It appears as if Hasselbeck is not an option.

Colin Kaepernick has been given a real chance to start by 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh, but for now I have to believe the job is Smith’s to lose.

Smith expected to be resigned so this should come as a surprise to no one. Hasselbeck signing would have really shaken things up.

Going with the unconventional route, Harbaugh says Kaepernick will have a legitimate chance to start in 2011.

“All I want him to do is come in and compete and just get better each and every day,” Harbaugh said. “If he does that, that will equal success for him. He’s got the talent and the ability to be a starter in this league. But that’s all up to him.

“The best guy will play. The guy who practices the best, the guy who plays the best will play. There won’t be any games, there won’t be any politics. We’re going to throw the balls out there and let those guys have at it.”

Kaepernick is very raw coming out of college. He ran a pistol offense, which concentrates mostly on the running game. Nevada became the first school to have three 1000 yard rushers in the same season, Kaepernick included.

His ability to move and make plays on his feet will translate to the next level, but he needs time to settle in and learn the offense; not to mention learn how to be an effective pocket passer.

“I’m just going to lay it all on the line,” Kaepernick said. “It’s up to coach Harbaugh and his staff, but I’m going to do all I can to get that starting spot.”

He has apparently had to control the urge to call coach Harbaugh and discuss the playbook with him, unfortunately that’s not allowed in the lockout. Alex Smith has been a huge help for Kaepernick, and the two were together working on the offense with other teammates at San Jose State recently.

“It’s tempting [to call coach Harbaugh],” Kaepernick said. “There are times you just want to make sure you are making all the right reads and doing all the right things.

“But that’s where Alex has been a great help. He’s answered all my questions and I’m just trying to learn as much as I can,” he said.

Eric Branch of PressDemocrat.com indicated on Tuesday how the NFL sent the team a memo about Smith–asking the team not to discuss his future in San Francisco until the lockout ends. Under the current rules, players and teams are forbidden from discussing contracts with one another. And even though the 49ers offered Smith a one-year deal prior to the lockout–the fact that he never accepted it before the deadline means all talks must wait until the lockout ends.

Since taking him with the first overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft, Smith has started 50 games for San Francisco, but has only managed to throw for 51 touchdowns. Smith was expected to test free agency this offseason, but the 49ers seem to be the only team willing to give the former No. 1 pick what he really wants–a chance at the starting job.

Dan Parzych is the Lead NFL Content Editor for RantSports.com/NFL,  where he writes and edits NFL content for RantSports.com.

Be sure to follow Dan on Twitter @DanParzych

Alex Smith is scheduled to become a free agent, whenever the free agency period might be, but Niners fans thought they would finally be rid of Alex Smith. Not so fast as Matt Maiocco reports.

The Comcast reports states that Harbaugh and Alex Smith have met several times, Harbaugh even admitted, “Yeah, we were two out on the field- just two guys throwing the ball around”. This is disturbing news.

Mr. Maiocco points out that Alex Smith has played for six different offensive coordinators in his first six seasons in the league and played for defensive minded head coaches. That does not overcome the fact that Smith has never thrown for more than 18 touchdowns in a regular season and has never finished with a passer rating above 82.1. It is time for the 49ers to move on, let this young man take his “potential” elsewhere.

Did the 49ers ownership spend all the tens of millions of dollars in the hiring of Jim Harbaugh to start another season with Alex Smith under center? Since he is scheduled to become a free agent, Smith will likely want a long term contract deal, and do the fans seriously want Smith to continue to be linked to this team?

I realize that many 49ers fans were hoping for a clean start with the announcement of Jim Harbaugh being named head coach. It appears, at least at the outset, that that might not be the case at all. The prospect of starting 2011 with Alex Smith under center should be disheartening to all Niners fans.

You can listen to the two legendary 49ers players on the Dan Patrick Show right here.

The quarterback situation in San Francisco has been well documented, and it is very likely that the organization will go another direction at the position this season. The only question that remains is whether or not the franchise will draft for the future or decide to move forward by selecting a veteran free agent.

Legendary WR Jerry Rice was asked about if he had any input with the 49er’s decision to draft Alex Smith in the same season that Aaron Rodgers was available. Rice responded, “I remember being over there catching balls with Aaron Rodgers and I knew this guy could really help the San Francisco 49ers.”

He didn’t stop at that comment though. When he was asked if he was rooting for the Steelers, Rice responded, “Green Bay because Aaron Rodgers was at Cal and I thought we were going to draft him to the San Francisco 49ers, but we decided to make the worst move ever, not sign him and we decided to go with Alex Smith.”

I don’t think you can get anymore to the point than that comment.

The problem is, that they selected the wrong quarterback. The 49ers decided that they would go with Utah quarterback Alex Smith. That was a solid choice. Or so it seemed at the time, because 23 spots lower in the first round, another West coast college quarterback was selected which has become a modestly amount more successful in the NFL.

23 teams passed over Aaron Rodgers of the University of California. Of course, Rodgers did have the benefit of going to a team which was quarterbacked at the time by Brett Favre, and Rodgers did not need to be thrown into the fire right away, but with the money and time the 49ers have invested in Alex Smith, investments have not paid the same dividends.

