24-year old WR Michael Crabtree has never developed into the #1 WR the Niners thought he would be when they drafted him three years ago.  He has played in 10 games for the 49ers so far this year and he has caught 44 passes for 509 yards (11.6 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Crabtree has now played in 37 games in his first three years with the Niners and he has caught 147 passes for 1,875 yards (12.8 avg) with 9 TD grabs.  The Niners need Crabtree to step up and make some catches over the middle of the field the rest of this year.

Josh Morgan was starting to really pick up the pace for the Niners when he was seriously injured.  His season ended with 15 catches for 220 yards (14.7 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Michael Crabtree was a first round pick of the Niners back in 2010, so they thought a lot of him when the picked him.  He needs to step up right now!  Crabtree has caught 20 passes for 209 yards (10.5 avg) without any TD grabs so far this year.  Ted Ginn Jr. has been an excellent return man but he has only caught 6 passes for 62 yards (10.3 avg).  Braylon Edwards has been banged up most of this year.  He has only caught 4 passes for 48 yards (12.0 avg) so far this year.  Kyle Williams has pitched in with 2 grabs for 16 yards (8.0 avg) with 1 TD grab this year.  The 49ers need someone to really step up out of this bunch.

The Niners need 26-year old Ted Ginn, 23-year old Kyle Williams or 24-year old Michael Crabtree to step up with Braylon Edwards on the shelf for a while.  Michael Crabtree has been a huge disappointment so far in his career and he has only caught 1 pass for 4 yards this year as he has been complaining about his foot still hurting.  Ted Ginn has been a special teams ace for the Niners so far this year and he has also caught 4 passes for 38 yards (9.5 avg).  Ginn doesn’t like to go over the middle of the field too much, so his upside is probably limited.  Kyle Williams has only caught 1 pass for 12 yards so far this year, but it was a very nice catch that went for a TD.  He is the darkhorse of this trio.  The Niners don’t care which one of these guys steps up as long as one of them does.

26-year old WR Ted Ginn didn’t catch any passes last week, but he was a force for the Niners.  He returned 4 kickoffs for 176 yards (44.0 avg) with a 102 yard TD return.  The Seahawks had just cut the Niners lead to 19-17 late in the 4th quarter when Ginn returned his kickoff for a TD.  Ginn wasn’t done yet though, as the defense held the Seahawks the next time they had the ball.  Ginn then returned a punt 55 yards for a TD to put the final nail in the Seahawks’ coffin.  Ginn returned 5 punts for 92 yards (18.4 avg) overall for the 49ers last weekend.  So Ginn touched the ball 10 times (he also had 1 carry for 0 yards) for 268 total yards (26.8 avg) per touch!

New head coach Jim Harbaugh might not like what he sees out of Alex Smith, Troy Smith and David Carr.  I wouldn’t be surprised if none of them are back with the 49ers in 2011.

26-year old Alex Smith played in 11 games for the 49ers last season and he connected on 204 of 342 passes (59.6%) for 2,370 yards with 14 TD passes and 10 INTs (82.1 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 18 times for 60 yards (3.3 ypc) last year.  Smith has now played in 54 games for the 49ers and he has completed 864 of 1,514 passes (57.1%) for 9,399 yards with 51 TD passes and 53 INTs (72.1 QB Rating).  Smith has also carried the ball 129 times for 450 yards (3.5 ypc) with 2 TD runs in his NFL career.  The Niners might be ready to move on as Smith has never lived up to his potential.

26-year old Troy Smith played in 6 games for the Niners last season and he completed 73 of 145 passes (50.3%) for 1,176 yards with 5 TD passes and 4 INTs (77.8 QB Rating).  Smith also carried the ball 23 times for 121 yards (5.3 ypc) with 1 TD run last year.  Smith has now played in 20 games in his NFL career and he has completed 121 of 234 passes (51.7%) for 1,734 yards with 8 TD passes and 5 INTs (78.5 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 52 times for 230 yards (4.4 ypc) with 3 TD runs in his career.  He projects out to be a career backup because he just doesn’t complete enough passes.

31-year old David Carr was the #2 QB when last season started but Troy Smith quickly bumped him down the depth chart.  Carr played in 1 game for the Niners last season and he completed 5 of 13 passes (38.5%) for 67 yards with 0 TD passes and 1 INT (23.6 QB Rating).  Carr has now played in 92 games in his NFL career and he has completed 1,351 of 2,264 passes (59.7%) for 14,433 yards with 65 TD passes and 71 INTs (74.9 QB Rating).  Carr has also carried the ball 302 times for 1,331 yards (4.4 ypc) with 9 TD runs in his career.  Carr is the only QB on the roster who will for sure be looking for a new job.

