An incredible new devolpment regarding "Alex Smith"

[mudvayne387]

That was sarcasm ...

Here are a few quotes from SI's pre draft evaluation of Alex Smith.

"Efficient and reliable passer that's done well in his college system. Accurate in the short field"

" Solid timing on crossing patterns. Patient in the pocket, effectively reads the defense and does not make poor decisions. Goes through receiver progressions, waits for pass catchers to come free and throws to the safe underneath target if nothing's available"

"Must improve his corner patters in the end zone as passes tend to be flat. Rarely threw the ball down field in the Utah system"

"Does not have a deep passing arm just yet but would be initially effective in a timing or West Coast offense"


Now, here are some of his simple 2012 stats that correspond with the information above.

1st in Completion percentage (69.4%)
4th in QB rating (102.1)
5th in yards per attempt (7.94)
10th in Touchdowns with (12)

Yes, he is near the bottom of the league in passing yards and passing yards per game, but he is also near the bottom in attempts per game. He fits this teams style so well, that I truly believe he is underrated ! And I say this coming into last season as one of his biggest haters on this site.

Then it dawned on me, not every team has a Tom Brady or Peyton Manning. Not every team is built to throw the ball 30-40 times per game. Is there shame in winning with a strong defense and efficient offensive game ?
Sometimes we get so caught up in the so called "new" style of NFL, that we forget that teams always used to be built the way the 49ers are now.

So to quote Dennis Green "Alex Smith is who we thought he was". He is not going to win an MVP, he is not going to be a perennial pro bowler, hell some games he wont even have enough passing attempts to qualify for certain records.

But he brings stability to a team who changed quarterbacks like I change underwear (once a month) and who was sorely missing an identity.

[76ersai0309]

Good post

[DerekRE_3]

There are very few QB's who can carry a team. And shockingly, none of them are available. We tried for Peyton. It didn't work out. Bottom line is Smith is the best option for this team right now.

He's not perfect. Far from it. He takes too many sacks and doesn't have the best pocket presence. He isn't going to try to fit a lot of balls into tight window. It would be naive to think he isn't limited.

But what he doesn't get enough credit for is what he does pre snap. The offensive line has been dominant in the run game, but Smith also has a part in it. His checks and audibles in the run game pre snap have been great.

He's been efficient and besides the giants game he has protected the ball well. Like it or not, he gives this team the best chance to win.

And besides that, star quarterbacks command big time money. This is not baseball, there is a salary cap. And this is not the NBA, there is a hard cap. Smith is making $8 million this year, which is below the average salary of a starting quarterback. That gives the 49ers more money to spend on defense. That gives the 49ers more room to say, extend NaVorro Bowman.

[Raupie]

Exactly agree with what he does "pre-snap". He is not given enough credit for the success we are having in the run game. i do not have a link, maybe someone else does, but I had been reading how Smith has a few running audibles and a few passing audibles for every single play. And he is very good at reading the defense and often calls the best possible play every single down.

on top of that, the niners run a pretty complicated offense. Lots of different formations, lots of audible, lots of reads, etc. And this is only half way through his second season of the same offense and offensive coordinator. i really feel Smith is the quarterback of the future.

[lolPhillies]

Smith the quarterback of the future? More like the present. Kaepernick is the future.

[rapjuicer06]

Bills game
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTVUW...feature=relmfu

Packers game
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...2rI2fxt1Q&NR=1

[bigcheeze]

Smith the quarterback of the future? More like the present. Kaepernick is the future.

The more I look around the league, the more I see how wrong you might be. When you see other QB's that have similar play styles to Kap - i.e. Option/running QB's, the more you realize they don't tend to do well in the NFL. While they may be fun to watch and "dynamic", they also tend to get hurt and be out when their team needs them and when they get in trouble they tend to use their feet not their arms to get them out of trouble... aka become runners and take more hits.

There is a difference between a mobile QB (aka Rodgers) and a running QB (aka Vick). If Kap can adopt a play style more like Rodgers, then he can be a great NFL QB, if he can't... well...

I like Kap, think he's a great guy with a rocket launcher for an arm. But in the NFL something like 75% of a QB's job is done above the neck line, and as of yet nothing has proved that Kap can (or even can't) do that. In Harbaugh (that goofy as$ son of a b!0tch) we trust, so when or if he thinks Kap is ready or a better option, we will see him.

[rcs15]

The more I look around the league, the more I see how wrong you might be. When you see other QB's that have similar play styles to Kap - i.e. Option/running QB's, the more you realize they don't tend to do well in the NFL. While they may be fun to watch and "dynamic", they also tend to get hurt and be out when their team needs them and when they get in trouble they tend to use their feet not their arms to get them out of trouble... aka become runners and take more hits.

There is a difference between a mobile QB (aka Rodgers) and a running QB (aka Vick). If Kap can adopt a play style more like Rodgers, then he can be a great NFL QB, if he can't... well...

I like Kap, think he's a great guy with a rocket launcher for an arm. But in the NFL something like 75% of a QB's job is done above the neck line, and as of yet nothing has proved that Kap can (or even can't) do that. In Harbaugh (that goofy as$ son of a b!0tch) we trust, so when or if he thinks Kap is ready or a better option, we will see him.

