90.4

Originally posted by LAFortyNinerfan:
Anyone wearing a Niner jersey has my best wishes. I'm sure everyone on this board wants the team to succeed. It's just that some of us do not think we can be a successful franchise with Alex starting. I think he's a good guy and hard worker and would love if he set the world on fire, for him and for the team, but it has never looked like he has it in him. At the end of the day, regardless of whether I like a guy, I want players than can help make my team great, and I don't think just because we were great in the 80's and 90's, that it's unrealistic to want us to be great again.

I have always wanted the 9ers to bring in the best players avaliable and let them fight for jobs. But many anti Smith folks just want to cut Alex and roll the dice. That doesn't seem sensible to me. Right now he in unquestionably the best QB on the team, so I will root for him with all my heart.

People are just ridiculous. He didn't make mistakes he completed 15 of 20 pass attemtps got the W. What more does everyone want? Yeah obviously Cam Newton had a "better" passing game as far as yes are concerned but he also threw the ball nearly twice as much and lost. If anyone wonders why we are referred too as forty whiner fans just look throughout this board today.

Originally posted by Montana19:

Originally posted by LAFortyNinerfan:
We have incredibly low standards for a good game from a QB.

Sorry im still a little Pissed we Picked Alex Smith instead of Aaron Rodgers

Stop

Originally posted by redmanc07:
People are just ridiculous. He didn't make mistakes he completed 15 of 20 pass attemtps got the W. What more does everyone want? Yeah obviously Cam Newton had a "better" passing game as far as yes are concerned but he also threw the ball nearly twice as much and lost. If anyone wonders why we are referred too as forty whiner fans just look throughout this board today.

As I've said many times, we're called whiner fans because it rhymes with niners. We were called that we were great and celebrating all the time. But of course I'm sure you're just making a point regarding people complaining after a win. But look at the original post. People weren't complaining until they were dared to complain.

Gotta give Alex props (all I care about is wins)

Originally posted by jdt84_2:
It isn't that we can't be great again, it is just that if our QB isn't 40-40 for 400yds with 4tds 0ints it was a failure of a game.

That is an exaggeration but not far off. So many peoples have been pampered because they know very little before joe cool. I meancome on dude people were. Not happy with steve young, how would jeff garcia stand a chance? Then alex had to follow jeff with a moron as a coach who hired a defensive guy as a QB coach. I know it is alexcuses or whatever. But I am not a jock swinger I usually stay out of it because I see both sides.

That is such crap. The fact is, what we witnessed today was vintage Alex. Safe, conservative and uninspiring football. Good enough to beat s**tty teams like the Seahawks, bad enough to get spanked by playoff contenders. 124 yards with one running TD is not a very good game. Let's be honest, the Seahawks are banged up, there corner opposite Trufant was playing in the CFL last year because he was cut by multiple NFL teams. Smith has Davis, Ginn, Edwards, Walker, Morgan, Gore and Crabtree and the best he can do is 124 yards? Anyone else notice Crabtree wide open in the back of the endzone when Smith decided to pass it to Gore seven yards outside of the endzone? Crabtree was throwing a fit back there trying to get Alex to see him. Rarely does Smith keep his eyes down field. He may have completed 15 passes out of 20, but how many of those went for almost no yards? I'm not trying to bash Smith, but I didn't see anything today that was diffrent from years past. He's always played smart and safe with an occational big play, but that's far from taking over a game or putting the team on your back.

Originally posted by jeepzilla:
How did Cam Newton do in his first game with the same off season??

He lost.

Originally posted by Memphis9er:
I think the point was that too many people expect every QB we draft to have to be Montana reincarnated or he gets labeled a bust. Today's performance was not impressive from a passing standpoint, but people are acting like it was the end of the world out there. Harbaugh is still installing the offense, it is going to be ragged and will get better. If Smith plays as well as he did today, the passing yards will come. He was accurate and didn't make any poor decisions that cost the team. I will take that with a win every game. People just need to realize that we were not only lucky, but blessed to have two back to back hall of famers, and that some teams have never had a hall of fame QB at all. Sure it would be great to have a top 5 QB, but it is a proven fact that you do not have to have one to win if you have a good team.

