Tag: Alex Smith (Page 4 of 8)

      Sunday Evening Quick-Hitters: Reactions from Week 5 in the NFL

      October 9, 2011 /

      Every Sunday evening throughout the 2011 NFL season I’ll compile quick-hit reactions from the day that was in football. I vow to always overreact, side with sensationalism over rationalism, and draw conclusions based on small sample sizes instead of cold, hard facts. It’s the only way I know how to write…

      DIDN’T SEE THAT COMING…

      New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning (C) walks off the field with teammates after throwing an interception that was run into the end zone for a touchdown by the Seattle Seahawks in the fourth quarter during their NFL football game in East Rutherford, New Jersey, October 9, 2011. REUTERS/Ray Stubblebine (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL)

      – The Giants and Eli Manning had the game I thought they would last week in Arizona. Manning threw three touchdown passes but he was also picked off three times as the Giants started slow and finished poorly. Of course, Eli wasn’t the only reason the G-Men dropped a game they simply had no business losing. Their defense couldn’t stop a Seattle offense that has suddenly started to hit their stride after staging a dramatic comeback in the second half last week against Atlanta. Tarvaris Jackson, Charlie Whitehurst and Marshawn Lynch tuned up New York’s defense for 424 total yards. What’s most remarkable about the Seahawks’ 36-25 win is that the Hawks fumbled twice in New York territory. This could have been an even bigger blow out.

      – The Steelers winning a home game against the Titans hardly constitutes a “Didn’t see that coming” moment. That said, this was a Pittsburgh team that didn’t have Casey Hampton, James Harrison, Aaron Smith, Chris Kemoeatu, or a fully healthy Ben Roethlisberger. Considering how good Tennessee’s defense has been this season, it was rather surprising to see Big Ben (who threw five touchdown passes) and Pittsburgh bully the Titans for four quarters. It appears those claims about the Steelers being finished were greatly exaggerated.

      – Much like the Steelers’ win over the Titans, it’s hardly surprising that the Raiders traveled to Houston and beat the Texans. This isn’t the same Oakland team that was pathetic four or five years ago. That said, Al Davis just passed away yesterday and the Raiders took on a solid Texans team that just bullied Pittsburgh a week ago. Nobody would have been surprised if the Raiders’ hearts weren’t in it and left Houston without a win. But they played hard for four quarters, shut down Arian Foster, and won a huge road game to get to 3-2 on the season. Granted, Matt Schaub did throw an inexcusable interception at the end of the game and the Texans were without Andre Johnson. But “Just win baby?” Absolutely.

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      External Sports, NFL

      Roddy White rips Alex Smith via Twitter

      April 16, 2011 /
      REFILE – CORRECTING SPELLING OF CINCINNATI Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Roddy White (R) bobbles the ball but makes the catch for a touchdown in front of Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Leon Hall in the first half of their NFL football game in Atlanta, Georgia October 24, 2010. REUTERS/Tami Chappell (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL)

      Ah, Twitter. Making athletes say controversial things since 2006.

      Falcons’ receiver Roddy White has never played with 49ers’ QB Alex Smith but apparently he’s seen enough of him from the opposing sidelines to know that San Fran should dump the former No. 1 overall pick.

      “Why is the 49ers wasting their time with alex smith they need to move on better yet try to get luck next year would be good for them,” White said via Twitter on Friday. He followed that up by tweeting, “2 coaches have been fired for tht mans performance.”

      Grammatical issues aside, it’s hard to blame White for holding those opinions. Although some Niner fans have taken to Twitter to criticize White for his remarks, he isn’t alone in his sentiment. Smith deserves plenty of criticism for his poor play over the years and chances are he’ll be ousted in San Francisco once the new regime finds a suitable replacement.

