Alex Smith QBR

[Z-Comeback]

Steve Young on Smith, now:

49ers Blog and Q&A: Steve Young: Alex Smith is like an abused child

His perspective seems a bit more balanced. Smith has done well playing within himself and the team and not blowing games. Can he take the next step and be the guy who is winning games for us? The past two weeks are encouraging, but I find I'm still reluctant to believe Smith is for real just yet.

Somewhat agree. Though I think that you have to also take into account that in the past, Steve has been extremely negative about Alex.

 

[rmilia1]

As a huge football fan but not a 49ers fan i will give you my perspective on Alex Smith. In college Smith was really good. He was extremely mobile and made good decisions. When he was drafted he struggled as many QB's do when they play earlier than they should be playing. It was OK because that was the norm and fans were pretty patient. Then we got the anolamy of Joe Flacco, Mark Snachez and Matt Ryan coming in and leading teams to the playoffs early in their career ( which rarely happens BTW) so the 49er fans became way less patient with Smith. Add in to this the HUGE uncertainty that Smith played with every week when hes playing for a coach that doesnt use him properly and for a coach that yanks him in and out of the lineup on a pass by pass basis. Fast forward to this year when Harbaugh takes over. Now Harbaugh is a good QB coach but the best thing he did was to look at everyone and say " Alex is our starting QB. We are going with him and trust in him". That right there has been half the battle. Now you have a QB that doesnt have to worry about getting pulled after a bad pass and you have a coach that is using him and his talent in the right manner. Smith really hasnt changed a bunch from what Ive seen. He just seems way less nervous and more calm which I am 100% sure is a direct result of not worrying about if the next pass he throws will be his last for the game. Just my 2 cents.

 

[Z-Comeback]

The past two weeks are encouraging, but I find I'm still reluctant to believe Smith is for real just yet.

Why not now?

Not really singling you out here, but it's funny that in the past when Alex had a good showing the knock was "He can't do it in back to back games."
Well, we're now 5 games into the season and he hasn't produced one bad game.
He has shown vast improvement, imo, from game to game this season. There is no reason to think that it won't continue.

What will happen if Smith has a bad game against Detroit? Will everyone then say "Same old Alex?" Because of one bad game?
This guy could win a Super Bowl this year (dreaming) and people will still say "Let's see it happen twice."

Not saying he's a superstar but he is for real. Jump on board!

 

[Flyingiguana]

bad game? so many analyze his bad passes...

guess it comes with the territory when you get drafted 1st overal

 

[rmilia1]

bad game? so many analyze his bad passes...

guess it comes with the territory when you get drafted 1st overal

You guys are HUGELY spoiled from having 2 Hall of Famers back to back so Niner fans tend to be hyper critical of QB's. Hell alot of you didnt even like Garcia and he was a Pro Bowler. QB's are going to throw bad passes especially when they are not surrounded by much talent as was the case for Smith his first few years. The reality is that Smith ahs been very good this year. Not great but good at least and he doesnt need to be great because the D and the run game is good enough where he doesnt have to wing it 30+ times a game. Be happy. It could be WAY worse for you at QB.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

Why not now?

Not really singling you out here, but it's funny that in the past when Alex had a good showing the knock was "He can't do it in back to back games."
Well, we're now 5 games into the season and he hasn't produced one bad game.
He has shown vast improvement, imo, from game to game this season. There is no reason to think that it won't continue.

What will happen if Smith has a bad game against Detroit? Will everyone then say "Same old Alex?" Because of one bad game?
This guy could win a Super Bowl this year (dreaming) and people will still say "Let's see it happen twice."

Not saying he's a superstar but he is for real. Jump on board!

I really hope you're right. And I have been one of the more ardent defenders of Smith at times in the past. But it's like a kid whose been bit by a dog a few times. He could be with the most playful, friendly dog in the world, but he's still nervous. Once-bitten, twice-shy and all that. We've been bitten repeatedly by Smith.

Smith will have a rough game at some point this season, whether it's this week or some other week in the future. I'm certainly not going to freak out about it. But the more we ask him to do, the more room there is for error. And based on experience, there is plenty of room for error. It's possible that we're FINALLY seeing Urban Meyer's prediction come true and Smith is really and truly putting it all together, but he's been through a hell of a lot to just bounce back and become a great - as opposed to just solid - player.

