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Review of every single Drop back Alex took tonight

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1st Quarter-
10:14 2rbs/2 wrs/ 1 te-ball is snapped, designed rollout, good swinging gate by the backside of the line,front side of the line holds up well enough but does give up penetration, not enough to disturb Smith as he has already left the pocket. Deep dig is covered, flat out is thrown to VD easy pick and catch 2 yard pickup. Ball goes to the right place dictated by the coverage

9:58 1rb/2wr/2te- ball is snapped, Te's running crossing routes Ravens lb hand them off well, covered, Ginn running a 15 hitch should probably be the Wr Alex goes to, ball is thrown to Crabtree on a 7 hitch, just short of the first down. Alex throws to his first read who is open but if he goes to his second read Ginn was more open with a longer gain, can't fault a Qb for throwing to his first open wr though.


9:04 1 rb/2 wr/2te- ball is snapped, we are in a max protect keeping 7 in against 5 rushers, Smith is flushed out of the pocket after 2.3 seconds(stopwatch app so may not be perfect but is very close) tries to pick up 1st down with his legs tackled by a safety. When they show Smith's POV, you can see Crabtree running a Slant, he is blanketed from the inside zone between both a lb, a lb, and a safety, Ginn running a 10 and out is blanketed by a corner, and Delanie is covered by a lb in the flat. No where to safely throw the ball. O line didnt give Crabtree enough time to get to the soft spot in this zone on the other side of the Lbers which would of been a huge gain given a good throw and catch.


5:07 1rb/2 wr/2 te- ball is snapped, slight pressure not bad enough for Smith to move, 5 rushers vs. 5 protectors, Vernon running s short crossing route, bad handoff between the lbs in their zone, Smith throws a rocket into Davis, Davis does all the real work gains 20ish yards. Smith sees the break down in coverage and goes to the right place with the ball.


3:25 2rb/2wr/1 te- Alex audibles at the los/ball is snapped, Ravens bring 7 to our 6 in protection, weak playaction by Smith, then 3 seconds to throw but gets the ball out, it is off target but to the right option, VD on an out ball is low and in the dirt good effort by Vd. Alex did not step into the throw, bad pass, knew he would be under pressure pre snap.


2:39 1 rb/4wr bunched formation both sides- ball is snapped, Ravens bring 5 rushers to our 6 protectors. By the time Alex reach's his backstep in his drop he is being pressured up the gut almost instantly.Doesnt even have time to read the defense. leads to an Akers fg.


2nd quarter-
14:46 1rb/3wr/1 te- ball is snapped, good protection, 3 step drop ball is out on Alex's first hitch to Crabtree who is actually doubled covered on the short route, perfectly placed ball.

14:15 2 rbs/1wr/2 te's- ball is snapped, another weak playaction sell by Smith, we only have 2 people running a route, they bring 6 to our 8 in protection but they still get some pressure, chop block on Chilo, td called back....good pass and catch by Ginn and Smith though.

12:50 1 rb/4 wr trips to the right- ball is snapped, Smith is in the shotgun, Ravens presnap alignment confused us badly, protection is in the wrong place, Smith reach's his back step and has a untouched rusher in his face. Their 4 beat our 6 protectors in less then 2 seconds, really really sad. Vernon is open in the seam if Alex can float it over the lb, just no time here. Vernon hasnt even gotten to the true 2nd level by the time Alex is hit. this is on the o line.


8:47 2 1rb/2wrs/2 tes- ball is snapped, they bring 4 to our 5. great coverage down field, Alex may have been able to squeeze one into VD here but he would of been throwing on right at Ed reed. There was enough time to step up and scramble possibly. I will say this one is on Alex, throw it out of bounds towards a wr, you cant take the sack.

2:14 1 rb/2 te/2wr- ball is snapped, they bring 4 against our 5, Smith is pressured on his first hitch once again by Haloti Ngata right up the gut, Smith spins away scrambles to the flat where he squeezes a laser into Frankie. Really a great play by Smith here to first keep it alive then to complete the pass in a tight window.

2:00 1rb/2 te/2 wr- ball is snapped, they bring 5 vs our 6, Smith has plenty of time to throw, in fact he takes 3 hitches before he goes through his progression and get to Gore in the flat, terrible pass at Gore's feet, Smith's happy feet kill him on this play. Just a terrible play on Smith's part.

1:55 1rb/3 wr/1 te-ball is snapped, they bring 4 to our 6, Oline makes a nice pocket for Smith, Smith is under pressure from the outside, however the nice pocket affords him the chance to step up and throw a pass to Ted Ginn who makes a nice grab on a high pass. Medicore pass by Smith, Oline did its job well enough.

