Where Do You Stand On The Kapernick/Smith Deal?

[twinkie13]

I'll say this. Harbaugh is the coach of the team. The HC. He makes the decisions regarding his football team. He can start and sit who he wants in my opinion.

I have no problem if he starts Kap. He came to this team 2 years ago. He didn't draft Alex Smith. He drafted Kap. The 49ers pursued Peyton and fell short, mainly because Peyton did not get along well with Harbaugh. Peyton nixed it.

Alex Smith went down with a concussion. Could not go so Kap goes in. Harbaugh handles the situation poorly and never really commits to Kap and just says we have 2 great Qbs and we play the "hot hand" and we have 2.

Then Alex Smith says a few words, and then we have today. My take:

Jim Harbaugh: He is the coach and evidently a very good one. He seems like a complete cocksucker though. Look Alex Smith was what he inherited, not what he wanted. Kap was gonna be his guy. He handled the move poorly though by waiting for the concussion, and then handling the interviews in a bad way. To me he has just handled the whole situation poorly....very poorly. I wish he woulda just said Kap is my guy. Woulda respected that more....everyone would have.

Alex Smith: Handled the situation great at first. Then came out and said a few things that I thought he shouldnt have said. If this is a "team game" shouldnt you root for the "team"? I want you to be competitive, and want to start. Talk to coach internally. Dont say what you said, but say the week before it is a team thing etc...And I know last year was cool and all but you arent Brady. Your job was always in jeopardy since you came in the league.

Colin Kap: Like a pro. Got his chance and running with it. Doin all he can do.






Niners guys that go to the game or watch the games fully. Does Smith go and talk with Kap on the sidelines during the games? Is he involved or just bites a towel?

 

[D-Woww]

I dont blame smith one bit. The dude was drafted number 1 overall and then had to endure 7 OC's and shitty shitty teams around him during the years that he should have been developing. Instead of becoming a total bust, he stuck with it and worked is ass off and finally when the team got some stability, he was turning into a decent NFL qb. Then this young kid comes in and flashes some great things and just like that Smith is gone? Harbaugh handled it wrong. You can't jump on the CK wagon after a few good games when the league wasnt prepared for the kid yet. If you want to take from his good games "this kid can play so we arent going to pay Alex Smiths salary and go with CK next year" fine. Thats reasonable. But to make him starter now, on a SB caliber team, is a bad idea and was from the start. Smith didnt do anything to deserve this.

 

[D-Woww]

I feel like what Harbaugh did is the equivalent of a guy who has a girlfriend who cooks, cleans, and fucks but only missionary style and only in the bed room with the lights off, so he cheats on her with some hot young slut and after a few nights of amazing sex, makes a knee-jerk reaction to leave his wife for this girl. Only after he commits to the new girl, he realizes that beyond the sex, this new girl is still immature, isnt very domestic, and not ready for a relationship, and that maybe the seemingly boring old girlfriend wasnt so bad afterall

 

[daveniner]

I don't really like the way Harbough has handled the situation, either. He had a tough decision to make and kind of side-skirted the questions about it. I think he's trying to "have his cake and eat it, too." Time will tell if it works out for better or worse.

I think he handled it better, in the locker room. But, that is just my opinion. I have no way of knowing.

I really didn't notice if Smith was talking to Kap, or not, on the sidelines. I would think that he does. I don't think Smith would hold Kap responsible for the decision.

 

[Streakin]

Harbaugh looks like a fool IMO. He gave these "cutsie" comments regarding his starting qb and having 2 and all the BS and then goes out and loses to the fucking Rams. His team is rock solid, but his leadership must be called into question.

Signed that guy who had a shitload of cash tied up in parlays on SF and ats yesterday.

 

[C-MAN]

I am just thankful my SF under 10 wins bet has life. Push is a win at this point.

