Alex Smith

All the talk is how good he's playing and how he added the deep ball to his repertoire. He is playing well. Question: is he playing better than he has in the past? Rich Gannon thinks not. Tony Gonzales thinks so.

I've observed this guy since day 1. I wanted the Niners to move on from him at times. I've written him off as a bust. But he won me back over playing for Harbaugh and in the playoff game against the Saints.

Here is the difference between Smith this year and before: weapons. He has Hunt, Kelce, and Hill. Who is the best receiver Smith's played with in the past? Michael Crabtree (a good #2, but not a deep threat), Anquan Boldin (a possession receiver), Jeremy Maclin (a solid #2, possession guy), Dwyane Bowe (should be a #2). The real difference is Hill - a guy that puts the defense on their heels. A true threat. Smith has NEVER had a receiver of that caliber before. Let's see what he does with it.

As for Smith's so called poor play in the playoffs. His record is 2-4, but his QB rating is higher than Tom Brady and top 10 all time.

Game 1 - Win. Niners-Saints. Smith led a receiver less Niners team to two major scores in a shootout against the Saints. One of my favorite victories of the Harbaugh era.

Game 2 - Loss. Niners-Giants in the NFC Championship. This was a rough game in OT against the eventual Super Bowl champions where the punt returner botched the kick. Smith did have multiple opportunities to drive the team down to victory and failed, but we literally had no receivers against a very strong Giants defense. If Williams doesn't botch the punt, maybe the Niners win the Super Bowl that year.

Game 3 - Loss. Kansas City-Colts. 45-44. Smith played out of his mind this game. He looked exactly the same as he did in the New England game. It was the Kansas City defense that collapsed against Andrew Luck. I mean, look at the score. He lead the offense to 44 points and don't forget: they lost Jamal Charles in this game, their best offensive player at the time. Watch the tape. Arguably the best Smith has ever played.

Game 4 - Win. Kansas City-Houston. The score was 30-0. He didn't need to do anything.

Game 5 - Loss. Kansas City - New England. Smith-Reid gets out dueled by Brady and Belichick and lose by a touchdown. It's happened to everyone.

Game 6 - Loss. Kansas City - Pittsburgh. First possession, KC looked great and then their game plan seemed to disappear the rest of the game. Still, Smith lead the team down to a game tying TD / 2 pt conversion which got negated by a penalty. I think the game plan was bad in this one, but Smith played respectable, but not great.

I see his playoff record as playing two great games, one serviceable victory, and three so-so games that he kept his team in there against good teams, but lost. Hardly an embarrassing resume.