Hell must be freezing over...

Originally posted by mayo63:
It's obvious this is his last chance so let's see what the guy can do. If he does good than we don't have to worry about taking a Qb in next years draft.

Hey Wiseman! If you want to talk about arm transplants, your boy Hill needs one even worse with the way he throws ducks on every flippin throw. That guy can't throw a tight spiral to save his life. He can barely throw the ball 50 yards. I think we are talking about the wrong guy when we say Smith needs the arm transplant. Don't be ignorant now.

Quote:
Word out of San Fran is that everyone inside the building is pulling for quarterback Alex Smith to win the starting job in camp. Publicly, it’s being called an open competition, but a source close to the Niners told us that he believes Smith will win the job.

But Smith will still have to hold off Shaun Hill throughout August in what should be his last chance as a starter in the league -- and most likely his last chance to show 49ers management that he’s part of their future plans.

RealGM Football

i still dont know why people are hating on Alex.
im not saying i dont like Shaun, believe me i love shaun hill

but think about it..Alex only had one bad year and it was in 05-06
06-07 he did pretty good when we went 7-9..if you dont believe me watch highlights
and in the 07-08 year he got hurt in the 3rd or 4th game and was out.
08-09 he was out.

so the guy had 2 seasons on the IR and you see him at every game on the sideline..he could easily be at home. but he obviously is dying to play and is dying to prove himself. Alex will start this year, and we will go to the playoffs!

Originally posted by cooljon16:
I think Hill should start the season regardless of camp and take it from there. If we are winning, we keep hill in there, if we are struggling then Smith gets his chance.

Exactly this solution is so simple. If Singletary starts the season with a guy who hasn't played a game in over a year, he'll lose this team right off the bat.

Originally posted by Bleed49ersRED:

Originally posted by mayo63:
It's obvious this is his last chance so let's see what the guy can do. If he does good than we don't have to worry about taking a Qb in next years draft.

Hey Wiseman! If you want to talk about arm transplants, your boy Hill needs one even worse with the way he throws ducks on every flippin throw. That guy can't throw a tight spiral to save his life. He can barely throw the ball 50 yards. I think we are talking about the wrong guy when we say Smith needs the arm transplant. Don't be ignorant now.

Chad Pennington doesn't exactly have a rocket for an arm and he took Miami to the playoffs. Accuracy>Arm strength.

With all due respect, I think many of you have it completely when you focus on arm strength. It's never been about arm strength with Alex (except of course, with the injury).There can be no debate as to who wins the arm strength comparison between Hill and Smith. However, where Smith has faltered, and there's no reason to think he won't again, is in pocket presence, field vision, timing and accuracy. Timing and accuracy can certainly be improved with reps with his receivers and a better understanding of the offense, but I have serious doubts about the intangibles, which are equally, if not more, important. On his better days, he couldn't seem to sense a Rhino coming at him from the side or back; none of that "sixth sense" that's so critical for QB's. And that same "tunnel vision" prevented him from seeing the entire field when scanning for receivers. Additionally, even when he had the time, he consistently under or over threw receivers. So, other than an admitted improvement under Norv (and let's face it, anything would have been an improvement, so going from abysmal to ok was hardly earthshaking), what has Alex shown to warrant such loyalty or confidence? Hill earned the starting job and should start. If he doesn't get it done, then give Alex his final shot to prove himself. It will also give him the extra time even his college coach concedes he needs to become comfortable with a new offense. This seems to be the most logical scenario and would ultimately be the most fair one for all concerned.

Originally posted by cooljon16:
I think Hill should start the season regardless of camp and take it from there. If we are winning, we keep hill in there, if we are struggling then Smith gets his chance.

I somewhat agree with you from the standpoint of how Hill has played when called upon in previous starts. However, if things take place like you said, what was the point of having a competition for the starting job? I Hill is outplayed in camp and preseason by Smith and still gets the nod over Smith then the whole competition was, for lack of a better word, rigged. That's my only knock against what you're saying.

Originally posted by 4evrfan:
With all due respect, I think many of you have it completely when you focus on arm strength. It's never been about arm strength with Alex (except of course, with the injury).There can be no debate as to who wins the arm strength comparison between Hill and Smith. However, where Smith has faltered, and there's no reason to think he won't again, is in pocket presence, field vision, timing and accuracy. Timing and accuracy can certainly be improved with reps with his receivers and a better understanding of the offense, but I have serious doubts about the intangibles, which are equally, if not more, important. On his better days, he couldn't seem to sense a Rhino coming at him from the side or back; none of that "sixth sense" that's so critical for QB's. And that same "tunnel vision" prevented him from seeing the entire field when scanning for receivers. Additionally, even when he had the time, he consistently under or over threw receivers. So, other than an admitted improvement under Norv (and let's face it, anything would have been an improvement, so going from abysmal to ok was hardly earthshaking), what has Alex shown to warrant such loyalty or confidence? Hill earned the starting job and should start. If he doesn't get it done, then give Alex his final shot to prove himself. It will also give him the extra time even his college coach concedes he needs to become comfortable with a new offense. This seems to be the most logical scenario and would ultimately be the most fair one for all concerned.

I don't think ANYONE would fault you for having doubts about Alex. That's not a problem at all... you should have doubts. Things get stupid when someone insists beyond reason that "this guy WILL suck" or that guy "IS far better". I personally have doubts about BOTH of them, and am happy to know that Singletary and McC do as well... or there would be no competition. May the best man win.

