking. And it certainly is from lack of trying.

Blake_Fever

Great post. This is what I truly believe is happening.
What It means for the 49ers this season and beyond is plain and simple. Win the NFCW, lose in the play-offs call Harbaughs 1st year a success.
Get ready for a complete off-season next year and more work on the new system. A new QB starts (Keapernick or Tolzien) and more wins next year. I love this plan.
SUPER BOWL IN 2013

fixed

Money Post......All of it!!!

Does any one actually watch the game? To open the game in our first road start at 10am this year, the first 13 of 15 plays were passing plays... That looks like trust to me. Unfortunately the line sucks, the Gore was missing pass protection and Smith started getting his jittery feet because of it... Harbs felt this and tried to start protecting against game changing plays against us rather than opening up the offense. A smart move when more and more it looked like the odds were against us rather than for us in terms of a big game changing play.

If one has actually played or coached football, you realize everything comes down to probability of success on any given play or situation. Harbaugh has been playing statistical football to a tee and so far we have a winning record, and if not for a couple defensive breakdowns would be 3-0. He has been keeping the game within the limitations of Smith, and its working so the detractors need to STFU. Smith has been key in our victories... does he put the offense on his back and air it out for 300/game, no, but has he come through everytime we needed a big play, yes.

This is basically the same team as last year with an upgraded defense and less practice, a QB with a mentor who can put him in positions to be effective without the pressure of losing the game on one play, and a Coach who is smart enough (opposed to Nolan/Sing/Raye) to play statistical football which continually keeps this team in a position to win because of his feel for the game. It's all situational, and for the entire season this team has not been in a game where winning the field position battle wasn't more important than taking risks on offense. Good coaches are the ones that make the correct statistical decision 80-90% of the time, while using his feel to win the battles when going against the stats. Coaches with an elite QB have the luxury of going away from probabilities and take more risks, but that aint us, Harbs is playing the hand he's dealt and doing a good job with a great chance of hitting the bye week at 3-3 setting up for a divisional run against opponents that are great match ups for this team.

Well said. Excellent analysis.

Originally posted by Memphis9er:

Originally posted by susweel:
Where would you rank him as far starting Qbs in the NFL ?

Right where he is, with the qualification that he should improve along with the team. Right now the offensive line and backs are not helping him much, he is carrying the offense right now.

well you know I disagree with that...

The Special Teams and the Defense are carrying this team right now...Alex is holding the offense back, imo.

now, not necessarily Alex the person, or heck Alex the QB...but more so Alex in the eyes of Harbaugh.....with the type of approach we are taking with Alex and the offense, teams will continue to stack the box and run blitz us into 3 and outs.

Uh, no, he didn't.

Harbaugh said "He really managed the game well."

Completely different meaning... but, way to spin it in order to prove your point.

Originally posted by Afrikan:

Originally posted by Memphis9er:

Originally posted by susweel:
Where would you rank him as far starting Qbs in the NFL ?

Right where he is, with the qualification that he should improve along with the team. Right now the offensive line and backs are not helping him much, he is carrying the offense right now.

well you know I disagree with that...

The Special Teams and the Defense are carrying this team right now...Alex is holding the offense back, imo.

now, not necessarily Alex the person, or heck Alex the QB...but more so Alex in the eyes of Harbaugh.....with the type of approach we are taking with Alex and the offense, teams will continue to stack the box and run blitz us into 3 and outs.

Do you honestly think this offense is capable of doing anything more than it is doing with the OL playing the way it is?

Tell the truth...

Originally posted by Afrikan:

Originally posted by Memphis9er:

Originally posted by susweel:
Where would you rank him as far starting Qbs in the NFL ?

Right where he is, with the qualification that he should improve along with the team. Right now the offensive line and backs are not helping him much, he is carrying the offense right now.

well you know I disagree with that...

The Special Teams and the Defense are carrying this team right now...Alex is holding the offense back, imo.

now, not necessarily Alex the person, or heck Alex the QB...but more so Alex in the eyes of Harbaugh.....with the type of approach we are taking with Alex and the offense, teams will continue to stack the box and run blitz us into 3 and outs.

The fact that the Oline is letting Alex get blasted and that he's still able to perform as well as he has is amazing. Even Montana and Young looked bad when they were sacked 6 times in a game.

compared to the last few years game manager is a good thing.

Originally posted by Blake_Fever:
"I thought Alex played extremely well," 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh said. "He really managed the game well."

http://www.csnbayarea.com/09/25/11/Smith-49ers-offense-save-best-for-4th-qu/l_49ers.html?full_args=09/25/11/Smith-49ers-offense-save-best-for-4th-qu/l_49ers&blockID=567276&feedID=5936

Nothing we didn't already know, but at least Harbaugh has made it official. Pretty much Harbaugh doesnt totally trust Smith and is only asking him to do just enough not to cost the team the game. For a once proud, QB-driven franchise, congratulations Niners faithful, we have Trent Dilfer 2.0 running the show!

Now before you reply with any additional Alexcuses or offer any more Har-pologies, take a moment to answer the following questions:

1) Were the Niners the only team to experience an abbreviated off season?
2) Are the Niners the only team with a new head coach and/or offensive system?
3) Are the Niners the only team with bad O-line play?
4) Are the Niners the only team struggling to run the ball?
5) Are the Niners the only team starting a rookie QB? (oops, my mistake, Alex Smith is in year 7!)

