What keeps the offense from begin elite | Page 3

merm49 · 2012-02-27T22:46:01-08:00

When healthy last year, we had one of the deepest, most talented offenses in the league. Morgan, Edwards, Crabtree, Ginn, Davis, Walker, Gore, Hunter, Miller. That's a deep group of very solid offensive skill players. Obviously, we had major issues with health and the WR corps was reduced to Crabtree and scrubs by the playoffs. Nonetheless, I and a lot of others felt we had the talent to be an elite offense, as we should be next year adding a couple WRs in FA and the draft. Instead, we were average at best. There were some great moments (Philly, Detroit, Saints), but for the most part we plodded along, couldn't score in the RZ, and couldn't convert 3rd downs. Is that due to Alex or play calling? I'm more inclined to fault play calling, and here's why. (Disclaimer: the unique offseason necessitated a conservative offensive approach the first few games; I'm talking about once we got to mid season) Alex Smith demonstrated that he can be a competent, game managing QB who makes the crucial play when he has to have. Look at Philly, DET, NO for proof, along with big-time throws against PIT, at SEA, etc. He did enough to get us to the SB if not for KW's first bout of ineptitude and idiocy. He has his faults, but he made a gigantic leap under Harbaugh in year one and only figures to get better with a full offseason and first-ever year in the same system (I still find it unbelievable that we can't evaluate Alex in year 2 of an O and he's entering his 8th year). If Harbuagh can get Smith to play the entire game with the same urgency as he displayed in his comebacks, he's going to be very dangerous. Given Smith's demonstrated crunch-time ability, I believe more of the fault lies with play calling. Now, Harbuagh's "every possession must end with a kick (KO, FG, or Punt)" philosophy is a great strategy and won us a lot of games. It also cost us the Dallas game, and forced us settle for tons of FGs that should have been TDs. How many times did we reach the RZ only to run 3 consecutive times up the gut from the start of the season up to the AZ loss. For example, I attended the game vs. the Skins where we reached the RZ 3 times but ran on each play. Later in the season, we seemed to become too pass-heavy, eschewing the run when it was working well for us. This was never more glaring than the NFCC, where Gore and Hunter were gashing the Giants, yet Roman/Harbaugh opted to put the game on Alex's shoulders, forcing him to throw in the face of a strong pass rush to a double-covered VD, an off-his-game Crabtree, and scrubs. Over the course of the entire season, we rarely ran screen plays, despite facing a lot of pressure and having Hunter, Davis, and Walker as proven threats on these routes. We called questionable trick plays in crucial games, such as the failed half-back pass vs NO and the KW fumbled reverse vs NYG. We just never seemed to get in to a good rhythm as an O, pounding the rock early in the season and then forgetting about it late; too often we got away from going with what was working in games. I know I'll probably take some heat for criticizing play calling, as every fan imagines him/herself as a better OC than the guys actually doing the job. I still have the utmost faith in Harbuagh and his staff, and the glimpses of greatness (for example, the 2 late TDs vs NO) give me hope that they will adjust the game plan and make better use of our considerable offensive talent going forward.

Feb 28, 2012 at 8:55 AM

#31

sdaddy101269
Veteran
Posts: 4,737

Originally posted by SundayTicket:
Im a alex smith fan all the way. hes our QB of our team But just saying this...

Imagine if we brought in Philip Rivers and let brooks and 1 other guy go. then grab a FA WR and draft 1??

QBPhillip Rivers. RB Gore/Hunter WR/Free Agent WR/Crabtree/ WR Morgan/ WR 1st RD Pick/ TE/Vernon Davis/Walker

Then our Defense of pwillis, Bowman, Aldon, Justin, RayMac, Rodgers, Dashon, Whitner, Cullliver. I mean that is just a wrecking ball.

How the hell are we supposed to get Philip Rivers???

Feb 28, 2012 at 8:57 AM

#32

SundayTicket
Member
Posts: 5,316

Originally posted by sdaddy101269:

Originally posted by SundayTicket:
Im a alex smith fan all the way. hes our QB of our team But just saying this...

Imagine if we brought in Philip Rivers and let brooks and 1 other guy go. then grab a FA WR and draft 1??

QBPhillip Rivers. RB Gore/Hunter WR/Free Agent WR/Crabtree/ WR Morgan/ WR 1st RD Pick/ TE/Vernon Davis/Walker

Then our Defense of pwillis, Bowman, Aldon, Justin, RayMac, Rodgers, Dashon, Whitner, Cullliver. I mean that is just a wrecking ball.
How the hell are we supposed to get Philip Rivers???

i have no idea, would be awesome though to have him.

