Posted By: Mike Nolan (23/08/2008 9:27:23 PM)
Comment: Hey everybody, I got my Madden 09, but I'm having a problem. O Sullivan is looking really bad in the season opener so do you all think I better start Alex Smith? Well, I'm going to enjoy moving your team to Los Angeles for I based my decision on Madden. Can't figure out though why old JT is so bad on my Madden 09. Guess I better alter his numbers.

Posted By: ninerbob (23/08/2008 4:57:23 PM)
Comment: For whoever was too cowardly to own their posting. I think we should have taken Edwards. Merrimen was not going to happen, because Nolan wanted to come in looking like an all around HC, so he had to go offense. But if you look at Derek Anderson and Smith physically they are the same (Smith is a little more fleet a foot, but a good pass-rusher can run either one of them down); Anderson has turned out to be a better QB and he has been on the journeyman path since he was drafted; and he did not receive the reps until last year. Smith had the reps since his rookie year. Once again, multiple OCs or not, when it comes to receiver runs route...Smith throws ball; he looked bad more often then he has looked good. Hill hasn't had any consideration as a starter until this year (and that was cursory at best); yet he is able to do a better job of connecting with receivers that Alex. So why do you think Alex should still be the starter. I think he needs to go (just like Couch in Cleveland); so we aren't even tempted to play him. He is not the second best QB on this team. From what I hear about Kyle Wright, Smith might not even be the 3rd best QB on this team. O'Sullivan has been on 8 different teams, as a 2nd stringer at best in some of these training camps, and Martz was not the coordinator for all these teams. I am not saying JTO is going to be a long term solution, or that he is even going to make it to mid-season, what I am saying is that these 2 journeymen QBs proved that most 3rs string QBs floating around the NFL can do a better job of grasping an offensive scheme, any offensive scheme, than Alex Smith can...he just doesn't get it..I really was hoping he would but he didn't. And it looks to be something beyond graspuing the offense; it appears to be an issue with his ability to distribute the ball at the right time regardless of the OC. When Nolan got here, I wanted Smith and him to succeed...they gave it a go now they should go. Neither has a place hear anymore. Offense is harder coach and develop, defense is mostly talent. If successful, Martz should be HC.

Posted By: montana to rice (23/08/2008 3:37:27 PM)
Comment: to darren:To make comments like that you better be out there evaluating the situation before you call shenanigans! I mean, it sounds to me you would rather have alex start whether he's the most fit to take our franchise to the next level or not. Give Nolan a break, he's put together a good team with what he started with. I understand its hard to watch the smith era unravel, but thats the nfl. i agree that he was not developed right, but i believe Nolan is doing the best thing to put up wins, now, and he's letting Martz run the offense as he should. Please let the first couple games of the season come and go before you start speaking for us "9er fans." Relax man.

Posted By: montana to rice (23/08/2008 3:30:38 PM)
Comment: to sfjay:i respect your support of smith, he's a class act and i agree that he was not developed right. with that said, it is what it is. you cant tell me our offense doesnt look the best its been since T.O. and Garcia, probably better. we'll see in the reg. season, but Martz is being trusted by Nolan to make the right decisions. And you say Martz is not good because he got fired from detroit? He actually was the only reason they were competitive. The fact is jt osullivan has a quick release, could stand in the pocket and take a hit, and throws the deep ball on the money. There's different factors at work with Martz and Detroit, but thats no reason to count him out. He fits better out here. No one can deny he helped that team score points. they didnt have the players, no o-line, no running game, both of which you need to be dominant. detroit is a floundering franchise, are you gonna blame Martz for all those years of horrible picks by Matt Millen on him too? Mariucci got fired there as well, does he suck? Come on, i know its hard whats happening to Alex but OSullivan gives our team the best chance to win. its nice to see the talented players we have are not going to waste, we look like an actual offensive power again. and the truth is, i wonder if alex's shoulder injury is affecting his deep ball? I will say this i wish alex the best but OSullivan earned his spot and thank God we have an offensive genius in Martz to make these tough decisions. OSully will throw for 4,000 yds and over 30 td's and with a good running game and defense and special teams to go with it we could make a playoff push this year in the weak nfc. GO NINERS!!!

Posted By: gravelburn (23/08/2008 2:58:22 PM)
Comment: Don't write off Alex just yet. As a Niner fan I hope JT lights it up this year, but no one would be surprised if he struggles. Not that I'm wishing it, but Alex is just an injury or inconsistent play from JT away from getting back on the field. In the meantime, this might actually be a blessing in disguise for him. He can learn Martz's offense without pressure. And maybe that's been the problem for Alex all along- too much pressure all that expectation. Sometimes you have to hit the bottom before the switch is flipped, and with this demotion and his buddy's suicide, that switch might be ready to flip. I wouldn't be surprised if in a couple years Alex is a successful QB in the NFL (maybe not the Niners) and looks back at this as a real turning point.

Posted By: Forty Whiners (23/08/2008 2:14:01 PM)
Comment: WWWWWaaaaaaaahhhh!!!!!WWaaaahhhhh!!!!WWWaaaahhhh!!!!

Posted By: Darren (23/08/2008 2:03:57 PM)
Comment: I urge all 49er fans to chant Start Alex Smith and Fire Nolan. Please write to other blogs voicing your outrage and ask that Nolan be fired. I was busy today writing to Lowell Cohn, Maiocco, and the KNBR crew about this situation. Mike Nolan has to be fired for his unstable mind to name JT O Sullivan as his starter. FIre Nolan.

Posted By: Paul (23/08/2008 12:50:18 PM)
Comment: Dear 9er_mam Your post is objectionable to the "Thought Police". If you continue degrading people on this site we will be blocked from posting our thoughts. Understand the rules and play the game. Now to the topic of who is better JTO or Smith? It depends! I believe Smith could be the better of the two in the right system and with enough time. Martz's system is not the best fit for Smith and it will take over a year (probably more like 2) for Smith to be comfortable. JTO will give our team the best chance to win in the short term. Does that mean I am happy! No! With all those draft picks and free agent QB's we should have more.

Posted By: 9er_man (23/08/2008 11:55:17 AM)
Comment: hey yall jto fans why don't yall go out with him on a date since yall idiots like him so much. when he mess up our season now are going to want A SMITH back in the game you just wait and see. i cant believe i have stupid fellow 49er fans is supporting JTO

Posted By: shobbrobb (23/08/2008 11:54:49 AM)
Comment: A lot of u guys seem to figure that this is Nolans decision,and although the final decision and responsibility lies with Nolan,This situation wouldnt have materialized without M.Martz.Martz bought in JTO and while working with this group of QBs Martz determined that JTO right now and more than likely in the future is the best man for the job.Martz makes QBs,They do not make him,hes a coach who knows what to look for in QBs and brings out the best in them.Without Martz,Mike Nolan wouldnt have the balls to put Smith on the bench.Perfect example is Mark Roman and Dashon Goldston,This is classic Nolan. Goldston is the obvious choice and its not even close.How difficult can this be?But the D-coordinator doesnt have the pull, personality or track record to pretty overrule or insist that Goldston starts.Thank god for Mike Martz the best offensive mind in the game today who should be made Head Coach of our SF 49ers at first opportunity

Posted By: shobbrobb (23/08/2008 11:31:40 AM)
Comment: Hey REALIST......You are definetly on point,its about who and whats best for this team and thanks for building a bridge for the more stubborn A.Smith supporters who who know whos the best man for the job but just cant hold their lips to say it

Posted By: Bones (23/08/2008 11:25:16 AM)
Comment: Ronnie: Maybe at final cuts we could trade some good guys for Colt Brennan! (Sixth round steal!)

