I agree. Both are nice guys and both will give you all that they have. In any event, let's back the guy who wins this derby and be ready to support the guy who may have to come in at a moment's notice.

My only problem with Alex Smith is with him as a football player... he's just not very good. The game moves to fast for him... his problem is with reaction time. Hill's mind is simply able to process things a little quicker than Smith's. Add that to the fact that he has a fairly big windup and isn't the most accurate passer in the first place and this "competition" was over before it ever started. Hill is far and away the better NFL QB of the two.

He seemed to be doing well enough at NFL speed when Norv Turner was the OC.

I like both Smith and Hill, and I think it's in the Niner's best interests for both players to grow, mature and develop further as quarterbacks.

It's good to hear your take on the situation MM. I think most people are middle of the road, in that what's most important is that whoever gives us the best chance of winning is the starting QB. But there have been people on both 'sides' who are attacking the QB on the other 'side' (I put side in quotes because ultimately it's the same team so shouldn't it be the same side?), and it has gotten pretty brutal. I find it ironic that they are such good friends personally, given the division that has occurred between pro-Smith and pro-Hill factions. At any rate, I am hopeful that once a starter is named, people get behind that person, so long as they are playing well enough for us to get wins. I am looking forward to the game tonight - and hope BOTH QBs in the competition play well!

Matt! This post is one of the reasons I always enjoy reading your blog. You have a great perspective on the state of the team.

I couldnt agree more with the above - at the end of the day I'm rooting for both of these guys. Alex because he got a raw deal his first time through, and he's saying and doing all of the right things to earn a second chance to prove he's better than people think.

Shaun because he made the team exciting towards the end of last season, and he's earned the right to be the guy.

It sounds like their pushing each other to get better and that can only be good news for the niners.

Hear hear!!

I am from Mexico and live on Houston now, and that being what it is, I had no clue who were the good journalists in the bay area. The first Niner Blog I found was Kawakami's or whatever his last name is. I won't go into details of my opinion, but he sucks big time.

I am so glad I found this blog, and the Other Matt's also.

Enough, I just hope that whoever of the two earns victory will also earn the Ws.

SB

Matt, As always, superb coverage of the Niners. I am in the Shaun Hill camp, but am not an Alex “Hater”. But I do have to take issue with one comment above; “He was a 22-year-old who showed remarkable progress in his second NFL season with an inferior supporting cast.” No argument that his supporting cast was subpar, but to say Smith showed “remarkable progress” in 2006 is a gross overstatement IMO. Smiths numbers were very below average for the season. He hit 58% (not bad) but averaged less than 200 yds passing a game, 16 TDs, 16 Ints, and a QB rating of 74.8. Now this may have been progress over his rookie year, but that progress was from truly horrible to not very good. A look at his stats game by game shows that he had a few pretty good games, but a lot more bad ones (http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/S/SmitAl03_games.htm). Take out two games, against the Raiders and the second Seattle game, and the numbers are pretty awful, 11TD passes, 15 Ints, and so on. Also his best game statistically was against the Eagles in Week 3 where the Niners found themselves down 31-3 early in the 3rd quarter and Alex was able to operate against a pretty soft defensive scheme. In addition, Smith got worse as the season went on, not better. What ever “success” (if you want to call a 7-9 season successful) the Niners had in 06 was mostly the result of the emergence of Frank Gore and a Defense that came together after some really awful performances early in the year. So it’s a big mystery to me where all this potential the “pro Alex” camp sees in him comes from. I must have missed something. Just my .02. Go Niners.

Matt, I'm probably way late on this but I caught you on Chronicle Live last night. Did anyone tell you they spelled your name wrong (Maiocca)? Smells like a G.Papa (the Raiders' biggest fan) conspiracy.