Originally posted by oldman9er:

Originally posted by 4evrfan:
With all due respect, I think many of you have it completely when you focus on arm strength. It's never been about arm strength with Alex (except of course, with the injury).There can be no debate as to who wins the arm strength comparison between Hill and Smith. However, where Smith has faltered, and there's no reason to think he won't again, is in pocket presence, field vision, timing and accuracy. Timing and accuracy can certainly be improved with reps with his receivers and a better understanding of the offense, but I have serious doubts about the intangibles, which are equally, if not more, important. On his better days, he couldn't seem to sense a Rhino coming at him from the side or back; none of that "sixth sense" that's so critical for QB's. And that same "tunnel vision" prevented him from seeing the entire field when scanning for receivers. Additionally, even when he had the time, he consistently under or over threw receivers. So, other than an admitted improvement under Norv (and let's face it, anything would have been an improvement, so going from abysmal to ok was hardly earthshaking), what has Alex shown to warrant such loyalty or confidence? Hill earned the starting job and should start. If he doesn't get it done, then give Alex his final shot to prove himself. It will also give him the extra time even his college coach concedes he needs to become comfortable with a new offense. This seems to be the most logical scenario and would ultimately be the most fair one for all concerned.

I don't think ANYONE would fault you for having doubts about Alex. That's not a problem at all... you should have doubts. Things get stupid when someone insists beyond reason that "this guy WILL suck" or that guy "IS far better". I personally have doubts about BOTH of them, and am happy to know that Singletary and McC do as well... or there would be no competition. May the best man win.

Oldman...U iz wize.....

Peter King is an idiot. Alex was becoming a good QB before he injured his shoulder in early '07.

Originally posted by 49erScott:
Because I actually agree with Peter King on a 49ers related post

King's take.

6. I think I can't believe the sentiment out there for Alex Smith to win the 49er quarterback job. Unless Smith has had an arm transplant with Jay Cutler, how can anyone who has watched the last two San Francisco seasons think he's better than Shaun Hill? I'm not saying he can't win the job. But the sentiment in the Bay Area is so strong that Smith enters camp with the edge. It's not based on what has happened on the field. At all.

One of the greatest mysteries of the WZ and beyond... has any player performed so poorly and accomplished so little yet has been so vigorously defended and supported? I have never seen anything like it.

I totally agree with his take and really don't see why it's so difficult to agree with at all. He's right on. Hill obviously gives the niners the best chance to win (at least by comparison if not outright) so the unwarranted support for an obvious bust here is certainly one of the great mysteries of the WZ. It defies logic, reality and basic common sense based on what we've seen from the two of them on the field (Yes, I mean BEFORE Smith's injury).

[ Edited by Sabrason on Jul 27, 2009 at 10:56:04 ]

Originally posted by Sabrason:

Originally posted by 49erScott:
Because I actually agree with Peter King on a 49ers related post

King's take.

6. I think I can't believe the sentiment out there for Alex Smith to win the 49er quarterback job. Unless Smith has had an arm transplant with Jay Cutler, how can anyone who has watched the last two San Francisco seasons think he's better than Shaun Hill? I'm not saying he can't win the job. But the sentiment in the Bay Area is so strong that Smith enters camp with the edge. It's not based on what has happened on the field. At all.

One of the greatest mysteries of the WZ and beyond... has any player performed so poorly and accomplished so little yet has been so vigorously defended and supported? I have never seen anything like it.

I totally agree with his take and really don't see why it's so difficult to agree with at all. He's right on. Hill obviously gives the niners the best chance to win (at least by comparison if not outright) so the unwarranted support for an obvious bust here is certainly one of the great mysteries of the WZ. It defies logic, reality and basic common sense based on what we've seen from the two of them on the field (Yes, I mean BEFORE Smith's injury).


Hell really is freezing over because I'm agreeing with Sabrason. Although he may turn into a good quarterback it's unrealistic to think that he will be a Superstar. Hill is the starter, we know it, the team knows it. I disagree with King that people want Smith to win the job. I think even Smith supporters want him to sit for a while, get the offense down, fully recover, and get comfortable again before he starts full-time.

[ Edited by foreign49er on Jul 27, 2009 at 11:14:10 ]

I don't understand the continued love affair with this sub-par player either. I guess it's because Bay Area sports fans are soft. If this were another city like Chicago, Philly, or New York, fans would be a lot tougher on someone like this, who has not done anything to make the 49ers better...in fact, it has been the opposite. The team had taken steps backwards in order to allow Smith the opportunity of on the job training.

[ Edited by djfullshred on Jul 27, 2009 at 11:18:29 ]

Originally posted by grizzlyadams:
Peter King is an idiot. Alex was becoming a good QB before he injured his shoulder in early '07.

And people are still taking what happened his first season and saying he won't be a good quarterback. That's what so frustrating to me. He hasn't played in 2 years, but when he last played he was looking like a starting caliber Qb.

Originally posted by mayo63:

Originally posted by grizzlyadams:
Peter King is an idiot. Alex was becoming a good QB before he injured his shoulder in early '07.

And people are still taking what happened his first season and saying he won't be a good quarterback. That's what so frustrating to me. He hasn't played in 2 years, but when he last played he was looking like a starting caliber Qb.

So in this reverse logic world, someone who hasn't played in over a year, who also has never established himself in the league should be looked at as potential starter. Oh how desperate the 49ers have become.