 

[daveniner]

That was a "cutesie" play call, at the end of the game. Just hand the ball off and punt, like any other team would. I guess they thought they would surprise them. But, it ended up costing the game. Not to mention Akers.

Under 10 wins will be tough. I expect fierce performances, for at least the next 2 games.

 

[cogenman]

I feel bad for Alex Smith. What has he done to justify losing his job? He only led them to a 13-3 season last year, then beating the Saints in the playoffs on his spectacular play. Then they lose to the Giants but that loss was on Kyle Williams IMO.

This year he was playing well right up to that concussion. Not sure what he did to lose his job.

 

[twinkie13]

I think Harbaugh can do what he wants as far as the QBs go, he just handled it poorly. You wanted Kapernick the whole time....to wait until the concussion is just weak.

I do not Alex Smith is "owed" anything.....he hasnt gotten to that level yet

 

[Streakin]

If I were Smth, I would be laughing in my HC's face after that game.

and to Daveniner's point, I agree. The pitch play was a joke. And then afeter that, SF was playing for a 50+ yd fg from Akers to win in OT? Give me a break.

 

[Coverdatspred]

Wow I guess I'm the only one seeing it this way but to me it's clear as a bell. Smith should be fucking thankful that Harbaugh came along and resurrected what was a total bust of a NFL career. The Niners have won most of the games in the past two seasons not because of smith but because smith didn't fuck things up. Kap did not just show up here. He has been impressing in practice for two years now and it's been pretty obvious that at some point he was going to take the job from smith. When you have a qb who can not stretch the field ala Smith you can only do so much and get so far in the playoffs. You pretty much have to play every game absolutely perfect and have no room for mistakes. For an example see the Niners and Giants playoff game last year. Niners played pitch perfect and had the Giants beat but for a couple of fumbled punts. Quite simply Alex Smith could not stretch the field in that game and the Giants adjusted to their gameplan and shut the Niners down. In Kap you have a guy who can open up the whole playbook so to speak. He may still be raw and unpolished but this is all valuable learning experience for the guy. If I'm Harbaugh I make the same move, even at the expense of not making the Super Bowl this year. This guy is simply better than Smith and it will show up in the long run......they were easily the most dominant team in the NFL last year and could not win a Super Bowl with Smith. Windows for a team to win it all in the NFL are open and shut very quickly.

Yesterdays loss to the Rams even with all the mistakes should have been a win. All the points for the Rams were pretty much a result of mistakes by Kap but what did he do? He shrugged em off and drove his team for a game winning FG that Akers hits probably 8 out of 10 times. That alone should tell you all you need to know about this kid.

Alex Smith should keep his mouth shut and cheer his team on. Harbaugh can handle this any way he wants to keep other teams guessing. Kap should keep doing what he is doing. If and when Smith gets another shot with another team it is pretty much 100% Jim Harbaughs doing.

 

[D-Woww]

I disagree with a few of your points CDS.

First off, I don't agree with the "Alex Smith should be happy Harbaugh came along and made him decent" thing. Come on, no qb comes out of college and can succeed without a system and a plan and a good coach. Smith dealt with Mike Singletary and 7 different O Coordinators. Im impressed that he stuck with it, continued to work his ass off, and eventually found Harbaugh. Saying Harbaugh helped Smith is fair, but every successful qb has a coach to thank. Brady-Bellechick. Hell even RG3 came to a team with a legit plan and a system to build around the qb. Smith never had that and when he finally got it, he made the most of it.

And you seem to be putting the Giants loss on Smith too. That was 100% Kyle Williams fault. Otherwise, Smith is in the Super Bowl. He even started to gain confidence this year and become more than a game manager and had some big yards & big tds game. What has CK done? Looked good in practice? Sure, but is that what you want to use to maka switch in the last few weeks of the season when your seaons goin good as it is? He beat the Saints and their crappy defense and the Bears on that night in which everything stacked up against the Bears. Also, the Bears arent that good and were seeing that now.

