SANTA CLARA – In today’s press conference Greg Roman explained many things, including his decision to call three straight run plays in the fourth quarter against the Seahawks after the deep pass to Michael Crabtree.

Here’s what he said.

Opening Statement:

“I’m in at past noon, so good afternoon. We’ve got the Rams this week. Really well-coached team. We’ve got a lot of respect for [Head Coach] Steve Spagnuolo and his staff. Continue to be really on the cutting edge of defensive football. Had a tough game against them a couple weeks ago. We’ve got a good feel of what they’re all about. I’ll throw the questions out. Practice so far, yesterday, I thought was very spirited. We look to have a great practice today moving into third down. Any questions?”

They’re obviously 2-13. Things are going pretty poorly for them, but most of their injuries have been on offense. Defensively, are they as good as they’ve been?

“I’d say the front seven is pretty intact. They’ve had some real problems with their corners staying healthy. They’ve got a real depth issue there. Really and truly when you look at it, Pittsburgh, took them awhile to get going. Cincinnati, tough game late into the third quarter. Our game was a tough game late in the third quarter. Seattle, tough game late into the third quarter. They’re playing hard, playing good defense. They present a lot of schematic problems. I don’t want to get into a clinic here, but they can overload blitz you like nobody’s business. They’re a very quick, active front. [Rams DE Chris] Long is a tremendous player. [Rams DE James] Hall is a tremendous player. They’ve got some really good run-stoppers inside with [Rams DT Justin] Bannan. [Rams LB James] Laurinaitis is a sideline to sideline player. Teams sometimes think ‘Hey, let’s run it over here, it doesn’t look like there’s a lot going on over there.’ Then, the backside WILL backer is making the play for zero yards. He’s running the play down. They run really well. These guys are a really good defense. I know their record doesn’t indicate that and some of the statistics don’t show that. But, when you really watch the games, the Pittsburgh game, the Cincinnati game, our game, the Seattle game, you get a sense that these guys are pretty good. They present you with a lot of problems even though their record doesn’t indicate it. Commend their coaches and players for the way they prepare.”

I don’t think a lot of people are familiar with TE Justin Peelle. Obviously he’ll see a lot more playing time with TE Delanie Walker out. Can you tell us about him? Where his strengths are? Do you see things with Peelle that you didn’t with Walker?

“I think every player is a little different. I worked Justin out coming out of Oregon, might have been 10, 11 years ago. I really liked him coming out of college. He was on some very successful teams in San Diego and Atlanta. He’s got a lot of experience deep into the season. He is a very heady player. Very smart player. Very cagey player. Very good line of scrimmage player. Pretty decent hands. Delanie Walker is going to be obviously missed. We’re not sure how long he’ll be out. He hasn’t practiced this week yet. Doesn’t look like we’re going to have him this week. Delanie Walker was a key cog in our offense. Regardless of the skill set of Justin or anybody else, they’ve got big shoes to fill. I know they’re excited about it. Delanie did so much that nobody will ever know. We’ll miss him and look forward to having him back.”

At the end of training camp, why did you guys decide to keep WR Joe Hastings around on the practice squad? What did you see from him?

“We saw, really, everything he did, special teams and offense, he was doing with precision. He was trying to do everything with precision. Very sharp, good speed, good hands, consistent catcher. As it is in training camp, you always try to give the advice to players: you need to do something every day to make us notice you. Every day you need to do something. He was doing more than that. He was doing a lot of things well every day. Very consistent player. Takes coaching very well. Makes a mistake, puts it behind him, moves on. He has really progressed nicely during the season.”

Yet even during the exhibition games, he didn’t catch any passes. Is there a reason he didn’t?

“It’s just the way the cookie crumbled. It wasn’t anything he did. It was just the way the coverage unfolded or whatnot. We get a sense day-in and day-out, out here. Now when you go out and play in the game, now is when it’s got to show up. From what we’ve seen on the practice field, he’s done everything we’ve asked him to do at a high level.”

Where is he capable of being plugged in?

“He can plug in anywhere really. We can mix and match things pretty seamlessly.”

Would you expect, at this point, that WR Michael Crabtree and WR Brett Swain will be your starters on Sunday?

“It’s hard to tell. I think there’s a good chance of that. The way I look at it is, we’ve got 11 starters listed and 11 guys run out of the tunnel, but if you’re playing, you’re a starter. We’ll mix and match things pretty loosely.”

Each guy has their strengths and weaknesses, right? So when you have this personnel that seems from the outside to be in flux here, do you have a Plan A for a game plan, a Plan B if somebody else plays?

“I think so. I think that’s pretty accurate. I think you’ve got to look at all the different personnel groupings and move things around accordingly to try to find matchups. I think that’s spot on.”

