Alex Smith scoffs at suggestion he could return to 49ers

He should move on. No matter how well he would play; he's finished w/ most of the fan base. He'd be blamed for everything including the weather.
I wish him well and us better.

He will be a hot commodity in free agency. No doubt about it.

I hope he does well. He deserves better. He will likely be a #2 next season and light it up the following year. The change of scenery will do him well.

Hey, mods. Why is this thread in the free agency section?

It is interesting that Harbaugh has grown used to working with very smart players at Stanford, and runs a very complex offense. How will Nate Davis fare in a system like this? If Harbaugh was hired would that be a factor in him wanting to keep Alex until he was able to develop whatever QB is draftted?

Originally posted by bzborow1:

Originally posted by dj43:

Originally posted by Gavintech:

Originally posted by dj43:

Originally posted by 49erFaithful6:

Originally posted by Byisgod:

Originally posted by OKC49erFan:

Originally posted by Byisgod:
Woah. I'm kinda surprised.

Sarcasm?

No lol. I'm being serious....really. I just can't imagine Alex saying something like that. He just seems too classy.

Maybe the class is just a front he uses for the media. Once he knows it's over he doesn't hesitate to drop the nice guy act. Appearently Alex is a little two-faced. Good thing we gave this classless two-faced small-handed loser 6 years of our lives

It is beginning to sound like this "scoffing" quotation was either made up or taken out of context. On at least two other occasions after that incident, Alex has stated specifically that he would wait until he sees who the new HC is and GM are and how that may affect him...and THEN he will make a decision as to his future.

So while your final sentence indicates you tend to hold onto false reports and made up things, the reality seems to be that Smith has NOT ruled out a return to the 49ers.

Personally, I believe he will choose not to come back but that is another topic.

Do you think he'd come back if the 49ers offered him the best contract?

My guess is that money will have nothing to do with his choice. He already has plenty of money. The only way I see him coming back is if the new HC is either Gruden or Harbaugh and they make a personal appeal to him to return. That appeal would have to include a comprehensive outline of the kind of offense they would run and who the OC and QB coaches would be. Even then, Alex knows the fan base has been so poisoned by the last 8 years of failure of this organization and the effect that has had on the fans, that he will have a target painted on his chest every time he steps on the field. The statement he made about fans booing him for an incompletion when the team had a two touchdown lead is very telling.

Of course, Alex will definitely figure into the new HC discussions at some point and at some level. All of the HC candidates will have done considerable research on the QB situation and how that will effect their chances for success next season. With serious question marks as to whether or not a reasonable FA will be available or a trade possible for a vet starter to come in, the question of convincing Alex to return will be a part of the conversation. For a new HC to start the season with Troy Smith and a rookie whose name is NOT Andrew Luck is not a very enticing situation.

Guys like Gruden and Harbaugh already have solid opinions about McNabb, Palmer, Kolb and Orton, along with the rest of the sordid bunch of QB FAs, and I am sure they are not very excited about any of them, especially if they have to give up a 1st or 2nd round draft choice to get one of them. While we can sit an argue about whether or not Alex is better than any of those names or not, he would definitely be in the discussion and to have him available for at least next season and NOT have to give up a draft choice, would be a much better scenario than the alternatives.

Agreed. The sad reality in how far this franchise has fallen lies in its QB situation. If the starter next year is not Alex Smith, then who the heck is it? I wouldn't feel happy about giving up a 2nd rounder for a player like Orton when I can get similar production from a guy like Smith and save the draft pick.

It will be an interesting off-season because any new coach will consider the 49ers QB situation before accepting a job here, and the QB will be waiting for a decision on the coaching structure before committing. It's the classic chicken or the egg distilled for football use.

Harbaugh is really going to want a challenge if he chooses the 49ers. This is an offense with a major hole at QB, let alone all its other problems (o-line, wr's). To say we have the talent is being disingenuous to the rest of the NFL. The o-line is leaky, our best offensive player is an aging RB, and our best receiver is a TE that can't read defenses. Oh yeah....and the defense can't rush the passer or defend the pass.

Quite the contrary, this team needs more than just a new coach in order to become successful.

(Bolded) Good analysis. Spot on.

I never trust profootballtalk.com. They exaggerate a lot of news to get people to keep checking in.

Regardless, I wish Alex good luck in the future. I still don't think it's his fault that our team failed him with the instability at the OC and HC positions.

cant blame him

not surpised at all i think the niners orginizatio may have singlehandly ruined his career

Originally posted by oldman9er:

Originally posted by 49erFaithful6:

Originally posted by Byisgod:

Originally posted by OKC49erFan:

Originally posted by Byisgod:
Woah. I'm kinda surprised.

Sarcasm?

No lol. I'm being serious....really. I just can't imagine Alex saying something like that. He just seems too classy.