Just a dumb move. I have zero problem with JH making CK the guy next year, but you don't do this Week 12 of a very good season

 

[C-MAN]

Was pretty sure SF was the best team in the league before the change. Now, I am not so sure. CK may end up being the answer for the team, but too much of a risk at this point in the season IMO.

 

[bones]

I feel like what Harbaugh did is the equivalent of a guy who has a girlfriend who cooks, cleans, and fucks but only missionary style and only in the bed room with the lights off, so he cheats on her with some hot young slut and after a few nights of amazing sex, makes a knee-jerk reaction to leave his wife for this girl. Only after he commits to the new girl, he realizes that beyond the sex, this new girl is still immature, isnt very domestic, and not ready for a relationship, and that maybe the seemingly boring old girlfriend wasnt so bad afterall

"I'm not saying i think its right, but 'I understand'."

 

[Sharpshooter]

Agree with most of the guys here, Alex Smith is a better option right now. CK is not convincing to me at all, he's flashy, can run well, but I just don't trust his decision making.

 

[Lareux]

Wow I guess I'm the only one seeing it this way but to me it's clear as a bell. Smith should be fucking thankful that Harbaugh came along and resurrected what was a total bust of a NFL career. The Niners have won most of the games in the past two seasons not because of smith but because smith didn't fuck things up. Kap did not just show up here. He has been impressing in practice for two years now and it's been pretty obvious that at some point he was going to take the job from smith. When you have a qb who can not stretch the field ala Smith you can only do so much and get so far in the playoffs. You pretty much have to play every game absolutely perfect and have no room for mistakes. For an example see the Niners and Giants playoff game last year. Niners played pitch perfect and had the Giants beat but for a couple of fumbled punts. Quite simply Alex Smith could not stretch the field in that game and the Giants adjusted to their gameplan and shut the Niners down. In Kap you have a guy who can open up the whole playbook so to speak. He may still be raw and unpolished but this is all valuable learning experience for the guy. If I'm Harbaugh I make the same move, even at the expense of not making the Super Bowl this year. This guy is simply better than Smith and it will show up in the long run......they were easily the most dominant team in the NFL last year and could not win a Super Bowl with Smith. Windows for a team to win it all in the NFL are open and shut very quickly.

Yesterdays loss to the Rams even with all the mistakes should have been a win. All the points for the Rams were pretty much a result of mistakes by Kap but what did he do? He shrugged em off and drove his team for a game winning FG that Akers hits probably 8 out of 10 times. That alone should tell you all you need to know about this kid.

Alex Smith should keep his mouth shut and cheer his team on. Harbaugh can handle this any way he wants to keep other teams guessing. Kap should keep doing what he is doing. If and when Smith gets another shot with another team it is pretty much 100% Jim Harbaughs doing.

You seem to contradict yourself here...either the window for a SB is really small and you have to take advantage of it immediately, or CK can play this year "at the expense of the SB." How big or small do you think the window is? It can't be both ways though...

 

[Coverdatspred]

You seem to contradict yourself here...either the window for a SB is really small and you have to take advantage of it immediately, or CK can play this year "at the expense of the SB." How big or small do you think the window is? It can't be both ways though...

Not really contradicting myself at all. Judging by the windows of past teams it seems there is about a 3-4 year window. My point was that last year pretty much proved that with smith they were going to have to play perfect football to win a Super Bowl. They nearly played a perfect NFC championship game and lost because of the two fumbles. That was as good as smith gets IMO. If they have a 3-4 year window, that opened last year, plugging Kap in there now gets him late season experience as well as playoff experience in hopes of winning this year and next.

To put it more simply, Harbaugh did not think Alex Smith had enough tools to take this team to the Super Bowl. I agree with Harbaugh.

 

[Coverdatspred]

I disagree with a few of your points CDS.

