How did the backs look, Matt?

Matt
Q for Sing. Third & nine and the QB rush is on. Seems like there might be 3 reasons to sub a guard for the RT. (1) Mobility: take away the speed rush, (2) confuse the D, and (3) give a fat man a blow.
What do you think?

Hey Matt, how did Reggie Smith looked at Safety?

I also have a different look in the blog, but just updated my IE, so I think that could be the reason?

Thanks for all the reports on Twitter and the blog!

Matt, this 'centered' format looks horrible. Please change it.

Glad to hear that Morgan looks good and fully recovered from his injury last year. I look for big things for him this year. He'll only be better with Crabtree to spread the defense. I was
worried about Morgan's leg. I have flashbacks to Eric Wright.

I'm using Firefox and everything's centered. Looks like an unclosed "div" code problem since the left & right sidebars are below the center column, wall-to-wall text. Annoying thing is sometimes a screen refresh produces an okay page, then the next refresh it's back to everything centered.

Matt have you seen what happened to the Cowboys training complex? I just see on NFLN it colapsed !!
People and players inside, but no reports so far of anybody injured...

The roof of their training facility blew off today from all of the hot air comming out of Jerry Jones's mouth. No serious injuries; just his pride.

Morgan can't catch a break. Last year he battled staph, this year he battles Crabs. RIM SHOT !!! Ba dum ttsshh! Thank you! I'm here all week !

Raye will need to find a way to get Morgan and Crabtree on the field at the same time before the 2010 season. I predict big things for that duo.

Espn is reporting that there were up to 5 people injured.

Espn is reporting that there were up to 5 people injured.

Espn is reporting that there were up to 5 people injured.

Sorry about the triple post, my iPhone browser doesn't like this format either. Read the sfgate article - crazy.

i'm hopeful they can achieve that. bruce is an all-time great, but he's no longer the 1st or 2nd best wideout on the roster. i'm pretty optimistic; even though both crabtree and morgan project to duke it out at the same position, X, that physical position could transition more easily to Y than a Y could to an X. Basically i'm hoping they can both be on the field, like you. Jason Hill in the slot, Brandon Jones.... selling concessions? who knows.

As McEnroe would say, "You've got to be kidding me!" What is with this new layout? It is horrible, but I'm being too kind. It is unreadable, chaotic and amateurish. But other than that it was a great idea. Maybe you should actually have somebody look at it before you put it out there. Matt's blog is one of the best on the web. Quit screwing with it. I must assume this is a joke.

Layout/design:

I cannot see any changes whatsoever. The blog looks exactly like it did three month ago. Using Firefox 3.0.10 right now and previous versions in the past.

This new blog layout is not so easy on the eyes...It feels primitive..
I really really like the 49er Head Coach. I mean the man just get's it. Something is truly different about this year.

Razoreater - Your memory of A. Smith is selective. Steve Young played with a sieve line in Tampa Bay. He look like baby puke then. . BTW - Razor, not to blow any sunshine up your keester, I am a huge fan of your posts.

It seems like the minicamp had only just started.

John: My memory of Alex Smith on the field is selective also. I select to try to not remember how bad he is ,so that I don't have those nightmares any more . LOL

Why is there a qb competition? JTO beat out Smith before Smith re-irjured his shoulder. Then Hill beat out JTO. We all know that Shaun Hill is not a practice qb, but more of a "gamer," so evaluating him in practice is almost impossible. Reporting on a qb competition this early is like the Pilgrims leaving port on the Mayflower saying, "Damn, this has been a long ride already." It only makes the offseason more grueling for fans, and less interesting. Shaun Hill is our qb until the Niners go 2-4 and Singletary needs a spark. Reporters should focus on the development of the lesser known players.
Regarding another topic altogether..... McCloughan has gone from drafting workout warriors to now drafting players extremely productive in college, without ever understanding what makes a good NFL pro. Eddie D would have known what to do with Scot McCloughan.

