Can the 49ers Count On Alex Smith?

Coming out of the University of Utah in 2005, Alex Smith was a quarterback destined for supposed greatness.

He was a quarterback that lost only one game as a starter in college, finished fourth in the Heisman voting (USC's Matt Leinart won) and graduated from college with a 3.74 GPA, mind you a football player graduating from his university before entering the draft is nearly unheard of today. 

Of course, Smith was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers, thrown into the pro game way too early, suffered greatly, was benched, got injured and is now currently trying to work himself back into this country's spotlight. 

This season, Smith is the starter in San Francisco and has been given one of the better opportunities in football.

The 49ers play in currently the worst division in football. Seattle and St. Louis are rebuilding projects, and their only competition, Arizona, is having major major problems at quarterback, going from Kurt Warner to a mash of Matt Leinart/Derek Anderson/Max Hall is like going from driving a Mustang to driving a Honda. 

If the 49ers do not make the playoffs this year, Smith will be dropped and the organization will look to rebuild. Not that Smith can't do it, but if one looks at his prior professional history, the odds are not in his favor.

All in all, Smith will not be relied too heavily this season. San Francisco has one of the better defenses in the league led by ILB Patrick Willis, DB Nate Clements and S Dashon Goldson. This is a top five defense that holds their opponents to under 18 points-per-game. 

The 49er running game has been very good since they drafted RB Frank Gore out of the University of Miami back in 2005, and although he is a player that has a dirty habit of missing a few games each year, when he's playing and getting his touches, there are few who are more dominant. 

With the emergence of Tight End Vernon Davis, as well as the play of second-year star wide-out Michael Crabtree, Smith now has a bevy of different weapons to use. Davis is perhaps the best tight end in the NFC (with apologies to Dallas's Jason Witten and Green Bay's Jermichael Finley) and it is fantastic news that he has finally gotten out of his head coach's dog house and into the game.

Crabtree, following in the tradition of diva wide receivers, decided to hold out for nearly half of last season. He got a late jump on his rookie year, but still performed well once he got into the game. San Francisco is also introducing Tedd Ginn Jr. this season. Ginn Jr. is a good player who was drafted by the Miami Dolphins way too early in the 2006 draft (ninth overall), and did not live up to those impossible expectations, and was traded over the off-season when Miami picked up WR Brandon Marshall.

But back to Smith, because this season will all depend on his play. 

Smith will live up to his potential this season and lead the 49ers into the post-season. After years of being labeled a "bust" by nearly every NFL talking head, he will prove all of them wrong.

Smith was never a bad player, he was just put into a bad situation. Now he has a team around him that will allow him to use all of his skills, and in return, he will take them to places they've never been.