where could Alex Smith go?

[Flyingiguana]

he's still only 27 and this is the first time he'll have an offseason to build upon. we don't really know what his ceiling is

 

[deep9er]

he's still only 27 and this is the first time he'll have an offseason to build upon. we don't really know what his ceiling is

yes, if you want to be technical, nobody knows what his ceiling is? but after six years (he was out one season) in the NFL, if he had "IT" in him, we would've seen many flashes of it.

yes, he should be better just by having a better HC, better teammates, and an off-season with his 'new' receiving corps. how much better?

 

[Flyingiguana]

well we did see some flashes when we needed a win late in games. i would have liked to see what our offense would have done with a healthy edwards.

 

[Ray_Dogg]

I'd like to see what our offense could do with a real RG and a real #1 WR. I'm not even asking for a better C.

 

[Flyingiguana]

I'd like to see what our offense could do with a real RG and a real #1 WR. I'm not even asking for a better C.

a year ago i was just hoping we could get a 2nd year out of an offensive coordinator. the bars been raised!

 

[threelittleturds]

If Alex Smith isn't a 49er, I really don't care about where he goes. I've seen enough to know that he'll never stand in the way of the 49ers making the playoffs. I recognize his work ethic, and I love the guy for that... but if he isn't a 49er, who gives a fuck... because we all know his skillset only achieves success with a superior defense led by brilliant coaching.

 

[MHSL82]

yes, if you want to be technical, nobody knows what his ceiling is? but after six years (he was out one season) in the NFL, if he had "IT" in him, we would've seen many flashes of it.

yes, he should be better just by having a better HC, better teammates, and an off-season with his 'new' receiving corps. how much better?

I won't get too into it because I know it can get annoying and I basically agree with you here. I've seen flashes of "IT" in him but it's not enough to say he's elite or will do it consistently. I thought he had one "it" game in his first two years, one in 2010 (Saints last drive, almost had it post-boos in Phili), and two in 2011 (Detroit last drive was clutch and so was the Saints last two drives). None of these were four quarters and these aren't close or many, so to that extent, I'd agree we haven't seen it often enough. I don't think I need to explain that I never rule it out.

If Alex Smith isn't a 49er, I really don't care about where he goes. I've seen enough to know that he'll never stand in the way of the 49ers making the playoffs. I recognize his work ethic, and I love the guy for that... but if he isn't a 49er, who gives a fuck... because we all know his skillset only achieves success with a superior defense led by brilliant coaching.

His current skillset works best with a superior defense, but I do think the longer he has brilliant coaching, the better his skillset will be and the less superior the defense needs to be. I agree in the general theory, but I believe the relative weights of priorities and statuses are moving parts. Before 2011, I hadn't seen the back shoulder pass, the fade, the pump-fake, the clutch plays (extremely rare pre-2011), or the improvisation (the Dallas game where he scooped up the bad snap and made something of it), etc. I fully expect those things to improve and moderately expect to see things we didn't "know for sure" he could do in 2012-13.

 

[Southern9er]

If Alex Smith isn't a 49er, I really don't care about where he goes. I've seen enough to know that he'll never stand in the way of the 49ers making the playoffs. I recognize his work ethic, and I love the guy for that... but if he isn't a 49er, who gives a fuck... because we all know his skillset only achieves success with a superior defense led by brilliant coaching.

We all know that?

I really find it hard to believe that this is "his" skill set after one season where he finally had a fighting chance to prove something. This goes to another thread, but you and others assume this is the best Alex can produce, he's "peaked", because he's been a 49er for so long. It completely disregards the circumstances surrounding the bad years.

We still don't know what he's capable of; a new rookie head coach, with yet ANOTHER offensive system, a highly degraded off season. Its baby steps man and Alex got the biggest monkey off his back this season. I expect even more improvement this season. Alex was DAMAGED goods coming into 2011, just happy to have a jersey on his back. Look what happened. Open your mind...we don't know what kind of QB he is the pieces aren't all there yet. I continually say this...to me its like he was picking up where he left off in the 2006 season; 2007 to 2010 was just a bad dream.

 

[Flyingiguana]

We all know that?

I really find it hard to believe that this is "his" skill set after one season where he finally had a fighting chance to prove something. This goes to another thread, but you and others assume this is the best Alex can produce, he's "peaked", because he's been a 49er for so long. It completely disregards the circumstances surrounding the bad years.

We still don't know what he's capable of; a new rookie head coach, with yet ANOTHER offensive system, a highly degraded off season. Its baby steps man and Alex got the biggest monkey off his back this season. I expect even more improvement this season. Alex was DAMAGED goods coming into 2011, just happy to have a jersey on his back. Look what happened. Open your mind...we don't know what kind of QB he is the pieces aren't all there yet. I continually say this...to me its like he was picking up where he left off in the 2006 season; 2007 to 2010 was just a bad dream.

in hindsight, we should have kept norv and sent nolan to the chargers!

 

[Mozart'sGhost]

Like last year, he won't get any other offers. He'll be back with the Niners. And that's not necessarily a bad thing. He made some improvement last year. If he continues to improve, so much the better. The best thing is that the 49ers will get him cheap.

 

[clyde_carbon]

Like last year, he won't get any other offers. He'll be back with the Niners. And that's not necessarily a bad thing. He made some improvement last year. If he continues to improve, so much the better. The best thing is that the 49ers will get him cheap.

You know why he never got any offers last year? Because he never hit FA.