      That said, White is off base here. Smith didn’t get Mike Nolan and Mike Singletary fired: Mike Nolan and Mike Singletary got Mike Nolan and Mike Singletary fired. Nolan is a solid defensive coordinator but he was overmatched as a head coach and while Singletary’s fiery passion got him his first head-coaching gig, his lack of experience got him fired – not Smith.

      Granted, Smith certainly contributed to the demise of Nolan and Singletary but to suggest that the quarterback got both head coaches fired for his performance is flat out incorrect. I don’t know what facilitated White’s comments but he probably should have become more educated on the situation before tweeting his opinion.

      A couple of hours after making his original comments, White did come back with: “Ok 49ers fans I’m sorry I take tht back alex smith is a great players and the 49ers should sign him to a 5 year deal btw I don’t have anything against alex smith wht so ever he is a great guy.”

      Obviously the apology was tongue-in-cheek, but it was interesting to see White refer to Smith as a “great guy” after crapping on him two hours earlier. I think what happened here is that White shared a causal opinion about another player as if he were sitting around the bar with buddies having a beer. But instead of a bar, it was Twitter, and instead of his buddies, it was the entire world.

      White is a good guy and he probably didn’t mean any harm by what he said, but he still shouldn’t have said it. Moving forward, he’s better off keeping those types of comments to himself or close friends that he trusts. (Studying up on his grammar would hurt either.)

      External Sports, NFL

      Ten QB-needy teams that passed on Aaron Rodgers in the 2005 draft

      January 18, 2011 /
      Green Bay Packers’ quarterback Aaron Rogers calls out a play against the Washington Redskins at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland on October 10, 2010. The Redskins went on to defeat the Packers 16-13. UPI/Kevin Dietsch

      The sight of Braylon Edwards doing back flips after the Jets beat the Patriots on Sunday must have made Brown fans want to puke. He didn’t help their team win anything in Cleveland and now the jagoff is knocking on the door of a Super Bowl appearance.

      What makes the situation even tougher for Cleveland fans is that the Browns could have had the quarterback that absolutely shredded the top-seeded Falcons the night before Edwards and the Jets beat the Patriots. Twenty-one slots after the Browns selected Edwards with the third overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft, the Packers nabbed California quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Where would the Browns be today had they taken Rodgers instead?

      Granted, no two situations are ever exactly alike – especially in the NFL. There’s no guarantee that had Cleveland selected Rodgers over Edwards that the Browns would be where the Packers are today. It just doesn’t work that way in sports – or life for that matter. Rodgers could have turned out to be the next Tim Couch for all we know and as I point out below, had the Browns drafted him that year, they may have never acquired feature back Peyton Hillis in 2010.

      But for a moment, let’s play the “What if?” game. Let’s pretend that everything would have worked out for Rodgers in Cleveland, just like it has in Green Bay. Let’s assume that the quarterback-needy Browns would have set themselves up by taking Rodgers at No. 3 and with that in mind, what other teams blew it by not selecting the California gunslinger?

      Come with me on a journey back to Saturday, April 23, 2005. Below is a list of 10 quarterback-needy teams that passed on Rodgers that fateful day and at what pick in the draft. Also listed are the players those teams took ahead of Rodgers, and a brief look at their current situation.

      No. 1 San Francisco 49ers
      Who they took instead of Rodgers: Alex Smith, QB
      This one probably stings the most. Smith and Rodgers were the only quarterbacks that were worthy of taking at No. 1 and the Niners were set on taking a signal caller. They decided on Smith because they fell in love with his athleticism, which was something Rodgers supposedly didn’t have enough of. Thanks to constant coaching turnover and an unstable situation, Smith hasn’t panned out and Rodgers is running around the Georgia Dome carpet making plays with both his arm and legs. So much for not having any athleticism…

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      External Sports, NFL

      Once Niners fire Singletary, they should call Gruden

      December 26, 2010 /

      Here are five quick-hit observations from the Rams’ huge 25-17 victory over the 49ers on Sunday.

