ESPN's QBR Hating against Alex Smith

Originally posted by oldman9er:

Originally posted by Rsrkshn:
unlike many posters, who seemingly are personally invested in seeing him (specifically Alex Smith) succeed. I'm indifferent

I see a guy who understands the system as well as any coach, but who doesn't possess the necessary intangibles to consistently play at a high level. And, no, I did not see that change last year.

Just gonna address these two things in order.

- There ARE some of us who.. prefer... get that word.. prefer... that Alex have this huge redemption career. No problem admitting that much... it speaks to a great guy that had one of the worst circumstances in his career to deal with and he still persevered and excelled (assuming here that he does). Now that said... if Alex falls to injury in week 3... and Kaepernick comes in and swiftly leads us to SB trophies? We will ALL be jumping through the roof with excitement. That's what you will get with the pro-Alex side. We will take wins however we can, but we simply... prefer... that it be Alex to lead us. Nothing wrong with that.

- When you say "I see a guy who lacks this or that"... as you are typing it out, does the thought of "well obviously Harbaugh disagrees with me" not pop into your head? It should. So then you must choose to think that Jim Harbaugh is a fool when it comes to QB evaluation. See how we can draw that conclusion?

I'm OK with what you're saying in the first part. You do have something invested personally in seeing Alex succeed. Cool. Nothing wrong with that. Personally: I don't have any attachment to Alex. I see him as a prime contributor to the team's past problems (and he has been handsomely remunerated; so I'm not feeling too sorry for him there). I rather have seen him move on. I happen to think that the Niners tried, with their pursuit of Hasselback and Manning, perhaps others we may not know of. In the end, personal preferences mean little and I'm not losing sleep over it.

You're getting a little carried away with your language in the second part, I'd say.
As I said in my previous post, no coach is infallible. It doesn't make him a fool. Is Shanahan a fool because he thought that McNabb was his answer at QB in Washington? Or John Beck? Was Belichek a fool because he thought that Ochocinco was his answer as a speed WR? Besides, as I said, I don't know where Harbaugh stands vis-a-vis Alex if he had all available options. Do you? Maybe he has no other options but to say what he's saying.
So you can see how I how it would be illogical for people to conclude that I thought of Harbaugh as a fool under any circumstances.

Originally posted by Rsrkshn:
Like I said in the other post . . . no change in my assessment of his "instincts" or "personality".

I said what I said about Harbaugh. He will do as he sees fit as it should be. And I have no knowledge as to Harbaughs "instincts" as pertains to ASmith. Is what he's saying about Alex born out of necessity or something else? There is not enough of a history with him for me to judge. Notwithstanding, no coach is infallible; Niner fans would surely recognize that.

I'm not talking about what he is saying; rather, about what he is DOING, which is putting his trust in, and to a degree his coaching future on, Smith. As for necessity, there is none. Harbaugh could choose any number of other QBs to be his starter. Why hasn't he?

Also, which is greater, your affinity for/trust in Harbaugh or your stated lack of investment/trust in Smith? They seem to be at odds, don't you think?

As others have stated, I think Smith is our best option now and that he will continue to trend upward. I also think that Harbaugh is a solid coach who believes in Smith as his QB....hyperbolic media statements aside.

1) When Harbaugh was hired he had carte blanche to change personnel if he chose to do so. Baalke wasn't enamored of Smith so it is likely he would have supported Harbaugh in bringing in another veteran QB and dumping Smith.
-----They did try to improve the WRs and Oline...with limited luck. At the end of the year they allowed two RGs to leave without signing or attempting to sign either. -----That says a great deal about where they perceived the problems to be.
-----They cut the new WR before the end of the year. That says a great deal about where they perceived the problem to be.
-----They brought in five new WRs this off season...which says a great deal...

2) Harbaugh is well known as a judge of QBs and decided to stick with Smith.

3) If Smith does not perform at a championship level this year Harbaugh and Baalke will be looking for replacements.

4) They may or may not find a better option than Smith.

5) It's a wonderful time to be a niner fan!

Originally posted by dtg_9er:


5) It's a wonderful time to be a niner fan!

Not for some, apparently!

Originally posted by oldman9er:
Not for some, apparently!

Can you believe the utter sense of dejection some feel...after a 13-3 year?

Originally posted by dtg_9er:

Originally posted by oldman9er:

Not for some, apparently!

Can you believe the utter sense of dejection some feel...after a 13-3 year?

Only those that have invested so much into wanting Smith to fail. The rest of us are thrilled.