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Shutdown Corner

Sun Oct 25, 2009 4:55 pm EDT

49ers get close on furious second-half comeback

By Doug Farrar

The 49ers offense has been the exact opposite of explosive this year -- they may have the worst offensive line in the NFL, and that has translated into an alarming lack of production in every aspect of the game. Only the Raiders have fewer first downs per game, and of their 13 touchdowns through Week 6, four were scored by the defense. Quarterback Shaun Hill(notes) has averaged 6.2 yards per attempt, which puts him right there with world beaters like Seneca Wallace(notes), Kyle Boller(notes) and Marc Bulger(notes). San Francisco's projected gamebreaker, Texas Tech wide receiver Michael Crabtree(notes), didn't see action until today's game against the Texans due to a protracted holdout. And against the Texans, the Niners could manage only 50 total yards, three first downs and zero points in the first half. Head coach Mike Singletary, having seen enough, put backup quarterback Alex Smith, the team's 2005 No. 1 overall draft pick, in for Hill at the start of the second half.

And that was, inexplicably, when all heck broke loose. Smith has been as big a bust as any player this decade -- he's been an afterthought for a long time -- but he went 15 of 22 for 204 yards and three -- yes, three! -- touchdowns in a near-comeback against the Texans, who were up 21-0 at the half. All three of Smith's touchdowns were to tight end Vernon Davis(notes), who's been a model citizen since Singletary kicked him off the field in his coaching debut last year. Crabtree brought in five passes for 56 yards in a debut that saw him playing far longer than most people expected. The 49ers were driving at the end of the game when Smith threw a pick on fourth-and-10 that ended any hope of a comeback.

Still, if there's a bigger "from out of nowhere" story than Alex Smith this year, I haven't seen it. Smith hadn't thrown a pass in a regular-season game since Nov. 12, 2007, in a 24-0 loss to the Seahawks. If you combine the touchdowns he threw for in 2005 and 2007, it would equal the three he had today. The shoulder injuries thought to be the end of his 49ers career (he missed the 2008 season with a broken bone in his right shoulder) were nowhere to be found.

Do the 49ers have a quarterback controversy? And is a 49ers quarterback controversy the NFL equivalent of a pillow fight? We can but wait and see...

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Related: , Michael Crabtree, Shaun Hill, Marc Bulger, Houston Texans, San Francisco 49ers

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157 Comments

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  1. Anthony B
    1. Posted by Anthony B Sun Oct 25, 2009 5:02 pm EDT

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    Alex smith!!
  2. Marcus M
    2. Posted by Marcus M Sun Oct 25, 2009 5:04 pm EDT

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    Alex Smith is a must start against the colts. Morgan and Crabtree should get the starts. Isaac Bruce is just aging. We need motivated young players on the field. Vernon Davis is just a beast. We have all the parts to be succesful. And we still are not out of the division race against the Cardinals, even if they do win today.
  3. Isaac M
    3. Posted by Isaac M Sun Oct 25, 2009 5:11 pm EDT

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    I think this is further testament to how great a coach Singletary has turned out to be.
  4. Phil L.
    4. Posted by Phil L. Sun Oct 25, 2009 5:12 pm EDT

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    Alex Smith played for a piss-poor team when he was drafted, and now he has talented WRs..this will be the greatest resurgence..he's only 25. QB of the future for the 49ers!
  5. Jeremy
    5. Posted by Jeremy Sun Oct 25, 2009 5:20 pm EDT

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    Crabtree certainly shut me up. Played better than i expected him to.
  6. Larry
    6. Posted by Larry Sun Oct 25, 2009 5:34 pm EDT

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    Both QB's are not good... at least without a decent o-line. The niner's season is only going to get more ugly from here.
  7. Andy
    7. Posted by Andy Sun Oct 25, 2009 5:42 pm EDT

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    Shawn hill sucks. Finally Alex Smith got his chance. I've been waiting to see smiths comeback. lets hope this continues for him and the whole team. Its obvious that smith has better chemistry with crabtree, davis, and the rest of the offense than hill does. this puts a whole new dynamic on how the offensive plays will be called with smith in the game. I think we are going to see a different team from now on.
  8. beatman
    8. Posted by beatman Sun Oct 25, 2009 5:46 pm EDT

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    both qb's are not good.
    -Hill went out there and did what he usually does (only a little worse), which is throw short passes. get no TD's but not make mistakes.
    -Alex went out there and basically did what he usually does (only much better), which is usually throw a TD, but also throw the ball to the wrong color (usually more int's than td's)
    FACT IS, OUR LINES SUCK. BOTH OF THEM! the o line is the worse and is the reason for our offense being horrible. our d line needs one or two guys that can really apply pressure to the qb every down so we can drop back in coverage more (good job the second half tho defense!!!)
    i think Houston watched tapes and basically came out and did well. I also think this was a large factor for Alex doing well. Houston watched 0.....ZERO! tapes on Alex, and therefore we caught slightly off guard knowing none of his tendencies .
  9. jake w
    9. Posted by jake w Sun Oct 25, 2009 5:50 pm EDT

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    3 - 3 and soon to be 3 - 4, won't be the colts on the road is all I'm saying.
  10. DC
    10. Posted by DC Sun Oct 25, 2009 5:51 pm EDT

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    Alex Smith nearly did it. I think you go with him.
    Michael Crabtree in one game is better than Darrius Heyward-Bey has been the whole season. Crabtree has the makings to be a good one.
  11. Jason D
    11. Posted by Jason D Sun Oct 25, 2009 5:52 pm EDT

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    Good job Alex! Somebody was listening when Singletary said " Don't tell me. Show me!" Now just keep SHOWING us, please don't stop now.
  12. Ryan Rudy
    12. Posted by Ryan Rudy Sun Oct 25, 2009 5:56 pm EDT

