Quarterback Shaun Hill was clearly disappointed Monday when he met with the media just hours after coach Mike Singletary informed him of the decision to start Alex Smith against the Indianapolis Colts on Monday.
But Hill stood there and answered every question. Here is part of his interview with reporters that cover the team.
* * *
Hill said he could not put a finger on why things did not turn out as he had hoped. But he was not second-guessing himself for how he approached the job. He said the 49ers' struggles were not due to any lack of preparation.
Although they've found themselves competing against each other, Smith and Hill remain good friends. Said Hill, "This is a tough business and you're very fortunate to find good friends in this league. So the business part of this won't change our friendship."
(Too bad some of the fans of both players aren't as mature as Hill and Smith.)
Hill said Smith took no shortcuts to getting back into the starting lineup. "He's a better player now than when I got here four years ago."
Hill said the person most responsible for making Smith a better player is Smith himself with the work he's invested.
Both Hill and Smith have always shown a lot of class and maturity when it comes to commenting on or accepting their status. That's commendable. However, this isn't about being Mr Manners it's about having what it takes to direct your team to some wins on the field and a WINNING SEASON!
I Just hope the coaches are getting Nate Davis ready. If Smith should falter again, our season will be down the tubes and we definitely need to see if Davis can be the man or if we will have to look in the draft for another QB. The only way Davis can show us is to give him some regular season starts.
Going back to Hill would be nonproductive is Smith fails. So no more Davis isn't ready excuses. Start working with him so that he can be IF Smith doesn't cut it.
Make to self: STOP READING THE COMMENT SECTION!
"Too bad some of the fans of both players aren't as mature as Hill and Smith."
Ain't that the truth. I'll admit I got sucked into the maddness of the QB competition, I was most definately pulling for S.Hill to be successful. But, I was not anti-A.Smith, like others were anti-S.Hill. I root for the jersey first, then the name on the back.
...no doubt Shaun Hill is a good guy...or else he won't be in the league till now...
I have watched him play since he was in college....
But he his not good for the 49ers - its that simple.
the 49ers deserve better.....than a QB who can't find a job on any other team in the league
He should be gone at the end of the year.....and i bet he retires ...i don't even think the ufl will sign him...
...Sure you weren't obvious in your anti-A.Smith comment....but you were dead wrong when you said...
"On the other hand, Hill has shown he can win under any circumstances"......
even with talent on the team - YOU WERE DEAD WRONG
Lol, I just went back and read those comments. But I made that comment before this season started. Everything is 20/20 in hindsight.
This still makes me laugh out loud. Boy did Alex have a rough go his rookie year including this odd rumor of having small hands:
NFL Combine Nummbers:
Alex Smith - Right Hand: 9 3/8 inches
Michael Crabtree - Right hand: 9 1/4 inches
That's right - Smith has bigger hands than Crabtree
Stampede said it perfectly: "I root for the jersey first, then the name on the back."
Others are always ready to throw the team and its players under the bus, in exchange for the appearance of being insightful.
Smith was a number 1 draft pick, so obviously he is much closer to being a prototype than Hill. But so what? Hill won games for the 49ers (see the AZ game). He was 10-6 as a starter over the past 3 years.
I admit, his play has been unacceptable of late, and that, with Crabtree, our offense is better suited for the spread. But both of these conclusions are the result of a hugely disappointing O-Line. If we were able to run the ball (like the end of last year), Hill would have played much better.
I'm behind Alex because I want the 49ers to win, and the team needs a change. But I don't think Shaun Hill has been the reason we've been losing. He's a leader and he doesn't turnover the ball. If Alex can provide those same ultra-important characteristics, then great!
Earlier in the year, I said the season would have to be in jeopardy for Alex to become the starter. And now here we are. Oneniner's stoked his man crush is back in, but all of a sudden we're 3-3, and we're starting from scratch on offense.
If Alex can't lead us into the playoffs, and that becomes apparent quickly, we must give Nate a shot to earn the job for next year.
Either way, lets play the spread offense from here out. If we had the O-Line, we could've been like Cincy's offense, using the run to set up the pass. But we just ain't got the line. Lets run the spread and get Frank the ball on quick outlets.
