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49ers: Lack Of QB Production

RyanHutch Written by RyanHutch, Monday November 16 2009
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Seriously Hurting Our Playoff Chances

     

After 9 games, the 4-5 San Francisco Niners still are in the hunt for a playoff spot. They've started two different quarterbacks, have only had Frank Gore for two-thirds of our games, and are at the bottom third of nearly all NFL team offensive stats, but are still in it. Now when the season just began there were high hopes for the Niners. They ended the season well, and Mike Singletary was the new head coach. Then they came out of the gate 3-1 in the first four, with their only loss being in the last second against the Vikings. It seemed like Shaun Hill was going to be the QB to lead them to the playoffs. The defense was playing well, Frank Gore played well but got injured verse the Vikings but Coffee was doing fine, and Vernon Davis looked like he finally was becoming the player we all knew he could be.

 

     Then they played the Falcons and absolutely everything fell apart. It was clear that only one team came ready to play. The woes continued on through the second half of the Texans game, until Shaun Hill was replaced by Alex Smith. He threw three touchdowns and brought us to within three points, at least making the game good. Against Indianapolis the defense did the impossible and held Peyton Manning and the Colts offense to only one touchdown and eighteen points. The offense played alright, but was only able to muster up fourteen points.

 

     Shaun Hill has had 5 starts, throwing for 943 yards on 155 attempts, with a 79.6 passer rating. He has 5 touchdowns and 2 interceptions with a completion ratio of 56%.

 

     Alex Smith has had 4 starts, throwing for 808 yards on 122 attempts, with a 79.5 passer rating. He has 6 touchdowns and 6 interceptions with a completion ratio of 64%.

 

     It's clear immediately when you look at the numbers that neither of their numbers jump out at you as outstanding. Both seem to be numbers of a middle of the road team, which the Niners are. One can't help but wonder though, with one of the best running backs in the league, the best tight end in Vernon Davis, two solid young recievers in Morgan and Crabtree, and one of the better defenses in the NFL, with better QB play, could they be playoff bound? It's clear that with Alex Smith the 49er staff feel they have a better opportunity to create an explosive type offense, but he is prone to making a lot of mistakes that are much less common with Shaun Hill. Smith gives the 49ers a better chance to win the game, but Hill is much less likely to give it away with careless mistakes. Only if we could combine them....It seems that with the schedule they have the Niners do have a fair opportunity to end at around 8-8 or better and possibly make the playoffs, but without a solid quarterback, the chances look like slim to none.

 

     For the fans of the San Francisco 49ers, the Steve Young era of the 90's seems to get further and further away, but there definetly appears to be a light at the end of the tunnel. Frank Gore is one of the best backs in the NFL and as long as he stays healthy, puts us in a great position to win games. Crabtree looks to be all he was hyped up to be, Josh Morgan is improving and seems to be a solid number two receiver. Vernon Davis is finally playing like the Pro-Bowl tight end we have been waiting for. Though it has been inconsistent, the O-Line has shown signs of improvement, and besides the secondary which for the most part is young and still developing, is one of the best in the country. The Bay Area, for too long now has watched its sports teams fail time and time again. Though it make take a few years, it seems like the NIners may be able to recover the air of the 80's and 90's and become a playoff team year in and year out once again.

 

     Regardless of what the name is on the back of the jersey, or what the the number is, someone needs to step up and start taking the pressure off of Gore. The Niners need one of their quarterbacks to consistently give them a passing game without taking unnecessary risks.


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RyanHutchRyanHutch, over 2 years ago said:

Whether it's Shaun Hill, Alex Smith, or even Nate Davis for that matter. We need consistency and production with as little mistakes as possible. Whoever gives us that gives us the best opportunity to led us into the playoffs.