Dude…you didn’t read my post. I didn’t say stats don’t matter…pretty much throw out your entire response, because you were responding to language that I didn’t use.

Keep believin’ in Alex Smith and see where it gets ya. By all means…be my guest.

I was actually pulling for SF to win that game, so I have no reason to be hyper-critical of the team. I think the front 7 is the best in the league, but I’m also a realist about the fact that you need a really good QB to win in this league and SF doesn’t have one.

I said you can’t rely SOLELY on stats. Not that stats don’t matter. Re-read.

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C’mon man.

So you want me to ignore unbiased measures instead trust your broad and sweeping statements like “He’s horrible”?

I’ve watched the games, and I respectfully disagree. Alex Smith has shown plenty of poise, throwing some great passes to beat the blitz and take apart the coverage, especially in the Tampa and the Eagles game. I’ve seen him take a fumbled ball, pick it up, run around to give his receivers some time, and throw a touchdown pass. I’ve seen him protect the ball and not make many stupid decisions.

I think it’s funny how you say that bringing stats into it is “irresponsible.” I imagine it’s only irresponsible when the stats don’t agree with the point you’re trying to make.

I don’t think anyone is claiming that Alex Smith is an elite Quarterback. But he’s performed well, not made mistakes, and done what was asked of him. Part of the reason his yards per throw are simply average is because that’s how the plays are designed. They’re designed to get the ball out of Smith’s hands quickly. It’s true that Harbaugh hasn’t called many deep plays. Partly that’s because they’re higher risk for any quarterback (and perhaps a weakness of Alex Smith’s) and partly that’s because the 49ers don’t really have a Wide Receiver corps that’s can stretch the field. Neither Crabtree or Morgan are going to do that for you, and Ginn, while fast, doesn’t have the hands to catch the deep ball. He struggles, as we saw in the last game, on short routes. He’s on the team for his special teams ability and that’s all, and if Edwards and Morgan both weren’t injured in the last game he would have rarely seen the field if at all.

I think you need to watch the games. The 49ers are a run first offense. As it should be. Gore has regained form after a few weak games and Hunter looks to be a possibly rising star. Together they have been tearing apart teams.

I know you don’t believe stats are worthwhile, but here are some to consider anyway. The biggest weakness with Alex Smith if you look at the numbers is his yards per attempt. But consider this, Tom Brady in 2002 had only a pedestrian 6.26 yards per pass. In 2003 it was 6.87. Partly that was because the Patriots lacked the players to stretch the field, so Belichick stuck with shorter higher percentage passes.

Oh, and the Patriots won the superbowl in 2003.

Alex Smith’s yards per pass sits at 6.9.

Finally, you can keep on hoping that the 49ers defense is going to collapse, but they have only gotten better all season long and are likely to continue to get better. Is the secondary weaker then the run defense? Yes, but then again I would argue the 49ers have one of the most dominating run defenses in the league. They’re ranked #2 in the league for yards per game, but I know you don’t believe in statistics so I guess that doesn’t mean anything to you. It’s more important that you “feel” like the defense is a sham and going to fall apart, numbers be damned.

And since they can’t challenge scoring plays, does that mean coaches can’t give refs any input regarding the review? That doesn’t seem smart or fair if that’s the case. I seem to remember a couple years ago where a coach tried to challenge the same call twice because they hadn’t looked at the part of the play he wanted them to. If they’re reviewing the play, they should get any special input a coach has regarding the play.

That said, Harbaugh’s “lowly” 49ers team came from behind and won a huge game over an undefeated team. Harbaugh was pumped up and excited just like he should have been and he let Schwartz know it. But after five games of winning and having everyone and their mothers swelling Schwartz and the Lions’ heads with all the premature coronations, Schwartz figures all that high-fiving and back slapping is HIS job and HIS right and he *really* hated seeing Harbaugh do it while ol’ Jimmy boy was on the other end for the first time this year. And boy did THAT piss him off.

