This week I only got a couple of questions so it is a little shorter mail bag but I hope I answered the questions well enough for you guys. They were two very good questions as well this week, questions that I am sure are on every 49er fans’ mind. Keep sending the question into antoniourairte@rocketmail.com and I will keep putting up answers. Thanks guys.

Should The Niners be looking to trade Frank Gore this offseason while he is still young enough to have trade value? We don’t seem to be using his potential that much and could easily have a less talented back cover the duties he has right now in the offense.

There are two schools of thought in regards to this idea. First is simply Frank Gore is one of the best players on the team and does many things for an offense that is trying to grow so the Niners would be worse off without him. The Second opinion is that Gore’s production is down a lot this year and the 49ers could get a less talented player to do what they ask of Gore while getting a player they need in exchange for Gore.

I think both ideas have validity so it would come down to what kind of trade offers the 49ers could get and what falls to them in the draft. If the 49ers end up with CJ Spiller because he is the best player on the board when one of their picks come up then I think it could be worth it to shop Gore around a little bit. If The Niners could get someone to replace and upgrade an average or worse starter on either side of the ball then I would say go for it as the duo of Glen Coffee and Spiller could probably take care of everything the Niners want out of the running back position.

On the other hand, if the 49ers make no major additions to their group of running backs then trading Gore could be a huge mistake. Right now Glen Coffee could only be seen as a starter if there is an equally productive “scat” type of back behind him and they play in a rotation similar to what the Giants do with Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs. If Kory Sheets develops into that role over the offseason this could still be a move the Niners look into but it would still be a down grade at the position. If the Niners use a two back rotation they will want to make sure that Sheets can run between the tackles and Coffee can catch out of the backfield because if not then the skill set of the two backs would be so different it would make their offense and the play call more transparent to the other teams’ defense.

Has Alex Smith proven enough for the 49ers to commit to him next season? And if they commit to Smith does that mean they are committing to the spread?

This is a good question, one that has been on the minds of 49er fans ever since Smith started playing well again. In fact it is such a pressing question the Mike Singletary was asked by a reporter at his last press conference.

Singletary said that he was very happy with how Smith was playing and that he had obviously made strides and is developing into a good quarterback. Singletary noted though that Smith is working his tail off right now and it is defiantly showing. Many of the things Smith has done this year have worked out because of the spread offense, but there are areas he has improved in that transcend what offense he is using and one of those areas is preparation. This has been evident in his awareness of where his outlet receivers are, and looking off of routes until right before the receiver makes his cut. The other area where he has made major strides is his patience, Smith has done a great job so far holding onto the ball only as long as necessary, not holding it too long and taking a sack or getting it out before he has to. On top of that, his decision making has improved so when he has pressure coming and there isn’t anywhere to go with the ball he is throwing it away, part of why he has only thrown one pick in his last three games.

To get back to the question though Smith hasn’t wont the job yet but he has worked himself into the position where the job is once again his to loose. If Smith’s play continues to get a little better each week he has a chance to end the season with a passer rating in the 90’s, and even if he only started eleven games this year (where he will be if he starts the rest of the year) for a 25 year old that is pretty darn good. If that happens then I would have to assume he would be the starter going into next year for sure, but if he continues to falter that could leave the door open for Nate Davis to out play him next offseason. On top of that if Smith struggles down the stretch then the Niners might look again to more of a smash mouth approach to offense this offseason and a switch back to a pro-set offense would not be in Smith’s favor.

Team/Player Photos: San Francisco 49ers Team / Player Photos on Jul 23, 2010

To give you an idea of how well Smith has been playing so far if you were to take his production and project it over a full season you would get 3,600 yards, almost 62% completion rate, and 30 touchdowns to 20 interceptions. A high number of interceptions for sure but lets not forget Jay Cutler and Bret Favre went to the pro-bowl last year with 18 and 22 respectively, and again his interception rate is only getting better as the season goes on. If Smith does play as well as I am hoping the rest of the year then the Niners would almost have to commit to the spread and if they do then Smith’s numbers would most likely only go up.