 

[Giantsmojo]

As a huge football fan but not a 49ers fan i will give you my perspective on Alex Smith. In college Smith was really good. He was extremely mobile and made good decisions. When he was drafted he struggled as many QB's do when they play earlier than they should be playing. It was OK because that was the norm and fans were pretty patient. Then we got the anolamy of Joe Flacco, Mark Snachez and Matt Ryan coming in and leading teams to the playoffs early in their career ( which rarely happens BTW) so the 49er fans became way less patient with Smith. Add in to this the HUGE uncertainty that Smith played with every week when hes playing for a coach that doesnt use him properly and for a coach that yanks him in and out of the lineup on a pass by pass basis. Fast forward to this year when Harbaugh takes over. Now Harbaugh is a good QB coach but the best thing he did was to look at everyone and say " Alex is our starting QB. We are going with him and trust in him". That right there has been half the battle. Now you have a QB that doesnt have to worry about getting pulled after a bad pass and you have a coach that is using him and his talent in the right manner. Smith really hasnt changed a bunch from what Ive seen. He just seems way less nervous and more calm which I am 100% sure is a direct result of not worrying about if the next pass he throws will be his last for the game. Just my 2 cents.

This is pretty much how I feel, if you are afraid of failing you will fail and that was the environment that Nolan and Singletary brought to the team and not just the QB position, but defense too which had a lot to do with why the defense could not close out games, they played too soft afraid to give up the big plays which allowed other teams to drive the field.

 

[Crimsoncrew]

I will say, after doing it myself plenty, I am starting to wonder a bit about the "four consistent quarters" argument. How many QBs, even the great ones, play four great quarters? It's actually incredibly rare. Either he's great early on and the team jumps out ahead, or he struggles initially and he has to stage a comeback. Or he starts hot, cools, and then comes alive at the end. I was thinking about this in the first game of the season with Rodgers. He was unstoppable in the first two quarters, but very fallible after that. But everyone talks about his great game. Just an interesting thing to consider, I think. There's no doubt at this point that Smith is held to a pretty high standard, but I think it's fairly justified given his history.

 

[sayheykid1]

Somewhat agree. Though I think that you have to also take into account that in the past, Steve has been extremely negative about Alex.

Young was negative because Alex wasn't doing much of anything to be positive about.
I think the next step comment is spot on.

I am cautiously optimistic about Smith at this point and that is a huge leap from where I was a month ago.

 

[sayheykid1]

Why not now?

Not really singling you out here, but it's funny that in the past when Alex had a good showing the knock was "He can't do it in back to back games."
Well, we're now 5 games into the season and he hasn't produced one bad game.
He has shown vast improvement, imo, from game to game this season. There is no reason to think that it won't continue.

What will happen if Smith has a bad game against Detroit? Will everyone then say "Same old Alex?" Because of one bad game?
This guy could win a Super Bowl this year (dreaming) and people will still say "Let's see it happen twice."

Not saying he's a superstar but he is for real. Jump on board!

Five years of history make me wonder if it will continue and if he can continue to improve and if he is "for real". I don't think that makes me a hater/pantshitter/Negative Nellie. I am rooting for the guy.

Are you ready to sign him to a big extension?

 

[Z-Comeback]

I really hope you're right. And I have been one of the more ardent defenders of Smith at times in the past. But it's like a kid whose been bit by a dog a few times. He could be with the most playful, friendly dog in the world, but he's still nervous. Once-bitten, twice-shy and all that. We've been bitten repeatedly by Smith.

Young was negative because Alex wasn't doing much of anything to be positive about.
I think the next step comment is spot on.

I am cautiously optimistic about Smith at this point and that is a huge leap from where I was a month ago.

One day at a time, man, one day at a time!

 

[Z-Comeback]

Five years of history make me wonder if it will continue and if he can continue to improve and if he is "for real". I don't think that makes me a hater/pantshitter/Negative Nellie. I am rooting for the guy.

Look, I'm not calling you a hater. I'm speaking generally here. My comments are more centered on the nature of "hedging" today's stance because of what happened yesterday.
I wonder if it's going to fall apart too. But what I'm seeing each week doesn't equate to collapse or that a ceiling has been reached, so I choose to take the stance that this isn't a fluke.

I'm just wondering when you will have seen enough to believe he is "for real". Because it's entirely possible that I'm wrong.

 

[Z-Comeback]

Are you ready to sign him to a big extension?

We should all be thankful that I'm not in control of that decision!