Was Hastings a guy that the coaching staff identified early as, we might have something here, and tried to hide him during the preseason games, so you could stash him on the practice squad and he wouldn’t be exposed?

“I don’t know anything about that. I don’t know anything about that. Really, every day Joe was just one of those guys that just kept showing up every day. Only the strong survive in that setting. He was the one that survived.”

Did you work him out prior to the draft?

“I’ll have to go back and look. I personally didn’t, no. I’d have to go back and check our records.”

There are a couple play calls in Seattle that would be labeled conservative on third down and longer plays in Seattle territory where you ran the ball. It’s kind of a two part question I guess; sometimes you guys have seen conservative play calling at times. However, you have also committed 10 turnovers. You haven’t committed a turnover in 18 quarters. Are those two things in some ways tied to each other?

“I think the word conservative is upon the interpretation of each. In the eye of the beholder, as they say. We really thought that there were some opportunities in those situations to have some big runs. We hit a few of them and unfortunately one of them got called back with a penalty. Every week we study film. We study the team with a fine-toothed comb. What some might label conservative, we look at as opportunity. We’re always looking to strike where they’re not. Everything we do is always going to be what gives us the best chance to win. Sometimes that’s throwing it. You can go back and look at games where we get in the red zone and we’re throwing it, throwing it, throwing it. Some games, it’s running it. The bottom line around here is wins. Every decision is funneled, or dovetails from that.”

Taking the conservative part out of it, 18 quarters without a turnover. Have you been a part of anything close to that?

“I don’t know. I think not turning the ball over, I’d be interested to see who’s turned it over less in the history of the NFL. If somebody could go back and find that…”

Well, you’re tied.

“Are we?”

The Patriots did it last year.

“Did they?”

So don’t commit a turnover.

“It helps. Have a great day.”

Eric Byrnes asked Steve Young Wednesday on KNBR if Alex Smith should be a Pro Bowl quarterback.

Here’s what Young said.

Q: Should Alex Smith have been a Pro Bowl quarterback? Or if someone fell out – Aaron Rodgers or Drew Brees or Eli Manning – should Alex Smith take his place?

YOUNG: “Emotionally I’m attached to Alex and what he’s done this year. The story is so great. If I would have told you at the beginning of the season that Alex Smith would be a Pro Bowler. There’s no…He’s done exactly what Jim Harbaugh’s asked him to do, perfectly, in so many ways. He’s never lost a game – not a lot of quarterbacks can say that, that they didn’t lose a game at sometime during the year, that they were kind of responsible for. And then he’s expanded, he’s done more the last few weeks where he’s started to be the reason that they won. That’s a big change for him.

“So emotionally I want to say Alex, and I think you can make the argument, which is a big statement for Alex. Granted, Cam Newton is electrifying and Matthew Stafford did more, but I just want to appreciate…it’s just fun to talk about Alex in these terms, to appreciate him for what he’s gone through and the emotional and mental fortitude that he had to resign.

“I talked to him – I want to say in February briefly. He called me and he said, “I’m thinking about this or that,” and I said, “Just know that if you go back you’re going to really have to strap it on, you’re going to really have to take the heat.” And I think he saw Jim and he saw the opportunity and he said, “I don’t really care, I want to take it on.” And good for him, and I guess that’s part of me just appreciating his willingness to chance that, to face that. To me that’s something worth talking about. So it’s the Pro Bowl today and that’s the only context I have to talk about this kind of thing, so I’m going to take advantage of it and say Alex Smith.”

Before I get into my Week 16 grades for the 12-3 Niners, I want to put this win in perspective. It was the best one of the year for Jim Harbaugh’s team.  It was a short week, they didn’t have Patrick Willis, they only had one wide receiver (Crabtree) they trusted, and they had to come from behind to win. They gave themselves a great chance to get the No. 2 seed, a first-round Bye and a home game in the playoffs. If they have to play the New Orleans Saints, they’ve proven over these last two weeks they can win that game – they can win any game. They’re that good.

Ok, now here are my grades.

Alex Smith: A-. The 41-yard bomb to Michael Crabtree was the best throw of Alex Smith’s career, hands down. He struggles the most throwing an accurate deep ball down the sidelines, and he threw a perfect one when the team absolutely needed it. The rest of his stat line was unspectacular – 14 of 26 for 179 yards. He failed to complete a touchdown pass to Vernon Davis in the second quarter, but other than that he made big plays when the play caller, Greg Roman, gave him a chance. His stats would look better if Davis and Crabtree had held on to first half passes, and if Greg Roman had called some more pass plays in the Seahawks territory. Like most weeks, Smith needed to not turn the ball over and make one big throw to win. Due to a couple drops, he made needed to make a few big throws, and he did. On top of that, he made a few key scrambles to keep drives alive. It’s hard to imagine Smith playing any better this season.

