[ealtice]

Originally Posted by Nuke

You guys believe in Smith huh? I do too but I think he's gonna take a while to develop but the Niners have time. Vernon Davis was a brilliant draft pick. I love what this team is doing, seriously.

You know, on talent alone Davis looks like a great pick, but I have my concerns about him. His tendency to pose after the most average of plays makes me worry that he is a guy who thinks he has ALREADY arrived, after signing a big contract. If we works hard I'm certain he can be great, but I hope he isn't someone who just expects to be successful because of the press clippings and 7-figure contract.

Smith, on the other hand, seems to be an extremely hard worker, if the reports in the press can be believed. Long term I actually have fewer concerns about him, I think.

[Nuke]

Originally Posted by ealtice

You know, on talent alone Davis looks like a great pick, but I have my concerns about him. His tendency to pose after the most average of plays makes me worry that he is a guy who thinks he has ALREADY arrived, after signing a big contract. If we works hard I'm certain he can be great, but I hope he isn't someone who just expects to be successful because of the press clippings and 7-figure contract.

Well the Niners drafted him because they said he could bring "attitude" back the the San Francisco 49ers but attitude is a double edged sword.

[Notorious C.L.E.]

The two concerns I had with Vernon Davis were his marginal blocking abilities and his short arms. The best tight ends in the league all have expansive wingspans, starting with Gates and going right down the line. He can improve his blocking ability with proper coaching and effort, but I didn't see much improvement in what 49ers games I caught. However, he will always be hindered by his short arms.

Not saying taking him in the fifth slot was a mistake, but every saw his sub-4.4 time and their draws dropped. Some draft experts came out and said he was the best tight end prospect of all-time, which is far-fetched, to say the least. Still, he is a rare talent that has tremendous upside, but I felt as though his attractive numbers really cranked up the hype machine too much.

[Gotham Dark Knight]

Originally Posted by Notorious C.L.E.

The two concerns I had with Vernon Davis were his marginal blocking abilities and his short arms. The best tight ends in the league all have expansive wingspans, starting with Gates and going right down the line. He can improve his blocking ability with proper coaching and effort, but I didn't see much improvement in what 49ers games I caught. However, he will always be hindered by his short arms.

Not saying taking him in the fifth slot was a mistake, but every saw his sub-4.4 time and their draws dropped. Some draft experts came out and said he was the best tight end prospect of all-time, which is far-fetched, to say the least. Still, he is a rare talent that has tremendous upside, but I felt as though his attractive numbers really cranked up the hype machine too much.

you can coach blocking techniques...you can't however coach 4.4 speed...and rare is the bird that is built like a TE and can out run a corner...thus the hype (as far as hype goes) is well earned...the wing span is another issue...what are we talking about here?

[ealtice]

Originally Posted by Nuke

Well the Niners drafted him because they said he could bring "attitude" back the the San Francisco 49ers but attitude is a double edged sword.

Hmmm...I missed the reports from the team saying they drafted him for his attitude--all I remember was talk of his incredible physical talent. But I actually don't have too much of a problem with crowing after every 8-yard reception in any case, as long as he backs it up with perfomance. Bot T.O. and Ricky Watters crowed about themselves quite a bit (and eventually they wore out their welcome); but at least they backed it up with pro-bowl numbers.

[Nuke]

Originally Posted by ealtice

Hmmm...I missed the reports from the team saying they drafted him for his attitude--all I remember was talk of his incredible physical talent. .

Nah! I remember it well. They said Vernon Davis was going to bring back the winning attitude to the Niners. Well see about fullfilling his talent expectations.

[simple simon]

i think Alex Smith still has alot to prove, granted he has been in the NFL a short time............so have other QBs with much greater success

He struggled mightily through his first NFL season throwing for 875 yards, completing just 50.9% of his throws (84/165), along with one touchdown, 11 interceptions and 11 fumbles to finish with a 40.8 passer rating; that touchdown came in the 49ers' last game of the season.

His rookie statistics are among the worst of any rookie in NFL history, and many have attributed it to his long windup throwing motion, and the spectacularly poor play of the rest of the offense - the offensive line in particular.

Alex Smith - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

sounds like he needs a big upgrade at O-line and a good QB coach

Originally Posted by simple simon

i think Alex Smith still has alot to prove, granted he has been in the NFL a short time............so have other QBs with much greater success



sounds like he needs a big upgrade at O-line and a good QB coach

I'm sure everyone on this site knows how horrific his rookie year was, and I'd wager most of us were really concerned going into his second year. Norv Turner clearly helped a lot, and I agree that he could use at least one more solid (or at least healthy) OT. But the least you can do is cite his MOST RECENT statistics when you chime in. Not that he was the reincarnation of Joe Montana this year, but he actually looked like a respectable QB at times, and on a few occasions (the second Seattle game comes to mind) considerably better than that.

He still has lots to prove, and still needs some better weapons to work with. But he has at least validated some hope, if not full-out confidence (at least in my book)

[ealtice]

Originally Posted by simple simon

i think Alex Smith still has alot to prove, granted he has been in the NFL a short time............so have other QBs with much greater success



sounds like he needs a big upgrade at O-line and a good QB coach

I thought I would give some UP TO DATE statistics, and a historical perspective on Smith to add some REAL SUBSTANCE to this discussion of Smith (as opposed to our friend from NE who provides some pretty out of date info)

Smith's SECOND year, his stats were:
58.1% completion
2890 yrds
16 td
16 int
74.8 passer rating

Now, for the historical comparison to other QBs in their second year, one a HOF QB, the other very good

J. Elway's second year stats
56.3% completion
2598 yrds
18 td
15 int
76.8 passer rating

P. Sims second year stats
48% completion
2,321 yrds
15 td
18 int
58.9 passer rating

Now I'm not making any predictions for Smith based on these two comparisions, but I think it would also be way to early to say, either with or without Norv, that he is in danger of being a bust.

[candlejack]

Alex Smith shows great promise as a QB. At the time of his drafting, I was against it, favoring the QB from Cal. Now that he has been in a couple of years, Smith is showing some maturity and somewhat of a grasp of an offensive system. Also, having Norv Turner as an offensive coordinator isn't too bad either.