49ers Need Smith for Playoff Run.

I am scared the 49ers might be without Smith when they start their playoff run. The question is; which Smith am I talking about?
It's no secret that I support Alex Smith this season and think that he should still be starting. Colin Kaepernick  has great upside but Harbaugh should have quit while he was ahead after two good starts from the youngster and put Alex back in. Instead the 49ers are hanging their hats on the kid to take them to the super bowl and win the championship, no small feat. Yes, Alex had 7 years to prove himself but those 7 years WERE NOT with Harbaugh as the coach. Alex has done nothing but get better during the past year and a half under Harbaugh until being benched. The upside is that the 49ers will now be able to trade/cut Alex and save up to 10 million against the cap next year, a key move considering they have almost all their money tied up for next season already, but at what cost is the move? Did the 49ers risk a super bowl run to save money next year? You could make a legit argument that that is exactly what they were doing.
But, I don't think Alex is necessarily what the 49ers need to make the playoff run they are capable of making. The bigger issue is Justin Smith and his left elbow bone spur. If Justin can't go, the 49ers won't go. I heard Patrick Willis' quote that you can't replace Justin but they will compensate for him, but that has not happened since he went down against the Patriots. The 49ers defense, that was the most dominate in the NFL, has gone from being stout and tough, to soft and hopeful. The Patriots and Seahawks have combined for over 70 points in 6 quarters since Justin went down. The lowly Cardinals come into S.F. Sunday and shouldn't pose much of a threat but the playoffs will be a whole other story. The fact is if Justin isn't back I do not see this team making the super bowl run most people were sure that this team was going to make. The sliver of good news comes from 49ers coaches who claim Justin is "getting better everyday" and won't need surgery until the offseason. This injury is possible to play with but it will hurt like hell and Justin will have to regain enough strength so that he can actually use the bum limb. Hopefully the rehab goes well and we see #94 in January or we might be praying for some new year miracle's.

2013 Draft Idea

With the 49ers being a relatively young and well balanced team it will be hard to pin-point what their "biggest need" is going into the draft in 2013. I got to thinking this week about that and have come up with an interesting suggestion.
Sure the Niners could draft at positions to help with depth and possible free-agent vacancies like S, DL, OL, QB, RB, and TE, but what about a kicker? Many Niner fans can remember laughing when the Raiders took Sebastian Janikowski in the first round (17th overall) out of Florida State in the 2000 NFL draft, but he has gone on to show that he has the strongest leg in the NFL despite his occasional mishaps. The top rated kicker this year happens to be Dustin Hopkins out of... you guessed it, Florida State. I'm not saying he's going to have a dominate leg like Janikowski, or that the Niners should be taking him in the 1st round, but I am saying that the Niners could use some new blood at that position. The Niners have been so good at evaluating talent that I would imagine if Hopkins or another kicker was worth it then they would (and should) pull the trigger.
David Akers has actually been pretty awesome for us but we can't afford to keep a guy around if he's not playing up to par in the clutch. The last thing we need is for a missed kick when it really hurts, like in the play-offs. Let's also face the fact that cutting Akers and going with a younger, cheaper kicker out of college would give us an opportunity to save a little dough to spend on some of those impending free-agents.
So, what do you say? 4th? 5th round pick? Guess we'll have to see how Akers finishes right? I mean this guy did nail a 63 yard field goal this year.