49ers offense looks terrible (1 Viewer)

[Louisville Slugger]

One of it not the biggest busts of week one was the entire San Francisco offense. How could a team that has so many talented skill position players look so bad?

Any team that has Frank Gore, Vernon Davis and Micheal Crabtree should be able to put points up on the board week in and week out even if they have a mediocre qb.

Crabtree looked the worst of the three. He just didn't seem to have his head in the game. If today was a sign of things to come Crabtree will not make the next step in his evoultion this year. He may have all the talent in the world, but if his head isn't into it he will be just another guy.

Any thoughts?

 

[Man In The Box]

Any thoughts?

Yeah, the QB really stinks.

 

[FavreCo]

Teams are simply going to take gore out of the game and beat this team.

 

[RUSF18]

Teams are simply going to take gore out of the game and beat this team.

Didn't happen last year when the actual roster was worse, so...It was a perfectly fine game for Davis.

 

[mystykoekaki]

Any thoughts?

Yeah, the QB really stinks.

That pretty much sums it up...alright guys, time to hit the showers.

 

[Kool-Aid Larry]

are you counting qb as a skill position?

also, don't dismiss the seattle defense so quickly.

 

[FavreCo]

Teams are simply going to take gore out of the game and beat this team.

Didn't happen last year when the actual roster was worse, so...It was a perfectly fine game for Davis.

That was last year. They took Gore out of the offense with the help of Jimmy Raye's playcalling and the game was over.

 

[Hooper31]

Teams are simply going to take gore out of the game and beat this team.

Didn't happen last year when the actual roster was worse, so...It was a perfectly fine game for Davis.

It certainly did happen last year. SF lost in Seattle last year when the Seahawks used the same script.

 

[EBF]

They looked great for about 1.8 quarters. The box score doesn't tell the whole story of the game. The Niners were dominating with a lopsided time of possession of 20 minutes against just 3 minutes for the Seahawks. Then the Seahawks got a friendly penalty call on what should've been a 3rd down incompletion. They scored a TD on the drive and never looked back.

The 49ers have a lot of talented skill players. Davis and Gore are among the best in the league at their positions. Crabtree and Morgan are solid. Walker is a dangerous, versatile player. Unfortunately, the Niners have a below average QB and a pretty spotty OL. If you can't block and you can't throw, you're not going to be a great offense.

 

[cubbie5150]

are you counting qb as a skill position?also, don't dismiss the seattle defense so quickly.

Especially at home...

 

[HoTnickZ]

Buy low on Crabs?

 

[az_prof]

They looked great for about 1.8 quarters. The box score doesn't tell the whole story of the game. The Niners were dominating with a lopsided time of possession of 20 minutes against just 3 minutes for the Seahawks. Then the Seahawks got a friendly penalty call on what should've been a 3rd down incompletion. They scored a TD on the drive and never looked back.The 49ers have a lot of talented skill players. Davis and Gore are among the best in the league at their positions. Crabtree and Morgan are solid. Walker is a dangerous, versatile player. Unfortunately, the Niners have a below average QB and a pretty spotty OL. If you can't block and you can't throw, you're not going to be a great offense.

This sums it up. They will be an inconsistent offense until they address OL and Qb.

 

[gandalas]

They looked great for about 1.8 quarters. The box score doesn't tell the whole story of the game. The Niners were dominating with a lopsided time of possession of 20 minutes against just 3 minutes for the Seahawks. Then the Seahawks got a friendly penalty call on what should've been a 3rd down incompletion. They scored a TD on the drive and never looked back.The 49ers have a lot of talented skill players. Davis and Gore are among the best in the league at their positions. Crabtree and Morgan are solid. Walker is a dangerous, versatile player. Unfortunately, the Niners have a below average QB and a pretty spotty OL. If you can't block and you can't throw, you're not going to be a great offense.

This sums it up. They will be an inconsistent offense until they address OL and Qb.

Not much more you can do to address the oline than getting 2 first rounders...

 

[The Jacket]

They don't have "so" much talent. Their WRs are among the worst in the league, and when you have a QB as bad as Smith (bottom 5 in the NFL), the whole offense suffers.

The only thing they get really wrong is not giving it to Gore a LOT more. He's the real talent of that offense.

