Official 49ers Thread

[8BR]

From the PFT Season preview for the 49ers:



How true is this 49er fans? I mean, I get that they kicked the most FGs and that he may have started out the season as a game manager...but his performance against the Saints in the win, and even his TD passes vs. the Giants in the NFC title game were far more than just "hitting the open man."

QB RATING (past 665 attempts)

1. Aaron Rodgers, Packers, 114.88

2. Drew Brees, Saints, 106.21

3. Tom Brady, Patriots, 102.85

4. Tony Romo, Cowboys, 101.45

5. Matthew Stafford, Lions, 96.32

6. Eli Manning, Giants, 94.23

7. Alex Smith, 49ers, 92.81

8. Peyton Manning, Broncos, 92.74

9. Matt Schaub, Texans, 91.93

10. Matt Ryan, Falcons, 90.79

11. Philip Rivers, Chargers, 88.98

12. Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers, 88.25

13. Michael Vick, Eagles, 86.35

14. Jay Cutler, Bears, 83.69

15. Joe Flacco, Ravens, 83.12

YARDS (past 665 attempts)

1. Rodgers, 5,822

2. Brees, 5,519

3. Brady, 5,503

4. E. Manning, 5,407

5. Rivers, 5,363

6. Romo, 5,339

7. Roethlisberger, 5,212

8. Vick, 5,189

9. Stafford, 5,060

10. Schaub, 4,940

11. Cutler, 4,824

12. Alex Smith, 4,780

13. Ryan, 4,777

14. P. Manning, 4,690

15. Flacco, 4,433

TOUCHDOWNS (past 665 attempts)

1. Rodgers, 53

2. Brees, 46

3. Brady, 42

4. Romo, 41

5. Stafford, 40

6. P. Manning, 33

T7. Cutler, 32

T7. E. Manning, 32

T7. Ryan, 32

T10. Schaub, 30

T10. Alex Smith, 30

T12. Rivers, 29

T. 12 Vick, 29

T14. Flacco, 27

T. 14 Roethlisberger, 27

INTERCEPTIONS (past 665 attempts)

1. Alex Smith, 6

2. Rodgers, 9

3. Schaub, 13

T4. Ryan, 14

T4. Flacco, 14

T6. Brees, 15

T6. Brady, 15

T6. E. Manning, 15

9. Stafford, 16

T10. Romo, 17

T10. P. Manning, 17

12. Roethlisberger, 19

T13. Cutler, 21

T13. Vick, 21

15. Rivers, 22

COMPLETION PERCENTAGE (past 665 attempts)

1. Brees, 70.1

2. Romo, 67.2

T3. P. Manning, 66.5

T3. Rodgers, 66.5

5. Brady, 65.6

T6. Rivers, 63.0

T6. Stafford, 63.0

8. Schaub, 62.4

9. Rothlisberger, 62.3

10. E. Manning, 62.0

11. Ryan, 61.8

12. Vick, 60.5

13. Alex Smith, 59.4

T14. Cutler, 58.2

T14. Flacco, 58.2

[Donuthole]

Some stats and facts to temper the expectations of the Niners fans:

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/...ason-greatness

[BigPiney]

Some stats and facts to temper the expectations of the Niners fans:

http://www.grantland.com/story/_/id/...ason-greatness

I think 9-7 will win this division. With the schedule the niners have, that may be about where they fall. Still could set them up for a good playoff run.

[BigPiney]

http://www.sacbee.com/2012/08/07/469...k-will-be.html

Kaepernick will be the first off the bench on Friday. All backups are even at this point though I would much rather see Josh Johnson or Tolzien end up being the backup.

Crabtree is really bugging me. Another injury so he can sit out yet another preseason and take half the year to get up to speed. I am over him already. I certainly hope he proves me wrong, though I doubt he will.

[Color Me Badd Fan]

I don't necessarily disagree with Barnwell. I think the most relevant part is when he gives examples of teams that go from 13-3 down to 8-8, but then they're back again.

I think there's a strong possibility that the Niners go 9-7 or 10-6. Their schedule is a lot tougher. However, 12-4 wouldn't surprise me either. I don't think it's going to come down to the collective turnover margin (as Barnwell says, this seems to be a very mercurial stat from year to year), I think it's going to come down to injuries. The Niners were exceptionally lucky last year with their injuries, especially on defense. Aside from Patrick Willis missing 2-3 games, I can't recall another defensive starter missing much time at all.

That said, the 2011 Niners team had some deficiencies on offense. IMO, they had the worst WR corps in the league after Josh Morgan got hurt. While some people think the jury is still out on Michael Crabtree, I'm not so optimistic -- I think he sucks and he doesn't put in the necessary work. Alex Smith left me optimistic about him at the end of last season, especially how he was able to connect with Vernon Davis. My hope is that Alex Smith's production with Vernon Davis portends that he could be productive with a better set of WRs. The front office is not oblivious to their WR need -- they went out and drafted a WR in the first round and picked up Randy Moss and Manningham in the offseason. Despite his unforgettably horrible game in the NFC championship game, I want Kyle Williams to stick around. I actually thought he could turn into a decent slot receiver. The guy who should have to worry about his job is Michael Crabtree.

