QB Competition

A couple of paragraphs from the article.

* Shaun Hill couldn't compete with the downfield throws, but he moved well to buy time and threw accurately while drifting, keeping his eyes upfield. I had the feeling Hill would have thrown the pass to Gore more accurately if given a chance to run the same play. But if you needed a deep pass, Smith would be your choice.

After practice, coach Mike Singletary said he's seeing good things from Smith. He used the word "maturity" to describe the progress. I followed up by asking for examples. Singletary pointed to body language and command of the huddle. Specifically, Singletary said he sees Smith correcting teammates after they make errors. In the past, Smith might have turned back to the coaches for guidance in that situation.

to the italics

To the bold.

Originally posted by Memphis9er:


I have to agree there,Joe you lost some credibility with that statement.That is pure ignorance of the facts on your behalf.

Read a few posts passed after that when I explain "normal conditions". The things most people bring up when they talk about "strong arm" have very little to do with the actual use of a strong arm in a real game.

[ Edited by Joecool on Aug 5, 2009 at 12:36:34 ]

Originally posted by TheGoldStandard:
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/nfcwest/0-9-533/Something-to-write-about-in-49ers--QB-race.html

Nice read, faithful....thx

may the battle continue.

Originally posted by Joecool:
A couple of paragraphs from the article. * Shaun Hill couldn't compete with the downfield throws, but he moved well to buy time and threw accurately while drifting, keeping his eyes upfield. I had the feeling Hill would have thrown the pass to Gore more accurately if given a chance to run the same play. But if you needed a deep pass, Smith would be your choice. After practice, coach Mike Singletary said he's seeing good things from Smith. He used the word "maturity" to describe the progress. I followed up by asking for examples. Singletary pointed to body language and command of the huddle. Specifically, Singletary said he sees Smith correcting teammates after they make errors. In the past, Smith might have turned back to the coaches for guidance in that situation. to the italics To the bold.

yea thats why what top cat said and kawakami said doesnt really have me worried. hes just coaching up his players, and part of that is getting them to take control of the team. still though, good to hear.

this stuff is getting me soooooo hyped up for next friday. who's in LA and where you goin???

It appears that even dissenting opinions may 'agree' that we might get a chance to witness two QB's fairly competeing for the starting job...and many of us will not feel bent out of shape if the one who is 'not our guy' wins. I would say that this reflects positively of Coach Singletary.

One other point which surprisingly (to me) was not raised during this 80+ page thread was Smith's 'dysfunctional until he learns it quote' from Meyer. Perhaps we can get off Meyer's comments from four years ago when Smith was what, 20? I believe that in the last four years the headlights (in which he used to be caught) have dimmed considerably, the game has slowed, and he has matured. Think back to when you were 20 and then compare it to 25.

I'd like to see Smith win the QB battle as I believe he has much more upside. But since my crystal ball is way less than perfect, whatever QB coach selects, I will support and be happy with...and I am sure that if a change must be made, it will be done.

GO NINERS!

Originally posted by NinerGM:
Quarterback Alex Smith is putting himself into position to win the 49ers' starting job.

That's not to say he's leading the competition. It's not to say he will win the competition. All that will be determined by how he performs in the exhibition games. But Smith looks very good on the practice field.

Shaun Hill is having a strong camp, too. But Alex Smith's best on the practice field has been better than Hill's best. Of course, as we've addressed here in the past, perhaps Hill's biggest strength is his feel for handling a game situation.

Coach Mike Singletary said he has noticed a maturity in Smith. He says he sees it in Smith's body language and his command of the huddle. He said Smith seems more confident in himself. This morning, Smith was again very accurate. He is throwing the intermediate and deep balls exceptionally well.

If - IF -- Smith can carry over his practice-field success into the exhibition games against the Broncos (Aug 14) and Raiders (Aug. 22), there is a strong chance he will be the starter when the regular season opens.

http://blog.pressdemocrat.com/49ers/2009/08/day-5-practice-8-smith-in-good-spot.html

G-G-Guess who's back?!?! SMITTY SON!

