Singletary: No timetable for decision
Nothing much was settled Saturday night in the 49ers' quarterback competition during their 21-20 exhibition-game victory over the Raiders at
Coach Mike Singletary said he would get together with his coaches while watching the film and discuss the next move. It's difficult to read Singletary to determine whether he - or anybody on the staff - is getting itchy about settling the quarterback situation for the regular season.
Singletary said there is no timetable, and he did not rule out the possibility a decision might be made sooner than later.
"I'm ready for anything at this point," Alex Smith said. "I wouldn't be surprised either way."
Smith completed 3 of 9 passes for 30 yards and an interception. He did have two catchable passes go through the hands of Vernon Davis and Josh Morgan. The pass to Morgan was intercepted. Morgan took the blame for that one, saying he tried unnecessarily to snatch the ball out of the air.
Smith said he would have to watch the film to properly evaluate his performance.
"I think the numbers would not say much. It was better. I felt much better this week," Smith said. "It's just one of those things. I think the numbers can be deceiving. I'll look at the film. I had a couple of throw-aways and stuff. I'll take a look at the pick and see what I could have done differently."
--Smith's most notable plays had nothing to do with the skills generally associated with playing QB at the NFL level. He threw a crushing block on 265-pound defensive end Greg Ellis, and he tossed linebacker Ricky Brown to the turf at the end of a long interception return.
"That's not a good thing to see a quarterback doing that (tackling)," Smith said.
Said 49ers coach Mike Singletary, "It showed he's not afraid. I'm glad he stepped up. But, at the same time, I'm not going to be glad that he stepped up and hit the guy. Something like that, you just have to be careful."
--Shaun Hill did not do much to stand out, either. He completed 3 of 7 attempts for 20 yards.
"I would have liked to have been a little sharper," Hill said.
--Glen Coffee leads the NFL in rushing in the exhibition season with 196 yards on 30 carries through two games. He rushed for 129 of the 49ers' 275 yards on the ground.
"I think it was important for us to establish an aggressive approach to this game, to really establish the run," 49ers center Eric Heitmann said. "I think we accomplished that. I think it's something we can build on going into the future with the running game."
"I've known Coffee for a while," 49ers linebacker Takeo Spikes said. "I told him when he first got here that I didn't like him, and he said, 'Why?' I said, 'Because you used to run all over
--Rookie quarterback Nate Davis played OK. He completed 6 of 11 passes for 67 yards, including a 1-yard touchdown pass to Delanie Walker. "I saw a young kind trying to figure out how to play the game and trying to adjust to the speed of the game," Singletary said. "But he's a kid that has some talent and he can make plays."
--The 49ers' veteran secondary thoroughly dominated Raiders' young receivers on the practice field of
Not only didn't Clements get any interceptions in the game, but he also surrendered a 24-yard touchdown pass to Murphy.
"The defense we called, I've got to get back on that one. But they made a good play," Clements said. "Well, I'm disappointed in the way that I played, personally."
-- The 49ers appeared to get through the game without any significant injuries. Starting right tackle Adam Snyder left the game late in the first half with right ankle and knee sprains, the club said. Snyder appeared to be walking without any problems after the game, but Singletary said he would undergo an MRI examination. Veteran Marvel Smith replaced Snyder and played the last several plays of the first half and all of the third quarter.
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I'll take this oppurtunity to say my part before those mentally defective simpletons TOP_CAT and Ender and whoever else spew out their typical garbage. Regarding the play of the quarterbacks, numbers can be misleading. Anyone with half a clue about the game of football can tell you that, but some people only care about the stat sheet and not what's happening on the field. Smith looked good out there. The throw to Morgan was a little high, but that should not have been an INT. He didn't do anything special, but neither did Hill, and certainly not Davis.
I think people need a reality check and to stop criticizing players so easily. This goes for all our QB's. Nolan almost ruining Smith's career, then the injuries. He's still young, and finally has good coaches and talent around him. At some point he will be a successful starting quarterback. I believe Hill might too, although nobody can claim his upside is as great as Smith's. Although Hill hasn't even had a chance to play a full season yet, so you can't really knock him either. Wait a couple years until Davis actually gets some real playing time before you guys anoint him the savior of San Francisco football. Seriously, some of the ridiculously uneducated comments I read on here slmost make me embarassed to be a 49ers fan.
I know the slow-minded morons will shortly be putting down their Xbox controllers, running to the computers in their mom's basement, logging onto this site and being like "OMG Smith sucks, he wuz only 3 for 9, what a piece of trash letz cut him and start Davis and maybe sign Troy Aikman as our backupp!!!1!!!!11!!one!!" I don't really care though. Keep living in your dream worlds where you guys think you have even the slightest clue.
Also, I was very impressed with the offensive line and the running game tonight. The pass protection still leaves a little to be desired, but it sure is nice to see our guys rack up all those rushing yards. Sure, it was preseason and yes, it was the lowly Raiders. But I'll take it. Very encouraging performance tonight, and I cannot wait for week one :)
thank god reason now prevails. this is a running team. the qb runs the team, protects the ball, hits the deep seam, and avoids the sack. we don't need montana, we need these two guys operating in their comfort zone. the rest will come.
i see better coaching than in years past. More middle level skills being elevated and more cohesion. Too Sweet's got it right. there is reason to be impressed, even if it is the duh raiders.
All the running backs but Coffee and Sheets in particular were great tonight. I hope they use sheets on a regular basis through out season. With the bruising style of gore and coffee I think sheets will complement them well with his speed and outside running ability.
I thought Davis played well also. I think he could be the answer in a few years. He has a great arm and he made some good throws tonight. His speed is also a great asset. I think it will be interesting to see his progress over the next couple seasons.
