By his own admission, Alex Smith played too cautiously this season and committed too many turnovers. In stark contrast, Troy Smith has a bit of reckless streak, but has been mistake-free.
Not a trick question: Which style has been better?
In watching both quarterbacks this season, it’s clear Troy Smith takes more chances, realizing you can’t make a play if you don’t throw a pass.
In the Niners’ first seven games this season, Alex Smith completed nine
passes of at least 30 yards. In the past six quarters under Troy Smith
they have seven completions of 30 yards or more.
There has been a theme to the players’ praise of Troy Smith: This guy isn’t afraid to sling it.
“He is a playmaker, he is not afraid to let the ball go,” tight end
Vernon Davis said. “He wants to make plays. He will do whatever he has
to do to make it happen.”
Running back Frank Gore said the biggest difference between the
quarterbacks was that Troy Smith “goes down the field more than Alex.”
“I know we got great receivers and our receivers are happy when they get
the opportunity,” Gore said. “Now they get the opportunities to make
plays down the field … It’s nice to be dangerous, really dangerous.”
No one is trying to slam Alex Smith — both Davis and Gore talked about
their love — their word — for him when discussing his demotion on
Monday. But the implication is clear — receivers can make more plays
with a quarterback who doesn’t routinely check the ball down or fling it
out of bounds.
After he was nearly benched against the Eagles in Week 5, Alex Smith,
who committed 10 turnovers in the season’s first five games, talked
about adopting more of a let-it-rip mentality.
“There are times out there that I know that I play too cautious,” he
said. “… You see at times when I cut it loose and play more fearless and
the results have always been better.”
True. But the angst-ridden Smith appeared to play even more cautiously after the
near-benching. He didn’t commit a turnover in the six full quarters
leading up to his injury against Carolina, but his discretion came with
a price — he also completed 48 percent of his passes.
Enter Troy Smith who appears to have more instincts for the position and
far less fear of making mistakes. Smith announced his arrival on his
38-yard, heave-and-hope completion to Delanie Walker against Denver. It
was a pass Alex Smith wouldn’t have thrown, not without some good
reason.
Troy Smith’s fearlessness inspires a bit of anxiety in Mike Singletary, whose quarterback preference leans
more toward game manager than gunslinger.
“I like it when it works, and when it doesn’t, you go, whoa,” Singletary
said of Smith’s improvisational skills. “… It’s just a matter of
continuing to work with Troy right now and try to weed out all the bad
habits we can.”
It could be argued that Smith’s been a little lucky — that
game-changing pass to Walker could have been a game-changing mistake.
And both of his fumbles, one in each game, have been recovered.
But it’s tough to argue with this stat: Smith has thrown one interception in 136 career pass attempts.
The evidence suggests the Niners have swapped out a mistake-prone game manager for an error-free playmaker.
Funny how a painful season could be saved by a separated shoulder.
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