Offensive Line: B+. They controlled the line of scrimmage most of the day. They only gave up two sacks, and both were coverage sacks where Alex Smith held onto to the ball because he had nowhere to throw. They also created running room for Gore and Hunter all game despite a stacked box. Also, they get most of the credit for Gore’s four-yard TD run.

Running backs: B. Gore ran tough up the middle all game (23 carries for 83 yards), and Hunter was terrific running around the edges (12 carries for 73 yards). Gore finally caught the ball out of the backfield and made some nice plays as a receiver.

Wide receivers: C-. Braylon Edwards is a loss. He got called for a horrible holding penalty in the red zone. It seems like the Niners are better off without him on the field, but they don’t have anyone else to play – Kyle Williams got hurt late. But Michael Crabtree had an outstanding game. He couldn’t get open in the first half, and he had a drop on third down in the first half, but he stepped up for the offense in the second half. He’s proving he is a No. 1 receiver in this league.

Tight ends: C-. Vernon Davis had a terrible drop in the first half – he juggled an easy catch by the sideline. But he redeemed himself later with big catches when the team needed them. Once again Davis led the team in targets (he had eights). Roman needs to continue to feed Davis in the passing game the rest of the season, despite the occasional drop. Delanie Walker got kneed in the jaw, and if it’s broken he will most likely miss the rest of the season.

Defensive line: B+. They gave up 107 yards to Marshawn Lynch on five carries (5.1 yards per carry average) – they’re worst performance of the season, but they were still very good. Ray McDonald and Isaac Sopoaga each had seven tackles, and Justin Smith had five. McDonald also had a sack, and J. Smith hit Tarvaris Jackson twice. Aldon Smith had two QB hits and a sack.

Linebackers: B+. Larry Grant missed tackling Lynch in the backfield on his fourth quarter touchdown run, but he made the play of the game at the end, stripping the ball out of Jackson’s hand from behind. Grant had ten other tackles making 11 total, one fewer than team-leader NaVorro Bowman, who had 12.

Secondary: B. Carlos Rogers gave up a 44-yard pass early. Chris Culliver got picked on throughout the first half for soft coverage. And Tarell Brown got called for a 27-yard pass interference penalty. Dashon Goldson got easily juked by Baldwin on the first quarter touchdown pass. That’s about the extent of this group’s transgressions. Rogers locked down Baldwin for most of the game, and the two safeties made key first-down saving tackles.

Special teams: B. Kyle Williams had a great game a returner before he was brutally crunched in the fourth quarter. David Akers made four of five field goals and set the NFL record for most FGs in a single season with 42. Andy Lee crushed both his punts, and the coverage team routinely tackled Leon Washington behind the 20 yard line. However, they did give up a blocked punt that led directly to a touchdown.

Coaching: A. If the Niners had lost, you could have gone after Greg Roman’s play calling. The Niners went conservative on offense – running and running and running some more in the red zone even after Alex Smith had been a perfect 4-4 on second half touchdown drive. It was obvious they wanted to put the game in the hands of their defense. Harbaugh trusted them to stop the Seahawks at the end from driving 45 yards and field goal, and he was right to trust them. It seems like the formula for the Niners to win on the road is to score just one touchdown on offense and then David Akers will make three or four field goals. If that’s all they have to accomplish, they’re always going to be very difficult to beat.

SANTA CLARA — I have a proposition for you. Let’s pause the never-ending Alex Smith debate and temporarily over-analyze something else.

We can always come back to Smith. If you’re not in the mood for an intermission though, who am I to boss you around? Do what makes you happy.

For those of you who are still with me – here’s my question: Who’s the weakest link on the Niners defense?

Yes, it’s a silly question. Clearly the weakest link is a good player – the Niners have the best defense in the NFL. But for the sake of argument, who’s the worst of Vic Fangio’s starters?

You could make the case for OLB Parys Haralson – he only plays with the base 3-4 defense and he doesn’t do a lot of stand-out things when he’s on the field.

You could also make the case for Tarell Brown. Defensive coordinators seem to think he’s the weak link the way test him every week.

But I’m going with the free safety, Dashon Goldson.

Before you yell at me through your computer, yes, I am aware that he’s picked off six passes this season and he’s a good player.

But as Niners Nation’s Tre9er pointed out to me on twitter, Goldson has only recorded one other “pass defensed” in addition to those picks, according to Pro Football Focus’ statistics.

Also according to PFF, quarterbacks have slightly over a 92 rating when throwing into Goldson’s coverage.

For reference, here’s how PFF ranks the 2011 performances of the Niners defensive players.