First off, I don't agree with the "Alex Smith should be happy Harbaugh came along and made him decent" thing. Come on, no qb comes out of college and can succeed without a system and a plan and a good coach. Smith dealt with Mike Singletary and 7 different O Coordinators. Im impressed that he stuck with it, continued to work his ass off, and eventually found Harbaugh. Saying Harbaugh helped Smith is fair, but every successful qb has a coach to thank. Brady-Bellechick. Hell even RG3 came to a team with a legit plan and a system to build around the qb. Smith never had that and when he finally got it, he made the most of it.

And you seem to be putting the Giants loss on Smith too. That was 100% Kyle Williams fault. Otherwise, Smith is in the Super Bowl. He even started to gain confidence this year and become more than a game manager and had some big yards & big tds game. What has CK done? Looked good in practice? Sure, but is that what you want to use to maka switch in the last few weeks of the season when your seaons goin good as it is? He beat the Saints and their crappy defense and the Bears on that night in which everything stacked up against the Bears. Also, the Bears arent that good and were seeing that now.

Just a dumb move. I have zero problem with JH making CK the guy next year, but you don't do this Week 12 of a very good season

In your first paragraph you say you disagree but then go on to prove my point. Alex Smith was a bust till Harbaugh came and put him on the map plain and simple. Before Harbaugh Smiths season high passing yards was 2890, first year with Harbaugh was 3144. Before Harbaugh his best pass rating was 82.1, first year with Harbaugh was 90.7. Before Harbaugh Smith had never even had a season with a 2-1 touchdown to interception ratio and the first year with Harbaugh he goes over 3-1. Harbaugh took what would have been a lifetime NFL journeyman and made him into a guy who will make bank on his next contract. The facts are the facts, Alex Smith sucked pre Jim Harbaugh.

Secondly I never blamed the giants loss solely on Smith. If you read it again I said they had to play a perfect game because of Smiths lack of ability to stretch the field. They nearly did but for the two fumbled punts. I'm not going to post the whole box score from that game here but trust me, Smith did not do anything to help them win that game. He was 12-26 for 178 yards. The Niners were 1-13 on third down in that game. Aside from Vernon Davis playing out of his mind Alex smith could barely complete a pass to a WR in that game. Aside from all this they played a nearly mistake free game and dominant on defense and would have won if Williams doesn't fumble those punts. To win with a game manager you have to play perfect.

You can say all you want about the bears and the saints games but those are two huge wins for the guy. Up till that point the Bears had perhaps the most feared defense and especially secondary in the game. Kap dissected them. Any team that goes into NOLA and beats the Saints in prime time deserves quite a bit of credit as well.

Anyway, agree to disagree. I think in the long run the switch will benefit the Niners.

 

[Lareux]

Not really contradicting myself at all. Judging by the windows of past teams it seems there is about a 3-4 year window. My point was that last year pretty much proved that with smith they were going to have to play perfect football to win a Super Bowl. They nearly played a perfect NFC championship game and lost because of the two fumbles. That was as good as smith gets IMO. If they have a 3-4 year window, that opened last year, plugging Kap in there now gets him late season experience as well as playoff experience in hopes of winning this year and next.

To put it more simply, Harbaugh did not think Alex Smith had enough tools to take this team to the Super Bowl. I agree with Harbaugh.

I'm not sure that's what Harbaugh thinks though...he was on the sideline for the Giants game that they lost due to 2 punt return fumbles. Alex Smith did enough to get them to the SB, his punt returner let the team down. If he truly thought that, why wouldn't Kapernick have either started the season as the QB, or come in well before the concussion to Smith?

I think Harbaugh is trying to hard to be the smartest guy in the room in this situation. Things were rolling along quite nicely until Alex was concussed, why the need to change QBs due to one game on a team that was likely on course to be back in the NFC Championship Game?

 

[crawdads]

I think you'll be more consistent with Alex. There will be higher highs and lowers lows with kaep. He's rolling the dice that the low doesn't present itself in the tournament. My opinion is kaep makes the team more exciting and explosive but they have a better chance to win a SB with Alex.

