Quote:
Originally Posted by BossChief
Smith was the best QB at camp. I said this multiple times.
He was sharp and crisp working the middle of the field and he threw it 30-50 yards downfield more than I thought he would. His passes were accurate and that will absolutely make a big difference from last year.
But watching him throw and then seeing Bray throw a few minutes later makes it easy to see his limitations.
I absolutely think Alex can have a year similar to Cassels 2010.
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Alex can make the 20 yard throws when he is WILLING to do so. I never said he "couldn't throw", I said he "wouldn't throw". In SF he always seemed to read from short to long. On some deep patterns with Vernon Davis, that would often be the 1st read and when they connected, it was heaven -- but all too often, Alex read from short to long, taking what he could short without evaluating what was available long.
If Alex could ever overcome that game day caution of fearing an INT and just go out and attack DBs by throwing into windows, I think he would be OK. It seems to be mental with Alex, rather than limited by his physical skills.
In SF, he just never showed that attacking mentality, willing to challenge the secondary. With the one exception being the Saints Divisional win in 2011, when Alex had his back against the wall and said "screw it" and just ATTACKED.
The sad thing is, he showed some of that in 2006, his sophomore year, the year before his severe shoulder injury. Since recovering from the shoulder, he just doesn't want to attack. He wants to play it safe as Harbaugh beat into him.
He has the skill, he just limits himself by playing too timidly. It doesn't help that his arm strength does allow DBs to close on the ball on deep passes. But it is not like he has a noodle arm either.