Singletary: No timetable for decision
Nothing much was settled Saturday night in the 49ers’ quarterback competition during their 21-20 exhibition-game victory over the Raiders at
Coach Mike Singletary said he would get together with his coaches while watching the film and discuss the next move. It’s difficult to read Singletary to determine whether he – or anybody on the staff – is getting itchy about settling the quarterback situation for the regular season.
Singletary said there is no timetable, and he did not rule out the possibility a decision might be made sooner than later.
“I’m ready for anything at this point,” Alex Smith said. “I wouldn’t be surprised either way.”
Smith completed 3 of 9 passes for 30 yards and an interception. He did have two catchable passes go through the hands of Vernon Davis and Josh Morgan. The pass to Morgan was intercepted. Morgan took the blame for that one, saying he tried unnecessarily to snatch the ball out of the air.
Smith said he would have to watch the film to properly evaluate his performance.
“I think the numbers would not say much. It was better. I felt much better this week,” Smith said. “It’s just one of those things. I think the numbers can be deceiving. I’ll look at the film. I had a couple of throw-aways and stuff. I’ll take a look at the pick and see what I could have done differently.”
–Smith’s most notable plays had nothing to do with the skills generally associated with playing QB at the NFL level. He threw a crushing block on 265-pound defensive end Greg Ellis, and he tossed linebacker Ricky Brown to the turf at the end of a long interception return.
“That’s not a good thing to see a quarterback doing that (tackling),” Smith said.
Said 49ers coach Mike Singletary, “It showed he’s not afraid. I’m glad he stepped up. But, at the same time, I’m not going to be glad that he stepped up and hit the guy. Something like that, you just have to be careful.”
–Shaun Hill did not do much to stand out, either. He completed 3 of 7 attempts for 20 yards.
“I would have liked to have been a little sharper,” Hill said.
–Glen Coffee leads the NFL in rushing in the exhibition season with 196 yards on 30 carries through two games. He rushed for 129 of the 49ers’ 275 yards on the ground.
“I think it was important for us to establish an aggressive approach to this game, to really establish the run,” 49ers center Eric Heitmann said. “I think we accomplished that. I think it’s something we can build on going into the future with the running game.”
“I’ve known Coffee for a while,” 49ers linebacker Takeo Spikes said. “I told him when he first got here that I didn’t like him, and he said, ‘Why?’ I said, ‘Because you used to run all over
–Rookie quarterback Nate Davis played OK. He completed 6 of 11 passes for 67 yards, including a 1-yard touchdown pass to Delanie Walker. “I saw a young kind trying to figure out how to play the game and trying to adjust to the speed of the game,” Singletary said. “But he’s a kid that has some talent and he can make plays.”
–The 49ers’ veteran secondary thoroughly dominated Raiders’ young receivers on the practice field of
Not only didn’t Clements get any interceptions in the game, but he also surrendered a 24-yard touchdown pass to Murphy.
“The defense we called, I’ve got to get back on that one. But they made a good play,” Clements said. “Well, I’m disappointed in the way that I played, personally.”
— The 49ers appeared to get through the game without any significant injuries. Starting right tackle Adam Snyder left the game late in the first half with right ankle and knee sprains, the club said. Snyder appeared to be walking without any problems after the game, but Singletary said he would undergo an MRI examination. Veteran Marvel Smith replaced Snyder and played the last several plays of the first half and all of the third quarter.
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