Originally posted by nyfl9erfan:
It appears that even dissenting opinions may 'agree' that we might get a chance to witness two QB's fairly competeing for the starting job...and many of us will not feel bent out of shape if the one who is 'not our guy' wins. I would say that this reflects positively of Coach Singletary.

One other point which surprisingly (to me) was not raised during this 80+ page thread was Smith's 'dysfunctional until he learns it quote' from Meyer. Perhaps we can get off Meyer's comments from four years ago when Smith was what, 20? I believe that in the last four years the headlights (in which he used to be caught) have dimmed considerably, the game has slowed, and he has matured. Think back to when you were 20 and then compare it to 25.

I'd like to see Smith win the QB battle as I believe he has much more upside. But since my crystal ball is way less than perfect, whatever QB coach selects, I will support and be happy with...and I am sure that if a change must be made, it will be done.

GO NINERS!

We won't know until real people are trying to sack him.

I see a lot of discussions on Alex's problems with the short pass, but I don't hear any discussion on Hill's problems with inaccuracy. Watching the games last year, I noticed that Hill was very streaky. At times he would be very accurate, and at other times, he couldn't hit the side of a barn. That was why Singletary almost pulled Hill out of that game - and that wasn't the only game that he played that way.

Smith does have problems too, so I am not saying that he is the one that will win this competition, however let's not put on rose colored glasses for Hill, or assume that his only flaw is a "noodle arm".

Originally posted by fryet:
I see a lot of discussions on Alex's problems with the short pass, but I don't hear any discussion on Hill's problems with inaccuracy. Watching the games last year, I noticed that Hill was very streaky. At times he would be very accurate, and at other times, he couldn't hit the side of a barn. That was why Singletary almost pulled Hill out of that game - and that wasn't the only game that he played that way.

Smith does have problems too, so I am not saying that he is the one that will win this competition, however let's not put on rose colored glasses for Hill, or assume that his only flaw is a "noodle arm".

Watch that Cardinals game-highlight if you want to truly see Hill's streakiness.

People forget he threw a ton of INT's in that game that were called back because of Arizona penalties. He led us back and made it a contest, but he was also the reason we got in the hole in the first place.

Exactly. If he was efficient the entire game, then it would not have been close in the first place. To his credit, he does seem to rally in the 4th quarter, but there is a lot of room for improvement in his game, ignoring the deep ball.

Matt M on this morning's practice:

Quote:
And one thing about the quarterback situation is becoming more and more obvious.

Quarterback Alex Smith is putting himself into position to win the 49ers' starting job.

That's not to say he's leading the competition. It's not to say he will win the competition. All that will be determined by how he performs in the exhibition games. But Smith looks very good on the practice field.

Shaun Hill is having a strong camp, too. But Alex Smith's best on the practice field has been better than Hill's best. Of course, as we've addressed here in the past, perhaps Hill's biggest strength is his feel for handling a game situation.

Coach Mike Singletary said he has noticed a maturity in Smith. He says he sees it in Smith's body language and his command of the huddle. He said Smith seems more confident in himself. This morning, Smith was again very accurate. He is throwing the intermediate and deep balls exceptionally well.

If - IF -- Smith can carry over his practice-field success into the exhibition games against the Broncos (Aug 14) and Raiders (Aug. 22), there is a strong chance he will be the starter when the regular season opens.

http://blog.pressdemocrat.com/49ers/2009/08/day-5-practice-8-smith-in-good-spot.html

I like both QBs a lot. They both seem like good guys and they're both very compelling stories about being counted out and (hopefully) proving their critics wrong. All I can say at this point is that I'm really looking forward to seeing them in preseason games.

More important than the pretty passes and the "stats" is the MATURITY and CONFIDENCE and HUDDLE COMMAND that even SINGLETARY noticed.

I think that is the best thing I've heard all training camp.

Smith 2.0 FTW.

Originally posted by Joecool:
That's it! Alex Smith and Shaun Hill in the Nutcracker, right now!

Ill put our house, my son three dogs and two cats on Alex in quick match.