The blog looks the same to me also. Keep up the great work, Matt.
Your Minnesota Fan

Still clueless and posting mindless drivel. You just are a bitter person that doesn't know football.
Has it occured to you that most want to know info about the rookie camp no matter how minute.
You basically make things up and post it as gospel.

Matt, I ditto those who think new blog format horrid. Helphelp,fixfix,pleaseplease.

yeah its all centered and bad. dont know what they changed on your format but it has got to go

The Blog works fine with my IE works horrible with Mozilla & Chrome. Imagine that IE actually working! Wow.

Clearly Hill plays better in games. However I am a big fan of John Wooden and his belief you practice how you will play. Sooner or later in the NFL where the margins are slim this will hurt him. Bill Walsh would never accept that in a QB. He practiced until it was perfect, just like Coach Wooden at UCLA. Think of all the Offensive legends like Montana, Young, Craig, and Rice they were fierce practice players, even TO. On Offense its about timing. If Hill wants to reach the heights of an good NFL QB he needs to pick it up in practice. It isn't a gloss over position, he the QB and everything comes from him and effects all positions.

Blog works same as usual for me using IE and FF. Must just be some strange glichyness and not an intended new format.

I respect your affection for Niner days of yore – we all miss Eddie D and Bill W, no question.

However, do you think the Steelers right now miss Chuck Noll? Or the Cowboys miss Tom Landry? No, because both teams, and fans, have moved on into their new era.

Like a leaf that's dropped at the headwaters of the San Lorenzo river (top of the Santa Cruz mountains, go there some day for inner peace... you'll appreciate it), it flows downstream. It's time to let go Spitblood. As McGM eloquently put it before the draft – it's a whole new brand of football for the 49ers.

Bill W had to start somewhere. And Sing now has the same opportunity.

I think the reason there is a 'competition' for starting QB is because Sing has been talking about every position having competition to spur better play.

If Smith and Hill were foreign players and we saw them in a combine type environment, we would all select Smith as our QB. Smith has faced some Serious adversity, and the story will continue with Hill being chosen as the 09 starting QB.

We know Hill was able to WIN, and that's all the info that will be needed to name Hill the starter.

The reason that practice is a poor method for evaluating quarterbacks is that without full contact, the QB's decision making and pocket presence - in my opinion the most critical qualities - aren't obvious. All practice tells you is whether the guys have strong, accurate arms and a good understnding of the system. The ability to escape pressure and pick out the right guy to throw to - those are the intangibles that only show up in game situations. JTO had the accurate, strong arm and followed Martz's instructions blindly, and while he was capable of completing beautiful passes, and had good escapability, he was prone to bad decisions and interceptions and fumbles. In the glory days of the 49ers, a lot of their yardage came from short passes, easy to throw, that turned into big gainers. Obviously you want a QB with a big arm, but quick decision making is the most critical quality a QB can have; without that, arm strength doesn't matter.

We know that Shaun Hill has great decision making and a poor arm; JTO had a great arm and poor decision making. Alex Smith had a strong, accurate arm before his injury; his decision making ability was never made clear because he seldom had enough time behind a porous offensive line to do more than what the play called for. My guess is that he can develop his decision making skills but that's not certain. We do know that Shaun's abilities in this area are world class and more than offset his weak arm.

The logical approach is to name Shaun the starter and see if he can continue to lead the team to a winning record. Hopefully Alex will develop further, now that he'll be behind an actual NFL offensive line, and at some point he may well turn out to be a very good quarterback, too.

Sounds like S-Dot-Hill's been throwin some deep passes...hmmmm, what happend to Hill not being able to "throw the deep ball???" Anybody? Anyone?

How appropriate to bring up the great Coach Wooden on this site -surely Coach Singletary is an excellent example of his philosophy .I will however remind that Coach Wooden believes the true gauge of success comes ultimately from within. Although S.Hill looks flawed at times this certainly is not through lack of effort( if anything the converse is closer to the truth I suspect) it is simply the way he is and this is HIS challenge...the testimony of his inner success(i.e. giving his best effort) is laid out perfectly in his outer achievements so far -the man wins!