 

[twinkie13]

I'm not sure that's what Harbaugh thinks though...he was on the sideline for the Giants game that they lost due to 2 punt return fumbles. Alex Smith did enough to get them to the SB, his punt returner let the team down. If he truly thought that, why wouldn't Kapernick have either started the season as the QB, or come in well before the concussion to Smith?

I think Harbaugh is trying to hard to be the smartest guy in the room in this situation. Things were rolling along quite nicely until Alex was concussed, why the need to change QBs due to one game on a team that was likely on course to be back in the NFC Championship Game?

Alex Smith was NEVER Jim's guy. He wanted Peyton desperately(who didnt)...Peyton hates his guts enough not to go and cruise to a SB.

He never wanted Alex....he just waited until he saw an opportunity, and this was the one...as fucked up as that sounds.

 

[KJ]

i agree with everything CDS said to a tee. right or wrong, and maybe it took several games this year on top of last year to get there, harbaugh doesn't believe he can ever win the big one with alex. possibly he thought so after the run last year, but having to play the perfect game is too much to ask. alex didn't lose the game last year, but her sure didn't win it. he was 12-26 and i remember a couple bounce passes in there that weren't tough passes to make.

why waste the postseason this year to possibly get close again but not really stand a chance to win it when u can get kaep the experience that hopefully will bring it home next year? if u ride smith this year and don't get there, then u have to count on next year for experience for kaep, and u just set the team back a year. i'd assume that's his line of thought, and that's a fair line of thinking...he's the coach, and he knows the team better than any of us.

 

[Coverdatspred]

i agree with everything CDS said to a tee. right or wrong, and maybe it took several games this year on top of last year to get there, harbaugh doesn't believe he can ever win the big one with alex. possibly he thought so after the run last year, but having to play the perfect game is too much to ask. alex didn't lose the game last year, but her sure didn't win it. he was 12-26 and i remember a couple bounce passes in there that weren't tough passes to make.

why waste the postseason this year to possibly get close again but not really stand a chance to win it when u can get kaep the experience that hopefully will bring it home next year? if u ride smith this year and don't get there, then u have to count on next year for experience for kaep, and u just set the team back a year. i'd assume that's his line of thought, and that's a fair line of thinking...he's the coach, and he knows the team better than any of us.

:handshake

I was beginning to think I was the only one that saw it this way.

 

[Coverdatspred]

I'm not sure that's what Harbaugh thinks though...he was on the sideline for the Giants game that they lost due to 2 punt return fumbles. Alex Smith did enough to get them to the SB, his punt returner let the team down. If he truly thought that, why wouldn't Kapernick have either started the season as the QB, or come in well before the concussion to Smith?

I think Harbaugh is trying to hard to be the smartest guy in the room in this situation. Things were rolling along quite nicely until Alex was concussed, why the need to change QBs due to one game on a team that was likely on course to be back in the NFC Championship Game?

Like twink says, Smith was not his guy ever. He stood on the sideline in that Giants game and saw his team nearly win despite his QB. There was a to of plays available that Smith simply could not make in that game so Harbaugh never even opened up the playbook that far. He knew what was going to happen then and there IMO. Smith was going to be replaced at some point.

 

[D-Woww]

I don't see how you can say that jim doesnt think he can win the big one with Alex when he would have been in teh big game with him last year if a shitty 5th string WR didnt botch two punts.

 

[deuce's wild]

A guy should not lose his starting job due to an injury pretty simple advice that the HC didn't use. Once Smith was ok'd from doctors on the concussion he should be back to starting and don't think that stuff bothers guys in the locker room because it does.