Feb 28, 2012 at 9:02 AM

#33

80sbaby24
Member
Posts: 2,990

Originally posted by Jakemall:

Originally posted by cNiner:
Alex nuf said .

Yup..I hate those QBs that rank in the top 10 despite their WRs dropping more passes per att. than any other team with a winning record while getting more pressure than 2/3rd of the NFL QBs.

Its so comical to me that some posters continually say Alex ranks in the top 10 QBs. Aside from QBR, which he is barely in the top 10, there isnt a single measurable statistic that Alex ranks in the top 10 in. Thats like saying Jose Calderon is a top 10 free throw shooter, so he is a top 10 NBA point guard.

Feb 28, 2012 at 9:03 AM

#34

LasVegasWally
Veteran
Posts: 24,864

Elite doesn't mean perfect. Every team can get beter in every phase. You have to play the hand you're dealt and or coaches did great with what they had. At the end we had terrible WR production and no KO/PR people. Essentially, Alex was throwing to Vernon and that was 99it. So DCoordinators focused on our runnning game and had single coverage on or WR.

To me an elite team will always be considered a no-brainer SBowl contender and not a surprise team. Elite teams are "Proven." So, using that as a guage the current elite teams are the Pats, Ravens, Packers, Giants, Saints AND I'm sure I missed some team.

For us to be considered 'Elite" we:

a). Must improve RG. Snyder made an immediate improvement BUT it is still not enough.
b). Get receivers who can get seperation - 1 TE, 2 WR [Morgan's return will be a boost and FA & Draft should supply the rest.]
c). Get 1 more Pass Rusher [Right now they double team Justin and sometimes Aldon BUT they can't double team 3 guys]
d). Get another cover CB [Much easier said than done]

Overall I grae our team an "A" and Coaches an "A+"

Feb 28, 2012 at 9:04 AM

#35

49ersalldaway126
Veteran
Posts: 14,549

ask this question at the end of the year after an actuall offseason in the same offense for first time in a while

Feb 28, 2012 at 9:04 AM

#36

Cjez
Hall of Fame
Posts: 170,538

Originally posted by Jakemall:

Originally posted by cNiner:
Alex nuf said .

Yup..I hate those QBs that rank in the top 10 despite their WRs dropping more passes per att. than any other team with a winning record while getting more pressure than 2/3rd of the NFL QBs.

ball placement has a lot to do with dropped passes. fact

Feb 28, 2012 at 9:05 AM

#37

SundayTicket
Member
Posts: 5,316

Originally posted by 80sbaby24:
Its so comical to me that some posters continually say Alex ranks in the top 10 QBs. Aside from QBR, which he is barely in the top 10, there isnt a single measurable statistic that Alex ranks in the top 10 in. Thats like saying Jose Calderon is a top 10 free throw shooter, so he is a top 10 NBA point guard.

come on now bro lol... Quarter Back Rating has alot to do with the position. that is telling you how accurate and completions etc the quarterback is.. Free Throws to a quarterback is more like how good he is at avoiding a sack i suppose? i dont know but free throws to QBR... lol

im expecting a 3.5k+ yard performance 25tds 10 ints from smith this next year

Feb 28, 2012 at 9:08 AM

#38

80sbaby24
Member
Posts: 2,990

Originally posted by SundayTicket:

Originally posted by 80sbaby24:
Its so comical to me that some posters continually say Alex ranks in the top 10 QBs. Aside from QBR, which he is barely in the top 10, there isnt a single measurable statistic that Alex ranks in the top 10 in. Thats like saying Jose Calderon is a top 10 free throw shooter, so he is a top 10 NBA point guard.

come on now bro lol... Quarter Back Rating has alot to do with the position. that is telling you how accurate and completions etc the quarterback is.. Free Throws to a quarterback is more like how good he is at avoiding a sack i suppose? i dont know but free throws to QBR... lol

im expecting a 3.5k+ yard performance 25tds 10 ints from smith this next year

Im not going to argue with your expectations. I hope you are correct.

Maybe QBR and FT% was not a good comparison, but my point stands. One top 10 QB statistic doesnt make a top 10 QB. Can Alex get there one day? With Harbaugh molding him....it could definitely happen. But he isnt there yet, and he definitely wasnt there last year.

