Quote Originally Posted by Sammy_Ace:
I normally wouldn't think about fading the 49ers after a straight up loss. They have a championship-caliber defense, and a coach that is going to give them hell this week. But I think it's fair to start asking the question: Did Harbaugh create divisions within the locker room by benching Alex Smith? Leaders on the team like Joe Staley, Vernon Davis, and Al Gore have played alongside Smith for years prior to Harbaugh coaching this team. I can't imagine they are embracing Kaepernick with open arms after last weeks stinker. I think this QB controversy in the Bay area is a distraction, not only to the team, but to Kaepernick as well. He must be feeling the pressure to play perfect in order to prove to everyone he is the right man for the job. Not to mention, any mistake he makes will now be magnified, as everyone second guesses the decision and waits for Harbaugh to change his mind again and find a new "hot hand".
If Harbaugh were smart, he would do a better job adapting his offense to fit Kaepernick just like the Shanahans did in Washington for RG III. The problem is that the 49ers didn't know Kaepernick was going to be the starter at the beginning of the year given Alex Smith almost took them to the Super Bowl last season. And it takes time to master a new system. So as explosive and talented as Kaepernick is, I am of the opinion that it will be tough for him to really thrive until next season, when he has had a full offseason to work on an offense that is geared to him. Yeah, he looked great against the Bears, but that was because Chicago was literally putting 9 guys in the box and begging him to throw it. Yeah, he looked OK against the Saints, but we all know that isn't much of an accomplishment these days. Plus the 49er defense won that game for them with 2 pick-6's. It wasn't until he played the Rams that it became really evident that he was going to be the new starter going forward. That role has a lot more pressure than just filling in for Alex till he passes the concussion test. I think inconsistent performances can be expected from this point going forward. Especially, as we step up in class and face a Miami defense that ranks 8th in the league against the run...Well, thats just my 2 cents
As for the game, I think the Miami Dolphins match up pretty well here & getting 10 points is a bargain. As we all know, the 49ers pride themselves on running the football as they are 2nd in the league in yards rushing. I know the 49ers defense is as about as good as it gets. Thats why I am not expecting Miami to win this game. I just feel like Miami will be playing with a little confidence after giving the Patriots all they can handle last week, and that Miami won't have to score too many points to cover a 10-point spread. I think if they find a way to score 14-17 points, and don't give away any free points like they did last week, then the Fish cover in a snoozer of a game.
Good Luck
You the man SAMMY, but don't forget the first FIRE that this young gun was hurled into...that was a dogfight vs this RAM's team that beatin' Harbaugh's boys like older brother JohnH. use to beat JimH. And havin' gone through all those beatings John had the 'third eye' which could see something beyond TD's, points, Wins, etc. .... he saw all these individuals during a time of fear and duress respond immediately to Colin's extraordinary individual efforts to move the chains at a time when Coach Fish. had all 3 levels of his D whipping all 3 levels of niners off. This 'scrambling' ability created that initial mismatch that forced the other areas to atleast fight St. Louis to a standstill....that game was AWESOME!
Even Niners defensive pride emerged down the stretch of that game, as they were forced/inspired to dig deep within themselves to up their efforts as they watched Colin slowly reverse this powerful intangible force of the NFL called 'momentum' on the offensive side. Up till that point Steven Jackson was like a heat seaking missle targeting saftety DGoldson and it seems that Goldson is more physical on RBs trying to get around him bc SJack went Pwillis and Bowman after Dgold was knocked the f out. Amendola (doubtful if you recall) got targeted like 20 times on all 5 yard routes which he got several 20+ gains out of.
You can't deny this was the right choice, can you? This guys first year playing in college he was like 30/3 TD/int ratio or something crazy. Plus, am I the only freakin' NFL fan that recognized that Alex Smith was solely responsible for turning the NOs playoff game into a LOSS after they had secured it by running the bootleg in for a TD and giving NOs over a min. which is 100% Drew Breeze converted last year. That idiot had 20 yards to realize that VICTORY FORMATION secures the win, not the TD! He was the Kyle Williams if it wasn't for Vernon Davis' miracle 18 seconds.
Plus, Colin hits these receivers in stride everytime...I recall only having seen crabtree reach all over the place to make catches in the past. Now him and Maningham get to display their juke talents.