Pre-Season Closer Tough On Alex Smith

TDJets72027 · Aug 31, 2007

The San Diego Chargers say they're ready for the Chicago Bears.

The San Francisco 49ers clearly need more work.

On a night of faux football that was woefully lacking in star power, Alex Smith punctuated his homecoming with two turnovers that helped the San Diego Chargers beat the sloppy 49ers 16-13 in an exhibition finale Thursday night.
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The 49ers had six turnovers, their second straight poor performance against a good team. Third-stringer Shaun Hill threw three interceptions and wide receiver Brandon Williams fumbled. San Diego scored 13 points off turnovers.

Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers and tight end Antonio Gates sat out so that new coach Norv Turner, the 49ers' offensive coordinator last year, could look at other players. Reigning NFL MVP LaDainian Tomlinson didn't take a snap in the exhibition season to avoid the risk of injury.

Rivers suited up and called in plays from the sideline, a task usually done by third-stringer Charlie Whitehurst. Gates also wore his uniform, but L.T. chose to wear a sweat suit and a cap turned backward.

"It keeps you really involved in getting to call them in," Rivers said. "Charlie calls in the plays normally in the games. So getting to call them in, I still can get some work like I'm in the huddle. It's a lot of fun being right there in the action."

On Sept. 9, Tomlinson, Rivers and Gates will be on the field when the Chargers host the defending NFC champion Bears.

"I think these are probably two of the top teams in football teeing it off in the opener. It'll be exciting," Rivers said. "I think we're right where we need to be. We'll be fresh and ready when they roll in here."

NFC rushing champion Frank Gore didn't play, either, despite lobbying coach Mike Nolan for a few snaps. Gore's broken hand is pretty much healed, but Nolan preferred to treat him the same way the Chargers treat Tomlinson in the exhibition season.

While the Chargers (3-1) open against the Bears, the 49ers (1-3) get a Monday night date with Arizona at home on Sept. 10.

San Diego went an NFL-best 14-2 last year before collapsing against New England in its playoff opener.

Billy Volek started for the Chargers and was relieved by Whitehurst with more than nine minutes left in the second quarter. The Niners went straight from Smith to Hill, bypassing backup Trent Dilfer.

San Francisco was coming off a loss at Chicago in which the first-team offense managed just one first down in the first half, when its only scoring drive was a 6-yarder after a turnover.

Smith, who was a teammate of Reggie Bush at nearby Helix High, played four series and had turnovers on his last two. The first pick overall in the 2005 draft, he was intercepted by Clinton Hart late in the first quarter, then was sacked by Tim Dobbins and fumbled, with Jacques Cesaire recovering. Those turnovers set up field goals by Nate Kaeding, who finished with three.

"Obviously you'd like to learn from this and take what you can from it and get ready to play Arizona," Smith said.

Nolan liked the 49ers' defensive effort. "It would have been nice to see more from the offense," he said.

"You don't want to come out with a false sense of security, and certainly we're not going to," Nolan said. "It's very difficult to win when you have that many turnovers."

Said Turner: "We've done a good job of knocking the ball loose since the first game. I was pleased that we were able to get the ball bouncing around in the passing game, and our guys went and got the ball pretty good tonight."

Bryant Young, a 14-year veteran and the sole remaining link to the 49ers' last championship team, got his first action of the exhibition season after sitting out the first three games and most practices with a sore back.

Third-string Chargers cornerback Paul Oliver intercepted Hill to set up Whitehurst's 40-yard touchdown pass to first-round draft pick Craig Davis.

Second-round pick Eric Weddle had the fourth interception, running his pickoff string at Qualcomm Stadium to four straight games. Weddle had an interception in the exhibition opener against Seattle. While at Utah, Weddle had four interceptions in two games against San Diego State at Qualcomm Stadium. He had three last year, returning two for touchdowns.

Hill threw a 21-yard touchdown pass to tight end Zachary Hilton and Joe Nedney kicked two field goals.

Niners tight end Vernon Davis was booed late in the first quarter when he mockingly did the spasmodic "Lights Out" dance, the signature move of Chargers outside linebacker Shawne Merriman, who had an NFL-high 17 sacks last year.

Notes: Niners DT Joe Cohen was taken off on a cart with a sprained knee. Other injuries for the 49ers were: LB Jay Moore (ankle), LB Manny Lawson (concussion), LB Parys Haralson (broken nose), LB Brandon Moore (cut lip), OL Adam Snyder (ankle) and G David Baas (shoulder stinger). ... Chargers C Cory Withrow sprained a toe.
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Pre-Season Closer Tough On Alex Smith

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Pre-Season Closer Tough On Alex Smith

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