Hill's got the inside track and hopefully Smith can become a valuable backup. The NFL has shown that you need at least 2, if not 3 quality QB's on the roster. Raye is smart to let it play out at least through some games, so we can be equal. Sing is smart to say he wants it done ASAP, so that he can establish some continuity.

Hill, Smith and JTO all played with essentially the same offensive line. Which is to say w/o a right tackle. Hill has always shown good decision making but he may have been pumping some iron this past off season. His seems to be packin larger guns than last year. If so, this may help w/long passes. We will see.

Coach Sing, what r we gonna do w/4QBs? Please don't place the new QB on the practice squad. You'll need to ditch one of them.

This is from Crumpacker at the Chron...

BRIEFLY: When free-agent quarterback Kirby Freeman transferred from
Miami to Baylor, he had one year of eligibility left and already had
his undergraduate degree. He picked an unusual major for his masters
program: sports pedagogy. Pedagogy? "It's a mixture of things," he
said. "It's basically the art of learning, why people learn the way
they do. It's good for college coaching." ... Pascoe looked impressive
in catching several passes in scrimmage plays.

--------------------------------------------------------

Maybe this camp QB could use what he learned studying for his Masters Degree
on Nate "the great" Davis ? As we all know Nate is the QB of the future for
the Niners but he has a learning disability. He has dyslexia.And since Kirby
Freeman will be in camp this summer as an extra arm,why not put his knowledge to good use and find the fastest way for Davis to learn the playbook?
Davis has always learned his playbooks by watching and doing ,instead of
reading. Maybe Freeman can help the coaches to find a better and faster way?
Who knows,maybe Scotty is so sharp that he actually brought in freeman as
not only a camp arm but also to tutor and mentor Davis in how to learn better and faster?

What do you say Matt,can you ask Scotty if he knew what Freemans major was etc. and if he didn't or doesn't know,why don't you mention it to him .Who knows,if this kid Freeman makes a good impression by helping Davis,it might lead to a career in coaching ? (since he obviously is only a camp arm and has no future in the NFL,except maybe as a coach).

...And Wilson: Sorry to say but Alex never had an accurate arm at any time since he put on a Niner's uniform. And his arm strength is now also in question because of his injury. Not to mention that he seldom was actually able to complete any passes long enough to show off that supposedly strong arm . Mostly all his longer passes down field were always under thrown and off the mark.

Hill has a weak arm but seems to wobble it out there a fair distance and actually complete the long ones fairly often.

Results baby,that's what it is all about.

And besides ,what we should be considering is who will be the backup to Nate "the great" Davis in a year or two,when he takes over the starting job. He has a much stronger arm then Alex and all the leadership and intangebles of Hill and some extras of his own thrown into the mix !!! I wonder if Hill will stay as the backup or if he will earn his stripes over the next year or so as the Niner's starter and be worth another team trading for him? In that case Alex may have improved enough by then to have earned the backup spot ? Or Alex may be out of the League ,who knows?

I don't know much about Nate Davis's talent, so I can't really say if I think he will be good or bad. But I would not expect to see him on the field in a meaningful game in the next two seasons. Am I off on this one?

Every year since Alex joined the Niners, we've heard the praises about how well he performs in mini-camp. It happens every year. Unfortunately, the practice success never translates into game-time success.

Cat, I usually like your posts and your optimism for the team. However, your memory (and those of quite a few others) of Smith's early career here is totally faulty. His accuracy was never his problem until he hurt his arm, He was especially accurate on down field throws. The only problem he had early on, other than a terrible team surrounding him, was absorbing the playbook. Period. And people here who question his heart and leadership forget the tough road wins and several 4th quarter come-back victories he engineered. It's fashionable to write him off, but that's purely emotion based and not otherwise justified. And before anointing Davis any time on the throne, it might be wise to see him play a few games first.

