We’ve already heard about the work the 49ers are doing with Alex Smith on his footwork this offseason.
That’s actually stage two in Smith’s offseason mechanical work. Smith spent a week working with former Major League Baseball pitching coach Tom House on his throwing motion. Drew Brees has worked with House in the past and recommended him to Smith for the offseason.
Smith wasn’t alone at USC in March. Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle reports that Tom Brady, Matt Cassel and Carson Palmer were also there to get assistance from House. House started working with quarterbacks 10 years ago at the urging of Cam Cameron, who was Chargers offensive coordinator when Brees went to see House for the first time.
Branch’s article focuses on Smith’s work with House, so there aren’t any details on what they worked on with House. Smith’s work focused on increasing strength in his right shoulder and cleaning up mechanical flaws that developed after Smith’s shoulder surgeries. House, who broke down Smith’s motion via three-dimensional video, found that Smith began shifting his head to the left as he threw after the two operations.
“The cool thing is he’s thrown perfectly in his life before - before he hurt his shoulder,” House said. “It was just a matter of rediscovering what he did before his initial surgeries.”
Smith said he emerged from the work with a “healthier throwing motion.” Between this work and his work with the 49ers, it won’t be for a lack of trying if Smith doesn’t improve this season.