Steve Young spoke on KNBR Wednesday afternoon. Here’s what he said about the 49ers quarterback controversy.
Q: What do you think’s going on with this quarterback controversy?
YOUNG: “It’s pretty easy for me based on what Jim said. There are three types of controversies – the one in the streets, the one in the locker room and the one with the coach. The one that truly matters is the one with the coach.
“What Colin did – electrifying all of us – changes everything, because he’s going to get much more runway and opportunity. He gives Jim much more ability to play with the system. It opened the door, and Jim had to deal with it postgame. How he dealt with it was, without saying it: ‘I’m heavily invested in Colin, I picked him and he’s my guy.’
“Alex is his guy too – I’m not saying he’s not. This is completely different. He trained Colin. What I heard after the game was, ‘If Colin’s ready to play – and I’m not saying he is right now – but as soon as I think he’s ready, he’s my guy.’
“Alex Smith is going to get back on the field, he’s going to play great for 10 years and never give anybody else a chance to play again and be one of the greatest players of all time and everything will be fine. But short of that, he’s going to have Colin nipping at his heels.
“You knew this was coming. It’s phenomenal the way Alex Smith has handled this. And now, the inner turmoil and consternation because now your job is challenged, is a growing moment if you want it to be. It doesn’t have to be a negative. It can be a positive: This is going to push me to play the best I’ve ever played. Take that task, but don’t be fooled: If things fall mediocre, or things aren’t so good, you know the story. The narrative has been written in my mind by Jim after the game.
“Now, the practical realities are out there, and let’s play ball. It looks like Alex is up to it. I cheer them both on because they’re both phenomenal guys. The 49ers should be blessed holistically with Alex being pushed and Colin nipping at his heels.
“Jim’s the kind of guy who will tell Alex, ‘Alex, you’re playing, but Colin’s coming in.’ He’s already done it. He’s going to play. I think they’ll manage through that.
“It’s a little bit out of the norm. You could say that it’s risky, that you should just pick one guy and go. But I don’t mind the creative tension, two good guys – they’re not going to get in a fist fight in the locker room. They’re going to work together. If there was a more volatile personality – maybe like Jim and someone else, Jim might not want that – but these two aren’t going to get in a fist fight. They’re going to work it out. I think it’s a blessing for the 49ers and the fans that Colin’s great and he’s going to be coming and Alex is now going to be putting the pedal to the metal, and we’ll see how it plays out.
Q: Vernon Davis said it felt like the handcuffs were taken off the offense against the Bears.
YOUNG: “Yeah, Jim’s been very careful. Is that Alex? No, that’s the play calling. I’ve said that before. I don’t know if Alex knows how good he can be, because I don’t know if they’ve really dialed it up that way to go find out. If I was Alex, there’s a part of me that would say, ‘Hey, wait a second. Do that for me. If you want to let it rip, don’t wait for the backup to get in. Let me.’
“Against the Bills, they had almost 600 yards. And Smith had a near-perfect game in Phoenix.
“I don’t know. We can delve into this deeper and deeper, but if you delve too deep in football you’ll be alone. Just be careful that we don’t turn into saw dust trying to grind this thing into a fine pulp.”
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SY has a knack for tying together elements of what are going on into an understandable perspective. I appreciate him for that. Although, BTW, he’s wrong sometimes too. Remember how it was a done deal Hasslebeck was coming here? Oh well, SY’s human.
I’ve never thought he was really all that cohesive when he speaks. He tends to bounce all over the place when discussing a subject, it’s clear he has a lot of information to give but I think he still tends to get a bit scattered in the delivery.
@Coffee
Interesting. I guess beauty (appreciation) is in the eye of the beholder. Though I don’t always agree, your posts are usually well structured, so its interesting that we have different takes on Steve.
For the record he’s still considerably better then Rich Gannon. He couldn’t tie two ideas together if they came with laces.
I agree with Coffee. Steve’s always got great insights, and lots to say, but he’s a bit manic in his style and delivery.
“You delve too deep in football and you’ll be alone”. Awesome.
“The 49ers should be blessed holistically…”
Maybe not as awesome
I love SY, he is my favorite 49er of all time, but I agree that he tends to ramble. He makes football sound more complicated then it needs to be.
Young is a smart guy. I’m not sure I agree with the QB carousel even though I’m on record as saying something like, “wouldn’t it be interesting to see football operate more like baseball with how it uses relief pitchers?”
Maybe it works, maybe it doesn’t. I don’t like the specific play calling for CK on those gimmick plays. It’s fine for Tebow (who should be a running back or a tight end) but CK has a ton more to offer than that.
I’m surprised with the:
“Alex Smith is going to get back on the field, he’s going to play great for 10 years and never give anybody else a chance to play again and be one of the greatest players of all time and everything will be fine.”
Not entirely sure I agree with that, although I don’t disagree either. It’s just an interesting thing to think about. Smith is clearly not the dog the hater minority try to portray but “one of the greatest players of all time?”
Being neither a smither or a hater I often find myself with a internal struggle. Im a 9ers fan first and foremost and with it comes a sort of sense of entitlement in that I want/expect great QB play. I know i have been spoiled with JM and SY and even to a lesser extent J.Garcia. But the last 10 years of sucking left me doing mental gymnastics= “I dont care if its ugly 13-10 game I just want to win”
Now, after we started to win again the “I need great QB play” mentality is seeping back in.
Initially I didnt want to give up on AS for fear that he would go somwhere else and flourish (Being a red sox fan still haunted by Jeff Bagwell trade)
Now that we see what he has to offer I appreciate all he’s done but still long for QB play that gets me excited. If Alex has a 10 year career and is good(whether for us or someone else) im fine with that as long as we have a Good QB of our own.
What Im afraid of is: alienating/dumping Smith then if CK turns out to be a bust we r back to 2003 level sucking.
If what Young says happens( keeping both) that would be the best of both worlds. I just dont see that playing out smoothly as far as the lockeroom chemistry goes
@Bos49er, You are admittedly a long time 49er fan, which means you’re a football fan. You also said you spoiled by greats, JM & SY right? That said, do you REALLY think, even in the back of you’re mind that Kaep will be a bust?? If so, that doesn’t seem to make sense for a true 49er fan. A 49er fan not a Smither, who said you are not. Anyway, the 49ers are champions trying to get back to the bowl. The 49ers don’t live in fear, making bold move after bold. Beyond that Harbaugh development of QBs is on par with Bill Walsh. He doesn’t develop busts. He just doesn’t. Look what he did with Smith. He was a 6yr vet 1st round pick bust with an 18-35 record,