There is only one element missing from the San Francisco 49ers' passing game: Consistency.
Believe it or not, quarterback Alex Smith's near-perfect performance (18-for-19, 232 yards, 3 TDs, 157.1 passer rating) in Monday night's 24-3 rout of the Arizona Cardinals wasn't his best of the season. Three weeks ago, he similarly picked apart the Buffalo Bills (18-for-24, 303 yards, 3 TDs, 156.2 passer rating) in a 45-3 win.
Going into Week 8, however, Smith had thrown for just 340 yards total with four interceptions to one touchdown in his past two games—including an ugly Week 6 loss to the New York Giants on the heels of what he did to the Bills.
Everyone knows the 49ers can effectively run the ball with power. Everyone knows the 49ers have a fast, furious and physical defense. Those are weekly givens. Now it's on Smith and his talented receivers to become reliables, too, if the Niners are to finish another great regular-season surge with a run to the Super Bowl.
The 49ers came out running as expected in Arizona, with Frank Gore gaining chunks of yards early. Even though opponents always key in on stopping San Francisco's rushing attack first, it has the offensive line and blocking schemes, along with Gore and backup Kendall Hunter's hard-charging styles, to execute against any loaded front.
There's no question the Niners are a "run to set up the pass" kind of team. Unlike last year, they have the wideout depth and talent to fully take advantage of this fact.
With Michael Crabtree, Mario Manningham, Randy Moss, there should always be a favorable one-on-one matchup for Smith to exploit. On Monday, it was Crabtree working on talented but still developing Cardinals second-year cornerback Patrick Peterson.
Crabtree (5 catches, 72 yards, 2 TDs) hasn't been used as much as he needs be. The same can be said for Manningham, and even more so with Moss. Moss proved again that it takes just one catch—see his 47-yard dash to the end zone through the entire Cardinals defense—for him make a big impact.
Throughout most of his career, Smith's best connection has been with his super-athletic tight end Vernon Davis. Opponents have become used to trying to take Davis away from Smith and daring Smith to beat them by targeting others more often. Following a catch-less game against Seattle in Week 7, Davis caught just two passes for 34 yards on Monday, one when the game was well out of reach in the fourth quarter.
It's important for Smith to stay in his rhythm after the Niners' Week 9 bye, by keep spreading the ball around. There's no doubt the additions of Manningham and Moss have created better opportunities for Crabtree, and eventually, Davis will see his chances open up again.
Smith got nine receivers involved with catches on Monday. A combination of play-calling and formations helped Smith find someone open almost every time he dropped back.
That brings us to the one place where Smith wasn't close to perfect, however. On a night when his receivers were quickly separating on their routes and his line mostly allowed him to work from a clean pocket, he was still sacked four times.
As much as Smith can get into a groove making the right decisions, he can also be frustrating when he holds the ball too long and is hesitant to confidently zip the ball downfield. He has too many weapons now—not to mention his running ability—where he shouldn't be letting the pressure get to him nearly as much.
Smith is in the ideal situation for a quarterback. He won't be called upon to drop back 30-plus times and expect to take a ton of deep shots. Now that he's no longer been put through the ringer with a revolving door of coaches and coordinators, the personnel around him is built for him to succeed.
We were reminded again of just how sharp and successful Smith can be in San Francisco's balanced offense on Monday night. He won't quite be able to raise his game to that level every week, but he needs more steady heady play if he's to deliver for his team when the stakes are raised in the playoffs.
source: aol.sportingnews.com
