Cam Newton could come in as a starter primarily because his team sucked and there was no one else to fill the role. The Niners are definitely playoff bound and Smith has been there before and showed he was at least adequate. We’ll see how Colin does against the Saints. I just think he could use a little more seasoning. And believe me, I have no desire to see Smith there much longer. He is not a franchise player by any means, and he is clearly no longer the team’s future.
This is Kaepernick’s 2nd year, not his rookie year. Smith hamstrung what the offense can do because of his limited skills and ability to make turnovers, unless the plays they called were severely limited. Last year, they needed every other part of the team to play fantastic to make up for Smith. They can’t always count on that. Agreed, the 49ers should have come into the season with more options at QB. I thought Johnson would be the starter. [By the way, there are 31 other teams in the NFL, but none of them wanted Smith. Two teams worked out Smith, and they went running in the other direction] Having said all that, Smith seems like a nice guy.