The 49ers have made a key personnel decision today, the first major move for Mike Singletary since becoming head coach. Instead of watching J.T. O’Sullivan bark signals in the backfield, fans can get used to seeing Shaun Hill throw the football.

O’Sullivan, who threw 11 interceptions and fumbled the ball 11 times (losing 6) this season, has been on a five game stretch in which he’s looked uncomfortable and, not surprisingly, horrendous. His passer rating has eclipsed 60 just once in that time, which is a shame considering his first three games of the season were respectable. And in only one of his past five starts has he posted a completion percentage above 60; twice he’s completed half or fewer of his psases.

It may not be as big as Brett Favre announcing his un-retirement, but there’s a chance at least some team will be satisfied with the news that former Oakland Raiders quarterback Daunte Culpepper has reconsidered retirement. Culpepper, who surprised some earlier this season when he retired at age 31, was contacted by the Kansas City Chiefs earlier this week, according to ESPN’s John Clayton.

“A number of teams have contacted me since my retirement announcement and have provided some important information that has caused me to reconsider returning to the league,” Culpepper said in an e-mail. “As much as I have enjoyed my brief break from playing, I know that I love the game and I have some unfinished business in the NFL. It has never been because of a lack of passion for the game but rather the absence of a fair opportunity to complete and play that caused me to retire.

New England Patriots quarterback Matt Cassel has been awarded week seven’s AFC Offenseive Player of the Week. The award comes deservedly after Cassel posted the highest quarterback rating of the week, a 136.3, in Monday night’s blowout victory and, some might contend, upset.

Cassel completed 75 percent of his pass attempts, throwing for 185 yards and 3 touchdowns in the game. He had three touchdowns and four interceptions in five previous games. The Patriots improved to 4-2 and are currently second in the AFC East, behind the 5-1 Buffalo Bills. New England has been without Tom Brady since week one, yet the team continues to win, further validating Bill Belichick as one of the game’s premier head coaches.

When the NFL season comes to a close, another begins. It may be called the offseason, but as any fan knows, the NFL is a year-round sport that doesn’t end when the games cease to be played.

Among the notable attractions of the offseason is free agency. It’s where teams will rebuild before the draft and some can become almost instant winners by acquiring the right set of playmakers on offense and defense or else fill needs with veteran players.

Whatever your team needs, it starts with free agency. With that in mind, here are the top quarterbacks who will be either unrestricted free agents (UFA) or restricted free agents (RFA) following the 2007 season. (Edit: Philip Rivers is also an unrestricted free agent, but because there is an almost 0% chance he leaves the Chargers, he has been left off the list.)

According to report in the New York Post, Eric Mangini was presented with opportunity after opportunity to clarify the quarterback situation in New York. Five times, in fact. But Man-genius (sure, I’ll still call him that) isn’t going to say.

“We’ve got to see where Kellen is in terms of the injury,” Mangini said. “I think Kellen has done a lot of good things and there’s a lot of things that he’s still growing into and learning about with experience.

“On the other side, I thought Chad did a really nice job in the role that he has, to have limited reps and come in and execute all the different things we asked him to execute. That to me is classic Chad.”

Kyle Boller will reportedly be starting at quarterback for the Ravens in this weekend’s game against the Seattle Seahawks. This despite rumors Troy Smith may have earned the start after his performance against the Miami Dolphins that nearly led to a victory.

The idea behind it is clear: start a veteran who has more experience in these kinds of games to put the Ravens in the best position to win. Will it work? Who knows. But after eight consecutive losses, it makes sense that Brian Billick would want to win this game more than most.

And Boller hasn’t been bad this season. He’s had some rough patches, but he’s also shown a lot of maturity from his earlier years in the league and, in my opinion, earned the right to keep his spot as the starter through the end of the season. It seems Billick has similar feelings.

Circle your calendar, Oakland fans. ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reports that, according to sources, the Russell-era will begin December 2nd against the Denver Broncos. Evidently, that’s the perfect time.

The Raiders have circled Dec. 2 vs. the Broncos as the likely starting debut for the 2007 No. 1 overall pick, team sources told ESPN.

Russell’s “light came on” a couple of weeks ago, a source told ESPN.

Russell had a great week of practice, then weighed in at 259 on Friday after hovering in the 270s most of the season.

On a 6-game skid, the Raiders have decided that prioritizing the future may be in the best interests of the team, especially after locking up JaMarcus Russell with the largest rookie contract in NFL history — a 6 year, $68 million deal.

The city of Philadelphia is losing patience with Donovan McNabb and the relationship between the two continues to worsen. This is not a city known for its love, not when it comes to sports. These fans are die-hards — the best kind — but there comes a point when you need to relax and not call for a rookie quarterback to replace your franchise quarterback.

But that’s the case. As one’s career nears its end, another is ready to step up (sort of). Kevin Kolb is no Donovan McNabb, at least not yet. His mechanics are still maturing, as is his adjustment to the pro game. Is he ready? No. But fans don’t care. They want to see Kolb step in and lead the team to the promised land.

A blog I enjoy reading recently asked this question. His argument is that “he simply makes too much money to stand around and watch” and “he needs to be on the field.”

The blog actually broke down all aspects of the argument, but those are a couple of the main points. And they make sense. Unfortunately, the Raiders haven’t been effective in pass protection and the team’s discipline on the football field hasn’t been on par with the rest of the NFL. In fact, it’s been much much worse as the team is at the bottom of the league when it comes to committing holding and false start penalties.