Troy Smith named the San Francisco 49ers starting quarterback for week 11
Few were surprised on Tuesday when the San Francisco 49ers head coach, Mike Singletary, announced that Troy Smith will start Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers despite Alex Smith being cleared to
play.
The 3-6 49ers have won two games in a row with Troy Smith as the starting quarterback and it’s their first winning streak of the season.
“He's had a big part in us winning these last two games, and you want to keep that going and see how much is there,” Singletary said. “Our team understands that I'm going to go with the guy that is winning
right now, the guy that has the hot hand and has made the difference in the past two weeks.”
Last week against the St. Louis Rams, Troy Smith threw for 356 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions.
Alex Smith, the first overall draft pick in 2005, is 1-6 as a starter this season, and has a quarterback rating of 75.0. Troy Smith has a season rating of 116.6.
“It's frustrating, but I wasn't surprised by it,” Alex Smith said. “He's done a great job the past two weeks and we've won, so I was ready for anything. I'm going to prepare like I always have. When my
number gets called, I'll be ready for this team.”
Troy Smith began the season as the third string quarterback behind Alex Smith and David Carr, and until this year had only 89 passing attempts over three seasons with the Baltimore Ravens. He already has
47 attempts this season.
Not only is he making a strong case to become San Francisco’s permanent number one quarterback, but he could be saving Singletary’s job, who came under fire after the team lost their first five games of
the season. Whether he remains the team’s starter or not, he’s in a good position right now and he’s making the best of it.
“Hopefully, the guys see that as a quarterback I'll be there for them for four quarters until we get a win,” Smith said. “You want to give guys the chance to showcase their talents and abilities. We're
going to attack it the same way we always do, and I'm going to continue to prepare and do the things I need to do to win.”
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