If I was in control the answer would be no. I would choose to wait until the season is over assuming that your definition of "big" is top 5 salary for QB in the NFL.
If Alex was willing to accept an extension that was more performance based I would do it in a heartbeat.

 

[Giantsmojo]

I will say, after doing it myself plenty, I am starting to wonder a bit about the "four consistent quarters" argument. How many QBs, even the great ones, play four great quarters? It's actually incredibly rare. Either he's great early on and the team jumps out ahead, or he struggles initially and he has to stage a comeback. Or he starts hot, cools, and then comes alive at the end. I was thinking about this in the first game of the season with Rodgers. He was unstoppable in the first two quarters, but very fallible after that. But everyone talks about his great game. Just an interesting thing to consider, I think. There's no doubt at this point that Smith is held to a pretty high standard, but I think it's fairly justified given his history.

Joe Montana would start slow and comeback strong in the 3rd and 4th quarter.

Steve Young would dominate early and coast at the end.

Alex Smith was like Montana against the Eagles and Young against the Bucs

 

[rmilia1]

Heres the reality. Smith sucked in 2005 as do many rookie QB's, he wasnt ready to play and it showed. His 2006 year was actually OK and perfectly acceptable for a 2nd year QB ( QBR of 75, 16 TD's ), in 07 he only played 7 games before he was injured and benched, 08 he didnt play at all. The last 2 years he has been fine especially when you consider the relatively bad coaching and lack of talent around him especially after Gore was injured ( QBR of aroung 82 32 TD's only 22 INTs and that was with being yanked in and out of games all the time and not starting all the time). This year he has been far above average but heres a stat that will surprise. If you look at 06,09,10 and this year which are really the only years he has had any real playing time with some experience then Smiths QBR in these 4 years is better than the lifetime rating of : Mark Sanchez, Chad Henne, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Eli Manning, Michael Vick, Rex Grossman, Kyle Orton, Kevin Kolb, Tavaris Jackson, Sam Bradford, Andy Dalton, Colt McCoy, Matthew Stafford, Josh Freeman, Matt Hasselbeck and Blaine Gabbert or in other words better than more than half the statrting Qb's in the league right now. Smith while not having lived up to his number 1 pick status certainly has not been the primary cause of the Niners bad fortune since he was picked IMO.

 

[sayheykid1]

One day at a time, man, one day at a time!

That is how I am taking Alex Smith and the Niners this year, just trying to enjoy the moments as they come.

 

[sayheykid1]

Look, I'm not calling you a hater. I'm speaking generally here. My comments are more centered on the nature of "hedging" today's stance because of what happened yesterday.
I wonder if it's going to fall apart too. But what I'm seeing each week doesn't equate to collapse or that a ceiling has been reached, so I choose to take the stance that this isn't a fluke.

I'm just wondering when you will have seen enough to believe he is "for real". Because it's entirely possible that I'm wrong.

When he puts together several games where he is the main reason they won against good teams. 300+ yards, 3-4 TDs in back and forth games against good defenses.

Others have talked about QB friendly systems helping out the Detmers and Kolbs of the world, Harbaugh might be just that good.

 

[Z-Comeback]

When he puts together several games where he is the main reason they won against good teams. 300+ yards, 3-4 TDs in back and forth games against good defenses.

Others have talked about QB friendly systems helping out the Detmers and Kolbs of the world, Harbaugh might be just that good.

Would be awesome to see those types of numbers.

 

[deep9er]

I will say, after doing it myself plenty, I am starting to wonder a bit about the "four consistent quarters" argument. How many QBs, even the great ones, play four great quarters? It's actually incredibly rare. Either he's great early on and the team jumps out ahead, or he struggles initially and he has to stage a comeback. Or he starts hot, cools, and then comes alive at the end. I was thinking about this in the first game of the season with Rodgers. He was unstoppable in the first two quarters, but very fallible after that. But everyone talks about his great game. Just an interesting thing to consider, I think. There's no doubt at this point that Smith is held to a pretty high standard, but I think it's fairly justified given his history.

no, we're not asking for four 'great' quarters, even the best NFL players have bad stretches and bad games. but as fans we'll recognize more consistency - over multiple games - when we see it. based on these last five games i'd say he's not far off?

regarding his stats, feel that'll improve as his teammates continue to improve.

 

[sayheykid1]

Would be awesome to see those types of numbers.

Me too and I think the day will come where Harbaugh expects that from him.