Alex Smith: Is San Francisco 49ers QB Finally Blooming Into Confident Starter?

Amidst the San Francisco 49ers 48-3 victory over the visiting Buccaneers on Sunday, something odd happened.

The fans at Candlestick Park began chanting Alex Smith's name.

Smith had a fantastic game on Sunday, throwing for three touchdowns and no interceptions in the rout of Buccaneers while finishing with a stellar 127.2 passer rating.

But, best of all, he's seemly pulled the 49ers faithful onto his bandwagon, where they join his teammates and coaches who have supported him all along.

You can't really blame the San Francisco fans. Not too long ago, Smith was anything but fantastic. For multiple consecutive seasons he made errant passes, held the ball too long and racked up the interceptions. He danced around the field with a deer-in-the-headlights look that became all too familiar a sight at Candlestick.

Now, Smith version 7.0 is calm, cool and precise. He's making excellent decisions, throwing smart, sharp passes and—most importantly—winning games. San Francisco sits at an improbable 4-1, and a ton of the credit has to go to Smith, who is establishing himself as an excellent quarterback in this league.

Lets take a look at all the things that have helped mold Smith into an excellent and confident starter.

A Coach That Trusts Him

A ton of Smith’s success should be credited to Jim Harbaugh, who seemingly believed in him from the start. As soon as he was hired as the San Francisco coach, Harbaugh met with Smith, who was then a free agent and not actually with the team.

Who knows what Harbaugh saw in him in that short meeting, but afterwards he was so confident in Smith that he gave him the playbook before the start of the NFL Lockout.

Smith, of course, signed with the 49ers as soon as the lockout was over, and is now showing that Harbaugh’s trust in him wasn’t misplaced.

“Alex was really on point today from the opening snap,” Harbaugh told the media after the victory over Tampa Bay. “Came out, read the play properly, got it to Frank (Gore), made really cool-headed decisions. That was big. His location, though, his accuracy, was the best of the season.”

A coach trusting in Smith is new territory for the seventh-year pro. In his career, he’s had plenty of coaches who didn’t trust him. He’s had a coach that questioned him when he was injured (Mike Nolan) and a coach who yelled at him in the middle of a game and yanked him at a moments notice (Mike Singletary).

Maybe it’s a quarterback thing, since Harbaugh also played the position in the NFL. Maybe that’s why Harbaugh could seem Smith’s true potential. But having a coach who trusts in him has been a huge positive for Smith.

A Team That Trusts Him

The 49ers players have all supported Smith from the start of the season, at least publicly, and many spoke openly on Sunday about his growth as a player.

“It’s amazing," Vernon Davis told the media after the win."Watching a guy who has been through so much, such a strong individual, always knew he had it in him. Some guys, it just takes time.”

The first touchdown of the day was a pass from Smith to tight end Delanie Walker, who was so impressed with the pass that he gave the ball back to Smith. “I told him he deserved this one,” Walker said.

And, as for Frank Gore, who spent many years as the 49ers seemingly only competent offensive player, he couldn't stop smiling after the game. “I’m happy, man," he told the media. "I’ve been here for seven years now, and this is my first time in the NFL, putting up 48 points on the board. And my man, Alex Smith—I’m so happy for him.”

Certainly a ton of the praise for the locker room chemistry must go to Harbaugh and his staff, but Smith is a catalyst in bringing his offensive players together and it's easy to see they all support him. 

A Coach That Works with Him

Earlier in the season, in the contests against the Seahawks and the Cowboys, the 49ers played a slow, conservative style of offense. It relied on short passes and a lot of running options, and indeed Harbaugh made some calls that seemed to question his offense.

That style of play seemed to fade away at halftime against the Eagles. Down 20-3, the 49ers came out and took some big risks that paid off. Smith threw some long passes that had been absent in the first few games, and the San Francisco offense really began to grow.

The growth continued on Sunday when Harbaugh continued to let Smith air it out. And Smith hasn’t disappointed yet—he’s without an interception in the last two contests.

After seven seasons with four coaches and seven offensive coordinators, it’s great to see a coach working and building his offense with Smith.

Harbaugh has allowed Smith and the 49ers offense to grow and take more risks, and so far, it’s paid off completely. 

Patience and Confidence on the Field

While the 49ers' offensive line played well on Sunday, they can't hold up every possession. And yet, whenever the pocket seems to collapse, Smith doesn't seem to panic. In fact, some of Smith's best plays over the past few games have come with him fading away from defenders and finding his targets.

Smith in previous years seemed to panic when defenders rushed at him, but, so far this season, we've rarely seen anything but a composed and collected Smith. He's done a great job of scanning the field and finding his targets quickly, but has also had plenty of occasions where he took his time and made the smart pass.

Smith's confidence is evident in every pass he took on Sunday, and that confidence has been a huge lift for the 49ers' offense. 

The Stats Don't Lie

According to ESPN's "Total QBR" ranking system, Smith's performance on Sunday was the best performance of the year—by any quarterback in the NFL.

From sfgate.com's Eric Branch;

"...that's the case according to ESPN’s “Total QBR” ranking system, which takes more data into account (rushing, sacks, penalties etc.) than what is used to comprise a traditional quarterback rating. 

Smith’s performance (11 of 19, 170 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INT) translated to a Total QBR of 98.2, the highest single-game figure this season, based on a minimum of 15 “action plays.”

"

Complicated ranking systems aside, Smith is doing exceptionally well in all the stats. He has seven touchdowns and only two turnovers (one fumble and one interception). While his total yards rank just 25th in the league, and his seven touchdowns are tied at 14th, he sits at 3rd in quarterback rating behind Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers and New England's Tom Brady.

And, most importantly, his team is currently 4-1 and reign at the top of their division.

Smith's progression is just as much about his new confidence as it is about his stats. But the stats can't lie, and Smith has proved himself to be a pretty darn good quarterback.