I'm just waiting for them to increase Alex Smiths rating on Madden. I played with him for the first few weeks until they increased Hill's stats. I was hoping he would win job, but then I had to give support to our starter. They better be fair in his new rating!
SORRY IF THIS IS A REPEAT! BUT THERE IS A PROBLEM!
oneniner: I thank you and all for the prayers and thoughts!
Now back to 49er ball! I give you kudos for having the insight of believing Smith has progressed in his QB skills. At least that's the way it looked for 1/2 Sunday.
I have backed Hill's selection as the #1 QB! I may have been wrong but only time will tell as it did about Hill. Hill went from starter to a punching bag for the oppositions defense because of the complete lack of an OL. And worse yet, complete ineptitude on the part of the whole offensive coaching staff, including MS!
My hope is that Smith gets some kind of protection. But I admit he was getting rid of the ball a lot quicker than Hill ever did. And by the looks of things this may save his life! Hill looks like a 50 year old guy after just 6 weeks.
My biggest concern is the play calling of this offensive (I mean that both ways) coaching staff! I hope they will allow the good that Smith can bring to the QB position to be used and not abused. Going by what we've seen in the first 6 games there is little if any logic or willingness to change in the minds of this coaching staff! EVERYBODY including the teams we face KNOW the OL sucks big time! And they must sit watching films licking their chops seeing the refusal of the 49ers coaches to understand they have a problem there, and love their unwillingness to change despite of the problem.
At the 49er press conference Monday MS looked like a guy who just doesn't get why his type of football won't work on the offensive side of the ball. It was like pulling teeth, by his answers about Chilo and the rest of the OL, to admit that his philosophy of moving the ball isn't working! He just doesn't get it!!
My hope now is that Smith can force a change to this outdated, failed attempt at moving the ball. Hill certainly couldn't and to some extent allowed it to continue because of his short comings, and allowed MS to stick to his philosophy by using Hill!
I HOPE Smith will enlighten this coaching staff! That he can show them on the field what this offense can do despite its obvious weaknesses on the OL! That he will show them that they can add big time to the playbook because of his skills!
And most of all! That Alex won't look 50 years old after 6 weeks of starting!!
TOP_CAT?? Anyone seen TOP_CAT??? He must be cuddling with Shaun Hill.
I like Hill's guts. I like Smith's arm--when it's healthy. I also think there is an even chance (and it might be 60/40) that neither of these guys will be behind center for the 9ers two years from now. Or quite possibly even one year from now.
No, i am not anointing Nate Davis as the next king. He is unproven. But Hill and Smith now BOTH have a history--and neither one reads like a textbook path to the Super Bowl. Or even the play-offs. After a certain point, the team has to cut its losses--literally. I hope Smith succeeds. I really do like his arm. But realistically, if he does not play like a winner during the the rest of this season, it will be time for the team to move on.
I felt terribly for Hill when I saw he was benched in the second half. He looked crushed. Listening to this podcast, it is apparent that he is heartbroken.
Sometimes, we lose sight of the fact that your idols are human. While we ridicule and criticize them, we are tearing down a person who is just as fragile as you or me. It is the one thing that I hate about fandom.
Anyway, although I do not know if this kind of thing is ever done, Matt, if the opportunity presents itself, perhaps you could remind Shaun that his fans--49ers fans--appreciate him, as both a player and a person. I, for one, bought my Hill jersey will continue to wear it on game days because of the person Shaun is, not for the plays he makes on Sundays.
I apologize for how sappy this is, but I just hate to hear a guy so down.
I second that! I too appreciate what Hill did for the team while he overachieved.
Hey Oneniner...c'mon bud...look up the word "magnanimous" in the dictionary and act as such. You were right about Alex, there really is no need to gloat.
Cosidering how badly you wanted the Niners to win last week, I would have thought you would be a little bit sombre. Don't forget we lost after all. The way you are carrying on, one would think you care more for Alex Smith doing good than about the Niners winning. I am sure that is not the case... right?
let me ask you a question. How can the 49er D stop Manning. And please dont say by starting Alex Smith as a pass rusher. I am sure you know a lot about football, share some of the knowledge with us by talking about something else besides Alex Smith.
