Alex Smith Deserves One Last Chance with the San Francisco 49ers

Call it the Hail Mary pass to end all Hail Marys, but quarterback Alex Smith has the ball, and he’s got it for this one last chance. And he deserves it.

For most Niners fans, this isn’t anything they haven’t heard before. Just last year, it was supposed to be “Smith’s final chance”. It was supposed to be his breakout year, and it wasn’t. But now, going into the 2011 season, it really truly is his final shot, his true win-it-or-lose-it chance.

There’s room for optimism (the locker room still supports him, a new head coach who may be the best equipped to work with him, a strong collection of players to pass too) and room for pessimism (his disastrous performance in their first preseason game, an absolutely porous offensive line, a rookie QB breathing down his neck), but in the end, he’s getting this chance, and he deserves it.

Smith will always be compared to Aaron Rodgers, and his harshest critics will always be Niners fans who will look back at that 2005 draft and—with hindsight being 20/20—wish San Francisco had taken Rodgers. Rodgers grew up in Chico, Calif., was a Niners fan all his life, went to Cal and played just a BART ride away from the Niners base.

But San Francisco thought it saw a brighter future in Smith, who had been named Mountain West Player of the year and left the Utes with a 21-1 record.

Skip forward seven seasons. Rodgers, who had the benefit of playing under just two head coaches (Mike Sherman for his first season and Mike McCarthy the last five) and learning the passing game from Brett Favre, now holds a championship trophy. And Smith has just a career passer rating of 72.1. Still, he has the ball, at least for one more pass.

Certainly, last Friday’s game doesn’t help his case. He looked exceptionally uncomfortable in the pocket, but you can blame a lot of that on the fact that the Niners offensive line parted like the red sea, and New Orleans’ defense walked through like Smith’s pocket wasn’t even there. Smith only completed on two passes, getting just 10 yards, before he was yanked to give Colin Kaepernick a go.

But there’s the simple fact that he’s the best the Niners currently have. Kaepernick’s athleticism and long arm are impressive, but his decision making is in no way starter-ready. And even if the Niners do sign Daunte Culpepper, or any of the other QB free agents, Smith is still the best QB they could realistically have.

And while the last six seasons haven’t been easy for 49ers fans, it hasn’t exactly been easy for Smith either. Jim Harbaugh is his third head coach—Mike Nolan drafted him, and was replaced in 2008 by Mike Singletary, who was let go last season and replaced by Jim Tomsula for the final game. (EDIT: Was reminded that Tomsula's tenure came so late in the year, so we can hardly count him.)

The revolving coaching door, however, is nothing compared to the six offensive coordinators he’s played under. Smith has rarely looked completely comfortable on the field, but can you really put all that blame on him? Four coaches and six offensive coordinators? Hardly the recipe for success.

While the offensive line certainly is troublesome and definitely needs to show improvement in Saturday’s game against the Raiders, Smith has a nice collection of players to pass too. Braylon Edwards, the increasingly talented, if very erratic, wide-receiver signed this offseason won’t make his full paycheck unless he makes the Pro Bowl or gets 900 yards, so he’ll likely be completely motivated to perform.

Michael Crabtree, should he actually remain healthy and drama-free, showed flashes of brilliance at times, and this could be a breakout year for him. Niners fans are already hailing Kyle Williams, a sixth-rounder from last year, as a diamond in the rough. And there is of course Pro Bowl TE Vernon Davis.

Perhaps had the lockout not happened, the Niners would have had more time to work on their quarterback issues and Smith wouldn’t still be here. But with the lockout in full swing and the teams unable to work out “officially”, Smith started up “Camp Alex” and showed that he still can be a leader of the team.

He still has the support of his teammates, and, truth be told, the Niners couldn’t have found many coaches more suited to working with Smith than Harbaugh, who was a successful NFL quarterback in his own right.

Harbaugh said over and over, from the time he was hired, that he was looking forward to working with Smith. He even gave Smith his playbook early when Smith wasn’t even signed to a contract—not exactly a sign that Alex wasn’t welcomed.

There are just as many reasons to believe that Smith will fail as there are that he will do well. And should he flop again going into the season, it’ll be interesting to see how quickly he’d pulled for Kaapernick. But right now, it’s one more year of “Smith’s last chance”. Unless he actually succeeds.