Sore loser.

I agree with swagger52–the bigger question is why Harbaugh received an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Carey should have just told him that play can’t be challenged. Was that penalty was legit? It wouldn’t be the first time Carey has misstated the rules. The whole Red Zone review has been a debacle.

Schwartz’s reaction to the penalty was kindergarten, but he didn’t do it in Harbaugh’s face. Originally, I felt Harbaugh was more to blame for the end-of-game incident, but now I just think they both acted like jerks.

Harbaugh could have toned it down in the handshake no doubt, but Schwartz came off as a sore losin’ whiney sissy lapdog in the way he responded.

I disagree with your post. Singletary and Harbaugh are both great motivators but that is where the comparisons end.

Harbaugh has an attention to detail that far exceeds Sing’s and you can tell he really has taken on some aspects to coaching that he learned from Bill Walsh in the years before Walsh passed. Sing wanted to just go out there and out muscle everybody and not gameplan at all which isn’t a good sign. Singletary would never do second half adjustments and that led to a lot of games being lost in the second half.

As for the QB issue the Ravens won a Super Bowl with Trent Dilfer. There are no real complaints about Alex this season. His turnovers are rare and he stepped up when needed. He might not get 300-400 yards passing a game but he has been very clutch.

Both Schwartz & Harbaugh are pretty intense dudes. I hope they both keep it up. After years of watching Rod Marinelli sit there dispassionately watching his team lose with that dumb, hangdog look on his face it’s nice to see a coach give a damn. Schwartz just has to realize that if you want to be animated on the sidelines and jaw at everyone, it’s a two way street and you can’t lose your cool when your chickens come home to roost.

Good luck to the Niners the rest of the season. The better team won on Sunday; hopefully we’ll get a chance to prove better against you in January.

Have you even seen Alex Smith play this season? He has had zero games like you describe. He’s actually been pretty damn good. This was his worst game of the year and he threw the game winning TD in it. Not to shabby.

5 Super Bowl Rings. I don’t know who you root for, but you should pick on another organization for celebrating in October.

As you should know from the Singletary days and I know well from the early Ravens days, this will not last. You can win a few games and get on a roll with a fiery coach, a great defense, and a running game. But you will not last long in the NFL with Alex Smith at QB. You should enjoy the wins and you will probably win your division by default, but don’t get too excited.

But take heart, you have a good coach, a good D, and once you find that QB the skys the limit for a good organization like the 49er’s. Just don’t expect a nice dessert on Thanksgiving. Ravens gonna roll, John > Jim.

oh yeah, well……

I am super-geeked over a week 6 win!”

Does anybody want to be either one of these guys in this situation?

Too bad it is over-shadowing a great game by two solid teams.

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I would be more forgiving, but it’s just so easy to check stats I don’t think I can give you a pass on your stupidity.

Did you just pull those numbers out of your ass?

Alex Smith has thrown two, count them two, picks this season. I know it’s confusing, but let me explain some simple math. Since this is the sixth game, for your numbers to be right Alex Smith would have had to have thrown between 6 and 12 picks by this point. He’s thrown 2.

Alex Smith has thrown 8 touchdowns this season, not the 0 you generously gave him.

Finally, you say that Alex Smith is averaging a 46% completion rate. In actuality, Alex Smith has been completing 63.3% of his passes.

I guess your post was a bit of creative license.

Finally, the utter stupidity of saying that NOW the 49ers schedule is going to get hard is ridiculous. Their one loss this season was to a Dallas team that almost beat the Patriots and it was in overtime. Even if they lose to Baltimore and Pittsburgh (and the 49ers match up very well against Pittsburgh) they still should make the playoffs. The Cardinals and Rams are even worse this year then last if that’s possible, and they have four of their upcoming games against them .

Poor ‘Niners still have 10 games to spin completely out of control.

Newsflash: QBs who can’t throw the ball more than 8 yards at a time don’t win playoff games.