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PoLLo LoC831

PoLLo LoC831

NINER EMPIRE
#3,761
Mar 20, 2005
4,709
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#3,761
York: Oakland beats S.F. as 49ers stadium site

If their Santa Clara stadium deal falls through, the San Francisco 49ers have identified a Bay Area Plan B: Oakland.
The Oakland Coliseum, Niners President Jed York said in an interview Friday, "has the location and the infrastructure. It's right on a freeway, and it has BART access."

As for San Francisco and its envisioned stadium site at the old Hunters Point Naval Shipyard? It has none of those things, York pointed out.

"At this point, Oakland just makes more sense," York said before jetting off with the team for today's game against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Sharing a stadium with the Raiders - either in Oakland or Santa Clara - is "something that we would be open to exploring," York said. However, he added, no talks are in the works.

The NFL has quietly been pushing the idea of both local teams playing in one stadium, preferably a plush new one somewhere. York says that while the Niners would consider Oakland as a possible home, the Raiders would never play in San Francisco - at least not under current boss Al Davis.

Raiders CEO Amy Trask declined to get into any dissing of the San Francisco stadium site, but made it clear that the Raiders are "keeping an open mind" about a shared stadium - especially if it's in Oakland.

York "is right about (the Coliseum) being close to BART and the freeways," she said. "It also has infrastructure, and Amtrak right next door."

York's comments come on the heels of a busy week for the 49ers, including the launching of a campaign to gain voter approval for the Santa Clara stadium with a mailer featuring the endorsement of 52 city bigwigs.

Last week also saw the sale of Cedar Fair, owner of the Great America theme park next to the proposed stadium site, to Apollo Global Management. That could complicate stadium talks - or it could be the first step in the 49ers taking over Great America.

If it all falls apart in Santa Clara, however, York said the 49ers want to stay around here. The team has no interest in Los Angeles, contrary to recent speculation, he said.

"The Bay Area is our home," York said.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/12/20/BAG21B6ERB.DTL#ixzz0aFEUumOF
 
VanD

VanD

Sicc OG
#3,766
Feb 8, 2004
5,934
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0
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#3,766
alex is the worst. i dont think he has ever complete a 2 minute drill successfully.

14 turnovers and counting compared to shaun hill's 3 turnovers, and this game isnt over yet.

activate nate davis and kiss this season goodbye
 
PoLLo LoC831

PoLLo LoC831

NINER EMPIRE
#3,767
Mar 20, 2005
4,709
236
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#3,767
Why does Singletary believe in Smith?
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/12/21/SPLL1B76JQ.DTL

After what appeared to be a job-threatening performance against the Eagles on Sunday, Alex Smith received a remarkable endorsement from his head coach. Mike Singletary didn't wait for anyone to ask whether Smith still looked like the 49ers' quarterback of the future.

Singletary proclaimed his support quickly at the postgame news conference and went well beyond saying that he would stand by the No. 1 draft pick of 2005.

"I don't have any questions about him going forward," Singletary said. "... He's shown me enough prior to tonight. He had a bad game. Great quarterbacks have bad games."

No questions? Great quarterbacks?

Smith has not visibly earned that type of respect, so Singletary must see something in him that eludes the average viewer or believe that unwavering certainty from his coach will endow Smith with a confidence that, on game day, translate into the instincts of an NFL quarterback. On Sunday, when the 49ers needed a win to sustain the weak pulse of their playoff hopes, Smith played like a man with a tourniquet around his neck.

He didn't snuff out the season on his own. He had plenty of help, a Delanie Walker fumble 8 yards from the goal line, drives of 94 and 89 yards allowed by the defense, and sporadic protection from his blockers. The Eagles also ran a creative, befuddling defense against the 49ers, which Smith called "unique."

But in several critical situations, the quarterback reacted badly, stepping into an unformed pocket, putting too much loft under a throw to Vernon Davis that turned into an interception, then becoming too creative as an Eagles defender enveloped him and tossing up a pass destined for disaster.

He finished with three interceptions, all in the first half, when the Eagles took a 20-3 lead on their way to a 27-13 win. He had an 11.8 passer rating in the half and finished the game with a scrawny 42.3. He completed 20 of 37 passes for 177 yards, and the 49ers' offense, perpetuating a chronic failure, converted none of its 11 third downs.

In Smith's defense, either the 49ers' play-calling or the receivers' route choices tend to produce a disturbing number of third-down passes that come up just a yard or 2 short.

Also, one of those third downs should have yielded a spectacular completion to Michael Crabtree. Smith rolled to his right, stringing along the Eagles' defense until he almost reached the sideline, then unleashed a flawless 44-yard pass to the rookie receiver. An Eagles safety plowed into Crabtree, so a pass-interference penalty converted the third down instead.

That throw, out of context, reveals why Singletary believes or wants to believe in Smith. In isolated moments, Smith appears to have the artistry of a great quarterback. But for most of his career and most of Sunday's game, he hasn't reached higher than painting by numbers, making occasional messes, and never a masterpiece.

We all can close our eyes and picture Donovan McNabb, Steve Young and Brett Favre throwing one of those "What was he thinking?" interceptions like the one that Smith chucked while wrapped in a defender's arms. We also can close our eyes and picture McNabb, Young and Favre carrying their teams, making victories happen, sensing every movement around them as if they had extra ears and eyes.

Maybe over time, Smith will develop a similar feel for the game. But since he took over the starting job in late October, he has not progressed substantially. He looks far more comfortable than he did in his early years, but even as the offense has been rewritten to suit his skills and the team has added better receivers, he has not been able to carry this team. He has three wins and five losses this year, and a lot of excuses made on his behalf.

