quarterback controversy

Originally posted by Promo:
The reason why I am ready to move on from Alex is that, frankly, he doesn't bring enough to the table. Can you genuinely sit here and say that Alex Smith has ever struck fear in a NFL defense in his life.

Alex's Pros:

Smart presnap

Careful with the ball

Underutilized athleticism

Alex's Cons:

Accuracy

Intermediate/Deep ball

Pocket presence

Ability to improvise

Anticipation

Alex is middle of the pack in terms of physical tools and he has little to no ability to improvise or make adjustments on the fly. Why stick with someone, who is largely dependent on his running game and defense to win games, when NFL history has proven that unproven rookies can do the very same thing.

Because at this point of the season with a 5-2 record you don't upset the apple cart.

The Alex Smith that showed up for the first 5 games and went 13 - 3 last year and won vs. New Orleans in dramatic fashion in the playoffs I can live with. That guy I can accept.

The Alex Smith that showed up the last 2 games leaves me deeply concerned. I've supported Alex for a long time. Is it the badly sprained finger? Is it the high interception game? Now he is more gun shy than normally. He went from super conservative to ultra rediculous conservative. It's just 2 games but he reminds me of his rookie year. I'm really concerned where he is at right now.

I'm willing to give it a little time. But he does have me concerned these last 2 games.

Originally posted by SanDiego49er:
The Alex Smith that showed up for the first 5 games and went 13 - 3 last year and won vs. New Orleans in dramatic fashion in the playoffs I can live with. That guy I can accept.

The Alex Smith that showed up the last 2 games leaves me deeply concerned. I've supported Alex for a long time. Is it the badly sprained finger? Is it the high interception game? Now he is more gun shy than normally. He went from super conservative to ultra rediculous conservative. It's just 2 games but he reminds me of his rookie year. I'm really concerned where he is at right now.

I'm willing to give it a little time. But he does have me concerned these last 2 games.

Every average QB has a decent year or two and then returns to being average or below average.

Originally posted by McLovinAlexSmith:

Originally posted by SanDiego49er:
The Alex Smith that showed up for the first 5 games and went 13 - 3 last year and won vs. New Orleans in dramatic fashion in the playoffs I can live with. That guy I can accept.

The Alex Smith that showed up the last 2 games leaves me deeply concerned. I've supported Alex for a long time. Is it the badly sprained finger? Is it the high interception game? Now he is more gun shy than normally. He went from super conservative to ultra rediculous conservative. It's just 2 games but he reminds me of his rookie year. I'm really concerned where he is at right now.

I'm willing to give it a little time. But he does have me concerned these last 2 games.

Every average QB has a decent year or two and then returns to being average or below average.

On the flip side I wouldn't overly panic based on 2 games. We are 5 - 2 and leading the division. That much he has in his favor.

Originally posted by SanDiego49er:

Originally posted by McLovinAlexSmith:

Originally posted by SanDiego49er:
The Alex Smith that showed up for the first 5 games and went 13 - 3 last year and won vs. New Orleans in dramatic fashion in the playoffs I can live with. That guy I can accept.

The Alex Smith that showed up the last 2 games leaves me deeply concerned. I've supported Alex for a long time. Is it the badly sprained finger? Is it the high interception game? Now he is more gun shy than normally. He went from super conservative to ultra rediculous conservative. It's just 2 games but he reminds me of his rookie year. I'm really concerned where he is at right now.

I'm willing to give it a little time. But he does have me concerned these last 2 games.

Every average QB has a decent year or two and then returns to being average or below average.

On the flip side I wouldn't overly panic based on 2 games. We are 5 - 2 and leading the division. That much he has in his favor.

Well he played bad against Vikings and the game against the Jets was also pretty average. Out of 7 games he's only had 3 good or above average games.

Originally posted by SanDiego49er:

Originally posted by McLovinAlexSmith:

Originally posted by SanDiego49er:
The Alex Smith that showed up for the first 5 games and went 13 - 3 last year and won vs. New Orleans in dramatic fashion in the playoffs I can live with. That guy I can accept.

The Alex Smith that showed up the last 2 games leaves me deeply concerned. I've supported Alex for a long time. Is it the badly sprained finger? Is it the high interception game? Now he is more gun shy than normally. He went from super conservative to ultra rediculous conservative. It's just 2 games but he reminds me of his rookie year. I'm really concerned where he is at right now.