Smith, in his career with the Niners has been lackluster. Passing for 9,399 yards, 51 touchdowns and 53 interceptions. Rodgers, however, has been on fire since gaining the reigns in Green Bay. He has already thrown for 12,723 yards, 87 touchdowns and 32 interceptions. Rodgers is the first quarterback in NFL history to throw for over 4,000 yards in each of his first three seasons. He has been electric in his postseason performances as well, tossing 10 touchdowns in his first three playoff games.Against the Atlanta Falcons during the NFC divisional game, Rodgers completed a mind-blowing 86.1% of his passes.

So, just how great would Aaron Rodgers look in a San Francisco uniform right now? Alex Smith has cashed his paychecks from the 49ers and will likely be moving on next season to assume his role as a career backup with another club.

It’s easy to look back at past drafts in hindsight, but the fact that Rodgers played his college ball in the same state as the 49ers, is really disappointing. It’s not like he played at Miami of Ohio or Penn State, he played at Cal. With Rodgers under center and Frank Gore in the backfield this season, the 49ers might have gone 13-3 this season.

Of course all of the usual names of potential free agents will be floated around. Vince Young, Matt Hasselbeck, perhaps a trade for Kyle Orton will all be among the names thrown out. There is a very strong possibility that the 49ers will address the quarterback position in this year’s draft. San Francisco has the 7th overall pick in the first round.

However, if the Niners do not manage to re-sign Troy Smith next season, they are going to need a veteran quarterback on the roster. There is a player which might be under the radar right now. QB Josh Johnson, who is a backup quarterback on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers roster right now.

Josh Johnson played for Jim Harbaugh while at the University of San Diego, while Harbaugh was the coach there. Johnson is a very accurate passer with good mobility but he is buried behind impressive second year quarterback Josh Freeman for the Buccaneers. Johnson had a most impressive season in his final season with the Toreros, passing for 46 touchdowns and only one interceptions. That interception was a result of a ball which bounced off a player’s shoulder pads.

I am unaware if the Buccaneers would be willing to part with Josh Johnson, he runs a version of the Wildcat offense for the Buccaneers. But with Johnson in the NFL, I wonder if the Niners were to draft a rookie, if Harbaugh might want to try to trade for one of his former players to join San Francisco.

Smith has never been able to put all the pieces together in order to elevate his career to the next level.

While speaking to the media after the 49ers’ win yesterday, Smith was asked if he would return to the 49ers’ next season. He had a canned response stating, “That’s something that , no question, I’m not ruling out. I just have to look at it and make the best decision. Sit down with the people around me and do what I think is best”.

However, off the podium, Smith’s answer to the same question was a bit different. “Are you being serious? …Uh, no.” It’s hard to imagine that Smith’s value on the open market won’t be very high. It’s doubtful that he gets a job to compete as a starting quarterback but in all reality will have to settle for a back-up role with another organization.

Washington Redskins QB Donovan McNabb was benched yesterday in favor of Rex Grossman and it appears that his career with the Redskins might be coming to an end, would McNabb be a good fit for the San Francisco 49er’s in 2011? There is a lot to consider before saying yes or no. Will Mike Singletary be retained? Does it look like the Niners would be in position to draft a top college quarterback prospect? Would the 49er’s be willing to trade for McNabb?

The first thing that has to be considered is what will the coaching staff look like next season? Alex and troy Smith are free agents and will be gone. He new head coach would bring in a new offensive scheme and depending on who the coach is, would McNabb fit his style of offense. The Niners have offensive weapons, something which McNabb is lacking in Washington.

Secondly, the 49er’s are currently in the middle of the pack for selecting in the first round of next year’s draft. That could go higher or lower depending on the rest of the season. Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton is slated to go in the middle of the draft’s first round. Do the 49er’s risk another first round pick on a quarterback or go with a veteran under center in 2011?

Lastly, the Washington Redskins will likely entertain trade offers for McNabb before releasing him so they don’t have to pay him his roster bonus at the start of next season. If the 49er’s decide that McNabb would be the route to go, should the 49er’s surrender draft picks in order to acquire McNabb?

The 49er’s are going to have to address the quarterback position at some point this coming offseason, it’s just a matter of which direction the team wants to head in.

Which Alex Smith shows up tonight for the San Francisco 49er’s? The good Alex or the bad Alex? On the road against the top ranked San Diego Chargers defense, I’m guessing the bad Alex. The Chargers will likely be without Antonio Gates, but they are expected to get Vincent Jackson back into the lineup. The Chargers have a prolific passing attack and I am expecting them to jump out of the 49er’s early, something which will neutralize any running game for the 49ers.

Alex Smith is coming off his best game of the season, but he was playing at home against a very poor Seattle defense which plays badly on the road. Smith is a different quarterback on the road than he is at home. He has thrown only three touchdowns on the road versus five interceptions and has a passer rating of 65.3 away from San Francisco.Against AFC teams this season, Smith is only completing 52% of his passes.

Both teams need a win tonight, however a loss by the Niners wouldn’t be as disastrous as a loss by the Chargers for the respective teams playoff hopes. The 49ers are one game out of the division lead behind the Seattle Seahawks and the St. Louis Rams, and there is a chance that all three teams could lose this week.

Tonight, the Chargers prove too much for San Francisco and roll 27-16.