I'll be the first to say that a team doesn't need a top 5 QB to be successful. The Giants beat an 18-0 team without one. The Steelers also won a Superbowl without one. My, as well as many other's responses have been toward the idea that after today's game, those who don't believe in Alex has been proven wrong. I don't think we'll ever be proven wrong, but if we are, it wont be from a game like this. Alex did well managing the game but he didn't even get the opportunity to prove the doubters wrong. It was a very conservatively called game. I'm sure as the team gets more acclimated to the offense, he'll have plenty of opportunities to show us up, and I'm sure all of us, even Sus, will be happy about it. It just didn't happen today, making this thread premature at best.

Originally posted by Oakland-Niner:
That is such crap. The fact is, what we witnessed today was vintage Alex. Safe, conservative and uninspiring football. Good enough to beat s**tty teams like the Seahawks, bad enough to get spanked by playoff contenders. 124 yards with one running TD is not a very good game. Let's be honest, the Seahawks are banged up, there corner opposite Trufant was playing in the CFL last year because he was cut by multiple NFL teams. Smith has Davis, Ginn, Edwards, Walker, Morgan, Gore and Crabtree and the best he can do is 124 yards? Anyone else notice Crabtree wide open in the back of the endzone when Smith decided to pass it to Gore seven yards outside of the endzone? Crabtree was throwing a fit back there trying to get Alex to see him. Rarely does Smith keep his eyes down field. He may have completed 15 passes out of 20, but how many of those went for almost no yards? I'm not trying to bash Smith, but I didn't see anything today that was diffrent from years past. He's always played smart and safe with an occational big play, but that's far from taking over a game or putting the team on your back.

Of course your not trying to bash Smith...you come to praise him. The evil that men do lives after them, The good is oft interred with their bones, So let it be with Alex. He was my friend, faithful and just to me: But Shaj says he was ambitious; And Shaj is an honourable man….

Originally posted by LAFortyNinerfan:
I'll be the first to say that a team doesn't need a top 5 QB to be successful. The Giants beat an 18-0 team without one. The Steelers also won a Superbowl without one. My, as well as many other's responses have been toward the idea that after today's game, those who don't believe in Alex has been proven wrong. I don't think we'll ever be proven wrong, but if we are, it wont be from a game like this. Alex did well managing the game but he didn't even get the opportunity to prove the doubters wrong. It was a very conservatively called game. I'm sure as the team gets more acclimated to the offense, he'll have plenty of opportunities to show us up, and I'm sure all of us, even Sus, will be happy about it. It just didn't happen today, making this thread premature at best.

Agreed, this game was called close to the vest, as the team gets the offense down, we will see more down the field stuff. Today didn't prove anything one way or another, people are overreacting on both sides, as is usual. I just hope the line can figure out how to run and pass block in the same game.

20 quarters of football (including the preseason) and ZERO passing TDs. Our "QB Guru" coach didn't even trust him to throw the ball the vast majority of the time, especially in key situations.

Given all that, he did the best Alex Smith is capable of doing. No turnovers, no sacks and managed to make a few more positive plays than negative with no major mistakes.

That being said, the D, special teams and the fact that Seattle is terrible are the reasons we won this game. If Alex can continue doing his Trent Dilfer impression, we might do ok at times if he continues to avoid making the big errors.

But he sure didn't look like a QB capable of being the reason we win. Just hopefully, not the reason we lose.

There was no reason for Harbaugh to show all his tricks today. In the first half the defense quickly took control of the game and Seattle showed no ability to move the ball. Harbaugh has always used a power running game, and today was no different. Go look at some Stanford film and you will see Gearhart pounding the rock more than Luck was throwing it. With the defense controlling the game JH chose not to unwrap very much of his offense. Why show upcoming opponents more of your stuff just to prove you can. Good coaches don't let their ego get in the way like that. Right now, Dallas is stunned by a tough loss and now have to prepare for a team that showed them very little of their playbook. Harbaugh can open things up with stuff the Cowboys have not see. Call if ultra-conservative but it is also good coaching strategy.