      1. There’s no way Mike Singletary can retain his job.
      This was a massive win for the Rams but I have to talk about Mike Singletary first. This man continues to prove that he doesn’t have what it takes to be a head coach at this point in his career. Once again, he got into another shouting match with his starting quarterback when he and Troy Smith went at it in the third quarter. Right before the altercation, Smith had thrown an interception and Singletary told Alex Smith to start warming up. That must have angered Smith, who had been brutal but the Niners were only trailing 22-14 at the time. Singletary decided to put Troy Smith back into the game, but benched wound up benching him for the fourth quarter. Singletary clearly doesn’t know how to manage NFL quarterbacks and if I’m the 49ers’ brass, I wouldn’t wait a millisecond before firing him at the conclusion of the season. He benched Troy Smith in favor of Alex Smith a couple of weeks ago, even though Troy Smith had posted a winning record in his five starts. Then, with the team’s season on the line this weekend in St. Louis, Singletary again makes a switch, only to bench Troy Smith in the fourth quarter anyway. Granted, it doesn’t matter. The 49ers weren’t going to make the playoffs and Troy Smith was awful. But this is the NFL. This isn’t a video game where you jostle between quarterbacks every quarter in attempt to strike lightening in a bottle. Too much preparation and planning goes into a game the week before for Singletary to keep going back-and-forth between quarterbacks. It’s freaking idiotic and seeing as how this wasn’t the first time one of his players has yelled at him on the sidelines, it’s also apparent that he doesn’t have control of his team. I wouldn’t trust him to run my car at this point, let alone my football team.

      2. The Niners should call Chucky.
      Once San Francisco cans Singletary, the first call the front office needs to make is to Jon Gruden. Assuming he wouldn’t mind leaving the booth and coming down to the sidelines again, Gruden would be a perfect fit for the Niners. After the debacle that is Mike Singletary, San Fran will need a head coach that knows how to manage quarterbacks. Chucky won a Super Bowl with Brad Johnson and won a division title with Jeff Garcia, so clearly the man knows how to do just that. Whether or not they stick with Alex Smith or Troy Smith is irrelevant. Gruden can figure that out once he comes aboard but the key is that the Niners need to hire an established coach that can help restore the order that has been lost under Singletary. The players need someone that they can follow and who they trust, not some windbag who likes to here himself talk but who doesn’t have the faintest idea about the X’s and O’s of the game.

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      External Sports, NFL

      Mike Singletary isn’t long for his job with the 49ers

      October 24, 2010 /
      San Francisco 49ers head coach Mike Singletary reacts on the sidelines against the Philadelphia Eagles during their NFL football game in San Francisco, California October 10, 2010. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith (UNITED STATES - Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL)

      Even after the 49ers’ 23-20 loss to the previously winless Panthers on Sunday, Mike Singletary said he still felt that that his team could reach the playoffs this year.

      But he’s clearly delusional.

      At 1-6, the 49ers don’t have a realistic shot at making the playoffs – I don’t care what division they play in. It’s the same story every week: They’re undisciplined, mistake-prone and the coaching staff is unable or unwilling to make adjustments. It’s almost like Singletary and his crew put together a game plan throughout the week and if it works, great, if it doesn’t, so be it. But come hell or high water, they’re not going to make any in-game adjustments (at least ones that work, anyway). It’s ridiculous.

      I don’t see how Singletary hangs onto his job. The Niners would have to win out and make the playoffs and that’s not going to happen. Alex Smith suffered an injury on Sunday and was replaced by David Carr, who went 5-for-13 for 67 yards and an interception. Smith isn’t good, but Carr isn’t the answer either. This team is hapless.

      After their victory last Sunday over the Raiders, the Niners had a shot to turn their season around if they could beat the brutal Panthers. But once again, Singletary’s squad showed its true colors again. With a trip to London coming up, the front office won’t make a move this week. But either way, Singletary’s time in San Francisco is running out.

      External Sports, NFL

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