Singletary endorses Smith for next season
The 49ers haven’t had much luck as of late with their quarterback play, watching former #1 overall pick Alex Smith struggle with his propensity to turn the ball over. While it seemed as though Smith took a step forward last week with a solid game at home against the Cardinals, that wasn’t the case today, when he threw three interceptions in San Francisco’s loss to the Eagles on the road.
But none of that seems to matter to head coach Mike Singletary, who gave the strongest indication yet as to the team’s plans for the off-season at the QB position, with a relatively strong endorsement of Smith at the end of the game.
“I think tonight Alex played poorly. He’s capable of playing better than that. I don’t have any questions about him. I don’t have any questions going forward. Sometimes you try to make things happen, and if they’re not happening and you force it. Maturity, patience, those kinds of things, trust in receivers’ routes, all of those things, you try to make happen. As a quarterback, you have to learn you can’t force it. He’s shown me enough prior to tonight. He had a bad game. Great quarterbacks have bad games. So I don’t have any questions about him.”
– San Francisco head coach Mike Singletary
Given the risks involved with drafting a quarterback high in round one, the 49ers aren’t likely to back down from the position on Smith anytime soon, but there’s little doubt that he will be on an extremely short leash next season if he is the starter coming out of training camp. If he continues to make critical mistakes, Smith will likely find himself planted on the bench for good, as he will have blown through his final shot at being the starter for the 49ers, and no other team will be open to having him come in to run the show either.
There is certainly something to be said about giving a quarterback confidence to go out and play his game, without worrying about his future, which is exactly what Singletary seems to be trying to accomplish here, and Smith could very well end up playing much better as a result. All in all, it’s a move that could backfire just as easily as it could succeed for the 49ers next season, and if San Francisco’s front office is wise, they will invest in a alternative plan just in case.
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