By Matthew Barrows, Sac Bee
Alex Smith was back in action Friday, filling in as a backup quarterback in place of Shaun Hill, who broke the index finger on his throwing hand a day earlier. The plan for Sunday's game originally was to give Smith's right shoulder and forearm a chance to rest and for Hill to serve as Trent Dilfer's primary backup. Toward the end of Thursday's practice, however, Hill's hand hit a teammate's helmet as he followed through with a pass. The diagnosis Friday was a dislocated finger and a hairline fracture that will take two weeks to heal. Hill taped the finger and was able to throw a few passes Friday in practice. If he can play Sunday, he will return to his familiar role as third, or emergency, quarterback. If not, running back Michael Robinson or wide receiver Arnaz Battle could be the emergency backup. Both played quarterback in college, although Battle eventually was moved to flanker at Notre Dame. Smith, meanwhile, ran the scout team during Friday's practice. The team might bring in a practice-squad quarterback to help spread the practice load. Dilfer will make his third start of the season.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Matt Maiocco, The Press Democrat
Mike Nolan better be careful.
It may have been acceptable for him to belittle former 49ers linebacker Julian Peterson, now with the Seahawks, for his statement that Alex Smith shouldn't be playing because he was in such obvious pain. (Peterson was correct, by the way.) It may have been all right when he ridiculed the media for making an issue of the reported differences with his starting quarterback. (More on that later.) But what was he thinking when he openly mocked Alex Smith on back-to-back days? There is a major communication gap right now between the head coach and the quarterback. These guys essentially came to the 49ers at the same time. It looked as if they were going to succeed together or fail together. Now, you really have to wonder if they're together at all. There are serious concerns among people close to Smith that his forearm was overworked in the weight room shortly after he experienced the separated shoulder. His arm went from being in a sling for several days to working with light weights to working with larger weights in a matter of days. When I asked Nolan about the concerns that Smith might have been doing too much too soon, Nolan laughed it off - blamed the media for trying to put a different spin on the news - and then added. "But I'm sure he (Smith) might tell you something next week," Nolan said. Again, that tells me that Nolan has not been communicating with his quarterback.
It may have been acceptable for him to belittle former 49ers linebacker Julian Peterson, now with the Seahawks, for his statement that Alex Smith shouldn't be playing because he was in such obvious pain. (Peterson was correct, by the way.) It may have been all right when he ridiculed the media for making an issue of the reported differences with his starting quarterback. (More on that later.) But what was he thinking when he openly mocked Alex Smith on back-to-back days? There is a major communication gap right now between the head coach and the quarterback. These guys essentially came to the 49ers at the same time. It looked as if they were going to succeed together or fail together. Now, you really have to wonder if they're together at all. There are serious concerns among people close to Smith that his forearm was overworked in the weight room shortly after he experienced the separated shoulder. His arm went from being in a sling for several days to working with light weights to working with larger weights in a matter of days. When I asked Nolan about the concerns that Smith might have been doing too much too soon, Nolan laughed it off - blamed the media for trying to put a different spin on the news - and then added. "But I'm sure he (Smith) might tell you something next week," Nolan said. Again, that tells me that Nolan has not been communicating with his quarterback.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mark May, ESPN
According to ESPN, Baylor will fire their head coach Guy Morriss at the completion of the season and will pursue Mike Singletary for the position. ESPN has already reported that Morriss won't return for the remaining year on his contract after being unable to produce a winning record in any of his five seasons.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
No comments:
Post a Comment