Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-USA TODAY Sports

It seemed inevitable that quarterback Alex Smith would be traded away from San Francisco at some point, and today, that’s exactly what happened.

The Kansas City Chiefs acquired Smith from the 49ers in exchange for a second-round pick in this year’s draft. It is also believed that the Chiefs will get a mid-round pick in next year’s draft out of the deal.

With Colin Kaepernick leading the Niners to the Super Bowl, there was no chance that Smith would return to the team. Smith simply hasn’t panned out like most believed he would as a former number one overall pick, but it’ll be interesting to see if a change of scenery will do him some good.

It sounds as though the Chiefs believe that Smith can be their starting quarterback next season, as there have been rumors that they will be releasing Matt Cassel.

Keep in mind that the trade isn’t “official” until the new league year starts on March 12.

To say that this team has had a fairy-tale season would be a fair assumption. They have overcome more adversity and hardships this season than most teams see in a handful of seasons, and they have continued to find ways to win. Their starting quarterback was once their third-stringer and their current backup quarterbacks just came out of retirement. But is this year’s Texans team really the best team in the NFL?

Consider this. If you were to take out the starting and backup quarterback, starting wide receiver, and starting OLB from the top teams in the league how would they do? Sure, statistically the Texans are considered to be the third best team (according to NFL.com) but those stats do not take into consideration the insurmountable odds that the Texans have overcome. So let us take a look at the other three teams who have clinched their division or a wild-card spot and see what they would look like if they were to lose their key players… (more…)

Both teams are coming off wins in week two. San Francisco beat the Oakland Raiders decisively last week only to have the win over shadowed by fan violence between opposing team factions.

The Houston Texans are 2-0 in the preseason and are allowing 40% red zone efficiency to opponents, while executing an 80% red zone efficiency themselves. An improved 3-4 defense is largely responsibly for Texans opponents  being left settling for field goals instead of reaching the end zone.

We sat down and talked with the San Francisco Fansided site editor, Eric Melendez, from Ninernoise.com to ask him some questions about the team, the game, and his thoughts on the preseason.

Also be sure and check out the questions Niner Noise threw our way and our answers to the universe known as the Houston Texans.

Can we expect to see QB Colin Kapernick early on for the 49ers? Or like the Texans will we see Alex Smith along with the other starters for the 49ers playing three quarters of the game? At some point we would think that fans along with the coaching staff would want to see Kaperncik run with the first team offense. Is the rookie ready for that task? (more…)