I'm willing to give it a little time. But he does have me concerned these last 2 games.

Every average QB has a decent year or two and then returns to being average or below average.

On the flip side I wouldn't overly panic based on 2 games. We are 5 - 2 and leading the division. That much he has in his favor.

This. I personally would just like to see us open up a bit more. Weather it be coaching or Alex just being afraid to put it in there really that's all we need. We lack explosiveness. We lack the big play. Now we are winning fine without it, but it still is a dimension that needs to be addressed. If Alex just isn't taking the shots, or he's not given the opportunity it needs to progress regardless.

Why hasnt this thread been locked yet?

Originally posted by JiksJuicy:

Originally posted by SanDiego49er:

Originally posted by McLovinAlexSmith:

Originally posted by SanDiego49er:
The Alex Smith that showed up for the first 5 games and went 13 - 3 last year and won vs. New Orleans in dramatic fashion in the playoffs I can live with. That guy I can accept.

The Alex Smith that showed up the last 2 games leaves me deeply concerned. I've supported Alex for a long time. Is it the badly sprained finger? Is it the high interception game? Now he is more gun shy than normally. He went from super conservative to ultra rediculous conservative. It's just 2 games but he reminds me of his rookie year. I'm really concerned where he is at right now.

I'm willing to give it a little time. But he does have me concerned these last 2 games.

Every average QB has a decent year or two and then returns to being average or below average.

On the flip side I wouldn't overly panic based on 2 games. We are 5 - 2 and leading the division. That much he has in his favor.

This. I personally would just like to see us open up a bit more. Weather it be coaching or Alex just being afraid to put it in there really that's all we need. We lack explosiveness. We lack the big play. Now we are winning fine without it, but it still is a dimension that needs to be addressed. If Alex just isn't taking the shots, or he's not given the opportunity it needs to progress regardless.

I like where you stand Jiks, you're a realistic poster.

I don't feel like starting Kaep right now, the unknown scares me while we have the division lead, because even if we cant win the big game, i desperately want to attend or watch another playoff game(s). I don't like losing and most fans don't so people suggesting fans would rather lose with one guy than win with another is ludicrous, have you seen the game day threads. critics and homers alike we are all freaking out and praying to the football gods for a win.

I do agree though Alex has had 3 convincing commanding games GB DET and BUF. The other 4 all left something to be desired for me personally. Even in the Jets win, it was not clicking like we all had hoped in the second year with continuity and all the rave reviews coming out of TC. So i think these coaches when they give kaep plays need to give him real NFL style plays, start preparing him slowly like they have with real plays, and this upcomign TC, barring a big succesful playoff run by Alex, give him the best coaching and have the D go after him in practice to prepare him for real D's.

We can never really know if someone is fully ready, i dont think one can be, but by next year he shoudl have his shot, hes the guy this FO and HC wanted, and if they cant mold him with 2 abnd a half TC's then somethings up and we may need another solid draft of a future QB. I think with our coaches track record he can teach Kaep how to limit mistakes, and as long as he gets experience with his talents and does not have a fragile psyche then he hopefully can become good and a feared Qb with his talents. Just IMO would benefit from having to take over a team mid season, that rarely works, only if an injury happens has it worked really well i.e. Brady. SO lets keep winning and hope Kaep can play better than the mediocre sort of play we have grown accustomed to next year.

harbaugh won't bench alex unless he has 3 more games like the giants. No controversy.

You keep saying that Alex doesnt strike fear in the Defense and teams he plays, they are doing exactly what your doing. Living on the past, what does Alex keep doing? He keeps beating these guys and has been for awhile. They dont fear him and he keeps destroying the blitz. If im correct he is top 10 when you blitz him. As a matter of fact i would argue that they are game planning a bit more to try and defuse Alex, knowing how great he is against the blitz. The giants didnt blitz hardly at all, thinking they would fool him with coverage. No controversy here he has 10 days to recover and get right, i personally think his hand is bothering him more than the team let on. He is gonna be fine

no controversy....Harbaugh will try to go down with Alex, like Sing and Nolan. But I don't think Baalke will.

