We focused on the negativity yesterday, so today we're going to discuss the positive aspects of San Francisco's seven-point victory over the Rams of St. Louis. Dead horses be damned. Let's get the whips out.The GoodAlex SmithAfter a wretched rookie season, Smith finally seems to get it. His stats so far are not mind-boggling, but they are very efficient. His numbers? 34 completions on 62 attempts for 521 yards, along with two touchdowns and zero interceptions. Those numbers add up to a 93.8 quarterback rating.Had I told you six months ago that, upon completion of Steelers 43 Polamalu jersey
Week 2, Alex Smith would have a higher efficiency rating, as many touchdown passes and two less interceptions than Carson Palmer, would you have believed me? Didn't think so.In 2005, Smith was the NFL's version of a busboy. Not only did he bring nothing to the table, he actually took things off it. He threw 11 interceptions in 2005 before he finally recorded his first touchdown. That was mostly due to his tendency to stare down his primary receiver and the fact that he seemed to be lost when he stepped on the field...at least from what I saw of him last year.Now? Smith is recognizing what the defense is doing pre-snap, as evidenced by him checking down at the line and throwing quick slants to his receivers over blitzing linebackers. He is standing firm in the pocket and waiting for his receivers to get into their break rather than throwing the ball too early. And most importantly, Smith is recognizing holes in the defense and taking advantage of them much more than he was last season.Of course, I'm not going to sit here and claim that Smith is going to lead the 49ers to the playoffs, then strap the team to his back and carry it to a Super Bowl victory. Absolutely not. The hyperbole police would arrest me and throw me in a dank, football-less cell for the next six months. Smith is still waiting a bit too long to throw the ball on occasion, but only because he hasn't quite developed the feel for when a receiver is about to come open. What I mean is, he (like all young quarterbacks) wants to see a receiver is open before throwing the ball, but that just doesn't fly in the NFL. (Excuse me while I turn into Joe Theismann and talk in the second person for the remainder of this paragraph.) As a pro quarterback, unless there is a blown coverage you rarely see receivers who are wide open on their break. You must anticipate when and where to throw the ball on any given play. Learning that takes time. In order to be effective, you have to know what type of defense you're going up against and where the weaknesses in it are located. You also have to know the speed of your receivers, the speed and range of the defenders in the area, how hard and where to throw the football, and, finally, how quickly you can get the pass to the person you want to throw it to. The quarterback who is able to do all that early in his career is a very rare commodity. Smith isn't quite there yet, but he is improving, and that's really all you can ask for.Take, for instance, his 72-yard touchdown pass to Antonio Bryant. Anyone Steelers 43 Polamalu jersey
who watches football knows it was a good pass, but the best part of it were the subtle things Smith did correctly that helped produce the big play.St. Louis was in a Cover 2 zone, meaning the corners bump their receivers off the line (either inside or outside depending on the type of Cover 2 it is...on this play Bryant was bumped outside). The two safeties then split out and each is responsible for their half of the field.Bryant was running a go route (running straight down the field). In a Cover 2, the go route is open in the area between the corner and safety...unless, of course, the safety cheats toward the sidelines. Had Smith stared Bryant down that's exactly what would have happened. However, if you go back and watch the tape, you can see Smith stare at the safety on Bryant's side, then turn his head slightly inside to lure him to the middle of the field. Needless to say, it worked like a charm. The safety was influenced by Smith's eyes and shifted to cover the inside receiver and Smith fired a bullet through the area the safety should have been covering.But that's not all. The pass was a thing of beauty. Not only was it thrown with the correct amount of velocity, it was also placed in perfect position to allow Bryant to make the catch in stride and continue sprinting downfield for the touchdown. Smith did everything right on that play.Frank GoreI have to be honest, I'm a little sick of typing the same thing about this man over and over, so I went ahead and created a template for his place on the Good list that I can use week after week to save myself 30 seconds. It looks something like this:Frank Gore put on another ___ performance, rushing for ___ yards on ___ carries against the ___ and making their ___ look like a(n) ___. Gore continues to ___ the 49ers offense, having accumulated ___ yards on ___ carries. The young man out of "The U" is an absolute ___ and is likely bound for the ___ ___ in ___.(Please note: This template can also be used if Gore's prduction falls off, but I really don't think that's going to happen.)Offensive lineZero sacks allowed and 127 yards rushing by the starting running back is an impressive performance by an offensive line regardless of the opponent. But the Niners were missing their starting left tackle and left guard and still accomplished this feat. Wow. The rushing yards are impressive, but not allowing a sack? That's nearly impossible to achieve with two starters out. Heck, most teams with all five starters in can't even do this. The bottom line is, the Niners' O-line has much more depth than I gave them credit for last week. They are a fantastic unit and their depth and overall chemistry is outstanding.Manny LawsonTwo sacks and a possible touchdown-saving tackle on Steven Jackson in the fourth quarter by the rookie linebacker out of N.C. State earns him a place on my Good list. The youngster provided a big-time spark throughout the game, and was a constant presence in the St. Louis backfield. Walt HarrisIt seemed like every time there was a big play in the secondary, Walt Harris' name was the one being called. To go along with his seven tackles, he also racked up three pass deflections. So far this season Harris has 13 tackles, a sack, a forced 2010 pro bowl Vikings 4 Brett Favre jersey
fumble and five pass deflections...not bad for a player few people expected much out of this season. I believe Mike Nolan's quote regarding Harris pretty much sums it up:"I believed we were signing a starter. But, to the extent to which he is playing right now, he's playing very well. That's a good thing. It's a little bit embarrassing to say that you don't expect a guy to play well, but there are degrees of how well you play, and Walt is playing well. They tried to put some balls over his head, and he did a nice job. He's got gas in his tank
没有评论:
发表评论