Via Matt Maiocco.....
I'm perplexed why so many people, including a few who comment on this blog, maintain that Alex was/is a bust - or, really, that his play has been a disappointment. The disappointment is he's had a broken shoulder, and the 49ers haven't had a chance to see him on the field for the past two years.
Here's a quick recap of his career:
2005: Drafted No. 1 overall, made difficult adjustment from spread/shotgun offense at Utah into a pro-style West Coast system. He replaced Tim Rattay as the starter for the fifth game of the season. He simply was not ready, and he struggled mightily. Brandon Lloyd was team's top wideout.
2006: Made switch from Mike McCarthy's "West Coast" system to Norv Turner's digit system. Became only QB in franchise history to take every snap. Smith improved from a one-TD, 11-interception rookie season to throw 16 TDs and 16 interceptions. At age 22, he helped engineer two road victories in final three weeks over Seattle and Denver, the latter knocking the Broncos out of the playoffs. With a marginally talented team, the 49ers finished 7-9.
2007: The new coordinator was Jim Hostler. The team started 2-1, but Smith sustained a grade-3 separated throwing shoulder on the third play of an important Week 4 game against Seattle. He tried to return to play in three games later in the season, but was clearly in pain and ineffective. Eventually opted for season-ending surgery.
2008: Enter Mike Martz as coordinator. But Smith's shoulder never recovered from surgery. Two days before the first regular-season game, he felt extreme pain that turned out to be a small fracture of his right shoulder.
2009: Now, with Jimmy Raye as coordinator, Smith is getting his first chance in more than two years to show what he can do.
So when people talk about how Smith has underperformed, are they talking about his admittedly horrible rookie season? Or are they referring to his 2006 season as a 22-year-old player who was showing signs of developing into a pretty decent NFL quarterback?
They can't be referring to 2007, when he played three games before getting injured, nor can they be referring to 2008, when he did not play at all.
This is mainly for radiostationrep and solitary
I'm perplexed why so many people, including a few who comment on this blog, maintain that Alex was/is a bust - or, really, that his play has been a disappointment. The disappointment is he's had a broken shoulder, and the 49ers haven't had a chance to see him on the field for the past two years.
Here's a quick recap of his career:
2005: Drafted No. 1 overall, made difficult adjustment from spread/shotgun offense at Utah into a pro-style West Coast system. He replaced Tim Rattay as the starter for the fifth game of the season. He simply was not ready, and he struggled mightily. Brandon Lloyd was team's top wideout.
2006: Made switch from Mike McCarthy's "West Coast" system to Norv Turner's digit system. Became only QB in franchise history to take every snap. Smith improved from a one-TD, 11-interception rookie season to throw 16 TDs and 16 interceptions. At age 22, he helped engineer two road victories in final three weeks over Seattle and Denver, the latter knocking the Broncos out of the playoffs. With a marginally talented team, the 49ers finished 7-9.
2007: The new coordinator was Jim Hostler. The team started 2-1, but Smith sustained a grade-3 separated throwing shoulder on the third play of an important Week 4 game against Seattle. He tried to return to play in three games later in the season, but was clearly in pain and ineffective. Eventually opted for season-ending surgery.
2008: Enter Mike Martz as coordinator. But Smith's shoulder never recovered from surgery. Two days before the first regular-season game, he felt extreme pain that turned out to be a small fracture of his right shoulder.
2009: Now, with Jimmy Raye as coordinator, Smith is getting his first chance in more than two years to show what he can do.
So when people talk about how Smith has underperformed, are they talking about his admittedly horrible rookie season? Or are they referring to his 2006 season as a 22-year-old player who was showing signs of developing into a pretty decent NFL quarterback?
They can't be referring to 2007, when he played three games before getting injured, nor can they be referring to 2008, when he did not play at all.
This is mainly for radiostationrep and solitary