Posted By: shobbrobb (23/08/2008 11:19:35 AM)
Comment: Start Alex Smith chant?....Wow the blind leading the blind

Posted By: shobbrobb (23/08/2008 11:16:01 AM)
Comment: Mike in Sac and ninerbob u guys are right on.I agree with u %100!

Posted By: Ronnie - Fresno (23/08/2008 11:13:13 AM)
Comment: Yes Bones, it sure is :D Now let's hang onto JTO for 2-3 more years, get our hands on Matthew Stafford next season, and begin our new era in 49ers football!

Posted By: Bones (23/08/2008 11:09:30 AM)
Comment: Smile! It's finally football season, & the Niners look good!

Posted By: http:// (23/08/2008 10:57:26 AM)
Comment: Ninerbob, you are an angry person. I challenge two of your points. First off, what talent in the 2005 draft was clearly worthy of being taken 1st overall? Shawn Merriman is probably the best player from that draft, but nobody in the NFL would have drafted him that high at the time. The Niners tried desperately to trade down, but it was a down year for talent that year. Alex Smith had a lot of positives going for him out of college, and we went with him #1. The next best prospect was probably Braylon Edwards, and last year was his first year playing without injuries. Your next point I have an issue with is the "excuse" that Alex Smith has had three different OCs. Name me the top 3 (or 5, or whatever) truly standout quarterbacks in the NFL. They have all had stability with their offensive systems. Manning has had Tom Walsh every year of his career. Tom Brady had Charlie Weiss then Josh McDaniels running the exact same system. Donovan McNabb has had Andy Reid running the West Coast. Favre has run the exact same WCO for 17 years. The QB gets too much credit for running his OC's system. It's sad that now when Alex Smith has had no direction for four years he gets slammed for not having the benefit every succesful QB in the league has. He has a lot of flaws, and now they have finally cost him his job. But at least be objective in making your point rather than tearing the guy down. You sound like a Raider fan.

Posted By: Bones (23/08/2008 10:56:21 AM)
Comment: I'm excited about the Niners. Except for some awful moments on special teams, they look good! To see Urlacher bummed talking about his team made me smile. It's about time the Niners were pushing someone around again! As long as they're in the game, I'm stoked!!

Posted By: mdm (23/08/2008 10:53:33 AM)
Comment: Matthew Crandall "J.T. also wasted more Time Outs than Smith and J. T. was sacked more than Smith." Wasted more timeouts? BUT THEY WON, DIDN'T THEY? Sacked more than Smith? The line gave up one sack? Are you kidding me? Instead of supporting the guy who earned the job all you A.S. lovers smack of the same Steve Young detractors when he was named starter over Joe. Love and root for the TEAM not the player. My good friend's from Wisconsin and tells me most FANS have moved on in support of Rogers. Ummm, yeah that sounds about right. And this "the ball looks better coming out of A.S. hands" What does that have to do with ANYTHING! I prefer how it looks going into the hands of receivers as opposed to behind them over their heads or 3 yards too short. You people are incredible. For the last few years there's been bickering because we're so bad, now that we're looking to turn the corner, you're still nagging. Unbelievable.

Posted By: Marco from Stockton (23/08/2008 10:47:20 AM)
Comment: Good Fortune to JT. He is a nice young man. The proof will be in the regular season when defenses get complex. But it is clear that Martz wanted JTO from the start and he played better. Honestly I really don't know how it will turn out, but no doubt the O Line is playing better and that is something Alex never had as they gave up 138 sacks in his first three years.(Most in the NFL)

Posted By: Jimbo (23/08/2008 10:41:08 AM)
Comment: Doesn't look like the new generation of whiners are ever going to stop, does it?

Posted By: Bones (23/08/2008 10:28:56 AM)
Comment: Pro passing is all about timing, which Alex has never shown the ability to have. To blame the coach/agent/coordinator just shows how far his fans will rationalize consistent poor play. I've learned a lot from my buddy "Big Dog", who Rhodes Scholar Pat Haden has repeatedly said "knows more about the passing game than any other coach he's had at any level". Pat was all-pro with the Rams, so there you go.

Posted By: Rich, DE (23/08/2008 10:28:21 AM)
Comment: Our QB situation is very similar to Chicago's. Checked out a couple of Bear's blogs and their comments regarding their QB situation are very similar to many of the same kind of comments we see here. Just swap out the names. They still have their Grossman supporters, conspircacy theories, etc, etc, etc...

Posted By: superdave (23/08/2008 10:23:35 AM)
Comment: I believe that the realist speaks for all of us Alex Smith supporters.

Posted By: brian in tahoe (23/08/2008 10:23:00 AM)
Comment: nick, i think you could be more wrong. Alex has never been accurate in the pros. steve young was one of the most accurate qb's ever, especially on the run. Alex is a good guy and all that, i think he made OK decisions on the field, but in the NFL above all else, you have to be on time and on the money, accurate with your all your throws. Maybe Martz can show him to be accurate w/ fundamentals. I don't know. what i do know is, he has had good coaching for 3 out of 4 years. I don't think he will ever be all pro. In fact, he maybe a 2nd string for the rest of his days in the league. GO Niners

Posted By: Nick (23/08/2008 10:05:01 AM)
Comment: I see a Tampa Bay/Steve Young situation in reverse going on shortly. Twenty years from now, the Young to Niners, Smith to Tampa story will be one for the ages.

Posted By: SF (23/08/2008 9:55:29 AM)
Comment: Hey folks -- do a little research on Youtube regarding Alex' total background. He was no stud in high school! Reggie Bush put up the big numbers. Alex wasn't even offered a Division 1-A scholarship. He was not recruited. The videos of him in high school are underwhelming. ... fast-forward to his college days. The vids of him at Utah show him being successful only in the gimmick plays. Traditional passing, not so much. The guy has NEVER been great. And he never will be. I want him OUT OF NINERLAND!!

Posted By: Ben (23/08/2008 9:52:28 AM)
Comment: Hi Matt, I've been a long time reader but what do you think about benching smith? Do you think they will keep him and basically start his career over and start the learning again? assuming that martz will stick around in SF.