1. Justin Smith
2. Aldon Smith
3. Ray McDonald
4. PatrickWillis
5. NaVorro Bowman
6. Carlos Rogers
7. Donte Whitner
8. Larry Grant
9. Ahmad Brooks
10.  Isaac Sopoaga
11. Tarell Brown
12.  Parys Haralson
13.  Chris Culliver
14.  Dashon Goldson

Obviously Pro Football Focus isn’t the end-all, be-all authority on this issue. Who would you say is the weakest link on the Niners defense?

Also, Dashon Goldson will be a free agent this offseason. If you were Trent Baalke, would you offer him more than the league average for a free safety?

NFL Films senior producer Greg Cosell spoke on KNBR this morning about the Niners. Here’s the transcript of what he said.

Q: Jim Harbaugh is saying that the Seahawks defense is better than the Steelers’ defense is right now. Is that a fair statement?

COSELL: I think it’s a very fair statement. In fact, one could easily make the argument that the best young secondary in the NFL resides in Seattle. This is a tough defense. Not a lot a people look at the Seahawks – they’re in the Pacific Northwest. Certainly here on the east coast a lot of people don’t even know that they play in the NFL. But this is a very good defense, and they’re tough to throw the ball against, and they’re front seven has played well. A name you’ll hear this week is their rookie linebacker K.J. Wright. They’re good. Now, they’re not as good as the 49ers defense. I said before the season started that the Niners would have one of the best defenses in pro football, and I would say right now they’re the best defense in pro football.

Q: Mike Tomlin said the Steelers lost because they played 49er football. Are the 49ers are team right now that’s so effective they’re imposing their will upon their opposition.

COSELL: Well I think defensively they’re doing that. The 49ers to me are a team that has outstanding defense as I said – they’re the best in the league. They run the ball efficiently and effectively if not spectacularly. Their special teams are very good, and they’re getting consistent, efficient quarterback play. So if they can play every game like that, then they can win any game. The question always for teams like that that are not explosive on offense, is what happens in any given game – let’s say the go to New Orleans in the playoffs. Let’s say it plays out that way, and all of a sudden it’s 17-0 in the second quarter for whatever reason, and the 49ers are behind. That’s always the question with teams that are not explosive in the pass game. But up to this point they haven’t really needed to be, so we don’t know the answer to that question.

Q: Why is Alex Smith more effective this year?

COSELL: Well I think, No.1 – he’s being managed extremely well. This is not an offense that asks him to make a lot of downfield throws. They control those throws with what we call “shot plays.” They take their downfield shots proactively, when they choose to, on first and ten for instance, which is the best down to throw the football. Because of their defense, because of their special teams, because of their multidimensional run game, this team in not usually behind in the third and fourth quarter by any more than one score even if they are behind. So they do not have to abandon their game plan approach and start lining up in shotgun, three-wide, four-wide, asking Smith to have to make difficult intermediate and downfield throws. Therefore they can stay very tightly controlled and structured, and he’s been extremely efficient in that. I’ve probably taken some heat out there, but the reality is – and I’m not saying anything that the coaches don’t know – he is not an overly talented passer. He’s not an elite-arm talent, but he’s clearly a much more confident quarterback than he has been at any point in his NFL career, and he is willing to make tougher throws now than was the case a few years ago.

Q: Did the Chiefs find a way to crack the code that other teams will be able to use against the Packers?

COSELL: Well there’s no codes, by the way. There’s no blueprints, but oftentimes things happen in given games. The loss of Greg Jennings is monumental and no one talked about that. Aaron Rodgers by the way over the last month, and it’s all relative because he’s a super talent, has not played as well over the last month. You put perfect storm together – the loss of Jennings, tight press coverage by the Chiefs, an offensive line that’s in relative shambles right now, and it all came together to render Packer offense a little bit problematic. But other teams have played man-to-man against the Packers and they’ve beaten them. There’s no blue prints in this league. There’s different ways you try to matchup given your talent versus the other team, but you can’t just take what the Chiefs did and say, “Ok, that what everybody will do now and the Packers won’t score.” It won’t happen like that.

Q: Peter King said he thinks the Niners would matchup well with the Packers, particularly if they still have protection issues for Aaron Rodgers. Are the Niners a viable team that can compete in the NFC to go to the Super Bowl?

COSELL: Right now, the 49ers are built in a way that always leads to success. Wherever that goes remains to be seen, but whenever you can – and these are clichés but they’re true – whenever you can run the ball effectively, whenever you play good to great defense – and they’re closer to great – whenever you have good special teams, whenever you don’t turn the ball over on offense you can compete with anybody. So they’re built to do that. The question becomes as I said earlier, if something fluky or strange happens or if their defense goes to New Orleans and has a bad game and all of a sudden they’re down two or three touchdowns, what happens then? That’s the only question. And as I said, we don’t know the answer to that, but that’s the question.

Steve Young spoke with Ted Robinson for a change this afternoon on KNBR.

Here’s the transcript.

Enjoy.

