Teams San Francisco 49ers - The Niners

[MadTigerFan]

Or you could assess them on their 18-6 record since the start of last season (with 2 of those losses against the current superbowl champions).

And last years loss was all on one player

 

[Dagless]

(Not the offense was looking like scoring and the D was struggling to force turnovers)

Let's be fair about their year so far - Most of the hype came after beating up on Buffalo and the Jets.

Still one of the top three teams, and should compete years end, just not sure Smith has what it takes to play consistently enough in the playoffs to be a winner.

 

[The House]

(Not the offense was looking like scoring and the D was struggling to force turnovers)

Let's be fair about their year so far - Most of the hype came after beating up on Buffalo and the Jets.

Still one of the top three teams, and should compete years end, just not sure Smith has what it takes to play consistently enough in the playoffs to be a winner.

True - I wouldn't go as far as to say I'm sure either, but I'm quite confident he's got what it takes (and the offense) to be right there when the whips are cracking again....as we know, he did enough to get us into the superbowl last year/wasn't his fault at all that we lost to NYG - and after about 9 very lean years before last season, I'm pretty happy to say I'll have fun/am enjoying watching to find out .

 

[IanW]

Tough hard game of footy. Your offense put a drive together that got a TD, and ours didnt.

Good win.

 

[Woodson]

(Not the offense was looking like scoring and the D was struggling to force turnovers)

Let's be fair about their year so far - Most of the hype came after beating up on Buffalo and the Jets.

Still one of the top three teams, and should compete years end, just not sure Smith has what it takes to play consistently enough in the playoffs to be a winner.

I'm sure we're all on the same page with whether we dare rate Smitty as a 'next level QB'. He's definitely improved since Harbaugh arrived and with the cogs in his Niners system wheel, he'll be sure to keep them in the game. How I see it, he's quite the competent QB who plays within his limits and if he breaks out some plays outta the pocket like he's already done, it's another string in his bow to prove he can do a lot more than we dare 'discredit him' for. Remember folks.. a soda drop by the WR is NOT the QB's fault when you only care to look at the QB's completion percentage/ numbers. And in saying that.. students of the game need to distinguish the difference between a bad throw and a 'GREAT DEFENSIVE play' that makes the INT happen. WR's can contribute to INT which are clearly out of the QB's control (i.e: slip over, tipped, be blocked out).

 

[The House]

Tough hard game of footy. Your offense put a drive together that got a TD, and ours didnt.

Good win.

Cheers - you're spot on.

That's 3 of the last 4 weeks we've stopped the opposition scoring a TD....certainly makes life a lot easier for the offense when we do that.

Big game in the context of the season....I'm just happy to have any win against Seattle who have looked good on the 2 or 3 occasions i've watched them this year.

 

[A. N. Onymous]

I'm sure we're all on the same page with whether we dare rate Smitty as a 'next level QB'. He's definitely improved since Harbaugh arrived and with the cogs in his Niners system wheel, he'll be sure to keep them in the game. How I see it, he's quite the competent QB who plays within his limits and if he breaks out some plays outta the pocket like he's already done, it's another string in his bow to prove he can do a lot more than we dare 'discredit him' for. Remember folks.. a soda drop by the WR is NOT the QB's fault when you only care to look at the QB's completion percentage/ numbers. And in saying that.. students of the game need to distinguish the difference between a bad throw and a 'GREAT DEFENSIVE play' that makes the INT happen. WR's can contribute to INT which are clearly out of the QB's control (i.e: slip over, tipped, be blocked out).

I had this disscussion with a couple of friends during last years NFC championship game but the way I see it Alex Smith is a great first-option passer but if he loses that option he starts feeling the pressure and has trouble picking up the rest of his receivers thus either makes a bad throw or gets sacked. That is fine when your rushing offence is running well and you are there to support them but as soon as the running game is stopped and the pressure is on Smith to perform he just cannot rise to the occasion.

I have always hoped it was a confidence thing and he would find himself and improve but it just hasn't happened. I really want him to prove me wrong but it looks like his current form will be his career form. A decent QB but not one where you would expect to get you the win off his own back.

