National Football League

Sideline chaos deepens team's tumult

Published Oct. 11, 2010 10:09 a.m. ET

foxsports

Most of the action for the 49ers' offense occurred around the sideline Sunday night. The two late touchdown drives, apparently fueled by the sideline drama, were thrilling, but they amounted to a sideshow - not enough to keep the 49ers from dropping to 0-5 and certainly not enough to secure Alex Smith's job.

After the 27-24 loss to the Eagles, Mike Singletary conceded for the first time in almost a year - since he inserted the 2005 No. 1 draft pick behind center halfway through Game 6 of the 2009 season - that he is wavering about whether to keep Smith at quarterback.

The wavering started far too late. Smith should not have come into the season as the anointed one, and the steadfast support he has received from Singletary and the front office has yielded instability in almost every other corner of the team.

On Sunday, Singletary tentatively removed the quarterback, making a show of sending backup David Carr onto the field before changing his mind and sticking with Smith. Ostensibly, he was testing Smith's mettle.

"I really wanted to see what his response would be," Singletary said. "More than anything in a situation like that, a quarterback that has anything in him is going to have something to say about that."

Whatever Smith said in response, Singletary accepted - but he has accepted a lot of subpar performances from the quarterback over the last year, so who knows how feisty Smith really was?

His two drives afterward indicated a radical transformation. He completed 10 of 11 passes for 99 yards and two touchdowns. But on the final possession, the rebirth went stale, and Smith threw his second interception of the game and his ninth of the season.

The chaos, in the end, did not revive this team. It simply amped up the drama, creating more uncertainty around the position.

The tumult that defines these 49ers took a deep bow on the national stage Sunday, as Singletary and Smith verbally sparred with each other early in the fourth quarter. At that point, the Candlestick crowd already had started chanting: "We want Carr. We want Carr."

In mid-screed with his quarterback, the head coach pointed toward the north end zone, perhaps emphasizing the scoreboard, which showed a 24-10 Eagles lead. Or maybe he was discussing the amount of time left on the clock. Or was he issuing a reminder of where Philadelphia safety Quintin Mickell crossed the goal line with the return of a fumble - really more of a hand-over - by Smith on one of the most mindless, careless plays in his exasperating six-year professional career?

For all we know, he could have been gesturing toward AT&T Park and saying: "Barry Zito could do better than this, and I hear he has time on his hands."

After the game, a subdued Singletary would not clarify what he had told Smith during their extended debate, which involved a lot of shrugs and frustrated arm gestures from both parties. At that point, Carr was warming up and ready to take the field when the offense returned.

As Singletary and Smith continued their altercation, at least one assistant coach intervened, apparently trying to pull the head coach's attention back toward the game. Guard Adam Snyder offered his opinion and then stomped away from the two. He declined to explain what he had said.

Smith did have one openly ardent defender on the team, tight end Vernon Davis, who said later that he had bad- gered the quarterback into standing up for himself.

"He didn't know what to do; he didn't know how to handle it at first," Davis said. "So I had to take it upon myself to go over and talk to him and put his head right."

At the change of possession, Carr and Smith briefly were on the field together. At first, Davis and Smith tossed a ball back and forth, as if they were warming up together, even though Carr was headed toward the gathering huddle. Then the two quarterbacks met near the sideline, with Davis between them, talking into Smith's ear.

It was quite a scene, and a fair example of the discipline that has led the 49ers to produce turnovers in bulk.

"I wanted Alex to stay in the game, because I believe in Alex," Davis said. "He has a lot of pressure on his back, and I'm for him."

Davis said he couldn't remember the specifics of what he said, especially whatever motivated Carr to step between the tight end and Smith.

Likewise, Smith said he couldn't remember exactly how he responded to Singletary. "I felt like it wasn't right, is basically what I told him."

The two, coach and incumbent quarterback, had a long meeting after the game. Smith wouldn't reveal the details.

But really, the 49ers don't have many options. Carr, for all the chants, has not demonstrated that he would be an improvement. The 49ers gave up their best insurance policy against Smith's deficiencies when they dumped Shaun Hill in the offseason, despite his 10-6 starting record here.

The disciplined Hill led a weak Detroit team to a rout of the Rams on Sunday, and finished with a quarterback rating of 117.6. If he can win in Detroit, what could he have done for a more talented 49ers team?

We'll never know. Whatever the 49ers decide, it can't be the same pro-Smith stance, the team's one consistency.