49ers HC Mike Singletary would not commit to Alex Smith as his starting QB after Sunday night's loss to the Eagles.  "It's possible," Singletary said when asked if he'd make a QB change this week.  The problem is that San Fran's backup is David Carr.  He's not a better option than Smith.

The 49ers have fired OC Jimmy Raye.  Through 3 weeks, San Fran ranks 20th in total offense and 31st in points score.  Raye will be replaced by QB coach Mike Johnson.  The Niners offense can't be any worse, so consider this an upgrade for all their skill-position players.

For the first time in his NFL career, 49ers QB Alex Smith enters an offseason running the same offense he ran the previous season.  And he's looking much more comfortable with OC Jimmy Raye's schemes.  49ers beat writer Matt Maiocco notes that Smith has a better understanding of "the nuances of the team's protection schemes and... the route concepts."  With weapons like RB Frank Gore, WR Michael Crabtree, and TE Vernon Davis, there are no excuses for Smith this season.  It's a make-or-break year for the former #1 overall pick.

The people who made QB Alex Smith the #1 overall pick in 2005 are no longer with the 49ers.  But President Jed York gave Smith a ringing endorsement on Monday.  "Alex is our guy," York said. "He's our quarterback. We believe in Alex. Coach Singletary believes in Alex. I think he's always said he believes in Alex. I think Alex did a nice job stepping in last year when he came in. I think it's great this is the first time he's had continuity at the offensive coordinator. When you have some weapons around him with Crab, with Vernon, with Frank, I think Alex is poised to have a good season for us. And we're more excited that Alex is our starting quarterback."  Smith's backup is QB David Carr, and the team isn't expected to snag a QB in the top half of April's draft.  Smith will open the season as the starter and would have to be horrible to lose the job.  And with those weapons in place, he has top-10 upside.

According to 49ers beat writer Matt Maiocco, Alex Smith will get the chance to prove if he will be the team's QB of the future. Smith has been better than Shaun Hill in completion percentage, yards per attempt, and sack rate. The one area that Smith is worse than Hill is INTs. Smith will be the 49ers starting QB the rest of the season.

49ers HC Mike Singletary said in his post-game press conference that he is not sure who his starting QB will be next week.  "We have to sit down as a staff and look at that," Singletary said. "I don't like going back and forth. But we're going to have to sit down and look at it and see what's best for the team."  It's tough to imagine them going back to Hill after today's game.  Shaun Hill went just 6 of 11 for 45 yards and posted 0 points in 1 half of action.  Alex Smith, on the other hand, was lights out.  He completed 15 of 22 passes for 206 yards and 3 scores. 

49ers HC Mike Singletary announced that Alex Smith will take over as the team's starting QB next week.  Smith made a great impression after Shaun Hill was benched on Sunday, throwing for 206 yards and 3 TDs (1INT).  Still, this is a guy that's known for his inconsistancy, and can't be counted on in the 49ers run first offense.  He's no more than a matchup QB2 play moving forward.

The 49ers starting QB job is still up for grabs.  But you wouldn't have known it had you watched their game tonight.  Both Alex Smith and Shaun Hill were ineffective.  Smith got the start and finished just 3 of 9 for 30 yards.  He also threw an INT, although it did go right through WR Josh Morgan's hands.  Hill relieved Smith to start the 2nd quarter but didn't fare much better.  He completed 3 of 7 attempts for only 20 yards.  Hill was the favorite coming into the game, so he still has to be considered the front-runner.

Bucs TE Alex Smith (ankle) missed practice Wednesday and Thursday. If you want a deep, deep sleeper at TE it's gotta be Jerramy Stevens.

The 49ers are working out free-agent QB Jamie Martin which means Alex Smith (shoulder) might go on IR. The depth chart would read: J.T. O'Sullivan, Shaun Hill, Jamie Martin.

KNBR Radio reports 49ers QB Alex Smith reinjured his surgically repaired shoulder in practice this week. He's not expected to dress out vs. Arizona. This has no bearing on Fantasy Week 1 (since he wasn't starting anyway) but it could solidify J.T. O'Sullivan's stock going forward. More details as we get them.