 

[clyde_carbon]

We all know that?

I really find it hard to believe that this is "his" skill set after one season where he finally had a fighting chance to prove something. This goes to another thread, but you and others assume this is the best Alex can produce, he's "peaked", because he's been a 49er for so long. It completely disregards the circumstances surrounding the bad years.

We still don't know what he's capable of; a new rookie head coach, with yet ANOTHER offensive system, a highly degraded off season. Its baby steps man and Alex got the biggest monkey off his back this season. I expect even more improvement this season. Alex was DAMAGED goods coming into 2011, just happy to have a jersey on his back. Look what happened. Open your mind...we don't know what kind of QB he is the pieces aren't all there yet. I continually say this...to me its like he was picking up where he left off in the 2006 season; 2007 to 2010 was just a bad dream.

Really? So after 7 fucking years you still have no idea what Alex's skill set entails or what he's capable of?

Wow. He must be the most mysterious QB of all time.

 

[Mozart'sGhost]

I won't get too into it because I know it can get annoying and I basically agree with you here. I've seen flashes of "IT" in him but it's not enough to say he's elite or will do it consistently. I thought he had one "it" game in his first two years, one in 2010 (Saints last drive, almost had it post-boos in Phili), and two in 2011 (Detroit last drive was clutch and so was the Saints last two drives). None of these were four quarters and these aren't close or many, so to that extent, I'd agree we haven't seen it often enough. I don't think I need to explain that I never rule it out.


Agree that those were good drives but he was only able to do that because the Saints played right into his hands by playing "man" defense. Smith does well in those cases because he does not have to read the defense. He can see right where each defender is and where he is going to be. The zone defenses confuse him and it takes him too long to react and throw in those cases. He'd be All Pro if you could only play "man" defense in the NFL.

 

[Flyingiguana]

Really? So after 7 fucking years you still have no idea what Alex's skill set entails or what he's capable of?

Wow. He must be the most mysterious QB of all time.

he's on track for a pro bowl career like some of us stated on draft day.

if we make the improvements on offense like everyone expects and smith doesn't improve, u can say 'i told u so'

but until then

 

[clyde_carbon]

he's on track for a pro bowl career like some of us stated on draft day.

if we make the improvements on offense like everyone expects and smith doesn't improve, u can say 'i told u so'

but until then

I'm not saying he can't or won't improve. I'm saying that, after 7 years, if you don't have a good idea what Smith can or can't do then this isn't your sport.

 

[Flyingiguana]

we got a taste of what smith can do. i don't think we really know for sure what we have with smith. urban meyer has said smith is non-functional until he knows every detail of an offense. i'm sure a full offseason will help.

 

[clyde_carbon]

Oh God...are we still really talking about Meyer's analysis of alex?

You need help.

 

[Flyingiguana]

Oh God...are we still really talking about Meyer's analysis of alex?

You need help.

it's a legit reason why smith should be much improved next season. any qb would improve being in the same system as they get more comfortable with the playbook.

 

[MHSL82]

We all know that?

I really find it hard to believe that this is "his" skill set after one season where he finally had a fighting chance to prove something. This goes to another thread, but you and others assume this is the best Alex can produce, he's "peaked", because he's been a 49er for so long. It completely disregards the circumstances surrounding the bad years.

We still don't know what he's capable of; a new rookie head coach, with yet ANOTHER offensive system, a highly degraded off season. Its baby steps man and Alex got the biggest monkey off his back this season. I expect even more improvement this season. Alex was DAMAGED goods coming into 2011, just happy to have a jersey on his back. Look what happened. Open your mind...we don't know what kind of QB he is the pieces aren't all there yet. I continually say this...to me its like he was picking up where he left off in the 2006 season; 2007 to 2010 was just a bad dream.

People like simple things. It's simpler if everyone is in their little boxes and if the boxes are checked off. It ends further inquiry and you can move on your way. Plus, it comes with the added incentive that you can tell people that football is not their sport or that they are clearly wrong about something in the future. I mean, how many people can say that?

The way I see it is it's pretty easy to see that we know what his skillset is. We have a coach that has recognized what he is currently capable of and has applied it to this offense. What we don't know is what his skillsets could be with proper coaching and a few more options at offense. We don't know he'll improve, regress, or stagnate and we don't know if what that is will ever be enough. (For example, with great WRs maybe Smith doesn't need to improve THAT much (though I think he will and must improve)?) We can guess at where that may be and when some guess, they state it with authority, which doesn't mean a hell of a lot. It goes to what I said about closure and finality, simplicity. It makes you a genius and who doesn't want to be a genius?

I'm glad I get to sit back and watch what happens and I am very happy that we have a coaching staff that I am confident will get the most out of Smith and everybody else. We don't have a Smith coach like we had a defense coach before. We dont have a coach who is worried about other people doing too good of a job that threatens his. We have an everybody coach now and we'll get the best - even if one day or next year that means without Smith.

My guess is that Smith will improve (but get more TOs), our offense around him will improve (but not all-world), and our defense will be great (but perhaps fall a bit). Where his ceiling is, I don't know and neither does anybody else, no matter what they say or how loud they say it or how they say it. That's what makes sports so great and difference of opinion and personalities is what makes message boards so great.

 

[Mozart'sGhost]

You know why he never got any offers last year? Because he never hit FA.

And he won't this year either because he knows he won't get a better offer than what he'll get to stay with the Niners.