FanHouse San Francisco 49ers

It's often said that a team with two quarterbacks really doesn't have any. With that spirit in mind, FanHouse will keep you updated weekly on NFL teams facing potential quarterback controversies.

There are some unusual circumstances surrounding the quarterback position as we enter Week 1 of the NFL season. There is still one team that has yet to formally announce its starter for Sunday, while others can expect to face questions about their signal-callers unless things go really, really well.

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Training camps have wrapped up, the NFL season is right around the corner, and it's still hot as sin outside. But instead of cooling you off with a warm island song, FanHouse break out ye old heat check for our 2009 NFL Season Previews. We'll rate each club in 5 categories on a scale of 1 to 10, high score wins.

After generating a significant amount of hype over the past few years, the 49ers will enter 2009 with no expectations on the board. Division rival Arizona went to the Super Bowl, while many expect a rebound from long-time division champion Seattle. To me, this makes the 49ers a dangerous team.

The season is finally here, and for some coaches, this could be their last year in the league. Or maybe their last few months.

The two coaches with the biggest challenges facing them are Bills coach Dick Jauron and Cowboys coach Wade Phillips.

Jauron fired offensive coordinator Turk Schonert last week in an effort to simplify the offense and to give his players a chance to relax. A source said Schonert was aloof and rubbed several players the wrong way. Alex Van Pelt, the new offensive coordinator, and running backs coach Eric Studesville are both well liked and respected in the locker room.

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Rookie quarterback Nate Davis, a San Francisco 49ers fifth-round draft pick in 2009, had an uncomfortable conversation several times in recent days with 12th-year quarterback Damon Huard. It wasn't about mentor-pupil anymore. How's this for awkward: Only one of them would make it through the week on the 49ers' roster.

So the conversation was about survival.

Mandatory roster cutdowns were imminent on NFL teams and the 49ers were carrying four quarterbacks. Shaun Hill had earned the starting job; former No. 1 overall pick Alex Smith was idling in neutral at No. 2. That meant a final spot came down to Davis or Huard.

"We always stayed positive with each other and said, 'We hope that we're both here,'" Davis says of his many heartfelt talks with his most direct competitor for an NFL job.

The number of unsigned 2009 first-round draft picks dwindled from two to one on Sunday, as offensive tackle Andre Smith finally agreed to terms with the Cincinnati Bengals. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The No. 6 overall pick missed all of Cincinnati's training camp and the Bengals' first three preseason games. Smith is basically locked into a starting tackle spot once he gets up to speed -- his challenge now will be accelerating that process with the regular season two weeks away.

Smith's signing also means that Michael Crabtree's San Francisco mess is the lone top pick not under contract yet.

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ARLINGTON, Tx -- The Cowboys offense can be good and bad without wide receiver Roy Williams.

The first-team offense scored 10 points and had a field goal nullified by a penalty in a preseason game on Saturday night against the 49ers. Yet, this same offense didn't score any first-quarter points for the first time this preseason.

Williams is out with a shoulder contusion and coach Wade Phillips said following the 49ers' 20-13 victory that his wide receiver is feeling better.

The 49ers offensive line surrendered an NFL-most 55 sacks in 2008, and the team's ability to protect newly named starting quarterback Shaun Hill this season was compromised further with Saturday's confirmation that right tackle Marvel Smith has retired.

More and more, the 49ers' decision to draft recalcitrant (and unsigned) wide receiver Michael Crabtree rather than offensive tackle Michael Oher with the 10th overall pick in April's NFL Draft is looking like a personnel blunder.

Chronic back problems ended Smith's football career – and dashed the 49ers' hopes that they had found a starting right tackle to take over for standout Joe Staley, who is taking over at left tackle.

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There's a full boat of NFL preseason games throughout the day Saturday. The games run the gamut for drama, with guys fighting for roster spots, starting quarterback positions, and for the right to clang footballs off a large scoreboard.

Since there are nine games on the docket, we'll hit the key storylines that fans will want to keep an eye on throughout the day.

When the San Francisco 49ers signed veteran right tackle Marvel Smith in the offseason, they knew they were taking a gamble. If Smith could stay healthy, the 49ers would get a solid former Pro Bowler that would solidify a position that was a disaster for the 49ers in 2008.

But they were signing a player who had been knocked out of each of the past two seasons by back problems. Smith apparently has not been able to make it out of the preseson, as the Sacramento Bee is reporting that Smith is expected to retire on Sunday or Monday. He did not make the trip to Dallas for the 49ers preseason game this weekend for what coach Mike Singletary called personal reasons.

On Saturday night, 49ers wide receiver Michael Crabtree will most likely miss the third preseason game of the season against the Cowboys -- and what could have been a nice homecoming.

Crabtree played high school football in the Dallas area, Carter High, and college ball at a state school, Texas Tech. He said recently that he was looking forward to getting tickets for family and friends.

But the rookie remains unsigned as of Wednesday night, and his agent Eugene Parker told FanHouse nothing has changed in terms of progress.