 

[D-Woww]

Im not saying Alex Smith is the future, and I'd be fine if they went to CK starting NEXT YEAR but you can't tell me that you have a better chance of going to the SB with a guy who has played in like 5 NFL games than a guy who was a few plays away from going to the SB last year and has only been better this year

 

[KJ]

how cliche to say williams' fumbles cost them the game when if alex smith plays a game at all the game never sees overtime

it's laughable that u say they were only 2 botched punts from the superbowl, when in harbaugh's mind they were a qb away. if he thought they could win it this year with alex smith, he wouldn't have made the change. like CDS said, the window is small, but it's not just a one-year window, it's a few. if u don't think u can do it this year (he doesn't with smith obviously) u take the necessary steps to put your team in position to do it sooner rather than waste the year. they may not win it this year or next year with kaepernick, but clearly harbaugh didn't think they'd win it this year with smith.

i trust jim harbaugh's opinion about his team much more than armchair qb's on a message board if i'm a niner's fan

 

[twinkie13]

A guy should not lose his starting job due to an injury pretty simple advice that the HC didn't use. Once Smith was ok'd from doctors on the concussion he should be back to starting and don't think that stuff bothers guys in the locker room because it does.

I completely disagree with this line of thought. Happens all the time. In the workplace, as common as me and you. Life is cut throat and moves fast.

The injury was the excuse anyways...

 

[D-Woww]

how cliche to say williams' fumbles cost them the game when if alex smith plays a game at all the game never sees overtime

it's laughable that u say they were only 2 botched punts from the superbowl, when in harbaugh's mind they were a qb away. if he thought they could win it this year with alex smith, he wouldn't have made the change. like CDS said, the window is small, but it's not just a one-year window, it's a few. if u don't think u can do it this year (he doesn't with smith obviously) u take the necessary steps to put your team in position to do it sooner rather than waste the year. they may not win it this year or next year with kaepernick, but clearly harbaugh didn't think they'd win it this year with smith.

i trust jim harbaugh's opinion about his team much more than armchair qb's on a message board if i'm a niner's fan

yes because coaches are never wrong

 

[twinkie13]

Harbaugh knows what he has

Dwow doesnt

that simple/......you may not agree D, but thats it lil brother

 

[D-Woww]

Look I dont blame JH or niners fans for being excited over CK. Hes shown some very impressive tools. But hes still going to make mistakes as he adjusts to the game and as defenses adjust to him, and thats not a process I would want to be going through weeks 14 throughout the playoffs.

At least start him next year as teh qb, then let him work out his kinks as a starter for the first few weeks and be ready to roll come playoff time.

Lets just wait and see before you say I'm wrong. Lets see how CK does against playoff teams...

 

[KJ]

u just made the point for me. harbaugh already knows smith can't consistently beat the big boys so he'd rather get kaep the experience now than to wait and learn it at the end of the year next year

i assume he expects kaepernick to struggle this year in the playoffs, hopefully so he doesn't next year

 

[D-Woww]

Harbaugh knows what he has

Dwow doesnt

that simple/......you may not agree D, but thats it lil brother

Harbaugh knows what he has but hes infatuated by the spectacular potential CK has shown. I understand that. Its like if you have a pretty girlfriend, you were still ogling over the models at the victorias secret fashion show last night. I just don't think now is the time to make the change. Whoever said earlier that the window of opportunity is not small for the niners is 100% correct. This is a good young team with a great foundation and amazing young defensive talent. So you give AS the reins this year. If he fails, then you know hes not your guy. You go into camp with CK as your guy and you let him become adjusted.

The first 20 starts of an NFL qbs career is a learning experience more than anything. I don't want my guy beginning that process in the playoffs. We saw it against the rams. The pitch may have been JH's call, but running out of bounds and stopping the clock was on CK. Thats the kind of play that can lose a playoff game.

Well see, If Kapernick is holding the Lombardi trophy on SB sunday, ill eat crow.

