Dilfer won’t be able to help 49ers’ awful offense

By Chris Cluff  |   Tuesday, October 02, 2007  |  Comments( 12 )

San Francisco 49ers
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Alex Smith, who took some big steps last season, already seemed to be regressing this year, and now his development is on hold because he is out with a separated throwing shoulder.

So the San Francisco 49ers will find out what they have in backup Trent Dilfer, whom they acquired last year to act as mentor Smith. Dilfer, 35, did not play at all in 2006 as Smith took every snap, and Dilfer had not played yet this year either, so when he entered the game against Seattle on Sunday, he was understandably not up to the speed of the regular season.

But that's not his only problem.

He had requested to play more in the preseason this year so he could be ready for situations just like this. But it turns out he wasn't. Of course, he got very little help from his blockers and receivers. Dilfer completed just 12 of 33 passes for 128 yards, with no touchdowns and two interceptions. He tallied a putrid passer rating of 23.3.

So the question is: Will he be any better with a full week of practice as the starting quarterback? And the answer is: Not by much.

The former first-round pick has never been an accurate passer, with a subpar completion percentage of 55.5 over a 13-year NFL career. Even in Seattle's high-percentage offense, he never hit 60 percent.

So what should the 49ers expect? Well, coupling Dilfer with some pedestrian receivers and putting him behind a line that has mysteriously turned to mush won't help much.

Smith had completed just 51.2 percent of his passes through three games, with one touchdown and one interception, and coach Mike Nolan seemed to keep the reins on him. Meanwhile, the Niners couldn't run the ball either, which put extra pressure on Smith.

Perhaps Nolan will open the offense up some more with Dilfer in charge, but it probably won't matter because Dilfer has rarely been a guy to win games by himself and has done his best work as the man behind the man in both Seattle and San Francisco.

Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News wrote that Dilfer "isn't really a backup QB; he's an assistant coach/psychologist, and that's exactly what Dilfer played like once Smith went out with a separated shoulder [Sunday].

"The 49ers haven't brought in a young QB to compete with Smith. They haven't brought a veteran who could realistically compete with Smith. They had Smith, and they wanted a big brother. If Smith is out for three, four or however many weeks, the 49ers will have a big brother playing QB, not actually a real QB. That's the choice they made."

And that choice will not help them stay afloat against Baltimore next week. Even if Dilfer gets up to speed, he and the 49ers have other problems.
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About Chris Cluff

Chris Cluff spent 10 years as an editor and sportswriter for The Seattle Times. He was a key figure in the newspaper's coverage of the Seahawks, particularly during their Super Bowl run in 2005. He also has written two books on the Seahawks: "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: Heart-Pounding,...
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