 

[Neofight]

They looked great for about 1.8 quarters. The box score doesn't tell the whole story of the game. The Niners were dominating with a lopsided time of possession of 20 minutes against just 3 minutes for the Seahawks. Then the Seahawks got a friendly penalty call on what should've been a 3rd down incompletion. They scored a TD on the drive and never looked back.The 49ers have a lot of talented skill players. Davis and Gore are among the best in the league at their positions. Crabtree and Morgan are solid. Walker is a dangerous, versatile player. Unfortunately, the Niners have a below average QB and a pretty spotty OL. If you can't block and you can't throw, you're not going to be a great offense.

This first paragraph is absolutely true. There was not only a bit of a phantom call, but the penalty should have been offset by an offensive interference call on the same play. After that the momentum shifted and the crowd really got into it. It went from looking like the 49ers offense was going to wear the Seattle D down midway through the first half to the exact opposite happening by the start of the 4th quarter. As bad as Smith looked, he started off the game hot and was looking fine until the two pics, one of which resulted in a touchdown. In my opinion, both were Crabtree's fault; one went right through his hands and the second he rounded his route. Not defending Smith at all here as I don't think he is a very good QB, but he was easily twice the player Crabtree was today. We might be hearing more about Crabtree and Davis being at odds.Seattle's D did look quite good today, and the 12th man was most definitely a factor.

 

[chinawildman]

One of it not the biggest busts of week one was the entire San Francisco offense. How could a team that has so many talented skill position players look so bad?Any team that has Frank Gore, Vernon Davis and Micheal Crabtree should be able to put points up on the board week in and week out even if they have a mediocre qb.Crabtree looked the worst of the three. He just didn't seem to have his head in the game. If today was a sign of things to come Crabtree will not make the next step in his evoultion this year. He may have all the talent in the world, but if his head isn't into it he will be just another guy.Any thoughts?

If there ever is an example of how important the QB position is in today's NFL... the 49ers are it. Jimmy Johnson said it best during his analysis, when you have a conservative offense that requires you to execute every play, there is little margin for error. Smith just doesn't have the feel or accuracy necessary to excel in the NFL. I've seen countless passes where if he threw it in stride, the play would go for 20 yds instead of 8, or passes that should be incomplete isntead of a pick, or misses wide open guys and instead checks down. When Smith plays terribly, it makes me want to boycott this team until they come to their senses and realize that a guy like Kerry Collins could have more success with this supporting cast than Smith.

 

[EBF]

They looked great for about 1.8 quarters. The box score doesn't tell the whole story of the game. The Niners were dominating with a lopsided time of possession of 20 minutes against just 3 minutes for the Seahawks. Then the Seahawks got a friendly penalty call on what should've been a 3rd down incompletion. They scored a TD on the drive and never looked back.The 49ers have a lot of talented skill players. Davis and Gore are among the best in the league at their positions. Crabtree and Morgan are solid. Walker is a dangerous, versatile player. Unfortunately, the Niners have a below average QB and a pretty spotty OL. If you can't block and you can't throw, you're not going to be a great offense.

This sums it up. They will be an inconsistent offense until they address OL and Qb.

Not much more you can do to address the oline than getting 2 first rounders...

Rookies take time to develop. I don't think either of those guys has peaked. Staley didn't play well today (from what I gathered listening to the second half on the radio) and Heitmann is injured. It's just not a great group right now.The bigger issue is probably Smith. He doesn't appear to have the goods. It's a shame because he came out red hot in this game. At one point he was 9/10 and looking great. I thought maybe he had finally turned the corner. Then it was like someone flipped a switch and it was 2006-2009 all over again. Really. The difference between the two halves was like night and day. The 49ers were having their way with Seattle for 20+ minutes. The scoreline doesn't show it because they failed to get in the end zone on their three early deep drives.I'm holding out a little bit of hope though. It was a bad game, but in the end it was only one game. What's clear is that the 49ers have a wealth of offensive talent. What isn't clear is whether or not Smith can lead this team to a winning record. I feel like they really should've put together an offer for McNabb. Didn't happen. I was hoping Tom Brady might sign here in the offseason. Not gonna happen. Now they might be stuck trying to groom another high draft pick. That or bring in someone like Trent Edwards, who will almost certainly be run out of Buffalo.

 

[Sweetness_34]

Maybe Crabtree is over-rated? Anyone ever thought of that? Just because some of you expected him to break out this year does not mean it will happen.... it is technically his first year since he missed half the season last year.