1:27 1rb/3 wr/1 te- ball is snapped they bring 4 against our 5. Nice protection, good pass to Crabtree by Smith, right read into tight coverage.

1:08 1rb/3 wr/1 te- ball is snapped they bring 4 against our 6 and get pressure on Alex's 2nd hitch( around 2.5 seconds) it is only a 3 step drop so Smith gets the ball out to Vernon on a crossing pattern. Terrible protection but a nice pitch and catch here.

0:44 1rb/3 wr/1 te- ball is snapped they bring 4 against our 6 again. Solid protection, Alex has enough time to go through his progression, step up into the pocket no one breaks free as he scrambles so he makes the right choice and throws the ball away.

0:18 1rb/3 wr/1 te- ball is snapped they bring 4 against our 5. Safety tips his hand early in his backpedal and flips his hips towards the seam ( and the streak VD is running there) Alex recognizes this and throws the ball to his big WR on the outside in single coverage with no safety help over the top. Ball is underthrown by 3 or 4 yards and BE makes 0 play on the ball to help Alex. Bad pass bad effort, please sit down BE.

3rd Quarter-


14:26 1 rb/4 wr- ball is snapped, we throw a designed bubble screen to Crabtree, nice easy pass and catch that goes for 10 yards. Trying to get a rhythmn and move the chains.

13:16 1 te/4 wr- ball is snapped they bring 4 against our 5, pressure on Alex again on his first hitch, pressure is up the gut and from the right. no time, will someone please do something with this oline, this is just an embarassing play. to add insult to injury when you see the play from Alex's eye, no one is open in the zone coverage, although Ginn does break free as Alex is getting hit. The fact that they can get such consistent pressure with 4 while droppping 7 in coverage is bad news for us.

12:44 1rb/3 wr/1 te- ball is snapped they bring 5 against our 5. We hold up well in the middle but Suggs breaks free from Smith's right/ Alex steps up and delivers a floater to Crabtree who makes a great catch.oline is starting to get its tail whipped here.

11:16 2 rbs/2 wr/1te- Alex audibles when blitz is shown, signals a hot route to Crabtree. Ball is snapped, they bring 6 against our 6. Pressure up the middle, Staley holds his block well, Alex rolls around the left and runs for the first down. Nice job making a first down run with his legs when under pressure here. They show Alex's POV you can see there is literally no one ever close to being open for him to go to the ball with.

10:52 1rb/3 wr/1 te- Another bubble screen, this one is to Ginn, nice pass and catch for the first down.

9:04 1 rb/2 wr/2 te- Alex signals a hot route to Delanie Walker, ball is snapped, they bring 5 against our 6, they overload the right side pretty badly, they are starting to see the Chilo weakness. Alex reaches his back step takes one hitch and is hit. Once again this sack is on the oline plan just getting their tail whip and giving Alex no where to go with the ball. Alex could of hit Crabtree on a short crossing route here, not sure what progression crabtree was but he had a step, as i rewatch it, while Alex was being hit was when the route was developing....oline faults all the way.

4th Quarter-

14:02 1rb/3 wr/1 te- ball is snapped, another quick bubble screen, this one to Kyle Williams, he tries to get cute and only reaches with one hand, drops the pass, there was alot of running room there. Williams ran his route a little flat and needs to go for the ball with both hands there.

13:35 1rb/3 wr/1 te- ball is snapped, they bring 5 against our 6, outside blitzer is untouched, Alex tries to step up but only gets 2 steps before he is hit. Oline gives up pressure in less then 2 hitches again....however, Alex has an open Crabtree sitting in the soft spot created by the trip bunch formation. He needs to make this throw, you can see him start to and pull it down as he feels the pressure from behind. This one is just as much on Alex as it is his line. Needs to let the ball go.

8:19 1 rb/2 wr/2 tes- Alex calls an audible, Smith is flushed out of the pocket by pressure up the gut quickly, tries to squeeze a pass in against Ed Reed who broke off his man more then likely by watching Smith's eye but no way for me to know this for sure. Another quick pressure given up by our line. Was actually open however a great play by Reed.

8:12 1rb/3 wr/1 te- ball is snapped they bring 4 against our 6. The pocket literally collapses instantly Smith is flushed to his left. Alex is trying to find someone down field, and gets hit and fumbles. He cant throw this ball away since his team is down by 10 and it is 3rd down, his Oline literally let his pocket go instantly. I still blame the Oline here.

