The quarterback battle between Shaun Hill and Alex Smith is shaping up to be closer than most imagined. 49ers coach Mike Singletary acknowledged how tight the situation is Tuesday, saying he would "hopefully" make a decision by the third preseason game.
The third exhibition contest is used as a dress rehearsal for the regular season, so the starter against Dallas on August 29 will likely be the Week One starter against the Cardinals.
Despite his status as the former No. 1 overall pick, Smith remains the underdog. Hill helped San Francisco close strong last season to get Singletary his full-time position. Hill is also known as a gamer who performs better on Sundays than in practice.
No matter how the quarterback competition goes, don't look for friction between the two 49ers quarterbacks. They are reportedly good friends, and they even went on vacation with teammates and spouses in Lake Tahoe recently.
Smith's rejuvenated performance in offseason practices bodes well for the franchise after it restructured his contract to a modest two-year deal. Because he missed all of last season due to shoulder surgery, many wondered if Smith would go the way of Tim Couch.
Instead, he could go right back into the starting lineup.
eeny meeny miney moe, both of these QB's must go.
Vick or T-Jack would be better.
Singletary on hot seat or fired by season's end. Don't let the 7-9 fool ya, they beat SEA, DET, STL twice, WAS the last week of the season as the skins were making tee times, and BUF and NYJ as they were doing the two biggest el foldos of the 2008 season. (DEN, you folded too, and TB as well)
It's not important who the qb of a second place or worse team will be.
Maybe they should have picked one in the draft or free agency.
Just a thought.
No way Singletary is fired or even on the hot seat by season's end. You can't evaluate how well a coach will perform based upon his performance in an interim period.
Let's see what the Niners do after Singletary has steered the ship for a full offseason.
Oh, and T-Jack and Vick are awful. I think Alex Smith wins this one.
Who cares? It's like picking between a root canal and passing a kidney stone. Both are painful.
Fat!! if they want to have a chance they'll work Nate Davis into the mix! Incredible.
Singletary will most assuredly be on the hotseat if he continues to throw his players under the bus like this.
You know what's great about the Niners? At least their fans recognize their QB situation is terrible.
Say something about the Raiders, or Vikings, and you catch hell.
um, is this some new-fangled way of choosing a QB when you don't have an incumbent starter? wait till the most meaningfull pre season game to tab the guy?
seems logical to me. i grow tired of singletary.
I bet he picks Warren Moon.
Me so funny.
TBBuckFutter is right....If you listen to the comments here.....One one think T-jack and Russell were inducted into Canton before they even took the field.......
He will be fine until he brings in "his" guy that ends up being a BUST. He will make his name with D and the run game.
Justin what are you talking about - how is he throwing anyone under the bus? The fact that it was an open competition was not news to anyone since last season's end.
I'm not making any grand predictions here, but I think that has been and will be one of Singletary's strengths. He's one of the more straightforward guys you'll come across and rather than get thrown under the bus (a la Mike Nolan) players will always know where they stand with him.
TFBuckFutter
We cant help it if your that thin skinned and soft.
Now I see why the 49ers took cry baby Crabtree
Their fans are soft so they needed a soft receiver that they could relate to.
Alex Smith is 11-19 as a starter. Shaun Hill is 7-3. The only thing Alex Smith did to be in the running is get drafted first.
"Silver&Black666 says:
July 14, 2009 9:39 PM
TFBuckFutter
We cant help it if your that thin skinned and soft."
I'm not a 49ers fan.
And who is thin-skinned? Every time anyone makes a crack about the Raiders, the puddle of mascara that hits the floor in here is ankle-deep.
"# TFBuckFutter says: July 14, 2009 8:19 PM
You know what's great about the Niners? At least their fans recognize their QB situation is terrible.
Say something about the Raiders, or Vikings, and you catch hell."
Uh what? ALL Vikings fans recognize our QB situation sucks. Everyone seems to think that we all think Favre will win us a Super Bowl...he won't.
TFBuckFutter
Your not even man enough to say who your team is?
Thin skinned like I said
Shaun Hill actually has a winning record as a starter, and Alex Smith has all the tools in the world....he just hasn't figured out what is up and what is down on the toolbelt just yet :)
Anyway.. If you've actually looked at the games you know that Hill gives them a chance everytime he starts. If Smith can beat him out from that deep of hole it might just mean he has finally found something.....or that the coaching staff f'ed up..
Silver&Black666 says:
July 14, 2009 9:39 PM
TFBuckFutter
We cant help it if your that thin skinned and soft.
Now I see why the 49ers took cry baby Crabtree
Their fans are soft so they needed a soft receiver that they could relate to.
_______________________
S&B - are you serious? You're calling Crabtree soft when you took Heyward-Bey? Darrius never did anything but go deep, rarely went over the middle, and has ALREADY missed practices for pulled hamstrings.
Crabtree made a living on screen passes which, will they do inflate stats, generally ends up with the wide receiver getting BLASTED by a safety. Go watch him play against Texas, he was playing hurt, getting rocked, and just kept coming back for more.
Crabtree made his name as a PHYSICAL receiver, making plays after the catch. Heyward-Bey, the few times in college he actually made plays, did nothing of the sort.
This, btw, is coming from a huge Terps fan. Get real S&B.
t-jackoff and ookie blow.
singletary to anoint qb?
does this involve placing his peepee on the lucky qb's shoulder?
"S&B - are you serious? You're calling Crabtree soft when you took Heyward-Bey? Darrius never did anything but go deep, rarely went over the middle, and has ALREADY missed practices for pulled hamstrings"
....
I'm not sure Heyward-Bey is soft. I KNOW Crabtree isn't soft. What IS soft, and its unfortunate because it will continue to be soft for the forseeable future.
Al Davis. And worse, his son Mark. I've been a Raiders fan ever since I was a kid. The inherant problem is we have an owner so obsessive with power that he rivals Jerry Jones and Mark Cuban. The issue there is Jones & Cuban are likeable characters, the latter I'd want as a best friend (See: Mark Cuban, Dairy Queen Incident). Al Davis is stuck in the 1970's. Let's get the QB with the biggest arm, and the fastest receiver and throw over everyone's head. Note to the Davis': THIS IS 2009. IT DOESN'T QUITE WORK LIKE THAT ANYMORE.
The day the Davis' relinquish their dictatorship and turn the reigns over to someone competant enough to run a competitive football program is the day we return to glory. Until then, we make stupid decisions like passing on Matt Leinart (Who I believe would have been much better had he had an opportunity to take over and lead a team) and Heyward-Bey instead of Crabtree or Maclin.
That being said - I think Shaun Hill is the right pick, but I'm pulling for Alex Smith to live up to his potential. Sucks to see great prospects flake out.
And I don't think the QB situation will lead to the dismissal of Singletary within a year. I say he has a two year window.
Just my two cents.