49ers 2009 midseason report card

The 49ers are halfway through the season and sit with a 3-5 record, two games behind the Cardinals. After starting the season 3-1, the 49ers have lost four straight games and the team has a lot of question marks entering the second half of the campaign.

Here are my grades for the team after eight games:

QUARTERBACK: C-minus
I might be a little too generous here, but I don't think our quarterbacking is that terrible-- but it's not that great either. I was thinking about giving the quarterback group a "D-plus" but I realized that a change at the position made the transition difficult for the team. But let me defend my grade.

In the beginning of the season, the 49ers elected to have Shaun Hill as the starting quarterback. And for the first two games, Hill "managed" the offense quite well. His game-winning drive in the first game against the Cardinals was probably Hill's only true highlight of the season. He did have two nice touchdown passes to Vernon Davis in Week 3 against the Vikings, but when he was truly tested, he faltered. After a Week 4 game in which he didn't get the offense going early against the hapless Rams team, Hill began to struggle. Against the Falcons, Hill couldn't find the endzone through the air. He was pressured and his passes were off target. After the bye week, his 45 yards passing in the first half against the Texans cost him his starting job.

Enter Alex Smith: The positive that we got from Smith in his return to an NFL field was that he made a nice rapport with Vernon Davis. In two games, the two hooked up for four touchdowns. But Smith's five interceptions in his last three games along with his two fumbles have cost the 49ers chances to win ball games. I am not saying that it's all his fault, but because he hasn't played in so long, this might have been a factor as to why Smith has looked good in some plays and have looked terrible in other plays.

The "C-minus" grade comes from my belief that the 49ers have had some good passing days and some bad ones. In the beginning of the season, the team relied on the run and passing was held to a minimum. Last Sunday, the 49ers dialed up 51 pass plays. There is a lot of upside to this passing game, but the constant change in play selection is hurting the team. I wanted to put the grade lower but kept it at this grade because in the last three games, the passing offense has looked a lot better and more efficient than before. It's the turnovers that have hurt the 49ers. We're right in the middle with this position.

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