Smith benching sealed 49ers’ fate

Alex Smith’s benching sealed San Francisco’s fate. By John Martinez Pavliga (originally posted to Flickr as IMG_7552), via Wikimedia Commons

As the 2011 San Francisco 49ers walked off the field of Candlestick Park after losing a close NFC championship game to the eventual champion New York Giants, you could tell that although they had lost, this team had a demeanor about it. It seemed clear that they would be contenders for a long time. They had something to prove and it prove it they did by going into Lambeau Field in week-one and beating the Packers. During their first eight games, the 49ers went 6-2 under quarterback Alex Smith, including Smith going 18-19 while throwing for 232 yards and three touchdowns on a Monday night game against the Arizona Cardinals. Everything seemed to be going well for the 49ers, until during their bye week when they got the news that Alex Smith had suffered a concussion.  They opted to sit Smith for the week 10 matchup against the St. Louis Rams and start second year quarterback Colin Kaepernick. The 49ers and the Rams tied the game and questions began to surface whether or not Smith would return as the starting quarterback.

Kaepernick gave the 49ers a dual threat and skill-set that Smith did not have. Coach Jim Harbaugh liked this option very much and named Kaepernick the starter for the remainder of the season. Kaepernick thrived as the starting quarterback and had the 49ers a favorite to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl.

This decision must have left Smith wondering his value to the team and many wondered if he would accept his new role as a backup. Smith, being the team player that he is, took the new role with grace and watched Kaepernick take his team all the way to the Super Bowl. Under Kapernick, including the playoffs, the 49ers had a record of 7-3-1 and under Alex Smith the 49ers went 6-2.

I never agreed with coach Harbaugh’s decision to bench Smith for Kaepernick, but I guess that’s why I’m not coaching in the NFL. I always felt like it was completely unfair for Alex Smith. The guy led the team to the NFC championship game and if not for a few dumb fumbles, the 49ers would have made the Super Bowl. With Alex Smith. Not to mention, he was 6-2 in the first eight games with 13 touchdowns and only five interceptions. It was a risky move by Harbaugh, one that did pan out as the 49ers did reach the Super Bowl only to come up short.

How ironic is it that the drive that could have sealed the 49ers Super Bowl dreams, came down to a few red-zone plays where Kaepernick just needed to make a good throw? The whole game he was missing key throws that could have changed the game, for instance, his interception. He could have easily dumped it off to his running back who was wide open rather than throw the ball down the field, very high over Randy Moss’s head into the arms of Ed Reed. The 49ers’ performance was lackluster in the first half and I believe without the very odd power outage, the Ravens would have destroyed them at the end of the game just like they did in the first half, but props to the 49ers for making a comeback and the game interesting. Kaepernick and the 49ers had an incredible year and will probably win a Super Bowl in the next few years. But I think the 49ers were destined to lose this season from the moment Alex Smith was replaced as the starter. Karma bites, and the 49ers found that out the hard way.