Who Will the 49ers Name as Starting QB?

by 16to80endzone on Aug 4, 2008 12:49 AM PDT

J.T. Sullivan!

Why? Simply said, he has the most experience in the Martz offense and he has been performing fluently since he got his reps.

No mumbo-jumbo here.

It's a prediction and a solid one.

And, no offense to Alex Smith, who should be named as no. 2 quarterback as backup, and Shaun Hill will be no. 3.

If I get it right, if the 49ers do name these quarterbacks in the order that I predict, maybe buy me a cold, chilled can of Coke?

With Chinese food.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Niners Nation's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Niners Nation's writers or editors.

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You’re crazy.

by Rishi on Aug 4, 2008 7:55 AM PDT reply reply 0 recs

You must love to change your mind

Aug 2, 2008 @ 12:41 AM PDT

by sfgfan on Aug 4, 2008 10:15 AM PDT reply reply 0 recs

Seriously

And regarding his original comment, I don’t see how Smith not being the starter makes everything worse. It’s not like we’re talking Favre backing up Rodgers.

by methodrampage on Aug 4, 2008 3:21 PM PDT up reply reply 0 recs

MURS for President!!!!!!!

by jtoj on Aug 4, 2008 10:24 AM PDT reply reply 0 recs

no offense to Alex Smith

But wasn’t that the problem last year?

I vote we give offense to Alex Smith this time, and see how that works!

I’d be very surprised if Smith doesn’t start the first game of the season and have to lose the job. I’d be EXTREMELY surprised if J. T. O’ Sullivan even comes in second in this race.

My Dave Righetti is better than your Dave Righetti.

by howtheyscored on Aug 4, 2008 11:11 AM PDT reply reply 0 recs

Yep.

Unless O’Sullivan or Hill do SIGNIFICANLY better than Smith or Smith completely tanks it, there’s no way Smith isn’t introduced as the 49ers starting QB in week 1.

by sfgfan on Aug 4, 2008 11:17 AM PDT up reply reply 0 recs

agreed,

but if it were me, I would really be happy if Hill got the job, considering how he finished out last season. He came in with little experience and outplayed Smith with the same team he commanded.

Then again, you and I will always have differing views on Smith :)

Proud pappa of....STEVE HOLM!!

by UnleashTheGore on Aug 4, 2008 1:16 PM PDT up reply reply 0 recs

It was the same team, but under significantly different circumstances. Which is an argument I make that tends to sound like Smith Boosting / Hill Bashing, but which I only really ever intend to mean that comparing the two on a straight line is still comparing pretty dissimilar things, and isn’t particularly accurate..

My Dave Righetti is better than your Dave Righetti.

by howtheyscored on Aug 4, 2008 1:32 PM PDT up reply reply 0 recs

I agree..

It was the same team but Hill was playing against Tampa’s second string defense, and squeezed a win, the bengal’s defense pretty much sucks… and won by 8. Don’t let his QB rating fool you most of his passes were short or to his tailbacks… I would trust Smith with another season and see what happens, but JT or Hill will not be the starting QB,.

Joe and Steve were under the same system for years... don't expect Smith to be super so soon.

by bayboy on Aug 4, 2008 2:12 PM PDT up reply reply 0 recs

I really dislike this argument

Who did Smith get to play against? The Rams, Cardinals, Steelers, Saints, Falcons, and Seattle…aside from the Steelers and Seattle, those were some pretty weak teams last year. At least Hill was able to beat a playoff team, albeit some of their starters were resting, but the Bucs were still a tough team.

You consider his “short passes” something to count against him? I only wish Smith was able to complete those kind of passes. Hill was more accurate, more confident, and actually looked like he grasped the concept of the offensive structure when he was in there. Even if he can’t throw deep, it’s not like this team has breakaway speed to let him throw deep…Lelie was the only really fast WR on the team, so if he’s able to complete 5-yard passes consistently, then that’s a great thing, it keeps the offense moving.

Proud pappa of....STEVE HOLM!!

by UnleashTheGore on Aug 5, 2008 8:50 AM PDT up reply reply 0 recs

Healty

He only played against Arizona, St. Louis, and Pittsburgh when he was healthy.

Neglectful father of David Quinowski

by marcello on Aug 5, 2008 10:31 AM PDT up reply reply 0 recs

And he still didn't play any better than Hill when healthy against them

Proud pappa of....STEVE HOLM!!

by UnleashTheGore on Aug 5, 2008 11:20 AM PDT up reply reply 0 recs

Hill also had the benefit of Tollner “assisting” the playcalling, and he had by far the best protection of anybody all season. I think those are pretty significant differences from the Smith starts.

