Tag: Alex Smith (Page 5 of 8)

      Frank Gore helps 49ers win first game

      October 17, 2010 /
      SAN FRANCISCO - SEPTEMBER 20: Frank Gore of the San Francisco 49ers is introduced against the New Orleans Saints during an NFL game at Candlestick Park on September 20, 2010 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)

      It’s been a long six weeks for Mike Singletary’s 49ers, but they finally earned their first victory on the year.

      Frank Gore shredded the Raiders for 149 yards on 25 carries to lead San Fran to a 17-9 victory. He didn’t have a catch or a touchdown, but his 64-yard scamper late in the fourth quarter helped the Niners ice the game.

      Alex Smith only completed 16 of his 33 pass attempts for 196 yards, but he threw two touchdowns and more importantly, didn’t turn the ball over. He got Michael Crabtree (4 catches, 57 yards, 1 TD) and Vernon Davis (4 catches, 35 yards, 1 TD) somewhat involved, which is one of the many things San Francisco fans have been calling for over the past month.

      On the other side, Jason Campbell was filthy bad. He completed just 8-of-21 passes for 83 yards and was intercepted twice. You would have thought that San Francisco was playing with 20 guys on defense with how poorly Campbell performed. He was atrocious and should get acquainted with the bench for when Bruce Gradkowski (shoulder) comes back.

      This wasn’t a pretty win for the Niners, but it didn’t have to be. They have a long road ahead of them to get back into the race in the NFC West, but maybe this victory will give them confidence.

      External Sports, NFL

      Will the fate of Smith and Singletary be sealed soon?

      October 12, 2010 /
      San Francisco 49ers head coach Mike Singletary (R) talks on the sidelines with quarterback Alex Smith during their NFL football game against the Philadelphia Eagles in San Francisco, California October 10, 2010. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith (UNITED STATES - Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL)

      It’s usually not advantageous to put too much on one game. After all, if the 49ers lose to the Raiders on Sunday, it’s not like they’ll be eliminated from the playoffs.

      But lose to the Raiders and Mike Singletary and Alex Smith could be stuck in the unemployment line together sooner rather than later.

      Team president Jed York gave Singletary the dreaded vote of confidence last Sunday before the Niners went out and lost their fifth game in a row (a 27-24 barn-burner to the Eagles). Singletary then turned around on Monday and said that he was sticking with Smith, despite the quarterback’s 6:10 touchdown-to-turnover ratio.

      Something has to give. Some people still believe that the 49ers can turn things around because of the division they’re in. But as Bill Parcells once said: You are what your record says you are. And the Niners’ record says they’re playing like gorilla feces right now.

      Smith has shown signs that he can command the offense (most notably on the final drive against the Saints and the opening drives in losses to the Falcons and Eagles the past two weeks), which is why Singletary has decided to stick with him. But he can’t continue to turn the ball over and hope to retain his job. He’s fortunate that David Carr is behind him, or else Singletary may have made a change by now.

      San Francisco fans are clamoring for Carr to get a start, but as the faithful in Houston, Carolina and New York can attest, he’s not the answer. Just because he was a former No. 1 overall pick doesn’t mean he can play the game (just look at Smith) and while I understand that fans would rather see a 67-year-old Jeff Garcia take the snaps than Smith, Carr is a back up on his fourth team for a reason.

      It’s now or never for this team. Lose to Oakland to fall to 0-6 on the year and consider all hope lost. Beat the Raiders behind a consistent Smith and then maybe this team can start talking about a comeback.

      External Sports, NFL

      Is it time for the 49ers to bench Alex Smith?

      October 4, 2010 /
      San Francisco 49ers quarterbacks Troy Smith (L), David Carr (C) and Alex Smith carry pink towels to promote the breast cancer awareness campaign during pre-game warmups before their NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers in Atlanta, Georgia, October 3, 2010. REUTERS/David Tulis (UNITED STATES - Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL HEALTH)

      49er fans once again have had about all they can take when it comes to the play of Alex Smith.

      Following yet another rough performance by his starting quarterback in a 16-14 loss to the Falcons on Sunday, 49ers head coach Mike Singletary said that he never thought about pulling Smith during the game. Why would he? Smith killed two potential scoring drives with interceptions, but coaches don’t make it a habit to pull their starting quarterbacks when their team has the lead. And up until the final seven seconds, the Niners had the lead the entire time.

      But while the thought didn’t cross his mind on Sunday, I wonder if Singletary is considering making a quarterback change now. Smith hasn’t been dreadful, but the bottom line is that he isn’t making enough plays in the vertical passing game – or enough plays period. The situation in Atlanta was set up perfectly for him: he had a 14-0 lead, a solid game plan under new offensive coordinator Mike Johnson and a defense that was holding the Falcons to field goals instead of touchdowns. All Smith had to do was keep the chains moving, protect the football and allow the Falcons to kill themselves with dumb mistakes.

      But once again, he failed to do that and now San Fran is 0-4 after many pundits (this one included) projected them to win the NFC West. Given how bad the division is, that goal can still be attained but not if Smith continues to play as poorly as he has.

      The problem is that Singletary has options at quarterback, but they’re not very good. We’ve all witnessed David Carr’s handy work and Nate Davis is still incredibly raw. The wild card is Troy Smith, whom the Niners signed a month ago after the Ravens dumped him. But he’s coming off a brutal preseason and doesn’t have the accuracy or decision-making to be a starter at this juncture. Despite Smith’s play, he still gives the 49ers the best chance of winning at the moment (however long that is) and Singletary may have no choice but to stick with him.