I also get that Barnwell is skeptical of Alex Smith. The Niners themselves made an effort for Peyton Manning -- they obviously don't yet know if Smith can win them a championship. I think Alex Smith deserved the contract extension and he more than deserves to get another full year under Harbaugh and with a hopefully revamped WR corps. But the main takeaway from Barnwell's piece is that without a premium QB, oftentimes these 13 win teams are either a flash in the pan or at best inconsistent semi-contenders (Baltimore Ravens after the 2000 team).

[BigPiney]

http://deadspin.com/5930455/why-your...eam-sucks-2012

I agree with all 4 of his points. Also this comment was awesome:

William:

Aldon Smith got a DUI, then he got stabbed at his own party. That has to be some sort of accomplishment akin to hitting for the cycle in baseball.

[Color Me Badd Fan]

Maybe we don't need to lower our expectations. The Niners looked awesome and they haven't skipped a best since last year. I thought the Packers were the best team in the NFL coming in and I still think they'll win 12 games. The defense held the Packers offense to 15 points, and the offense looked a lot better.

[Devildog]

All the sports radio hosts called for the Green Bay win over the Niners today based on Alex Smith not being able to get it done...

Even after last season, he still has a long way to go to get their respect.

Should be fun to listen to them this week as they explain why they were wrong about the outcome of the game, but still correct about Smith.

Just like almost all of last season.

[8BR]

That looked like a pretty damn good "8-8" team out there today.

• Green Bay had 45 yards rushing, of which Rodgers had 27.
• Bowman looks just as good as Willis. No joke.
• Gore goes over a 100, Hunter with 40.
• Smith puts up a 125 rating, going 15/17 to the WRs. Seven different players caught a pass
• AS breaks SY's club record for attempts without an INT. lol.
• First win at GB since 1990.

[Applejack]

Alex' 4th-highest QB rating of his pro career! He looked really comfortable yesterday.

[BGRTHNUMEGO]

Alex Smith throwing more passes w/o an INT than Steve Young is like comparing Brevin Knight's assist to turnover ratio to Magic Johnson.

[8BR]

Alex Smith throwing more passes w/o an INT than Steve Young is like comparing Brevin Knight's assist to turnover ratio to Magic Johnson.

It's a novelty; no one is pimping that stat, except in jest. To feel the need to defend SY against the slight, even in an offhanded way, is odd.

[Color Me Badd Fan]

Alex Smith has shown recently that he can win big games. I'm happy about this because I'm a Niners' fan, but Alex Smith is also one of the good guys and he made it through some horrible years with this franchise. Good for him.

I don't think that Alex Smith is going to blow things up statistically because the team isn't asking him to do it and, quite honestly, I don't think he could both because of his skill level right now and because of personnel. Smith had a deplorable coaching situation throughout his career prior to Harbaugh's arrival. I look at Roethlisberger the first four seasons or so of his career and he was asked to do something similar to what Smith is asked right now. Eventually Roethlisberger grew into becoming a guy that could put up the stats because he had to. At this point, I don't know if Smith will have to.

The Niners have their formula. Their offensive line is better at run blocking than pass blocking. Iupati might be the best run blocking guard in the league. They have the 1-2 punch in Gore and Hunter and presumably they want to add another wrinkle to their running game/short passing game with LaMichael James. Their passing game is primarily just short, ball control type stuff. The pitfall is that without stretching the field, it's sometimes difficult to run the ball at all and to score in the redzone. The Niners don't score on a ton of big plays and they kick a lot of field goals.

But they don't turn over the ball and their offense gobbles up clock. Their defense creates turnovers and doesn't give up long, sustained drives, although they are susceptible to big plays at times. While the Niners do not rely on big plays from their offense, they do rely on big plays from their defense. The biggest play yesterday was Navarro Bowman's interception. It happened not only because Bowman made a great play on the ball, but also because the Niners can get a pass rush with only four guys and drop everyone else into coverage. The Niners ran a dime and nickel the whole game and it seemed like Patrick Willis was only in half the time. Justin Smith and Aldon Smith provide the push up front against the QB. Bowman and Willis clean up against the run. Carlos Rodgers shuts down his part of the field. All of these guys are all-pro players and they're all on the same defense (not to mention Goldston at safety is pro-bowl himself).

If Alex Smith is merely adequate this year with an upgraded receiving corps, then I like the Niners chances.

[8BR]

The biggest play yesterday was Navarro Bowman's interception. It happened not only because Bowman made a great play on the ball, but also because the Niners can get a pass rush with only four guys and drop everyone else into coverage. The Niners ran a dime and nickel the whole game and it seemed like Patrick Willis was only in half the time. Justin Smith and Aldon Smith provide the push up front against the QB. Bowman and Willis clean up against the run. Carlos Rodgers shuts down his part of the field. All of these guys are all-pro players and they're all on the same defense (not to mention Goldston at safety is pro-bowl himself).

This.

They are also one of the hardest hitting/most physical teams in the league. Watch how tentative receivers are when going over the middle against them. If they can keep down the big plays on the outside, like they did yesterday, they'll have the one best defenses in the NFL again this year.

[The_Douger]

This.

They are also one of the hardest hitting/most physical teams in the league. Watch how tentative receivers are when going over the middle against them. If they can keep down the big plays on the outside, like they did yesterday, they'll have the one best defenses in the NFL again this year.

They don't miss tackles, ever. It's really frustrating to play against them.

Smith just has to be adequate and they'll make a deep playoff run.