Breaking Down What Alex Smith Would Bring to the Miami Dolphins

While Alex Smith may actually decide to return to the San Francisco 49ers, the Miami Dolphins need to keep trying to acquire the 27-year-old free agent quarterback. 

Smith may not be a prototypical franchise quarterback, but he is far better than anything the Dolphins currently possess. He developed a lot in 2011 and led the 49ers to a 13-3 record and put them within an overtime loss of reaching the Super Bowl. He took care of the football and in 445 attempts only threw five interceptions. 

Frankly the Dolphins in 2012 could look at lot like the 49ers in 2011. Now that receiver Brandon Marshall is gone, they will likely rely heavily on their running game and defense to win games.

Running backs Reggie Bush and Daniel Thomas will be thrown into the fire and expected to lead the offense. Adding a guy like Smith would at least bring a young quarterback aboard who won't hurt the team and could be developing into something special.

Smith set career-highs in attempts (445), completions (273), completion percentage (61.3), yards (3,144), yards per attempt (7.07) and quarterback rating (90.7) in 2011. He showed that he can lead a team to wins and not stop the flow of an offense with silly mistakes.

Jim Harbaugh's influence on Smith obviously had a lot to do with his growth this past season, but new Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin developed Aaron Rodgers as the offensive coordinator for the Green Bay Packers. Rodgers and Smith both entered the league in 2005, and I'm sure Philbin could help continue the 27-year-old Utah product's growth given time. 

Smith would at least bring consistency and certainty to Miami's quarterback situation. He could be handed the offense and given a chance to make the team his as he did with the 49ers. But unless the Dolphins make a serious push now, they will lose out on any chance to get him on board.