APPresent for Wednesday’s night perfect game from San Francisco Giants pitcher Matt Cain (and please don’t accuse 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh of lying about that), Harbaugh almost saw another type of perfect game the last time the NFL’s Giants came to town.
Harbaugh’s starting pitcher, quarterback Alex Smith, nearly went an entire game without completing a pass to a wide receiver.
So with Smith’s level of play at a point where the 49ers had no choice but to “evaluate” the older brother of the guy who beat the Niners for a berth in the Super Bowl, the identity of the backup quarterback becomes very important — even though Harbaugh still says Smith is the unquestioned starter.
But we won’t know who the backup is going to be, for a while.
Harbaugh said Thursday that the No. 2 job isn’t just a two-man race between Colin Kaepernick and Josh Johnson. Scott Tolzein also is in the mix.
“All three of those guys are going to play a long time in this league, in our opinion,” Harbaugh said, according to Mark Emmons of the San Jose Mercury News. ”But the competition for No. 2 and No. 3 will be there when we get to training camp. That will unfold with the practices and the preseason games. That will be very exciting.”
Unless the 49ers plan to carry four quarterbacks on the 53-man roster, one of the guys who’ll be playing “a long time in this league” will be playing for someone else in 2012. Tolzein would seem to be the odd man out, especially since the team invested a high second-round pick in Kaepernick last season and Johnson played for Harbaugh at the University of San Diego.
Kaepernick has had accuracy issues this offseason. But Harbaugh said Kaepernick had “a near perfect day” on Thursday.
Though I’m not sufficiently diabolical to assume Harbaugh isn’t telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, “near perfect” is a phrase that no 49ers quarterback since Joe Montana and Steve Young has earned. And it seems like an especially high bar to apply on the day after Harbaugh witnessed true perfection.
Channel Finder
Anybody else sick of Harbaugh?
There should actually be a battle for the STARTING qb job
The only QB situation that looks worse is the Seahawks.
i hope we dont ever have to use our 2nd string QB unless he’s holding for a FG, PAT, or pre-season!!
Checkdown Charlie.
Anyone else read this story and think that Vernon Davis will have a ton of passes his way?
now that’s a depressing qb battle. i don’t think alex smith could beat out most team’s backup qb. he should at least go pose for GQ like sanchez did. ya know, strike while the iron is hot.
Here’s a SB quality team with a lousy QB. Smith had a decent year last year, helped out by great defense and a running game. My take is this year won’t go as good for the Niners and it will be QB issues at the heart of it.
I’m betting that our backup QB will play some this year
I’m betting it’ll be Josh Johnson
and he’ll have some great receivers to throw to this year
go Niners
Smh, smith can lead the league in comebacks and go to the nfc championship game and not get credit…oh wait thats what happened last year
They won 13 games last season (could have been more) with Alex Smith as their QB. Could you tell me how the 9ers have gotten any WORSE? If anything, they have loaded up on the offensive side of the ball and retained one of the top defenses in the game. They also have the best kicking weapons in football. Some very, very good NFL players will not make this team. QB is the only question mark, and he led the league in come-back victories last season. Just watch the games and see what happens…
“the older brother of the guy who beat the Niners for a berth in the Super Bowl”
HA! Eli is not an elite QB. And he did not beat the Niners. The Niners clearly beat themselves. I am amazed at how the east coast press thinks Eli is something special. Alex Smith is a far better thrower and runner than Eli. You will all see this year after a complete off-season with Harbaugh. A. Smith has NEVER had a team around him. He does now. I would like to see what Eli would have done with the same Niner teams A. Smith had to play with?
Who cares if A. Smith didn’t complete any passes to his wide receivers. The Niners still should have won the game besides. How do you think we’ll do with competent receivers MR. Florio??
You Sir, are a blowhard. With little knowledge of the west coast teams. Watch the Niners win it all this year! Yep, you heard it here first. And here’s another onother one for you East Coast FOOL. A. Smith will be the highest rated QB in the NFL this coming year.
GO NINERS! You can’t stop us!!
I think a lot of what Harbaugh says to the media these days is to just rile people up so that articles like this one get written and he can keep the us against the world and the media is the enemy themes going.
Look how long this article about Kaep, Tolzien, and JJ is because the media wants to call BS on everything Harbaugh says and even the way he says it.
You think the question of who the backup qb will be is very important all because Alex was trying to complete passes to guys like Swain and Hastings while Crabtree took a nap in the playoffs and Kyle was off on an adventure? Those first two couldn’t even get open against the Rams 19th string corners in week 17.
Why should I be surprised tho, you guys ranked Chilo friggin Rachel as a top 100 FA. He’s the blind, crippled version of Kwame Harris.
The RG, C, and WR position battles are the real issues. Seven of the team’s worst players manned those positions last year, five won’t be back, one might not be back, and the seventh doesn’t figure to be in the WR rotation.
None of those 3 backups have a chance in hell of replacing Alex this year, and even if they did, its a moot point if those other positions don’t get upgraded from all time horrible to at least mildly serviceable.
I’m sure that in Harbaugh’s mind they all have the best arm he has ever seen.
Did someone seriously say that Alex smith couldn’t beat out most teams backup QB? Haha. I never seen a seahawks fan so scared. Anywho…Here are just two true stats for all the haters: Alex smith has only 1 redzone int. In his career. Yes. His career. #2 Alex smith is the only QB in NFL history to mount two fourth quarter comebacks in under 4 minutes in the playoffs. the funniest thing about all the negative comments about smith is this. There is more critisism this year after a successful season than there was last year after 9 straight seasons of the niners not making the playoffs. U mad bro?