Larry Brown Sports

Alex Smith has been a good teammate despite being demoted this season, so the 49ers reportedly will try to treat him well in return.

Smith had a good season for San Francisco before being replaced as the team’s starting quarterback after being concussed during a Week 10 tie against St. Louis. Colin Kaepernick replaced him, led the team to the Super Bowl, and has clearly emerged as the team’s franchise quarterback.

San Francisco is planning to part ways with Smith in the offseason. The Santa Rosa Press-Democrat reported on Monday that the most likely scenario is Smith and his agent giving the 49ers a list of teams where he would prefer to be traded. The 49ers would likely seek a 2013 draft pick and potential 2014 conditional draft pick in return.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported Tuesday that the Niners would try trading Smith first and that they would release him out of respect if they are unable to find a suitable trade. Rapoport says Smith’s agent has a good relationship with the team, and that the franchise believes Smith deserves the right to be treated properly.

Rapoport mentions the Buffalo Bills, Arizona Cardinals and possibly the Philadelphia Eagles as potential trade destinations for Smith.

Though Smith has played well the past two seasons, I don’t envision the former No. 1 overall pick as a long-term solution at quarterback for any team. He played his best with Jim Harbaugh as his coach and when he was supported by a stellar defense. We’ll see how he performs in a different situation. I’m not expecting much.

After watching the San Francisco 49ers win their biggest game of the season on the road against the New England Patriots Sunday night, Jim Harbuagh probably feels a little better about his decision to go with Colin Kaepernick over Alex Smith. Kaepernick threw some perfect deep balls and helped hold off New England’s improbable comeback, proving the Niners are a legitimate Super Bowl contender with him taking the snaps.

Smith was one of the most efficient passers in the NFL prior to his concussion, but that means very little now that he is stuck holding a clip board. Aaron Rodgers, one of Smith’s good friends, feels Alex is under-appreciated in San Francisco.

“Alex and I are buddies, we both got drafted in 2005 NFL Draft, and he’s been through a lot,” Rodgers told NFL Networks Andrew Siciliano, via Around the League. “I can’t imagine to have to go through that many offensive coordinators and the turnover in coaches has been tough for him.

“He comes in, he’s 70 percent completion, he’s 100-plus quarterback rating last year, he’s like barely over one percent interception percentage,” Rodgers went on. “He’s a great quarterback, he just needs to go somewhere he gets appreciated for the skills he has and hopefully he gets a chance next year.”

It’s tough not to feel badly for Smith. He overcame being labeled a draft bust to lead the Niners to a 19-5 regular season record over the past two years and an appearance in the NFC Championship game last season. Before his head injury in Week 10, Smith had completed 70% of his passes and compiled a passer rating of 104.1.

Such is life in the NFL. The problem with going to another team is I’m not convinced Smith is a great quarterback. The 49ers have arguably the best defense in the NFL, and it’s likely Harbaugh found a way to squeeze just enough out of Smith to win games with the help of a tremendous defense. Whether or not he can enjoy similar success with another team remains to be seen.

Photo credit: Cary Edmondson-US PRESSWIRE

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith spoke to the media on Thursday for the first time since coach Jim Harbaugh named Colin Kaepernick the team’s starting quarterback, and reports say he was full of disappointment.

“I mean, it sucks,” Smith said, via CSN Bay Area. “I don’t know what else to say.”

Smith was knocked out of San Francisco’s Week 10 game against the St. Louis Rams with a concussion. Kaepernick, a second-year player, replaced him that game and then beat the Chicago Bears the next week. Kaepernick kept the starting job even after Smith was cleared to return from his concussion.

The former second-round pick from Nevada led San Francisco to a Week 12 against the Saints, and Harbaugh officially named him the team’s starter.

Smith is discouraged that the concussion, not his play, cost him the job.

“Well, I mean, I don’t think talk is the place to do it. You state your case with your play, and I felt I did that. I feel like the only thing I did to lose my job was get a concussion.”

Though the concussion led to him being stripped of his starting role, Smith does not regret being truthful to the team doctors about his concussion.

“I think it’s a good thing that more and more is coming out about it (concussions). I don’t think that’s a bad thing.”

Smith had been playing well prior to his concussion, but the truth is Kaepernick is a better quarterback. He is faster, bigger, stronger, has a better arm, and is more dangerous on the field. But Smith shouldn’t be too down; the 49ers may need him again at some point over the next few months.

Photo credit: Cary Edmondson-US PRESSWIRE

Alex Smith watched from the sidelines on Sunday as the San Francisco 49ers defeated the New Orleans Saints on the road in one of the NFL’s toughest environments. It was only Colin Kaepernick’s second career NFL start, and he turned it into his second straight victory over a quality opponent after playing lights out in a win over the Chicago Bears last Monday.

You would think that Kaepernick’s quarterback rating of 111.9 over the past two weeks would be enough to keep his job, but Vernon Davis doesn’t necessarily agree. After praising Kaepernick last week and saying he felt like the “handcuffs” were taken off of him during the win over the Bears, Davis now says he believes Smith will return to the starting lineup once he’s fully healthy.