Go Niners.
And I agree with you Paraag. Now that A.Smith has the weapons, I hope the coaches can put them in the right positions to deliver.
ScottW; props to you brotha, very eloquently put. Couldn't have said it any better. A ton of classy 49er fans out there, unfortunately we don't always get to see their thoughts in forums like this.
Peter King of SI Talks Smith/Crabtree:
"I like Shaun Hill as a leader and a player, but I'd have done the same thing Mike Singletary did Monday -- name Alex Smith the quarterback of his team for the foreseeable future. Simple reason: He gave the team a spark it hadn't shown in six quarters, and with the NFC West being taken over in the past couple of weeks by Arizona, time is running out to establish a toehold in the division.
The other reason: Smith hung around the 49ers' facility during the bye week and threw to Michael Crabtree. When they got together in the second half of Sunday's loss at Houston, they looked like they were very much on the same page. Crabtree, who played a surprisingly high 48 snaps in the game, will be force-fed the offense because Singletary thinks he's ready to be force-fed. He might be a bigger factor in this offense down the stretch than any of us predicted.
***
Mail time...
• NINER NATION WANTS MORE CRABTREE. From Armine Khansari of Houston: "Michael Crabtree: five catches for 56 yards, and a 20-plus-yarder brought back due to a penalty. He was on the field for almost every offensive snap and looks to be in great shape. I say he's legit Peter. What were your impressions?''
He's a little faster than I thought -- or at least played faster at Houston. And he'll be on the rug at Indy on Sunday, so that should help too. The couple of isolated replays I saw showed a receiver comfortable with the cuts and playing confidently; he wasn't intimidated by anything the Texans threw at him from what I saw. A good start."
already talking about Nate Davis??? LOL!
What does Alex have to do? Throw 4 TD's a game? or will that still not be good enough if he happens to make a mistake or two? Because he will make some mistakes, hence he hasn't played in two years and faces a daunting task this Sunday.
Why is everyone so convinced this is our future QB, and ready to throw in the towel to see what he has? He will get his shot, but let's see him in a live game first, ok? Preseason doesn't mean jack.
I can see it now. Niners get down big and the Colts tee off on Alex Smith, and the bust label will be out again by Sunday at 1pm.
get Davis ready thats just silly his only NFL experience was playing against 3rd stringers at 22yrs old he made a few passes in garbage time loads of mistakes he is far from ready for the NFL and wasn't even on the active roster for Houston .
smith is only 25 has 4yrs in the league looked composed in a come from behind situation where scoring was needed time will tell if smith can carry that momentum into next week, but calling for Davis is just like saying the season is dead and there is no hope of any success this year after 6 games.
for those who have already put next week in the lost column.
first the colts are ripe for a let down.
the D is not as good as some would like to make them out to be.
they have not won against any team with a winning record at the time the game was played and could have easaly lost a couple of the games squeeking out a win aginst the jags, and miami.
will the niners win probably not do they have a chance yes,hey even the Raiders won against philly who predicted that one its why they play the games
if the O can score and keep Peyton off the field they can rest the D so it will be affective there is a slim chance
It's interesting how many posts on here say "I called it" or "I still don't believe" - all that matters is what MM says since he has the inside information. I'd love to see Alex do well but it is really up to the protection he gets.
A truly unbiased opinion is what Martz said on NFL Network...to paraphrase, he said Smith's performance was short of outstanding. He also said that Smith gives them the best chance to get the ball down the field to the receivers. In addition, Martz mentioned that Smith was hurt last year, as well as the year before, and the time away and sitting has served him well. Martz also said it was the right move.
I think you gave to give Smith more than two games. Matt, I heard you with Ralph and Tom yesterday, there is no way we can go back to Hill and the 3 and outs. Even if Smith stinks part of the game, he is more of a threat to move the ball. The team cannot go back to Hill unless there is an injury.
Hey rick....trust me i am not gloating....It could be worse....
I think we have a chance to beat the colts....couple of things that are "not factual" reasons why i think we can win...
again this are not facts just wht i think....
...the colts have not lost a game, its getting close to them losing...