 

[MadTigerFan]

(Not the offense was looking like scoring and the D was struggling to force turnovers)

Let's be fair about their year so far - Most of the hype came after beating up on Buffalo and the Jets.

Still one of the top three teams, and should compete years end, just not sure Smith has what it takes to play consistently enough in the playoffs to be a winner.

I thought the same about Trent Dilfer and Brad Johnson back in the day, i'm sure many did.

 

[Dagless]

I thought the same about Trent Dilfer and Brad Johnson back in the day, i'm sure many did.

Why quote the exception rather than the rule?

The Ravens were probably the second best defense of all time. Tampa had one of the most effective systems of all time. San Fran are a good D, don't get me wrong, but not good enough turnover and general defense wise to drag the team through four games IMO.

Smith had plenty of chances to win last years NFC Champ. game. He couldn't, simple as that. As much as you might like to blame Williams for the loss solely, the O did nothing for most of the game after a few huge Davis plays on broken coverage.

 

[MadTigerFan]

Why quote the exception rather than the rule?

The Ravens were probably the second best defense of all time. Tampa had one of the most effective systems of all time. San Fran are a good D, don't get me wrong, but not good enough turnover and general defense wise to drag the team through four games IMO.

Smith had plenty of chances to win last years NFC Champ. game. He couldn't, simple as that. As much as you might like to blame Williams for the loss solely, the O did nothing for most of the game after a few huge Davis plays on broken coverage.

They were last season if Kyle Williams wasn't playing, can't see why they aren't now.

NFL is very strange, NYG just scraped into the playoffs last year.

 

[Dagless]

They were last season if Kyle Williams wasn't playing, can't see why they aren't now.

NFL is very strange, NYG just scraped into the playoffs last year.

And last week the same Giants team embarrassed all three phases of your team?

Again, I don't know why you aren't acknowledging Smith's failure as a QB last season (And therefore putting all blame on KW), which was as good a chance as you're likely going to get for a SB berth. His last four drives were 3 and outs, and the drive before only resulted in a FG so comfortably BECAUSE Williams returned a punt to the middle of the field... So in the same vein, you only went to OT because of a Williams return.

 

[catters078]

the 49ers are built to win in January, and with Atlanta likely to be the only team who play indoors in the NFC this coming playoffs, I think the outdoor conditions will be their best weapon.

Still a lot of questions of Alex Smith, but i still have ???'s about Matt Ryan, Jay Cutler and Vick or Romo.

IMO The only NFC teams who would be confident with their QB's going into the playoffs would be the Giants and Packers.


if the 9ers play the Giants in the playoffs Harbaugh would want to have a better game plan and play book than he rolled out last week. San fran didnt just get outplayed last week, they got out coached. (GIVE IT TO GORE)

I still have them in the NFC championship game this year against New York or Chicago, although the NFC playoffs will be all time this year, dead set cant wait for that

 

[MadTigerFan]

And last week the same Giants team embarrassed all three phases of your team?

Again, I don't know why you aren't acknowledging Smith's failure as a QB last season (And therefore putting all blame on KW), which was as good a chance as you're likely going to get for a SB berth. His last four drives were 3 and outs, and the drive before only resulted in a FG so comfortably BECAUSE Williams returned a punt to the middle of the field... So in the same vein, you only went to OT because of a Williams return.

Eli did * all NFC Championship game as well

 

[Exe Gesis]

A couple quarterback notes of interest


Some NFC West quarterback stats of interest as Week 10 approaches:

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith is completing 74.2 percent of his passes when not under duress or getting hit.

That figure ranks second in the NFL among the 33 quarterbacks with enough attempts to qualify. Those passes traveled 8.0 yards past the line of scrimmage on average, close to the 8.3-yard average for those 33 quarterbacks.

The first chart ranks NFC West quarterbacks by NFL passer rating in these situations. I did not use the Total QBR metric because eliminating sacks from the equation skews the totals.

