Please stop the following:

First and foremost, please stop mentioning Alex Smith's name in the same sentence as Joe Montana. You're embarrassing Joe and you're embarrassing yourselves. The impressive stat line argument is weak at best. Consider the differences in playing calling. With certain QB's you can open up the play book and take risks down the field, Alex Smith's impressive stat lines are mostly due to "safe" 7 yard completions. Quick hits.

He rarely makes plays and poses very little threat inside the red zone. Because of Alex Smith's statistical "efficiency", the 49ers offense has become handcuffed. Stripped of big plays down the field and shots at the end zone, evidenced by David Akers numbers last season.

Please stop giving Alex Smith credit for last years 13-3 season. Yeah, he deserves some credit, but what comes first, the chicken or the egg? Jim Harbaugh used Smith to perfection. Give credit where credit is due. In other words, if you're going to make excuses as to why Smith struggled for 6 years, blame the coaching, blame the offensive line, blame the wide receivers, blame his haircut, etc. the least you can do is play it both ways.

"Most" of Smith's success comes from riding the coattails of a dominant defense. The same way Trent Dilfer rode shotgun with the Ravens and won.

And please, please stop drooling over Smith's post season performance against the Saints. It's old and it's tired. He did nothing for 3 quarters then woke up in the 4th and remembered he was a #1 overall draft pick. He went toe to toe with one of the best QB's in the league. I understand it was a vindication game, similar to Barry Zito's performance in the NLCS against St. Louis but Barry Zito followed up that performance with a gem against Detroit and the Giants won the World Series.

Smith followed up his super hero performance by struggling against the Giants in the NFC Championship game at home. Same old Alex. 1 for 13 on 3rd downs? Drive stalling while the 49ers defense draws a line in the sand, giving it everything they had against an elite NFL QB. Make a play, Alex.

Stop blaming Kyle Williams for that loss. The QB is the leader of the team. Be accountable. If Alex Smith makes one big play in the clutch, one throw, just one clutch throw...David Akers could have won that game on his leg and Kyle Williams would never have been put in that position.

So stop. Just stop. Stop baby sitting Alex Smith. Stop pretending he didn't lose his job to the likes of JT O' Sullivan, Shaun Hill and Troy Smith, only to win his job back because all 3 of those guys aren't quality QB's either. When all else fails, give the job back to the 1st round draft pick who makes the most money.

I don't care who the head coach is, QB's like Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, Aaron Rodgers, Ben Roethlisberger, Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III....Brandon Weeden, etc. don't lose their starting job to JT O'Sullivan. It just doesn't happen.

So stop jeopardizing a championship caliber football team by suggesting that what you saw on Monday Night Football against the Bears was an aberration. "Well, (Colin) Kaepernick played against the Bears and the Bears defense isn't that good."

STOP!

You're a bunch of fuckin' excuse makers playing sentimental favorites. Granted, it took Alex Smith 7 years to understand how to play NFL football so it's understandable that you can't comprehend how a guy like Kaepernick shows up and does what he did. It's called having natural ability. Believe it or not, some QB's don't experience the same struggles Alex has. Some step right in and win Super Bowls, Tom Brady.

Keapernick understands how to play the game. He's got a better arm than Alex, he's more mobile than Alex, he's got better pocket presence than Alex, he's a better leader than Alex, his ceiling is way higher than Alex. This is a business. The bottom line is winning championships. This isn't a reality television show where you live vicariously through the players and relate to their struggle because you like who they are. This is the NFL. And when you don't play at a high level, you run the risk of someone coming along who has more ability than that lame duck QB you've grown to love over the past 8 years.

Time to move one.