Alex Smith: some final notes
It wasn’t his best game.
In fact, at the end of Sunday’s NFC championship game, Niners quarterback Alex Smith looked a lot like the old Alex Smith in a loss to the Giants.
Still, it was a nice year for the former Utah quarterback. He moved from draft bust to respectable NFL field general.
Last week I talked with John L. Smith, the Weber State football coach who is also Alex Smith’s uncle.
Asked if he spent a lot of time keeping his nephew’s spirits up, the elder Smith replied: “Gosh, we have not talked about it that much. His dad and I talked more about it with the (shoulder) surgery and his bad arm and all that stuff. But he’s a self-motivated kid, as we all know, to come in and get out of college (his degree) in three years. He’s got a lot going for him.”
John L. Smith went on to say people that called his nephew a bust weren’t knowledgeable football fans.
“Those guys don’t know anything about football, I’ve made that assumption,” he said. “There’s a lot of them. I assumed he’d be a lot better a lot sooner, but I chalk that up to personnel and the merry-go-round of coaches. Now he has a smart coach, an intelligent guy that really coaches, and good things are happening.”