I've followed A.Smith since he was at Utah. When I was going to San Diego State, our 2004 homecomming was vs. Utah lead by A.Smith. He came in to Qualcomm and straight TORCHED the Aztecs w/ Kirk Morrison, who was a beast, leading defense. I later heard A.Smith was entering the draft and that the 49ers were considering drafting him. I was psyched b/c of what I saw him do in person. So I say all that to say I've been an A.Smith supporter since jump street. His 2006 campaign was pretty awsome, and smelled like the start of something great, all things considered.

The Martz era and "QB competition" was a huge cluster funk. That situation really muddied the waters. But, it was a blessing in disguise because eventually Shaun Hill emerged as a worthy competitor represented by his win/loss record and stats. I remember a very distinct difference in the way the offense ran w/ Hill, v. Smith. 3 and outs were fewer, 1st downs were actually a regular occurance, and t.o.p. was improved. E.g. S.Hill's drive in the last preseason game; at least 5 minutes. A small sample size yes, but you can't deny the results. And his sample size was spread out over various O-coordinators.

Bottom line, S.Hill is the better QB, based on his record, stats and quality of play. No QB is perfect, but Hill wins games (5-0 at home so far). Smith still needs to develop and get comfortable in the system. Remember, A.Smith has been injured for a large portion of his career. He hasn't had a chance to properly develop. On the other hand, Hill has shown he can win under any circumstances (whether it be coordinator, injury, or personnel).

But, like most, I want the best QB to win. I just think the best QB currently is Shaun Hill.

This need on the part of many sports fans to place blame or in some sad cases hate a side or individual is one of the worst symptoms of our polarized society.

Smith reminds me of the old girlfriend who kept having traffic accidents: by the time she calculated that she'd have the space to cross through a gap in traffic at an intersection, the gap was gone. Sounds a lot like how Smith reads defenses in the pocket.

So no matter how smart he is, no matter how much better his speed and arm strength, he is not our best quarterback and never will be, unless he learns to anticipate.

The Denver game was more of the same, with the screen pass to Coffee being especially telling. The pass rush was supposed to get through. Keep your cool and drop the ball over their heads and you've got a possible touchdown. Panic, and you've got, at best, an incompletion thrown at Coffee's feet.

I'll still root for Smith, but more to the point, I'm rooting for the team, and I believe Hill gives the team the best chance to win.

Matt, I've got to say I love you as a writer. However, you fall for one of the biggest fallacies in sportswriting time-and-time again -- "he just wins..."

In football, any mediocre qb who does not contribute (through his incompetency and error) to another team winning will win 70%, or more, of the time when the defense gives up 14 or fewer points. Look at Trent Dilfer for the Ravens as the epitome of a mediocre QB going the distance on the back of the defense.

Or look at 49er history. History I've lived through as a fan, unlike many of the vehement youngsters who post on this blog. The troika of incompetents represented by Guy Benjamin, Matt Cavanaugh and Jeff Kemp had an excellent winning percentage when they played for the 49ers. Walsh made sure those hacks minimized their mistakes and the outstanding defense won us those games.

Conversely, without a defense in 1980 and 1982, Joe Montana finished a rather pathetic 5-11 in those 16 starts. And Montana played well. His QB rating was approximately 88.0 during that time. But he couldn't overcome bad defense.

So, Montana couldn't win when his defense giving up 21+ points a game. And hacks like Cavanaugh, Kemp and Benjamin DID WIN when the defense was giving up 14ppg (or less).

There's a lesson in there if you actually care to learn it. These are not carefully gleaned exceptions. The Rams did it with all kinds of hack QBs through the 1970s. The Steelers did it with the mediocre Bradshaw who, literally, rode into the HOF on their backs.

So, Hill has two things going for him. One, so far, he doesn't made a lot of stupid mistakes. Second, he's been LUCKY that we've played a lot of bad teams we've, for the most part, defensively dominated.

Had these been good teams, with good quarterbacks, we'd have lost most of them and you wouldn't be singing the "Hill is 7-3" fallacy. We'd be singing the "get rid of the hack" blues.

