FANTASY FOOTBALL NFL PLAYERS

Posted: 10/25/2009 10:33pm et

The Santa Rosa Press Democrat, reports San Francisco 49ers head coach mike Singletary said after the team's Week 7 game he has not decided which quarterback will start Week 8. QB Alex D. Smith replaced QB Shaun Hill during the team's game Sunday, Oct. 25. Singletary will likely make an announcement on a starting quarterback Monday, Oct. 26.

The Huddle Take: The 49ers continue to have problems in the passing game and QB Shaun Hill was pulled during the Week 7 game in favor of Alex Smith. Fantasy owners should steer clear of any quarterback for the 49ers until they can prove they can post some decent fantasy numbers which appears very unlikely at the present time.

Posted: 8/27/2009 10:38pm et

The Santa Rosa Press Democrat, reports San Francisco 49ers QB Shaun Hill (back) said he expects to play in the team's preseason game Saturday, Aug. 29.

The Huddle Take: Fantasy owners should not expect Shaun Hill to get very many reps for the remainder of the preseason as the team looks to get its star quarterback ready to go. Hill could be a surprise player this year as he seems to get better each season. Consider him a solid No. 2 quarterback with upside worthy of a spot start from time to time.

Posted: 8/24/2009 7:05pm et

The Santa Rosa Press Democrat reports San Francisco 49ers head coach Mike Singletary has named QB Shaun Hill as the team's starting quarterback for Week 1.

The Huddle Take: No real surprise here. From a Fantasy perspective, even though Hill still doesn't have No. 1 draft choice Michael Crabtree to work with in camp, he could put up some very good numbers. In only nine starts in 2008, Hill had 13 touchdowns and 2,046 yards passing. He could be a very solid No. 2 Fantasy quarterback.

Posted: 8/23/2009 10:37pm et

ESPN, reports it appears San Francisco 49ers QB Shaun Hill will be named the team's starting quarterback after Alex D. Smith completed just a third of his nine passing attempts and threw an interception Saturday, Aug. 22. Hill was 3-for-7 for 20 yards. Head coach Mike Singletary has previously said he would wait until after the team's third preseason game before choosing a starter.

The Huddle Take: Hill showed tremendous promise last season and with another season under his belt could have firmly planted himself in the starters role for 2009. The official announcement appears to be coming sooner than expected in San Francisco. Fantasy owners should view Hill as a decent No. 2 fantasy quarterback with some upside.

Posted: 8/19/2009 9:45pm et

The Santa Rosa Press Democrat reports it appears San Francisco 49ers QB Shaun Hill is starting to inch ahead of QB Alex D. Smith in the starting quarterback competition.

The Huddle Take: It has been relatively clear to most fantasy owners that Hill is the best QB option in SF, however, with the money the front office has tied up in Smith, there is a big push for him to get the job...so it is good to see Hill actually earning the spot against a ton of pressure against him. If he wins it outright he should make for a solid number two QB for most fantasy teams.

Posted: 8/15/2009 12:28pm et

The Associated Press reports San Francisco 49ers QB Shaun Hill and QB Alex D. Smith were both solid in the team's preseason game Friday, Aug. 14, but neither did anything to stand out. Smith finished the game 5-for-7 for 33 yards passing with a touchdown and a sack. Hill was 2-for-2 for 41 yards with two sacks in the game. Head coach Mike Singletary has not decided on a starter for the team's preseason game Saturday, Aug. 22.

The Huddle Take: Call the first duel a draw. Both Hill and Smith looked solid in their limited action Friday night against the Broncos and the "official" jury is still out on who will be the week one starter. But most still believe it will be Hill.

Posted: 8/12/2009 7:08am et

The San Francisco Chronicle reports San Francisco 49ers QBs Shaun Hill and Alex D. Smith have been diligent at taking care of the football for the majority of training camp and avoiding turnovers. The quarterback competition remains close, and it's too close for head coach Mike Singletary to call until later in the month.

The Huddle Take: Another QB race that will go most of the preseason and won't produce a starter who is worthy of much fantasy consideration. However, the money the team is paying is heavy on Smith's side...so don't bank on Hill if it is a tie.

Posted: 8/9/2009 10:34am et

The Santa Rosa Press Democrat, reports San Francisco 49ers QB Alex D. Smith reeled off 20 consecutive completions during practice Saturday, Aug. 8, and showed an accurate arm on short passes, which had been a problem for him in the past. Smith has performed well enough during training camp to put himself in serious contention for the starting job, but QB Shaun Hill has done nothing to lose the starting job, too. Hill showed improvement to his game Saturday as well, hitting some deeper passes during the workouts.

The Huddle Take: This is a key battle to monitor during training camp as this could be Alex Smith's last chance in San Francisco to emerge as the starter in this offense. Keep in mind that Shaun Hill has performed better in the recent past and should likely be the starter when the season begins barring any surprises. With Smith, the former No. 1 draft pick of San Francisco a few seasons ago still sporting a large contract, the expectations are as high as they can be heading into the 2009 campaign.

Posted: 8/1/2009 1:42pm et

The San Jose Mercury News, reports, almost assuredly, several people within the San Francisco 49ers' front office want QB Alex D. Smith to win the team's quarterback competition with QB Shaun Hill, now that Smith is healthy. Smith said he is entering training camp the healthiest he's been since joining the team. 'Probably yeah, I would imagine this is the best I've felt since I've been here,' Smith said.

The Huddle Take: This is going to be an interesting race to watch in the preseason, and the previous opinion would have been that Hill had a bit of an edge based on past performance, however, if this report has any truth to it, there is a possibility that 'politics' may play more of a role than performance...not always best for anyone involved.

Posted: 7/29/2009 10:22am et

The Associated Press reports San Francisco 49ers QBs Shaun Hill and Alex D. Smith both reported to training camp early to get a jump start on their competition for the team's starting quarterback job.

The Huddle Take: Hill finished strong last season, and Smith has looked good through the team's OTAs. The new 49ers offense doesn't lend itself well to gaudy quarterback stats like Mike Martz's system did, and with Mike Singletary looking to commit to the run this battle doesn't offer much fantasy upside.