Q: What did that win over the Steelers mean for the 49ers?

YOUNG: “It was huge, just perceptually around the country. People look at the Pittsburgh Steelers – that’s a marquee name and a marquee game and a marquee record, and a big name, big players, big stuff, Monday night. So it’s perception. And a lot of the game is perception. It’s emotional. People respond to those kinds of wins, and they don’t really get into the details. And sometimes that’s why the best thing to do is figure out a way to win them, because now around the country – I don’t know if you’ve noticed it but even the last couple of days it’s like: ‘The 49ers are for real! Watch out!’ Well, that’s them responding to the perception, right? That they are real because they just beat the Pittsburgh Steelers. Those of you that watched every play, you kind of probably felt they were real a month or two ago, right? And so that’s why Monday was a really important piece of the puzzle.”

Q: Does that matter to other players around the league? Do other players gain a perception by watching it on Monday night?

YOUNG: “Absolutely. That’s why Monday night’s the perception-maker, because everyone’s watching it. You can hear about a game – like, ‘Calvin Johnson had a good game for the lions,’ and you’re like, ‘Oh, that’s great.’ But then when you actually see it, wow.

“I’ve got to be honest with you. I’ve got to apologize to Aldon Smith because I hadn’t really seen him in person all year. And I apologize, because I had no idea how great he really was until I saw him in person. And that’s what matters. Hearing about it, watching it on TV and then seeing in person – all different visceral relationships you have with something, and it matters. So around the league when everyone watched the 49ers kind of beat up on Ben Roethlisberger, don’t let him score, call a couple big touchdown drives, and they hear about the defense, they’ve watched Aldon Smith play and (laughs) whoever doesn’t think these guys are for real is kidding themselves.”

Q: Anything else strike you about Aldon Smith?

YOUNG: “When Charles Haley was young – he reminds me of that, and that is a tremendous compliment by the way, because Charles as a young player was a phenomenal football player. In many ways you can make the claim that he tipped Super Bowls one way or another. And that might be right. He was a dominant player, and Aldon reminds me of that. It doesn’t matter the tackle he’s going up against, and the way he closes it just makes your eyes blink. You say to yourself, ‘I’ve got to watch that again because I didn’t…how did he get there so, how did he close that gap so quickly. Watching him, that guy is going to be one of the all-timers, and that’s just a fact.”

Q: So if you’re in Seattle’s offensive line meeting this week, is Aldon Smith so dominant that they’re asking themselves how to block him?

YOUNG: “No question. I would. I would say that this is an issue. We’ve got to chip him. We’ve got to double team him. You can’t just single him up – he will make you look foolish. I’m sure he’s going to get better and better. He’s just young. But to be able to do the things that he did – I watched a long time – those are rare qualities, rare. You don’t see that. And there’s a lot of good pass rushers, and then there’s guys who can singlehandedly get to the quarterback, and he’s one of them.”

Q: In other words, he can just beat you one on one.

YOUNG: “Right, like Derrick Thomas….Look, I’m not saying, ‘This is Derrick Thomas,’ or, ‘This is Charles Haley,’ I’m just saying, my eyeball test was that was different than other things that you see, significant enough that if you just play that out over time and he gets better and better, that’s where he’s heading. He’s got that kind of ability.”

Q: Let me ask you something about what Alex Smith is going through this year. I ask this because Braylon Edwards has not played much this year, (Josh) Morgan has now been out a good chunk of the year, Ted Ginn (Jr.) goes out in the second half the other night. How much does it matter that Alex Smith has had to throw to different receivers over the course of the year?

YOUNG: “I think it matters to Alex but it matters more to Jim, because he’s got to put the plan together, he’s got to call the plays and he’s got the totality of the picture. He knows what’s happening defensively, he gets a sense of what the game needs to look like – the flow. And he’s going to call plays, that… and I promise you, the difference for Alex Smith this year is that he’s got a coach that cares about Alex’s success primarily, number one. And so I think when you lose certain guys the playbook kind of shrinks a little bit because you just can’t press the envelope as much because you just don’t have the experience or the talent or the things that make you be more expressive or more expansive. And so, Alex will feel that, there’s no question, but Jim I think really feels it because he has to call plays differently and he actually has to coach differently. We’ve seen that throughout the year. We’ve been looking for the offense to get more expansive, but it is made tougher with big injuries and people missing and not maybe, you know, living up to expectations.”

Q: Would that make a big difference in the red zone play?

YOUNG: “Red zone play – a lot of it is tactics. But even more of it is, “I’m a tremendous athlete and put it up.” So Braylon Edwards, who’s healthy and performing and doing the things he’s done at times – that’s a huge red zone weapon. A difference maker. Somebody who can make space and just figure out a way to make plays that aren’t there. We talked about it last week with Alex and really some of my growth when I was playing, was developing ways to put the ball in the end zone when doing the rational thing, which is, ‘I read the play, no one’s open, I drop it to the fullback, we kick a field goal.’ That repeated over and over, you will get beat – we saw that a week ago in Phoenix.”