There is no reason to believe Kaepernick can't make the throws Alex makes right now. There is a reason Smith has such a high completion percentage, and it isn't because he is superbly accurate. It's because he makes incredibly safe throws or just checks it down. When he does on occasion try and air it out he's proven to be pathetic in that area.

We haven't seen enough one way or the other, but Kaepernick is clearly a better talent than Smith. The only question is can he do the same things Smith does pre-snap for the team?

Right now it's no, which is why he isn't starting. When he gets to that point it won't be Smith's job any longer.

[DerekRE_3]

There is no reason to believe Kaepernick can't make the throws Alex makes right now. There is a reason Smith has such a high completion percentage, and it isn't because he is superbly accurate. It's because he makes incredibly safe throws or just checks it down. When he does on occasion try and air it out he's proven to be pathetic in that area.

We haven't seen enough one way or the other, but Kaepernick is clearly a better talent than Smith. The only question is can he do the same things Smith does pre-snap for the team?

Right now it's no, which is why he isn't starting. When he gets to that point it won't be Smith's job any longer.

There's a lot more to football than "making the throws." Can Kap make protection adjustments. Can he make the necessary pre-snap checks and get the 49ers into the right play?

Not saying he can't or will never be able to do those things, but this offense has a lot of formations and personnel groups. Now is not the time to see what we have in Kaepernick sitting at 6-2.

[Raupie]

I do not think it is a given yet that Kapernick is the QB of the future. Experience can make alot of difference... and Smith has had ALOT of experience in the NFL... good, bad, injuries, new coaches, new offenses, etc. He has withstood all the pressure of the number 1 overall pick and is a pretty descent quarterback right now.

The big thing over the summer was how much better Cam Newton was than Alex Smith... now Newton is struggling. is he a great talent? Sure. But there is much more to being the QB and leader of a team than that. And those are things Smith has shown, as well as won games, improved accuracy, etc.

So not saying he is better for sure, just saying you don't get rid of a guy like that for an unproven talent.

[rcs15]

There's a lot more to football than "making the throws." Can Kap make protection adjustments. Can he make the necessary pre-snap checks and get the 49ers into the right play?

Not saying he can't or will never be able to do those things, but this offense has a lot of formations and personnel groups. Now is not the time to see what we have in Kaepernick sitting at 6-2.

At this point? No, which is why I said when that point comes he will be the starter.

I have no reason to think it won't as he is being coached up and taught by tremendous offensive minds. Unless Kaepernick is just painfully slow mentally, he will reach that point probably some time next season.

Obviously this year is all Alex though.

[WestCoastSportz]

They drafted Kap as the future QB, but after the season they've just had by coming up one game short of playing in the Super Bowl, I think those plans may have changed. Thats why they flirted with Peyton Manning and thats why they re-signed Alex Smith to a 3 year deal worth $8M a year with $16M of it guaranteed. If they sucked it up and went 3-13 instead of 13-3, I don't think Smith would of been brought back and I think Kap would of probably started games at the end of the season just so they can see what they had. I don't really care what Alex looks like out there because they're winning games and if this team can sustain that type of success throughout the course of Smith's contract, then I'm fine with him starting the next 2 years.

[OREcoast49er]

I do not think it is a given yet that Kapernick is the QB of the future. Experience can make alot of difference... and Smith has had ALOT of experience in the NFL... good, bad, injuries, new coaches, new offenses, etc. He has withstood all the pressure of the number 1 overall pick and is a pretty descent quarterback right now.

The big thing over the summer was how much better Cam Newton was than Alex Smith... now Newton is struggling. is he a great talent? Sure. But there is much more to being the QB and leader of a team than that. And those are things Smith has shown, as well as won games, improved accuracy, etc.

So not saying he is better for sure, just saying you don't get rid of a guy like that for an unproven talent.

Ya, wheres Beason at right now? He should run his mouth again. Seems like Alex was 100% correct in his comments. Cam was a fluke. Teams have film on him and hes struggling mightily. Its the reason for sophmore slumps.

[bigcheeze]

There is no reason to believe Kaepernick can't make the throws Alex makes right now. There is a reason Smith has such a high completion percentage, and it isn't because he is superbly accurate. It's because he makes incredibly safe throws or just checks it down. When he does on occasion try and air it out he's proven to be pathetic in that area.

We haven't seen enough one way or the other, but Kaepernick is clearly a better talent than Smith. The only question is can he do the same things Smith does pre-snap for the team?

Right now it's no, which is why he isn't starting. When he gets to that point it won't be Smith's job any longer.

For one he absolutely has NOT PROVEN to be pathetic in the long ball, and two... I don't want the long ball to be anything other than the oddity. It's VERY high risk, and why take a high risk unless it's needed or on occasions? Because it makes fantasy owners happy?

And no Clearly Kap ISN'T a better talent than Smith... it's only clear in your head, not in reality. In the long run, may Kap be? It's possible, but he surely hasn't yet to be clearly more talented.

[D1RoseJM]

niners arent built around Alex Smith. he would be easier to replace, unlike other teams that try to build their teams around the QB.

plug and play