Hill takes lead in 49ers QB derby ... we think

Mike Singletary might be a first-time head coach, but he’s showing early signs of being an excellent spin doctor.

 

Singletary announced Shaun Hill will start the team’s preseason opener Friday. Then followed that by saying he didn’t know who will start next week and, “don’t read anything into it.”

 

Good luck. The 49ers have one of the few quarterback battles still brewing, albeit between a pair of quarterbacks who would be battling for the inactive No. 3 job in most NFL cities.

 

It doesn’t take an expert to read between the lines. Hill isn’t getting the nod because it’s a dead heat and he’s the incumbent. In fact, Singletary wouldn’t even commit to when – or how much – Alex Smith will play.

 

“Right now we are just going to get into the flow of the game and see where it goes,” said Singletary. “I think the flow will dictate, more or less, how much (Hill) will get to play.”

 

Crabtree to sit out '09?

WR Michael Crabtree's contract impass with the 49ers has him willing to sit out this season and re-enter the NFL Draft in 2010.

"We are prepared to do it," David Wells, Crabtree's cousin and adviser, told ESPN.com on Thursday. "Michael just wants fair-market value. They took him with the 10th pick and you have Darrius Heyward-Bey [the seventh overall pick by the Oakland Raiders] getting $38 million? This week is crucial. Michael was one of the best players in the draft and he just wants to be paid like one of the best players. This week is very crucial."

Singletary hopes fans give Smith thick skin

   Quarterback Alex Smith is trying to remake himself after missing most of the past two seasons with shoulder injuries.

   He got plenty of help from the 1,000 fans who fit into the makeshift bleachers at the 49ers’ practice facility when he took the field for the first time in training camp. After his first incomplete pass, Smith was roundly booed.

   “That’s fine, it’s part of the deal,” Smith said. “It’s part of playing quarterback in the NFL. But there are some good things that come out if it. You come out here and there’s a lot of energy, too.”

   Smith and Shaun Hill are competing for the starting job, and coach Mike Singletary said he believes that kind of fan reaction is ultimately beneficial in preparing Smith for what lies ahead.

   “I think it was outstanding,” Singletary said. “Alex has to learn how to deal with it.”

   While 49ers fans might be skeptical of Smith’s ability to lead the team, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2005 draft looks to be completely healthy for the first time since early in the 2007 season.

   Little went smoothly for Smith during his first four NFL seasons. After an atrocious rookie season, Smith began to show signs in 2006 of becoming a good quarterback. He threw 16 touchdowns and 16 interceptions but ended the season on a positive note.

   However, after leading the 49ers to a 2-1 beginning in 2007, nothing has gone right. He sustained a separated shoulder, leading him to undergo season-ending surgery. Last summer, he lost the starting job to J.T. O’Sullivan before sustaining a fracture of a small bone in his shoulder. He spent the entire season on injured reserve.

   In 32 career games, Smith is a 54.4-percent passer with 19 touchdowns and 31 interceptions. His career passer rating is 63.5.

   But Smith is throwing the ball with more accuracy and velocity than at any point in his career. Later, on his first day of practice he showed precision accuracy with two deep completions to new receiver Brandon Jones.

   Still, Smith has a difficult chore to beat out Hill, who has compiled a 7-3 record the past two seasons as the 49ers’ starter. The other 49ers quarterbacks during that time are a combined 5-17.

   Singletary said there is no “leader” in the competition because he has yet to see the qualities that a starting quarterback must possess.

   “It doesn’t matter where we are today,” Singletary said. “I want to find the guy who is going to lead this team. Right now, I’m not seeing that guy.”

   Hill said he believes he has to take the job and erase any doubt of which quarterback can do the better job.

   “I have to do something and it’s not doing anything outside of myself,” he said. “It’s playing within myself. Something has to click to where it looks like when I’m in there I’m the best guy that needs to be in there,” Hill said. “The whole offense will click all at once and it will be noticeable whenever he makes a decision.”

Olivea cleared -- and should be coveted

Shaun Alexander, Kevin Jones and Ron Dayne are still searching for work, but Shane Olivea's name will likely be mentioned more than all three combined in the offices of general managers leading up to training camp.

Olivea was cut by San Diego in February after losing his starting right tackle job to rookie Jeromey Clary in November. He was generating interest from San Francisco, among other teams, but didn't sign a deal and was then suspended on June 20 for violating the league's substance abuse program. That meant a team that signed Olivea would be without his services for the first four games of the regular season.

That suspension was rescinded Thursday, and Olivea will be coveted by several teams. He lost his job in San Diego in large part because he tends to be streaky, but Olivea does play with a nasty streak. And 26-year-old right tackles who have started 57 of 60 career regular-season games aren't easy to come by in July.

Expect Olivea to be scooped up quickly by a team looking for him to compete for a starting job.

Jobs of any kind are proving difficult for the trio of running backs to come by. Alexander clearly lost a step -- or two -- during his final two injury-plagued seasons in Seattle, and he and Dayne will have to accept backup roles if they're going to be in the league in 2008.

Jones has been diligently rehabbing from ACL surgery five months ago, and recently held a workout in front of representatives from Miami, Green Bay, Pittsburgh and Detroit. He ran the shuttle and cones and caught some passes. If he can prove he is healthy enough to at least participate in non-contact drills by early August, he should end up in someone's camp early enough to compete for significant carries.

4-0 Packers Hardly Perfect

Clearly the feel-good story through the first month of the season, the Green Bay Packers still can't get away from the notion that they're by far the least imposing of the four remaining unbeaten teams.

However, most people don't realize the Packers have an eight-game winning streak after finishing last season with four consecutive wins. And if they can manage to beat Chicago on Sunday, they'll put three games between themselves and their most feared competition in the NFC South (sorry, Detroit).

With two home games leading into their bye week, the Packers have plenty to be excited about. But they also have a lot of work to do to stay on top considering they have the league's worst running attack.

Sooner than later, the Packers must find production somewhere among the group of Vernand Morency, rookies Brandon Jackson and DeShawn Wynn and second-year player Ryan Grant.

Quarterback Brett Favre is playing lights out with a 97.3 passer rating considering the one-dimensional offense he's running. But it's too much to expect Favre to play nearly mistake-free football through a 16-game schedule if his supporting cast doesn't step up in a hurry.

"We're not blind to the things we need to work on, and I think that's just part of keeping the focus of the football team," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said.

Other quarterback news:

• Bears coach Lovie Smith is sticking with Brian Griese for at least another week, but one has to wonder how long the leash will be. At 1-3, the Bears are quickly running out of time to let Griese shake off the rust and help the scuffling offense become more consistent.
  
• Cardinals quarterback Matt Leinart remains the starter, but he isn't making many fantasy owners happy. With Leinart struggling to find consistency and confidence in the new offense, coach Ken Whisenhunt has not been shy to turn to Kurt Warner, especially when the Cardinals want to run up-tempo.
  
• David Carr is coming off a horrendous first outing with Carolina. The Panthers better hope he rebounds quickly with Jake Delhomme likely out a few more games -- and possibly longer if surgery is required on his ailing elbow.
  
• Trent Dilfer will start the 49ers' next few games in place of injured Alex Smith. San Francisco's offensive line is already struggling mightily, missing several blocking assignments against Seattle, and it's not going to get any easier with an immobile backup quarterback under center.
  
• Bills quarterback J.P. Losman is recovering quickly from his knee injury, but the team won't rush him back for Monday night's game after rookie Trent Edwards' impressive debut.