After Troy Smith’s virtuoso performance against the Rams in mid-November, NFL teams appeared to piece together an effective game plan for stopping the 49ers quarterback: Keep him in the pocket and force him to make accurate passes. That blueprint — or book, if you will — severely limited Smith’s effectiveness and eventually led to his demotion.
In the latest twist in Operation Sealed Lips, quarterbacks Alex Smith and Troy Smith weren’t in the locker room during the nearly hour-long media availability today. A team spokesman said the signal-callers were in meetings.
Before the big game, 49ers coach Mike Singletary is playing a cat-and-mouse game. Singletary said today that he’s decided on his starting quarterback for Sunday’s must-win game at St. Louis.
Given the circumstances, 49ers coach Mike Singletary said quarterback Alex Smith “handled himself about as well he could” in a 34-7 loss to the Chargers on Thursday night. Even so, Singletary said he considered benching Smith during the game. And today he reiterated what he said after the loss: He hasn’t made a decision on whether Alex Smith or Troy Smith will start at St. Louis on Dec. 26. Just…
Geez, I spent nearly 1,000 words trying to describe the 49ers’ performance and my non-writer, NFL-mad friend captured it perfectly in a concise in-game e-mail. His message: Puke. Evidently RB DeShawn Wynn wasn’t the only one with an upset tummy after the Niners’ 34-7 faceplant against San Diego:
