| Michael J. Jones. 27th August, 2008 - 9:12 pm
 Aside from all of the attention that Brett Favre and the numerous many injuries have enjoyed during this preseason, one of the major storylines in the NFL has flown under the radar.
What was this all about, some may ask.
It was the three-man race to become the starting quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers. Who won? Not the quarterback that was drafted for the job (Alex Smith), nor was it the next in line (Shaun Hill). The winner was the man who knew Mike Martz’s offense the best, and who came out of nowhere to win the starting job – J.T. O'Sullivan.
This was, by far, one of the most confusing and unpredictable roster battles in the league this summer. No one knew who would win with each quarterback having his own positives and negatives. Even the coach seemed to be confused and consistently told reporters that there weren’t any favorites for the starting job.
So what made Coach Nolan go with O'Sullivan?
Just look at August 22nd's preseason game against the Bears, and you'll find the answer.
During the game all three quarterbacks were given the chance to prove why they should be starter, but no one out shined O'Sullivan, who went 7-for-8 with 126 passing yards. One of his best plays was when he rolled outside of the pocket to spot receiver Jason Hill for a 37-yard touchdown. Shaun Hill went 6-for-7 with 60 passing yards while Smith unfortunately went 6-for-17 with 83 yards and one touchdown.
In Mike Nolan's online notebook he stated that the reason why he went with O'Sullivan was, "Like I said, he’s probably got the better command between the three right now. He played with consistency and we moved the ball well as a unit. We scored points; we did the things that I think our really important playing that position." He also stated he is "very confident that J.T. is at the point where he’s our best man for the job right now."
Even though it was clear that O'Sullivan played better in the preseason than Hill, who had a QB Rating of just 57.3, is it valid to say that it may have been too soon to name O'Sullivan the starter over Smith?
When you look at it, was Smith really given a fair chance?
In Smith's four years with the 49ers he has played with four different offensive coordinators, the most recent one being Martz. Only O'Sullivan had experience of playing under Martz in Detroit, which obviously gave him an advantage. Smith never really got a chance to learn any individual system like many other young quarterbacks have had.
He was thrown to the wolves in his first year against the Colts, and we all know how that went (4 interceptions and a fumble, in case you forgot).
Even though I am sure O'Sullivan was excited to win this position, let's examine the real prize for the winner. He gets to play behind an offensive line, who last season, allowed 55 sacks (tied for 31st in the league). He inherits a receiving core that was 32nd in the league in yards (2,685). The only bright side of the offense is Frank Gore and DeShaun Foster, who will definitely hold their own while running the ball.
So should O'Sullivan be excited? Sure, he is a starting quarterback in the NFL.
Should he and his teammates expect big things out of the team now that he is leading? No, especially since he hasn't started a game in his five years as a professional.
With Nolan's job clearly in jeopardy, you would think he would have taken more time to carefully select his starter, but he didn't. Only time will tell if he has made the right decision, but when looking at the facts, it seems that he went with the first thing that looked golden instead of mining for the real thing. |
