Alex Smith's return as the 49ers' starting quarterback in the second half of Sunday's 24-21 loss to the Texans at Houston's Reliant Stadium produced career numbers for the former No. 1 overall draft pick. And it may force a philosophical change for a 29th-ranked San Francisco offense that had been sputtering under quarterback Shaun Hill's direction.
Trailing Houston 21-0 at halftime and going nowhere under an increasingly sack-prone and inaccurate Hill (6-of-11 passes, 45 yards, two sacks), 49ers coach Mike Singletary made the switch to the more mobile Smith in the second half and saw immediate dividends.
The deliberate West Coast-style short-yardage passing approach with Hill was benched along with the quarterback who beat out Smith for the starting job during training camp. Smith used his quick feet to elude the Texans' pass rush, and he directed the ball three times to tight end Vernon Davis for touchdowns of 29, 14 and 23 yards, all coming on the same skinny post route.
While Smith was unsuccessful in leading a 49ers' potential game-winning comeback in the games' final minute -- his fourth-and-10 pass to Isaac Bruce from the SF 38-yard line was intercepted by Texans safety Eugene Wilson -- the one-time San Francisco franchise quarterback provided a badly needed spark.
Does this mean the 49ers, who averaged only 6.2 yards per pass attempt under Hill, have created a quarterback controversy at the midpoint of the season? If so, they did nothing to quell the speculation on Sunday.
Despite Smith's superlatives, Singletary would not commit to him for next week's home game against the Colts.
The 49ers went to a spread-style attack with Smith, who completed 15-of-27 passes for 206 yards, three touchdowns and the one interception. Smith threw the ball to six receivers. The three-touchdown performance tied a career-best for Smith, who tossed three scoring passes in an Oct. 8, 2006 game against Oakland. Also significant: Smith wasn't sacked.
The 29-yard scoring strike to Davis was Smith's first touchdown pass since Oct. 28, 2007, against the Saints. And Davis' performance marked the first time a 49ers' player had three touchdown receptions in a game since Terrell Owens did it in an Oct. 14, 2001 game at Atlanta. Owens had nine catches for 183 yards and three TDs in that contest.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-25-2009 @ 7:53PM
Duncan said...
It's pretty obvious to me that the Spread Offense is what they should be going to because the Defense, as much as Singletary wants to say it's great, it's really just average at best. Grind it out is not going to work for this team and with the emergence of Crabtree as a viable WR, the 49ers all the sudden have some real offensive talents at the WR and TE positions. A spread offense similar to what NE runs all the time suits Alex Smith because that's what he did in college that made him successful. I just see this as a necessity because I'm tired to seeing Frank Gore run up the middle for no gain and the 49ers offense going three and out all the time.
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10-26-2009 @ 11:37AM
Steve said...
With all due respect to Coach Singletary, he's nuts if Smith isn't starting next week. The Niners just can't get it done with the ground game.
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10-26-2009 @ 4:55PM
swrightola said...
The 9ers just have to open this offense up. Smith is the guy to do it. He's ready. He is much better than when he got here. His time on the bench has payed off.He was only 20 years old when he can in.He can do this. His talent level is of a starter in this league.
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10-28-2009 @ 1:56PM
Steve said...
Well, it looks like Alex got the job! Deservedly so. He never really did get a fair chance between all the coaching changes and the injury. Alex isn't a draft bust as some would say. Just watch...
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