Mike Singletary started his press conference with a little joke after being asked who his starting quarterback would be this week.
“As of right now, Smith will be the starter,” Singletary said to much laughter. (Jim Rome is right; a media room is an easy target for laughs.)
After waiting a beat like any professional comedian, Singletary confirmed that Troy Smith would continue to get the call behind center for the 49ers. The news was totally expected, but made more interesting because Singletary said Alex Smith should be cleared to play this week.
Troy Smith occasionally threw some wild passes after scrambles, but there is no arguing with his results. Smith led the 49ers on a stirring late comeback and finished with 356 yards on only 28 pass attempts.
“Troy Smith did everything the 49ers hoped, wished and imagined Alex Smith could do at quarterback for more than five years now,” Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News wrote. “And Alex Smith never quite pulled it off, not once, definitely not like this. Not even for one game, not even by accident.”
There were so many moments the 49ers could have lost Sunday, and their defense deserves a huge amount of credit for their performance. But we have to agree with Kawakami that these were the types of games the 49ers found a way to lose with Alex Smith at the helm.
We have no clue if Troy Smith is the answer in San Francisco, but Singletary knows he has to find out.