Either way, why do people continue to believe Alex Smith is a franchise QB? He is not.... he is not accurate, cannot throw the deep ball and does not make good decisions.

 

[EBF]

Maybe Crabtree is over-rated? Anyone ever thought of that?

Overrated? Maybe. Still a good player who, when healthy and motivated, can provide a Ward/Cotchery type of presence in the passing game. Today wasn't his finest hour. We'll see how he responds in the coming weeks.

Either way, why do people continue to believe Alex Smith is a franchise QB? He is not.... he is not accurate, cannot throw the deep ball and does not make good decisions.

Does anyone believe that? If anything, I'd say most people gave up on Smith years ago.

 

[CalBear]

Does anyone believe that? If anything, I'd say most people gave up on Smith years ago.

Everyone except the incompetent Niners ownership who brought him in in the first place.

 

[CataclysmicThunder]

Maybe Crabtree is over-rated? Anyone ever thought of that?

Overrated? Maybe. Still a good player who, when healthy and motivated, can provide a Ward/Cotchery type of presence in the passing game. Today wasn't his finest hour. We'll see how he responds in the coming weeks.

Either way, why do people continue to believe Alex Smith is a franchise QB? He is not.... he is not accurate, cannot throw the deep ball and does not make good decisions.

Does anyone believe that? If anything, I'd say most people gave up on Smith years ago.

You really think that Crabtree's ceiling is a Cotchery-level presence/impact? Wow.

 

[Gadfly]

Does anyone believe that? If anything, I'd say most people gave up on Smith years ago.

Everyone except the incompetent Niners ownership who brought him in in the first place.

Fitting this is posted by CalBear, because the Niners would be a Super Bowl contender if they just traded down for whatever they could get and took the obviously better QB fit for their system that was playing right down the block.

 

[5Rings]

Any thoughts?

Yeah, the QB really stinks.

/thread

 

[5Rings]

are you counting qb as a skill position?

also, don't dismiss the seattle defense so quickly.

I don't agree--they aren't very good at all. Smith and the OL were just that bad the final 2 1/2 qtrs. Crabtree and Jimmy Raye didn't help one bit either.

 

[EBF]

Maybe Crabtree is over-rated? Anyone ever thought of that?

Overrated? Maybe. Still a good player who, when healthy and motivated, can provide a Ward/Cotchery type of presence in the passing game. Today wasn't his finest hour. We'll see how he responds in the coming weeks.

Either way, why do people continue to believe Alex Smith is a franchise QB? He is not.... he is not accurate, cannot throw the deep ball and does not make good decisions.

Does anyone believe that? If anything, I'd say most people gave up on Smith years ago.

You really think that Crabtree's ceiling is a Cotchery-level presence/impact? Wow.

I didn't say that. I'd say his ceiling is somewhere between Ward and Boldin. Fringe Pro Bowl types.

 

[EBF]

Does anyone believe that? If anything, I'd say most people gave up on Smith years ago.

Everyone except the incompetent Niners ownership who brought him in in the first place.

Fitting this is posted by CalBear, because the Niners would be a Super Bowl contender if they just traded down for whatever they could get and took the obviously better QB fit for their system that was playing right down the block.

Agreed, but it's important to remember that 20+ teams passed on Rodgers. I certainly preferred him to Smith back then, but he wasn't viewed as a slam dunk franchise QB prospect. If he had been, he wouldn't have fallen so far.

 

[EBF]

are you counting qb as a skill position?

also, don't dismiss the seattle defense so quickly.

I don't agree--they aren't very good at all. Smith and the OL were just that bad the final 2 1/2 qtrs. Crabtree and Jimmy Raye didn't help one bit either.

Agreed. Don't for a second believe that today's result means Seattle is a good team. They aren't. In any other division they would be hopeless, but the NFC West is so pitiful that they could conceivably win it.

 

[Joe Summer]

Crabtree and Morgan are solid. Walker is a dangerous, versatile player.

Ah, generic superlatives, you are the wheels that make the Shark Pool move.

 

[This_Is_Not_VRR]

are you counting qb as a skill position?

also, don't dismiss the seattle defense so quickly.

I don't agree--they aren't very good at all. Smith and the OL were just that bad the final 2 1/2 qtrs. Crabtree and Jimmy Raye didn't help one bit either.