3:05 1 rb/2 wr/2 te- ball is snapped they bring 4 against our 9! Pressure is still given up in less then 3 seconds...wow just so sad to see our oline play and give up this sack.

2:49 1rb/3 wr/1 te- ball is snapped, decent pocket pressure coming from the ends. Smith steps up makes a good throw for a solid gain by Kendall Hunter, still short of the 1st down.

2:23 1rb/3 wr/1 te- ball is snapped they bring 4 against our 5, no pressure, a quick throw out of Smith, throw is a yard of target, Hit crabtrees hand but is closer to the defender then him. This throw needs to be more on Crabtrees body. This incomplettion is on Smith on this important 3rd down play.

2:17 1 te/4 wr- ball is snapped, no time for pressure 1 step drop quick throw to Edwards, nice accurate pass, generous spot saved us. Was really close either way. That being sad how does a man of his size not drag the db for 1 yard and actually get dragged backwards, so are a sad sad man right now Edwards.

2:00 1rb/3 wr/1 te- ball is snapped, once again there is pressure in less then 3 seconds Smith steps up and takes off, is too slow to get out of bounds, in terms of time management Smith should of thrown this ball away.

1:35 1rb/3 wr/1 te- ball is snapped, this may be the most embarassing play of the game for our oline. They rush for against our 5 and it literally looks like a jail break blitz 3 lineman are on Smith in less then 2 seconds with our guys standing like statues. Smith throws it away and get an intentionally grounding call. What does the line expect him to do with protection like this? Pittiful

1:28 1rb/3 wr/1 te- ball is snapped, nice protection probably bc there is only 3 rushers on a 3rd and 22. Nice pass that the defense gave him to VD underneath. Was a gift dictated by the defensive coverage.

1:21 1rb/3 wr/1 te- ball is snapped, they bring 4 against our 5. Decent pocket for 3 seconds then there is pressure, Alex steps up hits Ginn right in the number and he drops it....what else is there to say.


Overall Smith had a medicore game but what else would anyone expect with the kind of pressure he was under. I counted 2 sacks against Smith and that is being generous to our Oline. He had 4 passes i thought were off target. Overall Alex Smith did a solid job given what he had to work with. Now I made this so we could talk specific plays not just oh Alex sucked, or Alex was great. So please feel free to critique the review and find what I missed but overall rewatching this showed 1 thing. This was on the Oline, not Alex Smith. Period. Also if I was forced to give Alex a grade in this game I would give him C+, I think in general he made the most of the oppurtunities he had and did not lose this game for his team. Overall he played alot better then most of the people on this board are giving him credit for.


[ Edited by nvchamp9ers on Nov 24, 2011 at 11:21 PM ]
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Nothing wrong with Alex Smith. I remember he fought off that one defensive line and threw the ball to Delaine Walker for the first down. The offensive line needed to do a better job protecting the QB. Alex Smith fought today. I'm not worrying about this loss because the team will learn from this, and take it out on the next opponents after a long week! As a true fan, I feel comfortable viewing my team win under Alex Smith.
[ Edited by Red_Gold18 on Nov 24, 2011 at 11:16 PM ]
Line played terrible. Got beat by 4 men all night, Suggs are Ngata were making us their b***hes.
Awesome. Thanks for taking the time to write that up.

Its obvious this loss was on the o-line. I don't know how some people are putting this on Alex. No, Alex didn't play particularly well. But can you blame him considering he had defenders draped all over him the entire night? The guy literally had no time to set his feet and make the read. It was a jailbreak on almost every snap. One of the worst o-line performances I have ever seen.
[ Edited by SofaKing on Nov 24, 2011 at 11:24 PM ]
8:47 2 1rb/2wrs/2 tes- ball is snapped, they bring 4 to our 5. great coverage down field, Alex may have been able to squeeze one into VD here but he would of been throwing on right at Ed reed. There was enough time to step up and scramble possibly. I will say this one is on Alex, throw it out of bounds towards a wr, you cant take the sack.

This play is a perfect example of how I would like to see Alex improve his game. If he throws the ball early to VD (who is wide open with 2 seconds), he could have taken the hit from the unblocked rusher and completed the pass. Reed would not have been there if the ball was thrown early enough.
The sack is blamed on the line, but VD was open in the middle. These are the plays Alex needs to improve upon if he wants to take his game to the next level.
Originally posted by SofaKing:
Awesome. Thanks for taking the time to right that up.

