With Alex Smith's new restructured contract, the 49ers enter this off-season just like last year.
(AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)
As many of you know now, the 49ers have reworked quarterback Alex Smith's contract. Details of the deal have yet to be released, but it will be significantly less than the $24.6 million he was going to make under his previous contract for the next two seasons.
Smith was relieved that he was able to get this deal done and return to the 49ers. He said that he was glad to stay with the team that drafted him so he can take care of some "unfinished business." And more importantly, he was willing to rework his contract so he can remain with the team. This may have been the best move for the 49ers.
For the 49ers, they are ensuring themselves a quarterback that still has a lot of untapped potential. And with Smith under contract, along with Shaun Hill and Damon Huard at quarterback, the 49ers are giving themselves a chance to win. Unlike a certain situation in Denver, the 49ers have no serious issues at quarterback. The only question this off-season that must be answered is 'Who is the starting quarterback?'
This is what the team had been hoping for since the 2008 season ended. Hill was the clear favorite to enter the following season as the starting quarterback. However, the 49ers knew that Smith still had a chance to prove himself. And with the firing of Mike Nolan, new head coach Mike Singletary had to make a choice of whether or not to keep Smith. But keeping Smith allows the 49ers organization to avoid that "bust" term for at least two more seasons.
And much like last season, the 49ers will have a new approach on offense with a new offensive coordinator. Last year, the 49ers were the pass-happy Mike Martz style offense. This year, it's the running game of Jimmy Raye. But similar to last year, the quarterback position is a question mark.
Hill has a 7-3 record as a starter and salvaged the 49ers' season last year. Smith is the #1 pick that the team does not want to give up on. Huard is the most experienced quarterback of the bunch (in terms of games played) and provides the team with great insurance. If Hill, Smith or both fail to become the quarterback of this season, I can live with Huard under center.
The problem for the 49ers is not whether or not Hill, Smith or Huard can lead the team this year; but it's about which of these three can fit the team down the long run. With the 49ers, they haven't had a stable quarterback under center since Jeff Garcia left the team after the 2003 season. And no, the 49ers aren't going to pursue him or any other free agent quarterbacks. But with relatively a clean slate again, the 49ers will have to make a decision on the team's future.
How important is it to make it to the playoffs this year? Realistically, there is a good chance that the 49ers can win the NFC West. And with all the potential the 49ers displayed at the end of 2008, I would say that the 49ers could do it. Even President Jed York promised a playoff berth for the 49ers this upcoming season.
But I want to put that aside and look at the team's future. If the team wants to find their quarterback of the future, they need to stick with him all season long. Let's say that Smith ends up as the team's best quarterback entering the 2009 season. If he starts to play well for the 49ers, then the futures of Hill and Huard are pretty much done for. I wouldn't keep either of these players around unless they would be OK with a backup role.
The same can be said if it was the other way around with Huard or Hill entering the season as the team's best quarterback. If Smith doesn't get it, there is no more need to hold onto him. The 49ers have to eat the "bust" card and just move on. I don't want another three-quarterback battle again after this season.
I want an answer to this quarterback situation resolved by season's end. This is the last trial for Hill, Smith and Huard. One of these three will be the team's future quarterback. If the team has no faith in any of them, they might get one in the Draft. But as it stands right now, one of those three will be team's future. The other two will just have to take a step back and eat it.
Comments
Hey Sam good to see you writing for Examiner.
I don't see Huard any more than the #3 at this point because of age and lack of mobility.
However, if Hill starts and Alex sits the bench, there's nothing wrong with Smith being the starter in '10 going forward under this new system.
In fact, it could be the best option going forward for the sake of stability.
Thanks Jim.
Huard's age and ability does make me think he won't be anything bigger than a #3 guy. However, if he does somehow perform to a high level, the 49ers have to keep him in.
