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Bears opponent Q&A: San Francisco 49ers Examiner Samuel Lam
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As the Bears prepare to face of with Mike Singletary’s 49ers I exchanged five questions and answers with fellow examiner Samuel Lam.
You can find my answer to his inquires here, and here’s what he shared with me:
As a former #1 overall pick labeled a bust and left for dead the re-emergence of Alex Smith is one of the best stories in the NFL this year. Has his play over the last three games finally settled the QB debate in San Francisco and do you think he’s the answer long term?
His play recently has given the fans a lot of optimism for the future, but Smith has yet to win a game this season. He features more upside than Shaun Hill at the position. Smith is more mobile, has a stronger arm and is younger. The problem is Smith has still some accuracy problems and he forces the ball a lot. The quarterback debate for the season is settled: Smith will be under center for the rest of the year unless something drastically changes.
Other than that, there is a lot of uncertainty. It looks like the run-first offense is now a pass-first offense (in spread offense formations) to cater to Smith. The team wants Smith to be successful so bad because the team cannot afford to have another off-season quarterback battle.
I don’t know how he will pan out in the long-term process, but we can all make our assumptions as the season progresses. The team wants him to succeed and he’s been given the opportunity to do so. But if he can’t produce victories, then the team looks like it will have to go back to the drawing board.
Mike Singletary has been the head coach of the 49ers for exactly 16 games. Over that time the team is 8-8. What have been the biggest pros and cons of his tenure?
Singletary is the opposite of Mike Nolan, which is all a pro. The team is disciplined, focused and actually believe in winning. Singletary has given the team an opportunity each game to win.
The problem that comes with that is the gameplan. One game, the 49ers focus their attention on the run. Then the next game, they try to out-throw the opposition. Singletary put together a team out there that has a chance to win every Sunday. But the struggles of the quarterback, the inconsistent running attack and lackluster secondary isn’t making things easier for Singletary.
The team has the talent to win and they should have won more this year. But we haven’t seen them used to their best potential.
Since his long holdout Michael Crabtree has stepped in and made an immediate impact. What do you think of his performance so far and is there any lingering resentment over the holdout?
When Crabtree first signed, some of my friends said that all will be forgiven once Crabtree scores his first touchdown. Since Crabtree’s signing, the team has yet to win a game. Crabtree has put up good numbers in his three games with the team. His 14 catches have been a good sign for the team. He can definitely open up the field for the team and has great hands.
But like I said, Crabtree’s presence has not helped the team win. He’s done some good things, but nothing yet to make the team better. Until he does help the team win, some may still hold resentment against him. I believe that he has done well so far, but he won’t be validated in San Francisco until he gets the team victories.
What do you think will be the dominant storyline from this game?
How will Jay Cutler do against the 49ers defense. The run defense for the 49ers has been fine this year, but the pass defense has struggled. Even though they did a pretty good job in preventing Peyton Manning from throwing a touchdown two weeks ago, the defense continues to give up big passing plays.
Against the Titans, the 49ers gave Vince Young a lot of windows to throw. With a talented quarterback in Cutler, the 49ers will have to apply the pressure on Cutler. If the defense doesn’t stop the passing attack, it will be another loss for the 49ers.
If you were to pick one stat that will be most indicative of which team wins the game, what do you think it would be? For my money it’s whoever has more rushing attempts: Forte vs. Gore.
It’s the turnover battle that will determine the result of the game. The 49ers have four turnovers last Sunday and those giveaways turned into 24 points. Turnovers can lead to short fields for the opposition. And knowing how both offenses would love to score early, field position will be very important. The turnover battle is what I am looking for.
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