Alex Smith Speaks the Truth

Added on May 24, 2012 by Scott in

NFL

Despite leading the 49ers to a 13-3 record and an NFC Championship game appearance last season, quarterback Alex Smith is still facing a healthy amount of criticism. Even the front office toyed with the idea of signing Peyton Manning before settling to give Smith a three-year extension in late March. While he’ll never be confused for Drew Brees, Smith is adamant that stats are overrated.

When asked about the Niners 29th ranked passing offense in 2011, the former number one overall pick used another former number one pick to explain his theory on statistics and rankings.

“This is the honest truth: I could absolutely care less on yards per game,” Smith said Wednesday, via the San Francisco Chronicle. “I think that’s a totally overblown stat. Because if you’re losing games in the second half, guess what? You’re like the Carolina Panthers and you’re going no-huddle the entire second half and, yeah, Cam Newton threw for a lot of 300-yard games, that’s great. You’re not winning, though.”

He’s absolutely right. Last time we looked, the Panthers went 6-10 last year. Newton was amazing for most of the season, but often came up short down the stretch. To be fair, he didn’t have the luxury of having San Francisco’s 2nd overall ranked defense shutting down opponents like Smith. Plus, Newton was a rookie playing on instinct with a dearth of receiving talent (save Steve Smith) at his disposal.

Smith still has to prove he can win games with his arm. He had zero 300-yard games in 2011 and his last one came in Week 5 of the 2010 season in a 27-24 loss at Philly. He still hasn’t thrown for 20 touchdowns in a full 16-game schedule and his accuracy is suspect. Improving in these areas would go a long way to silencing some of his naysayers.

Stats aren’t everything in the NFL, but Ben Roethlisberger is the only quarterback to win a Super Bowl since 2002 not to toss over 20 touchdowns during the season. It’s not impossible, but the odds are against Smith entering 2012.

Source: NFL.com