Q: How much in the red zone should it come down to Alex Smith making a play? Can he be a difference maker in the red zone?

YOUNG: “He has to be. And I guess that’s my point from last week, talking about Brett Favre. I watched him throw many, many touchdowns where guys weren’t open. I kind of learned ‘Holy cow, you can’t wait for people to get open because it ain’t happening a lot of times.’ And that’s what I mean, you have to work with receivers, you have to be a little bit of a gun slinger, a little moxie to find those places where you can create that. And so a lot of that is on (Smith). We talked about the over-my-dead-body quality last week. That’s one of the qualities you have to have – I’ve watched great quarterbacks and that’s the common denominator.  You have that kind of, and I use this word truly as a metaphor – the assassin, like, ‘Down inside the red zone we’re going to make this happen.’ And creating it, and the artform.

“20 to 20 is not a commodity – it’s not easy to move the football in the NFL, but it’s more of a commodity putting it in the end zone. To me it’s differential for that level of expertise that you need to be one of the great players. But I’m not going to say Alex does or doesn’t have it because of what you just expressed about injuries and people not being there, and then also the way the defense is playing and how Jim has to coach through it – he’s been masterful – that I don’t know, and Alex Smith expressed this to me before the game the other day, you’ve got to be careful because kicking field goals has been okay. We have survived it. We can do much more. He expressed that we can do so much more, you’ve just got to do it at the right time, the right place. And so I agree with that.

“And I guess we all would agree – Alex would agree and Jim would agree and I would agree that in some point in the next few weeks a game’s going to come up where that’s going to be a big piece of the puzzle, and the more we’ve done it, the more we’ve tried it, the better.”

Q: What about running in the red zone? How tough is it to run the ball there? Because the 49ers, that’s one thing they have not done well this year.

YOUNG: “I always thought one of the most difficult things to do and one of the things I most respected about teams (was the ones) who could run it in. Like, ‘If we get in the red zone, we’re running it in.’ Very rare. Very difficult to do. Very few people are that good of a running offense to do that. And it also takes a tremendous commitment, which is tough too because you get down there you don’t want to necessarily commit to just one thing. It’s very hard to run the football in. You saw last week those unique plays.  The Vernon Davis – those are unique, bootleg, throwback, creating space – I thought it was genius from Jim. And Bill used to be great in the red zone just creating safer plays, not having to drop back and read the whole field down in the compact small area inside the 10 or the 15. We need more of those, and I’m sure Jim’s drawing those up. And then Alex can run the football, he can move. Creating those kind of plays, unique plays to threaten. But to just line up and hand it to Frank and run it in from the 20, that is a tall order in the NFL in my mind.”

Q: What about at the 5 yard line?

YOUNG: “That’s a whole different story. When we practiced red zone, you had the 20, the 15, the 10, the 5, and we have five to seven to eight to even ten plays for each one of those sections. And so as you practiced red zone on Fridays, you’d start at the red zone and run those plays, and then the 15, and so each section has its own plays. And so at the 5 running the football in, it’s much different endeavor on first and 5 than obviously it is at first (down) at the 20. When I’m talking about red zone, to me you’ve driven the ball down to the 20, are you going to run it in from there? In other words, ‘We’re going to run five plays and push it in.’ That’s a difficult process. From the 5? No, of course not. A great runner who can make space and run people over like Frank can, that’s not a bad option at all.”

Q: Did Monday night solve the protection issues? Or will they still get challenged by big time blitzes?

YOUNG: “They’ll get challenged, but what it does is it gives people confidence inside the building. It’s a confidence game. You have seven days to let everyone tell you you’re not great and you can’t protect and it gets in your head, and then all of a sudden you do it, and you now get seven days and everyone says, ‘These guys are good, they’re solid.” And that makes a difference inside the building. But they’ll be tested because they have to, because we’re running the ball so well. Defenses want to pick on something. Defensive coordinators have got to convince their guys that there’s a weakness and we’re going to expand on it. And I think generally for the 49ers they’re going to say, ‘we’re going to get to that protection.’ But last week was awesome.”

SANTA CLARA – Here’s the transcript of Greg Roman’s Wednesday press conference. I have a question for you at the bottom.

