Meet Us At O’Sullivan’s

by Chad Hollingsworth
Love of Sports Correspondent

On April 23, 2005, the San Francisco 49ers should have taken a step forward.

Memories of the Joe Montana and Steve Young glory days with were beginning to fade, and a new face of the franchise was badly needed. The offense required a leader, one who could flourish and regain the swagger of Niners teams from the 1980s and early 1990s.

Clearly, Tim Rattay was not going to be “the guy.” He was ranked 27th among NFL quarterbacks in 2004. His platoon mate, Ken Dorsey, was ranked 32nd. The two quarterbacks combined for 16 touchdowns and 19 interceptions. Montana and Young weren’t walking through that door.

The 49ers took Alex Smith with the first overall pick with confidence. He won the starting job in training camp and proceeded to throw one touchdown and 11 interceptions in his rookie season. Not exactly the return to form for which the Niners and their fans were hoping.

In fairness to Smith, he improved in 2006 under Norv Turner’s scheme, but then had to deal with a new offensive coordinator in 2007 when Turner left to coach the San Diego Chargers. Smith also dealt with a serious shoulder injury that put him on injured reserve for the latter part of the season.

Shaun Hill came in and actually played pretty well in Smith’s absence, but then suffered a back injury in the second to last game of the season. All this made the quarterback situation more opaque than ever.

Now it’s 2008 and the Niners’ quarterback training camp competition has been won by … J.T. O’Sullivan.

Who? Exactly.

However, O’Sullivan is more seasoned than most NFL fans think. He has had extensive tenures in NFL Europe, including leading his team to the World Bowl (NFL Europe’s Super Bowl equivalent) in 2004. He was also a co-winner of the Offensive MVP in the 2007 NFL Europe season.

O’Sullivan has been on the sidelines for several NFL teams and has been exposed to numerous offensive coordinators with different offensive schemes. Most recently, he caught the eye of Mike Martz when O’Sullivan was backing up Jon Kitna and Dan Orlovsky in Detroit last year.

When Martz left Detroit to take the Niners’ offensive coordinator position this past offseason, he encouraged management to take a flier on O’Sullivan. Remember, Martz was the offensive coordinator for the St. Louis Rams team that turned a former Arena Football League quarterback into an MVP and Super Bowl winner. After getting signed to a one year deal, O’Sullivan has earned the starting quarterback job by outplaying Smith and Hill in the preseason.

His stats in the preseason could inspire hope from Niners fans. He has two touchdown passes to go with 351 passing yards after playing in parts of three games. O’Sullivan looked very promising in the Niners’ most recent preseason contest against the Chicago Bears. He completed seven of his eight passes for 126 yards and a touchdown.

Granted, it’s still preseason, but it’s realistic that O’Sullivan can carry his stellar play into the regular season. Frank Gore is looking to rebound from a disappointing 2007 season and should ease the pressure on O’Sullivan. Isaac Bruce has joined the Niners after 13 years with the Rams to give him a veteran target. Vernon Davis has shown flashes of potential that made the Niners draft him with the sixth pick in 2006. The big tight end will definitely get some chances with O’Sullivan at the helm. Bryant Johnson, Jason Hill and Arnaz Battle will all try to ease O’Sullivan’s transition from career backup to starter.

After waiting many years for someone to step in and take the Niners to the next level, it’s possible the team might have their man in J.T. O’Sullivan. That’s why we’re showing love to the underdog who became the starting quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers. 

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