Here is a transcript of my interview with Alex Smith before the Saturday practice at the 49er minicamp:
Cohn: Do you have a different mindset this season?
Smith: Yeah, I think I'm in a very different place mentally than where I was even last year. I just think the combination of going through what I went through and really reaching that level of frustration. Obviously when you're hurt in back-to-back years, you're kind of searching a little bit. And a lot of things happened the way they did and you have a lot of time to think about things and go through them. I had my surgery around Halloween - before this I worried about things sometimes that were out of my control. I worried about things that were external and let them affect me, affect my mind, affect my attitude which in turn affected my play and performance. And really I came to the conclusion - this is honest, I'm not BSing - that stuff kind of is what it is and I'm not going to let it affect me. I'll control what I can control. Which is especially my attitude and state of mind and work ethic. And the rest I'm going to let it run off me. I got married this offseason. I'm really stable outside of football with my life. With all the media stuff and what I went through with Nolan and my injuries, I've reached a point if I let any of that get to me or if I think about it or dwell on it or get that in my head, it ends up having a negative effect on me. I guess the last couple of years I've definitely seen the results of that and what it's done to me. I'm really just going to focus on what I can do. And really what is that? That is my attitude. That is me coming to work, my work ethic. When the season ended I was here every day getting healthy. I'm tired of being hurt. I concentrate on things I can control. That is getting healthy, coming in every day, getting with the coaches, working with the play book. I'm not going to dwell on what people might think of me.
Cohn: Did you dwell on that before?
Smith: Oh, absolutely, being the No. 1 pick whether you like it or not. I've always put a lot of pressure on myself. It's a lot different when you're under the radar. When I went to college and was under the radar no one knows who you are. I knew what I had in me and I set out to prove it and I held myself to a high level but it's very different when you come in as a 20-year-old draft pick turning 21 and playing right away and yeah I still held myself to a high level of expectations but it's different when everyone's looking at you for the answer. Everyone's looking at you - When is it going to happen? Everyone wants to see those things out of you. Stressing about that doesn't help you. I definitely think it was something I thought about, absolutely.
Cohn: Are you under the radar now?
Smith: I don't know if I'm under radar but when you haven't played in two years I guess you're a little bit, more so than what I probably was two years ago for sure. In that sense, yeah, probably.
Cohn: You seem more mature, more able to prioritize things.
Smith: Yes, no question. It reached the point where me sitting here and fretting over what people think of me and this and that was only having a negative impact on me. It was only detrimental to me, affected my play, affected my concentration coming to work. I'm making a conscious effort that I'm not going to do that anymore. I'm not. I'm not going to let any external distractions affect me and my play and I'll really prioritize what's important.
Cohn: In the past did negative thoughts leak into your play?
Smith: It's not necessarily that black and white. The stress of dwelling on things outside your control just wears on you in general. I find myself working harder now but I'm more mentally fresh, if that makes sense. I'm a lot more driven, more motivated. I feel I'm more focused at this point. I know what I'm after. I know what it looks like. I know what I'm trying to get to.
Cohn: What does it look like?
Smith: For me it's not blowing what this is out of proportion. It's playing quarterback. I'm going to do what I can to manage the game. I'm going to come out here every day and work my ass off. I'm going to bust my ass and I'm going to know this position better than anyone else. And when I'm out there when that guy's open I'm going to hit him. And when he's not then I'm going to get rid of the ball. I'm not going to sit here and dwell on completion percentage and QB rating and things like that which I did. I can tell you so much gets made out of freaking QB rating in this league. It's in your head. Like that freaking matters in the big picture. I'm here to try and put this team in a position to win and be accountable to my teammates. I haven't been accountable in two years now.
Cohn: What are you trying to accomplish in this minicamp?
Smith: We're competing right now. I mean you can say this is a rookie minicamp but Shaun and I are competing every day. It's very clear that there are no days off and we're going to be competing until a decision is made. So in that sense you better be ready to go. You better be into your book, you better have the mindset that you're going to go out there and compete, compete for your job. This is a big deal and it's not something to be taken likely.
Cohn: Is it a good feeling to be competing?
Smith: It's good. It is good. It's not comfortable. I'll tell you that. It's not. Competing is hard. It's not something easily done when you do it at a high level. Shaun and I, especially how close we are, but we really go after each other. You're out there and you want to become the best player you can and you want to be better and you want to win the job and we both want it. It is hard. It's not easy. It's something that's going to make us better. I know that's kind of cliché but I think it does. Competition is healthy. But yeah it's not comfortable, that's for sure. We're pushing each other. We're going at it.
Cohn: Do you give yourself odds, like what is my shot at being the starting quarterback?
Smith: Not helpful. It's exactly one of those things we talked about. If I start dwelling on, 'Do I have a chance if I do this and that?' those are things outside of my control. Things I can control are coming to work every day prepared and ready to go the best that I can, putting myself in the best position to succeed which in turn is putting my team in the best position to succeed and win games. It's not worrying about other stuff. I'm going to win this job if I go out and play to the best of my ability. It's not necessarily beating Shaun although we're competing against each other. I've got to push myself to beat him out and play to the level I know I can play at.
Cohn: How good a quarterback are you now and do you have an idea of how good you can be?