Ballgame: I think it will take Davis about a year and a half to get comfortable in the NFL and to be completely comfortable with his entire playbook (unless the staff know a faster way for dyslexic people to learn).

But Davis is by far the best QB talent we have had on the roster since Steve Young ! whether or not his potential translates into him becoming the player on the field that his potential says he could be,well,that remains to be seen . He certainly blows Alex out of the water in every meaningful catagory of QB ability.

smith has never even been able to throw an accurate screen pass. he over/under throws all of his passes and it was always painful to watch the way he would stretch out receivers at the line on an attempted check down pass, just to have them pummeled by a defender as soon as they came down from a huge jump to make a catch.

Skeebers: I beg to differ about Alex's accuracy on long throws. I have every game he ever played on video and believe me it is your memory that is faulty and tainted by your hopes and dreams of what Alex was supposed to be when he was drafted. He NEVER showed accuracy on the long throws and they were almost always thrown short.
We all hoped he would get more comfortable with his surrounding in the NFL and perhaps start to show some accuracy on those deep patterns,but he never did improve and then he was injured and didn't get the further chance to prove he could ever do it.

Hopefully he improves in all areas of his game now and he becomes at least a fraction of what we were told he could be when he was drafted ? This is his last chance to finally show something.

Yea maybe my memory is selective as far as Alex goes. Maybe it was our Ols' fault, shoulder, playbook(s). I am an oldschool kinda fan and one thing I'm certain of is excuses are like buttholes. They all stink. Now Mr. Smith will get another chance to show what he's made of at the position of QB for the 49ers, and I hope he succeeds. From my untrained eye my evaluations do not encourage me to bet on it.

Razoreater: Although as Skeebers said,I am basicly an optimistic Niner's fan (especially since Jed took over and Sing was promoted and Scotty looks so good after Nolan was gone),I have formed a very poor opinion of alex by actually watching every play he has even run. He has been a HUGE disappointment and when healthy has not shown any real consistent ability to play QB in the NFL at all.
But because I really think Alex is a fine young man and has class,I hope for his sake and for the sake of my team that he finally shows a bit of talent for the NFL game and actually does it soon . But even if he does finally start to play better than his normally medioce,he shouild not even be considered as the starter over Hill,unless Hill faulters big time or is injured. Hill has earned the starting job on the field and alex has failed miserably on the field. Some of the excuses are somewhat valid as to WHY he has failed but Hill could have used those same excuses but Hill overcame the problems and looked good,something alex has NEVER done on an NFL field during games,for more than a few plays here and there. Never even for a full quarter and certainly not for even one good half of football,ever.
So far Alex ,when healthy has been a horrible failure,period. I am an optimistic fan and I hope the best for Alex and every player on the roster of MY team BUT Alex has not done anything so far to show me he has what it takes. I hope he does soon because he is running out of time.

Razoreater - Top_Cat, I must admit it's been a long time since I have seen A. Smith on the football field. And I don't have a ton of tape to watch. And RazorEater, nobody hates excuses more than me. Off the top of my head tho without giving excuses for A. Smith. I don't think the kid has gotten a fair shake. He started to look pretty frigin good at the end of the year Norv Turner was there. I am not making excuses for the kid.
Skeeb's Razoreater,Top_Cat you guys know your football....(and browser codeing.) however, even if the kid doesn't do well, even during the spring, I wouldn't write A. Smith off. He has everything you want in a QB. I see way more good in the kid as a football play than bad.

John: I believe if you went back and watched the last season with Norv,you would see that Alex never had even on good game. He didn't have one good half,he didn't have one good full quarter,in any game ever.
Gore had some good games and the team played fairly well and won some games. But in reality,Alex never had more than a few good plays in a row ,at most. Norv called some good games for us but he and the rest of the team had to overcome the poor QB play from alex.

