Karpernick

Got to give Kaepernick credit for beating up the Pack... Two costly turnovers for the Pack doomed them for the day.

Smith vs. Young: By the Numbers

Would you bench Steve Young in his prime... Let's see how Alex Smith's numbers over the last year and a half compare to a career of one of the great 49ers, Steve Young.

Young's career stats:
Games-169, completion percentage- 64.3%, Yds- 33,124, TD- 232, INT- 107, Rating- 96.8, Yds/game- 196, TD/game- 1.37, INT/game- 0.63

Smith's last 1.5 years stats:
Games- 24.5, completion percentage- %, Yds- 4,881, TD- 30, INT- 10, Rating- 95.2, Yds/game- 199, TD/game- 1.22, INT/game- 0.41

Yds/game- advantage Smith (+3)
TD/game- advantage Young (+0.15)
Int/game- advantage Smith (-0.22)
Rating- advantage Young (+1.6)

I'm just saying, taking the numbers into play what has happened to Smith would be like benching Young in his Prime. Crazier things have happened. We know a QB has taken over for another before in SF but Montana was not in his prime and we saw what he did for the Chiefs. In a league that has forgot what makes a good caliber QB, Smith may have been better off in a league with the likes of Young and Aikman where putting up 200 Yds/game, a QB rating in the high 90s, and a good running attack would put you in the hall. I'm not by any means saying Smith is a Hall of Fame QB, but over the last year and a half he's put up as good as numbers as Young or Aikman. If The 49ers went to the Super Bowl last year I doubt we would be having this debate. I'm just saying being a good QB is about more than putting up 4,000 plus yards in a season and putting up a lot of points. Just ask Drew Brees and Matt Stafford how that worked out for them this year... Best of luck to you Alex in the offseason.

GB VS. SF

Here are a things to point out about the game this week and how the 49ers are a different team since they meet in week 1 when I saw the Packers live in Lambo (what an awesome experience). The obvious is that they have a new QB, but here are some stats that you may not be aware of since Harbaugh has made the switch at QB and the offense has switched that has followed. Here are three thing to point out; the emerge of Michael Crabtree, the disappearance of Vernon Davis, and the decline in efficiency of Frank Gore.

I'll look at Alex Smith as wks 1-8 (yes Alex went down in wk 10 but I'm considering wk 10 a Kaepernick week) and Kaepernick as wks 10-17 with wk 9 being their bye week.

Michael Crabtree w/ Smith:
REC- 39, Yds- 440, Yds/REC- 11.3, TD- 3

Michael Crabtree Kaepernick:
REC- 46, Yds- 665, Yds/REC- 14.5, TD- 6







Vernon Davis w/ Smith:
REC- 25, Yds- 374, Yds/REC- 11.3, TD- 4

Vernon Davis w/ Kaepernick:
REC- 16, Yds- 174, Yds/REC- 10.9, TD- 1






Frank Gore w/ Smith:
Att- 119, Yds- 656, TD-4, AVG- 5.5 Yds/att

Frank Gore w/ Kaepernick
Att- 139, Yds- 558, TD-4, AVG- 4.0 Yds/att

 

Everyone seems to be talking about the emergence of Michael Crabtree, 7 more targets for 225 more yards and an average of 14.5 Yds/Rec vs. 11.3 with Smith but I say at what cost? You can see Vernon Davis has been targeted less and to me that is is a huge loss. Davis is easily one of the top Five Tight Ends in the games right now. So with Kaepernick you are losing that threat. Frank Gore is averaging a yard and a half (1.5 yards/attempt) less per game with Kaepernick. Yes Kaepernick has ran for 415 Yds vs. Smith's 132 Yds, but again I say at what cost. Smith has a completion percentage of 70.2% and a passer rating of 104.1. He is 6-2 this year of games he finished. Now Keapernick has some good numbers at 62.4% completion and a QB rating of 98.3 and he is 5-2-1 in games he finished. The number don't lie, they Give Smith the edge.

It is a different 49er team that the Packers will see in the Divisional round but a less dynamic team as they have become the Kaepernick/Crabtree show. I hope the best for our former Ute in the offseason and Harbaugh's controversial decision could come back to haunt him this weekend. But I'll leave it to Woodson and Matthews to welcome Kaepernick to the playoff  and for Rodgers to show him how its done...

GO PACK GO!