49ER Alternative Plan For The Future

Barring any sudden mid season playoff push, the 49ers need to start thinking about next season. Specifically, they need to at least start considering an alternative plan to Alex Smith.

After Smith's horrible performance against a sad Atlanta team, Mike Nolan has to start questioning whether Smith is the right choice to lead them back to contention.

I said before the beginning of the season that if the 49ers were to make the playoffs this year, Smith would have to be responsible for three to four wins by himself. Although, statistically, Smith did not have a great performace during the opening night of the season against Arizona, he did lead the team on the final drive for the victory. In the second game against the Rams, although Smith did not make any mistakes that cost the team, his play did nothing to distinguish himself. In the third game against Pittsburgh, Smith progressed by hitting on some difficult passes, the late interception not withstanding.

Since the Seattle game when Smith got hurt, he has not displayed any progress for anyone to believe that Smith can lead the 49ers. Even if his shoulder is not 100 percent, his decisions and missed opportunities against a feeble Atlanta team forces everyone to wonder about his ability as an NFL quarterback.

In Smith's defense, even though the team won its opening two games Nolan has to take blame for not allowing Smith to make plays through out those games. Nolan had a mindset that his defense was going to win those games. Both games support that theory. Would the outcomes of those games been the same if Smith had been allowed to make bigger contributions? That's hard to say, but the reality is that the 49ers barely won them anyway without major offensive output. Would Smith had been able to make enough plays for the 49ers to win those games handily? We'll never know. However, because of the conservative game plans that were devised, a Bay Area thought pattern has developed into a crescendo questioning Smith's ability. In addition, because of the strong finish last season, perhaps there were premature expectations of the 49ers for this season.

Regardless, Smith is two and a half seasons into his Niner era. If Smith cannot show marked improvement during the last half of this season, then Nolan or whoever the coach is has to consider the alternative to Smith.

One alternative for next season, might be to look across the Bay for a solution. Daunte Culpepper is signed only through this season, and all signs point to JaMarcus Russell starting next season. Culpepper has played better than the Raider's record indicates. Remove all the offensive line holding calls, and dropped passes the Raiders are at least a 4 - 4 team. If Culpepper was the 49er QB this season, they too, would have an identicle record and perhaps better? Why not sign the proven Culpepper with the knowledge that if Smith plays poorly in the first few games next season, Daunte will be given the starting position?

Signing Culpepper makes sense for three reasons: First, he gives them insurance if Smith does indeed continue to digress. Second, it sends a message to the rest of the team, especially the defense, that management is serious about winning. Third, if the 49ers do make the decision to sign Culpepper they can draft another QB next year without wasting a high draft choice. There are too many current examples of teams finding productive QBs later in the draft, and not having to force them into the spotlight when they are not ready. In addition, the teams are not wasting millions of guaranteed money.

Smith has the second half of this season to prove his ability. However, if he continues to impede his own progress then the 49ers have to make some serious decisions during the off season regarding their future. Granted, the team will need to find new offensive lineman and wide receivers but they need to send a message to their team and fans, that they are serious about having a dependable QB lead their team.