Regardless, Smith's ceiling is being a "game manager", a role he is clearly comfortable with--be a good, obedient drone, run the play, dont improvise, dont take any chances, and whenever possible either throw the ball to the RB in the flat, or no more than 10 yards in the air to any other receiver.

Maybe Harbaugh's not challenging him because he knows this is all Smith will ever be. Yes, the Niners are 2-1, but the offense is obviously sorely lacking. And it certainly is from lack of trying.

Blake_Fever

I hate wasting my time and responding to posts like this...sometimes, you just have to wonder how much do some of these Webzone posters really know about the game of football (Blake_Fever; susweel with the 27,000+ posts, etc…these posters share their opinions at will, but they often come across as not very football-intelligent). I also can't believe I just saw the word "Har-pologies...makes me wonder if this person is really a true fan or a fair-weather fan. Smith is kind of a "game manager" right now as he and his team FURTHER LEARN THE OFFENSE. That's pretty straight forward and simple to see, and that's what Harbaugh is going to ask him what to do as the team gets further up to speed on this system.

By this time in his career, we all know Smith's limitations as a QB...he isn't a great downfield thrower with accuracy (like Brady), he can only improvise on a play so much (where Vick & Rivers excel), and he hasn't really shown the ability to put his team on his shoulders and win games despite whatever adversity he's up against (weak OL play, average WR corp, down by 2 TD's, etc.). The other QBs I've mentioned here, along with Rodgers, Brees, and a few more can pull out games when they or their team is having an off day. Now, these QBs have been in the same systems for years and know them like the back of their hands.

My thoughts on Smith right now: We could be a lot worse at QB, especially given the short offseason due to the crappy lockout and that we have an entire new coaching staff and system. I think Smith will continue to improve under Harbaugh's teaching and also as the offense evolves and is comprehended further. Harbaugh will work with what Smith can do well and play to his strengths and intelligence. We've already seen his running skills come out more - he is mobile. Yet all that said, and until proven otherwise, he will still have certain limitations that Harbaugh has to deal with. The good news is, if anyone can get the most out of Smith by coaching him up and having him continue to improve as the season progresses, it's probably Harbaugh given his entire background in football involving the QB position. As a dedicated 49ers fan of 35 years, I'm sticking with this team and Harbaugh's plan through thick and thin - I'm going to definitely give Harbaugh a reasonable chance to show us he can help turn around this once-great franchise.

Originally posted by 49erfeeeever808:
compared to the last few years game manager is a good thing.

I agree he has improved into being a game manager. I mean he is still not very good but its the best we got right now.

Originally posted by Afrikan:
if Alex fanboys don't believe he can be a Probowl QB....with some of the best weapons in the league at WR, RB, TE.......then why are we wasting our time with him? Why are we wasting our money with these skill set players?.....why are we wasting these precious years of Patrick Willis (who might go to the HOF)...and not get him a SuperBowl ring.


unlike these Alex fans, I EXPECT Alex to have Probowl type stats, with all these weapons....and beat playoff teams, along with a playoff victory here and there.

What a waste these past 7 seasons have been.....if even Alex Fan's don't believe in Alex to play at an All Pro level, we are just wasting another year here in SF.

its like some just want to see him on the field or something....don't care what the production is, JUST AS LONG AS ITS NOT HIS FAULT FOR US LOSING....not, caring that maybe it is ACTUALLY Alex that put this team on his back and carrying them to the playoffs.

I thinks it is coming to light that our roster has been SEVERELY overated... best weapons in the league? We have VD who can be in any top 5 TE argument, then who???

-Crabs is oft injured, lacks chemisty and is inconsistent
-Edwards is a big play waiting to happen but again inconsistent, if he was really considered to be one of the best in the league then why would the jets let him walk when he only costs $1m without incentives
-O-line... hardly
- Gore, solid past 6 years but without the homerism glasses he was truly only top 5 in maybe 2 of those years, in the 5-10 range for the others... now sadly maybe not even top 15 or 20

When Alex was the #1 pick, then yes it's reasonable to expect a franchise QB... but we know how that has turned out so change the expectations to playing effectively and making plays when he has to. He can be a great game manager, not a great QB, but thats what we need right now. It's obvious by now he doesnt have the quick release, anticipation and bravado to be a gun slinger. But so what? he already busted as a #1 pick, the reality is that now he is establishing himself as a journeyman QB.

I dont see why a game manager is such a bad thing for this team RIGHT NOW. Strong D, good special teams, searching for a running game, injured WR's and limited offseason... this play may not be flashy, and it may not win against the perrenial powerhouses but it has a good shot at 8-8, optimistically 9-7 and making the playoffs. Not bad for a 6-10 team with a placeholder QB, declining RB, no line, no true #1 WR, and a half built secondary.

Originally posted by FILTHpigskin:
Uh, no, he didn't.

Harbaugh said "He really managed the game well."

Completely different meaning... but, way to spin it in order to prove your point.

No if you really read into it, i mean really really pick it apart he sais this:

"He really managed the game well" but look deeper. "HE, really MAN-aged the game Well"

So really he is implying that Heman aged well. Not sure what that's got to do with football, but it's a pretty cool thing to say... .. .