Posted By: Andrew from Rishikesh (23/08/2008 9:24:11 AM)
Comment: Hi Matt, A good measure of Alex's fall can be traced to his agent. Where was he when Alex was being thrown under the bus? If he had stood up for his client after the Rocky Bernard hit it would have tipped the scales toward Nolan being fired at the year end meeting with the front office. In essence he gave Nolan a free shot and backed down. Look how Merriman is handling his injury, he's in complete control.

Posted By: Jake (23/08/2008 9:21:03 AM)
Comment: Matt, You are kind of side stepping the Nolan/Martz issue aren't you? Do you think the 49ers will pay head coaching money to Martz to keep him as the OC similar to what Dallas did with Garrett? Otherwise, I don't see how him and Nolan will co-exist after this season.

Response: Let's see what happens this season. --Matt M.

Posted By: Jake (23/08/2008 9:03:59 AM)
Comment: Matt, NEVER put ONLY in front of $800,000! I don't see Smith's cap number meaning anything, the 49ers are well under it, but the bank account of the DeBartolo's, excuse me, York's is probably the bigger question on whether Smith is back in 2009.

Posted By: Rich, San Ramon (23/08/2008 8:47:55 AM)
Comment: So the day after Smith is demoted to backup, there is an article in the San Diego Union that Shawn Merriman might have a very serious knee injury. That means that the top 12 picks of the 2005 draft yielded only 3 guys who will be starter on Week 1 of 2008: Braylon Edwards (#3 overall), Pacman Jones (#6 overall), and DeMarcus Ware (#11 overall)...build through the draft, eh?

Posted By: Rich, San Ramon (23/08/2008 8:18:44 AM)
Comment: Wow...come for the football, stick around for the free speech debate. Free speech guys: you can start your own blog, right? Label it: Instant Bleeping Niners and there you go...enjoy your niche, don't put up with us old fogeys...

Posted By: Graham (23/08/2008 8:01:52 AM)
Comment: One note about the continuing "Nolan is in job-saving mode" line of BS. It is the conventional, handy, misleading, intellectually lazy and not-so-subtly demeaning way of characterizing the Alex Smith situation. First reason it's BS: Every coach always wants to win, whether their job is on the line or not. Second, imagine the alternative: a mysterious Coach X who's willing to sacrifice wins this year for the possibility of a better Alex Smith next year. No coach would command respect in the locker room if it were clear that he sacrificed team victories for the development of a single player. If you're Nate Clements or Takeo Spikes or anybody else in the locker room and you knew this team sacrificed a shot at the playoffs so that Alex Smith could develop his game, how would you react?

Posted By: Vienners (23/08/2008 7:56:27 AM)
Comment: The Realist, Good Post. Thats exactly how I feel about this whole thing.

Posted By: playoffdrought (23/08/2008 7:35:17 AM)
Comment: It sure was nice when the comments section was turned off. The IQ level on here is frightening.

Posted By: Chris Munson (23/08/2008 6:32:33 AM)
Comment: I think this is a solid choice for the Niners as it has become obvious Smith has not lived up to expectations. I wonder though how Smith will deal with being the backup. Will he sulk, or will he take the chance to learn and show he is a team player?

Posted By: Indiana Jim (23/08/2008 6:16:53 AM)
Comment: Men like Patrick Henry, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, were ELOQUENT in their speech, and WELL-MANNERED in their behavior. The children on this blog have been neither.

Posted By: Indiana Jim (23/08/2008 6:15:36 AM)
Comment: Freedom of Speech was intended to allow political dissent, not for the unwashed masses to spout expletives on something as minor as sports.

Posted By: Indiana Jim (23/08/2008 6:14:31 AM)
Comment: Freedom of Speech means you have the right to say whatever you want. It does not mean you have the right to be heard.

Posted By: Cleveland Mike (23/08/2008 5:37:06 AM)
Comment: Maybe Smith can sit and learn although truthfully his 'learning' curve is going to be most of the season. The NFL is full of quarterbacks who were low draft picks or even undrafted free agents who were successful. Think of Johnny U, Bart Starr, Len Dawson, Kurt Warner. Even Joe Montana didn't go until the 3rd round. Can you name the qbs that went before Joe? So it's JTO with Alex 'learning' the Martz system. In the NFL time is your enemy.

Posted By: To Paul (23/08/2008 2:53:07 AM)
Comment: There is no freedom of speech or freedom of the press in America...the press are only allowed to print things within certain parameters, and as for freedom of speech? Nope. Just like there is no more right to privacy or right to protest or "innocent until proven guilty"...hardly the very model of democracy...more like the model of dictatorship. Ignorance has built this monster. Ignorance and apathy. Enjoy the slavery.

Posted By: GaryinUK (23/08/2008 1:50:43 AM)
Comment: I hope JT does really well as our starter, if not then hopefully Alex can come in and succeed. Ultimately, it doesn't matter who our QB is as long as we win.

Posted By: ninerbob (23/08/2008 1:28:47 AM)
Comment: Smith is officially a bust, although this has been the truth for a long time; the niners just jumped through every hoop they could to prove that that wasn't the case. Just because he isn't the jerk that Ryan Leaf was, the on-the-field results are the same. And I have heard and even used the "too many OCs" excuse; I hope that mantra is dead, the QB still has to be accountable for his own abilities. The OC's scheme isn't a magic suit. I wanted Alex to be successful, if not only for the fact that we passed on a lot of talent in the '05 draft that could have helped us to more wins than he has. I do not think they should have taken Rodgers either; he may have looked even worse under these conditions. The '05 draft looks like the Dilfer-Shuler draft. In fact looking at that draft, that was a terrible QB draft all the way through. Jason Campbell (Rd. 1) and Derek Anderson (Rd.6) are the only decent QBs from that draft (even if the Niner defense just made Orton look like one of the Manning boys). Alex is a bust, he may be a good person, but as an NFL football player he is a bust. Anymore excuses out there? Also, Hill has looked better than Smith too; hill should be #2 don't you think? In retrospec, Martz brought JTO here pretty fast (its not like teams were going to be beating down the door) maybe he could see Alex was a bust right away...

Posted By: jgwindsor (23/08/2008 12:48:35 AM)
Comment: Nolan points out smith's last 12 games he was 7-5 as the starter. OK i will give JTO 12 games and he better be 7-5. Oh excuse me, now u say that is unrealistic....yeah whatever, just win baby.

Posted By: cools (23/08/2008 12:06:18 AM)
Comment: I think Goldson has stepped up same with Mc'D, Fields and Spencer on defense Wragge and Heitmann on offense

Posted By: Medford (22/08/2008 11:40:07 PM)
Comment: Matt would you say that the two guys that have stepped it up the most this preseason are Tully Banta Cain and Jason Hill? Hill has looked like he has come out of his shell and Banta Cain looks like a man on a mission.