2012 NFC West QBs: Not under duress or getting hit

QB|Comp.-Att|Pct|YPA|TD-INT|NFL Rating
\Alex Smith|141-190|74.2|8.6|11-5|108.1
\Russell Wilson |126-186|67.7|7.7|11-5|99.0
\Kevin Kolb |92-148|62.2|6.4|8-2|93.1
\Sam Bradford |140-208|67.3|8.0|6-5|90.9
\John Skelton |88-147|59.9|6.7|2-3|75.9
\ Totals | 587-879 | 66.8 | 7.6 | 38-20 | 58.4
\Source: ESPN Stats & Information

As the second chart shows, Smith is completing a league-low 21.1 percent of his passes when under duress or getting hit. The rate is 41.1 for the 32 other quarterbacks with enough attempts to qualify for consideration.

Smith avoids mistakes in these situations. That is good. He has taken more sacks than any other quarterback since the 2011 season began, however. Converting some of those into incomplete passes or positive plays would mark progress. But because he avoids disaster in these situations, his NFL passer rating works out to 57.1, which ranks 12th in the NFL.

2012 NFC West QBs: Under duress or getting hit

QB|Comp.-Att|Pct|YPA|TD-INT|NFL Rating
\Alex Smith|4-19|21.1|1.2|1-0|57.1
\Kevin Kolb|17-35|48.6|6.2|0-1|56.4
\Russell Wilson|19-48|39.6|4.4|2-3|41.4
\Sam Bradford|13-41|31.7|3.5|2-2|39.0
\John Skelton|8-25|32.0|2.7|0-2|7.9
\ Totals | 61-168 | 36.3 | 3.9 | 5-8 | 12.3
\Source: ESPN Stats & Information

 

[Exe Gesis]

Brandon Jacobs: Tweet about hating the boss wasn’t about the 49ers

San Francisco running back Brandon Jacobs posted a couple of comments on Twitter Thursday that seemed to hint he regrets signing with the 49ers this year and doesn’t like playing for the coaching staff in San Francisco. But shortly after posting the statements, Jacobs told reporters he hadn’t been referencing his football career.

It started with Jacobs writing a couple of comments on Twitter that suggested he wasn’t happy where he is, including, “Never work in a place where you hate your boss.”

Brandon Jacobs @gatorboy45
Never work in a place where you hate your boss so much, you should always be happy at work.#YouLiveAndYouLearn
16 Nov 12 ​

Brandon Jacobs @gatorboy45
Have you ever been in a spot and you wonder why are you there.
16 Nov 12 ​

The tweet about hating the boss was re-tweeted by 49ers running back LaMichael James, which might have suggested that both of them feel frustrated in San Francisco. And that wouldn’t be at all surprising, considering that Jacobs and James are buried at third and fourth on the depth chart of a 49ers team that uses only two running backs. Neither Jacobs nor James has a single carry all season.

But when asked in the 49ers’ locker room whether the boss he was referring to was 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh (who is off work today because of health issues related to an irregular heartbeat), Jacobs said he wasn’t talking about the 49ers at all.

“People automatically assume it has something to do with this [expletive] sport,” Jacobs said, via CSNBayArea.com. “It’s not. It’s not. I have different companies, and different businesses. I got a life on the outside of football.”

After reporters asked him about the tweets, Jacobs went back on Twitter and wrote that he had actually been talking about his brother’s boss. It’s not clear why, if Jacobs was referring to his brother’s boss, he told reporters he was talking about his own life outside of football. In fact, there’s nothing very clear about this odd Twitter experience for Jacobs.

 

[Exe Gesis]

This is another perfect illustration why all Raiders coaches must go end of 2012. Especially Greg Knapp, the most prehistoric stuck in his ways OC there is. They're behind the curve, lacking innovation and creativity, and a proper sense/care of genuinely developing talent, re Pryor…

=-=-=-=-=-

49ers OC learned formation from Kaepernick’s coach

From PFT

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick throws a pass against the Miami Dolphins during their NFL football game in San Francisco Reuters
Coaches are constantly talking to other coaches, looking for something they can steal.

