Even though San Francisco 49ers' Head Coach Mike Nolan won't yet announce it, the competition for the teams starting quarterback position appears to be all but over. If the fact J.T. O'Sullivan started the third preseason game (considered to be the most meaningful of the meaningless games) wasn't enough to determine it, the fact he was nearly perfect in his quarter of work should be. One would think, anyway.
Last night in the 49ers' 37-30 win in Chicago, the journeyman/career backup picked apart the Bears' defense to the tune of 7-for-8 passing, 126 yards and a touchdown (good enough for a perfect passer rating of 158.3). The only incompletion came in the form of a drop from running back Frank Gore.
Meanwhile, his chief competitor, former No. 1 overall pick Alex Smith, continued to wet the proverbial bed, finishing 6-of-17 for 83 yards. That's less than five yards per pass attempt, for those of you scoring at home.
Despite the numbers last night, and the fact O'Sullivan has played circles around Smith the entire exhibition season, Matt Barrows at the Sacramento Bee writes in his 49ers blog that Nolan would, "like to review game film and talk to players" before making his final decision.
"Naturally, J.T. started out 7 of 8 or whatever - did a nice job," Nolan said. "Outside of that, like I said, I'd like to do everything the right way."I like how Nolan started the sentence by saying, "naturally, J.T. started 7-of-8," as if he were expecting near perfection. Now that's showing some confidence.
Anyway, whether or not O'Sullivan continues his effective play when the real games start, and opposing teams actually, you know, care, remains to be seen. Still, he has clearly been the better player in the exhibition games and I'm sure the film will confirm it, while the players will agree...unless of course they enjoy losing.