Posted By: Mike in Sac (22/08/2008 10:57:53 PM)
Comment: For you quoting physical talent...look at Garcia, Jeff; Brady, Tom; Montana, Joe or Farve, Brett and many others who have palyed the QB position. I know these guys are all pro bowl, no kidding. It is about delivering the ball on time and to the correct spot not who can fling it 70 yds on the fly or bench a car. I don't need Druckenmiller (spelling) at QB.

Posted By: Mike in Sac (22/08/2008 10:52:06 PM)
Comment: Amazing the comments are turned back on and so many people screaming for Smith to play. At this point he stinks, he may get better, but he does not deserve to play. Did you actually watch the game last night? JTO was clearly better...oh and he has gotten better every game. Oh yeah, now all you cry babies will scream if Smith got all the reps he would look good. No, he probably would not. He had minis, OTA's and the first part of camp. Go back and read this blog. MM noted the O-looked like garbage at the begging of camp. Who was running the show? BTW, Smith has been throwing behind receivers for THREE years. He should have figured out how to avoid that problem by now regardless of the system or o-coach. Give it a rest! Lets talk about the positive, like maybe looking like an NFL franchise this year, moving the ball and scoring points. If all that happens we might just win some games and that sure would be nice for a change.

Posted By: Paul (22/08/2008 10:44:51 PM)
Comment: Matt - Interesting that a newspaper would censor (suppression of speech or deletion of communication material which may be considered objectionable, harmful or sensitive, as determined by a censor - Wikipedia) a sports blog. The name PressDemocrat refers to journalism/news media and proponent of democracy. U.S. democracy is based on freedom, freedom of speech and freedom of the press. Obscene speech is not protected by the First Amendment. According to the U.S. Supreme Court, to be obscene, material must meet a three-prong test: (1) an average person, applying contemporary community standards, must find that the material, as a whole, appeals to the prurient interest (i.e., material having a tendency to excite lustful thoughts).(2) the material must depict or describe, in a patently offensive way, sexual conduct specifically defined by applicable law. (3) the material, taken as a whole, must lack serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value. The Supreme Court has indicated that this test is designed to cover hard-core pornography. Sorry, I must go now and visit one of those obscene sites . . . . .

Posted By: Jesse (22/08/2008 10:42:45 PM)
Comment: Alex also has completed 42% of his passes this preseason. And he has a QB rating of about 67. That's amazing isn't it? It's sad how much our standards have dropped over the years...

Posted By: Matthew Crandall (22/08/2008 10:38:26 PM)
Comment: J.T. also wasted more Time Outs than Smith and J. T. was sacked more than Smith. Smith also had more running yards than J.T. Alex Smith will be the starter by week 3

Posted By: Jesse (22/08/2008 10:32:28 PM)
Comment: For those of you that think Alex had a good year in 06: He had just as many interceptions as he did touchdowns. 16 TD's 16 INT's. That's very mediocre to NFL standards. And he had all the first team reps. You guys keep getting caught up in one game (one drive actually,) that was good. Maybe he just needs to sit because he was thrown into the fire almost immediately after his rookie season started. I think it'll be good for him to sit. Hey, as long as we're winning games and putting up points, it doesn't really matter who's under center right?

Posted By: Traj (22/08/2008 10:30:56 PM)
Comment: Did anyone hear Mychael Urban on KNBR 680 right at the end of the Niner game? I think he made a really good point: if Smith learns the offense, he will be given every opportunity to be the starter this year if JTO struggles or the next, when he is playing out the final year of his contract and is more familiar with the system. I am not an Alex Smith apologist by any means (I mean I supported Cody Pickett over Smith in his first year), but you have to admit that Smith's physical talent is much butter than JTO - I mean the ball looks so much better coming out of his hands. In the end though, his misfires were so glaring that I will always wonder if it is just not meant to be or the Niners just really screwed this kid up. I feel sorry for him. I think he could have been a really top-line QB. He was just handled so poorly. Regardless of how the season goes, Nolan should really get the boot based on how Smith was handled alone. Traj.

Posted By: Mike in Marin (22/08/2008 10:18:01 PM)
Comment: I dont really think it was Morgans play that dropped off more than it was Alex hanging him out to dry on the one across the middle and then he had atiming issue on the other pass to the outside and once through to him on a short pass which he was well covered. I know if OSullivan was in there longer they would have hooked up. Because Smith got in so soon the chemistry wasnt there. Morgan was still getting seperation. We have not even seen Bryant Johnson yet. I say you start with Morgan and Bruce, he has earned it. Let Johnson work his way in if he earns it. Put Jason Hill in the slot.

Posted By: Jon in SoCal (22/08/2008 9:59:49 PM)
Comment: Hey, let's watch the language. That is the kinda stuff that gets the comments shut down. Alex really needs to work on leading the receiver. If he does that, he'll be successful when he gets back in. No way that any 9er QB lasts thru the season. The biggest question now is at the WR position. Gotta figure Bruce starts with Johnson when healthy. Morgan is going to push for a starting/3 WR position. He dropped off a bit this game, so I think that hurts him. Battle is going to be in a fight. Hill is the #5, but shows improvement. Lelie is gone. Ziglar and Colvin are PS.

Posted By: Jeff B (22/08/2008 9:54:16 PM)
Comment: Hey Matt, I noticed you often break news on the Niners before a lot of other reporters. You also cover the Niners better than just about any other reporter I know, yet you still work for the Press Democrat, a relatively small paper. I was wondering what is it about the Press Democrat that makes you want to stay over larger papers like the Mercury or Chronicle?

Posted By: http:// (22/08/2008 9:50:40 PM)
Comment: Razoreater, I couldnt agree more. I have always said that you need to install a system and let the players grow in it. Well, this is our 4th system, which means starting from the very basics again. I dont know if Smith is going to amount to much because he is still making very basic mistakes and doesnt look like he has the pocket sense of the good ones but I know Nolan sure did not help his chances.

Posted By: Razoreater (22/08/2008 9:36:25 PM)
Comment: Well this confirms that Nolan and the rest of the 49er staff have and never have had a plan for the teams future. They have a #1 overall pick whom they've never given a chance to succeed, and they signed a guy to an extension after his brief brilliant play at the end of last season. Then the light bulb goes on and they decide to start a guy who has had a couple of decent preseason games(not including INT's) because he's buddy buddy with the offensive coordinator. O'Sullivan gives the 49ers no better chance to win than Smith or Hill with a much lower ceiling. As much as I liked to Roll with Nolan in the beginning, I think it's time for him to get the Rock outta dodge.

Posted By: Mike in Marin (22/08/2008 9:35:08 PM)
Comment: Glad to see coach Nolan finally name a starter. I dont know where this team is going and what Nolans priorities are but we are niner faithful which means come gameday were there baby! Just glad football season is finally back. Offseason speculation is fun but gets boring. I hope to see Josh Morgan as are #2. Bruce, Morgan, Hill or Johnson then Battle in my opinion. I know we got a tough schedule which should give us an indication of our progress. My prediction is 7-9. Nolan gets fired and who gets hired, Martz I hope. Its like a circus around here, but we are the faithful!