Goldson is fun to watch I am looking forward to more big hits from him this year its been a while since we have had a guy who can lay the hurt like that from the safety spot.
I love when the niners play the raiders because the only thing that brings me as much joy as the niners winning is the raiders being bad.
I've got to say, after this game, I feel like I can breath easier when thinking about depth. The Niners are just doing just fine with that.
Thank you, and I completely agree. That was another point I didn't bring up. We are a running team, and for whatever reason it seems like everyone is concerned with the QB battle. It doesn't matter if it's Smith or Hill, we'll be fine with either. Personally I just think Smith has the higher upside and will have a long, successful career. He's still the answer, and he's still our franchise quarterback. That's just my personal opinion.
Regarding hack's comment, he is 100% correct. We finally have good coaches and productive system in place with some quality players. Get in a comfort zone and execute, and the rest will fall into place. Just give it time. I really like where this team is headed. Maybe when TOP_CAT, Ender, and Nate Davis are finished with their threesome, they (the two former, not Davis lol) will start watching the games and getting a clue. I'm not holding my breath though.
Is it just me, or would anyone else out there like to see us attempt an actual *bomb* to a receiver. You know, just a 40-50 yard toss to keep the defense honest? I know it is not our style, but once in a while, huck that ball deep.
Yes, we are a running team. But if we don't have some threat with the pass, what is to keep the opponent from stacking the line? To win offensively is to keep the other team off balance, and guessing. You can still play smash mouth football, but you **have** to be able to throw the ball to go anywhere in this league.
Color me still unimpressed with the passing game. But yeah, we have the seeds of a strong running game.
i made the terrible mistake of tivo'ing the raider coverage of the game (instead of the 9er coverage), and found the only thing I liked about Raider TV is putting up with Greg P. No wonder they get blacked out half the time...their TV coverage sucks almost as much as the Raiders suck!
Anyway...nice to see our boys Gore, Coffee, and Robinson (and don't forget Sheets) run free up and down the field. But at the same time...why are we running the ball!?! We have our running backs figured out, so why didn't they test the Raiders secondary and put an end to this QB controversy. Here's how I saw it break down
Alex Smith: 18 Plays - 9 Pass/9 Rush - 3 of 9
Shaun Hill: 19 Plays - 7 Pass/12 Rush - 3 of 7
That means we had a chance to see our top two QBs pass the ball, and they only threw the ball 43% of the time! Now we go back to square one with the QB controversy...not to mention we still have question marks about who makes the team at the receiver position. What were the Niners thinking???? Throw the ball!!!! Lets see who has the balls to run this team!
Looks to me like the plan is to establish and control the running game in Preseason. Work the OL and RBs then move on from there.
I'm more concerned for staying healthy and getting into rhythm right now which seems to be just fine thus far.
Manusky likely will utilize some zone schemes for QB pressure and probably isn't going to show too much for anyone to see before we face AZ.
For now, I'm figuring Hill starts the season and our focus will go to ball control and shorter routes to improve OL timing and QB tempo.
And,IMO, Crabtree isn't even a factor now.I can see him watching a lot of football from this point on too.
Whether he signs before the season starts or not, he's missed too much work and will take a good chunk of the season to get caught up. We might as well talk 6 years at higher MAX Dollars and see what Parker and Co can do to get him into the facility. Thanks but, No Thanks, for missing this much time. I'm Starting to buy the Diva label a little more everyday too.
Enjoy the view Michael, when you're ready to contribute, lace 'em up and get to work.
BTW Matt, have you noticed the Broncos' Beat Writer Dave Krieger, on NFL Network?
Sporting the beard and Tommy Bahama?
He likes your style apparently, let him know he's a little late to your Beat Writer on TV party!
He's under the Brandon Marshall video clip in case you missed him -
http://www.nfl.com/nflnetwork/showscontent?page=/nflnetwork/programs/totalaccess&subjectType=totalaccess
I couldn't agree more. However, I think that if we establish a good running game, that will open up the passing game. There is nothing wrong with a run first, pass second approach. Just because we may pride ourselves on our running attack doesn't mean we'll have a lame passing attack. The two go hand in hand. If we focus on the running game, the rest will fall into place. I think either Hill or Smith will be sufficient in our offense. They are both good enough to get the job done. They might look a little rusty at times, but it's still the preseason. A little patience goes a long way.
Another thing I'd like to add: At this point, I don't give a crap about Crabtree. If the kid had a lick of sense, he would have signed a while ago. Instead, he is essentially wasting a year over a few million dollars? How about you just take the money and consider yourself lucky. If you think you're worth more, prove it on the field and make bank in 2014 when your contract is up. He is wasting a great oppurtunity. Had he signed a contract and been in camp, he wouldn't be so far behind. With the injury to Jones, theres a good chance he could have seen significant playing time as early as week one. Obviously, any hopes of that are completely out the window. Good riddance. Maybe once you wise up you'll have a chance of getting some playing time in 2010.
The Raiders looked truly awful. I don't know how much the Niners can take from the game given the opposition.
I agree with those folks that think Smith looked better this game than the last. If I were Singletary, I'd keep the competition going through the next game.
I'm amazed that nobody has spoken about how hard Robinson ran the ball. He was the truth. He ran through the Raiders, broke tackle after tackle out there. He looked like the starting fullback and the backup tailback at the same time( No offense to Coffee!) I don't know about Norris as the starting fullback. I just don't see it, obviously because he hasn't been around. We really do have a good stable of fullbacks behind him. Even the guy # 43 we just brought in was laying some nice blocks.
Alex has to calm down and get his composure. He is just too high on his throws, ( although those 2 were catchable) he's gonna get someone killed out there over the middle.
We didn't try and sign Warner for kicks, everyone knows our brass has no confidence in our QB's. Even more reason to continue to solidify that running game!!!