The 49ers really like their QB situation right now.  25-year old Alex Smith finally stepped up and showed what he could do in 2009.  He played in 11 games for the Niners this season and he completed 225 of 372 passes (60.5%) for 2,350 yards with 18 TD passes and 12 INTs (81.5 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 24 times for 51 yards (2.1 ypc) this year.  Smith has now played in 43 games in his career with the 49ers and he has completed 660 of 1,172 passes (56.3%) for 7,029 yards with 37 TD passes and 43 INTs (69.2 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 111 times for 390 yards (3.5 ypc) with 2 TD runs in his career so far.  The 49ers hope that Smith will keep up the good work in 2010.

29-year old Shaun Hill started 2009 as the starting QB for the Niners before getting benched for Smith.  Hill played in 6 games for the Niners this season and he completed 87 of 155 passes (56.1%) for 943 yards with 5 TD passes and 2 INTs (79.6 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 8 times for 70 yards (8.8 ypc) this year.  Hill has now played in 19 games in his NFL career and he has completed 322 of 522 passes (61.7%) for 3,490 yards with 23 TD passes and 11 INTs (87.3 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 46 times for 197 yards (4.3 ypc) with 3 TD runs in his career.  The Niners like having Hill around as the back-up because of his experience.

26-year old Frank Gore was supposed to be the focal point of the Niners’ offense this season.  But, when the 49ers switched QBs going with Alex Smith over Shaun Hill they also turned into a pass first offense.  Gore has played in 11 games for the Niners this season and he has carried the ball 162 times for 835 yards (5.2 ypc) with 7 TD runs.  He also has caught 43 passes for 281 yards (6.5 avg) with 3 TD grabs this season.  The Niners should really get back to running the ball more because Frank Gore is one of the best players on the team and he needs the ball in his hands more often.

25-year old TE Vernon Davis is having the monster season that the 49ers’ front office thought he was capable of when they drafted him four years ago.  Davis has played in 13 games for the 49ers this season and he has caught 66 passes for 815 yards (12.3 avg) with 11 TD grabs.  All of those numbers are already career highs for Davis.  In his first three seasons for the Niners, Davis played in 40 games in which he caught 103 passes for 1,132 yards (11.0 avg) with 9 TD grabs.  The 49ers are hoping that this is just a glimpse of the future production of Vernon Davis because they showed a lot of patience with him.

22-year old rookie WR Michael Crabtree is off to a good start to his NFL career.  He held out for the first fix weeks of the season before signing with the 49ers.  He has been thrown right into the fire and the results are promising so far.  Crabtree has played in 6 games for the Niners this season and he has caught 26 passes for 346 yards (13.3 avg) with 1 TD grab.  Look for Crabtree to play even better down the stretch for the Niners as they are in the middle of a playoff run.

Patrick Willis is quite simply the best inside linebacker in the NFL right now, case closed!  The 24-year old Willis is a heat seeking missile for the Niners.  He has played in all 10 games for the 49ers this season and he has 96 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, 2.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, 6 passes defensed and 2 interceptions (1 returned for a TD).  In three years with the Niners, Willis has played in 42 games in which he has made 411 tackles, defensed 21 passes, has 7.5 sacks, forced 5 fumbles and he has 3 interceptions (2 returned for TDs).  Willis just blows up running backs at the point of attack and the 49ers love to have him in the middle of the D.