I stand by my observation that alex has NEVER played NFL caliber football ,ever.
Unless you count one play here and one play there in some games where he made a few plays. (one play that actually won a game for us ,his clumsy scramble in the 4th Qtr. ).

Alex at his best (so far) has been just mediocre and Alex on average has been pathetic.

He is mature now and has the same didget system he used under Norv etc. If he continues to struggle then the team simply can not wait on him. The team is coming together nicely and with the addition of a stud at QB (Davis) the future is coming fast. If Alex does not come out of his 4 year funk and show what he was drafted for,then he MUST be left behind soon,for the good of the team.
Good luck Alex !

Sorry, Cat, not buying your spiel. And talent evaluators probably superior to you have not written him off, either. That's why he's still here. And although it would be stunning if Hill became a franchise QB, it would not be too surprising if Smith did.

Top_cat, I distinctly seem to remember a time when Alex was throwing screen passes very accurately. Could be wrong, I guess. Doesn't matter much. What counts is how accurate he is now after his surgery, which may be different from his pre-injury status.

But you may be making the same mistake most people make when you assume that Nate Davis, because he has a good arm, will thrive in the NFL and take over from Hill. No harm in jumping to conclusions, but the smart observer waits at least to see some preseason games. We have no idea how good Nate's decision making will be at the NFL level. At that quality is the critical one in determining how good a QB will be.

Franchise,
I think we need to reframe the debate: It shouldn't be Shaun Hill / Alex Smith reduz. The concept of competition in general, I believe, is a flawed one. We hear about how it makes players better, but what it really does is cut down on a guy's reps, it keeps him from being a true leader at his position; it doesn't allow the coaches to get completely invested in a guy, and like on the offensive line, it destroys continuity. Take Chilo Rachal.... Why not put the guy in immediately at a guard position and make him the guy? The thought about competition is that he'll be better for it? I don't think so. Hand it to him on a silver platter. Give him the stress, the responsibility, the coaching resources and he'll be a better player for it. I also believe the same thing with Shaun Hill. Shaun Hill has proven he's the guy over Alex Smith. Hill's won, he's protected the football, and he's more accurate with a quicker release than Alex Smith. The job should be handed, once again, on a silver platter to Hill, and Singletary should be done with it so it's not a distraction. I want to hear about Coffee, Jimmy Raye, Brooks, Goldston, Morgan and the like. Not Smith / Hill reduz.
In regards to wanting Eddie D back and letting it go. I'm not pining for Eddie D. But it's obvious Jed York wants to be Eddie, and he wants to insure Niner fans he has some Eddie D in him. He claims, "I punch walls like Eddie did," and "I speak with him once a month or so." These claims are designed to give himself credibility and to assure the Niner faithful he's competent. The reality is that Scot McCloughan still can't draft, it shows, and Eddie D would have fired McCloughan long ago and found a better talent evaluator. Talent evaluation is what drives a team. Scot McCloughan has never had a five hundred year with the Niners as GM or Personnel Director? Coincidence? Excuses anyone? Fire McCloughan and find someone who understands how to evaluate talent and the Niners will get a step closer to respectability. I believe I'm right about McCloughan, and I believe his firing is inevitable.

Just a quick counterpoint to Monsieur Baldinger's assessment of our draft-Bob Rang has rated the 49ers draft an A+ (time will tell ofcourse- thought I'd share a more cheery view of things!).

The whole arm strength thing boggles my mind. We keep hearing how some guy or other doesn't have a great arm. I don't buy it. If any NFL quarterback didn't have a sufficient arm to throw it down the field ... they wouldn't be NFL quarterbacks. They never would have made it to where they are. I fear we have come to a point where you are either Jamarcus Russell who can effortlessly flick his wrist and zip the ball down the field ... or you have no arm. It's all or nothing. I don't buy it. Joe Montana had no arm ... okay. Jeff garcia had no arm ... okay. Chad Pennington had no arm ... okay. Akili Smith, Ryan Leaf, Jim Druckenmiller, David Klingler, and Tim Couch all had great arms.

