Is this the year we finally see the mythical and lengendary functional Alex Smith?

Urban Meyer now famously said "Alex is non - functional until he finally gets it." "He has to know everything to perform well." "He needs a minimum of 2 years in the same system with the same guys and coaches to perform his best."

So after 7 years and what 7 coordinators the day has finally arrived. Same coordinator, system, HC who he really responded to and had his best year with and mainly the same key players. Of course a few new additions in the offseason at WR.

So is this the year we see "IT?.....

IMO he will be better than what we have seen. No reason 2 years in the system and same HC he responded to makes him worse. And slightly upgraded WR's. Still need some more in the draft. I think he will be better but I don't know how much better. I definitely think more yards and TD's though.

another alex thread i see

I GOT THE FUNK

THAT FULLY FUNKTIONAL FUNK

Well why would he be worse with 2 years in the system? And a HC he trusts and likes. And a team that is better now than what he had early on.

Originally posted by Wodwo:

LOL.

What if he is much better than you ever thought? He just needed 2 years in the system. And he may be a true franchise QB....

2012 should be the final end all, be all, no excuses, now or never season of his 49er tenure. I can't imagine he won't improve over last year. The question is will it be enough. We need to see fewer big plays left on the field.

Nope gonna see the same old overly careful Alex. It's just who he is

if we draft fleener, he will be a 1st team all pro. fact

Originally posted by susweel:
Nope gonna see the same old overly careful Alex. It's just who he is

It's not who he was at Utah. They scored 50 a game sometimes. He was a gunslinger and a bomb thrower. I've seen a totally different guy in the pros.

Originally posted by mjo116:
if we draft fleener, he will be a 1st team all pro. fact

I agree. And Super Bowl too.

Originally posted by SonocoNinerFan:
2012 should be the final end all, be all, no excuses, now or never season of his 49er tenure. I can't imagine he won't improve over last year. The question is will it be enough. We need to see fewer big plays left on the field.

Well I will say this. 2012 will tell you more about what he can be than what we have previosly seen.

I'd been mentioning this quote every time I discussed our QB situation in the run-up to and early stages of FA with other non-Niner fans.

While I'm not going to hold my breath, I will admit the possibility does exist that he comes out like a whole different player. He certainly has the ability to make big throws in the moments that matter most, and I can't think of a better coaching staff for Smith to have his first offseason in the same system with. The good news is he proved last year he can be a solid, good-not-great, game managing QB who doesn't lose you games; the question now is if he develops into the kind of QB that can CONSISTENTLY win you games (the comebacks were great and are great for the future, but remember that we often ended up needing comebacks only after the O faltered).

That said, I just feel that it's his personality, his nature, to be overly cautious--especially after the beating he took in his rookie year and 2007. Regardless, I feel this is the year in which we can finally make a sound evaluation of Alex Smith. I don't think he'll suddenly change into the kind of transcendent QB Meyer predicted, but certainly hope his until prophetic words prove true.

He let it fly with Martz too. I think he was coached last year to play the field position game. When we needed to make a drive and put points up we could but then it seemed like we would play ultra conservative after we scored more than 14 pts