Alex Smith

[Guest Mr.T]

Thank you t.j for making some very solid points. I wasn't trying to name drop the entire 05 class-I was simply pointing out other young quarterbacks also played in lousy situations yet looked much better. As I said, Ken Dorsey even outplayed Alex Smith. I like the fact Smith is actively trying to better himself. Recently he's been talking to Aikman about being a young qb and what it's like to work under Norv Turner. Smith has also said since they have a new O-coordinator it's like learning everything all over again and he won't be able to "hit the ground running."

 

Smith may have loads of "upside" but I wonder if by the time the Niners are good enough to support a quality qb he won't have been killed or set into a certain mindset.

 

When I use the word "bust" I should let you know there are different levels of it. There's obviously the Ryan Leafs of the world (Smith isn't in his class) and there are others. If a guy is taken with the number one overall selecion I do expect much more than a guy taken in the later rounds. I do wonder about a guy that did not throw one touchdown until the last week of the season.

 

-40-

[Guest stevejohnson]

It's WAY TOO EARLY to judge A. Smith. It takes most QBs 3-4 years to show if they have what it takes. I don't think anyone could have had any success behind that crappy line anyway.

[football_scooter 0]

It's WAY TOO EARLY to judge A. Smith. It takes most QBs 3-4 years to show if they have what it takes. I don't think anyone could have had any success behind that crappy line anyway.

 

Amen.

[t.j 35]

When I use the word "bust" I should let you know there are different levels of it. There's obviously the Ryan Leafs of the world (Smith isn't in his class) and there are others. If a guy is taken with the number one overall selecion I do expect much more than a guy taken in the later rounds. I do wonder about a guy that did not throw one touchdown until the last week of the season.

 

Everybody wonders about the guy. His long term expectations are extremely high and he's had no success yet. It's a tough league and we've seen guys almost get the hang of it and then crash and burn spectacularly... there's new pressure and opportunity for failure every week. The question was, though, if it's too early to call him a bust. The answer is clearly yes. It's a simple question with a simple answer, but you can't seem to grasp that. You want to call him a bust, yet you can't stop comparing him to guys who also cannot be judged as busts or not yet. (Or, in Dorsey's case, guys he shouldn't be compared to at all because they are 3-year vets )