Alex Smith or Colin Kaepernick: Who Will Start for the 49ers?

49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh has yet to name his starting quarterback. And although we have seen a few great plays from both Alex Smith and Colin Kaepernick, after two preseason games neither quarterback has looked exclusively amazing. 

Understandable—Kaepernick is a rookie learning how to play quarterback in the NFL, and although Smith is a seven-year vet, he too must learn a new everything. This learning process must be respected and allowed to play itself out, but sooner or later one of Harbaugh's students must graduate into the 49ers 2011 starting quarterback. Graduation day is September 11th, 2011, and the Seattle Seahawks will be in attendance.

I know I may be in the minority, but I am not as sure as many that Smith will indeed be the starter in Week 1. 

First and foremost, Smith continues to make poor decisions at the wrong time. His interception against Oakland—like his career—has been shrugged off by most and I am not sure why. 

Smith's excuse for the interception, as the press gazed into his eyes, was the following:

"I just assumed it was man-to-man and saw the inside leverage on the defender inside Vernon and totally assumed that I had saw the corner off. Totally assumed that I had free access over there and didn't see him, obviously, until I let it go."

Whether a seven-year veteran or a high school freshman, not looking ahead of your receiver is a symptom of a bad quarterback. That's one of the fundamentals. 

What Smith said was essentially the same thing as a basketball player saying, "I didn't look at the basket until after I took the shot."

Secondly, why is there even a competition?

I remember when I said Kaepernick would be in contention to start. People thought I was crazy. Well, Harbaugh hasn't yet dismissed that notion. 

On August 23rd, when asked why he hasn't named a starting quarterback yet, Harbaugh said, "I just don't have any pressure on myself to name a starting quarterback in a timetable manner." 

If a seven-year veteran is still competing with a rookie halfway through the preseason, that's not a good sign for the veteran. 

Finally, Smith isn't playing the Raiders this weekend. The Houston Texans are a good team with a solid defense. This game may make or break Alex Smith's career. 

If Smith has in fact grown as a quarterback, we have to see it this weekend. If he is still the same guy, the Texans will expose it for sure.

One more poor performance from Smith and a strong outing from Kaepernick, and we may have a rookie starter in San Francisco.

Thank you for reading. Please join me on Twitter @ryanthebroker.