49'ers QB Alex Smith on IR again

[oregonpackfan]

Niners QB Smith on injured reserve again
2 hours ago
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SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — Alex Smith's season is over with another shoulder injury. The high-priced quarterback's short career with the San Francisco 49ers is probably finished as well.

The 49ers put Smith on injured reserve Wednesday with a broken bone in his right shoulder. The top pick in the 2005 draft probably will require more surgery on the joint that limited him to seven games last season.

Coach Mike Nolan improbably claimed to know little about the injury that ended his former franchise quarterback's fourth NFL campaign before Smith even played in a regular-season game this fall. Smith's teammates expressed more concern than their gruff coach over his latest injury, which popped up during the club's final practice before last week's season opener.

``I feel sorry for him,'' said running back Frank Gore, the Niners' third-round pick in Smith's draft. ``He was a great teammate and worked hard. I just hope the best for him, and hope he gets well.''

After paying Smith more than $31 million during his four years with the 49ers, the bleak realities of NFL salary cap life mean the club is likely to release him before next season. General manager Scot McCloughan said last week that San Francisco can't risk paying $9 million in base salary to a backup quarterback in 2009.

Smith lost his starting job to journeyman J.T. O'Sullivan in training camp.

``I'm not going to answer any hypothetical questions about the future,'' said Nolan, who had an embarrassing public spat with Smith last year over the severity of the quarterback's shoulder injury. ``We'll cross that bridge when we get there. My focus right now is on (Sunday's game against) Seattle.''

Smith refused to comment after practice, and didn't respond to an additional request for comment Wednesday afternoon.

Smith had surgery on his shoulder in December to repair three torn ligaments, the product of a separated shoulder from a game in late September 2007. He attempted to play through pain after the injury, but obviously struggled in all three games, culminating in an awful effort in a 24-0 loss at Seattle.

``I thought he wasn't ready to go,'' said Seahawks linebacker Julian Peterson, Smith's former teammate in San Francisco. ``I thought he just tried to tough it out for the team, and it really wasn't a smart move for the team and for himself. He tried to do it for the team, and wasn't really ready.''

After several months of rehabilitation, Smith appeared to be at full strength in training camp despite losing his job to O'Sullivan, who was quicker to pick up new offensive coordinator Mike Martz's system. But Smith experienced severe pain in his shoulder last Friday while making a long throw during practice, and subsequent tests found a significant problem.

Dr. James Andrews, who performed Smith's last surgery, apparently confirmed the team's diagnosis of a broken bone in Smith's shoulder, though the quarterback and the team still don't know how it happened.

The 49ers signed 38-year-old Jamie Martin, a veteran of Martz's system who was out of football, to back up O'Sullivan and Shaun Hill.

``He worked so hard to get back, and then to have this happen to him now is so unfortunate,'' said Hill, who backed up Smith along with Trent Dilfer for the past two seasons. ``Obviously, it's not an easy thing for him. Even last year, Trent and I were excited for what he was going to do. ... I don't think he's a bust at all. Injuries hampered him.''

Smith passed for 4,679 yards with 31 interceptions and 19 touchdowns in his first three seasons with the 49ers, who selected the former Utah star with the first draft pick of Nolan's regime. He left the Utes one year early to capitalize on the excitement of their undefeated season under coach Urban Meyer, and he was rewarded with $24 million in guaranteed money as the No. 1 pick in a notoriously weak draft with no clear-cut top selections.

Smith went 11-19 as a starter, never finding a consistent NFL groove while playing for four offensive coordinators in four seasons and throwing to one of the league's worst collections of receivers. San Francisco's offense finished last in the NFL in 2005 and 2007, with Smith receiving a share of the blame even though he played only part of his rookie season and missed most of 10 games last year.

In 2006, his only full season as a starter, Smith took every snap and posted respectable numbers for offensive coordinator Norv Turner while the 49ers went 7-9. Turner then left to become San Diego's head coach.

The Associated Press

[Joemailman]

In my opinion, another 1st round pick QB who was thrown in there too early in his career, and lost his confidence. If Arod continues to do well, I wonder if teams may change their approach. Probably not though, because of the money a high draft pick makes.

[Tyrone Bigguns]

4 OF coordinators in 4 years.

Recipe for disaster.

[Joemailman]

The same can probably be said of J.T. O'Sullivan.

[mmmdk]

4 OF coordinators in 4 years.

Recipe for disaster.

Won't someone please ask McCarthy to compare Rodgers to Alex again?

[Cheesehead Craig]

Nyah Nyah! We got the better QB!!

[ahaha]

Why is it, that every time a top pick QB, who plays early in his career and ends up flopping, always gets the "confidence" explanation for his suckiness. "They rushed him in there and it ruined his confidence, that's why he never developed over the years." Why not tell it like it is? Maybe this guy wasn't as good as we thought. Maybe he just sucks.

[Lurker64]

So here's a question. Supposing the 49ers chose differently, and took Aaron Rodgers:

1) Does Alex Smith fall all the way to 24?
2) If Alex Smith is available at 24, would Thompson take him?
3) Would being thrust into the starting lineup immediately have ruined Rodgers?
4) Would Smith be able to be a competent NFL QB with a few years on the bench?

