49ers should give Smith offensive reins

By Eric Krupka  |   Tuesday, August 19, 2008  |  Comments( 10 )

San Francisco 49ers
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The biggest storyline of the San Francisco 49ers’ preseason has centered on who will start at quarterback when the regular campaign opens next month. Alex Smith, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft, is vying for the job, as are career backups J.T. O’Sullivan and Shaun Hill.

O’Sullivan, entering his seventh season and playing on his seventh different team, has taken most of the first-team snaps and started the first two preseason contests. In San Francisco's exhibition debut against the Oakland Raiders, O'Sullivan hit on 5-of-8 passes, but he turned the ball over twice.

His second start, last weekend against the Green Bay Packers, was a tale of two quarters. O'Sullivan threw a bad interception and looked awful in the first quarter. In the second stanza, though, he led the 49ers’ offense on two scoring drives, including a 59-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Josh Morgan against the Packers’ second-team defense. Ultimately, the Niners’ signal-caller completed five of his final seven passes after starting 3-of-10.

For his career, O’Sullivan has only attempted 26 passes, all of which came last season with the Detroit Lions.

Hill is also entering his seventh season in the league (his third with the 49ers). Like O’Sullivan, all of his career pass attempts came last year, when Hill appeared in three games -- starting two -- and accumulated 501 yards passing, five touchdowns and just one interception; along the way, his passer rating exceeded 101.0. It's worth nothing that the Maryland product had his two best games against a couple of the league's worst pass defenses -- the Minnesota Vikings' (32nd) and the Cincinnati Bengals' (26th).

Then there’s Smith, who signed a six-year, $49.5 million contract with the 49ers after the '05 draft. Everyone knows his first three seasons have been miserable, and amassing a 19-to-31 touchdown-to-interception ratio surely isn't how he imagined his career beginning. In fairness, Smith is in the midst of learning from his fourth offensive coordinator in Mike Martz, and he's dealt with injuries throughout his career. Nevertheless, his future with the 49ers is very much in doubt. In fact, Rotoworld reports that the 49ers could save $20 million in incentives if he does not start this season.

This preseason, Smith has completed 10-of-21 passes for 113 yards. He played the third quarter Saturday, guiding the Niners’ offense to scoring drives on two of three possessions. Additionally, Smith is the only San Francisco quarterback who hasn't turned the ball over in the team's pair of August contests.

Although O'Sullivan appears to be the front-runner to win the 49ers' No. 1 QB job, the team will be hard-pressed to make the playoffs this season if he's leading the huddle; for that reason, the Niners' focus should be on finally determining whether Smith can be their franchise passer. And the only way to conclude that is by giving the still-young Smith (24 years old) the offensive reins and letting him play.

There's still time for Smith to develop, even if it's ticking away faster each day.

-Eric Krupka can be reached at

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About Eric Krupka

Eric Krupka joined RealFootball365 as a Vikings columnist in November 2005.
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CommentsComments: 10  |  Sign Up  View all comments
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No.1
RedskinFan21ST		03:13 AM
08/19/2008
I agree 100% with this article, esp. the last line. I still believe Alex Smith can be an alright QB in this league, the guy has...
No.2
Jedi		11:56 AM
08/19/2008
Thanks Eric. This article keeps my "insane-o-meter" from heading to the red zone. It echos my sentiments exactly. Your second...
No.3
12:45 PM
08/19/2008
Smith should be the starter but Nolan might see something different the team has never had good skilled players around them to...
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