It may have been a fair competition but there could never be a doubt about the outcome. Alex Smith will be the starting quarterback against the Seattle Seahawks when the regular season kicks off on 11 September.

It was always Smith’s job to lose but the competition never challenged him seriously enough. Rookie Colin Kaepernick finished the preseason with 24-of-50 for 257 yards, 0 touchdowns, 5 interceptions and a passer rating of 23.9. Josh McCown played only once, and completed all his pass attempts, but he needs a lot more reps to be a challenger. McLeod Bethel-Thompson was always headed for the practice squad at best.

Alex Smith didn’t have a very good preseason himself but he led two offensive drives on Thursday, which gave the 49ers a 14-0 lead against the San Diego Chargers. In four games he completed 20 of his 36 pass attempts for 198 yards. He threw 2 interceptions and finished with a QB rating of 48.1.

Jim Harbaugh’s West Coast Offense may be a good fit for Alex Smith, though a lot of work still needs to be done. San Francisco’s pass offense failed to score in the preseason and ranked last with 108.8 yards per game.  

It is official, the Jim Harbaugh era begins like Mike Nolan’s and Mike Singletary’s, with Alex Smith as the number one quarterback. Let’s hope he has more success than his predecessors, and I think he will, though rest assured, the 49ers will browse the waiver wire after today’s roster cuts.