Where did this come from?

Who knew? All it took to get some national attention wasn't winning, it was a change at quarterback. I can't remember a time when the 49ers were covered this thoroughly on a national stage. They led both PTI and Sports Center tonight. I certainly don't view ESPN as having any sort of credibility in terms of who deserves the spotlight, but it's interesting to see the proverbial dog bone they chase being my team for once.

The downside, of course, is that they don't know what the hell they're talking about. They seem to think Kaepernick is Tim Tebow with a stronger arm. It's amazing to me just how lazy the national media are, and not just in sports. Whatever is the easiest, most convenient narrative is what they latch on to. Never mind that Kaepernick has completed half as many 20+ yard passes (10) as Smith (22) this season in 6 fewer games, never mind that he has better pocket presence after 2 starts than Smith has after 7 seasons, never mind that he throws a deep ball more accurately than Smith could even dream of- he runs! He's a QB! He's dynamic! Tim Tebow!

The other downside is that the team that gets this much attention almost always craps the bed at some point. All those years I pined for the 49ers to get more national love, and now that it's happening I wish they would just leave us alone and let Jim do his thing.

Speaking of, I sure hope he's handling this better in private than he is with the media, because if not then this could become a pretty bad deal. Why in the hell are you stringing both Alex and the team along publicly like this? I get that it's rough to admit that you're making a change because the guy you wanted to play all along finally got his shot due to an injury, but just saying that out loud would seem to be a lot less foolish and damaging than clinging to the notion that somehow both guys are your starter. That's patently ridiculous and EVERYONE knows it. Kapernick is the starter until he sucks or gets hurt, just say that. That would make this whole thing go away.

I have to admit that it is a little fun to have the spotlight on this team, and I'm more excited to watch them week to week now than I was even last year. Don't get me wrong, it ruled to win all those games, but that team, while effective, was plodding and unglamorous. This team has the potential to be that team + about 17 points a game. They could be legitimately exciting, and as we've all been saying, it's been awhile since we've seen that.

I'm a believer yeah yeah yeah yeahhhh

We have a QB! Heh.

But seriously though- whoa. That was quite a victory. Ugly? Sure, but this team always sucks in domes that aren't the home of the Rams, so I'll take it.

The interception by Kaepernick was baaaaaaaad. Had Crabtree WIDE OPEN underneath, but he decides to throw to the guy surrounded by 3 black jerseys. Other than that, it's difficult to find a lot of fault with the way he played. If Ted Ginn simply runs away from a punt, or calls a fair catch (sound familiar?) this game isn't even close. Kaepernick also would have had an extra possession.

As he did last week, he completed throws that Alex Smith would not even have attempted. The downfield throws weren't all that plentiful (and man, that fade to Moss was horrific), but his pocket presence and ability to escape sure sacks, keep his eyes down field, and convert throws was a breath of fresh air.

Side note: Troy Aikman desperately making excuses for the Saints ("This game would be a lot different without the 2 pick 6s"), mentioning nothing about the HORRENDOUS officiating or the stupid muffed punt.

The defense was unbelievable. Drew Brees' look of distaste after the game was wonderful. You got the feeling in the 4th quarter that the Saints had no goddamn idea how to handle a defense this tough. They were completely outmatched.

It's difficult to know if the penalty disparity was a result of horrible officials or if the 49ers were really that sloppy, but jeezus. If they could have committed just a normal amount of penalties they would have pushed 40 points. It really seems like 2 or 3 drive-extending conversions were called back by one penalty or another. The offense looked like it could move the ball at will, but kept shooting itself in the foot.

All in all, a great win containing nothing to dissuade us from the notion that Kaepernick is going to be a very very good starting quarterback. Start counting down to the Patriots game. That will be fun.

The end of an era

Boy, football sure is a rough game. Alex Smith suffers through 7 1/2 years of terrible teams, frustrated fans, incompetent head coaches, and revolving-door offensive coordinators. Through it all he remained as professional as anybody possibly could in such a situation.

He led his team to the NFC Championship last season, he was one special teams play away from a Super Bowl. This season was his best ever, he's completed SEVENTY PERCENT of his passes. Despite that, he's going to lose his starting job because of an injury. It's definitely possible that Harbaugh has simply been looking for a chance to make the switch and the injury was how that chance presented itself, but if that's true then everything he said about Smith earlier was difficult to believe. Maybe he really believed it all, but still believed Kaepernick was better. Maybe Kaepernick has gotten to the point where he's better after 1 1/2 years of studying.

I gotta say that I agree with the move, but I feel like a dick for liking it. Smith has been awesome, both on the field and off. Despite that it's clear that his game has very specific limitations, and Kaepernick's game (at least at this point) appears to be less limited and have a lot more upside. I'm really looking forward to seeing how Kaepernick handles this kind of challenge, but I don't feel great about how it happened.

