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Smith better choice than Rodgers

By Alex Fitzsimmons, email [email protected]

His fire burns deeply inside the soul of his body, like molten rock burning fathoms beneath the earth’s surface.

His fire is the undivided and exclusive passion for the game that few ever attain. His name is Alex Smith.

After leading The Utah Utes to an undefeated season and a bowl win, (not to mention his Heisman finalist nomination) Smith is in prime position to be selected first in the upcoming NFL Draft by the San Francisco 49ers. A gun-for-an-arm, an ability to become a running threat and above all, a cool head, are all trademark traits of a great quarterback–three traits that Smith embodies every time he steps on the field.

In his two starting seasons with the Utes, Smith threw 47 touchdown passes with only 7 interceptions and even rushed for 15 scores. In the 2003 and 2004 seasons, Smith boasted QB ratings of 152.3 and 176.5, respectively.

Smith played well in 2003, but 04 was his time to shine. A whopping 32 of his 47 TD throws came in 04 along with 10 of his 15 rushing scores. Smith’s completion percentage was up almost two whole points from 03 to 04; he also averaged more than 9 yards per attempt in 04, compared to 8.4 YPA in 03.

In a 51-28 rout over San Diego State last season, Smith was flawless, throwing 5 TD’s and no interceptions. In fact, Smith was flawless in eight of twelve games last season. Furthermore, Smith completed 80.8 percent of his passes in a 63-31 manhandling against Colorado State. And in case you’re still a doubter, the immaculate Smith had four games where he completed over 70 percent of his passes and not a single game where he completed less than 50 percent.

But what does this all mean? Does it mean that Smith had one standout year and will fail at the pro level? Does it mean that Smith will be the next Brett Favre? Or does it just mean he’s maturing as a player and will continue to grow in the NFL? The safest bet sounds like the third choice, but then again, people raved about Ryan Leaf being the next big thing and look what happened to him.

There always will be guys who can toss the rock 60 yards and hit a receiver seamlessly in stride, but few signal callers possess the intangibles: fieriness, audacity, fearlessness and pride. The ones who do are the guys talked about for years after they retire. These traits, in addition to having a good arm, are what separate Smith from the pack.

In comparison to the other QB vying for the top slot in the draft, the similarities, on paper, are astounding. California’s Aaron Rodgers is arguably a more polished passer than Smith, although the numbers say otherwise. In two seasons with Cal, Rodgers threw 43 TD passes with only 13 interceptions and even rushed for 8 scores. Not quite up to par with Smith, but still very respectable numbers.

Rodgers too matured from 03 to 04, completing 61.6 percent of his passes in 03 to an improved 66.1 percent in 04. Rodgers’ TD throws and QB rating also improved over those two seasons, though his yards passing and interception totals worsened.

However impressive Rodgers’ numbers appear, a degree of inconsistency was noted last season, in a loss to USC, when Rodgers was sacked five times and, unlike Smith, who won his bowl game, Rodgers lost to Texas Tech in the Holiday Bowl–a game Cal should have won.

But the difference between Smith and Rodgers can’t be calculated by statistics: it’s the intangibles that Smith possesses that Rodgers somewhat lacks, combined with the fact that Smith is a swifter runner, which make Smith the more polished player.

Now that’s not to say Rodgers doesn’t have passion for football, he just doesn’t play with the same sense of urgency that Smith does. In fact, few do.

But to say Rodgers doesn’t have potential to be great would be wrong. Both of these vivacious gunslingers have prodigious upsides which far outweigh their faults. While Smith has the mental mindset, Rodgers has the pure muscle–I’d take Rodgers over Smith in a game of who can throw the furthest ball any day of the week and I’d take Smith over Rodgers in a game of who can keep the coolest head after being sacked five times and throwing three interceptions.

However, Smith is entering the NFL with less of a learning curve to overcome. While Rodgers certainly has the arm strength to succeed in the pros, he’s far off from reaching the level Smith has already achieved in terms of mental and emotional strength–two attributes often overshadowed by the more easily determinable trait, the arm.

Every great quarterback had the great arm, every great quarterback had the cerebral decision making process, every great quarterback had that fire–the fire that can’t be taught by any coach or book. The fire that burns deep inside Alex Smith.

2 replies on “Smith better choice than Rodgers”

hmmm… just read a very similar archived ESPN article about the fire inside Ryan Leaf that made him a better draft choice Peyton Manning.

Not saying Smith will be another Leaf, but just goes to show that we are all really guessing when it comes to the future careers of draft picks.

i won’t list some of the 100s of examples of late round players who became superstars and first round players who bombed.

that’s the best thing about sports – we don’t know what will happen. 🙂

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