Did A. Amith throw a decent screen? Was he accurate downfield? Did he get a fair shake? Aren't we splitting hairs here?

Whether or not I agree with Cat about how AS hadn't shown anything on a football field that warranted the #1 QB tab (and I do) what I remember from AS that stands out is one thing: He held onto the ball WAY, WAY too long.

Whether or not it's because he had to learn a different offense every year and those offenses varied to the extent that a WR, TE or RB ran a certain route differently and it could be utterly confusing to a person and I could never do it, sidesteps the key issue: He held onto the ball WAY, WAY too long.

S. Hill came in immediately, made plays and won games. Bottom line.
Aaaaand that's really pretty much it.

I don't root for a player but a team so if A.S. has worked out those kinks and installed a state of the art clock in his mind that all ex-QB-turned-broadcasters refer to, I'll be extremely happy.

He will have proven a couple of things: Those nay-sayers and countless websites that have put his jpeg on there to associate his name with negative articles can suck it. The other is we can't seem to field a QB worth a crap for more than a season- which is fine by me as long as we win some games.

The current hot topic for the analysts is that qb's need time to develop and an established offense. The reason Flacco and Ryan did so well is because they were able to stay upright and just manage the game. It all grew out of the stafford money conversation. Some of the big qb "busts" may not have been so bad (in their opinion) if there was more OL support. For example, they talked about how Carr was slammed over 70 times in his 2 years and was never the same. Lots of early pick qb's go to bad teams before the OLis established. We're better off getting a qb last.

Hightop, Rang was the draft guy guru Matt touted a month or so ago, so that is an amazing grade from him. Baldinger, of course, is a TV head and I doubt he does much film study before announcing his "grades." The more I reflect on the draft, the more I am impressed with McC's picks. I was orignally disappointed when we traded the #2 pick because I had waited several hours to see who we would choose and now there would be no 4th pick as well! But Day 2 was really an exceptional harvest. Quality picks at every spot all the way into the UDFA signings, and another 6th round coup in Pascoe like Morgan was last year. Our team seems to suddenly be bulging with talent and potential talent. Anyone who thinks McC's job is in jeopardy is just comically and woefully off the mark. This guy is a rising star in this league.

By the way Matt, I still have the dysfunctional layout when using Firefox, so I have reluctantly switched to IE just for this site to get a proper view. Even in IE, though, at the bottom left of the page after it loads or refreshes a message appears saying "Done, but with errors on page." So clearly there is something wrong with the code.

John in HB, Skeebs & Ronnie,

As much as the admiration I have for Hill & what he's done (7-3) while he was the starter I can't see how you can just label Hill the starter right now so I agree with you guys on that point. There's so much work to be done (TC) and Pre-Season games to get thru so we as fans & coaches can see how the QB's have obsorbed the playbook. I certainly wouldn't count out Alex when we all know who's (Hill) in front of him. C'mon guys please.

Put A. Smith in S-Dot-Hill's numbers from last season. There would be less question about who should be the starter. It's b/c S.Hill isn't the "sexy" choice that people can't get behind him. All he does is win. Last year he was on pace for a 4,000 yard season. Niner fans, stop treating S.Hill like a leper. It's safe to believe in him.

Whatever our thoughts are clearly Coach Singletary doesn't think Hill should be awarded the position. He needs to earn it for next year on the practice field and in pre-season games. I think Coach is smart and understands if the 49ers are to be a playoff team they need superior play at the QB position. Hill plays better in games, but let's be honest we need to have have our first winning season in seven first before we sing the praises of any QB, We have had just downright terrible QB play for those six years for many reasons and the worst O Line at pass protection is one of them

Coach knows what he is doing. He will get the most of out his players. The question is really does he have enough talent?