Posted By: Razoreater (22/08/2008 9:21:59 PM)
Comment: For the record I feel as though Matt and the powers to be were wrong to shut down comments because of some preschoolers. Besides the excellent information M&M provides I enjoy interacting with other fans and their point of view.

Posted By: jjjj (22/08/2008 9:19:56 PM)
Comment: did JT earn the right to start? YES. Does he give us the best chance to win game one? YES But he is not a long term answer and certainly is not going to win big games for us. If not Alex, we are back to the drawing board and the most important position in football and that is disappointing

Posted By: 9er Japan (22/08/2008 9:12:07 PM)
Comment: This move is perfect. Had Alex been named starter and then had to go through the opening game sequence the niners have, all while still learning Martz' offense, he probably would have flopped. In which case, his career would have been in serious jeopardy. Looks to me like Nolan and Martz are starting over from ground zero with him. He's still 24. He'll learn this system by watching JT play it. Then if JT fails, he'll step in and be more prepared , more relaxed in the pocket and maybe even have the easier part of the schedule. Perfect opportunity to resurrect/begin his career. If JT doesn't fail, then we have nothing to complain about. Win-win in my mind.

Posted By: mike in MD (22/08/2008 9:06:55 PM)
Comment: That was a change in topic I know. Sorry all to cut into your QB discussion.

Posted By: Ronnie - Fresno (22/08/2008 8:54:51 PM)
Comment: I am optimistic. I think I am back in Nolan's corner. JTO definitely looked better than Alex in the preseason, particularly with the fact that he drastically improved each game. Just so long as plays like the dumb backward pass to Foster in the Raider game and the boneheaded interception in the Packer game are behind him, I think he'll do fine. However, do I think JTO is the next diamond in the rough Mad Mike reclamation project? No. I think we all hope we can hold onto Mike Martz for awhile and let him bring some desperately needed stability to the team's offense. Along with that, perhaps Alex Smith can learn as much as he can from a proven QB development guru and become the guy we all hoped he could be when he was drafted. Alex Smith has a long windup delivery. When he finds his target, he takes way too long to deliver the ball. JTO and Hill have much quicker deliveries. Perhaps the obstacles from Alex Smith's mechanics can now be worked out without the pressure of having to prepare for games. I really do think Alex Smith can and will be a great quarterback for some team. I still really hope it will be with the 49ers.

Posted By: dcsham (22/08/2008 8:52:16 PM)
Comment: Matt, I hope you keep this comment section up, but I can see you pulling it again if language gets out of hand like 9erman is doing. Any way we can have some dialog with you without you having to be a hall monitor for some of the particapants? Come on, everybody, let's be adults!

Posted By: Rich, DE (22/08/2008 8:50:11 PM)
Comment: Let me rephrase my comment. In my opionion, it worked the way it was supposed to. The best man won.

Posted By: mt (22/08/2008 8:39:02 PM)
Comment: I agree with the grinch - Alex's problems for the past three seasons - and this one so far - remain the same. Poor accuracy and hesitation. How many times have we seen him miss an opportunity because he decided to hold onto the ball? High throws, behind receivers, at their ankles. His problems have little to do with 4 OCs - he's just not that good. A nice guy, very smart, just not a good QB - let alone a great one. Kind of like Tim Couch, David Carr, Cade McNown, et al.

Posted By: Jason (22/08/2008 8:37:51 PM)
Comment: While I have been pulling for Alex and didn't think he was necessarily getting a fair shake, I can't say I disagree with the decision. Alex got a good chance last night against the Bears, and while he didn't look bad, he didn't look as good as JTO. I think this really did come down to Alex not being ready. I don't think that is his fault, it is just the way it is. I think he showed flashes last night of what he can do and given practice time, I think he will be just fine. Look the truth is JTO is on a one year deal, so there is no guarantee he will be back next year. The Niners hold the keys to Smith, they will be the ones who decide where he is next year. Give him a year under Martz and Tollner, maybe one of them will actually coach him, and let's see what happens. I can guarantee if they lose two or three games and JTO is hucking the ball all over everywhere, I don't think Nolan will hesitate to put Smith out there, because there is one thing Nolan knows about Smith at this point and thats that he will not cost them the game. He may not be at a point where he can win them (though he has shown flashes, see Arizona week 1 '07), but he rarely is the reason they lose them. Don't pull the curtain on the Alex Smith show just yet...

Posted By: Transporter (22/08/2008 8:33:15 PM)
Comment: The game of the game is to Win... Nolan knows that. He is down to his last straw in my mind. JTO, has the quick delivery, accurrate and again seems to have intangibles that you can not teach like leadership. His College Coach was on KNBR this past week. He thinks the JTO will surprise many people in the NFL and will be a very good starter given the chance. Alex Smith now has the monkey off his back, let him really learn and just maybe this pick will not be a bust. Only time will tell. I do predict that we will have more wins than losses this year if we can stay healthy. You really must tip your hat off to Martz so far on what a turnaround on offense and his nose for QB's.

Posted By: Darren (22/08/2008 8:27:39 PM)
Comment: Hey 9rman, right on. I'm never supporting JT until he beats the Giants/Phil/NE/SEattle/and Orleans. Now, how hard is that? That's 7 games he has win at, I couldn't be anymore unreasonable. Don't let any other fan say otherwise and 49erGenius my man, I got your back. Start Alex Smith, Fire Nolan. Now, 49er fans, how come Mike Nolan wasn't fired back in January of 08, but he may be fired before January of 09? Shouldn't you fix a team during the off season rather then fix it again after the next off season? I wanted to beat the NFC East, this is another 0 for the NFC East again.

Posted By: 49erGenius (22/08/2008 8:23:17 PM)
Comment: I urge all 49er fans to please start a Start Alex Smith chant and FIre Nolan. We need to get rid of Nolan now. This is not right. Smith will do the right thing if he can get away from the 49ers and hit them in the wallet where it hurt them. Make Kyle Wright your backup next to Shaun Hill please.

Posted By: Rich, DE (22/08/2008 8:20:55 PM)
Comment: It worked the way it was supposed to. The best man won.

Posted By: Mind of McCloughan (22/08/2008 8:11:42 PM)
Comment: As someone who's been pro-Smith in the past, I have to say enough is enough. Whether it was totally fair or not is irrelevant; JTO has played the best of the three QBs and he is clearly the best option for 2008. Most likely scenario for Smith is serving 2008 as our backup and being released in the offseason. Maybe he can step in (due to injury) during the season and play his way back onto the '09 roster, but he would have to play better than we've ever seen him play. His contract and the improvement of rest of the roster dictate that we can't keep rolling the dice on his potential. We'll at least get a decent year of intrigue out of the situation. It will be interesting to see which of these men (Nolan, Martz, Smith, and O'Sullivan) are still with the organization come next March.