My Dave Righetti is better than your Dave Righetti.

by howtheyscored on Aug 5, 2008 11:58 AM PDT up reply reply 0 recs

Yeah, 3 games at the beginning of the season, with a 1st year offensive coordinator, have little to do with 3 games at the end. Nevermind that Hill didn’t even look that good against Tampa:

11 of 24 for 123 yards

Neglectful father of David Quinowski

by marcello on Aug 5, 2008 12:06 PM PDT up reply reply 0 recs

You make some points I won't necessarily argue with

but that being said, just from a bystander’s viewpoint, it looks like Hill was much more confident in those three games than Smith ever has been, and that’s saying something for a career backup.

He’s a gamer! ;)

Proud pappa of....STEVE HOLM!!

by UnleashTheGore on Aug 5, 2008 2:19 PM PDT up reply reply 0 recs

I will agree that he looked decent/good, and it was refreshing at the time since we were all desperate for anything from the QB position.

Neglectful father of David Quinowski

by marcello on Aug 5, 2008 3:31 PM PDT up reply reply 0 recs

Hill will sit and Smith will start

Hill is the 08 version of Trent Dilfer, a QB with experience but no type of spark. Smith with time (protection) has proven to be a good accurate quarterback, he is mobile and has a strong arm. Hill already has a sore elbow. There is no way Hill starts, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Hill on IR or as the 3rd string.

Joe and Steve were under the same system for years... don't expect Smith to be super so soon.

by bayboy on Aug 6, 2008 7:57 AM PDT up reply reply 0 recs

What experience does Hill have?

when will the Kenny Thomas Reign of Terror end?!!??

by diehardkingsfan5 on Aug 6, 2008 11:41 AM PDT up reply reply 0 recs

2 games starting, duh

by methodrampage on Aug 6, 2008 12:23 PM PDT up reply reply 0 recs

Oh he's definitely a Trent Dilfer then.

when will the Kenny Thomas Reign of Terror end?!!??

by diehardkingsfan5 on Aug 6, 2008 3:06 PM PDT up reply reply 0 recs

I'm confused

Are we making fun of Hill or Dilfer?

STEVE HOLM: Better than Alfonso? Why yes, of course.

by UnleashTheGore on Aug 7, 2008 11:31 AM PDT up reply reply 0 recs

Neither

I think we’re poking fun at the comment:

Hill is the 08 version of Trent Dilfer, a QB with experience but no type of spark.

Hill doesn’t have anywhere near the resume (or experience) that Dilfer has. After all Dilfer won a Super Bowl.

by methodrampage on Aug 7, 2008 12:09 PM PDT up reply reply 0 recs

oh you don't have to remind me

Dilfer’s a hometown hero of mine. Love the guy despite the crappiness he seeped last year.

STEVE HOLM: Better than Alfonso? Why yes, of course.

by UnleashTheGore on Aug 7, 2008 12:50 PM PDT up reply reply 0 recs

hey

Smith played a healthy rams d, the 8-8 cards and the playoff steelers. you really can’t cout seattle and the other 3 games are due to playing with a severe injury. No offense, but if you think that shaun hill had stiffer competition, then you are not very smart, atleast in football intelligense. A prevent d vikings, very sub-par bengals D, and tampas second string team are not as good as smiths competition. Not to mention that hill got much better protection, and had benefits of ted t. Trust me, we don’t want to dumb smith like we did garcia and end up with hill like we did with rattey.

According to the comminsioner of the nfl, 104 people retired last year. 7 due to age, and the rest because of Patrick Willis

by montasmob69 on Aug 9, 2008 10:50 PM PDT up reply reply 0 recs

LOL

Steelers aside, if you think the Bengals D is much better than Arizona’s or St. Louis’s, then you’re mistaken. And I’d put some money down that says even Tampa’s 2nd string is better than those two’s D either.

And by the way, dumping Garcia was 100% the right move. Don’t agree? Start a poll and see what the readers here think. Rattay was not a great QB by any means, but that OL he had was a steaming pile of poo. Even Tom Brady wouldn’t have been able to do much with that OL.

And on a side note, it makes me laugh when people say “no offense” but then proceed to call someone dumb. You don’t get automatically pardoned for what you say to someone just because you precede it with “no offense”. I’m not upset, because you really haven’t shown much football intelligence yourself if you think keeping Garcia would have made the 49ers a better team. Oh, and if you’re going to insult someone’s “intelligense”, then at least learn to spell, it helps your argument.

