As the 49ers move closer to their Sunday date with the Saints, the team continues to take the position that the identity of the team’s starting quarterback has not yet been determined.
“No decision has been made,” offensive coordinator Greg Roman said, via Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com. “We’re hopeful that Alex [Smith] gets cleared tomorrow, physically. We’re confident in both quarterbacks being on the field.”
Per Maiocco, head coach Jim Harbaugh was spotted talking with Smith on the practice field, and later with a pair of offensive leaders -- running back Frank Gore and tight end Vernon Davis.
"[Harbaugh] talked to us, and we had a chance to let him know what we thought and things like that, but at the end of the day, it’s not our decision,” Davis said.
Earlier this week, Davis said that Smith is “still the man, no question.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Davis said Thursday, via Maiocco. “Whatever we decide to do, I’m sure it’ll work out in our favor, whether it’s Kaepernick or whether it’s Alex. At the end of the day, we have two good quarterbacks regardless of the situation.”
Conflicting reports have emerged regarding the information that has been communicated to Smith. We reported earlier today that Colin Kaepernick has been told only that he’ll get the first-team practice reps, not that he’ll start.
Roman said that the reps on Thursday were split. (Then again, Roman also has said that the 49ers merely “evaluated” Peyton Manning.)
“Colin has been getting pretty similar [practice time] to what he got last week,” Roman said. “He’s been getting some of the reps, and Alex has been getting some of the reps. That’s how it gets divvied up.”
The goal, obviously, is to get the Saints twisted up in their preparations for Sunday. Surely, the 49ers know what they plan to do. Even more surely, they want to keep the Saints in the dark for as long as possible.