The bad news is that the 49ers fear Aldon Smith will be suspended for six-to-eight games by Commissioner Roger Goodell. The good news is that, once Smith returns, he’ll continue to be an impact player.
We’ll dwell on the positive, since the Harbaugh brothers think the media obsesses on the negative. And since 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh was so overwhelmingly positive about Smith in a Monday press conference.
“He’s had a heck of a week here,” Harbaugh told reporters. “He’s had a heck of a training camp. He’s really. . . . Yeah, he’s taken his game to the highest level.“
Harbaugh declined to elaborate on the specific reason for the elevation of Smith’s performance, who has 42 sacks in 43 career regular-season games.
“I’ll let it speak for itself,” Harbaugh said. “His play has been outstanding. I think if you talk to anybody here, he’s at the highest level of that position.”
Alas, Smith won’t get to demonstrate those abilities because he failed on multiple occasions to engage in the kind of self-check that keeps people from getting arrested multiple times.