Saints vs. 49ers: Alex Smith's Future Depends on His Play Against New Orleans

San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith has been under heavy scrutiny ever since being drafted in 2005, and rightfully so. Anyone drafted as the franchise’s No. 1 overall pick is expected to reach a certain level of greatness. Smith has been everything but great.

If he plays poorly against the New Orleans Saints in a loss on Saturday in the divisional round of the NFL Playoffs, his future should be closely examined by the organization.

This team is a quarterback away from being a legitimate Super Bowl contender. Smith, in a quarterback-driven league, isn’t the answer in San Francisco for them to win a Super Bowl. It took him seven years in the league just to have a quality season. He leads the 29th-ranked pass offense in the league.

Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, Drew Brees and Eli Manning are top quarterbacks in the NFL, and they are also all Super Bowl winners. When you think of Alex Smith, does he even compare to any of these guys?

Not even close.

Defense, whether it’s being stout overall or creating turnovers, wins championships, and that has been proven over the course of the NFL. But today’s rules easily favor the offensive side of the ball, which means that quarterbacks are asked to match one another point-for-point.

You can take certain instances from past Super Bowls and remember the quarterbacks making plays to win games.

Smith isn’t close to that echelon of talent. He will probably never be in that group.  

Has he turned the corner this season? Yes, Smith has played well. He has thrown for 3,144 yards and 17 touchdowns to only five interceptions, while helping his team to a 13-3 record. He is plus-7 in touchdown-to-turnover ratio this season, by far his best campaign.

Smith is producing in the passing game at a rate that, when added to a strong running game and a top defense, can win games in the regular season. But now we are in the postseason, and things change when you are in the playoffs.

This is when the lights shine bright, the pressure gets cranked up and true stars play at high levels that are capable of winning championships. Will Smith rise to the occasion or fail to live up to expectations like we are accustomed to seeing?

He has spent seven years in the league, and finally we are seeing his best season. But if this is Smith's best, we must examine it closely. If he fails to live up to championship-caliber quarterbacking, then his situation needs to be addressed, because it will raise the question of whether he will ever be good enough to bring a championship trophy back to San Francisco.

If Smith plays well in a 49ers victory, he deserves loads of credit, because a playoff victory is something that many talented quarterbacks struggle to accomplish.

But if he struggles in the playoffs in his greatest season at quarterback, there have to be consequences for Smith's ineptitude at arguably the most important position in sports.