Posted By: 9er_man (22/08/2008 8:00:28 PM)
Comment: tha grinch shut the hell up you don't know crap about football. ALEX is the future and you can hate on him all you wanted. jto have the advantage knowing the mike martz system and alex don't. but i forgot you an idiot to realize that. ALEX is still my quarterback and one day the boy is going to shine.

Posted By: gw2 (22/08/2008 7:51:02 PM)
Comment: "Next year, he's on the books for a non-guaranteed base salary of $9.625M.".. and what for 2008? I'll admit I disagreed when you first said that if Alex doesn't win the starting job he should be cut before regular season. Well, I don't disagree anymore.

Response: His base salary for '08 is $2.3M. With the guarantees in that base salary, the 49ers would save only about $800,000 this year if they were to release him now. --Matt M.

Posted By: Barry Zito (22/08/2008 7:48:56 PM)
Comment: 24 million guaranteed? What a total waste of money that was. What kind of a owner would pay that much for a complete bust? signed Barry zito

Posted By: gw2 (22/08/2008 7:39:19 PM)
Comment: Thanks Matt. My ears start to squeeze together when I try to think of this stuff, so sorry if what you've written before didn't sink in. But... my real question with Alex's contract is the actual $ the Yorks are having to come up with for him, as opposed to his cap cost. Are those $2.3MM, 2.9MM salaries accurate? The team seems comfortably under the cap, but for how long will the Yorks be willing to pay out real disposable dollars to a guy who may no longer have a future on this team?

Posted By: Mike (22/08/2008 7:34:45 PM)
Comment: Hey Matt, great job as usual. Can't wait for the season to start. Not just for the Niners but football in general. Mike Nolan states there no thought of cutting ties with Alex Smith eventhough Smith is not the starter, but could Tom Condon who is probably one of the top QB agents out there and the agent for Smith go to the Niner & McCloughan and request or demand a trade for Smith to another team to let's say for example Tampa Bay who was Gruden was high on Smith in the '05 draft, and who seems to like collecting QBs. Your thoughts!!!

Posted By: Darren (22/08/2008 7:33:28 PM)
Comment: No wonder Piers Morgan and Simon Cowell are fantastic judges. Maybe they should've advised Nolan in how to hold a real competition for that was not a good choice. Oh well, I'm not going to bring this blog down with my thoughts. When I watched WWE Monday Night, Shaun Michaels said he was going to go home and reflect. Well upon hearing the news that JT O Sullivan is our QB, I'm gong to go back to work, I'm going to arrange to work on Sundays, I will not read the newspapers on Mondays anymore, I will not watch any 49er highlight of any kind on my TV, and I will do this until Mike Nolan is fired and JT O Sullivan is out. I tried to be fair, and it really hurts right now. This competition was very rigged, and this is not supposed to be our 49ers. Good luck JT, the better man supposedly won. Don't expect me to support you until you beat the Giants, the Eagles, the Pats, the Saints, and Seattle. can't beat them? Well, there's the door you can go out with Nolan and Martz. Now, to my good 49er fans, please, no insulting, no name calling, no jokes. I'm very hurt by this decision and I don't want this to be heated. It's just an opinion. When you commit to Alex Smith, you play out his contract or cut him right now and take the cap hit. I wish Gene Upshaw didn't have to die right now. Good luck 49ers. Just hurts.

Posted By: dcsham (22/08/2008 7:27:59 PM)
Comment: I'll just say this, and anyone can flame me if they want: I've seen better quarterback play for the 49ers from JT O'Sullivan in the past two games than I've seen in the last four years...that includes pre-season and regular season. The circumstances weren't the best for Alex Smith, but he's done absolutely nothing to make this job his own. He's had two (count 'em, two!) good drives in his entire career...Seattle two years ago and Arizona in the season opener last year, and in both of those games, he was horrible until the final drive. I've been pulling for Alex Smith for three years, but sometimes, you have to move on.

Posted By: The Realist (22/08/2008 7:25:36 PM)
Comment: Many people on this board have been openly "rooting" for Alex to win the competition -- me included. I freely admit to that... I was wondering why that was, because, typically, I'm someone who pulls for the underdog (see: JT O'Sullivan). Here's the best answer I could come up with: To start with, Alex "looks" like a quarterback; JT and Shaun Hill look like guys who could be driving a cab in New York City... Second, Alex is a nice guy, which make him easy to root for. JT, frankly, just seems too darn cocky for a guy who's been cut 8 times. He reminds you of that little punk you wanted to punch out in the 8th grade... Finally, when Alex is "on," he teases you with glimpses of why he was the #1 pick in the 2005 draft. You think to yourself, "Wow -- if he could ever start to do this on a consistent basis, we'd really have something here..." Conversely, when you watch JT you think to yourself, "That little sucker is going to get squashed like a bug at some point." Unfortunately, all that said, here's the blunt truth: Alex is just not very good. JT hasn't exactly been tremendous over the three pre-season games, but he kicked Alex's backside the other night... In fact, it wasn't even close. If it had been a fight between the two, Mills Lane would've stopped it in the 7th round on cuts... Look, to be considered really good in this league, you have to perform at a high level on a consistent basis. Smith has not done that. (Ever, to be honest.) Sure, he's still young. And we all know he's now four-for-four with new OCs. And we know he's coming off a lot of inactivity due to the injury. But, if we're totally honest, we know that "wishing doesn't make it so." Alex Smith may yet become a good NFL QB for someone, but I don't believe it can happen here. Not anymore. I put a lot of this on Mike Nolan, who mismanaged the situation beyond repair last year... But I put an equal amount on Smith, because he had an opportunity against Green Bay to hit Morgan deep for six, and an open Hill for six more on a crossing route. He missed both guys. Had he hit those two passes, he likely starts against Chicago... But he came up short even in that game. Again. So for now, I say to JT -- go get 'em kid. And I say to Alex, I still wish you the best. But I'm done wishing for you to be all that you can be. That part remains up to you.

Posted By: Rich, San Ramon (22/08/2008 7:22:33 PM)
Comment: Anybody: If you have the game on tape or TIVO, see if you think Alex is getting the ball out of his hand waaaaay quicker in the 3rd qtr than in the first half. I do. Something sunk in after his last incomplete pass of the 2nd quarter. The expression on his face as he stood on the field, the expression as he was on the sidelines. First look of urgency I've ever seen on his face when he's talking to the coach and pointing at the noteboo. Anyone?

Posted By: Pigskin Mojo (22/08/2008 7:19:51 PM)
Comment: Matt: It seems that de la Puente did reasonably well against Chicago. Given the Adam Snyder has had his problems in the past (at least with pass rushers), is de la Puente going to push Snyder for his job, similar to Wragge pushing Baas? I'm wondering if perhaps Wragge and de la Puente will start and Snyder & Baas will be backups.