...There wide recievers except (WAYNE, REGGIE and the TE) are not all that when it comes playing possesion ball, those two players do well catching long passes...payton makes them better - a good defense will shut them down....i believe our defense has done an OK job so far with long passes
- I should point out their Wr's have SPEED (something Clements has problems with)
....Our defense will shut down their average running game....
...Patrick willis will have a huge game - if they resolve this communication issue
....Pass Rush against Payton manning - either thru blitzing will exist.....he only has been sacked twice all season, i believe our D-line will be up for the challenge
....i just don't see Coach Sing losing two games on the road - he will pump up the team by doing something ridiculous - like droping his pants...
...on the colts pass rush (which is top notch)Freeney = 7, Mathis = 4.5...from what i saw from A.Smith - seems like he was relying on his footwork alot.....i was impressed with how he consitently stepped up in the pocket....this is something that can help against those speeding edge rushers like the colts...
....now those are just my "wishing will happen" thoughts....
I just think it is about time they lose a game....
My fear - THE COVER TWO DEFENSE (if they are still playing it).....A.Smith and those interceptions.....
My hope - The Niner coaching staff - really, really, really prepares the team
My wish - Payton Manning gets hurt....
Relying on Peter King's football opinions?????
Jeesh. The guy is a total tool.
Smith worked out with Crabtree over the break because he was the only QB that lives in the Bay Area. The other QB's already had travel plans to spend time with their families.
from the "change" that I sense from the Coaches, I predict that the Niners will win in Indianapolis. 35-24.
why? I think the same reasoning that is each and every single week. they have to play the game. Indy would be in trouble if they think they can win the game without actually playing it.
Go Niners!
Vegas must love you.
"Too bad some of the fans of both players aren't as mature as Hill and Smith"
After Miaocco's continual Crabtree bashing???
Pot, meet kettle.
Don't mean to get ahead of myself, but wouldn't it be fun to see an Alex Smith / Aaron Rogers matchup in Week 11?
ever heard of "the contrarian view". be hopeful when others are crying, be crying when others are hopeful. football 101.
good strategy, right, ShaneO, on investing?
Peter King is a fraud....
Just a note
Please, save your sympathy. It shouldn't be for athletes that are able to make an extremely good living playing a game that most of them love when they're only just demoted or forced to retire due to diminishing skills. Give that sympathy to those who get injured and it affects their long term health. Let's all root for the good guy athletes but save the tears for a real tragedy.
These guys are lucky enough to experience a little slice of life that most of us never will. How many people actually end up making several million over a 5-10 year period getting to do something they enjoy doing?
How can the 49er D stop Manning.
IMHO
Easy said than done, of course. But SF needs some 7+ minutes drives. Maybe Crabtree can become the 3rd downs go-to-guy like Bruce of last season. Also some designed bootlegs for Alex Smith to give the Colts more things to think about wouldn't hurt. They need some new plays that are never seen on film and also needs to gamble a bit at the right sitch. Bottom line: Less touch for Manning the better. Just hoping.
Forgot about that Rogers v Smith Match up in a few weeks. Nice!!
Tony Pashos to IR. Chilo really REALLY needs to step it up NOW.
i agree
Excellent points all.
Garcon and Collie are young and inexperienced, make them beat us instead of Wayne and Clark. Double Wayne by rotating a safety (Roman?) and have Willis shadow Clark on every play. This will leave Spencer / Goldshon one on one on Garcon and Collie. We will just have to keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best.
Addai is not doing that well, but the Colts have an up and coming RB in Donald Brown. However, once again we have to key on Manning and the passing game. If it means we get gashed by Addai / Brown so be it. So we probably can't have all out blitzes leaving their receivers one on one. We have to have pressure from Lawson / Harrelson / Mcdonald etc. They MUST step up.
As to your wish about Manning getting hurt, probably will not happen. NFL is so protective of QBs that a pass rusher will probably get a 15 yard penalty even if he merely passes gas in the vicinity of the QB. It must suck to be a pass rusher in the NFL these days. You work your tail off to get through the blockers and then you have to worry about getting a penalty if you so much as lay a pinkie on the QB in the wrong place.
