San Francisco 49ers should ask the league for a “do-over” of the 2005 draft
The San Francisco 49ers should petition the NFL league office for a “do-over” of the 2005 draft. 49ers fans remember that fateful day in April, the 23rd of 2005. The Niners had the first overall draft pick in the draft, and they were going to select a franchise quarterback.
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.
Harbaugh signs with 49ers, who plays quarterback next?
The San Francisco 49ers finally signed their man, former Stanford head coach Jim Harbaugh, but the first order of business needs to be who is going to play quarterback for the 49ers in 2011? Alex Smith has hinted that he is not coming back, even if he was offered a new contract. Troy Smith might be coaxed into signing for another season. But I have a dark horse in the race.
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.
Alex Smith has no desire to return to the 49ers
QB Alex Smith has most likely played his last game for the San Francisco 49ers’. Smith was the first overall pick by San Francisco 49ers’ in the 2005 draft. Smith’s career has never lived up to his lofty draft position and now he becomes a free agent and sounds like he wants to put the Bay area in the rear-view mirror.
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.
Would Donovan McNabb be a good fit for the San Francisco 49er’s?
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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 49ers?
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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.