“It’s difficult, but I think Alex is still the man,” Davis told reporters on Sunday according to Around the League. “In my heart I strongly believe that and you’ll know next week. I’m sure Harbaugh will make a nice decision who he wants to go with but right now we have two outstanding playmakers.

“I’m sure Alex is still our guy.”

Some say it makes no sense to bench Kaepernick given the way he has been playing, but Smith was playing equally well prior to his concussion. The Niners have run the ball effectively all season and have arguably the best defense in the NFL. The system they have in place is designed for a quarterback to succeed, so I’m not sure there is much of a difference between Kaepernick and Smith at the moment.

As for Davis, we have no way of knowing which quarterback he truly wants to see under center. What we do know is he gushed about Kaepernick after his season-high eight catches against Chicago but was held without a catch against the Saints. Perhaps that’s why he already misses his old buddy.

Photo credit: Cary Edmondson-US PRESSWIRE

San Francisco 49ers head coach Jim Harbaugh is not messing around. According to Sports Illustrated’s Jim Trotter, Harbaugh informed Alex Smith that Colin Kaepernick will start at quarterback on Sunday at New Orleans.

Trotter’s report states that the decision was not based on medical reasons. Smith is recovering from a concussion suffered in Week 10 against the St. Louis Rams.

Harbaugh apparently saw enough out of Kaepernick on Monday to decide that the second-year quarterback makes the 49ers better. Kaepernick went 16/23 for 243 yards and two touchdowns in his first career start, which amounted to a 32-7 win over the Chicago Bears. The Bears are third in the NFL with just 16.5 points allowed per game.

Pro Bowl tight end Vernon Davis was among those who felt Kaepernick improved the offense, saying after the win on Monday night that he felt like the handcuffs had been taken off of him.

Kaepernick’s second opponent will be the New Orleans Saints, which have won five of their last six games. New Orleans’ defense is ranked 27th in the NFL with 27.3 points allowed per game. They’re 31st in the league in passing yards allowed per game, so it should be a softer matchup for Kaepernick than the Bears.

ESPN’s Trent Dilfer added to the report. He says that Kaepernick is receiving the snaps with the first-team offense in practice this week, but that Smith has not been definitively told he will be the backup on Sunday. As Dilfer said, this is just a matter of semantics; Kaepernick will likely start.

San Francisco 49ers tight end Vernon Davis is one player who seemed to really thrive with Colin Kaepernick running the offense in a blowout win over the Chicago Bears on Monday night. Davis had a season-high six receptions for 83 yards and a touchdown, and he raved about Kaepernick after the game.

Jim Harbaugh also praised his second-year quarterback and all but admitted that the Niners have a quarterback controversy on their hands. However, Davis now says San Francisco’s offense still belongs to Alex Smith.

“(Harbaugh) is going to play the hot hand,” Davis told KNBR in San Francisco on Tuesday. “Alex has the hot hand and Kaepernick has the hot hand. Alex, you can’t forget, Alex did break the franchise record.

“They’re both great players. Kaepernick played last night and happened to do a good job but Alex is still the man, no question.”

Smith has frustrated Niners fans in the past, which is likely why they have been so quick to forget that he has completed 70% of his passes this season and had a passer rating of 150.5 in the two games before we went down with a concussion. Kaepernick filled in admirably against an incredibly tough defense on Monday night, but Smith has played well for San Francisco this season and done enough to win them a lot of games over the past two seasons. I wouldn’t necessarily rush him back, but I certainly wouldn’t count him out or crown Kaepernick just yet.

Thanks to Sports Radio Interviews for transcribing the interview
Photo credit: Cary Edmondson-US PRESSWIRE

Alex Smith was one passing attempt short of qualifying for the NFL’s single-game completion percentage record by a quarterback, and he said after Monday night’s win that he had no idea about being so close to the mark.

“To be honest, I didn’t have any idea,” Smith responded when told about the mark on ESPN’s postgame show.

As if that wasn’t enough, he added that he didn’t know because “we’re not a stats team.”

“I don’t want to think about my stats or incompletions or anything like that,” Smith explained after the game. “I was kind of in a good rhythm, the whole offense was.”

Smith was 18/19 for 232 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions in San Francisco’s 24-3 win over the Cardinals. You can question whether or not he was being truthful when he said he didn’t know about the stats, but if you’re a 49ers fan, you have to love that the team winning is the No. 1 focus in San Francisco.

Smith said in an interview with Lisa Salters that he probably should have thrown away more balls instead of taking sacks, and that that would have lowered his percentage. That acknowledgment doesn’t necessarily mean he was trying to protect his numbers; it could just mean he knows there were things he could have done better despite appearing to play a nearly flawless game.

Even though Smith says the team isn’t about stats, coach Jim Harbaugh apparently is. He is campaigning with the league to get the stats changed to give his quarterback the record. In the meantime, we’ll just be happy that the strong night from Smith led to the quote of the year from Harbaugh.

Photo credit: Cary Edmondson-US PRESSWIRE