I’m beginning to have my doubts that JTO is better than Alex Smith. I really am.

I mean when the season started it was conventional wisdom that Smith was a bum and a wimp and JTO was an undiscovered gem that Mike Martz, the genius, found under a rock or wherever he found him. Well, Martz doesn’t look like such a genius these days and JTO sure isn’t a gem.

He has zero pocket awareness and this lack of awareness becomes apparent at the worst possible times, like when, of course, he got the ball slapped away in the fourth quarter against the Eagles and that led to a Philly field goal. He also got intercepted twice in the fourth quarter.

Look, I know he’s good at some things. He has guts and he runs around and sometimes keeps plays alive. But he’s no big deal. He’s really limited and he’s erratic.

And here’s something else I know. Smith once won seven games for the Niners. JTO will not win seven games this season — no way. And if the Niners know what’s good for them, they’ll find someone else to be their QB next season. After early-season euphoria about JTO and his Cinderella story, it turns out this guy is no prince.

— Lowell