[Zool]

If the Packers hadnt drafted Tony Mandarich, would they have selected

Barry Sanders
Deon Sanders
Derrick Thomas
Other

[Chevelle2]

So here's a question. Supposing the 49ers chose differently, and took Aaron Rodgers:

1) Does Alex Smith fall all the way to 24?
2) If Alex Smith is available at 24, would Thompson take him?
3) Would being thrust into the starting lineup immediately have ruined Rodgers?
4) Would Smith be able to be a competent NFL QB with a few years on the bench?

My thoughts

1) No. I heard MIA's big board was Smith, Brown, Rodgers. I believe they would have taken him IMO

2) Yes. BPA, although I obviously don't know how they graded him. Maybe they hated him.

3) Im not sure if it would have ruined him, but he would have looked like trash.

4) Cant be worse than the mess the poor guy is in now.

[hoosier]

So here's a question. Supposing the 49ers chose differently, and took Aaron Rodgers:

1) Does Alex Smith fall all the way to 24? No idea. Chevelle's word that Mia would have picked him seems as good a speculation as any.

2) If Alex Smith is available at 24, would Thompson take him? No idea, but if TT had him ranked best available then yes, in a heartbeat.

3) Would being thrust into the starting lineup immediately have ruined Rodgers? My guess is that his development would have looked a lot like Smith's. By all reports Rodgers was somewhat immature coming out of college (had a chip on his shoulder after falling to #24, showed too much negative emotion when teammates screwed up, etc.), and given the total lack of continuity in SF, it's hard to imagine him having a successful early career. I think the Smith/Rodgers career contrast speaks volumes for what program continuity can do for a young player's development, and also speaks very highly of the job done by MM, Philbin and Clements.

4) Would Smith be able to be a competent NFL QB with a few years on the bench? My best guess is that most young QBs would fail to thrive in a situation like SF's, so Smith's failure is not a reflection of his potential.

[/b]

[Scott Campbell]

Re: 49'ers QB Alex Smith on IR again

The 49ers signed 38-year-old Jamie Martin, a veteran of Martz's system who was out of football, to back up O'Sullivan and Shaun Hill.

A little irony. Martin played at Weber State - 30 minutes from the University of Utah.

[run pMc]

1) Does Alex Smith fall all the way to 24?
> I want to say that it's doubtful, but nobody expected Rodgers to fall to #24. For the sake of discussion I'll say yes.

2) If Alex Smith is available at 24, would Thompson take him?
> Yes, I think so. .

3) Would being thrust into the starting lineup immediately have ruined Rodgers?
>Yes. Rodgers didn't exactly impress in preseason his rookie year. With SF's supporting cast and where his skills & demeanor were at the time I think he would be in the same situation.

4) Would Smith be able to be a competent NFL QB with a few years on the bench?
> Yes, at least right out of college. Now -- with 4 different playbooks in his head and a bad shoulder -- I'm not so sure. He might end up being a cross between Ryan Leaf and Chad Pennington.

I recall reading an article (sorry, can't find URL) where he was described as an extremely bright guy, but also the sort that had to fully absorb and understand the playbook to function in the system. With all the wrinkles in a pro offense playbook, combined with the looks a defense can give a QB, it's no surprise he struggled. I'm thinking he needed to sit for at least a year (maybe two) but with ~$24M guaranteed you can't do that. Consider how people are all over Harrell and his entire contract isn't even worth $24M.

If he sat behind Favre for 3 years and got coached up by Clements and M3, I think he would have had plenty of time to absorb the WCO and run it effectively. Plus, he'd have a competent receiver corps to throw to.

Coming out of college most people (including me) would have argued that Smith was a more capable QB than, say, Ingle Martin.

However, given his injuries and flameout in SF, (if I were the GM) I wouldn't touch him now except for maybe as a camp tryout like GB did with Tim Couch a few years back. It will be interesting to see (given that M3 coached him one year) if GB looks into signing him after he's released.

As for the confidence remark, I think it can be overblown, but there is something to it. Look at guys like David Carr and (more recently) Vince Young. Good coaching that is consistent from year to year combined with a capable supporting cast makes a big difference in a QB's development.

[Guiness]

IMO stick a fork in him, he's done. We've got Tim Couch Jr here.

For the record, I think it was putting him on the field too soon, on a horrible team, that ruined him. Coaching might be better here, but I think that the coaches had the opportunity to work with him while he wasn't getting the tar taken out of him on a weekly basis is more important.

edit: just read run Pmc's comments, and he mentions Couch as well. I think the comparison is apt.

[LL2]

With $31 Mil in his pocket Smith should be able to retire nicely for the rest of his life.

With all the guaranteed money thrown at high 1st rd picks they are expected to play and produce right away. Very few QB's start right away and become very productive like the Manning brothers. Flacco and Ryan seemed to do well in their first starts, but that doesn't make a career.

I like TT's aproach of stocking players with a lot of picks and letting them develop. He kind of has his own farm system going, and it saves the team a lot of money.