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Remember the 2005 first overall pick for the San Francisco 49ers, Alex Smith? The bust? The franchise killer? The relic? Yeah, that guy just turned 25 last month. It sounds crazy, but Alex Smith is younger than Matt Cassel, Jay Cutler, Aaron Rodgers, Trent Edwards, Matt Leinart and Vince Young. He has only one full year on Matt Ryan, nine months on Joe Flacco, five months on Brady Quinn and most shockingly, is less than thirteen months older than the Giants' fifth-round selection in the 2009 draft, Rhett Bomar. Considering his age, could this year mark the resurrection of Alex Smith's career?Fantasy owners for all intents and purposes have given up on the former University of Utah star and with good reason. He was a non-entity in 2008, had the second-lowest passer rating among quarterbacks who qualified in 2007, has failed to complete more than 60 percent of his passes in any single season, and has thrown 19 career touchdowns to 31 interceptions. If he was your franchise quarterback, heck even if he was your son and just the QB of the Pop Warner team you coached, you probably would have already cut ties with him. Smith though still remains a 49er (in large part due to the massive pay cut he agreed to earlier this offseason). While most consider Shaun Hill the favorite to secure the starting job, perhaps the Niners have reason to be optimistic about their former No. 1 pick.
Smith would not be the first passer to struggle prior to the age of 25 then turn it around after celebrating his quarter-century birthday. The two most famous examples are Troy Aikman and Terry Bradshaw, who both posted TD-INT ratios similar to Smith in the first half of their twenties. There is also a sense that Smith's willingness to restructure his contract reflects a maturity and leadership that has previously been absent. I know I will be reaching on this point, but Smith has at least shown the ability to be a solid quarterback. Over the first six weeks of 2006, he had 8 touchdowns, 4 interceptions and a QB rating of 86.4. If Smith is named the starter, the supporting cast of Frank Gore, Isaac Bruce, Michael Crabtree, Josh Morgan and Vernon Davis should make his job significantly easier than it has ever been in the past.
Early reports out of San Francisco are that Smith has been rusty and not overly impressive. I am not here to definitively say that Alex Smith will be an All-Pro this or any season. I acknowledge that his career trajectory is far more likely to be that of Rick Mirer than Troy Aikman. The point is that he is only 25 years old and I caution against giving up on a player at such a young age that once had so much promise.
Now race to write a comment about Ryan Leaf.
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