The Seattle defense is much better than you're giving them credit for. Brandon Mebane is one of the best young DT's in the league--he has just been wasting away on crappy teams. Tatupu and Trufant are among the best players at their positions when healthy. Curry and Earl Thomas are extremely raw, but they have tremendous range.The Seattle offense, however, is absolutely terrible. Everyone knew coming into this season that the 49ers had a flawed offense, but the 49ers defense was supposed to pick up the slack and put Alex Smith in position to succeed. That didn't happen today. The 49ers secondary was aggressive to a fault, and their penchant for jumping routes allowed Hasselbeck to generate big plays that led to touchdowns. Hasselbeck would have been more than willing to check down all game long had they offered up the underneath stuff to him.

Crabtree did everything in his power to lose the game, but most of the blame should fall on the "dominant" 49ers defense that failed to capitalize on a dream matchup against a makeshift Seattle offense.

 

[jurb26]

So, Smith started red hot and the SF offense was in control of the game. Smith then throws 2 picks, both of which where not his fault but Crabtree's and things head south. The oline was spotty all day long thanks to new/young bodies going through some growing pains. Smith finishes the day with the following stats:

26 completions, 45 attempts, 225 yds, 0 TDs, 2 INTs.

Can someone explain to me why exactly Smith is getting all the blame here? Someone who watched the game tell me how exactly he played so poorly? From someone who didn't see a single snap of the game it seems from reading this thread and reading the stat line Smith is nothing more than a scapegoat right now.

 

[kface]

are you counting qb as a skill position?

also, don't dismiss the seattle defense so quickly.

I don't agree--they aren't very good at all. Smith and the OL were just that bad the final 2 1/2 qtrs. Crabtree and Jimmy Raye didn't help one bit either.

Agreed. Don't for a second believe that today's result means Seattle is a good team. They aren't. In any other division they would be hopeless, but the NFC West is so pitiful that they could conceivably win it.

For whatever reason the oline has just not been good. They have invested so many 1st - 3rd round picks in the last 5 years in that thing and it seems they just can't get it together.

 

[jurb26]

are you counting qb as a skill position?

also, don't dismiss the seattle defense so quickly.

I don't agree--they aren't very good at all. Smith and the OL were just that bad the final 2 1/2 qtrs. Crabtree and Jimmy Raye didn't help one bit either.

Agreed. Don't for a second believe that today's result means Seattle is a good team. They aren't. In any other division they would be hopeless, but the NFC West is so pitiful that they could conceivably win it.

For whatever reason the oline has just not been good. They have invested so many 1st - 3rd round picks in the last 5 years in that thing and it seems they just can't get it together.

Isn't this oline starting 2 rookies? Early problems should be expected. I think it is only commonplace that a group as young as them has days where they look like world beaters and days where they look lost.

 

[Hooper31]

So, Smith started red hot and the SF offense was in control of the game. Smith then throws 2 picks, both of which where not his fault but Crabtree's and things head south. The oline was spotty all day long thanks to new/young bodies going through some growing pains. Smith finishes the day with the following stats:26 completions, 45 attempts, 225 yds, 0 TDs, 2 INTs.Can someone explain to me why exactly Smith is getting all the blame here? Someone who watched the game tell me how exactly he played so poorly? From someone who didn't see a single snap of the game it seems from reading this thread and reading the stat line Smith is nothing more than a scapegoat right now.

The stat line is missing some crucial information. Of his 26 completions, how many were more than 10 yards from the line of scrimmage? 5 yards?Seattle slammed the door on the 49er running game. Gore averaged approximately 2 ypc. After putting SF in obvious passing downs they put heat on Smith. He didn't respond well. He missed open receivers down field and on several plays. A more telling statistic for this game was third down conversions. The 49ers were 1-15 for the game. That's just plain atrocious, and largely falls on the shoulders of Smith.

 

[RUSF18]

Teams are simply going to take gore out of the game and beat this team.

Didn't happen last year when the actual roster was worse, so...It was a perfectly fine game for Davis.

It certainly did happen last year. SF lost in Seattle last year when the Seahawks used the same script.

