For the first time in two years, former No. 1 overall pick Alex Smith will start today when the San Francisco 49ers take on the Indianapolis Colts.
But can Smith finally play like the kind of quarterback who deserved to be a No. 1 NFL draft pick? Or will Smith revert to the form he showed from 2005 to 2007, when, in 30 starts, he averaged less than five yards per pass and had almost twice as many interceptions as touchdown passes?
ESPN’s Ron Jaworski, who broke down Smith’s game film on this week’s NFL Matchup, said it’ll be all about keeping Smith comfortable by letting him set up in the shotgun and giving him time to pass.
“Put Smith in the shotgun, the spread formation, and play to his
strengths and to his comfort level,” Jaworski said of what the 49ers
need to do today against the Colts.
Smith went 15-of-22 for 206 yards, with three touchdowns and one interception in relief of Shaun Hill in a loss to the Texans last week. Jaworski said his analysis of the game film showed a quarterback who looked like he was confident in the offense.
“I thought Alex Smith played well last week,” Jaworski said of Smith’s “I think it’s all about getting Alex Smith comfortable in the pocket.”
Of course, it’s a lot easier for a quarterback to look comfortable against the Texans’ woeful pass defense than it is against the Colts’ stout pass defense. With Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis coming at him today, Smith is likely to get rattled. But if he’s able to play well in Indianapolis despite the pressure, there may be some hope for one of the NFL’s biggest recent draft busts.
If my Colts can get a couple of TDs lead, they can turn loose the ends and Mr. Smith may wish he had gone to Washington. I think they can make life a little uncomfortable for him. Plus, he’s had a week to think about the game. Against the Texans, he was just reacting.
Alex has a lot of growing up to do, and it’s hard to grow up when you are learning three different offenses every year.”
I wish some people would do some better analysis of Alex Smith. He has been a disappointment, but it hasn’t been as grim as everyone depicts. The td to int ratio is lopsided by his rookie season. He was thrown into a starting role for a team that had gone 2-12 the season prior and threw for 1 td and 11 ints if I remember correctly. In comes Norv Turner the next season, the team goes 7-9 and Alex Smith has 16 tds and 16 ints. Everyone started saying that the niners were playoff bound, a sleeper team, and Alex Smith was looking like the quarterback they drafted. The following season, the niners start out 2-0 under Alex Smith, and in game 3, he gets slammed into the ground against the Seahawks in the first offensive series and gets injured. Mike Nolan tries to bring him back early that season, and because of the shoulder and the niners were horrible, Alex Smith does not perform. The next season he has another surgery and is out for the season. So as far as I can tell, the last time Alex Smith was a starter and healthy, most were on his bandwagon.
jeffrey i think you are correct i about everything except he got his shoulder slammed out of joint in week 4 of that season after loosing to the steelers in week 3.