Smith reinvents himself with Chiefs
The words were sympathetic and surprising.
Before Alex Smith made his first start for San Francisco in 2005, the mother of legendary 49ers quarterback Steve Young pulled his parents aside and offered her condolences.
“She saidO, `h, I’m so sorry for you. I can’t imagine having to go through that ever again,’” Doug Smith recalled. “Both my wife and I were thinking, G`osh, that’s kind of unusual for her to say.’”
It didn’t take long for the Smiths to figure out what she meant. It can be tortuous being the parent of an NFL quarterback, particularly one playing for a team as bad as the 49ers were at the time. Indianapolis intercepted four of Smith’s passes in that 28-3 rout and sacked him five times.
It was a troubling omen for Smith, selected No. 1 overall, who endured eight tumultuous seasons in San Francisco. The 49ers cycled through three head coaches and seven offensive coordinators during that span.
All that seems a distant memory to Smith, 33, who has been Kansas City’s quarterback since 2013. But, as one of the NFL’s hottest hands heading into Sunday’s game at the Chargers, he has a special appreciation of the relative coaching and system stability he enjoys with the Chiefs.
“When you have a ton of turnovers, it’s hard for anybody to get to an advanced level, not just the quarterback,” he said. “You see when guys have been in a system multiple years how much further along you are, how much shared history and foundation you have to fall back on and lean on.”
So far this season, the pieces are falling into place for the Chiefs. They stunned New England in the NFL’s kickoff game, upsetting the defending Super Bowl champions on the road 42-27, piling up the most points ever scored on the Patriots in the era of coach Bill Belichick. Kansas City won its home opener the following week 27-20 over Philadelphia, the former team of Chiefs coach Andy Reid.
Smith doesn’t force a lot of passes or make many mistakes. Since he arrived in Kansas City four years ago, only 1.41 percent of his COMMENTARY attempts have been intercepted. That’s third-best in the NFL behind Tom Brady (1.24 percent) and Aaron Rodgers (1.34 percent). He’s the most accurate passer in Chiefs history among quarterbacks with at least 700 attempts with a 64.9 percent completion rate.
His detractors see that as more evidence he’s a “game manager,” which has become a dismissive, almost derisive term. But as he showed in the win at New England, when he threw four touchdown passes and completely upstaged Brady, he is increasingly comfortable throwing the ball upfield, a byproduct of having better skill players around him.
“He’s throwing rockets,” said Young, an ESPN color analyst. “I think he’s kind of extended his throwing motion a little bit so he can put more power in it. He’s always been really accurate and relatively careful. But now the deep ball is different.”
Back when Smith was playing for San Francisco — where he ultimately lost his job to Colin Kaepernick — Young urged him to cut it loose a little more and trust his throws. That seems to be happening.
“I see a stronger arm,” Young said. “I see more aggression. I see more willingness to take risks.”
That’s helping him now, as he’s continually tightening his grip on the starting job.
“He’s a hard worker and has determination,” Doug Smith said. “Anybody who could have survived those eight years with the 49ers and their dysfunction certainly shows a high level of determination. Lots of players didn’t. If you go back to that time, there aren’t many left.
“I guess you could say he’s still standing, and there were a lot of knockdowns there. It’s translated into an underlying attitude of perseverance and resilience.”
Twelve years later, the Smiths have a special appreciation for the thoughtful words Young’s mother had for them.
For Smith’s father, there are other words of sympathy that likewise linger in his memory. They came from a Patriots supporter at Gillette Stadium two weeks ago.
“One of the fans said to me early on in the game, G`osh, I’m sure sorry for you guys having to come here. This is just a really hard place to play,’” he said. “Then, by the time there’s five minutes left in the game, they’re all gone. They’re not even there.
“There’s nothing more satisfying than people who are telling you how sorry they feel for you at the start of the game, and by the time the game’s over it’s, ‘Sorry you guys had to go home.’”