Well I thought we were talking about the SF offense going forward, which is what I was referring to in response to FavreCo. You're right. They held Gore to 9 carries for 25 yards. This was after week 2 against them when Gore ripped off 16 for 207 plus 2 scores, plus 5 catches for 39 yards, so it's easy to see why they focused their attention on him.Anyway, after that 9 for 25 in week 13, Gore went on to put up:W14: 25 carries for 167 yards and a TD, 2 rec for 10 ydsW15: 16 carries for 107 yards, 3 rec for 19 ydsW16: 28 carries for 71 yards and a TD, 4 rec for 81 yardsW17: 23 carries for 107 yards and 2 TDs, 2 rec for 25 yardsSo why exactly should we be worried that everyone else will be able to take Gore out of the game?

 

[Judge Smails]

Smith lost some confidence after the picks. He did make some good throws to Josh Morgan. Crabtree ran horrible routes. Smith did miss one EASY TD throwing a pass a little high to the fullback out of the backfield. Still should have been caught. But it should have been an easy TD. Niners were controlling the game and then the momentum made a 180 degree turn and the Hawks were off an running at home.

Niners won't be this bad going forward. I'm not panicking. Just need to execute a whole lot better.

 

[dickey moe]

They looked great for about 1.8 quarters.

That's 5^5% of a game, for the mathematically deficient.

 

[CalBear]

Agreed, but it's important to remember that 20+ teams passed on Rodgers. I certainly preferred him to Smith back then, but he wasn't viewed as a slam dunk franchise QB prospect.

Neither was Smith. If the Niners had taken Rodgers at #1, Smith could easily have fallen as far.

 

[GoBears84]

So, Smith started red hot and the SF offense was in control of the game. Smith then throws 2 picks, both of which where not his fault but Crabtree's and things head south. The oline was spotty all day long thanks to new/young bodies going through some growing pains. Smith finishes the day with the following stats:26 completions, 45 attempts, 225 yds, 0 TDs, 2 INTs.Can someone explain to me why exactly Smith is getting all the blame here? Someone who watched the game tell me how exactly he played so poorly? From someone who didn't see a single snap of the game it seems from reading this thread and reading the stat line Smith is nothing more than a scapegoat right now.

I watched every bitter snap...As stated already, the Niners dominated for most of the first 1/2 and then came unglued. Although Crabtree contributed significantly to the 2 INT's, Smith was horrible. He was not accurate and had no touch. In the first 1/2 Gore had some holes and a couple of decent runs. In the second 1/2 the Seahawks stacked the line and dared Smith to win the game. He was pressed and failed miserably.The 12th man effect shouldn't be under-rated. The Niners had a number of false start penalites and at least 2 delay of game penalites. They had used their 3rd first-half timeout with over 9 minutes left. Clearly Smith was rattled.The optimism going into the season was fueled by reports coming out of camp. Even SI had a nice story in the NFL preview issue discussing how Smith was coming into his own and how the Niners worked with him all summer on getting rid of the ball in 3 seconds or less. Fist time in his career to have the same offense 2 years in a row. Yada-yada-yada. The problem, as Jimmy Johnson correctly pointed out, is if you can disrupt Smith in those first 3 seconds, then you throw off the rhythm of the team and the scheme falls apart. Couple that with the bad throws he made even when he got the ball away in time, and it was a recipe for disaster...With the Saints coming in for MNF next week, it's looking like an 0-2 start....

 

[CalBear]

So, Smith started red hot and the SF offense was in control of the game. Smith then throws 2 picks, both of which where not his fault but Crabtree's and things head south. The oline was spotty all day long thanks to new/young bodies going through some growing pains. Smith finishes the day with the following stats:26 completions, 45 attempts, 225 yds, 0 TDs, 2 INTs.Can someone explain to me why exactly Smith is getting all the blame here? Someone who watched the game tell me how exactly he played so poorly? From someone who didn't see a single snap of the game it seems from reading this thread and reading the stat line Smith is nothing more than a scapegoat right now.

Smith didn't start red hot. He got the ball on the Seattle 29 and turned it into a field goal. He had a dink-and-dunk drive which ended in a fourth-down incompletion. Then he got the ball on the Seattle 37 and turned it into a field goal. Then, after getting the ball in poor field position, he had two completions and his disastrous melt-down; INT, 2 incompletions, INT, 2 incompletions, delay of game, intentional grounding. Three drives resulting in a total of -10 yards of field position and two easy TDs for Seattle. So in the entire game he had just one decent drive, and that one resulted in no points.

