Survey Says

After the 49ers debacle yesterday at Seattle there were a multitude of articles written regarding the game. I decided to showcase the overall themes of these articles as well as the fan comments after the articles. If you watched the game you don’t need to think too hard about some of what was written. So what does the survey say? Basically the fan reaction was that Alex Smith sucks, sorry Smith fans, you know how most 49ers fans feel about our quarterback. This point was even driven home by the 49ers beat writers as well as ESPN’s Mike Sando through both in game Tweets as well as their articles after the game. Another point made by fans and even subtly by Alex Smith himself was the lack of skills possessed by offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye. Again, this is not news to the fans who have been calling for Raye to open up the playbook since he arrived. Apparently there were not numerous technical issues as coach Singletary eluded to after the game, Alex Smith set that straight by saying it came down to them not getting the plays in to him before the play clock hits 15 seconds when the radio feed from the sideline cuts off automatically. This delay caused the 49ers to burn through timeouts at the most important moments in the first half, on 3rd and 1 and 4th and 1. At least we can thank Alex Smith for speaking up and forcing Singletary to do something about it, he has suggested he may send Jimmy Raye to the sidelines to call the plays rather than the booth. (Niner Pundit had a nice Tweet about Raye roaming the sidelines on a motorized scooter. Personally I visualized him like Joe Paterno running for the restroom when he shits his Depend’s.)

While this is just the first game of the season, we have seen this before. Last season we saw the 49ers run draw plays repeatedly regardless of their success. We saw passes ricochet off Michael Crabtree’s hands and into the defenders arms for an interception. We saw Nate Clements show up at times-such as the first play of this game when he made an interception only to get burned for TD’’s by mediocre receivers. Fans have also pointed out that maybe Crabtree is the diva some thought he was before he was drafted after all. He held out his rookie year, he has yet to play a single preseason game in his career, former 49er Gary Plummer stated Crabs short armed a pass yesterday when he saw a linebacker flash in front of him. He was said to do the same thing last year. He has had several passes bounce off his hands for interceptions, yesterday he and Smith weren’t on the same page on another pass that resulted in a pick 6 in which Crabtree made no effort to tackle the defender.

On a more positive note, writers and fans alike believe Vernon Davis played a solid game considering how poorly the offense performed as a whole. Anyone remember Singletary telling Vernon that he will need to be ready to see less passes come his way and that he should accept it. Davis of course said he did not want to accept it, he wants the ball in his hands and as we saw yesterday should get it. On another note, Ted Ginn Jr. was brought in to stretch the field and to help out the 49ers return kicks and punts. He did well in the return game aside from one bonehead play where he returned it from deep in the end zone only to make it to the 9 yard line. He also had a shot at a deep pass that Smith threw to the wrong spot. The quarterback play once again had the fans and media types addressing the 49ers quarterback issue. Should the 49ers have gone after Donovan McNabb after all? Should they still try to get McNabb? The choice in drafting Alex Smith over Aaron Rodgers. The decision not to select Jimmy Clausen in this season’s draft. Putting Nate Davis on the practice squad. David Carr taking over this season. Troy Smith leapfrogging him and starting this season (I think Sing would go with Troy Smith over Carr, he brought him in for a reason).

Fans had a variety of reactions to this game, most were not good, but the majority were hopeful. Emotions run high after an ugly loss like that, the 49ers were the overwhelming favorites to win the division. Now they are at the bottom with the Rams-who almost beat the Cardinals. This should be an eye opener for them as an organization. Coaches and players can talk the talk all week long, and on Sundays they need to walk the walk.