Why did the 49ers select Smith over Rodgers?

[darken65]

Tried to ignore this thread but it keeps popping up! . This is going off of my usual one sentence response. Back at that draft many SF fans wanted Rodgers including me. For whatever reason the 9ers choice was Smith. I'll tell you now that if the 9ers had picked Aaron over Alex that they would have two more SB rings right now. I firmly believe that.

 

[Clayton]

Tried to ignore this thread but it keeps popping up! . This is going off of my usual one sentence response. Back at that draft many SF fans wanted Rodgers including me. For whatever reason the 9ers choice was Smith. I'll tell you now that if the 9ers had picked Aaron over Alex that they would have two more SB rings right now. I firmly believe that.

2 is probably where id put it, too, but Rodgers is so good that he might have prevented a better roster from forming due to better seasons and worse draft positions. Maybe the Rams take Patrick Willis and Vernon Davis ends up on a different team. Maybe they never get Harbaugh. Maybe Rodgers would flame out a couple of times in the playoffs like he has with some solid Packers teams.

 

[darken65]

2 is probably where id put it, too, but Rodgers is so good that he might have prevented a better roster from forming due to better seasons and worse draft positions. Maybe the Rams take Patrick Willis and Vernon Davis ends up on a different team. Maybe they never get Harbaugh. Maybe Rodgers would flame out a couple of times in the playoffs like he has with some solid Packers teams.

Too many maybes. I'm just going by QB draft pick alone here.

 

[Dude]

Like many have said, hindsight is the most silly prediction of the future.

 

[Rockinkuwait]

2 is probably where id put it, too, but Rodgers is so good that he might have prevented a better roster from forming due to better seasons and worse draft positions. Maybe the Rams take Patrick Willis and Vernon Davis ends up on a different team. Maybe they never get Harbaugh. Maybe Rodgers would flame out a couple of times in the playoffs like he has with some solid Packers teams.

I think with a stud QB like Rodgers they would have had their pick of whatever coaches they wanted. And would have had more consistency in the front office and coaching staff.

And the flip side to the draft position is free agency.. You are a WR... Do you want to play with Rodgers throwing you the ball? Or Smith?

 

[Clayton]

I think with a stud QB like Rodgers they would have had their pick of whatever coaches they wanted. And would have had more consistency in the front office and coaching staff.

And the flip side to the draft position is free agency.. You are a WR... Do you want to play with Rodgers throwing you the ball? Or Smith?

Sure, I think almost all of the teams who passed on Rodgers, Niners included, missed out on at least one super bowl just due to the pull of a great qb.

 

[Rod Smart]

You can't coach what's not there... Some guy's are just not gonna make it even if Lombardi was coaching them... I don't totally disagree with you though, I know good coaching helps and player's being put in a good situation helps... But you can't turn average Joe into Joe Montana.... Aint happening...

No, but if you try hard enough, you can turn Joe Montana into a poor mans Tom Clements
Joe Montana

 

[DHoey]

According to Aaron Rodgers:

"The story that I heard, and I don't know if it's true or not, was that Mike Nolan said that when he saw Alex open the car door for his mom, he knew that was the quarterback he wanted,"

Apparently Aaron never had a chance to display his manners because: "I was at lunch with [the 49ers]," Rodgers said. "My mom wasn't there. My dad wasn't there."

Mike Nolan stated that "the team went with Smith because Rodgers was "too cocky."

Aaron Rodgers explains why 49ers passed on him with No. 1 pick in 2005

Maybe they didn't want a gay quarteback?

 

[Fountain City Blues]

I really wish we had data on what Smith's velocity looked like pre and after shoulder surgeries.

 

[boogiewithstu2007]

No, but if you try hard enough, you can turn Joe Montana into a poor mans Tom Clements
Joe Montana

lol

 

[ArlingtonCowboys100]

Rodgers college tape was much better than smiths. You just had a dumbass picking players for the niners.

 

[MHSL82]

Is Rodgers still butt hurt over that?

Get over it dude. you're better than Smith, have a super bowl ring, a couple of MVP's

More money. let it go man

As a Niners fan, I read a lot of articles with quotes about how he wanted to be a Niner. He should've just shut the fuck up and done the jumping jacks, brought his Mom and Dad, taken his grandmother's coat to hang up in the closet, shined Nolan's shoes, etc.

He acts like the Niners did him wrong by not picking him when he had to question Nolan on his workouts. If you wanted to come here when we had the first pick, again, shut the fuck up and do what you are told.

You f'd up if you wanted to be here. I am not going to defend Nolan. He should have better requisites for quarterbacking his team. If he wanted Smith and picked him for other reasons, that's one thing. But not picking Rodgers for off the field stuff is stupid. Someone needed to question Nolan because he doesn't know offense and doesn't seem to keep his defensive job either.