 

[D-Woww]

u just made the point for me. harbaugh already knows smith can't consistently beat the big boys so he'd rather get kaep the experience now than to wait and learn it at the end of the year next year

i assume he expects kaepernick to struggle this year in the playoffs, hopefully so he doesn't next year

no way man, there is no way when you have a team that could win the SB that you punt that chance in order to get a young qb experience. Next year you could lose a few key members of the d to injury. Or who knows what will happen. No way you piss away a chance at a title in hopes of getting one next year when the team you currently have could absolutely win one.

 

[twinkie13]

Dwow, when Jim Harbough took over for the 49ers all he had was Alex Smith who had been less than stellar right?

I don't think that you really get that Alex Smith was NEVER Jim's guy. I just think you are looking at the performance and saying, "Well shit Alex led em to an awesome year, then had a concussion....he still gives them the best chance"

If Harbaugh coulda had it his way, Alex WOULDNT EVEN BE THERE THIS YEAR.

That is the point.

 

[KJ]

he clearly doesn't think he can win the superbowl with alex smith, so he is punting absolutely nothing

 

[Lareux]

Dwow, when Jim Harbough took over for the 49ers all he had was Alex Smith who had been less than stellar right?

I don't think that you really get that Alex Smith was NEVER Jim's guy. I just think you are looking at the performance and saying, "Well shit Alex led em to an awesome year, then had a concussion....he still gives them the best chance"

If Harbaugh coulda had it his way, Alex WOULDNT EVEN BE THERE THIS YEAR.

That is the point.

You guys keep saying this, but WHY DID ALEX SMITH START THIS YEAR if that's the case? If Jim really thought this, he would have gone with CK initially, right? No one is in Jim's head, lets all stop pretending we are and know more than we really do

 

[Coverdatspred]

There is one thing in this case that is obvious plain as day. Harbaugh does not believe that Alex Smith is a Super Bowl caliber QB. If he believes that then yes the move to CK is very obviously the correct move for him to make and it doesn't matter when he makes it.

The adage that you shouldn't lose your starting job because of injury is simply not the case, it happens all the time in the NFL. Should Bellicheat have re instated Bledsoe over Brady when he was healthy again?

Lareaux the answer to your question is simple. Alex Smith started this year in game one because Harbaugh felt he gave them the best chance to win. He obviously doesn't feel that way anymore. I agree with him and you do not.

Answer me this? What has Harbaugh done in his entire career, going way back to head coach of the University of San Diego, to make anyone second guess that he doesn't know what he is doing?

 

[deuce's wild]

u just made the point for me. harbaugh already knows smith can't consistently beat the big boys so he'd rather get kaep the experience now than to wait and learn it at the end of the year next year

i assume he expects kaepernick to struggle this year in the playoffs, hopefully so he doesn't next year

Was it alex smith's fault they didn't beat the giants last year in the playoffs?

I understand the idea of letting the rookie learn on the job but this is the nfl and you never know from year to year when that window is going to close. Niners had a prime spot this year but I don't like the idea of CK leading them come playoff time. Hopefully he is a quick learner because he made some bonehead mistakes on sun against a brutal stl team.

 

[deuce's wild]

Don't we already know what Smith can do late in a game come playoff time - see NO game l/y?

What has CK done to come from behind in a game?

 

[D-Woww]

the crazy part is that so many coaches in the NFL whos teams are done for the year should be starting some backups with potential to see what they have in those guys, but arent doing so (tebow/mcelroy, webb, etc) and the one guy who does it is a guy in the middle of a race

 

[Coverdatspred]

Don't we already know what Smith can do late in a game come playoff time - see NO game l/y?

What has CK done to come from behind in a game?

The playoffs last year?

vs the Saints Smith completed 17 passes to his TE's and His RB's while completing 7 passes to his WR's.
vs the Giants he completed 11 passes to TE ad RB and only 1 pass for 3 yards to a WR.

if you don't see the problem there I'm not sure what to say.