ROMAN: “How’s everybody doing? We’ve got a short week here. As soon as we got in here early in the morning on Tuesday – right to Seattle. Not going to look at the Pittsburgh game probably unless we play another 3-4 (defense). A lot of water under the bridge since our first Seattle game They’re playing great defense. Where are they ranked in defense? Eighth, I believe, and very opportunistic, creating a lot of opportunities for their offense, a lot of turnovers, they score a lot of points on defense. We felt coming out of that first game that they’ve got two of the young…two of the best safeties that we’ll face all year. Their secondary is, I don’t want to say 6’2” and above, but to a man it’s very big. I don’t know if Earl Thomas is quite that tall but very long secondary. They’re doing a nice job, playing a nice bump outside. They’ve got great length.

“The front seven is very active. Red Bryant is playing great against the run, as is the rest of their front. Very opportunistic. Not as big of a pressure team as we’ve seen from some of the other teams we’ve seen up until now. Now, they can choose to be, they’ll pick their spots, and we have seen times during the season that they have chosen to get into the pressure mode – attack-attack-attack mode. We’re on a short week. Got a lot to get done. We’re right in the middle of it right now. Guys are in there eating lunch and we’ll get right back into it. Any questions?”

Q: Does their defense look better on film than Pittsburgh’s?

ROMAN: “I don’t want to compare one to the other…”

Q: Your coach did this morning on the radio.

ROMAN: “…in fear of diminishing one, but I think you can make that case for sure. I might have made that case last week. I might have. But they look good. They’re really well-coached. Sound. They’ve got more ways to play an eight-man front than any team in the league. Very creative there. The guys outside are doing a heck of a job.”

Q: How well did Monday night’s game plan go? It seemed like you had it scripted pretty well throughout. Did it just go as planned?

ROMAN: “You know, the players did a phenomenal job of executing. All the credit there goes to them, and when that happens things just start to flow – your down and distance is in your favor. We had three very long drives in the first half which is due to execution. The guys did a great job. It’s all a function of their preparation and just execution on game day. That allows stuff to flow. Now, there’s always things you want to correct. Pittsburgh’s a great defense. They’ve got players that have got some pelts on their wall, you know? You can’t just roll it out there and expect to beat them. But it went well, it went well.”

Q: Coach Jim’s been promoting Alex Smith for the Pro Bowl. Can you talk about his development throughout the season, and is he worthy of that nod?

ROMAN: “When we evaluated him in the offseason we saw a lot of things that we really, really liked. And we put in place on how we’re going to get this thing moving forward, and he’s been there every step of the way. I think he does a lot that people will never know in terms of running the offense – I’m sure not going to get into those details, but he just does a phenomenal job of leading a team. We’re not in shotgun every play, spraying the ball around. We don’t feel like that gives us the best chance to win, so his numbers aren’t going to be what some other guys’ numbers are. Could it get to that point someday? Maybe. But our No. 1 stat is winning, we’ve got a formula for that each week and he has been really, really winning in what he’s done. He’s been a winner. Everything he’s done is winning. His professionalism – he’s in the office late at night getting a head start on the game plan. That’s what your quarterback needs to do. I think we’re 11-3, so that sounds like a Pro Bowl year to me.”

Q: How has your passing game evolved from the first game against Seattle to now?

ROMAN: “Oh, it’s definitely evolving – it’s still evolving. I think every week there’s a few things in there that you bring to focus, but a lot of it’s a function of what the defense is doing, you know? You’ve got to take into consideration where they’re deploying their assets in coverage – are they doubling the outside receivers? (That’s) Cover 2, which opens up the inside. Are they closing the middle of the field and adding somebody to the inside coverage, which opens up the outside lanes? Seattle has a lot of different ways to play coverage, so a lot of what you do is going to be predicated on what they do – where the weakness in the coverage is. That’s one of the reasons we don’t turn it over.”

Q: How has Seattle’s defense developed from Week 1 to now?

ROMAN: “They’ve been coming on strong. Their system is so big that they’ve really evolved. I think when both staffs looked at the film, we probably both thought, when they looked at their defensive film and we looked at our offensive film, ‘Man that seems like a long time ago.’ I think we’ve both branched out in different directions. They’ve got a lot of different things that they spread around people week-to-week. They’ve got a nice cycle of defenses they play. I think they’ve stayed relatively healthy. Guys play hard and they’ve been really effective, and that’s been a big reason why they’ve been winning games.”

ME: What’s your philosophy on single coverage? If a receiver is single-covered before the snap does he automatically become the primary target on the play?

ROMAN:  “I don’t think you can make that statement – it’s play-by-play, you know, concept of the play. If everybody’s single covered and it’s a blitz, then now it becomes matchup – who’s got leverage, who’s the best matchup? Because a lot of times you’ll have single coverage over here and here because they’ve got everybody in here, so now I’ve got to pick the best matchup. If there’s one receiver over here and three over here and there’s single coverage over here (the first ‘here’), generally you’re going to take it because you never know what could happen over here. It all depends on the formation, the coverage, the play concept, you know? If you have a single receiver over here, and he’s got a route that breaks in but the corner’s playing way inside, that might dissuade you from working that particular play. There’s so many variables involved that a quarterback has to manage on the fly. That’s why the preparation and film study is so important, because teams like the Seahawks, they’re going to study us, our splits, our routes, all that stuff and they’ll try to cheat things accordingly to help themselves. And also generally speaking, we’re always going to have a progression of sorts, to where if that receiver doesn’t win or isn’t open or somehow a defender buzzes or gets underneath him, you move on to the next one.”