 

[MHSL82]

People bring up a lot about Smith's coordinators always changing, but they were changing because he was playing awful football early on. As bad as things were in SF in that time, their QB play was the worst part.

It's so tough judging a QB off of college. Alex threw less than 600 passes in the Mountain West Conference for Urban Meyer and was less accurate than Tebow. Tedford product vs. Meyer product.


As for Smith I don't think he ever could have been Rodgers, he just doesn't have the arm, where even if he got in Rodgers situation, I don't think he could make the plays Aaron does. And not sure how the Packers offense of testing deep (somthing Rodgers does as well as Favre) would help with Smith who just can't make those throws.

I think Smith has learned to maximize his ability. I don't remember how late it was in the season last year when I made up this little chart for careers, but it was showing air yards of active QB's with at least 500 attempts or something. How far they throw on average... Alex and Rodgers are exact polar opposites. And Alex is the king of the short pass, no one is even half as close as he was.


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I really think if you switch guys around, great guys still play great. I think Rodgers still throws down the field well and Alex struggles when he's put in those situations.

His coaches left for head-coaching jobs. Norv Turner left to be a head coach. Mike McCarthy left to be a head coach. He never played under Martz. Hostetler had trouble keeping lower division college football jobs. Raye was too old and had to do what know nothing Singleterry wanted.

Smith did not have a Brett Favre arm, but he f'ed shoulder and was forced to play on it, they botched the surgery, and he had to compete for the quarterback starting with that botched shoulder. Again, he would not have a strong arm, but what we saw was worse than what could have been.

 

[The Derski]

As a Niners fan, I read a lot of articles with quotes about how he wanted to be a Niner. He should've just shut the fuck up and done the jumping jacks, brought his Mom and Dad, taken his grandmother's coat to hang up in the closet, shined Nolan's shoes, etc.

He acts like the Niners did him wrong by not picking him when he had to question Nolan on his workouts. If you wanted to come here when we had the first pick, again, shut the fuck up and do what you are told.

You f'd up if you wanted to be here. I am not going to defend Nolan. He should have better requisites for quarterbacking his team. If he wanted Smith and picked him for other reasons, that's one thing. But not picking Rodgers for off the field stuff is stupid. Someone needed to question Nolan because he doesn't know offense and doesn't seem to keep his defensive job either.

So your whole comment is calling out Rodgers... I swear Rodgers receives the most unwaranted criticism in the league and it's not close. Keep hating.

 

[The Derski]

He. Will. Go. Down. As. The. Best. Ever.

 

[Duffman]

2006 Bears would a won it all with a better QB... Even slightly better QB ... That 2006 Bears defense was VERY good ...

So what you're saying is 2006 Rex Grossman was nowhere near the level of 2015 Peyton Manning.

 

[Oldschool739]

According to Aaron Rodgers:

"The story that I heard, and I don't know if it's true or not, was that Mike Nolan said that when he saw Alex open the car door for his mom, he knew that was the quarterback he wanted,"

Apparently Aaron never had a chance to display his manners because: "I was at lunch with [the 49ers]," Rodgers said. "My mom wasn't there. My dad wasn't there."

Mike Nolan stated that "the team went with Smith because Rodgers was "too cocky."

Aaron Rodgers explains why 49ers passed on him with No. 1 pick in 2005

I think it was more because Smith was rated higher than him at the time....You have to remember, we saw Rodgers after sitting 3 yrs behind a HOF QB, Brett Favre, and Smith was thrown in the fire his rookie yr behind a putrid team....
Rodgers had all the advantages in that scenario, with a very good team already in place when he took over and the luxury of learning under Favre...

 

[Oldschool739]

If only the Ravens didn't draft Boller in '03, they would have probably got Rodgers

Unfortunately no, they actually wanted Byron (slow throw) Leftwich....So they were doomed either way...
I can laugh now but it was painful to watch back then, I cringed everytime Boller dropped back in the pocket and waited for his newest impression of Larry, Moe and Curly Joe.....

 

[boogiewithstu2007]

So what you're saying is 2006 Rex Grossman was nowhere near the level of 2015 Peyton Manning.

Manning is way more clutch in big moments, also reads defenses better and audibles better... I"d take last years Manning over Grossman any day of the week ... Even though Manning lost arm strength he didn't lose his smarts and leadership ... Grossman never possessed any of those qualities...

 

[Pattersonca65]

Not to nitpick but Rodgers only played two years at Cal. His freshman year he played for Butte Community College then transferred.

That's ok. But he was older than Smith and played in a pro style offense through his senior year