Posted By: http:// (22/08/2008 7:04:47 PM)
Comment: Hey stonerlab we can throw all the dirt we want on Alex cause we got S Hill a man whos shown hes can come in and be effective.Alex is the #3 and paid to much to be a backup.

Posted By: Jimmy (22/08/2008 6:36:19 PM)
Comment: Alex smith is the Barry Zito of the 49ers.... Keep him at 2nd slot...

Posted By: Jesse (22/08/2008 6:31:59 PM)
Comment: Alex also only completed 42% of his passes. The scores were mostly runs. And 64 or whatever he has is an amazing qb rating. You're right, Alex should start....not :p

Posted By: gw2 (22/08/2008 6:13:39 PM)
Comment: That's our guy: Alex Smith, "Mr. Efficiency".

Posted By: Ryan (22/08/2008 6:10:49 PM)
Comment: wow...if you look at those numbers...Alex Smith actually is more efficient in his scoring. He has had two less drives than JTO but has scored the same ammount of pts and no turn overs to JTO's 3...ouch

Posted By: gw2 (22/08/2008 6:04:50 PM)
Comment: I have no idea what Alex's contract looks like now. 49ersparadise has his 08 salary as $2.3MM, 09 at $2.925MM. But they paid him $12MM last spring, and we hear that he will make nearly $10MM in 2009. Sure would appreciate some light on the subject.

Response: I've written all this numerous times over the past month. There was no $12M payment this offseason. The $8M signing bonus (not paid all at once) was part of the original $24M guaranteed. All that guaranteed money is now accounted for. The 49ers did a good job of structuring this deal so that they can part ways after four seasons and it won't kill them on the cap. He has $5.3M in unaccounted for proration that still has to count against the cap after this season. Next year, he's on the books for a non-guaranteed base salary of $9.625M. If he's on the team in '09, his cap figure would be more than $12M. If he's not on the team, he'll count $5.3M. --Matt M.

Posted By: JR (22/08/2008 6:03:22 PM)
Comment: With Franklin getting manhandled in the middle, it may not be long before Soap is swicthed back to NT. This weakness throws off the D line rotations and they better looking over the cut list for some help. Will Nolan start a 3 way competion at NT. It worked sooo well at QB.Franklin, Cohen, & Ellison all have been inadequate. Let's hope Fields steps up or the D will be on the field far too long again.

Posted By: dcsham (22/08/2008 5:41:48 PM)
Comment: How about that? JTO starting for the Niners! Who wudda thunk that a boy running around throwing TD's against HSU in the Redwood Bowl would make the big time!

Response: Ah, yes. For those who might not know what we're talking about . . . http://49ers.pressdemocrat.com/default.asp?item=1042496. --Matt M.

Posted By: gw2 (22/08/2008 5:32:40 PM)
Comment: Was there really life before Madonna?

Posted By: Mike in Marin (22/08/2008 5:28:20 PM)
Comment: Hey Matt, I was very sorry to here you say that Clayton will not make the team. In my opinion that is absurd. Michael Robinson has failed in every attempt to be a running back for us. Being a guy who is really good on special teams I like him for, however if Frank or Deshaun get hurt we are going to be in trouble. Just being a guy who does what they ask him to is not going to translate to wins. Clayton clearly has pop to him. He is explosive, can get around the corner, has low center of gravity, is strong and shifty. He would be a great change of pace back. Robinson is a fine special teamer, but thats it. Goldson is definitely a playmaker and Roman is not. What do you honestly think about these players?

Posted By: StonerLab (22/08/2008 5:24:35 PM)
Comment: Finally the biggest secret that Nolan held back but yet everybody knew weeks ago is out of the bag. Congrats to JTO he deserves to be the starter & he certainly earned it. As for Alex he just needs to keep his head up & continue to learn Martz's system because wether some of you Alex basher's like it or not he's not going to get cut & the 49ers at some point are going to need him this season I can guarantee you that. This is the NFL people & you need 2 able QB's to survive a full season so don't start throwing dirt on Alex just yet.

Posted By: RK in LA (22/08/2008 5:22:24 PM)
Comment: It is so great to be scoring points the whole game! It looks like we're heading in the right direction! Keep the best players on the field and win some games!

Posted By: aztlan72 (22/08/2008 5:19:37 PM)
Comment: I know a lot of people might be frustrated by the decision the coaches made today, going with JTO. All I have to say is, the lowest paid player is always the underdog and more likely will over achieve his expectations. I for one am glad that they went with JTO. Maybe now we will get a QB that has urgency or a chip on his shoulder, unlike a self made pre madonna like Alex.

Posted By: SFJay (22/08/2008 5:04:12 PM)
Comment: montana to rice - Then why was he fired by DET? An improvement over last year does not qualify anyone as a genius. And I don't think any lucid 49er fan is being reminded of the glory days after a few series from some preseason games. My point about Smith was the kid has been tossed from one offense to another with setbacks along the way. I am not saying this excuses away all his mistakes but I don't think it's a stretch to say he has not had the best recipe for success since coming into the league. He is a talented kid and the organization is just as much to blame for his lack of professional development as he is. Lastly everyone knows Nolan's job is on the line, but it doesn't make sense that if there was such urgency at the QB spot he thought the answer would be O'Sullivan. You are telling me that they finally realized he would not cut it half was through camp. If that is the case then he should be fired now for his incompetence. This whole QB storyline has been scripted ever since Martz was brought in. He was going to be the starting QB and all Nolan has done is pass the buck, that's his solution to the "sense of urgency".

Posted By: IL Giacomo The Great (22/08/2008 4:55:02 PM)
Comment: The more I think about it the more I believe that this team could be a solid .500 this year....which could mean a first place finish in the NFC West and a playoff appearance. We just need the defense to keep us in the game, the running game to be as good as it's talent level and consistently average (or better) play from the QB's.

Posted By: montana to rice (22/08/2008 4:49:22 PM)
Comment: to sfjay:1st mike nolan cant sink or swim with alex, his job is on the line, and he needs to win now, so i understand his urgency with the qb position. and martz ovrated? hes transforming the worst offnse the last 3 years to showing improvement and helping us remember what it was like in our glory days. Martz is a genius, and i trust him to the fullest. GO NINERS!

Posted By: THA GRINCH (22/08/2008 4:49:06 PM)
Comment: Not trying to be smart but how long would you Smith supporters give Alex?I mean this could go on for four more years and you guys would still have some excuse,just let it go.What does crappy coaching and coordinators have to do with not being able to throw a pass to a wide open receiver?This guy has been a QB since high school we should not have to wait for him to learn how to play the game all over again!Use your brains fellas Alex was a bad bick,move on and put your support with the Niners and JTO.

