![]() Despite the week-by-week narrative from Harbaugh, Smith never had a chance. An unheralded second-round pick, Kaepernick replaced Smith and in just one high-profile game (Monday Night Football against the vaunted Chicago Bears defense) displayed such a dazzling combination of arm strength and electric running, that a permanent QB change was undeniable. Smith channeled his frustration into another efficient start to 2013, leading the league in completion percentage, before an untimely concussion turned into the final death knell of his career in San Francisco. As if his NFL arc would ever be that simple.Įven after that magical 2012 season, the 49ers were looking for a QB upgrade and blindsided Smith by pursuing free agent Peyton Manning, who eventually signed with Denver. The 49ers could have committed to their quarterback who could have peacefully handed the reins to rookie Colin Kaepernick a few years down the road. The Alex Smith Story could have culminated on that day. But he did just that, by leading two exhilarating touchdown drives of 80 and 85 yards, which were punctuated by a 28-yard touchdown run and the famous Vernon Davis reception that Smith fit through a pinhole to seal the win. To win, Smith would need to best NFL legend Drew Brees in the prime of his career. New Orleans had battled back from a 17-point deficit to take the lead. The 2012 Saints-49ers divisional classic went down to the wire. It’s a downward trajectory that’s impossible to reverse. They crumble under the pressure, expectations, and early failures. Highly touted quarterback picks who don’t perform after four or five years (or even one or two, depending on the organization) almost never shed the bust label. JaMarcus Russell, Ryan Leaf, Tim Couch, Sam Bradford, Mitchell Trubisky. But it didn’t shake Smith nor did temporarily losing the starter job again, this time to Troy Smith, before becoming a free agent with a cloudy future. We Want Carr, ” a nod to backup quarterback David Carr, shook Candlestick Park. In Week 5 at home against the Eagles a cacophony of “We Want Carr. But success was temporary and Smith started the following season 0-4. He lost a training camp battle to Shaun Hill, then reclaimed his job and finally showed promise. Smith’s topsy turvy career resumed in 2009, this time under Mike Singletary. Again, Smith was knocked down but not out. But then a confirmed break in the same shoulder ended his 2008 season before it began. Smith had surgery and the promise of a resurrection in San Francisco. Nolan lost the locker room and his job the next season. Bear in mind, Smith played while his arm was almost visibly dangling from his shoulder socket. Nolan, the coach who drafted Smith two years earlier, encouraged Smith to play through a Grade 3 separated shoulder, then blamed Smith’s poor performances on not pushing hard enough through his injury. But his football life almost ended in its infancy when, in 2007, then 49ers head Mike Nolan committed one of football’s most egregious sins: he questioned his quarterback’s toughness to the locker room. Smith was drafted by the 49ers as the first overall pick in 2005 (famously ahead of Bay Area native Aaron Rodgers, who slipped to No 24). ![]() ![]() Truth be told, it wasn’t football that aided Smith, it was Smith who never let football destroy him. Football by nature is designed to make weaker men give up. Smith is a brilliant man – he received his degree in economics from Utah in just two years and began working on his master’s before being drafted – but he’s also humble and resilient.
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