Feb 28, 2012 at 9:09 AM

#39

Joecool
Veteran
Posts: 70,984

I just think our offensive players need more time and maybe a better replacement for Delanie (dude just isn't tall enough for TE), RG or Center. Other than that, Alex, Vernon, Crabs, Morgan, Williams, Gore, Hunter, and Miller is a lot of talent on offense.

Feb 28, 2012 at 9:10 AM

#40

49ersalldaway126
Veteran
Posts: 14,549

Originally posted by ChazBoner:
ball placement has a lot to do with dropped passes. fact

nope

dropped passes that are recorded are 100% on reciever

this is according to sando who said we have the highest drop % in nfl

Feb 28, 2012 at 9:16 AM

#41

Mr.Mcgibblets
Veteran
Posts: 15,079

Originally posted by 80sbaby24:
Its so comical to me that some posters continually say Alex ranks in the top 10 QBs.

Why it bothers you so much is the bigger issue. Just which team do you support anyway?

Feb 28, 2012 at 9:18 AM

#42

Joecool
Veteran
Posts: 70,984

Originally posted by 49ersalldaway126:

Originally posted by ChazBoner:
ball placement has a lot to do with dropped passes. fact

nope

dropped passes that are recorded are 100% on reciever

this is according to sando who said we have the highest drop % in nfl

We did drop a lot of "easy" passes but our guys also caught a lot of hard ones.

At the same time, our QB missed a lot of wide open TD passes.

It's all give and take.

Feb 28, 2012 at 9:20 AM

#43

Fal_Mc11
Veteran
Posts: 69

First thing is that you have to consider that as a team we were running a new offense without the normal OTA's and offseason. Second I believe the team was building confidence in Alex and didn't want to put the game squarely on his shoulders, plus the players themselves have admitted they were learning the offense throughout the year. But as the season went on we saw more of the playbook and I believe it will continue and grow into this year.

*Considered this:
-We are a running team whether you like it or not (we live and die by the running game plain and simple)
-We are not Green Bay or New England and will not put up points like them (this isn't Madden football)
-Morgan went down (Smith's second favorite target)
-Our WR's drop to many balls that are catchable (it's sad how many missed BIG plays we had this year)
-O-line had some growth pains in the beginning of the season (looked pretty good toward the end though)

The coaches will give Smith more chances to shine this year. They will open up the playbook more. FINALLY a season with the same offense. OTA's. Full off season. A WR in free agency and one or more in the draft. The offense will improve this year. BOOK IT!

Feb 28, 2012 at 9:24 AM

#44

SundayTicket
Member
Posts: 5,316

Originally posted by 80sbaby24:

Originally posted by SundayTicket:

Originally posted by 80sbaby24:
Its so comical to me that some posters continually say Alex ranks in the top 10 QBs. Aside from QBR, which he is barely in the top 10, there isnt a single measurable statistic that Alex ranks in the top 10 in. Thats like saying Jose Calderon is a top 10 free throw shooter, so he is a top 10 NBA point guard.

come on now bro lol... Quarter Back Rating has alot to do with the position. that is telling you how accurate and completions etc the quarterback is.. Free Throws to a quarterback is more like how good he is at avoiding a sack i suppose? i dont know but free throws to QBR... lol

im expecting a 3.5k+ yard performance 25tds 10 ints from smith this next year

Im not going to argue with your expectations. I hope you are correct.

Maybe QBR and FT% was not a good comparison, but my point stands. One top 10 QB statistic doesnt make a top 10 QB. Can Alex get there one day? With Harbaugh molding him....it could definitely happen. But he isnt there yet, and he definitely wasnt there last year.

i just hope we get kaepernick in the game and see what we have in him if hes going to be molding behind smith... If Smiths not the guy, im really hoping we have the right guy sitting behind him and not another bust.. quicker we find out what Kaep has and if hes better or worse than our guy alex, the quicker we can find a guy to sit behind alex smith... Even if alex is the guy for the next 4-5 years and get us a Superbowl theres no problem with having a guy behind him.. could do a Matt Flynn/Kevin kolb type deal to get draft #'s or even pull a new england where Ryan mallett is just hanging out.. i dont know how well hes been doing with the patriots though.

Feb 28, 2012 at 9:25 AM

#45

OKC49erFan
Veteran
Posts: 7,422

Originally posted by ChazBoner:

Originally posted by Jakemall:

Originally posted by cNiner:
Alex nuf said .

Yup..I hate those QBs that rank in the top 10 despite their WRs dropping more passes per att. than any other team with a winning record while getting more pressure than 2/3rd of the NFL QBs.
ball placement has a lot to do with dropped passes. fact

God forbid the ball hits them in the hands.