GilroyAl
I work in highly competative of marketing. I got into this career because I love competition. I used to be like you where I didn't feel bad for athletes or co workers who were once one of the best. I have been the best. But you got to have sympathy. People will have slumps. People will fall from grace. Its the people who are around them that have sympathy that help get them back to be tops in their careers. It never hurts to have sympathy. Even the Raiders need sympathy. I hate the Raiders because I have some 2002 bandwagon friends that jumped off 49er bandwagon to the Raiders. I cant wait for the Raiders to have a team were can talk trash without being able to guess the out come of the game. Everyone needs sympathy.
I think I have enough sympathy to go around.
To me, there is no difference between the players that suffers long-term injuries and those that are demoted or forced to retire. In the end, they all put their body--their health--on the line. While it is unfortunate for those players who do suffer dearly for their time in the NFL, it does not mean they should garner any more support than those who come out relatively unscathed, as they all enter the game accepting the risk of injury. That is, we should support and respect them all equally.
To discuss an athlete's monetary compensation is to divert the discussion. My comment was in response to Matt's statement regarding the immaturity of some 49ers fans. Frankly, the amount of money an athlete makes is irrelevant, as they cannot be faulted for taking money that is offered to them. Yes, they are paid very, very well and are extremely lucky, like all major stars, but that does not mean they do deserve our sympathies, especially when it is apparent that they play the game because they love it.
Off Topic:
Those who have not yet checked it out..you have got to get the NFL redzone channel. For football junkies like us it is the best thing since sliced bread.
For one thing there are (I am not kidding)...NO COMMERCIALS, none. Zip zero nada. You get to see every meaningful play live, if more than one team in in the red zone at the same time, they switch to a split screen setup.
And don't get fooled by the name "Red Zone" channel into thinking that they will only show you plays from inside the twenties. They have a very liberal interperttion of the term. More often than not, as soon as a team crosses the 40 they start showing the plays.
Also: the local black-out rules don't apply to the redzone channel. So, Raider fans in the Bay Area (all five of them) could have tuned in on Sunday and watched the Jets spank their team live. For a while on Sunday, as fast as the Jets were scoring, it seemed the raider game was on live.
Thank you NFL honchos for the red zone channel. First time you have done something for the fans in years.
Totally agree as well Stampede about the lack of maturity with some 49er fans. As you recall back in TC you & I had talked about the QB competition & that although I was rooting for Alex I had stated several times " may the best man win". Well Hill won the competition to start the season but now Alex has won the starting job & hopefully finish. ALL 49ers fans should be rooting for the team regardless of who's playing QB. If you're not rooting for the starting QB then you have your priorities screwed up & basically you're a knuckle-head!
What's your point RealFan49? Who cares WHY Alex worked out with Crabtree the fact is that he did and that is the point Peter King is making. Also - Who threw passes to Crabtree in May and June once his foot healed before training camp? That's right: Alex Smith.
roman?...i know, i know....hopefully lewis is back in the line up....
Donald Brown is legit - he his averaging 4yrds per carry - but i don't think he his peterson or jackson...
"have Willis shadow Clark on every play" - actually maybe lawson should do this, its not like he his doing much every down rushing the passer
i have faith in our defense, if we can score points...
My version of a take from the movie "Ferris Bueller's Day Off"
Economic's Teacher (Ben Stein): "TOP_CAT?....TOP_CAT?
TOP_CAT?.....Has anybody seen TOP_CAT?"
speaking about TOP_CAT lol.... "I am glad I can't see his posts anymore !!! Must be a glitch in my internet filter,sad you all don't have the benifit of my filter."...:)
From NinerMD - The niners are keeping two draft picks for next year. You know one of those will be a QB. Guess who the odd man out is going to be?....:)
from top_CAT - As much as we all had high hopes for Smith at one time,that time is loooooong gone . Sad story and sadly a bad mistake in the draft. Time to move on.....
"The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge"
First of all, any team can win on any given Sunday. That's why they play the games. If we could just look at the match ups and say, "Hey, the 49ers can't beat Indy", then we wouldn't even risk our player's health. We'd just give Indy a "W".
This will be a difficult game, but Indy's streak is really what's best in our favor at the moment. Being undefeated really builds pressure and they are due for an implosive game. The key to Sunday will be attacking Peyton. This is no easy task, but it what must be done.