We all knew a switch would be made at some point, and obviously it was never going to be an easy thing to do. I really wish it wasn't the result of a concussion, it just feels weird to have it end that way. I can't help but think Alex deserved better than that given the amount of shit he's put up with from this place. Despite his limitations, I'll always like him for the way he handled himself. Here's to hoping this goes as smoothly as possible and Kaepernick's breakout game was a harbinger of things to come.

If Alex never plays here again, I'll always have a soft spot for him and endless respect for how he acted. I hope he goes somewhere else and plays well for somebody.

The future is hopeful but also a little nerve-racking. Excited to see how the kid plays on Sunday in a really really difficult environment.

Holy Crap

Holy Crap.

Plenty of game left. Chicago hasn't made any adjustments yet, and for most of this week they thought they were getting Alex Smith in this game. Obviously it won't be this easy for Kaepernick.

That's the rational side of me. But then the irrational side sees that 57 yard pass on 3rd down followed up by a red zone TD and thinks "I can't go back, I can't ever go back".

Who knew he could be that accurate?

Holy Crap.

Nothing makes any sense anymore.

Well, that sucked. Needed to cool down a little before posting because holy god, I hate the Giants.

The NFL doesn't make any sense anymore. The 49ers blow out the bills, then the bills beat the Cardinals who before this week had only one loss. The 49ers blow out the Jets, then the Jets beat down on the Colts. The Texans look like nobody will ever beat them, then get completely destroyed at home by a team that was thoroughly dominated by the 49ers, who themselves looked like a 1-15 team this week.

What I'm saying is I don't think we can learn anything about any team in any given week this entire season. So basically, we have no reason to be depressed about the 49ers after this week, and we have no reason to be elated about the 49ers after a week in which they win in a convincing fashion.

I, for one, am not worried about this team long term- they are still one of the five best teams in the league. However, if they somehow allow a team to get a lead on them (stupid turnovers, poor special teams play, etc.) then they are in serious trouble. Every NFL team this season seems like they have serious flaws, and the 49ers are no different. Most weeks, their defense will make up for that. If their defense can't, then they will get blown out. Their offense (read: quarterback) is not equipped to lead a comeback of more than three points.

I, one of the last staunch defenders of Alex Smith, am tetering precariously on the bandwagon now. My tippytoe is keeping me on only because I know how smart he is and how capable he is of not making mistakes. After watching this weeks game however, my faith in him is waning slightly. If he can't limit mistakes then he is probably one of the three worst quarterbacks in the league. He is simply not equipped to lead a high-powered offense, no matter the supporting cast.

Thankfully, the opportunity to wash this one away comes quickly with the quick turnaround for the Thursday night game. I would expect the Seahawks to have a bit of a letdown after such an emotional win on Sunday. Plus, they have to travel. If the 49ers don't come out guns blazing and win this one in convincing fashion, then I will start to worry. I know the Seahawks have a good defense, but a truly good team should be able to put them away fairly easily on the road. Also, Pete Carroll is a total douche and I want him to lose.

It's the Bills...

...so let's not get too carried away. But holy crap Alex Smith. And Crabtree. Wow. They haven't looked like this against anyone, even terrible teams. This is a very welcome sight.

*FIRST HALF*

• The penalites were worrying. That crap won't jive against a decent team, and hopefully that's an anomoly. They wiped out too many key 3rd down conversions with stupid penalites. 
• Jeebus, Alex. Where did this come from? Perfect downfield throws. Of course, he's not facing any pressure, either. That said, I haven't seen him look that good in any game I've ever watched. 
• That back-shoulder throw to Williams was a milestone. Remember where you were when you saw that. That's the first time in his career that Smith has EVER made that kind of throw. It was a thing of absolute beauty. I'm also glad that Kyle is proving his worth to this team every single week. Good for him. 
• My boy Crabtree. Finally. More of that, please. 
• Vernon Davis. 
• Frank Gore. 

*HALFTIME*

• Not much more I can add. Offense looked incredible, defense was again dominant. It's hard to read a lot into this since it's the Bills, but, again, the 49ers' offense hasn't looked this good against ANYONE since like 2002. If they've somehow turned a corner then this team is going to be damn near unstoppable. 

