RealClearSports: The $40 Million Man Comes Back
SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- The pain is gone. The one in his shoulder that
is. And Alex Smith says the figurative one, that of being called a
failure, of being described as a $40 million bust, also has
disappeared. His second act is about to begin.
So much glory. So much disappointment. Alex Smith was the No. 1 pick
in the 2005 draft, a placement he seemingly began to appreciate less
and less as the months passed and the criticism grew.
The San Francisco 49ers threw the dice, if you will, but as we know
the NFL draft is more scientific than that. Then again, their new head
coach at the time, Mike Nolan, now deposed and departed, gave a few
weird reasons for grabbing Smith. Especially when in the Bay Area the
popular choice would have been another quarterback, Aaron Rodgers of
Cal.
We're a strange breed, the sporting community. Management makes the
selections, but if and when those selections do not meet expectations,
outlandish or legitimate, we take out our anger on the athlete.
Nobody booed Mike Nolan, whose future was tied to Smith. A great many booed Alex. Before they pitied him.
The Niners, through perception or luck, were a team of quarterbacks,
great quarterbacks, from Frankie Albert in the 1950s through John
Brodie, to the Hall of Famers Joe Montana and Steve Young, and then
after that, Jeff Garcia.
This wasn't three yards and a cloud of mud territory; it was a place
for the wide-open game, a style as irrepressible as the region in which
it was utilized, the place of cable cars, protest marches and residents
who sometimes seemed as interested in the tailgate party as the final
score.
Alex Smith, then only 20, was anointed the hero in waiting. Poor
lad. It's a theory that quarterbacks from unorthodox college offenses, the
spread, the run-and-shoot, don't adapt well to the NFL, where the
defenders are bigger, faster and smarter. And we are presented names
such as David Klingler or Andre Ware as examples.
At Utah, Smith played in the spread of Urban Meyer. OK. But Nolan
seemed less concerned with the how and what than with Smith's agility
and reaction time. Nolan ran Smith through some strange tests, not on
how far he could hurl a football but on how quickly he could jump a
rope.
That said, Northern California, having lost most of its sports
icons, Montana, Young, Jerry Rice, Jose Canseco, Mark McGwire and
shortly to lose Barry Bonds, was desperate for a new star. Alex was
shoved into the starting lineup, probably before he was ready.
He was injured while trying to run, not pass. The Niners changed
offensive coordinators, bringing in Norv Turner, and in 2006 Smith
showed progress.
But the Niners in 2007 changed offensive coordinators again. Smith
was injured again, more severely. Nolan publicly questioned Smith's
toughness. The Niners in 2008 changed offensive coordinators again, to
Mike Martz. Smith was injured again, the same shoulder, and was placed
on the injured reserve list, with a dispassionate Nolan adding, “No
specifics. All I need to know is if he'll be back on this football
team."
After a restructuring of that enormous contract, Smith is. Nolan,
however, is not. He was fired two months into the '08 season, replaced
by Mike Singletary. Shaun Hill became Singletary's quarterback, but
maybe Alex Smith could return to where he once was, without the baggage.
“That draft pick, all of that is not what I think about," said
Smith. The 49ers on Friday began a weekend mini-camp, a re-introduction
of Alex Smith, a newlywed with a new vision.
“My focus after the last two years is getting healthy and being out
on the field," Smith emphasized. "Kind of being with my teammates. It
was so difficult last year and the year before to sit on the sidelines
and watch or be in the training room. You're part of the team, but
you're not. You don't travel, aren't really there, have no
accountability to teammates. I want to get that back. It's something I
really missed. My goal is to be the player I can be."
What kind of player is that? A quarterback who has particularly
small hands and therefore fumbled an inordinate amount when he did play?
A quarterback whose legs are no less significant than his arm and could keep defenses off balance?
Smith wants to be a quarterback who, despite working under a fifth
offensive coordinator in five years, Jimmy Raye, has the adaptability
and perception to do what is required, most of all win games for a
franchise that had lost its way along with a great many games.
“What I learned through all this," Smith said, reflecting on his
mess of a career, “is to stop worrying about the stuff you can't
control. Early on, when you're a young player, it's easy to be
distracted. I want to focus on things on which I can really make a
difference."
He has the chance. Four years after he had it a first time.
As a reporter since 1960, Art Spander is a living treasure of sports
history. A recipient of the Dick McCann Memorial Award -- given for his
long and distinguished career covering professional football -- he has
earned himself a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. And he has
recently been honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award by the PGA of
America for 2009.
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