49ers’ O’Sullivan has his chance

By Jeff Dickinson  |   Friday, August 08, 2008  |  Comments( 8 )

San Francisco 49ers
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All you fantasy football players had better hurry up while there's still time. Why? Because it's not too late to grab John Thomas O’Sullivan from the shelf of your closest fantasy league store.

In fact, there’s actually plenty of time to pick up O'Sullivan, who is only owned in 1 percent of fantasy football leagues on Yahoo! You are going to wait until things become a little more settled in the San Francisco 49ers preseason camp before you pick up O’Sullivan, eh? OK, but don’t say you weren’t warned.

For those of you who are saying that O’Sullivan doesn’t really have a shot at being the starting quarterback for the 49ers this season, not so fast.

It happens in sports sometimes when the underdog in a competition keeps hanging in there and fighting off the blows from the favorite. Little by little, the longshot becomes less of a stretch and more of a worthwhile foe. Eventually, David beats Goliath.

The David in question, O’Sullivan, is looming for the 49ers this preseason. Two weeks ago, it was assumed by almost everyone that the quarterback battle for San Francisco was going to be a two-man affair between Alex Smith and Shaun Hill.

Well, someone forgot to tell that to O’Sullivan, who will start the 49ers' first preseason game this weekend against the Oakland Raiders. Head coach Mike Nolan said that O’Sullivan will start the game and play for the entire first quarter, possibly lasting into the second. He will be followed by Smith and Hill.

Granted, just because O’Sullivan is starting the game doesn’t mean that he has impressed Nolan the most. But it can’t hurt O’Sullivan that he has the chance to give Nolan and offensive coordinator Mike Martz the first look at real competition. O’Sullivan completed 15-of-19 passes in the morning session of the Aug. 6 preseason practice, before struggling somewhat during the afternoon.

Is O’Sullivan starting the opening preseason game because of his solid performances in camp thus far? Not necessarily. Nolan told the San Francisco Chronicle that he wants to get a look at O’Sullivan in a live game because he is more familiar with Smith and Hill in contests that count.

What does that mean for O’Sullivan? Well, it signals that he has obviously caught Nolan’s attention. It also shows that Nolan is impressed enough with O’Sullivan to continue to mention him in a three-man derby for the starting job.

It also means that O’Sullivan’s game against the Raiders is the most important one of his jumbled NFL career. For a man who has passed for a total of 148 yards and thrown one touchdown during his six-year career, this early August game is big.

A poor performance by O’Sullivan won’t necessarily end his chances, but you have to work harder and impress more than those you are trying to overtake when you're the underdog. If O’Sullivan washes out of the San Francisco camp and moves on to another team or another profession, there won’t be much written or broadcast about it. O’Sullivan wasn’t supposed to make much noise coming out of a Division II school (UC Davis) and bouncing around with eight NFL teams in seven seasons.

Smith, on the other hand, was the No. 1 overall pick in the draft in 2005; in turn, he's had millions of dollars shoveled his way. If Smith turns out to be more like Ryan Leaf than Peyton Manning, there will be a great deal of media attention.

That’s why O’Sullivan needs to perform well against the Raiders. He is fighting the challenges of his own background, the potential of Smith and the money San Francisco’s management has invested in the situation.

For those who love great stories, wouldn’t it be nice if O’Sullivan made it? He was born in Burbank, Calif., so a Hollywood script about his fate could be turned into a movie pretty easily. But let's not get ahead of ourselves.

Training Camp: An entirely new kind of fantasy game!
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About Jeff Dickinson

I have been writing and editing professionally for 18 years. I spent the first three years of my career as a sportswriter for a daily newspaper in Alabama and got to cover sports and get paid for it! It was great until I got married and then it wasn't too much fun being away from my wife every...
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CommentsComments: 8  |  Sign Up  View all comments
No.1
03:19 AM
08/08/2008
I thought the Dolphins had it bad with QB's. I still think Alex Smith needs to be the starter, there's a reason he went number 1...
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No.2
RedskinFan21ST		03:31 AM
08/08/2008
Yeah I agree with you. I think Alex Smith will eventually be the starter also because of business reasons. They don't want to...
No.3
Jedi		12:57 PM
08/08/2008
I mentioned this a few days ago, and I don't like it. I think Mike "the grudge" Nolan is keeping reps away from Alex Smith....
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