Ron Jaworski comments on Alex Smith

Originally posted by Kilgore_Trout:
What he said is true. From the way he uses his eyes to his presence in the pocket, he looks much improved. I think it was actually those two things that held him back for quite awhile.

These were always his two biggest flaws and things that I feared would never change.

The pocket presence and ability to go through reads will allow him to progress by leaps and bounds.

I was truly shocked to see him change this part of his game 5 years into the league.

Wahooo

Originally posted by ads_2006:

Originally posted by valrod33:

Originally posted by SybErkRimInAL:
I gotta agree with him. My only concern with Smith is his deep ball. Can he throw it accurately?

I thought that has always been his strong point, correct me if im wrong but i thought the knock on him was his accuracy on the short throws not on the long

Some of Smiths deep passes last season were off. This is why people question his accuracy.

I can remember some instances where the receivers had to wait for the ball. If alex led them a bit more those would have been easy completions and TDs. (Crabtree in lions and rams game..vernon in jaguars game).

He can hit them deep as well, but Smith just needs to be consistent

No dispute on the bold, but how much of that was the lack of chemistry between QB and receivers? Smith had not worked enough with Crabtree and Morgan to work out the timing and intricacies of the QB/WR connection. Consistency is on its way now.

getting to the playoffs in the NFC West is like falling off a log. The MINIMUM expectation is we make the playoffs this year. If we win our first playoff game and lose our second playoff game, that is progress. If Alex gets us to the first playoff game and we are one and done, that is not progress IMO, that is just us being in the worst division in football and that getting exposed the minute we made the playoffs.

Originally posted by Shaj:
getting to the playoffs in the NFC West is like falling off a log. The MINIMUM expectation is we make the playoffs this year. If we win our first playoff game and lose our second playoff game, that is progress. If Alex gets us to the first playoff game and we are one and done, that is not progress IMO, that is just us being in the worst division in football and that getting exposed the minute we made the playoffs.

Given the state of this franchise in recent years, I think making the playoffs is progress. That said, I will not be satisfied with anything less than 1 playoff win.

Originally posted by Shaj:
getting to the playoffs in the NFC West is like falling off a log. The MINIMUM expectation is we make the playoffs this year. If we win our first playoff game and lose our second playoff game, that is progress. If Alex gets us to the first playoff game and we are one and done, that is not progress IMO, that is just us being in the worst division in football and that getting exposed the minute we made the playoffs.

Agree with this to a point. If we beat some of the teams we SHOULDN'T be able to beat during the season, that's progress as well.

Originally posted by SybErkRimInAL:

Originally posted by Shaj:
getting to the playoffs in the NFC West is like falling off a log. The MINIMUM expectation is we make the playoffs this year. If we win our first playoff game and lose our second playoff game, that is progress. If Alex gets us to the first playoff game and we are one and done, that is not progress IMO, that is just us being in the worst division in football and that getting exposed the minute we made the playoffs.

Agree with this to a point. If we beat some of the teams we SHOULDN'T be able to beat during the season, that's progress as well.

And that. Good point.

Originally posted by SybErkRimInAL:

Originally posted by Shaj:
getting to the playoffs in the NFC West is like falling off a log. The MINIMUM expectation is we make the playoffs this year. If we win our first playoff game and lose our second playoff game, that is progress. If Alex gets us to the first playoff game and we are one and done, that is not progress IMO, that is just us being in the worst division in football and that getting exposed the minute we made the playoffs.

Agree with this to a point. If we beat some of the teams we SHOULDN'T be able to beat during the season, that's progress as well.

Alex can't help the level of competition around him. He can only control that which he is responsible for. If he does his job well, the rest should take care of itself.

Not a big believer in Smith, but I agree with Jaws...Smith looks better and more comfortable with the offense than he ever has. IMO, that's not saying TOO much, but he's at least clearly improving.