Maybe the class is just a front he uses for the media. Once he knows it's over he doesn't hesitate to drop the nice guy act. Appearently Alex is a little two-faced. Good thing we gave this classless two-faced small-handed loser 6 years of our lives

So who is in fact the loser? The guy that walked away with 40 million dollars or the fans that have no playoffs yet again. Somehow, me thinks we are the real losers here. Many of you "fans" got exactly what was coming to you.



Good luck, Alex Smith. Sorry this team failed you so horrifically. Try not to beat SF's arse too badly when next we meet.

"Sorry this team failed you so horrifically"?!? Talk about battered wife syndrome. As the QB, he was the most important piece of that team that failed so horrifically. He wasn't an innocent bystander.

He's not as God awful as he's been made out to be by a lot of fans, but the idea that he was somehow victimized in this is ridiculous. He got $40M and gave us 6 years of below average QB play.

Originally posted by LA9erFan:

Originally posted by oldman9er:

Originally posted by 49erFaithful6:

Originally posted by Byisgod:

Originally posted by OKC49erFan:

Originally posted by Byisgod:
Woah. I'm kinda surprised.

Sarcasm?

No lol. I'm being serious....really. I just can't imagine Alex saying something like that. He just seems too classy.

Maybe the class is just a front he uses for the media. Once he knows it's over he doesn't hesitate to drop the nice guy act. Appearently Alex is a little two-faced. Good thing we gave this classless two-faced small-handed loser 6 years of our lives

So who is in fact the loser? The guy that walked away with 40 million dollars or the fans that have no playoffs yet again. Somehow, me thinks we are the real losers here. Many of you "fans" got exactly what was coming to you.



Good luck, Alex Smith. Sorry this team failed you so horrifically. Try not to beat SF's arse too badly when next we meet.

"Sorry this team failed you so horrifically"?!? Talk about battered wife syndrome. As the QB, he was the most important piece of that team that failed so horrifically. He wasn't an innocent bystander.

He's not as God awful as he's been made out to be by a lot of fans, but the idea that he was somehow victimized in this is ridiculous. He got $40M and gave us 6 years of below average QB play.

its a 2 way street

alex worked hard in offseason but for a qb to do well he eeds stability its very hard learig a new offense every year and go out and perform im sure for those of u who are engineers or something can relate learning a new program for eample one year u do c ++ the next year u have to learn some other program

i agree alex is partly to blame but i think the nienrs orginization should take 70% of the blame especially considering before the draft urban myer told us what to do with alex and we did the complete opposite

Niner fans deserve to be scoffed at by Alex. We treated him terribly. This organization failed him, not on purpose, but through ineptitude. I wish him the best in the future. But I also realize he owns some of the fault for never really commanding any confidence.

Originally posted by dj43:

Originally posted by bzborow1:

Originally posted by dj43:

Originally posted by Gavintech:

Originally posted by dj43:

Originally posted by 49erFaithful6:

Originally posted by Byisgod:

Originally posted by OKC49erFan:

Originally posted by Byisgod:
Woah. I'm kinda surprised.

Sarcasm?

No lol. I'm being serious....really. I just can't imagine Alex saying something like that. He just seems too classy.

Maybe the class is just a front he uses for the media. Once he knows it's over he doesn't hesitate to drop the nice guy act. Appearently Alex is a little two-faced. Good thing we gave this classless two-faced small-handed loser 6 years of our lives

It is beginning to sound like this "scoffing" quotation was either made up or taken out of context. On at least two other occasions after that incident, Alex has stated specifically that he would wait until he sees who the new HC is and GM are and how that may affect him...and THEN he will make a decision as to his future.

So while your final sentence indicates you tend to hold onto false reports and made up things, the reality seems to be that Smith has NOT ruled out a return to the 49ers.

Personally, I believe he will choose not to come back but that is another topic.

Do you think he'd come back if the 49ers offered him the best contract?

My guess is that money will have nothing to do with his choice. He already has plenty of money. The only way I see him coming back is if the new HC is either Gruden or Harbaugh and they make a personal appeal to him to return. That appeal would have to include a comprehensive outline of the kind of offense they would run and who the OC and QB coaches would be. Even then, Alex knows the fan base has been so poisoned by the last 8 years of failure of this organization and the effect that has had on the fans, that he will have a target painted on his chest every time he steps on the field. The statement he made about fans booing him for an incompletion when the team had a two touchdown lead is very telling.

Of course, Alex will definitely figure into the new HC discussions at some point and at some level. All of the HC candidates will have done considerable research on the QB situation and how that will effect their chances for success next season. With serious question marks as to whether or not a reasonable FA will be available or a trade possible for a vet starter to come in, the question of convincing Alex to return will be a part of the conversation. For a new HC to start the season with Troy Smith and a rookie whose name is NOT Andrew Luck is not a very enticing situation.

Guys like Gruden and Harbaugh already have solid opinions about McNabb, Palmer, Kolb and Orton, along with the rest of the sordid bunch of QB FAs, and I am sure they are not very excited about any of them, especially if they have to give up a 1st or 2nd round draft choice to get one of them. While we can sit an argue about whether or not Alex is better than any of those names or not, he would definitely be in the discussion and to have him available for at least next season and NOT have to give up a draft choice, would be a much better scenario than the alternatives.