STEVE HOLM: Better than Alfonso? Why yes, of course.

by UnleashTheGore on Aug 12, 2008 12:05 PM PDT up reply reply 0 recs

Smith

I agree JT looks better now, obviously he’s been in the system for a year, but there’s still more training camp and pre-season to go. Hill shows some in-game potential and that quick release that Martz likes, but I like Smith and JT for the bigger plays which we lacked last year. Smith starts next year, but on a leash. I predict him to sever that leash this season, if he can stay healthy.

by #1TE.BadCaseofV.D. on Aug 4, 2008 6:35 PM PDT reply reply 0 recs

O’Sullivan looks better right now because he’s used to the offense. Once Smith catches up, he’ll be the starter.

Trent Kline: Decentish. Also, my website is called ChatterBalks Dot Com and on it I make jokes about things.

by groug on Aug 4, 2008 6:59 PM PDT reply reply 0 recs

CODY PICKETT!!

by GSwarrior on Aug 4, 2008 10:16 PM PDT reply reply 0 recs

speaking of which

I was at a store down in Union Square and saw a Tim Rattay jersey. If it had been a Pickett jersey I would have jumped all over it.

Niners Nation - The premier 49ers blog on the Internet!

by Fooch on Aug 4, 2008 10:18 PM PDT up reply reply 0 recs

speaking of old jerseys

I was looking around on nflshop.com the other day and saw they were still selling Kevan Barlow Niners jersey as well as some Antonio Bryant jerseys. The sad thing was, they were still like 30 bucks. They should be giving these things away, yet they are still charging a ridiculious amount. I wouldn’t have paid 30 bucks for a Kevan Barlow jersey when he was our starting RB. The NFL Shop is just ridiculious.

Simply by pulling on both ends, Patrick Willis can stretch diamonds back into coal

by 49erLou on Aug 4, 2008 11:55 PM PDT up reply reply 0 recs

really?

I saw a Barlow in Stonestown for $$17.

MURS for President!!!!!!!

by jtoj on Aug 5, 2008 1:50 AM PDT up reply reply 0 recs

Few blocks away...

I was a few blocks away from Union Square, if I had seen you jump all over a Pickett jersey, I would have followed the lead a jump all over a Rattay jersey.

"We Have a God who delights in impossibilities."

by 16to80endzone on Aug 5, 2008 3:24 AM PDT up reply reply 0 recs

The Reason I Predicted O'Sullivan Is..

because Nolan has one goal: to start the season off to a fast start, by winning. Smith has not yet proven he can help the 49ers win at the help, so O’Sullivan is really the dark horse to win the starting job due to his experience with the Martz offense. O’Sullivan gives the 49ers the best chance to win because he knows the ins and outs of Martz’s offense, the intricacies of it, he stands to make better decisions as the general of the offense in the huddle and during play.

I agree with Trent Kline, that once Smith catches up, he will be the starter. One warning, though, if Smith comes in and loses the next two games, then O’Sullivan will be back in. Nolan is not going to throw away the season this year. He’s had it up to there with losing, because, that means he will lose his job.

Funny, Nolan did say that his job is not secure, whether he goes 14-2, 8-8, or 2-14. It will depend on how Nolan manages the games, keeping his players out of controversy, and winning.

In hindsight, I predicted O’Sullivan as the starting quarterback to keep Smith on his toes, if Smith does take an occassional peek at the NinersNation blog.

It’s called love.

"We Have a God who delights in impossibilities."

by 16to80endzone on Aug 5, 2008 3:34 AM PDT reply reply 0 recs

I think that you’re putting a lot of stock in “system familiarity” while seriously underplaying what is, by all accounts, a major talent gap between O’Sullivan and Hill/Smith.

My Dave Righetti is better than your Dave Righetti.

by howtheyscored on Aug 5, 2008 12:03 PM PDT up reply reply 0 recs

typo

pls check my correction here on this faulty sentence:

“Smith has not yet proven he can help the 49ers win at the help, (it should be helm, not help)

"We Have a God who delights in impossibilities."

by 16to80endzone on Aug 5, 2008 3:36 AM PDT reply reply 0 recs

should be Favre but if not Alex Smith

Alex Smith will get it because of his whining tirade last season.. but it might not last very long, then shaun hill will get his chance and when the niners lose their eigth game, they will put in jt o’sullivan.. they should sign brett favre..

by youngbuckeroo on Aug 5, 2008 5:25 PM PDT reply reply 0 recs