Post by John on Jun 21, 2006 16:57:03 GMT -4
Nightmare's nearly over for 2005's No. 1 pick Smith
By Pete Prisco
CBS SportsLine.com Senior Writer
A year ago, he was the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, a quarterback with big expectations and even bigger eyes, caught up in the whole specter of being in the NFL. It was an eye-opener every day for San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith.
Nerves are something we expect from rookies. But struggling to sleep the night before your first minicamp practice?
"It was all so new," Smith said. "The Bay Area was new. Living in a hotel was new. The minicamps were new. Everything about my life was new. It was a big adjustment. But this year things are so different. Now, besides a new offense, everything I'm doing I've been through before. I'm used to it."
Although he just turned 22, Smith is sounding more and more like a veteran quarterback, rather than the rookie who had trouble holding onto the ball last season for a 49ers offense that finished ranked last in the league. If the 49ers are to make a move up from the bottom of the league standings, Smith is going to have to play better.
Some doubters wonder if he can. They wonder if he will ever be able to make a comfortable transition from playing in a shotgun, spread offense at Utah to the more conventional NFL-style of quarterback. There were moments last season when Smith gave skeptics cause to doubt him.
The media and fans love to use the "bust" word early in a quarterback's career, ready to send him to the graveyard with the many failures that we've seen over the years. What most don't realize is that almost all rookie quarterbacks struggle. Yes, even the great ones. There are exceptions, like Dan Marino, but for the most part, rookie passers look don't jump right in and own the league.
Patience is needed, even if most don't want to give it.
"Last year was the first for me in my entire life taking seven-step drops," Smith said. "There were a lot of firsts. Taking snaps under center was another. In college, we were in the shotgun. So you saw things differently. It took time getting adjusted to playing under center, seeing things from that vantage point. It was an adjustment."
Smith was named the starter before the 2005 preseason opened. Then he bombed -- in a big way. That forced 49ers coach Mike Nolan to start Tim Rattay when the season opened and Smith didn't take the job back until the fifth game of the year. He went out against the Colts and threw four interceptions and followed that up by injuring his knee the next week, forcing him to miss five games.
He returned to start the last four games, winning two of them. But the numbers for the season weren't pretty.
He threw one touchdown, 11 interceptions and he had 11 fumbles. There was some talk that his hands weren't big enough, leading to the fumbling. The 49ers disputed it then, and Smith said that's not even close to the truth.
"My hands are big enough," Smith said. "I just had trouble holding onto some of the newer balls teams used on the road."
Smith finished the season making seven starts, completing 50.9 percent of his passes for 875 yards and a passer rating of 40.8. That rating is terrible, but when you consider he had a rating of 8.5 -- yes, not a misprint -- that's up. In the team's second-to-last game, a 24-20 upset of the St. Louis Rams, Smith had a passer rating of 98.7 when he went 12-of-16. It was the only start in which he wasn't intercepted. That's called progress.
Spending a rookie season struggling to make plays, trying to quiet the skeptics who wondered if he was worth the first overall pick could have been grating on Smith. But although he admits at times he felt it, he never let it get to him.
That's why he will someday be good NFL quarterback. That may sound strange to some after what they saw last season, but Smith has the tools. He's big enough, his arm is strong enough, he's mobile, but the most important thing is that he gets it. He knows it takes the cerebral side to become a good NFL passer, and he's willing to put in the work.
Smith is a film-room junkie. Much like Peyton Manning, he has to be told to leave the building. Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy, who served as the 49ers offensive coordinator last season, said he would often have to tell Smith to go home. Even then, he took his work home.
Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has said on the record he doesn't like watching film and he doesn't take it home. Smith can't fathom that.
"(Watching a lot of film) is a habit I've had since college," Smith said. "I may have spent too much time on it last year. But you manage that better when you get more mature. You know how to handle your time. I remember last year I was staying late for OTA days. This year, I've had to tell myself it's a long season. You can't get burned out in June."
Smith is learning a new offense, which is why he's putting in long hours again. New offensive coordinator Norv Turner takes over for McCarthy. Turner was the coordinator of those great Dallas Cowboys teams that featured Troy Aikman, another former No. 1 pick who went on to a Hall of Fame career. It's far too early to put Smith on that path, but the tools are there.
Turner knows how to get the best out of his quarterbacks, which is why Smith is so excited about the season. The offense isn't as complex as what McCarthy used, which will help the young quarterback. It also features more throws down the field.
"It's more like what I've been used to in the past,' Smith said.
Smith said the skill people around him will make the offense better. The addition of first-round pick Vernon Davis at tight end gives him a superior athlete inside. Antonio Bryant and Arnaz Battle give him two good receivers outside. The offensive line appears better, too.
"It's a huge difference from last year," Smith said. "We're a better team."
That means more pressure on him. But isn't that the way it always is for all No. 1 picks who play quarterback?
"The criticism comes with the territory," Smith said. "It's part of being the first pick in the draft. It's going to be constantly talked about. Next to my name it will always say first overall pick. That puts a lot of expectations on a quarterback. I understand that. I know it will follow me around. Some guys do better under that pressure than others. You really have to be mentally tough to handle it. I understand that and I'm ready for it."
That mental toughness, combined with his is desire to be better and his film work, will make him a good NFL quarterback.
After what we saw last season, that might seem like a crazy notion, but we've seen star quarterbacks fumble around as rookies and then turn into something special. Smith will be the next in that group,
How special remains to be seen, but in 2006 he will move far past that 21-year-old kid who was stumbling and fumbling around the football field.