Originally posted by TexasNiner:
20 quarters of football (including the preseason) and ZERO passing TDs. Our "QB Guru" coach didn't even trust him to throw the ball the vast majority of the time, especially in key situations.

Given all that, he did the best Alex Smith is capable of doing. No turnovers, no sacks and managed to make a few more positive plays than negative with no major mistakes.

That being said, the D, special teams and the fact that Seattle is terrible are the reasons we won this game. If Alex can continue doing his Trent Dilfer impression, we might do ok at times if he continues to avoid making the big errors.

But he sure didn't look like a QB capable of being the reason we win. Just hopefully, not the reason we lose.

You do understand they are still installing the offense...right? When Smith had to make plays he made a couple of very good plays, he completed 75% of his passes scored a TD and didn't turn the ball over. Most importantly, he won the game, that is the only thing that matters. They are going to have to step up the play calling to win next week, Dallas has a crappy secondary but a stout front seven.

I'm not an Alex Smith homer by an standards, and many on this board might recognize me as one of his biggest rational 'haters'. lol.



People are posting credit for individual players. Let me point out some plays where Alex contributed to the win today, and give him credit for them:

1. Awesome blocking on that reverse counter to spring Gore on a 10+ yard run.

2. Runs for positive yardage, especially the ones that picked up first downs.

3.The TD run. 2 important things about this play: 1) His gutsy spinning dive into the endzone. Shows his toughness and moxie. 2) I hear a whole lot of complaining about how the offense scored just 1 TD today. I see. We do need to improve on offense. But I will give Smith credit as he was the player who scored that TD. My main point here is that Smith was overall a bigger part of the 'solution' today rather than a part of the 'problem' as he he is in so many games.

4. That helluva pass to Davis over a couple defenders as he rolled out. I know that play surprised everyone who was watching the game lol

5. Pass where he flushed out to his left and threw it to the back shoulder of VD, where only he could make a play. Sign of excellent chemistry btwn the two.

6. The effectiveness of his hard counts. The Seahawks were called for encroachment/offsides a ton of times this game.

7. The perfect throw to Morgan for 26 yards.

8. No turnovers, no sacks ( although that can mostly be credited to the pass pro of the OL, Thank God)

Overall, I would say that Alex played within the gameplan, which was good. Harbaugh said himself in the post game interview that the ultra-conservative playcalling was because of the fact that he isn't comfortable with how little the players know about the offense. He basically was saying that under the circumstances, he thought the Defense and Smith's game managing would be enough to win this given Sunday, against the Seahawks. I know things got a bit ugly before those 2 TDs by Ginn, but I am content at the time being with this win. We are a team that is behind the 8 ball due to the lockout, and a win against a division rival, no matter how ugly, is welcomed. Lets look forward to some improvement each week. That is what should've been the realistic expectations for this team for 2011. For us to grow over the course of the season and eventually, ideally by the end of the season, look like the Harbaugh led WCO team that we all envisioned. Even then, that might not happen this year, but I think that its awesome that we were able to win by more than 2 scores with 30+ TEAM POINTS. Last time I checked, the final score of each game incorporates the scores by the offense, defense and special teams. This was a team win.

Onto the Cowboys. LETS GO NINERS.

Originally posted by dj43:
There was no reason for Harbaugh to show all his tricks today. In the first half the defense quickly took control of the game and Seattle showed no ability to move the ball. Harbaugh has always used a power running game, and today was no different. Go look at some Stanford film and you will see Gearhart pounding the rock more than Luck was throwing it. With the defense controlling the game JH chose not to unwrap very much of his offense. Why show upcoming opponents more of your stuff just to prove you can. Good coaches don't let their ego get in the way like that. Right now, Dallas is stunned by a tough loss and now have to prepare for a team that showed them very little of their playbook. Harbaugh can open things up with stuff the Cowboys have not see. Call if ultra-conservative but it is also good coaching strategy.

Agree, though I would have liked to see Smith work in the red zone today. Dallas will be a better test but boy did they fall apart against the Jets. Was great to see. The 9ers D might finish the job next week.