Niners Name Alex Smith Starting QB

Added on Sep 03, 2011 by Jack Thurman in

NFL

The San Francisco 49ers didn’t exactly give starting quarterback Alex Smith a ‘vote of confidence’ when they drafted the talented Colin Kaepernick out of Nevada in the second round. Still, new coach Jim Harbaugh had maintained all along that it was ‘Smith’s job to lose’ during the preseason and following the Niners’ 20-17 preseason victory over the San Diego Chargers he made it official–Smith will be the team’s starting quarterback when the NFL regular season begins.

Smith didn’t exactly tear it up but was a respectible 8 for 10 for 45 yards with no sacks. Harbaugh quickly affirmed Smith’s starting job when asked:

“I’m pretty sure we can say that. He played with a very cool head and made good decisions. He played the way you want him to out there — calm, cool, collected.”

The conventional wisdom after last year was that Smith was ‘on the bubble’ to return. He’s been considered a disappointment by many, but reportedly hit it off well with new coach Harbaugh when the two men met over the summer. Smith signed a one year, $5 million deal and clearly is playing for his NFL career this season–at least as a starting quarterback.

Smith threw for 2,370 yards and 14 touchdowns in 11 games last season, but also threw 10 interceptions and was sacked 25 times. He didn’t throw a TD pass during the preseason but Harbaugh has expressed his confidence that Smith can be productive in the Niners’ ‘West Coast Offense’.

Smith said that he hadn’t really thought about the Niners’ season opener against Seattle, preferring to focus on the preseason finale hoping to atone for an ugly performance in the previous exhibition game against the Houston Texans:

“To be honest, I know it’s coming up, but after the Houston game, I wanted to focus on this game.”

As for Kaepernick, he showed promise at various points during the preseason but clearly needs to work on his accuracy. He was intercepted twice in the Niners’ final preseason game, giving him a total of five during the preseason. This, combined with Smith’s improved ability to ‘play within himself’, likely made Harbaugh’s decision to name him the starting quarterback that much easier.