So, for me, I'm hoping Smith gets the gig. I don't think he's better, today. But he's the only with any potential to be a good QB that can make a difference in the 14+ to 21- games where a QB can make the difference the W/L column.

I think if we stick with Hill, instead of taking a season full of lumps and try to salvage Smith, we're going to be right back into a losing record as his lack of athleticism and general mediocrity isn't going to get us past this year's schedule. A schedule which, so far, looks to be a heck of a lot tougher than the patsies Hill feasted on last year and the year before.

The bottom line is I'm a long-term "development" kind of guy and that starting Smith has the best long-term payoff. Others may disagree. Some may even have a rational basis beyond the 7-3 fallacy.

But it doesn't matter what I think. Or you think. Or any fan of any QB thinks. What matters is what Singletary thinks. And how well the QB he chooses performs on the much tougher schedule than the predominantly powder-puff Hill faced last year.

Personally, I have no problem with Smith. In retrospect, he was not ready to return under center when he had his shoulder separation - and that delayed his development as much as new OCs each year.

Hill appears to give the team the best chance of winning games THIS season.

Smith may YET turn out to be the long term solution at QB for this team.

I like them both for exactly what you mentioned in your article...they are both good guys and don't make it hard rooting for either one of them. Of course as fan my support is not behind the success of just one guy but the entire team. Either player being the starting QB sits well with me if the team performs well with them under center.

My gut feeling was that Smith would end up winning the job this year but I'm starting to be swayed in the other direction at this point. Tonight should go a long way towards cementing Hill as the starter or giving Smith another fair shot to surpass him on the depth chart. Either way I think we know the starter no later than after the third preseason game.

Beat those Raiders!!!!

matt - i also think that alex smith is a great person, but i just don't see any excuses on the way he played. shaun hill also had to go through sub-par players and different coaching changes. i'm really tired of people and writers making excuses for smith's downfall. no matter how you look at it, hill is just the better football player. everytime hill plays, you can tell there's something different going on. the dynamic of the game changes when hill is qb-ing. everything seem more smoother, the flow of the plays look more precise, the players more on the same page. with hill in there, there doesn't seem to be any hesitation on the qb. so yes, smith has been given all opportunities to win the job (due to scott m. drafting him first and paying him all that money??), but overall, we want to win, and shaun hill is just the guy that will win us the games.

I did not know there were ages on the profiles of the people who post here.

Anyway, while the 7-3 record might be misleading, therefore winning the "fallacy" motto, the fact is that we don't know that for a fact. Contrary to Dilfer, where we know for a fact that he did pretty bad when he had so so defenses, Hill has yet to fail. If he plays on a tough game and looses, and looses again and looses again, then your argument will be valid. Until then, it is only a theory, just like the 7-3 theory.

What I am trying to say is, I think you might be right, but it is still to be proven. On the other hand, MM just states a fact and a question, why so much hatred towards Hill if he is 7-3. Your answer: cause he only wins because of the defense. Your answer is an unproven theory, therefore I must side with MM and refute your comment of "you fall for one of the biggest fallacies in sportswriting time-and-time again - he just wins". At the moment, MMs comment is nothing but a fact.

take a chill pill on the rightousness attitude...
SB

Step out of the past. The gift and the curse of the "Team of the 80's" is that they set a phenomenal standard, for which I'm greatful I got to live to see. But clearly, it has also created this rigid and unreasonable expectation for many Niner fans.

Shaun Hill moves the chains, scores points and most importantly wins games. Those are all facts not fallacy. Challenging Hill's win/loss record based on the level of competition is as silly an argument as saying a 10th round draft pick deserves top 5 money, just because. Again, Shaun Hill's results are easy to comprehend without any excuses (e.g. lack of talent, different coordinators, etc). Also, Shaun Hill won 2 games w/ a broken finger.