49ers QB J.T. O'Sullivan went 7-of-8 for 126 yards and 1 TD in the exhibition vs. Chicago -- for a perfect QB rating of 158.3. Alex Smith came in with the 2nd-stringers and went 6-of-17 for 83 yards & 1 TD. O'Sullivan was more impressive, for sure. However, Trent Dilfer said on NFL Live that Mike Martz still has a tough decision to make. "Stats can lie," Dilfer said. "3rd downs, red zone, Alex made a couple big throws." Dilfer pointed out that O'Sullivan has an advantage because Martz coached him in Detroit, but that Smith "gave Martz something to think about tonight." We should know who the 49ers starter is very shortly.

The fact that Smith is actually engaged in a QB battle with Shaun Hill and J.T O'Sullivan should tell you something.  All 3 QBs played against the Raiders last night-- and all were fairly mediocre.  O'Sullivan got the start, but twice turned over the ball (an INT and a fumble).  Smith was 5-of-9 for 51 yards, but didn't do anything special.  Overall, it seemed the QBs struggled to run new OC Mike Martz' offense.    

J.T. O'Sullivan has been taking lots of first-team reps away from Alex Smith in camp and many believe he'll start the regular season over Alex Smith. 49ers HC Mike Nolan wouldn't go there yet. "We don't have a timetable on it," Nolan said. "We want to make a good decision, and we will." O'Sullivan has made some big preseason plays but he also threw a bad INT vs. the Packers on Sat. night. He looked a little jumpy in the pocket. Smith came in after O'Sullivan and played solid but couldn't stick a couple deeper routes. We may be in the minority -- but all things equal we still think Mike Martz will go with Smith on Sept. 7. vs. Arizona.

The San Jose Mercury News reports QB Alex Smith will likely be the starter this season. Smith had surgery on his right shoulder in December but is reportedly throwing all speeds and distances now. Shaun Hill really didn't have a chance anyway because the 49ers have so much money tied up in Smith.

ESPN's John Clayton reports on ESPN Insider that the 49ers have contacted ex-Lions OC Mike Martz about their offensive coordinator job. They were originally reported to be uninterested in him. Clayton says the dark horse is Hawaii HC June Jones, who we'd like to see get the gig. When Jones ran the Atlanta Falcons offense in the mid-90s it was a prolific machine -- in 1995 they had a 4,000-yard QB (Jeff George), a 1,000-yard RB (Craig Heyward), and three 1,000-yard WRs (Terance Mathis, Bert Emanuel, Eric Metcalf). Jones is obviously working wonders in Hawaii as well. The 49ers are also expected to interview ex-Georgia Tech HC Chan Gailey, ex-Dolphins HC Cam Cameron and ex-Ravens HC Brian Billick for the job.

NFL Network's Adam Schefter reports the San Francisco 49ers just hired Mike Martz as their new offensive coordinator. On paper this would seem good for Alex Smith and the WRs, possibly bad for Frank Gore & Vernon Davis. This team is going to be worth monitoring closely for fantasy purposes regardless.

ESPN.com reports that 49ers QB Alex Smith will need at least 2 more weeks to rest his separated shoulder. Even then, he may need to have surgery, which would knock him out for the year. He wasn't going to help your fantasy team even before the injury. There's no reason for him to be on any fantasy rosters at this time.

As we previously reported, ESPN Insider speculates that 49ers QB Alex Smith (arm) isn't expected to play again this year. Journeyman QB Trent Dilfer will start for the remainder of the season.

49ers QB Alex Smith apparently admitted to his trainer Jeff Ferguson on Tuesday that his surgically-repaired shoulder is still "killing him" - so he was sent to another specialist Wednesday for assessment. This would explain his horrible play on Monday night. "We'll see," said Mike Nolan, who was angry that Smith didn't tell anyone before the game. "He went to see the doctor. He'll come out tomorrow and he's supposed be out here, and hopefully that's what happens."