Guys! Unless Smith CHANGES this kind of offense the team has been stuck to with his skills of quick release and movement, which was something I haven't seen from him until Sunday, the outcome looks gloomy!
This offense is offensive except to the opponent! We've got a great runner that has disappeared due to the Mooch play calling. When the team runs a sweep, I almost fall off my chair or seat! I think the play book has PREDICTABLE written on the front!
But like what oneniner writes. I think the Colts could be ready for a bump in the road like all undefeated teams have at times in the schedule.
This team needs to take pressure off the D with an offense that creates sparks at least sometimes!
And what's with the off limits on the QB coach, still in place!? C'mon!
Ninermd is a loser
Hey Oneniner...c'mon bud...look up the word "magnanimous" in the dictionary and act as such. You were right about Alex, there really is no need to gloat
Why the heck shouldn't he?
He was right and the Pavlovian Smith-haters/reflexively-ignorant Hill supporters were wrong. And during this whole time that crowd has spent a very long time deliberately trashing him, ignoring his salient points and arguments while calling him names like it was junior High School and he was the class nerd.
I saw it. Don't pretend it didn't happen. And damn, don't ask for mercy. You didn't give it to him since he first defended Alex Smith. He doesn't owe it to anyone, not after the way he was treated on this message board.
My point is that you're delusional if you think Peter King knows the first thing about football.
You guys should have listened to Indiana Jim. Everything he has said about Alex Smith has proven to be true so far. When I used to go off on guys like TOP_CAT about their lack of football knowledge, guys like Indiana Jim were always there to back me up with USEFUL facts, not misleading statistics.
I've been a Smith supporter since day one and always a huge fan, but I'd like to point out that I never talked bad or insulted Shaun Hill. I like the guy. There are plenty of other Smith supporters who didn't diss Hill even though a lot of us felt he shouldn't have been starting. I just think it's unfair to say that ALL of the Smith supporters on this blog haven't also supported Hill.
Your are right, perhaps Lwawson would be better suited to shadow Clark. He does have enough speed. This means Willis could still blitz from time to time, and fill the holes on running plays.
It almost becomes a kind of zone blitz setup. Lawson lines up on the egde as if he will be rushing, but drops back into coverage and Willis stunts outside and rushes the passer. May cause some confusion on the Indy O-Line.
I did a bit of research on the last 6 Indy home losses to see if some sort of pattern emerged. The only pattern I can see is that Indy is pretty damn good at home. Here are the last six Indy home losses. Note the huge gap between Jan 15 2006 and Nov 4 2007. They were undefeated at home during the entire 2006 season.
Sep 21 2008 Jacksonville 23-21
Sep 7 2008 Chicago 28-13
Jan 13 2008 (Playoff) San Diego 28-24
Dec 30 2007 Tennessee 16-10
Nov 4 2007 New England 24-20
Jan 15 2006 (Playoff) Pittsburgh 21-18
Interesting stuff Rick...
You might notice all these teams except Chicago are 3-4 zone blitzing teams. which is what we are when actually blitz. Manning calls his plays at the line for each receiver. Indy runs static patterns. Manning's success is based on his ability to get through his reads and the fact that he's so incredibly accurate. when he doesn't do well, it's when he's forced to throw before he finds the matchup he likes, or through disguised coverage and pressure from somewhere he didn't expect it.
Manusky is going to have to put together a great game plan.
This quote is from Coach Singletary's Monday press conference, as written on 49ers.com. This was the last paragraph:
On using more of a three receiver formation with Alex Smith going forward:
“We’re going to do whatever we need to do win. Three receiver, four receiver, five receiver, I don’t care. We’re going to do whatever we need to do to win. But we’re going to run the ball.”
The Steelers have a much-maligned OL too, so they put Roethlisberger back in the shotgun, which he played in college, to enable quicker reads and help the OL's pass protection. They run from this formation, too. The NFL is a copycat league. I hope that Coach Sing's quote means that he'll consider giving A. Smith the same (familiar from college) shotgun formation and the use of all 4 quick young WRs, activating Brandon Jones and Jason Hill (the RIGHT Hill, as somebody here said)! Frank Gore is essential for his running threat and his Pancake pass blocking.