So when 49ers offensive coordinator Greg Roman was coaching at Stanford, he made the trek to Reno to learn about the “pistol” formation from its master, Chris Ault of Nevada.

Ault had developed the formation in 2004 (a shorter drop than the traditional shotgun formation, with a running back behind the quarterback), and had a skinny legged quarterback named Colin Kapernick running it when Roman dropped by for a visit.

“About three years ago, made the trek to Nevada and visited with him and his staff,” Roman said, via Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com. “That was very valuable time spent. He was very accommodating and it was very interesting as a coach to go really learn something totally new. And he’s a very good football coach. . . . So it was good.”

Watching Kaepernick clearly made an impression. He was the only Division 1 quarterback to throw for 10,000 yards and run for 4,000 in his career.
So they’ve tried to implement some of that into their current offense, which has many fathers. Roman grew up working on George Seifert’s staff in Carolina, and there’s a heavy West Coast Offense element.

But incorporating the “pistol” — the 49ers call it “Q” because they want to keep play calls to one syllable — began in training camp. It can now grow with Kapernick starting, thanks to the time Roman spent with Ault.

“I think you can gain a lot if they’re willing to tell you,” Roman said. “You can gain a lot with an upside, the downside, what other teams do to try to stop it. When they do that, what do you do? Every little nuance. It’s just so much in terms of how you might sequence things, the downside, the upside. And definitely what people have tried to do to combat it or defend it, and then the next logical step for them. So, [it was] great information.”

The fact they’re looking at others puts them ahead of the game. Like Patriots coach Bill Belichick trying to incorporate spread elements he learned from Oregon’s Chip Kelly, the best coaches are the ones who recognize they don’t know it all already, and continue to learn.

 

[MadTigerFan]

Pretty handy team we have

 

[dascman03]

Well, the Niners finally came back to life after about 7 consecutive poor quarters (2 vs NE, 4 vs SEA, 1 today) against Arizona today. The D clicked nicely in the last 3 quarters today, and Kaep made some really good throws (how ballsy was the one to Crabtree for the TD with Peterson there ready to return it for a pick 6)? Pass had to be perfect, and it was. Nice bonus to get the no. 2 seed, but I can't help but think we aren't anywhere near as strong as we were this time last year.

1) Justin Smith is a huge loss. Aldon Smith is sackless since Justin Smith went out of the lineup (10 quarters and counting), and his absence affects both the pass rush and run D. He might be back for the playoffs, but a torn triceps will surely hamper him severely.

2) David Akers is a massive problem. He's 50:50 from 40+, and he seems to be missing all of his kicks left. Obvious case of the yips, IMO. I said on the Week 17 thread that I read somewhere a couple weeks ago that we brought in Kaeding and Cundiff for 'competition', but their careers are tarnished by big misses in the playoffs. Akers' struggles could be the difference between winning and losing a game.

3) On the plus side, how good could Michael Crabtree be? Slow start to his career, but he's taken a huge leap this year. Could become one of the NFL's best wideouts, which is what he was expected to become out of college.

If seeds all hold serve, it looks like we'll be playing Green Bay at Candlestick in two weeks. Something tells me we're in for a similar game to the one against NO in the playoffs last season.

 

[MadTigerFan]

Thank you Green Bay

Thank you Adrian Peterson

Oh and thank you Roger Goddell for being such a dickhead that you made the NFL use replacement refs which gifted the Dawks a win over the Packers lol

 

[The House]

Well, the Niners finally came back to life after about 7 consecutive poor quarters (2 vs NE, 4 vs SEA, 1 today) against Arizona today. The D clicked nicely in the last 3 quarters today, and Kaep made some really good throws (how ballsy was the one to Crabtree for the TD with Peterson there ready to return it for a pick 6)? Pass had to be perfect, and it was. Nice bonus to get the no. 2 seed, but I can't help but think we aren't anywhere near as strong as we were this time last year.

