Recent 49er history in brief: 2002 they're ok, 2003 they're bad, 2004 they're almost the Detroit Lions, 2005 they draft Alex Smith. New era. 2005 they're bad, 2006 they're better, 2007 they're seen talking with the Lions at the water cooler, 2008 they turn things around after a 2-7 start and are a week 10 Frank Gore stumble away from making the playoffs. So it looks like Alex Smith is starting to take this team in the right direction. Hm? Oh, he sat out the entire '08 season? Oh, he's 11-19 in his 4-year career? I see, you're saying his career is shot and it's Mike Nolan's fault but nevermind that what's important is that he's done as a Niner? So then Shaun Hill, the guy who actually won those games last year, is starting this season? No? He and Alex Smith are battling for the job? But what about everything you just said, Captain WTF? You're just telling me what you know, got it. Ok.
The current 9er QB situation can best be compared to a poker player who won't fold. Because they drafted Alex Smith in '05 instead of Aaron Rogers like I KEPT TELLING THEM TO DO FROM MY LIVING ROOM, and then signed Smith to a contract equal to what the entire country of Nigeria was awarded from the Global Fund to fight the AIDS virus, it would be foolish and loser-like to just let another, cheaper, less depressing QB take the helm, right? No. Wrong. Bad poker. You lose all your money.
Now, in spite of everything written to this point, I don't hate Alex Smith. The guy has had it rough, and my biggest problem with him is just that I wanted to draft the other guy in '05. But I do want him to do well. My fantasy is that Smith wins the job and goes Kurt Warner '99 on the NFC West. I'm sure that's every 9er fan's dream. But if Smith starts, we go 1-5, then Hill takes over and finishes the season 7-9, I'll have no option but to do a ton of murdering. And the team's track record over the last 6 years makes it a little hard to trust a QB change right now. Let the guy lose first. If all the team has been doing for 6 seasons is losing, and a guy comes along and wins a little, why do you pull him?
So that Alex Smith can be Super Bowl MVP. That's why.
That's the fantasy talking. Here's the thing, and it's one of the big reasons, I think, that losers keep losing. Teams that are stuck in a losing trend often times adopt what I call a "totally cracked-out" method of managing. They do everything within their power to shake things up and be different, hoping that one of the new variations will lead to not being bad. It's what the SF Giants have done the last few terrible seasons, and a little this season, with their sub-par batting order. They move it around so much that no one ever gets a consistent spot and the batting stays bad. It's what the Clippers have done with trades, giving up necessary pieces for appealing pieces and finding themselves no better off than before the trade. It's hard to blame these teams, the fan base would flip if they didn't try to do something. But the manic player shuffle doesn't work very often. A better option is to DRAFT AARON ROGERS. Or just let Frank Gore line up as QB so we can run that wacky Wildcat formation and make cool videos like this.
In short, I'd like to see the guy with a winning record play. But I don't know as much as the guys inside the 49er organization (right? RIGHT??). So pick a guy, SF, let us know who it's gonna be, and then we can all start hoping you didn't blow it. Again.
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