The 49ers QB Situation

By Kalen Patrick

Well I guess to start off, I wanna say that it has been a while since I have posted. Been very busy with work and visiting family and what not. Gonna be getting back in to the blog in a big way to end the year and look for some big things happening in the New Year. My own website will be launching, I am looking to get in to coaching at the Pee-Wee/High School Football level and of course all my thoughts on sports throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, along with thoughts on the biggest topics in Sports too. Anyways, let's get to the biggest story that has taken over the 49ers recently.

 I realize that I am a few weeks late on this whole topic but I wanted to just share my thoughts on this topic. First of all, I do have to say and admit that I trust the decision Harbaugh makes, his regular season record speaks for itself (21-6-1). Secondly, Jim Harbaugh knows his players way way better than I or any other person in the media does. However, I am entitled to my opinion and I won't be holding back when expressing that.

JIM HARBAUGH IS ALL IN ON QB COLIN KAEPERNICK

I would NOT have named Colin Kaepernick the starter going forward this season, and here's why. By going with Kaepernick (barring injury) you cannot go back to Alex Smith and start a QB carousel. Just will not work, never has and never will. So Harbaugh has left himself with zero flexibility. Teams will be watching tape on Kaepernick and just like the Rams showed, with a little film, it is amazing how Defensive Coaches can come up with ways to slow down a QB who is a new starter in the NFL. For the 49ers sake, we hope that Kaepernick and the offense can overcome this and come up with new plays and schemes and be able to stay ahead of the defense.

Difference is, as a starter in Harbaugh's system Alex Smith was 19-5 and posted some very impressive numbers to go along with all of those wins. He proved that he was able to stay ahead of the curve and came within a few bounces of a Super Bowl, even with all the tape a defense could ask for on him. Another advantage of going with Alex Smith (once he was cleared to play obviously) would be, you know that should Alex struggle and not play well, you can always go to Kaepernick, and at least there is some justification among the team and fans and organization for making that decision. You have flexibility, which is key in the NFL. Heck, you could start Alex Smith and then maybe give Kaepernick 5 snaps a game. Keep defenses guessing.

ALEX SMITH MAY HAVE STARTED HIS LAST GAME AS A 49ER

The St. Louis game really opened my eyes, with Harbaugh, I have never seen an Alex Smith led 49ers look so ordinary and unproductive against a team the quality of the Rams, and with the defense playing as well as it was to back up the offense. I know the NFL is about taking risks and big plays and what not, but sometimes conservative can be the logical way to go and Alex Smith will not lose you a game, and he has shown multiple times this year he can take over and win games (Buffalo, @Arizona, @Green Bay).

I do admire and root for Alex Smith, but my allegiance is and always will be to the 49ers and whoever is the QB will have my unquestioned support (whether its Tim Rattay, Cody Pickett, Alex Smith or Colin Kaepernick). I certainly hope Kaepernick can evolve and progress his game to take this team to the Superbowl. I trust Jim Harbaugh and this is a huge risk that he is taking, but with his record it's hard to argue with him.

That's it for now. It's good to be back writing and please check back for updates.

Over and Out.

Which Draft had the Best QB Class? (2005-2010)

By Kalen Patrick

So I was just browsing over the previous few seasons drafts, and noticed quite a lot of big names in the 1st round. What I thought was interesting was maybe comparing each year and see which one looks the best. I left out the rookies this year, while guys like Andy Dalton and Cam Newton have been very impressive, 8 games just isn't enough of a sample size in my opinion. So here are the candidates?

2005 - Aaron Rodgers, Alex Smith, Jason Campbell

SO MUCH HOPE AND PROMISE AT THE TIME

2006 - Jay Cutler, Vince Young, Matt Leinart
2007 - Jamarcus Russell, Brady Quinn
2008 - Matt Ryan, Joe Flacco
2009 - Matthew Stafford, Mark Sanchez, Josh Freeman
2010 - Sam Bradford, Tim Tebow



What year to you jumps out to be the best of that whole bunch? Between all those QB's only 1 has a Superbowl Victory (Aaron Rodgers). In my opinion immediately you gotta wipe out 2007. Jamarcus Russell was a colossal bust and Brady Quinn will be a #3 QB at best.

The next year that I would take out would be 2006. Leinart is barely in the league any more. While Vince Young has an impressive W-L ratio, it looks like personal issues and what not will keep him from ever being a consistent starting QB, as for one Jay Cutler? The guy has talent, serious talent, but he is way too erratic and is over confident in his abilities. So now we have 2 down.

Before this season I would have gone with 2005 (will explain later), but now I will go with 2010. Tebow doesn't look like an NFL QB, still has a super slow wind up, he can make throws, they certainly are not pretty. He reminds me of Shaun Hill a lot, Hill had some solid games for the 49ers and Lions. Unfortunately Tim Tebow is such a big name, it will be hard for him to fly under the radar as a backup QB. As for Sam Bradford? Yeah the dude has talent, but overall it's hard to come away too impressed after 22 games. He has a 75.3 QB rating and in his last 11 games he has only thrown 4 TD's to 9 INT's. I don't know whether this is sophomore(ish) slump, or the NFL figuring him out or what. But those numbers are concerning.

Now I will have to go with 2009 (yes! shock! horror!) but hear me out. Mark Sanchez has average at best numbers. Luckily he has played for teams with awesome defenses and running games. He hasn't been asked to do much and even with that he can't display good numbers (like Alex Smith this year). Josh Freeman was looking to be a future stud, but this year has been nothing short of a disaster for him. His incredibly inconsistent play has held the Bucs back this year. I will admit Matthew Stafford is playing stud like this year, but Stafford alone is not enough to carry this group.

Next comes 2005. Now this group includes the QB's of the 2 teams with the top records in the NFL, Aaron Rodgers and the Packers are 8-0, and Alex Smith and the 49ers are 7-1. Aaron Rodgers is the best QB in the NFL right now and Alex Smith is now playing at a level never thought possible for him. He has 10 TD's with only 2 INT's. He has been very efficient (64.1% Completion) with a very respectable 97.3 QB rating. Then finally we have Jason Campbell, Mr. Mediocre. Well  I think we can all see what the loss of Campbell is doing to the Raiders now, essentially since he has gone down, the Raiders have been humiliated in back to back games against division rivals Kansas City and Denver. You have Jason Campbell in those games, and I bet they win one if not both.

THESE QB'S HEADLINE THE MOST SUCCESSFUL QB CROP IN RECENT YEARS

So that leaves 2008 as the winner and lets face it, Matt Ryan and Joe Flacco have had nothing but success since coming in to the NFL. Leading their respective teams to impressive records, multiple playoff appearances and many more to come. Both of these guys, while they can be shaky at times, in general are very capable and going to be good for a long time. I think it's only a matter of when not if one of these guys is hoisting a Lombardi trophy. And there we have it, so let's sum up the rankings:

1 - 2008
2 - 2005
3 - 2009
4 - 2010
5 - 2006
6 - 2007