ME: Greg, your offense is ranked 31^st in third down efficiency. Has that been an issue of play calling, scheme or execution?

ROMAN: “It comes down to everything. It’s never one thing. It’s always a compilation of things. That’s an area we’ve got to continue to improve in. We haven’t run the ball well in third down situations. Overall I think we’re moving in the right direction there though. But it’s something we’ve got to improve on, bottom line.”

Do you agree with Greg Roman that the Niners offense is moving in the right direction on third down? I don’t. They’ve converted roughly 30 percent of their third down attempts all season. On Monday night they converted 4 of 13 third down attempts – 30 percent. So where’s the improvement?

SANTA CLARA – Alex Smith was a surprise speaker in the media tent this afternoon.

Here’s what he said.

Q: Before when you faced Baltimore it was an unfamiliar team. Now you have Seattle on a short week but you play them twice a year and you’ve already faced them once this season. Will facing Seattle be easier?

ALEX SMITH: No question, more familiarity there. It’s difficult in the sense that we played them the first week of the season and now it’s Week 16 so it’s been a while. A lot changes over the course of that many weeks. The time zone thing is a lot better – I mean we’re not traveling to the east coast, which is a benefit. But it’s still an away game. We’re going to have to travel so we have to take that into account. A lot of things to overcome. And they’re playing really well right now. They’ve won five of their last six. Playing really good football.

Q: How important is it to get that No. 2 seed for the playoffs?

ALEX SMITH: We’re definitely conscious of it. Obviously this is a division game, there’s a lot at stake here, so any time you’re playing a division game no matter what else is on the line after that, it’s always going to be intense.

Q: You guys have 11 wins and Seattle has three straight blow-out wins. The division has obviously been down for a few years. Is this going to be the highest quality game in the NFC West that you can remember?

ALEX SMITH: You know, maybe, it’s hard for me to remember. Obviously the last couple years, probably so. No question I think both Seattle and Arizona are playing good football and obviously Seattle is really hot right now. Playing really good on the defensive side of the ball. It’s going to be tough.

ME: Is there something particularly tough about playing in Seattle?

ALEX SMITH: Yeah. First of all the crowd noise jumps out at you.

ME: Is it the loudest stadium?

ALEX SMITH: It’s certainly the loudest outdoor (Stadiums). Louder than a lot of indoors as well. It’s a unique environment going up there. Obviously we play there every year but it’s still something…another thing we’re going to have to overcome.

ME: Alex, are you a Pro Bowl quarterback?

ALEX SMITH: (Laughs) That’s for you guys to decide. I don’t get to vote on it. I’m just trying to play football and win games. That’s for everybody else. I’m not thinking about that right now.

Q: But Alex, Harbaugh and Roman have been promoting you for the Pro Bowl. Could you talk about your journey this year? How satisfying has this season been for you?

ALEX SMITH: It’s hard when you’re still in the thick of it. That’s probably a better question to ask me at the end of the season whenever everything’s wrapped up. Right now there’s still a lot on the line. It’s not quite time for me to reflect on anything. We’ve done some good things, put ourselves in a good situation. Tough to reflect right now.

Q: What did you think of Jim going out of his way twice to promote you for the Pro Bowl?

ALEX SMITH: (Laughs) You know, it’s nice. Any time a quarterback’s getting credit or recognition it’s really a credit to the guys around him – everybody, coaches and players included. I’ve been pretty fortunate and I’ve got a great group.

ME: Alex, now that you’ve spent a few months with Harbaugh, how similar are yours’ and his personalities?

ALEX SMITH: (Laughs) I don’t know if I’ve met anyone that’s similar to Coach Harbaugh. And I meant that in a good way. He’s a unique guy. He’s got a unique perspective, a fresh perspective on things. He’s an individual thinker. So I’ve learned a lot from him.

ME: Would you say that his perspective and attitude has rubbed off on you?

ALEX SMITH: I try to take a lot away from Coach Harbaugh. Obviously the things he tells me directly, but there’s things I try to pick up indirectly. He’s got a great sense of not worrying about what other people are saying or doing, and just playing football.

My dad and I both were at Jim Harbaugh’s news conference today, both heard him recommend Alex Smith as the No. 3 Pro Bowl quarterback. As you know, I wrote a blog about it. My father wrote his wednesday column on the subject, going into more detail than I did. To read his column, click here.