Niner Notes #2 (Alex Smith Era Has Begun)
Sunday was another great day to be a sports fan. You had the 18 inning epic Divisional Series game between the Astros’ and Braves, The AMEX Championship happening right here in San Francisco going down to a playoff, and of course football. And that was just during the day. At night, we had another playoff Baseball game happening at the same time as Sunday Night Football. I was flipping through channels so much my thumb lost all feeling by 5 PM. That day must have been like a buffet line for lawyers. They had their pick on which divorce case to take.
That day was also special in it’s own Bay Area way, as we celebrated the debut of the latest 49er QB savior. Rookie QB Alex Smith, taken with the first pick in the NFL draft, given 50 odd million over 6 years with a 24 million dollar signing bonus, named the starter before any games were played, benched after 2 pre season games and named the starter again for this game against arguably the best team in football. He, the latest celebrated rookie QB, was about to officially start his NFL career as the savior of an anemic Niner team that lost 3 straight after the opening day win. Was today the start of a long, illustrious career wearing the gold and red? Was I watching the birth of a champion? Time will tell. Right now, he’s off to a bad start.
The final line doesn’t lie; 9-23 74 yards no touchdowns 4 interceptions one run back for a touchdown, 2 fumbles one lost 8.5 passer rating. Hey that might look bad, but at least he has a higher rating than George W. Bush. I think.
Apart from the run game, which finally found out that they have to play on Sundays, the offense was wildly inconsistent. Plenty of blame to go around for another pitiful passing attack, from the line not giving Smith enough time to throw, to the receivers for not presenting themselves as targets, to Smith himself. Most of the time though, he just looked uncomfortable in the pocket. I would too if Dwight Freeney was inches away from me and only a tackle taken from the street to block him. Of those 9 completed passes, only one went to a wide receiver. ONE! Of the 4 passes that were intercepted, only one wasn’t his fault. The rest he forced into tight coverage, either because he had no time and just threw it up, or he couldn’t figure out in time what the defense was doing in coverage. All that, I could have told you earlier was going to happen. There is a bunch of reason the Colts have allowed only touchdown in four games; the lone TD coming in garbage time. Those reasons are a ferocious pass rush from their four down linemen to fast linebackers and hard-hitting defensive backs. During the telecast, they showed a close-up of Freeney and you could tell he was just salivating at the rookie QB under center, like a lion stalking its prey.
What I wanted to see from this game from him was spunk and he had lots in my opinion. He only tried to run away a handful of times. The rest he stood tall in the pocket buying time for his receivers to get open. He took his licks when he got hit and got up right away. You gotta love that. The thing that I hated the most was how easy it was for the DB’s to read him. At the snap, he was looking at his primary receiver the whole way. You do that in Madden and you will be 9 of 23. What more in the real deal? He needs to learn to get those safeties guessing, or he will keep throwing it incomplete or worse. Other than all that, he was just as expected.
A new era has begun for the Niners. He has a long way to go from being a premiere passer in the league. This game wasn’t how you want to welcome yourself to the NFL. But hey, we all have to start somewhere. I’m sure this will not be the last time we write about him. Here’s to hoping it goes uphill from here.
That day was also special in it’s own Bay Area way, as we celebrated the debut of the latest 49er QB savior. Rookie QB Alex Smith, taken with the first pick in the NFL draft, given 50 odd million over 6 years with a 24 million dollar signing bonus, named the starter before any games were played, benched after 2 pre season games and named the starter again for this game against arguably the best team in football. He, the latest celebrated rookie QB, was about to officially start his NFL career as the savior of an anemic Niner team that lost 3 straight after the opening day win. Was today the start of a long, illustrious career wearing the gold and red? Was I watching the birth of a champion? Time will tell. Right now, he’s off to a bad start.
The final line doesn’t lie; 9-23 74 yards no touchdowns 4 interceptions one run back for a touchdown, 2 fumbles one lost 8.5 passer rating. Hey that might look bad, but at least he has a higher rating than George W. Bush. I think.
Apart from the run game, which finally found out that they have to play on Sundays, the offense was wildly inconsistent. Plenty of blame to go around for another pitiful passing attack, from the line not giving Smith enough time to throw, to the receivers for not presenting themselves as targets, to Smith himself. Most of the time though, he just looked uncomfortable in the pocket. I would too if Dwight Freeney was inches away from me and only a tackle taken from the street to block him. Of those 9 completed passes, only one went to a wide receiver. ONE! Of the 4 passes that were intercepted, only one wasn’t his fault. The rest he forced into tight coverage, either because he had no time and just threw it up, or he couldn’t figure out in time what the defense was doing in coverage. All that, I could have told you earlier was going to happen. There is a bunch of reason the Colts have allowed only touchdown in four games; the lone TD coming in garbage time. Those reasons are a ferocious pass rush from their four down linemen to fast linebackers and hard-hitting defensive backs. During the telecast, they showed a close-up of Freeney and you could tell he was just salivating at the rookie QB under center, like a lion stalking its prey.
What I wanted to see from this game from him was spunk and he had lots in my opinion. He only tried to run away a handful of times. The rest he stood tall in the pocket buying time for his receivers to get open. He took his licks when he got hit and got up right away. You gotta love that. The thing that I hated the most was how easy it was for the DB’s to read him. At the snap, he was looking at his primary receiver the whole way. You do that in Madden and you will be 9 of 23. What more in the real deal? He needs to learn to get those safeties guessing, or he will keep throwing it incomplete or worse. Other than all that, he was just as expected.
A new era has begun for the Niners. He has a long way to go from being a premiere passer in the league. This game wasn’t how you want to welcome yourself to the NFL. But hey, we all have to start somewhere. I’m sure this will not be the last time we write about him. Here’s to hoping it goes uphill from here.
posted by Ryan at 8:41 AM
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