Its obvious this loss was on the o-line. I don't know how some people are putting this on Alex. No, Alex didn't play particularly well. But can you blame him considering he had defenders draped all over him the entire night? The guy literally had no time to set his feet and make the read. It was a jailbreak on almost every snap. One of the worst o-line performances I have ever seen.
Ty was really for all the guys blaming Alex I am giving them the plays and exactly what happened so they can really give me details on what Alex should of done, I mean hindsight is 20/20 so if they cant even dicate it with a replay available and having time to think it through how is Alex supposed to be able to even come close with less then 3 seconds almost everytime he dropped back and everyone covered.
Originally posted by niners4lyfe:

Terrel Suggs?
I appreciate the breakdown. I havent rewatched the game yet (actually not sure if I plan on it for once), but this seems to be a pretty good analysis.

This is going to be a flat out guess, but based on what you just wrote after rewatching, I bet there were quite a few more plays that Alex should have made (or done something differently) than you originally thought. Only reason I say this is because quite a few times you wrote "Alex should have _____" or "bad play/pass by Alex."

Am I wrong? (this is nothing more than curiosity)
Brilliant!

Coach's should have done a better job of adjustments in the passing attack in the 2nd half. No screens or quick slants to speak of. Not having Miller at FB hurt as well, dude would have made a good option out of the backfield.

I expect our oline to grow from this and get better.

I'm having a hard time seeing our wr's getting much better though. Crabs is coming on these days. Our wr's are either hands or speed, no combo guys and nobody they had to double up on tonight. We need a #1 wr who can threaten a D off the line and deep down the field.

And Alex must get better under pressure but can't blame him for tonight at all.
Bottom line:

Alex isnt the type of QB to make a lot of risky throws hense holding onto the ball and taking sacks.

Would rather have that with our style of team than a guy like Cam Newton who is boom or bust.
Originally posted by 80sbaby24:
I appreciate the breakdown. I havent rewatched the game yet (actually not sure if I plan on it for once), but this seems to be a pretty good analysis.

This is going to be a flat out guess, but based on what you just wrote after rewatching, I bet there were quite a few more plays that Alex should have made (or done something differently) than you originally thought. Only reason I say this is because quite a few times you wrote "Alex should have _____" or "bad play/pass by Alex."

Am I wrong? (this is nothing more than curiosity)
I really threw those in there so everyone see's I am not just being a homer. Alex played solidly and i wrote what he should of done in a perfect world not knowing what his progression where etc. Alex played a solid game but there was definetly room for him to improve.
Originally posted by Sjceruti:
Bottom line:

Alex isnt the type of QB to make a lot of risky throws hense holding onto the ball and taking sacks.

Would rather have that with our style of team than a guy like Cam Newton who is boom or bust.
Did you even read? People were either covered or he was on his back, other then a couple plays Alex really made the best of his situation tonight...
Originally posted by BrianGO:
8:47 2 1rb/2wrs/2 tes- ball is snapped, they bring 4 to our 5. great coverage down field, Alex may have been able to squeeze one into VD here but he would of been throwing on right at Ed reed. There was enough time to step up and scramble possibly. I will say this one is on Alex, throw it out of bounds towards a wr, you cant take the sack.

This play is a perfect example of how I would like to see Alex improve his game. If he throws the ball early to VD (who is wide open with 2 seconds), he could have taken the hit from the unblocked rusher and completed the pass. Reed would not have been there if the ball was thrown early enough.
The sack is blamed on the line, but VD was open in the middle. These are the plays Alex needs to improve upon if he wants to take his game to the next level.
It is alot tighter window then it appears to be if you dont realize how much range Ed reed has, it is there but really is a tight window. Like you said though if he wants to take his game up he needs to be able to make that throw.
Originally posted by nvchamp9ers:
Originally posted by 80sbaby24:
I appreciate the breakdown. I havent rewatched the game yet (actually not sure if I plan on it for once), but this seems to be a pretty good analysis.

This is going to be a flat out guess, but based on what you just wrote after rewatching, I bet there were quite a few more plays that Alex should have made (or done something differently) than you originally thought. Only reason I say this is because quite a few times you wrote "Alex should have _____" or "bad play/pass by Alex."

Am I wrong? (this is nothing more than curiosity)
I really threw those in there so everyone see's I am not just being a homer. Alex played solidly and i wrote what he should of done in a perfect world not knowing what his progression where etc. Alex played a solid game but there was definetly room for him to improve.

Wow really? SMH.

I wish I hadnt asked now. So basically you only said some of what you said because you wanted to make your entire post look less biased? Im done.
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