Thank you. Well said! 100% agreement. --from a faithful reader and poster on Indiana Jim's website.
I understand your tendency to want to apply your empathy to these guys but it 's a different reality for them than the people that spend their money to help pay these guys salaries. Sports are generally a short term OCCUPATION for most players anyway but they're usually well paid for that period of time. It's not a lifetime career. Like I said we true fans all like to root for classy athletes( like Hill and Smith) but they know they probably have a short shelf going in. If they haven't been stupid with their money they can be financially set for life in their 30s because they can play a game well. Not a bad deal!!!!!!!!!
You want to feel sorry for multi millionaire athletes who reach inevitible changes in their playing status, I guess that's certainly your right. It just seems a such waste of peoples energy when there are so many other really worthwhile places it could go.
@BT
"get Davis ready thats just silly his only NFL experience was playing against 3rd stringers at 22yrs old he made a few passes in garbage time loads of mistakes he is far from ready for the NFL and wasn't even on the active roster for Houston."
First off he was sick, so he didn't make the flight. You make it sound like he's not even on the team or that he was inactive because he's no good. Secondly, what's the alternative IF SMITH FAILS YET AGAIN? Bring Hill back and still know nothing about the potential of Davis in real season games? YEA! That's preparing us for the future - the groundhog day future of losing season after losing season.
We need to know if we have at least one QB on the roster that can win games for us and direct us to a winning season, BEFORE the season ends and the next draft. If you care about the TEAM having a winning season and not just one particular QB, you'd have to agree. What's the alternative?
Cudos to Hill, he is a class guy! A.Smith is 'the man' right now so he gets my support. Hey Nate, observe and learn because your turn will come!
We must show that we're not last years team this weekend against Indy. A dismal game or huge loss will set the team back and encourage the old culture of losing again.
Like Coach Sing says the 2 are friends but it can alter a bit with a change (Smith in Hill out) like this.
We shall see.
Lets also keep in mind the TE is a QB's best friend, and as the Gate points out, the Texans refused to cover Vernon with any safety or DB at all, they kept a LB on him, which is why every TD he had Sunday there was a LB tailing after him. Atlanta shut him down with the safety. It will be interesting to see if Indy leaves him open and how Smith adjusts if they cover Vernon well. Then he will have to start looking for a WR to go to, and if he can't immediately find one, that's where he struggles, that's where the old Alex will come out, where he needed 8 seconds to throw downfield. In this case, Freeney will be a happy man Sunday. Let's hope this wasn't just a case of Vernon providing false hope.
Also interesting is how Raye plays this. If he continues on with the "spread" which Smith obviously is more comfortable in, or if he changes back to 2 wide sets and running Gore into a brick wall for one yard gains.
Your right. So line up the excuses now. Because when he came in on Sunday and played ok he was the savior. You and oneniner get your two apples together and line up the excuse train. You two are a joke.
"Hill said he could not put a finger on why things did not turn out as he had hoped."
I'm not sure what world professional athletes live in, but, in my experience, life rarely turns out the way you hope.
NINERMD, nobody said Alex Smith was a savior. I sure didn't! What is your hate with this guy? Are you an ANGRY LITTLE man? Sack up and root for Alex and the NINERS!! Cuz if we are going to the playoffs it will be because of Alex Smith, not the defense.
You're a joke, dude! Why don't you give us a real take - something other than Alex Smith. LOSER
TOP_CAT has been sighted on the 49erswebzone giving praise to Alex Smith... NO FRKN JOKE!!
Fraud
hey Ninermd... There are no excuses anymore!! I've been saying all along, that if he still can't cut it or show improvement then kiss his @$$ goodbye!! Too bad you only read what you want to read. I do, however, believe that the Colts game will be a tough task. If we get down early, then the Colts will tee-off on Alex. Then we will all be back to square one with this. So, do us all a favor and reserve judgement for a couple weeks. That is if your capable of it.
TOP_CAT Sighting!! He was on 49erswebzone praising Alex Smith!!! NO FRKN JOKE!! What a clown, and a fraud!!