Pete Carroll has said publicly, even when he was playing well, that Russell Wilson would have to continue to play well or he will be replaced by their backup. Because they have a team that is ready to win now.

I believe it is time for Colin. Alex doesn't scare anyone, and I believe he actually takes away a ton of potential from our weapons on offense. Imagine how much we could get out of all of our stars on offense with Colin behind the line. He would actually throw the ball deep, and open things up for everyone with his ability to run. This coaching staff needs to stop being so scared. Risk and reward.

Originally posted by kingairta:

Originally posted by Promo:
The reason why I am ready to move on from Alex is that, frankly, he doesn't bring enough to the table. Can you genuinely sit here and say that Alex Smith has ever struck fear in a NFL defense in his life.

Alex's Pros:

Smart presnap

Careful with the ball

Underutilized athleticism

Alex's Cons:

Accuracy

Intermediate/Deep ball

Pocket presence

Ability to improvise

Anticipation

Alex is middle of the pack in terms of physical tools and he has little to no ability to improvise or make adjustments on the fly. Why stick with someone, who is largely dependent on his running game and defense to win games, when NFL history has proven that unproven rookies can do the very same thing.

Because at this point of the season with a 5-2 record you don't upset the apple cart.

I would argue that we are 5-2 despite Alex Smith, not because of him. The two games we lost Alex did not make the plays he needed to win. Last night we most certainly won in spite of him. The red zone interception was extremely troubling for two reasons. First, he missed a wide open Randy Moss in the back of the end zone - he did not go through his progression, did not stay in the pocket. Second he did not see the defender that he threw right to despite the fact that he was throwing into a crowd of 5 people. Throw it high, throw it outside ... The guy has been playing for 7 years and he made a rookie mistake. That's really unacceptable. Moss was open on several plays last night down field and Alex simply didn't see him or, if he saw him, didn't have the confidence to throw the deep ball. I am not advocating that our offense needs to air it out - I like ball control, run oriented, smash mouth football. But there are going to be games where that formula won't cut it and when it doesn't we need a quarterback that can execute down field. Alex has some positives but if he is going to turn the ball over and consistently miss open receivers then why is he a better option than a younger player with more upside?

Originally posted by WRATHman44:
I really like Alex, and I want him to succeed, especially since he is our starter until big Jim says otherwise. I think anyone looking objectively at this season can say that they have not been disappointed by his play. No one was hoping for our passing game to look like what we saw against the Jets, Giants, or Seahawks. I find Alex's successes to be rewarding, but I spend so many games being frustrated by his tendency to pass up NFL-open receivers down the field (not necessarily running free, but with a position of ball-leverage that should allow for a high-percentage completion with decisive throwing and good ball placement). This frustration predates Harbaugh, so I am not interested in arguments that Alex only does this because he is being coached to check down.

I am skeptical that Kaep could make the same calls at the line that Alex has been making, so it seems reasonable that the gain we get with flexibility and athleticism could be offset by us not getting set in the correct play in some situations. I don't worry about Kaep having to learn how to read coverages on the fly, because I frankly do not believe that Alex has been very good at that this year, so Kaep should not be a big step down. I do believe that Kaep has the velocity to fit the ball into places that Alex cannot, and he seems to have more of a killer instinct. I believe the team is still behind Alex, and he is still winning for the most part. I am content to sit on my frustrations and hope for more offense, as long as Harbaugh still believes that Alex is the best option (as a side note, isn't it nice to have a coach we trust to make decisions like this?)

This is how I think the most rational of us feel. Alex has been up and down this year, but I still have faith that he is a good QB for this team right now. In a vacuum he is a slightly below average starting QB, but I still think he is a top 10 QB for our specific team at this time because he is very smart, protects the ball, and get us into plays that have a good chance to succeed the majority of the time. I think he will grow into a more explosive aggressive QB (that he would need to be to be considered a truly solid QB and put more pressure on opposing D's) as the next couple of years unfold. If he does regress beyond his recent play, I think Kaep gets his shot because the rest of this team is contending level. But I still believe that Alex will show progress and play closer to the Packers/Lions level than the extreme high of the Bills or the lows of the last couple of games. And if he does that we are going to go quite deep in the playoffs.