Lose the quarterback fixation, OK?

We all spend too much time worrying about that position with the San Francisco 49ers. It’s probably part of the DNA for every fan of the team. But this 49ers group has far thornier issues to address.
News flash we all expected: Alex Smith is the team’s new starter. That decision took about three seconds for coach Mike Singletary to make to make when he arrived at work Monday.
If you watched the 49ers’ game in Houston on Sunday, when Smith performed impressively out of the bullpen, then you know why Singletary made the choice. But after telling Shaun Hill that he was now a backup quarterback, guess how the coach spent a decent chunk of his morning?
Sitting in on a defensive meeting. That’s how. Singletary said he was attempting to resolve what he called “the communication factor.”
Which means?
“Getting the guys in the huddle and having them understand who’s talking and who’s not,” Singletary said. “And who is giving information from the sideline.”
Sounds important. If everybody’s not on the same page, this could explain why the 49ers’ defense ranks 21st in the league against the pass. Another news flash: This has nothing to do with the quarterback.
Also, guess what single fact seems to bother Singletary the most about his team? Try the 49ers’ feeble and listless running game. It ranks 23rd in the league. Yet another news flash: Quarterbacks aren’t doing the blocking.
“The quarterback situation,” Singletary said, “has never been an overriding factor to me, because of the way we said we had to play. And that was to run the ball. The offensive line “we’ve got to continue to make sure that we get the things that we need there, the continuity, in a hurry.”
No, they need it even faster than in a hurry. How about by Sunday, when the 49ers play at Indianapolis?
In case you hadn’t noticed, the Scarlet Heroes of Yore are riding a very fine edge. They are in the mushy morass of NFL teams that are either going to just barely make the playoffs or just barely miss the postseason.
And right now, after Arizona’s upset victory over the New York Giants, the 49ers are out of first place in the NFC West for the first time since opening day. With a 3-3 record, they need to win six or seven of their remaining 10 games.
That will require better communication on defense. And a better offensive line, to make the running game more functional. Catching the ball on punt returns also will help.
Oh, the quarterback position still figures in there someplace, of course. And there’s no question that Smith at least looks more capable of leading the offense than he did in his first stint as a 49ers starter when he was “what, just a few months out of high school? Sure seemed that way. His body language never radiated confidence.
Now, it does. Maturity can do that for you. Smith is in his fifth season. But at age 25, he is still only a year older than Joe Montana was when Montana became a full-time 49ers starter.
But the immediate mission moving forward, really, is not for Smith to become another Montana. It’s to keep the chains moving and loosen up opposing defenses for the 49ers’ running game.
Which brings us back to that shaky offensive line.
There’s no deep strategy involved here. The 49ers’ opponents are neutering Frank Gore by jamming up the “box” — the imaginary rectangular area near the line of scrimmage — with eight or nine defenders. And the 49ers’ linemen either can’t create space or are outmanned. It’s no coincidence that a couple of Gore’s better gains Sunday came when he lined up in the “Wildcat” formation and took the direct center snap. With the quarterback flanked out, there was one fewer defender in the box.
What’s the O-line problem? Eric Heitmann at center and Joe Staley at tackle are solid. But the other three positions “not so much. There has been a revolving door. Chilo Rachal, last year’s second-round pick from USC, has become a particular target of opponents. Singletary said Monday that Rachal needs “help” because “one particular stunt” gives him trouble on pass blocking.
For Smith, that’s bad news. The good news is, he has quicker feet than Hill— and a quicker pass release. That matters. In today’s NFL, with the speed of blitzers, a mere fraction of a second in getting the ball away can be the difference between a completion and a batted ball or a sack.
Smith is ready to play quarterback. Is the rest of the team ready to play with him?