 

[jurb26]

So, Smith started red hot and the SF offense was in control of the game. Smith then throws 2 picks, both of which where not his fault but Crabtree's and things head south. The oline was spotty all day long thanks to new/young bodies going through some growing pains. Smith finishes the day with the following stats:26 completions, 45 attempts, 225 yds, 0 TDs, 2 INTs.Can someone explain to me why exactly Smith is getting all the blame here? Someone who watched the game tell me how exactly he played so poorly? From someone who didn't see a single snap of the game it seems from reading this thread and reading the stat line Smith is nothing more than a scapegoat right now.

Smith didn't start red hot. He got the ball on the Seattle 29 and turned it into a field goal. He had a dink-and-dunk drive which ended in a fourth-down incompletion. Then he got the ball on the Seattle 37 and turned it into a field goal. Then, after getting the ball in poor field position, he had two completions and his disastrous melt-down; INT, 2 incompletions, INT, 2 incompletions, delay of game, intentional grounding. Three drives resulting in a total of -10 yards of field position and two easy TDs for Seattle. So in the entire game he had just one decent drive, and that one resulted in no points.

Everything I'm reading suggests that Crabtree was far more to blame for many of the mistakes that Smith made though. Is that true? Also, the Oline didn't play well from what I understand. I guess I'm trying to figure out if Smith just sucked, or if the offense as a whole sucked and he struggled because of that.

 

[Thumper]

So, Smith started red hot and the SF offense was in control of the game. Smith then throws 2 picks, both of which where not his fault but Crabtree's and things head south. The oline was spotty all day long thanks to new/young bodies going through some growing pains. Smith finishes the day with the following stats:26 completions, 45 attempts, 225 yds, 0 TDs, 2 INTs.Can someone explain to me why exactly Smith is getting all the blame here? Someone who watched the game tell me how exactly he played so poorly? From someone who didn't see a single snap of the game it seems from reading this thread and reading the stat line Smith is nothing more than a scapegoat right now.

Smith didn't start red hot. He got the ball on the Seattle 29 and turned it into a field goal. He had a dink-and-dunk drive which ended in a fourth-down incompletion. Then he got the ball on the Seattle 37 and turned it into a field goal. Then, after getting the ball in poor field position, he had two completions and his disastrous melt-down; INT, 2 incompletions, INT, 2 incompletions, delay of game, intentional grounding. Three drives resulting in a total of -10 yards of field position and two easy TDs for Seattle. So in the entire game he had just one decent drive, and that one resulted in no points.

Everything I'm reading suggests that Crabtree was far more to blame for many of the mistakes that Smith made though. Is that true? Also, the Oline didn't play well from what I understand. I guess I'm trying to figure out if Smith just sucked, or if the offense as a whole sucked and he struggled because of that.

It's 100% true. Crabtree was to blame for those int's not Smith. I wouldn't want to have to face Mike Singletary this week if I was Crabtree.

 

[saintfool]

i figure smith has another 3-4 games before singletary has to turn to carr. carr will have another 3-4 games before troy smith has time to absorb the playbook and get a shot at starting. i suspect troy smith will get the 2nd half of the season to audition for a starting gig.

 

[Warpig]

are you counting qb as a skill position?

also, don't dismiss the seattle defense so quickly.

I don't agree--they aren't very good at all. Smith and the OL were just that bad the final 2 1/2 qtrs. Crabtree and Jimmy Raye didn't help one bit either.

The Seattle defense is much better than you're giving them credit for. Brandon Mebane is one of the best young DT's in the league--he has just been wasting away on crappy teams. Tatupu and Trufant are among the best players at their positions when healthy. Curry and Earl Thomas are extremely raw, but they have tremendous range.The Seattle offense, however, is absolutely terrible. Everyone knew coming into this season that the 49ers had a flawed offense, but the 49ers defense was supposed to pick up the slack and put Alex Smith in position to succeed. That didn't happen today. The 49ers secondary was aggressive to a fault, and their penchant for jumping routes allowed Hasselbeck to generate big plays that led to touchdowns. Hasselbeck would have been more than willing to check down all game long had they offered up the underneath stuff to him.

Crabtree did everything in his power to lose the game, but most of the blame should fall on the "dominant" 49ers defense that failed to capitalize on a dream matchup against a makeshift Seattle offense.