After the first interception, Singletary scolded Davis on the sideline for not going after the ball more aggressively. The tight end erred, but Smith also, as he wisely conceded, "put too much air under the ball."

Yet Davis said he'd take the heat for the play. When asked if he supported his quarterback, Davis paused and said: "Ummm, I believe in Alex, I believe in what he brings to the team."

It's not his job to question the quarterback, but the organization must. It can't commit another season to Smith on the mere chance that he will cultivate the instincts required to manage difficult games.

Smith said he took some solace from understanding his mistakes as soon as he made them and instantly recognizing what he had to fix in the future.

"I think there were times in the past," he said, "when I walked off the field with similar stats and didn't know what went wrong."

That's improvement, but hardly enough to silence any questions.

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/12/21/SPLL1B76JQ.DTL#ixzz0aM1g1jYo
 
PoLLo LoC831

PoLLo LoC831

NINER EMPIRE
#3,769
Mar 20, 2005
4,709
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#3,769
Took This from a 49ers form. what do you guys think of it?

No-Brainer’ Major Team Needs:

Better Management:
#1. GM: Keep McC as head of scouting, but if we want to win superbowls, we need someone wiser than him to make the final decisions.

#2.Offensive Coordinator: Raye is not a very good OC, so we need a craftier O. coordinator if you want to win big.

??Singletary??: Juries still out on Sing. He's a good speaker and motivator, but he sure didn’t select a very good offensive coordinator, and he cut the only decent return man (Rossum). Let's see if he aggressively address these needs over the off-season. If we don't make the playoffs next year, we also need a new head coach.


Critical Player Needs:
#1. O Line (esp. OT): Obviously not very good, a big negative for McC’s drafting. Need at a starting OT, plus an OG to develop (or start).

#2. Impact Speedy Receiver & Return Man: Another big negative on McC. If the 49ers had any one of many speedy return guys McC has passed on, they likely would have made the playoffs! Yet year after year McC passes on a speed guy and instead stocks the bench with strong, slow DB’s and WR’s that do nothing but polish the bench with their butts.

#3. Impact Pass-Rushing OLB: In 5 years McC has mostly whiffed on pass rushers.




Other Misc. Needs:
#4. DB: Could always use a great FS and/or CB and, but their DB’s are OK, so this need is not as critical as the 3 needs listed above.

#5. QB??: Smith appears not to be a star, and ‘adequate’ isn’t good enough for a QB. Therefore we should be looking for a QB to develop. Start Smith next year, but keep your eyes open for another QB.
 
ayo4yayo

ayo4yayo

Sicc OG
#3,770
Jul 25, 2007
4,989
2,060
113
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#3,770
am I the only one that has a lil bit of faith in Smith? I mean he's shown improvement and our coaches finally use him in the shotgun/spread offense and he's proven to be comfortable. Its just our fuckin oline sucks! Like dude posted above. Work on our oline and draft a speedy WR to stretch out the field and open it up for crabtree, VD and gore.
 
PoLLo LoC831

PoLLo LoC831

NINER EMPIRE
#3,780
Mar 20, 2005
4,709
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#3,780
QB Rating:

Alex Smith career NFL QB Rating: 67.7
Alex Smith 2005 QB Rating: 40.8
Alex Smith 2006 QB Rating: 74.8
Alex Smith 2007 QB Rating: 57.2
Alex Smith 2009 QB Rating: 78.5 (21/32 NFL QBs per ESPN)

NOTE: If Alex is improving, it’s not taking place nearly fast enough to make a difference. How many years are we willing to suffer? The starting quarterbacks of each of the 6 teams that have secured playoff spots so far this year (AZ, PHI, MIN, NO, IND, and SD) are all in the top-11 in the league in QB rating. As these stats demonstrate, an NFL team’s success depends on the play of its QB. No matter how good we are overall as a team, so long as Alex is starting at QB we’re doomed to be on the outside looking in at the playoffs.

2009 NFL 3rd Down Conversion Rate:

(1) Colts 52.6%
(2) Dolphins 48.4%
(3) Packers 46.6%
(4) Saints 46.2%
(5) Vikings 46.2%
***
(28) 49ers 30.1%

Note: All 5 teams in the top five in 3rd-down conversion rate are either in the playoffs or still alive in the playoff chase. No one in the bottom five in 3rd-down conversion rate is still alive in the playoff chase, including our 49ers.

2009 49ers 3rd Down Conversions in games Alex Smith has started:

@ IND 2/10 (L)
CHI 6/14 (W – Cutler: 5 INTs)
@ GNB 3/11 (L)
JAX 8/16 (W)
@ SEA 1/13 (L)
AZ 8/16 (W – 7 turnovers)
@ PHI 0/11 (L)

OVERALL: 26/91, or 29%
AWAY GAMES: 6/45, or 13%

NOTE: Alex stinks in the clutch and never wins away games. This is not new. See his 3rd Down Conversion stats from 2006-2007 below…

2006 49ers 3rd Down Conversions (Alex started all 16 games):

OVERALL: 71/209, or 34%
AWAY GAMES: 40/110, or 36%

Note: Alex stinks in the clutch and never wins away games. This is not new. He’s only won 5 away games all time! 3 of those 5 were against the Rams or the Lions, and he didn’t even throw a TD or break 200 yards in any of those 3 games! How are we going to get better if we our starting QB is hopelessly ineffective on the road, when it matters?
Click to expand...
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