Hill Wins 49ers Quarterback Competition By Default

Maybe San Francisco 49ers Head Coach Mike Singletary knew what he was talking about when he said in the offseason that his team's mantra was going to be "Physical With an 'F'."

It certainly sounds better than "Inaccurate With an [insert gagging sound here]."

In a contest that was supposed to be all about which of the quarterbacks - Shaun Hill or Alex Smith -would stand up and be accounted for, to make their case before a sellout Candlestick crowd (albeit with oodles of Raiders fans), neither did.

When asked afterward if either passer enhanced his chances with their play, Singletary's reply was similar to his playing style as a Hall-of-Fame linebacker for the Chicago Bears: quick and emphatic.

"No," he said.

The game was Smith's chance to really open up Singletary's eyes and make him reconsider the inevitable - that the steady, consistently decent Hill would be under center when the season kicks off at Arizona on September 13th.

Smith blew it.

He threw passes high. He threw passes behind receivers. A couple he had deflected at the line of scrimmage. He rolled right a few times and couldn't ever find an open receiver.

The killing blow though, was a pass that was a bit too high and hard for wideout Josh Morgan and deflected off his hands and into those of Oakland linebacker Ricky Brown, who raced down to the San Francisco six yard line before being violently thrown to the turf by a frustrated Smith.

Two plays before the interception, Smith leveled Raiders linebacker Greg Ellis on a blindside block on a reverse to Arnaz Battle.

The good news is that the blow was administered by Smith's twice-operated on throwing shoulder and he said afterward that it felt perfectly fine.

The bad news is that it's never a good thing when the top two highlights of a quarterback's evening are a tackle and a block.

His final statline read 3-of-9 for 30 yards, with that interception, and while the numbers are slightly worse that Smith played, they're not that far off.

While Singletary insisted that the competition was even coming into the game - and after it - Hill was the prohibitive favorite coming in for his conservative, safe playing style and he ultimately didn't do anything to hurt his chances tonight.

After all, the leader in the clubhouse doesn't have to make birdies, but rather force the other guys to make them.

Hill had one-and-a-half drives where he mostly handed the ball off to rookie running back Glen Coffee and it was good enough for three points and nearly a touchdown.

Smith's couldn't take the team inside the Oakland 40 on either of his drives and put his defense in a first-and-goal hole with that interception.

I'd say that's a pretty big bogey.

Not only do I expect Singletary to start Hill in next week's preseason game at Dallas (traditionally the second-to-last exhibition game is the dress rehearsal for all the starters and the "ones" play at least a half), but it wouldn't surprise me in the least for him to just end this farce and go ahead and name Hill the starter going forward at some point before the game.

The Other Guys

The passing game aside, the 49ers looked pretty good on Saturday. The offensive line completely blew the Raiders off the ball and Coffee had holes wide enough to drive a Hummer through on his off tackle runs.

It's not often a running back has 16 carries for 129 yards in a half and his team is down 7-3, yet that's exactly where the 49ers found themselves after 30 minutes.

Even though nosetackle Aubrayo Franklin and inside linebacker Takeo Spikes plugged the middle time and again and gave Oakland's Darren McFadden nothing, a miscommunication between corner Nate Clements and safety Mark Roman left Raiders wideout Austin Murphy wide open in the endzone on a 3rd-and-22 and it was pretty much the only mistake the starting defense made.

In the second half third stringer Michael Robinson picked up where Coffee left off and he had 97 yards on 14 carries, and still, somehow, the team was down 14-3 despite outrushing the Raiders by 200 yards at that point.

Oakland backup quarterback Bruce Gradkowski's mobility gave the reserve linebackers some problems and no one could cover tight end Brandon Myers.

San Francisco's reserve defenders have the same strengths and weaknesses as the starters, good at stopping the run, no pass rush to speak of, awful at covering backs and tight ends.

Frankly, it's a recipe for disaster. The NFL is a passing league and has been for some time. The good teams can throw it and avoid turnovers, while being able to pressure opposing passers to boot.

The secondary did wind up with three more interceptions, but the regular season won't give them JaMarcus Russells and Kyle Ortons to feast on every week. Next week they get Tony Romo on the road and that should be more of a true barometer.

All we know about the 49ers right now is that they can run and stop the run and while that's something, it's not enough.