I do agree that in the long run, if Smith can show that he can hold the team for the future, it's worth holding on to him.
jim, i thought you were going a different route with this story based on the heading. if the 49ers want to win "now" and "long term", then they should start hill as he will surely be the most capable starter at the start of the season. we then groom smith to be the qb of the future. and im not the type to usually say this, but you definitely do not know enough about the 49ers to be writing about them. first of all, how can you be "comfortable" with huard as the starter? that would be the worst situation possible. we did not sign him to play, he was signed as a mentor/tutor for both hill and smith. also, the qb situation is not contigent on who starts the 09 season. if hill starts, why the heck should we let go of smith? or huard for that matter? huard knows hes a backup and smith knows hes got more work to catch up on than hill, so even if hill starts smith still has the best chance of being the future. first of all hes been in the nfl for 4 seasons and hes only 24, so he isnt even close to reaching his full potential. and i really hope you dont think huard will be the qb of the future. first of all, HE'S 35, so theres not much of a "future" there. and hill will never be a great qb unless he has a great team surrounding him (like kurt warner). so please stop writing unless you know what you're writing about. thanks.
sorry, my last post was not meant for jim. i was reffering to samuel lam.
When I talked about Huard, I know that at his age he isn't the long-term future. But let's just say that the does play really well. Would the 49ers not use him if he does lead the team to more wins?
Obviously, it's going to be Hill or Smith as the future for the team. If Hill does end up being the starter, then they have to commit to him. If Smith does better, they have to commit to him. Unlike this off-season, the team cannot afford another QB battle. They need to get behind one QB and go from there.
If they can start winning games now and have it lead to them finding out the future of the QB situation, then that's what they have to do. The 49ers can no longer afford to have this seesaw approach.
It doesn't matter right now which QB is the starter, as long as the one who does end up starting gets the team the wins they need. If Huard does start winning, the 49ers have to go with him. They have to win now. They cannot wait and try to groom Smith. They need to take their success now and ride it as long as they can.
sam, huard is our 3rd string qb. if were playing him in a game, of course the 49ers are going to stick with him.....because that would mean they have no other option. this reminds me alot of the situation that happened last year with j.t. o'sullivan coming in. last year, it was just suppose to be a two way competition between smith and hill. because of mike martz, it became a three way debacle. rest assured singletary and co. will not allow that to happen again. so, HUARD IS NOT IN COMPETITION TO BE THE STARTER (even though he might have stated differently in his interview on knbr.) however, i do agree with you that we should stick behind hill or smith. the only thing is i think we should stick behind both. hill should be the starter in the short term ('09 season, maybe '10) and smith should resume from there on out (excluding the fact that shaun hill doesnt become a pro-bowler, which isnt too unlikely). smith has WAY MORE potential than hill, whether he meets it is the question. lets remember, if the 49ers viewed hill as the future of the team, he would have been named the starter. obviously they think otherwise, which is why they're keeping smith and possibly drafting a mid round qb.
Huard is the third stringer and I know that chances of him being the starter is not likely. But I still want to keep that option open if it does occur. Who knows what the preseason will bring. I doubt we'd have another Martz episode, but you never know.
As much as it makes sense to groom Smith while Hill plays, I don't know if that would be the best approach. If Hill does become a Pro Bowler or not, if he leads the teams to wins, then the 49ers have to stick with him regardless. I don't know if the 49ers can afford to wait on Smith if they already have Hill winning.
My hope is that one of these guys can take the job and keep it long term. If either of these two can take the team to playoffs, then I'd stick with him. If Hill does do that in the next two years, I'd keep him. The same can be said for Smith. If Smith can lead the team to the playoffs, then we'd keep him as the starter. The other can be a backup, but the team does need to stick with the player that can do it for the team now.
By the way, thanks for your input. The QB situation has been frustrating in the past few years, but I hope that this year there will be some clarity. Regardless of who the QB is, I just want the best one to help us win. Hill looks to be that choice and if he continues to do so, I want the team to stick by him as the starter until he can no longer do it.
The 49ers have no serious issues at QB??????? Are we talking about the same 49ers????????
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