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    You all talk like we won the game, I'm getting tired of losing...we aint gonna beat the colts, that means we're gonna be 3-4. Not exactly division winner material. Vernon Davis is a beast and Crabtree will be pretty damn good, but I'm just worried this will be another promising year that ends up in second place. Arizona is really good, got off to a slow start but have crazy good receivers and a QB, and they rank second against the run. I dont doubt Alex's ability, but hes had so many chances to earn the job over the mediocre Hill. He had a great game, but cant expect him to be great all of a sudden. Also, good teams dont get themselves in a 21-0 hole. I know Houstons offense is pretty good, but Singletary talks defense and then gets run over. Our defense may not be as good as we think, although losing walt harris has a lot to do with that. I'm worried but hopeful. Theres still a chance we can win this division. Our game against Arizona may be the deciding factor.
  13. Effage
    13. Posted by Effage Sun Oct 25, 2009 6:00 pm EDT

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    Alex Smith is starting a great redemption story. I've been in his corner from day 1, and I knew he had this in him. Go Alex! Now if that offensive line could only play better than, you know, terrible.
  14. Patrick
    14. Posted by Patrick Sun Oct 25, 2009 6:03 pm EDT

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    Nate davis!
  15. Larry
    15. Posted by Larry Sun Oct 25, 2009 6:11 pm EDT

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    Arizona will be far ahead of SF when their rematch comes. Honestly, only diehard 49'ers fans can look at their schedule and think they will win more than 3 or 4 of the remaining games.
    I'm sorry, but a couple of decent quarters against a mediocre texans team (who was playing not to loose ) should not be instilling confidence.
  16. dylan s
    16. Posted by dylan s Sun Oct 25, 2009 6:13 pm EDT

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    Some people are so negative, yeah we lost, and yes the Colts are an excellent team but barring an upset of the Giants we are still in first place. Arizona has the toughest part of their schedule coming up and after next week we have a lot of easy teams that are more than beatable. If Smith plays anything close to what he did in about a half of work it will be very tough for the Cardinals to catch us from behind.
  17. WNGSFN2
    17. Posted by WNGSFN2 Sun Oct 25, 2009 6:13 pm EDT

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    the Niners have the weapons on offense..what they lack is an offensive line to give their weapons time to do some damage. until the fix the O-line and tighten back up on defense, the team isnt going anywhere.
  18. Jonathan G
    18. Posted by Jonathan G Sun Oct 25, 2009 6:15 pm EDT

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    I am so glad to see Alex Smith getting his chance. He is very talented and with the right opportunity and cast he can be the future for the 49ers.
  19. Jwall
    19. Posted by Jwall Sun Oct 25, 2009 6:22 pm EDT

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    if they had Alex smith in at the beginning of the game, the 49ers would have most likely won. But for some reason Singletary has something against Alex I have no idea why maybe because of all that money he made but he should have been the starter earlier this year everyone knows it, Alex has a stronger arm, better accuracy, and overall a better QB than hill. I think Singletary finally gave in because of the 50 yards put up in the 1st half by the offense. and people who think our o-line is the only problem might want to go back and look at the film, our D has some problems also. If our D could get a stop and prevent them from getting a field goal we would have tied it with the TD to Davis.
  20. matt c
    20. Posted by matt c Sun Oct 25, 2009 6:28 pm EDT

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    Singletary focused too much on stats when making Hill the starting QB. Sure he had a better win % and passer rating but thats only because Smith had a pretty bad rookie year throwing 1 td and 11 ints. Of course people who've never watched him play are gonna think he sucks with these stats but the truth is he's a solid QB. He has excellent fundamentals and was the 1st overall pick for a reason. Had Shaun Hill played his rookie year whos to say that his overall stats would be any better? Hill was a career backup for a reason and lets leave it at that.
  21. dc daddy
    21. Posted by dc daddy Sun Oct 25, 2009 6:35 pm EDT

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    Niners need a PASS RUSHER, a shutdown corner, and a top tier quarterback, along with the obvious poor offense line, and they could be playoff material next year.. the only way 49ers could make playoffs this year is if Alex Smith suddenly plays like Mark Ripien did in his one year wonder, and then someone on d-line suddenly comes out of a shell.. we need more consistency from the run game... one game with 60 yards and then 150 - 200 yds the next game will not crack it in this league.. i like my past 5 super bowl rings (thank u Montana/Young).., i dont know if i have patience for another cyclic do-over/make over ...blahh
  22. yffdaddy
    22. Posted by yffdaddy Sun Oct 25, 2009 6:56 pm EDT

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    please coach, let alex play, the chem is there with crabs vern n josh, that will open it up 4 gore n coffee cakes...alex has been a trooper nd stayed quiet, im tired of the dink n dunk offense... were still in charge of our division, lets not give it away....wheres rossam?
  23. Dana
    23. Posted by Dana Sun Oct 25, 2009 7:09 pm EDT

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    A comeback constitutes a lot more than on half of one game. Alex Smith has a really long way to go before the "Bust" tag is removed. The pass coverage allowed by Houston was laughable. We here in San Francisco realize that there are many QBs in the game today who could have won that game for us with the time that was left.
  24. Sean D
    24. Posted by Sean D Sun Oct 25, 2009 7:10 pm EDT

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    Hope!
  25. Ninerfan1981
    25. Posted by Ninerfan1981 Sun Oct 25, 2009 7:13 pm EDT

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    Let Smith play, it's clear that he and Davis have some kind of connection, and Smith can take the ball downfield. Hill had his shot and he blew it. Crabtree will make an even bigger impact with more playing time and a QB that can throw the ball.

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Shutdown Corner is an NFL blog edited by Matthew J. Darnell. Email him, and follow him on Twitter.

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