I Call Shenanigans!

I was traveling for work yesterday, and when I got to my hotel room, I found myself watching some show on ESPN with Colin Cowherd and a blonde woman who looked a bit like Cameron Diaz. (Apparently her name is Michelle Beadle, and she seems competent enough. What's more, she's certainly patient to be dealing with the ninny that is Cowherd.)

Let's dispense with the fact that on this broadcast, Cowherd stated that there is scientific proof that vegetables aren't good for your health. Read that again, then shake it off.

What irked me was that Cowherd, like so many others, made the following observation - I'm paraphrasing, but not in any material way:

The 49ers have the worst quarterback situation in the league.

Now, I'm not here to tell you that their QB situation is great. Obviously, that isn't true. But with Shaun Hill and Alex Smith, there is some promise. But forget about the Niners - isn't there some other teams out there with quarterback issues?

Take, for instance, your Minnesota Vikings, who so desperately tried to woo King Favre out of retirement to no avail. Are Tavaris Jackson and Sage Rosenfels significantly better than Hill and Smith? I know Rosenfels looked okay last year, but he wasn't even #1 on the depth chart in Minny. I call shenanigans.

But wait, there's more! Let's visit Chuckie down in Tampa Bay. Who is lining up behind center this year? It's a toss up between Luke McCown, Byron Leftwich and Josh Freeman. I dare you to tell me that is a significantly better situation than in San Francisco. Note that McCown is slated to be the starter before you argue otherwise.

Indeed, I'd throw in your New York Jets, what with a rookie unknown in Mark Sanchez - certainly, he's promising but hasn't played a down - and Kellen Clemens. That's no great shakes. And by the end of the year, it says here that St. Louis gets added to this list, after the aging Marc Bulger suffers through a season with that receiving core. I haven't even thrown in Oakland with JaMarcus Russel, Jeff Garcia and a slew of other no-names.

My point is not that the 49ers have a quarterback situation for others to be envious of. I'm just saying, it's not clearly the worst in the league.

Oh, and also this: Colin Cowherd is a nincompoop.