Smith: I'm trying to raise the bar, trying to raise my own personal bar and at the same time trying to help the 49er team raise the bar and that bar is commitment, it is play, it is my potential and I'm trying to raise all that and trying to achieve it. I know what I want to get to, the player I want to become it definitely is in my head. It's a motivator. I know I can play in this league right now. I know I can be successful. I know I can be a great player. That is in my head, no question. It has to be.
Cohn: You used the adjective great. Is that where your horizon is?
Smith: Yes. Yes. No question. I think without a doubt, it's something I firmly believe. It's just a matter of time. I'm going to make it happen,
Hard to remember, but wasn't Alex a pretty boring interview when he was starting? Obviously in this conversation he said a lot of what you'd expect, but he seems to be at a level of adulthood that wasn't there before. Intelligent and honest and fairly insightful. Not all cliches. I'm pulling for the kid, although Shaun has earned the right to start.
saw you on a Comcast sports show the other night and was reminded how much I miss your column in the Chron, especially on boxing.
I recall a piece years ago about some of the great things one sees in sports. You were comparing various feats in different sports, but decided that the crushing surprise punch was perhaps the best. The phrase I remember vividly was about the unsuspecting victim of the punch as, "The hapless palooka, snoozing on the canvas." I was reminded of that great word picture last night as Hatton was caught with that left hook that guys practice on the heavy bag, but rarely execute to such well timed perfection.
I was born in 1946 in Manhatten to a large Scots-Irish clan where a rite of passage was putting on the golves with your cousins at family gatherings. In college, I worked out at a seedy YMCA in Trenton, NJ. I thought ( operative word "thought") I was a tough kid until I sparred with a bunch of nobodies who could break your ribs with a six inch punch.
Good to see you on TV the other day.
Best regards
AJ
Al, Thanks for your kind words
Lowell
Has Alex been reading Epictetus? He sounds stoic and in control of his emotional state of mind. In my mind that was always his biggest issue, his mental state. That translates to a lack of ability to think under pressure....a critical job skill for a NFL QB. It remains to be seen if he can live up to his words, but I love what he said.
By the way Lowell...Pacquiao KOs Hatton in second round huh? Hatton tough guy, but not world class. Now I can only hope Pacquiao KOs Mayweather in the 1st.
Fred, If Mayweather is the fighter he was -- no guarantee -- he'll beat Pacquiao
Lowell
Alex Smith will be a good quarterback in the NFL if given a chance. He's been held back by injuries and new schemes every single year he's been a 49er. And what did he have to throw to? Who did he have to protect him? He had nothing. Now the Niners have Crabtree, the quarterbacks are going to look a lot better.
Great interview, he definitely seemed like he had something to say, and I really feel like you brought that out without coercing him.
I really like his new attitude and really hope he gets the reinforcement he needs to keep believing in things this way. When A. Smith first came in the league it seemed like he was just hoping everything would just fall into place. His comments make it sound like he wants to take his success and he is going to do whatever it takes within his will. I like the article, lets hope the new attitude comes out on the field.
I do not think any of us know whether Alex will be a good QB or a bust. But no one can deny that to be thrust into starting as a rookie with a porous OL, and sub-par WRs would have made any rookie QB look bad - even Payton Manning. Nolan was insane.
During his second year, he seemed to play so conservative, I always had the feel that he had been coached by Turner that it was better to throw it away than to make a mistake. He played okay, but was tenative. Again, his line kept him on the run and too many passes were dropped.
The third season? Forget it - once he was hurt it was all over - for the next two years. Damn that Nolan.
tmg,
Couldn't agree more with your take of the Alex interview. It's time for the natural balance of life to swing the opposite way for Alex. He will definetly have ALOT more talent around him than ever before. He just needs to keep his head into everything he does, in practice in Pre-Season games. If he does that then everything will finally fall into place for him.
Alex sounds like Singeltary in this interview. It is amazing, really, how much Sing has really improved the overall attitude of the team. The entire team is on the same page and working towards the same goal, and the coach is providing leadership. This year they will be tested as a team, and they are going to hit a point where they will struggle, and that is the point at which this new team resolve will be tested. For the first time in years, I think the coach has demonstrated he has the will and fortitude to make it through. This interview with Alex really shows how deeply committed this team is to the Vision. Bravo Alex, and BRAVO Singletary.
gonna be Alex. I'm tellin' ya.
Sounds like he has a chip on his shoulder, no pun intended. He's been a nice guy for far too long, he needs to be a leader and bark at his line and receivers when they screw up and show his authority. Hope it works out.
I thought you were interviewing Alex Smith, not HCMS.
You can see what HCMS has done to this team through Alex. Under Nolan he was very timid and mentally weak (albeit he was young). But now he is: what helps my team, period. I have a man crush on singletary, not going to lie.
alex smith seems focused on his goal.he also sounds like hes ready to roll over anything in his way to get there. he seems motivated. he used to be very soft spoken and like someone else said very boring. he actually sound pissed off. which might be a good thing. there is no question that he has more upside than shaun hill. dont get me wrong i love hill. im ready for preseason. i want to see smith play!!!
This was a great interview, and the subsequent string of comments may be the most rational, well thought discussion I've read about Alex Smith in two years. I'm with IndianJim. I think it's gonna be Alex. His time is coming and I think he will be a winner.