*SECOND HALF*

• Remember when we were the Bills? It's a lot more fun to be a fan of the good team during games like this. 
• The offense carried over the first half performance. Really really nice to see them play this well.
• Wow, Fitzpatrick. Wow. What a terrible INT that was. He is awful. 
• Unrelated to this game, but the Vikings continue to show that they're not a fluke. We can feel a lot better about that loss now. I actually think they will win that division. Them or Chicago. 
• Kendall Hunter looks pretty special. He ALWAYS falls forward after contact. That's 2 big-time, LONG 3rd down conversions by him today. 
• This game looks like the 49ers are playing Madden 13 on rookie. 
• When Dixon is running on your defense like that, you've either given up or your team needs to be contracted. This is kind of an outrageously bad defense. 
• And the game has reached hilarious territory. 

No idea what this tells us about the 49ers. They're good enough to blow out bad teams, which is good, but the wins over Detroit and Green Bay look less impressive every week. I hope the offense can play this well against a good team. This was really really fun to watch though. 

These are not Mike Nolan's 49ers

We as fans are in good hands. The offense definitely could have played a lot better, but I couldn't ask for a better recovery game from the defense. That was utter domination on every level.

Tim who?

Wow do I love that. All the talk is about Tim Tebow and our guys are like "hmm well, we've got this QB who can run a little bit". Then he bombs it 60 yards just to freak everyone out.

This coaching staff is why this team will never be "those" 49ers again. 13 wins? Maybe, maybe not. But not 6.
*1ST HALF*

• I don't watch every game every week, but I watch a fair amount. I've never seen an announcing crew more biased than the Albert/Moose group is when they do niner games. Moose at times openly roots for players on opposing teams on air. 
• Case in point: the Tebow "jump pass" that ended in a TURNOVER. They were desperate to spin Tebow's first pass as a Jet in a positive light, even though the 49ers came away with the ball.   Moose casually mentioned the nice hit at the end of the replay. 
• I just don't know what to make of Alex Smith. He shows occasional flashes of great play, you expect him to jump up a level, and then he reverts to one read, sprint out of the pocket, take sack. He just cost them a sure field goal with 2 terrible sacks. 
• And there he misses a WIDE. OPEN. Crabtree for an easy TD. Gulp. 
• The defensive line is wreaking havoc today. Holy hell. Complete 180 from how they looked last week. 
• Good god. This is now 2 straight weeks where they are playing with Raider-like penalty numbers. It would be really nice if they stopped playing like idiots. 
• At least the other team's QB is Mark Sanchez. Even PONDER knew to protect the ball in those situations. That was some horrible QB play. Wow. 

*HALFTIME*

The Jets suck. Sanchez inspires no fear, and the 49ers' defensive line have completely dominated this game. When the Jets have threatened to score, they've either turned it over or moved backwards. The 49ers' defense looks like normal service has been resumed. 

The 49ers' offense is not very good, or maybe the Jets' defense is still pretty good. I'm not sure. The offense looks better when Kaepernick is playing. Maybe this is the beginning of the end for Alex. Who knows. 

*2ND HALF*

• File another entry under "these announcers are hopelessly biased". 49ers make a great play to break up a screen, and they spend the entire replay talking about how it was a bad play by the Jets, not a great play by the defense. 
• What is wrong with Akers?! First he was blocked last week and now 2 misses in one game. Blah. 
• Remember that game when Alex was mercilessly booed at home? Fun to see that happening to the other team today. Man, Sanchez is baaaad. 
• OK Alex, I'm just about done. If you can't hit WIDE OPEN receivers streaking down the field, I don't know what to tell you. This game should be about 31-0 at this point. 
• This game reminds me of the Redskins game from last year. Not a dominating lead on the scoreboard, but it's clear the 49ers are the better team, and it's not that close. Really nice to see them play like this after last week. Would be nice if the offense was a little better though. 
• Things I never thought I would see in a million years: the 49ers playing a road game in NYC, and there being an audible "LET'S GO NI-NERS" chant in the crowd. 
• Scanning around the league, looks like either the Vikings are way better than we thought, or the Lions are not very good at all. So we can either feel better about where the 49ers are or worse. That clarifies things. 
• I take for granted how good Hunter is. He is a legitimate every-down guy in the NFL
• It's getting to the point where I wouldn't be disappointed if Kaepernick was the starter. This is the 2nd straight ug-ly game by the offense. 
• Hey Nate: here is your blowout! WOW what a meltdown. This is awesome. 

At least the 49ers didn't lose like that.

Holy s**t.

Cross Seattle off The List

Not contenders. Their coach is inept. They had EIGHT SACKS in one half. EIGHT! Yet led by only 7. Now it's halfway through the 4th quarter, and Seattle has no 1st downs in the entire second half. That's coaching. When you get owned for the entire second half, it means the other guys made changes and you didn't. Pete Carroll is not an NFL coach, and the Seahawks ain't contenders.

The 49ers dominated this team on the road, and the Seahawks are totally overmatched against them at home.