Agreed. The sad reality in how far this franchise has fallen lies in its QB situation. If the starter next year is not Alex Smith, then who the heck is it? I wouldn't feel happy about giving up a 2nd rounder for a player like Orton when I can get similar production from a guy like Smith and save the draft pick.

It will be an interesting off-season because any new coach will consider the 49ers QB situation before accepting a job here, and the QB will be waiting for a decision on the coaching structure before committing. It's the classic chicken or the egg distilled for football use.

Harbaugh is really going to want a challenge if he chooses the 49ers. This is an offense with a major hole at QB, let alone all its other problems (o-line, wr's). To say we have the talent is being disingenuous to the rest of the NFL. The o-line is leaky, our best offensive player is an aging RB, and our best receiver is a TE that can't read defenses. Oh yeah....and the defense can't rush the passer or defend the pass.

Quite the contrary, this team needs more than just a new coach in order to become successful.

(Bolded) Good analysis. Spot on.

I don't agree with that at all. Our offense is filled with talent and they're still pretty young. Vernon Davis, despite inconsistent QB play, still had 7 TDs and over 900 yards receiving. Michael Crabtree and Josh Morgan are still young and played pretty well. Our o-line is still young and we have a legit guard in Iupati who could be a pro bowler for years.

Our defense definitely has its issues, but we were still one of the top defenses against the run. Yes, we still need that pass rusher and our secondary needs to get younger, but there is still talent on that side of the ball.

Originally posted by 49ersalldaway126:
its a 2 way street

alex worked hard in offseason but for a qb to do well he eeds stability its very hard learig a new offense every year and go out and perform im sure for those of u who are engineers or something can relate learning a new program for eample one year u do c ++ the next year u have to learn some other program

i agree alex is partly to blame but i think the nienrs orginization should take 70% of the blame especially considering before the draft urban myer told us what to do with alex and we did the complete opposite

Yeah, I know that Alex was in a bad situation here, but for chrissakes...the guy was the #1 pick in the draft. At some point, talent rises to the top.

Originally posted by LA9erFan:

Originally posted by 49ersalldaway126:
its a 2 way street

alex worked hard in offseason but for a qb to do well he eeds stability its very hard learig a new offense every year and go out and perform im sure for those of u who are engineers or something can relate learning a new program for eample one year u do c ++ the next year u have to learn some other program

i agree alex is partly to blame but i think the nienrs orginization should take 70% of the blame especially considering before the draft urban myer told us what to do with alex and we did the complete opposite

Yeah, I know that Alex was in a bad situation here, but for chrissakes...the guy was the #1 pick in the draft. At some point, talent rises to the top.

He floated to the top. Like a turd. Does that count?

Originally posted by LA9erFan:

Originally posted by 49ersalldaway126:
its a 2 way street

alex worked hard in offseason but for a qb to do well he eeds stability its very hard learig a new offense every year and go out and perform im sure for those of u who are engineers or something can relate learning a new program for eample one year u do c ++ the next year u have to learn some other program

i agree alex is partly to blame but i think the nienrs orginization should take 70% of the blame especially considering before the draft urban myer told us what to do with alex and we did the complete opposite

Yeah, I know that Alex was in a bad situation here, but for chrissakes...the guy was the #1 pick in the draft. At some point, talent rises to the top.

Alex was a project QB coming out of Utah. He entered the draft because he was graded as a 3rd round prospect, then his stock shot up. He was a project QB that didn't receive the coaching he needed. He also didn't have the self-confidence to overcome such a large obstacle. It was a bad fit all around, unfortunately.

Originally posted by LA9erFan:

Originally posted by 49ersalldaway126:
its a 2 way street

alex worked hard in offseason but for a qb to do well he eeds stability its very hard learig a new offense every year and go out and perform im sure for those of u who are engineers or something can relate learning a new program for eample one year u do c ++ the next year u have to learn some other program

i agree alex is partly to blame but i think the nienrs orginization should take 70% of the blame especially considering before the draft urban myer told us what to do with alex and we did the complete opposite

Yeah, I know that Alex was in a bad situation here, but for chrissakes...the guy was the #1 pick in the draft. At some point, talent rises to the top.

Gary Plummer (the KNBR color guy for 49er radio in Nor Cal) was just on with Gary Radnich talking about Mike Singletary. Among other things, he said he initially thought Singletary would be great but failed to put good coaches in charge of players and demanding accountability FROM THE COACHES when players did not perform. He drew parallels between what he went through in SD when the Chargers were bad and then coming to SF with Bill Walsh and how crisp and animated practices were, finally noting that Singletary's practices were more like Plummer's old days in SD than the Walsh years. "duh" Plummer made it pretty clear that he put a lot of the blame for the 49er lack of success this year on the coaching staff.