1) Justin Smith is a huge loss. Aldon Smith is sackless since Justin Smith went out of the lineup (10 quarters and counting), and his absence affects both the pass rush and run D. He might be back for the playoffs, but a torn triceps will surely hamper him severely.

2) David Akers is a massive problem. He's 50:50 from 40+, and he seems to be missing all of his kicks left. Obvious case of the yips, IMO. I said on the Week 17 thread that I read somewhere a couple weeks ago that we brought in Kaeding and Cundiff for 'competition', but their careers are tarnished by big misses in the playoffs. Akers' struggles could be the difference between winning and losing a game.

3) On the plus side, how good could Michael Crabtree be? Slow start to his career, but he's taken a huge leap this year. Could become one of the NFL's best wideouts, which is what he was expected to become out of college.

If seeds all hold serve, it looks like we'll be playing Green Bay at Candlestick in two weeks. Something tells me we're in for a similar game to the one against NO in the playoffs last season.

Agree with almost everything you've said but point #1 in particular is something I've learned and been banging on a bout recently.....Justin Smith imo has shown himself to be arguably our most important player.

Am I wrong to say (going by memory here) that at the time that JS was injured v's Pats, we'd held them to 3 points in almost a half of football, only to see them score a further 31 once he'd gone off?? (happy to be corrected as I had a friend from Boston over that evening and we'd smashed down a few jars/hazy memory of sorts!!).

And yeah, oh boy is Akers a worry - last year we'd almost inevitably get 3 points from a long FG somewhere during the game that we now wouldn't attempt, and then count the 1 or 2 regulation shots that he misses every week now (and NEVER used to) and all of a sudden he literally is worth 6-9 points less to us than he was last year....that COULD hurt...but not neccessarily.

Having said that Kap imo is clearly a better offensive weapon than Smith which MAY somewhat offset the points we relied on from Akers last season - remembering that Smith was getting more of his points from Akers than Kap, Kap is still scoring more PPG than Smith did last year (last season 24.8, this year Smith was about 23 PPG and now Kap is from memory approx 28-29 PPG).

The Manningham injury could cost us, but hopefully Randy M(arsh)oss, Vernon Davis and maybe Delaney Walker can grab a catch or two extra each week....and as you said, Crabtree is looking like he could break s**t apart.


The other factor is of course Gore - it's only a gut feel but I get the impression he is due to smash out a couple of big games, or at least big plays on the big stage...as we know, if he can pull out his best when it counts it will be huge.


Haha, a lot of if's buts and maybes in there for us, but I guess that's the point....winning a superbowl isn't a straight forward and easy thing to manufacture.

Who knows? It may all just come down to a deflection that luckily bounces one way or the other...


fwiw, I think if we play GB at Candlestick 10 times right now, we win at least 6 or 7 of them - and same goes for playing @ Atlanta too.....we bring our A game and I'm confident we beat those 2 in my book.

Denver at the Dome however I think we might need a little luck!!


Either ways I'm super pumped to see it play out/exciting times

 

[MadTigerFan]

J. Smitty has been our most important player for years

 

[dascman03]

Thank you Green Bay

Thank you Adrian Peterson

Oh and thank you Roger Goddell for being such a dickhead that you made the NFL use replacement refs which gifted the Dawks a win over the Packers lol

And thank you NFL for scheduling our divisional game on Saturday night in the US (Sunday afternoon here) so I won't have to miss a day of work or miss the game live!

The thing is, I think we have a lot more "ifs and buts" than we did last season, which is why I get the feeling that last season may have been our best chance to win it, especially with Seattle and St Louis rapidly improving. That said, I agree that we can beat anyone on our day, and no team really scares me more than the other contenders.

 

[MadTigerFan]

And thank you NFL for scheduling our divisional game on Saturday night in the US (Sunday afternoon here) so I won't have to miss a day of work or miss the game live!

Everything's coming up Milhouse

 

[dascman03]

Uh oh...

 

[catters078]

I hate cundiff, last year i had 100 bucks on the ravens to win the superbowl at 11-1 put it on at start of playoffs...that kick...uggh.

Who knows what happens after it