VERDICT:  I don’t think any of these guys inspire the confidence of new head coach Jim Harbaugh.  I would not be surprised to see none of these guys return for 2011.  Harbaugh coached Josh Johnson of the Bucs and he will be a name to watch as far as the backup QB job goes if they deal for him.  I think the Niners are going to bring in a veteran to start in 2011.

23-year old WR Michael Crabtree is softer than a roll of Charmin.  He often shows off a set of alligator arms when going over the middle of the field.  In his last four games, Crabtree has caught 7 passes for 109 yards (15.6 avg) with 1 TD grab.  He has played in 13 games so far this year for the Niners and he has caught 42 passes for 555 yards (13.2 avg) with 5 TD grabs.  Crabtree has now played in 24 games in his first two years in the NFL and he has caught 90 passes for 1,180 yards (13.1 avg) with 7 TD grabs.  Unless Crabtree starts finding some heart, he’s going to always disappoint for the Niners.

The 49ers have decided to go back to 26-year old Alex Smith as the starting QB.  Smith missed the last few games due to injury.  He has played in 7 games for the 49ers so far this year and he has completed 143 of 242 passes (59.1%) for 1,554 yards with 9 TD passes and 9 INTs (75.0 QB Rating).  Smith also has carried the ball 12 times for 43 yards (3.6 ypc) so far this year. 

Alex Smith will be replacing Troy Smith who did a solid job while he was out.  26-year old Troy Smith has played in 5 games for the 49ers so far this year and he has completed 66 of 126 passes (52.4%) for 1,023 yards with 4 TD passes and 3 INTs (80.2 QB Rating).  Smith also carried the ball 18 times for 93 yards (5.2 ypc) with 1 TD run so far this year.  Troy Smith has shown that he can play at the NFL level and he bumped David Carr down to #3 on the depth chart.

The 49ers will be without 27-year old RB Frank Gore for the rest of the season due to a fractured hip.  Gore played in 11 games for the Niners this year and he has carried the ball 203 times for 853 yards (4.2 ypc) with 3 TD grabs.  Gore also caught 46 passes for 452 yards (9.8 avg) with 2 TD grabs this year.  Frank Gore has HUGE shoes for the 49ers to fill but Brian Westbrook & Anthony Dixon looked capable last night.  31-year old Brian Westbrook wasn’t used much so far this year so he should be fresh.  Westbrook has played in 9 games for the Niners so far this year and he has carried the ball 28 times for 145 yards (5.2 ypc) with a TD carry.  He has also caught 5 passes for 38 yards (7.6 avg) as he is a very solid receiver out of the backfield.  Rookie 23-year old Anthony Dixon has played in 11 games so far this year and he has carried the ball 24 times for 72 yards (3.0 ypc) with 2 TD runs.  I think the Niners are in good hands as long as Westbrook & Dixon stay healthy.

The 49ers are very happy with 25-year old Ted Ginn as a return man.  Ginn has returned 12 kickoffs for 330 yards (27.5 avg) and he has also returned 11 punts for 97 yards (8.8 avg) so far in 4 games for the Niners this year.  The 49ers really need Ginn to step up as a WR because Josh Morgan and Michael Crabtree just are not playing well right now.  Ginn has only caught 5 passes for 68 yards (13.6 avg) and he has also carried the ball 1 time for 2 yards so far this year.  With Troy Smith (his old buddy from Ohio State) playing at QB while Alex Smith is out of action due to injury, look for Ginn to be targeted a lot more in the passing game.  It’s up to him to step up with the added looks.

Alex Smith showed a glimpse last season that he might turn out to be the QB the Niners thought they were getting when they picked him.  But he has regressed big time so far this year to the point where the Niners have to seriously consider benching him in favor of David Carr.  Smith has played in 5 games for the Niners so far this year and he has completed 118 of 190 passes (62.1%) for 1,229 yards with 6 TD passes and 9 INTs (71.6 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 8 times for 45 yards (5.6 ypc) so far this year.  Head coach Mike Singletary has to know that he’s on the hot seat right now so he can’t afford to keep playing Smith unless he starts to play better starting this Sunday against the Raiders.