Someday soon, Alex Smith will show he was worth the top pick in the draft.
By Pete Prisco
CBS SportsLine.com Senior Writer
A year ago, he was the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, a quarterback with big expectations and even bigger eyes, caught up in the whole specter of being in the NFL. It was an eye-opener every day for San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith.
Nerves are something we expect from rookies. But struggling to sleep the night before your first minicamp practice?
"It was all so new," Smith said. "The Bay Area was new. Living in a hotel was new. The minicamps were new. Everything about my life was new. It was a big adjustment. But this year things are so different. Now, besides a new offense, everything I'm doing I've been through before. I'm used to it."
Although he just turned 22, Smith is sounding more and more like a veteran quarterback, rather than the rookie who had trouble holding onto the ball last season for a 49ers offense that finished ranked last in the league. If the 49ers are to make a move up from the bottom of the league standings, Smith is going to have to play better.
Some doubters wonder if he can. They wonder if he will ever be able to make a comfortable transition from playing in a shotgun, spread offense at Utah to the more conventional NFL-style of quarterback. There were moments last season when Smith gave skeptics cause to doubt him.
The media and fans love to use the "bust" word early in a quarterback's career, ready to send him to the graveyard with the many failures that we've seen over the years. What most don't realize is that almost all rookie quarterbacks struggle. Yes, even the great ones. There are exceptions, like Dan Marino, but for the most part, rookie passers look don't jump right in and own the league.
Patience is needed, even if most don't want to give it.
"Last year was the first for me in my entire life taking seven-step drops," Smith said. "There were a lot of firsts. Taking snaps under center was another. In college, we were in the shotgun. So you saw things differently. It took time getting adjusted to playing under center, seeing things from that vantage point. It was an adjustment."
Smith was named the starter before the 2005 preseason opened. Then he bombed -- in a big way. That forced 49ers coach Mike Nolan to start Tim Rattay when the season opened and Smith didn't take the job back until the fifth game of the year. He went out against the Colts and threw four interceptions and followed that up by injuring his knee the next week, forcing him to miss five games.
He returned to start the last four games, winning two of them. But the numbers for the season weren't pretty.
He threw one touchdown, 11 interceptions and he had 11 fumbles. There was some talk that his hands weren't big enough, leading to the fumbling. The 49ers disputed it then, and Smith said that's not even close to the truth.
"My hands are big enough," Smith said. "I just had trouble holding onto some of the newer balls teams used on the road."
Smith finished the season making seven starts, completing 50.9 percent of his passes for 875 yards and a passer rating of 40.8. That rating is terrible, but when you consider he had a rating of 8.5 -- yes, not a misprint -- that's up. In the team's second-to-last game, a 24-20 upset of the St. Louis Rams, Smith had a passer rating of 98.7 when he went 12-of-16. It was the only start in which he wasn't intercepted. That's called progress.
Spending a rookie season struggling to make plays, trying to quiet the skeptics who wondered if he was worth the first overall pick could have been grating on Smith. But although he admits at times he felt it, he never let it get to him.
That's why he will someday be good NFL quarterback. That may sound strange to some after what they saw last season, but Smith has the tools. He's big enough, his arm is strong enough, he's mobile, but the most important thing is that he gets it. He knows it takes the cerebral side to become a good NFL passer, and he's willing to put in the work.
Smith is a film-room junkie. Much like Peyton Manning, he has to be told to leave the building. Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy, who served as the 49ers offensive coordinator last season, said he would often have to tell Smith to go home. Even then, he took his work home.
Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has said on the record he doesn't like watching film and he doesn't take it home. Smith can't fathom that.
"(Watching a lot of film) is a habit I've had since college," Smith said. "I may have spent too much time on it last year. But you manage that better when you get more mature. You know how to handle your time. I remember last year I was staying late for OTA days. This year, I've had to tell myself it's a long season. You can't get burned out in June."
Smith is learning a new offense, which is why he's putting in long hours again. New offensive coordinator Norv Turner takes over for McCarthy. Turner was the coordinator of those great Dallas Cowboys teams that featured Troy Aikman, another former No. 1 pick who went on to a Hall of Fame career. It's far too early to put Smith on that path, but the tools are there.
Turner knows how to get the best out of his quarterbacks, which is why Smith is so excited about the season. The offense isn't as complex as what McCarthy used, which will help the young quarterback. It also features more throws down the field.
"It's more like what I've been used to in the past,' Smith said.
Smith said the skill people around him will make the offense better. The addition of first-round pick Vernon Davis at tight end gives him a superior athlete inside. Antonio Bryant and Arnaz Battle give him two good receivers outside. The offensive line appears better, too.
"It's a huge difference from last year," Smith said. "We're a better team."
That means more pressure on him. But isn't that the way it always is for all No. 1 picks who play quarterback?
"The criticism comes with the territory," Smith said. "It's part of being the first pick in the draft. It's going to be constantly talked about. Next to my name it will always say first overall pick. That puts a lot of expectations on a quarterback. I understand that. I know it will follow me around. Some guys do better under that pressure than others. You really have to be mentally tough to handle it. I understand that and I'm ready for it."
That mental toughness, combined with his is desire to be better and his film work, will make him a good NFL quarterback.
After what we saw last season, that might seem like a crazy notion, but we've seen star quarterbacks fumble around as rookies and then turn into something special. Smith will be the next in that group,
How special remains to be seen, but in 2006 he will move far past that 21-year-old kid who was stumbling and fumbling around the football field.
Someday soon, Alex Smith will show he was worth the top pick in the draft.