Alex Smith has had a tough offseason. He already has lost the battle of “worst attempt to recapture college days” to Matt Leinart, though it is easy to argue that Leinart received better training at USC than Smith did at Utah in the fields of women, alcohol, and scandalous posing. What he can’t argue is that he hasn’t proven his worth as the number one overall pick in the 2005 NFL draft. The 49ers quarterback battle proves to be one of the highlights of the San Francisco summer.

In his three years with the 49ers, Alex Smith has thrown for 19 TDs, thrown 31 picks, and has lost 13 fumbles. Looks like all those jokes about his undersized hands had a point (insert joke about Green Bay being in Aaron Rodger’s capable hands this season). Don’t forget Smith also accused the coaching staff of wanting him to fail by undermining his support among teammates. Smith’s biggest problem may be that he has never had the opportunity to sit and learn from an established NFL quarterback, especially when he never faced this level of competition at Utah. This is definitely his make or break year.

Shaun Hill could follow in a line of great quarterbacks from the University of Maryland like Boomer Esiason, Neil O’Donnell, and of course, Dick Shiner. Last year Hill started two games for the niners, threw 5 TDs, one pick, and finished with a QB rating of 101.3, earning himself a new three year contract. Hill’s season ended with an injury, kind of like when soldiers shoot themselves in the foot to get out of a tour of duty. Best predictions estimate that if he stays with the niners for the full length of his new contract he will be a double amputee with a pacemaker and a tracheotomy. If anyone really believes that Hill can be the quarterback of the future for the 49ers then they have also discovered that prozac makes sitting through another season a tolerable experience.

Rounding out the quarterback battle is third-stringer J.T. O’Sullivan, a 2002 draft pick out of the quarterback factory known as U.C. Davis. Makes sense that a guy who went to Jesuit High School would backup the ultra religious Jon Kitna in Detroit, but it remains to be seen how those values will translate to living in San Francisco. Last time I checked this wasn’t the great bastion of Christianity, though the fans have been known to do some heavy duty praying (right before they down a few beers, light the medical marijuana, and head to the Warriors game).

The 49ers have spent the last couple of years stockpiling talent on defense, yet the niners ranked 25th in the league defensively last year. So what is the solution? Get all the quarterbacks together and throw them in a steel cage to battle it out mixed martial arts style. The easier answer is drinking contest, but this offseason has proven Smith would easily take that (assuming Mike Nolan did not step in and chug it all to numb the pain of being the niners head coach).

Last 8 posts by The Sportstern

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