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2013 Salary Cap Charges for QBs Rank Team QB Cap 1 Detroit Lions $24.6M 2 New York Giants $22.1M 3 Denver Broncos $20.8M 4 Dallas Cowboys $19.6M 5 San Diego Chargers $18.9M 6 New Y...

An NFC West team other than the one recently appearing in the Super Bowl ranks No. 1 in ESPN's first NFL Power Rankings of the 2013 offseason. Call us suckers for the excitement of free agency and the trade market, but the Seattle Seahawks' recent...

In eight seasons with the San Francisco 49ers, Alex Smith has played for three head coaches, seven offensive coordinators and six quarterbacks coaches (seven if you count Pep Hamilton, who helped Jim Hostler coach the position in 2006). These many...

Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll has apologized for the fake punt his team executed against Buffalo while holding a 47-17 lead Sunday. The regrets he expressed do not match up with Fox screenshots showing Carroll congratulating players for succ...

Twelve of the top 13 teams in ESPN's NFL Power Rankings have what those teams would consider clearly identified franchise quarterbacks. It might even be 20 of the top 21, depending on one's view. Then there are the San Francisco 49ers. They ha...

A week ago, Pro Football Focus named Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson to its all-NFC West team over San Francisco's Alex Smith. No one could have seen that coming in 2010, when the St. Louis Rams used the first overall draft choice for ...

Every NFC West quarterback played well enough Sunday for his team to win under the circumstances. This is verifiable. Some of those aforementioned circumstances were a bit strange, to say the least. A 15-yard penalty against NFC West alum Jo...

Five nuggets of knowledge about Week 2: Cards' defense to the test: Arizona's defense is coming off a dominant performance against Seattle. The Patriots present a different challenge at quarterback and with their personnel packages featuring two t...

The stat line for Robert Griffin III seemed too good for a rookie making his first NFL start: 19-of-26 passing for 320 yards with two touchdowns, no turnovers and just one sack. It was the third time in the past 50 seasons a Washington Redskins qu...

The San Francisco 49ers opened Alex Smith's rookie season dead last in ESPN's 2005 NFL Power Rankings. Seven years later, the 49ers have emerged from Week 1 with two first-place votes from our five panelists -- nearly enough to overtake New Englan...

Take a bow, Green Bay Packers. You sailed through ESPN's NFL Power Rankings as the top team from Week 1 through the regular season. There was lots of movement beneath you, however. Our Power Rankings voters -- John Clayton, Paul Kuharsky, James...

The NFL has told its game officials to err on the side of protecting defenseless players. Blatant erring, the league could do without. A roughing penalty Sunday against Washington Redskins linebacker London Fletcher for a hit on New England's T...

FALLING 1. Steve Spagnuolo, St. Louis Rams coach. The Rams went 0-2 against Seattle and Arizona during their recently completed two-game homestand, likely the Rams' best remaining chance to get something going under their embattled coach. The Rams...

Five things I noticed while watching the San Francisco 49ers' most recent game, a 19-11 road victory against the Washington Redskins in Week 9: Ahmad Brooks should try decaf. The 49ers outside linebacker committed his NFL-leading sixth penalty f...

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith sensed pressure, sprinted toward the left sideline and gathered himself as if to throw. The Philadelphia Eagles' Brandon Graham hit Smith. The ball hit the ground. Quintin Mikell picked it up and ran 52 y...

Grading Alex Smith's play during the San Francisco 49ers' 6-1 start has become one of the more fascinating pursuits of this 2011 NFC West season. Smith, long a divisive subject among 49ers fans, remains one even during the team's best start since ...