49ers and Raiders

What a lousy weekend for bay area professional football fans. We went to the 49er game against the St. Louis Cardinals. Alex Smith actually looked ok the first half. Early on he through short passes, sometimes shovel passes to a back right in front of him, but none the less he completed a bunch of passes. And just before the end of the quarter he threw the ball down the field and had some nice completions. But during the second half he really looked bad. I have been giving him the benefit of the doubt, but wow was he bad. He really looks like he has no idea out there. By the end of the game he was unable to find anyone - throwing interceptions that were just plain poor.

I am picking on Alex here. He is not the only problem. The bottom line is that the 49ers are just outmatched. Almost everyone they play is better. I am impressed with coach Nolan. He has the team playing hard. I am seeing some improvement. And I was very impressed by the rookies who started on the offensive line. But they are in need of better players. Until they get some, I don't expect us to win.

We did have a good time as we had good seats and the day was nice. It was the first pro game that both Nick and Anthony have gone to. They were impressed with the stadium, look of the field, size of the players, person who sang the national anthem and halftime activities. And with the small crowd, we could get something to eat and make it back to our seats well before halftime ended!

Once we got home we turned on Sunday night football. Our hope was that we would see a better game. The Raiders were playing San Diego - a bit of a rivalry. The game started off pretty good. The Raiders were hitting hard and making some good offensive plays. But as the game wore on, and especially after halftime, things really got out of hand. The Chargers started to own the Raiders. By the end I was pretty depressed. The situation is worse with the Raiders than it is with the 49ers. I think that the Raiders have enough good players. They just aren't winning. I can see that Randy Moss is hurting. But the problem is deeper. Maybe it is the coach or maybe the quarterback. Or maybe both.

So tonight I am watching some basketball. And there is soccer on shortly. I am loving college football. Cal is good. USC is great. I am looking forward to the Rose Bowl!