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QB Alex Smith, San Francisco 49ers

HT: 6-4, WT: 212, Born: 5-7-1984, College: Utah, Drafted: Round 1, Pick 1

2008 Projections

2007 Game Summaries

Week 1 - Smith had a rough night except for the clutch fourth quarter, game winning drive. He struggled with his accuracy and ended the night 15 for 31 for only 126 yards. Sixty of those yards came on the game winning drive when he went six for ten for 60 yards. He rushed three times for 36 yards including a clutch fourth and one scramble for 25 yards down to the Cardinals' 20 yard line. He was sacked three times

Week 2 - Smith did not have a good day. He occasionally showed athletic glimpses of his potential, but still looked like he is not close to being a top ten quarterback. He only gained 126 yards on 11 of 17 passing and he fumbled the ball away one time. He gained no ground yardage despite his acknowledged ability to scramble.

Week 3 - Smith focused on his tight ends in this game. He targeted Vernon Davis and Delanie Walker on ten of his eighteen first half pass attempts and 15 times during the game. He connected with Davis four times for 56 yards to account for half of San Francisco's total offense before halftime. Smith only attempted five passes to his wide receivers in the first half. He completed only one of them for 12 yards to Darrell Jackson. Smith was unable to hit a wide receiver on a big play until the game was effectively over. Taylor Jacobs' 21 yard touchdown reception was Smith's first touchdown of the season.

Smith also threw his first interception of the season. There appeared to be a miscommunication on the play. Smith expected Jacobs to run an out. Jacobs instead cut in and Bryant McFadden was there waiting for the errant pass. McFadden returned the pick 50 yards for a touchdown to put the game away. The Steelers blitzed Smith frequently, forcing him to hurry passes or take off on the run. Smith remained composed, but was unable to complete half of his passes in the game. Smith did show that he is a nifty runner; he scrambled three times for 32 yards. Smith's 25 yard scamper was San Francisco's longest ground gain and tied his personal career long run.

Week 4 - Smith was sacked hard on the first series of the game and exited with a shoulder injury.

Week 8 - Smith had a rough day. In the early going, it seemed as if nearly every pass was just a little off. And then when he did start throwing more consistently, his receivers would drop the ball. His injured shoulder looked to be a concern still, as he very clearly was favoring it anytime he got hit. His ability to scramble was useful, but with the wonky shoulder, he kept that to a minimum.

Week 9 - Smith's shoulder appeared to be healthy, but he was plagued by inconsistency -- on his part and that of his receivers. In the first half, he had a lot of time to throw and had some success passing -- but overthrew open receivers on several occasions. After the half, he was more erratic, throwing under a bit more pressure. This resulted in a four turnover half (three interceptions, one fumble lost) by Alex Smith. In a four point game, that was the difference between the 49ers winning and losing.

Week 10 - Smith struggled to keep the San Francisco offense moving in the first half as evidenced by the fact that the 49ers' initial first down came as time expired in the second quarter. He attempted only seven passes over the first two quarters and finished the half with five completions that went for 62 yards. Contributing towards Smith's struggles in the first half was the fact that he was sacked three times and lost two fumbles.

As bad as his first half was, Smith was unable to improve on his poor, pre-intermission performance. Over the last two quarters, he would only complete seven of 21 passes for 52 yards as he failed to lead the San Francisco offense on any scoring drives.