Originally posted by PTulini:

Originally posted by SybErkRimInAL:

Originally posted by Shaj:
getting to the playoffs in the NFC West is like falling off a log. The MINIMUM expectation is we make the playoffs this year. If we win our first playoff game and lose our second playoff game, that is progress. If Alex gets us to the first playoff game and we are one and done, that is not progress IMO, that is just us being in the worst division in football and that getting exposed the minute we made the playoffs.

Agree with this to a point. If we beat some of the teams we SHOULDN'T be able to beat during the season, that's progress as well.

Alex can't help the level of competition around him. He can only control that which he is responsible for. If he does his job well, the rest should take care of itself.

fo' sho! I firmly believe that the outcome of this season falls mainly on Smith's dainty shoulders.

I'M SO HYPE

Hopefully improved protection will address the jitters. Then having his full component of players will help. Crabtree and Davis are Smith's comfort zones. Then if Morgan and Ginn can help with the double teams, and Gore/Westbrook/Dixon can deal with the running game, we have the potential for a dynamic offense.

Personally I want to see our third down rate of success go up, I want to see time of possesion go up, and I want to see Smith get at least 5 300 yard games with three touchdown passes per game. I want to see Smith be effective against good teams and ruthless against poor teams. I would like to see him run up the score on a few teams just to keep everyone involved and give lots of tape for other teams to have to assess.

I see 10+ wins if all stay healthy.

Originally posted by Shaj:
getting to the playoffs in the NFC West is like falling off a log. The MINIMUM expectation is we make the playoffs this year. If we win our first playoff game and lose our second playoff game, that is progress. If Alex gets us to the first playoff game and we are one and done, that is not progress IMO, that is just us being in the worst division in football and that getting exposed the minute we made the playoffs.

Shaj, I would agree with you as I usually do when it comes to Alex Smith but there's not a minor difference between how Smith played last year to what he is showing now, there is a major difference.

I was expecting him to get the timing better due to better understanding of the receivers and the playbook, but this kid has vastly improved in the following areas:

1. Shifting in the pocket
2. Throwing accurately while shifting in the pocket
3. Stepping up into the pocket and making accurate throws
4. Scanning from left to right and hitting the outlet/WR/2nd or 3rd option
5. ZERO INTS
6. Finding the correct receiver rather than trying to force it into the primary receiver as it was designed on the chalkboard.
7. Complete command of the offense

The only thing I would like to see now is wanting him to run and move defenders around with his eyes but that second one is something only great QBs have done.

So, if he makes it into the playoffs, I'm sure this team will be good enough to get a win against any team but the Saints.

Originally posted by Ninefan56:
Hopefully improved protection will address the jitters. Then having his full component of players will help. Crabtree and Davis are Smith's comfort zones. Then if Morgan and Ginn can help with the double teams, and Gore/Westbrook/Dixon can deal with the running game, we have the potential for a dynamic offense.

Personally I want to see our third down rate of success go up, I want to see time of possesion go up, and I want to see Smith get at least 5 300 yard games with three touchdown passes per game. I want to see Smith be effective against good teams and ruthless against poor teams. I would like to see him run up the score on a few teams just to keep everyone involved and give lots of tape for other teams to have to assess.

I see 10+ wins if all stay healthy.

That all sounds great, but there is one problem in that plan... JIMMY RAYE!

Originally posted by 49ersalldaway126:

Originally posted by SybErkRimInAL:
I gotta agree with him. My only concern with Smith is his deep ball. Can he throw it accurately?

in practice we can but in games we have to wait no way ginn can beat a number 1 CB but he should be able to beat those number 3 corners just fine

Originally posted by NinerPrideinNJ:

Originally posted by Kilgore_Trout:
What he said is true. From the way he uses his eyes to his presence in the pocket, he looks much improved. I think it was actually those two things that held him back for quite awhile.

These were always his two biggest flaws and things that I feared would never change.

The pocket presence and ability to go through reads will allow him to progress by leaps and bounds.

I was truly shocked to see him change this part of his game 5 years into the league.

Wahooo

I'm not surprised by the change at all. I've always been an Alex defender because I recognized that the supporting pieces around him were never sufficient, and therefore, he never had a fair shake. Now he has that and low and behold, he looks like a legitimate NFL QB.