You're missing my point Stampede. Look if Hill beats out Alex thru Pre-Season then he would have earned the starting position & I'll be happy for him. My point is the 49er have yet again a new OC with a new playbook so everybody starts at zero & may the best man win so you CAN'T count Alex out. Agreed?

Hill is better than Alex Smith based on games played. However, life isn't fair and he's overcome a lot to get this far.

I don't mind that Mike Singletary has NOT declared him the starter. Hill isn't Peyton Manning. However, I think that Singletary will remember who went 7-3 down the stretch last season and eventually Hill's history and passion will carry the day.

I doubt Alex Smith will be named the starter. I think it'd be like letting Nolan come back last year to coach. Dead Man Walking - he has no margin for error in the eyes of most fans.

Oh no doubt, I usually agree with your comments, you know what you're talking about and I can appreciate substantive posters. I definately agree the best man should win.

However, where I differ is that I feel, based on his performance throughout his time as a starter ('07 and '08), that this should be S.Hill's job to lose. We'll probably have to agree to disagree on the notion that everyone is at "zero." You must not disregard Hill's success behind 2 different OC's (Hoss and Martz), the numbers he put up in half a season (13 TD's, 2,046 yds, and an 87.5 QB rtg over a span of 8 games), and the fact that Hill undeniably has the team behind him. That is A #1, he has the huddle and can lead the talent that we have to win.

Again, I challenge you to take all of that, change the name from S.Hill to A.Smith, and tell me if there would still be a QB competition. My boy S-Dot-Hill gets no love, and it saddens me F49er...it saddens me. Ladies and Gentleman the bias against S-Dot-Hill must cease! ***WARNING*** The #13 bandwagon is leavin the station!

I think Singletary will pick the QB he thinks can lead the team to the most successful season. That's a coach's job. It's not about salary, athleticism, or even past results (although the last 2 may be factored in). I don't care who he picks. I just hope he's right.

I'm also not sure about the "Hill is a bad practice player" theory. Unless you followed him before he joined the 49ers, you've only seen him work under a different OC every year.

Matt, Shaun has looked like a back-up QB to me whenever I've seen him at TC before the season begins. Does he continue to look worse in practice than games during the season? Could his TC play just be part of his learning curve?

I don't understand why Hill is not our named starter. What more does he need to do?

"By the way Matt, I still have the dysfunctional layout when using Firefox, so I have reluctantly switched to IE just for this site to get a proper view."

FYI - Firefox has an addon called "IE Tab" that allows you to view a page using IE while still in Firefox. I've found it helpful many a time.

As boring as the ongoing saga of A Smith is, here is why competition is good: It increases the level of desire and motivation...it's human nature, the competitive spirit that drives the competitors to do those extra couple of reps in the weight room, run out the sprints, spend that extra time watching film, and burn the midnight oil studying the play book. When you're in a fight your juices flow, your focus and energy increase, and and as a result both competitors emerge stronger. Sing the ultimate warrior knows this and at the end of the day he'll pick the best man for the job and we'll have two solid QB's. I'd much rather hear everyone's thoughts on how the rest of the team is shaping up with all the fresh blood infused. This year looks promising if we stay healthy.

I'm not sure why anyone has a problem with the QB competition. There are PLENTY of reps to go around now that only two people are involved. I know that Hill has shown what he can do... but to be fair, Smith hasn't really had that luxury due to injury. Keep them on a level playing field and give each of them a first half of action in the preseason. If neither stands out at that point, keep Hill in there until he falters badly, if that happens.

Overall, I like what Raye said about wanting to see them in game action before declaring a 'winner', as it seems to be well documented that Smith practices better than Hill.

Good players, and especially the best players, enjoy competition. Sing has created a QB competition that allows Shaun and Alex to lead by example. Every move they make is under observation from the meeting room to the weight room to the huddle. And so it should be for every other player. Players should enjoy and thrive in competition, cause that is what the NFL is every game, every play. I think its understood that if you are a successful starter, someone has to clearly beat you to win your job. So, by far the most likely outcome of the QB competition is Shaun starts. Meanwhile Sing sends the message: everyone competes.

