Will the fate of Smith and Singletary be sealed soon?

San Francisco 49ers head coach Mike Singletary (R) talks on the sidelines with quarterback Alex Smith during their NFL football game against the Philadelphia Eagles in San Francisco, California October 10, 2010. REUTERS/Robert Galbraith (UNITED STATES - Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL)

It’s usually not advantageous to put too much on one game. After all, if the 49ers lose to the Raiders on Sunday, it’s not like they’ll be eliminated from the playoffs.

But lose to the Raiders and Mike Singletary and Alex Smith could be stuck in the unemployment line together sooner rather than later.

Team president Jed York gave Singletary the dreaded vote of confidence last Sunday before the Niners went out and lost their fifth game in a row (a 27-24 barn-burner to the Eagles). Singletary then turned around on Monday and said that he was sticking with Smith, despite the quarterback’s 6:10 touchdown-to-turnover ratio.

Something has to give. Some people still believe that the 49ers can turn things around because of the division they’re in. But as Bill Parcells once said: You are what your record says you are. And the Niners’ record says they’re playing like gorilla feces right now.

Smith has shown signs that he can command the offense (most notably on the final drive against the Saints and the opening drives in losses to the Falcons and Eagles the past two weeks), which is why Singletary has decided to stick with him. But he can’t continue to turn the ball over and hope to retain his job. He’s fortunate that David Carr is behind him, or else Singletary may have made a change by now.

San Francisco fans are clamoring for Carr to get a start, but as the faithful in Houston, Carolina and New York can attest, he’s not the answer. Just because he was a former No. 1 overall pick doesn’t mean he can play the game (just look at Smith) and while I understand that fans would rather see a 67-year-old Jeff Garcia take the snaps than Smith, Carr is a back up on his fourth team for a reason.

It’s now or never for this team. Lose to Oakland to fall to 0-6 on the year and consider all hope lost. Beat the Raiders behind a consistent Smith and then maybe this team can start talking about a comeback.

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