So you can get with the program and recognize game, or you can continue to insult the intelligence of us "vehement youngsters" and wait for Joe and Jerry to come out of retirement.

Peace.

Matt- I agree. Glad to have both Hill and Smith playing better than ever. We'll need them both.

i've watched nearly every 49er game in the past 4 years and i have NEVER seen Smith play a game I'd call "well above average", so why do people think there is any potential, where is all this talk coming from? Hill on the other hand has consistently managed long drives and made amazing passes and quick decisions with fairly low number of INTs....I am convinced Sing called this a "competion" as a sherade to keep the smith lovers at bay and knew it would be a no brainer....I wouldn't be surprised if Hill is a top-10 quarterback this year....or better...

QB is probably 75% mental, 25% physical. if you compare Montana, Young, Garcia, in the mix with Smith and Hill.
this is what I believe is the ranking in terms of mental (understanding the game, reading defense,getting rid of ball, controlling the game).
1. Montana
2. Young, tie with Hill
4. Garcia
5. Smith

and Physical:
1. Smith
2. Garcia
3. Young, tie with Montana
5. Hill

We will have a good season under Hill. Smith, if he is going to be a GREAT QB, will have to improve his mental aspect of his game.

QB is probably 75% mental, 25% physical.

Mental:
1. Montana
2. Young, Hill
3. Garcia
4. Smith

Physical:
1. Smith
2. Garcia
3. Montana
4. Young, Hill

Bring on the Superbowl Hill-baby!!!

WHy would you would rate Alex Smith better physically than Steve Young. Outside of Michael Vick, Steve Young is probably the fastest and shiftiest running quarterback in history. And not a bad arm either, eh?

The problem with Smith is all the money the team has paid him and what they've gotten on that investment. Yea, if he was signed at the same salary as Hill, then no problem waiting to see if he ever cuts it. I think I've seen every game he's played and have been impressed maybe only once or twice.

The last person to hitch his star to the Alex Smith bandwagon was Coach Nolan, and you see where that got him.

The point is not if these are two really nice guys, In fact I'm certain they are. The bottom line is that we need a WINNER at the position - simply defined as someone that can win games for us (or at least not lose them). Smith has yet to show that he can be that guy and it's been years and millions upon millions of dollars later.

If you compare it to buying a stock, the team is upside down and keeps waiting for this stock to rise ... and waiting ... and waiting. At some point you have to just cut your losses and move on.

One thing is for certain, if Smith doesn't cut it this season, he can't blame the system, his health, the coach or anyone else. I wish him well and would love it if he finally got it together, but so far he's shown me nothing that even comes close to deserving the money the team has wasted on him or the starting role he covets.

I'm just glad beyond euphoria the 49ers are not like the JOKERS in Minnesota! Picking up an old washed up, egomaniac like Farve! I watched the pre season game last night between the Vikings and the Chiefs and laughed my a$# off watching this old washed up interception machine consistently embarrass himself for a couple of series! They carried the Vikings announcers and every word when Farve was playing was how great he is and he's just what the Vikings have always needed even though he completed just one pass!
I know the guy was just picked up! But the Vikings made the decision (I'm sure Farve was in on it) to start the old fart! And he really looked like somebody the Vikings picked out of the stands to play QB!
Let's thank God we don't have a front office that disgraced itself like the Vikings did! We've got 3 QB's (counting Huard) that have their feet planted firmly on the ground and are as humble as they come! I like Hill, Smith and Huard! They'll be a help to each other on the sidelines, unlike Farve, from the reports that came from Jets players last year! Mr. Interception's ego brought him back so he could play his old team in the same division to show them, I don't know what! And the Vikings were gullible enough to play along with this carnival act!
I'm really happy the 49ers never would consider putting a carnival act on the field just for the sake of a couple of the old farts fans, who are getting less and less with each comeback!
Thanks Shaun, Alex and Damon!! It's a pleasure to see you give us your ALL!!

In my top five of all time. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0203119/