 

[deuce's wild]

The playoffs last year?

vs the Saints Smith completed 17 passes to his TE's and His RB's while completing 7 passes to his WR's.
vs the Giants he completed 11 passes to TE ad RB and only 1 pass for 3 yards to a WR.

if you don't see the problem there I'm not sure what to say.

And if Williams doesn't fumble twice in the giants game they are in the superbowl - one huge problem 30 other teams sure wish they had.

Who were his WR's last year if I had a beast at TE who cannot be covered by most lb's as a qb I am getting the ball to him.

Not saying he is the answer long-term but if your a 49er fan doesn't smith give you the best chance to win it all this year? Isn't that the primary goal? There isn't even a lot of film on this CK yet and teams are limiting him.

 

[Coverdatspred]

We are going in circles. The head coach does not believe Smith gives them the best chance. I agree with the man getting paid millions and you do not.

 

[KJ]

i believe alex smith cost them the giants game last year with a bunch of errant passes and very much limiting the play calling

to blame the game only on kyle williams is ludicrous. if his qb executes at all no one knows kyle williams exists

the fact that smith didn't throw any INTs in that game is consistent with the fact he could barely throw it to anyone at all

 

[Lareux]

There is one thing in this case that is obvious plain as day. Harbaugh does not believe that Alex Smith is a Super Bowl caliber QB. If he believes that then yes the move to CK is very obviously the correct move for him to make and it doesn't matter when he makes it.

The adage that you shouldn't lose your starting job because of injury is simply not the case, it happens all the time in the NFL. Should Bellicheat have re instated Bledsoe over Brady when he was healthy again?

Lareaux the answer to your question is simple. Alex Smith started this year in game one because Harbaugh felt he gave them the best chance to win. He obviously doesn't feel that way anymore. I agree with him and you do not.

Answer me this? What has Harbaugh done in his entire career, going way back to head coach of the University of San Diego, to make anyone second guess that he doesn't know what he is doing?

i don't really have an opinion about who should start, so I'm not sure where you got that. I'm just trying to figure out how all these guys on here seem to think they know what Jim Harbaugh is thinking. I'm simply asking questions to get to the answer. So Alex started week 1 because he gave them the best chance to win....and he did until he was concussed? Again, just a question because you are dead set on the fact that Harbaugh doesn't think Alex is good enough....then why did he start 9 games this season? And if he hadn't been injured, would the change still have been made? If not, the theory that Harbaugh doesn't think he can win SB with Smith is nothing more than the opinion of a few posters on CTG.

 

[Lareux]

The playoffs last year?

vs the Saints Smith completed 17 passes to his TE's and His RB's while completing 7 passes to his WR's.
vs the Giants he completed 11 passes to TE ad RB and only 1 pass for 3 yards to a WR.

if you don't see the problem there I'm not sure what to say.

Who were the WRs he should have been throwing to? How many of them are actual NFL caliber WRs? It's easy to win an argument when you only tell parts of the story that help your argument.

 

[KJ]

i don't really have an opinion about who should start, so I'm not sure where you got that. I'm just trying to figure out how all these guys on here seem to think they know what Jim Harbaugh is thinking. I'm simply asking questions to get to the answer. So Alex started week 1 because he gave them the best chance to win....and he did until he was concussed? Again, just a question because you are dead set on the fact that Harbaugh doesn't think Alex is good enough....then why did he start 9 games this season? And if he hadn't been injured, would the change still have been made? If not, the theory that Harbaugh doesn't think he can win SB with Smith is nothing more than the opinion of a few posters on CTG.

According to your already mentioned theory, only jim harbaugh can answer your questions, so why are you even bothering reading this thread??

 

[Lareux]

According to your already mentioned theory, only jim harbaugh can answer your questions, so why are you even bothering reading this thread??

Because I find it fun and fascinating that we have so many posters on here who know as much as they do. They know what coaches they don't know personally are thinking. That is intriguing to me.