Here is a good case study for drafting the BPA. The Packers had Crabtree rated #1 on their draft board overall, yet still went with Raji as a "need" pick:

"Sources around the National Football League said last week that the Green Bay Packers were prepared to select Matthews with the No. 9 pick if nose tackle B.J. Raji was off the board.

At No. 9, Thompson admitted that he paused to collect his thoughts. Not only was Raji there, but somewhat expectedly so was wide receiver Michael Crabtree. Thompson needed a few moments to take it all in.

Because Crabtree carried the highest grade of any player on the Packers' entire draft board, the assumption was that Thompson would stay true to the team's rankings and take him. But Thompson came to the conclusion well before the Packers went on the clock that they were well-stocked at wide receiver and adding Crabtree might create a mess in which no wideout was happy with his number of targeted passes."

Thankfully we are in no danger of creating a mess in which no wideout is happy.

This is where it gets murky. Certainly Crabtree was the Packers highest rated player, but I guarentee that Raji wasn't that far behind. The BPA isn't a black and white thing. You have to take into consideration your roster as well. BPA is taking a player that is graded at a particular value around that slot given your roster. If you needed a TE and Pettigrew, Quinn and a couple of others were off the board at 32, but Jason Smith or Eugene Monroe was availible, the BPA strategy would dictate you would draft the OT at 32, rather than Pascoe (regardless of how we love him). The Packers choice was between BPA #1 and BPA #2 on their board it wasn't a huge difference. Things can't be taken to literally with the BPA or need. Best case situation is like what happened to us, the BPA was at a position of need.

I think that it was probably for the best that Sing declared it an open competition. No job should ever be 100% safe. That being said, I'll be shocked if it's Alex in Week 1. I'm not ready to call him a bust for good, but Hill has my full support (lemme get on that bandwagon train before it leaves, Stampede) and I think he deserves a lot more credit than he gets. Give it to Hill and if he flounders, let's see what Smith has now that he's got a couple years under his belt and is hopefully 100% healthy. I think Nate Davis can also really excel if he's on the bench for 2-3 years while the Offense grows up and develops as well (I'm aware that he doesn't throw with the laces, and no I don't think that will be the end of his NFL career).

"But Thompson came to the conclusion well before the Packers went on the clock that they were well-stocked at wide receiver and adding Crabtree might create a mess in which no wideout was happy with his number of targeted passes."

This is exactly what I thought when Crabtree slipped past the Jags. The Pack is stacked at WR, it would be silly for them to take him if they have another player ranked NEAR crabtree at a position of need. BPA is great, but there has to be some kind of balance there as well.

You hit the nail on the head. Of course, if Crabtree turns out to be a superstar and Raji not so much, then it will look bad for GB as they supposedly had Crabtree ranked over Raji.

But you are correct in the Crabtree & Raji were pretty much 1 - 2 on most everyone's board at that time.

The problem comes when teams reach. In 2007, picking fifth, Adrian Peterson fell to the Arizona Cardinals. he was the consensus BPA. The Cards (who had Edgerrin James) bypassed AP to select OT Levi Brown, who was considered to be a pick in the 10 - 15 range.

Peterson is the best RB in the NFL and Levi Brown is somewhat of an underachiever, having been moved to RT instead of LT.

Stupid move.

Totally agree with all three of you. This will be a fun one to re-review in 3 years. I also keep hearing how good Josh Morgan looks, which can only help Crabtree as you cannot double team both of them. I have to believe Scot and Coach Sing mean it when they say they will get the best 11 players on the field. That tells me Josh and/or Crabtree will be moved so they are both starters. This also means VD should/better have a MONSTER year with the focus of D's finally on our Wide outs. On tape last year, Davis was always bracketed by two players with a safety up top. Dare I say we should have an explosive offense???