 

[TD Mac]

So, Smith started red hot and the SF offense was in control of the game. Smith then throws 2 picks, both of which where not his fault but Crabtree's and things head south. The oline was spotty all day long thanks to new/young bodies going through some growing pains. Smith finishes the day with the following stats:26 completions, 45 attempts, 225 yds, 0 TDs, 2 INTs.Can someone explain to me why exactly Smith is getting all the blame here? Someone who watched the game tell me how exactly he played so poorly? From someone who didn't see a single snap of the game it seems from reading this thread and reading the stat line Smith is nothing more than a scapegoat right now.

Smith didn't start red hot. He got the ball on the Seattle 29 and turned it into a field goal. He had a dink-and-dunk drive which ended in a fourth-down incompletion. Then he got the ball on the Seattle 37 and turned it into a field goal. Then, after getting the ball in poor field position, he had two completions and his disastrous melt-down; INT, 2 incompletions, INT, 2 incompletions, delay of game, intentional grounding. Three drives resulting in a total of -10 yards of field position and two easy TDs for Seattle. So in the entire game he had just one decent drive, and that one resulted in no points.

Everything I'm reading suggests that Crabtree was far more to blame for many of the mistakes that Smith made though. Is that true? Also, the Oline didn't play well from what I understand. I guess I'm trying to figure out if Smith just sucked, or if the offense as a whole sucked and he struggled because of that.

It's 100% true. Crabtree was to blame for those int's not Smith. I wouldn't want to have to face Mike Singletary this week if I was Crabtree.

The second int was thrown way too hard from 5 yards away. He could have ran for the first down. The first was miscommunication on the route which could be on Smith or Crabtree.Smith can't handle adversity. He panics, makes bad decisions, doesn't look off his target, can't get the team up to the line, looks confused, etc.. He is not a leader.

 

[TommyGilmore]

26 completions, 45 attempts, 225 yds, 0 TDs, 2 INTs.

Can someone explain to me why exactly Smith is getting all the blame here?

See the parts in bold.

 

[GoBears84]

26 completions, 45 attempts, 225 yds, 0 TDs, 2 INTs.

Can someone explain to me why exactly Smith is getting all the blame here?

See the parts in bold.

Most good teams get about 7 yards per pass attempt. This is 5. Even Hasselbeck was 6.9. These are not good stats.And don't forget the 0 TD's.

 

[Hooper31]

Crabtree was to blame for those int's not Smith.

I don't entirely agree with this.On the shorter throw Smith drilled Crabree from very close range. Smith was coming forward up into the pocket and the ball hit Crabtree up high on the shoulder. I have doubts many NFL receivers would have made that catch. I don't think its a stretch to say that the same result mighthave occurred no matter who the target was on that throw. Perhaps I'm wrong. Its certainly a subjective thing, but I think its not fair to entirely blame Crabtree here.

You can view the playhere.

 

[conboy]

The posts have been about the offense, but don't forget that the defense gave up 24 points to the Seahawks :X

I had this match-up pegged as big points for the Niners Defense, and they make Hasselbeck and Branch look spry and young again.

Let's not put all of the blame on Alex Smith, although he deserves a huge ***** of it, the D took the 2nd half off.

 

[Man In The Box]

The posts have been about the offense, but don't forget that the defense gave up 24 points to the Seahawks I had this match-up pegged as big points for the Niners Defense, and they make Hasselbeck and Branch look spry and young again. Let's not put all of the blame on Alex Smith, although he deserves a huge ***** of it, the D took the 2nd half off.

Well, the thread title is about the offense. You are right though. That defense didn't resemble a big time defense one bit.

 

[5Rings]

The posts have been about the offense, but don't forget that the defense gave up 24 points to the Seahawks I had this match-up pegged as big points for the Niners Defense, and they make Hasselbeck and Branch look spry and young again. Let's not put all of the blame on Alex Smith, although he deserves a huge ***** of it, the D took the 2nd half off.

I blame the O more than the D for the 24 points. Seattle had short fields on every drive; maybe I'm already in denial, but I don't recall any sustained drives.I was gonna say I have more faith in the D rebounding...but if Lawson/Haralason can't dominate a chump rookie LT, this is gonna be a long season...again...Congrats Seattle.p.s. calbear wanted the niners to take Braylon...and next year wanted Huff over VD.