Posted By: Pete G. (22/08/2008 4:46:47 PM)
Comment: Definitely a gutsy decision, especially knowing they're starting there lowest paid QB on the roster. This couldn't have been an easy decision to make but they're hopefully making a decision that other teams wouldn't make when they passed on JTO in the first place. The numbers don't lie, JTO will give us the best chance to win now imo.

Posted By: SFJay (22/08/2008 4:40:07 PM)
Comment: Well as a Niner fan I am going to get behind this guy and pull for him like crazy. But I will say that I think Smith has probably had one of the more unfortunate starts to an NFL QB career. He has never really been put into a great position to succeed with a changing offense every year and a revolving door at the WR position. I feel he was slightly thrown under the bus this year. Not going to excuse away his mistakes but I feel his raw talent was never truly be given an opportunity to be refined. I would have rather given the kid every chance this year and let the ship sink or swim with him one last time. All we can do now is hope that the career 3rd string / practice squad QB that is O'Sullivan can magically succeed in his 7th year for his 8th team. I think Martz is definitely a little overrated but I guess he will once again have a chance to prove he his some kind of offensive genius if he is able to make this work, I am not holding my breath, but for now GO NINERS!!

Posted By: Nick (22/08/2008 4:38:04 PM)
Comment: Matt, I could be wrong, but when Norv was here back in 06, wasn't Smith given all the 1st team reps? I thought that 06 pre-season, he wasn't overly impressive, but really came on in the seasoner opener that year and played well thought out. If he was given all 1st team reps and plays, couldn't it be possible he'd be farther along than he his (and better than JTO?) thanks for your time

Posted By: Gabriel Mury (22/08/2008 4:35:16 PM)
Comment: Matt, With Shaun Hill back to the number 3 spot (that's what I call a 360o), do you think there's a possiblity of him asking to be traded or released? After all, he certainly impressed some people around the league last year and, judging by his late interviews, He is not happy with his current situation.

Posted By: Bryan from Mt View (22/08/2008 4:32:24 PM)
Comment: Hey Matt, great game wrap up as usual. In watching the Defence and especially the special teams I can't help but think their may well be more final roster surprizes than I would have thought. What is you're take??

Posted By: Rich, San Ramon (22/08/2008 4:30:41 PM)
Comment: Matt: My thought last night was that the play calling was like when Mike Shanahan was our OC again, in terms of crispness and unpredictability. You were here then, do you agree?

Posted By: Jake (22/08/2008 4:29:52 PM)
Comment: This is the 1st GREAT decision Mike Nolan has made in a long time! I was ready to write Smith off totally but he looked okay last night. I said this on the postgame radio last night that I think the 49ers should treat this year like it's Smith's rookie year, let him sit, learn, and practice, and then let him compete for the starting job in 2009! Who cares about the money, they aren't paying JTO hardly anything and it's not like teams are going to be busting down the door for him in the offseason even if he plays well. JTO is a Martz System QB and the 49ers aren't paying anymore for the QB position than anyone else. It never hurts to build depth at the QB position!

Posted By: michaelv in windsor (22/08/2008 4:24:23 PM)
Comment: i'm disgusted with nolan's decision, i hope this decision ends up costing him his job. ALEX WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER IF HE WOULDVE BEEN GIVEN THE JOB SINCE THE BEGINNING. I WANT THROW UP

Posted By: Rich, DE (22/08/2008 4:23:17 PM)
Comment: Just excited to see they look like a real team again and fun to watch.

Posted By: shootme (22/08/2008 4:21:55 PM)
Comment: I know this is looking far into the future, but is there any possibility of the niners reworking Smith's deal at the end of the season rather than cutting him? OBviously if he doesn't show he's worth the money, they won't pay him... but if they have faith that he still can put something together, I could see them wanting to hang on to him at a reduced rate.

Posted By: JayrodAK (22/08/2008 4:15:23 PM)
Comment: Well, I was really hoping Alex Smith would be able to win the job, but its time for me to move on and start backing JTO. In all honesty, i just want to see them win so we can get excited again. Flying in from Alaska for the home opener, third year in a row and proud to say they are 3-0 with me in attendence!!

Posted By: Haole Boy (22/08/2008 4:15:17 PM)
Comment: I don't know- you can't argue that JTO's put up better overall numbers, but those 2 picks and a fumble are troubling. And man, one of those picks was an AWFUL throw. I could see this going badly in the regular season, particularly if opposing teams figure JTO out or his arm

Posted By: Indiana Jim (22/08/2008 4:04:01 PM)
Comment: Even Indiana Jim must admit J.T. O'Sullivan has now earned this opportunity. He proved he can make the throws required of him, and hey, even Vernon Davis and Jason Hill proved they can catch those throws. Here's to hoping he keeps it up.

Posted By: Jon in SoCal (22/08/2008 3:57:20 PM)
Comment: Was there any question that JTO was going to be the starter? He certainly played the best. I was really surprised to see how well Zak ran the ball. JTO already got the dreaded "100% behind you" vote of confidence from Nolan. The practice squad is going to be pretty interesting. They should keep de la Puente, Ziglar and Clayton off the field so that we can get them on the PS. Anyone see how Grant played?

Posted By: Danny in NJ (22/08/2008 3:52:19 PM)
Comment: I know its way too early and we havent played a regular season game but... Matt can you give the details of Martz deal I believe it was one year (since its Nolan's make or break) but is there anyway we can extend his contract during the season? Also if not do we have a restricted negotiating period where we can make the offers before other teams? Can we match like a restricted free agent. Thanks

Posted By: Taney (22/08/2008 3:51:01 PM)
Comment: I am wishing the best for JTO and the 9ers. If he can get us some wins that will be great but Alex Smith has had some bad luck in this situation. I am still trying to figure out where the QB competition was after August 6th? Seriously, I looked at your numbers Matt and didn't see a time that Alex got to practice with the first team offense or play in a preseason game with the first team WRs and Gore. Do you really think that is fair or an actual competition?

Posted By: Parker (22/08/2008 3:50:47 PM)
Comment: It will be interesting to watch the first couple of games with JTO - when the chips are down, will the players rally behind him? That wasn't the case with Big Al in 07. Full agreement with Randy - the cards have no relevant footage on our bearded journeyman. Go Niners! What else can we do?

Posted By: Darth (22/08/2008 3:50:15 PM)
Comment: Hey Matt, Starkey and Plummer said Romans first game back was last night. Thought he was back against the Packers? Either way he did not look very solid last night and the D was a little off with him on the headset. Was M Lewis wearing the headset before? All in all the D was vanilla and hardly on the field do to great drives so not to worried.

Posted By: Randy in Santa Rosa (22/08/2008 3:34:37 PM)
Comment: Arizona is gonna wonder what hit them. Best thing is there is not much tape on JT. Can't wait for the opener at home! Rollin'.

Posted By: Kart (22/08/2008 3:33:19 PM)
Comment: Hey Chris, Go root for the Hawks, Rams or Cards if you're rooting against the 'Niners.