49ers’ Nolan needs to decide on QB

By Jeff Dickinson  |   Thursday, August 14, 2008  |  Comments( 9 )

San Francisco 49ers
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The San Francisco 49ers' J.T. O’Sullivan continues to get the majority of first-team snaps in practices, but head coach Mike Nolan claims that it's still a three-man race, with Shaun Hill and Alex Smith being the other combatants. The odd man out, however, seems to be Hill, who has seen his playing time with the first team dwindle. In fact, when the San Francisco Chronicle asked if Nolan’s QB competition was fair, Hill declined to comment.

One thing's for sure: Nolan needs to pick a starter as soon as possible, preferably after Saturday's game against Green Bay. By then, he will have had two preseason games and weeks of practice to see what each of the three candidates brings to the table. Nothing is going to happen in another preseason game that will cause Nolan and offensive coordinator Mike Martz to say, “Wow, I didn’t know O’Sullivan/Smith/Hill could do that!”

The 49ers' ability to find a QB so far seems to be hurting their players. Take tight end Vernon Davis, for instance; he told ESPN that it's tough to get any rhythm and continuity on offense with different signal-callers constantly being shuttled onto the field. Even Nolan said that not having a starting quarterback at this stage of the preseason makes things more challenging.

The longer Nolan waits to make a decision, the less time the winning quarterback will have to officially get settled into a leadership role. If Nolan makes the determination after this week’s game, then the starter will have two exhibition contests to adjust mentally and physically.

The timing of Nolan’s choice is even more important if O’Sullivan is going to be the 49ers’ quarterback. Smith has experience leading the Niners, so it won’t be a big adjustment if he wins the job. Hill started two games last season, so even he has some experience.

O’Sullivan, though, has never started a game in his NFL career; therefore, it can be assumed that he will have to adjust the most. And though the last two games of preseason aren’t going to be the same as the regular campaign, they will give O’Sullivan a better taste of the No. 1 job.

The clock is ticking.

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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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