NFL Week 13: Time to wallow in the Mirer

Smith has been through far worse than this. I'd bet a large amount of money he will be ready if needed.

 

He has a better upside than Smith, but might be prone to make more mistakes than Smith.

 

OK. That I can see.

I still don't see how that translates to what you're saying about getting to the Super Bowl vs. winning the Super Bowl. Anyhoo ...

 

I am very much in agreement with this.

 

Smith probably could have left in the offseason for more money. His value was higher than at any time in his pro career since draft day. But he came back because he thought Harbaugh believed in him.

There are very few players who you can just plug into whatever system and they have fantastic seasons. Look at Reggie Bush, Mario Williams and dozens of others. We see that all too often in sports. Guy has a great year and he, his agent and some GM fall for the trap of "Gee, we should sign him and he'll do the same things here." It rarely works that way. There are a few guys --- Peyton Manning comes to mind --- who can do it, but most can't. That's why there are very few franchise players.

 

in football more than any other team sport, this is the absolute truth. 'systems' make or break 'stars;' a precious few can excel anywhere. them thar's your true 'superstar/franchise player.'

 

Looking in a crystal ball, Smith will have a few options that could work out well for him:

1) Wherever Norv Turner ends up. Assuming Norv gets canned but goes somewhere else as an OC. When Norv was in SF in '06, Alex was turning the corner into becoming a very good quarterback if not a franchise player.

2) Wherever Scot McCloughan ends up. He was the 49ers' GM when they drafted Smith and he always liked him. A lot of why it fell apart for Smith is because McCloughan got the boot. He may get a GM spot somewhere else.

3) If Greg Roman becomes a head coach. That guy shares equal credit with Harbaugh in putting the offense together. Did at Stanford too. I don't know if he gets an HC job this off-season, but if the 49ers truck into the playoffs with Kaepernick playing like this, Roman will probably move up the lists. And if he goes somewhere that needs a QB, Smith would be a good fit especially given the complexity of their system as far as formations and such.

 

I would, too. I wasn't trying to make any sort of HOF case. Even putting him in the Hall of Very Good might be a stretch. When you talk about compilers, he's Exhibit A -- a few good years in his prime, then a decade as the veteran backup who ends up starting seven or eight games a year and does a decent job, equaling out to nice-looking career numbers that surprise you with how nice they are.
All that said, there were a lot of teams in the late 1980s and 1990s that would've been much better off with Dave Krieg than whoever they had. Hell, if the 1991 Eagles had him they probably would've won the Super Bowl.

 

PK had something in SI this week that said that a scout said he wouldn't give a first-round grade to any QB for the 2013 draft and that Smith, Flynn and Vick would be the three best QBs on the free agent market.

 

I would agree with that. Matt Barkley is the only QB that I would even consider with a top 15 pick.

Smith is still among the top 20-25 QBs in the NFL, meaning if San Francisco doesn't want him, someone else will. Kansas City? Cleveland? Jacksonville? Tennessee? Carolina? Philadelphia? NY Jets? Buffalo? Cincinnati? He'll find a spot somewhere where he at least gets a 50/50 shot to compete for a starting job.

 

If Kansas City signs Alex Smith to a Matt Cassel-sized contract, there will be riots outside Arrowhead Stadium.

 

Barkley throws a nice deep/mid-range ball; but he's had the best pair of WRs I've seen in college in a long while; what's with all the INTs though?

Roman/Smith = Pioli/Cassel; what happened to the system?