      Then again, why continue to do something if it isn’t working? If Smith can’t produce under Johnson, then Carr, Troy Smith or Davis should get an opportunity. The Niners can’t continue to be derailed by inconsistency at the quarterback position or else this season is about to get longer than it already has been.

      It’s now or never, Alex Smith.

      External Sports, NFL

      Will the 49ers be more explosive under Mike Johnson?

      September 30, 2010 /
      PHILADELPHIA - DECEMBER 20: Michael Crabtree #15 of the San Francisco 49ers rushes against the Philadelpia Eagles defense at Lincoln Financial Field on December 20, 2009 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Nick Laham/Getty Images)

      It’s hard to argue that the 49ers aren’t the most disappointing team in the NFL thus far. While the Vikings, Giants and Chargers have played below expectations themselves, the Niners were supposed to be well on their way to winning the weak NFC West by now.

      Instead, they’re 0-3 and were the first team to make a major coaching change earlier this week when they fired offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye on Monday. Mike Johnson will take over the position and already he’s vowing to do things differently than his predecessor.

      Johnson wants to get the ball into the hands of his playmakers by spreading things out and giving defenses more looks. Michael Crabtree and tight end Vernon Davis have been underutilized so far and the hope is to confuse opponents with different packages.

      Of course, Raye wanted Crabtree and Davis to get their hands on the ball more too, but when Sundays came he would stick with a more conservative approach. Communication issues between Raye, head coach Mike Singletary and quarterback Alex Smith only complicated things and subsequently led to Raye’s firing earlier this week.

      The Niners take on a Falcon team this Sunday that ranks 21st in the league in total defense, but is only allowing 15.3 points per game. They’re prone to giving up the big play, so if Johnson is aggressive Smith may be able to connect with Crabtree and/or Davis in the vertical passing game. On the surface, this doesn’t appear to be a good matchup for the 49ers. But considering Atlanta is coming off an emotional victory over the Saints and could be due for a letdown, this is a situation San Fran may be able to take advantage of.

      But it’s up to Johnson to deliver on what he’s saying now. Plenty of coaches and coordinators talk a good game during the week but then when game time approaches, some of them lose their gumption. They call plays too close to the vest and before they know it, their team is down by two scores and they’re playing catchup.

      We’ll see how Johnson fares in his debut.

      External Sports, NFL

      2010 NFL Week 3 Predictions

      September 26, 2010 /
      DENVER - SEPTEMBER 19: Tightend Demaryius Thomas of the Denver Broncos makes a reception as cornerback Kelly Jennings of the Seattle Seahawks tries to make the tackle at INVESCO Field at Mile High on September 19, 2010 in Denver, Colorado. The Broncos defeated the Seahawks 31-14. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

      After picking all the games in Week 1, last week was the first time I limited my predictions to only four games. And after a 2-1-1 Sunday – I’m hot! On fire, really…

      The Packers and Bengals were winners in Week 2, while the Raiders (thanks to a backdoor cover by the Rams) were losers and the Redskins (thanks to being jerk-faces and blowing a lead against the Texans) were a push.

      Here are my top 4 predictions for Week 3 in the NFL:

      Steelers at Buccaneers +1.5, Sunday, 1:00PM ET
      This game looks a little too good to be true. The Steelers’ defense has been lights out early in the season and despite their 2-0 record, the Bucs still have plenty of issues offensively. So take the Steelers and lay the measly 1.5 points right? Well first of all, don’t tell me what to do. Second of all, something smells funny to me. For the third week in a row the Steelers will try to run the ball 60 times out of the 60 offensive plays they run and lean on the defense to create turnovers so they can eek out another field goal-riddled victory. The problem is that Tampa is playing with a ton of confidence right now and are catching Pittsburgh at the right time. For starters, Charlie Batch will once again start under center, limiting the Steelers’ effectiveness on offense. This is also the second time in as many weeks that Pittsburgh has to play on the road and also has a huge divisional game coming up next week against Baltimore – which oh-by-the-way is a week before Big Ben returns from his suspension. This is a classic look-ahead game for the Steelers, who get caught with their pants down. (Uh, okay that was probably in poor taste given the Roethlisbathroom situation. My apologizes.)
      THE PICK: BUCCANEERS +1.5

      Cowboys +2.5 at Texans, Sunday, 1:00PM ET
      This is another game people are probably licking their chops at: a 2-0 Texans team playing at home against a pitiful 0-2 Cowboys team? And I only have to lay 2.5 points? Sign me up. The problem is that the Texans are another team (kind of like the Steelers, but even more so) that is due for a letdown. They’re coming off two emotional wins (one over their biggest bully and the second in come-from-behind fashion) and now come home to face a Cowboys team that is reeling. And the problem with reeling teams is that you’re probably going to get their best effort because they’re desperate for a win. There’s no doubt the Cowboys should be focused and with Houston missing left tackle Duane Brown (suspension), it could come this weekend. I don’t expect the Texans to score over 30 points again like they did the last two weeks and DeMarcus Ware could have a huge day pressuring Matt Schaub with Brown out. I like Dallas to get the straight up win.
      THE PICK: COWBOYS +2.5

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      External Sports, NFL

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