My uncle once told me that if I wanted to know what a girl would
look like when she got older, just look at her mother.
My uncle once told me that if I wanted to know what a girl would look like when she got older, just look at her mother. The impression should either send you screaming for the door or make you comfortable enough to hang around. Preseason football can be similarly telling when it comes to the future. But instead of having a prolonged gaze at the woman your girl (team) might become, preseason only offers a snapshot. The San Francisco 49ers first-stringers played a total of 12 plays in a 17-13 loss to the Denver Broncos Monday night.
Thankfully, for 49ers fans, the team didn’t come sauntering onto Bill Walsh Field at Monster Park sporting a pink moo-moo. The first string offense actually had a crisp couple of series, resulting in 10 points. Alex Smith controlled the tempo and threw the ball with accuracy (4-5, 58 yards). He completed two ominous passes, in particular.
The first beautiful pass was a simple square-in to Darryl Jackson, the team’s new lead receiver. Jackson was acquired from divisional rival Seattle for a fourth round pick during April’s draft. The completion wasn’t important because it moved the chains in a preseason game. It was important because it shows Smith and Jackson are on the same page as far as timing goes. Adding significance, the catch was made against Champ Bailey – only the best cornerback on earth.
The second pass of note was far prettier, and posed several more degrees of difficulty. Dropping deep into the pocket, Smith delivered a perfectly thrown ball into a window where only his receiver, Arnaz Battle, could catch it. Running a skinny post from the left slot, Battle extended his arms as he slid to the turf, making the catch at the 1-yard-line while surrounded by defenders.
It was reminiscent of the game-winning pass and catch made by Steve Young and Terrell Owens, respectively, against Green Bay in the first round of the 1998 season’s playoffs. Only this time it wasn’t the playoffs, a Hall of Famer wasn’t throwing the pass, the catch wasn’t a touchdown and a crying TO was nowhere to be seen.
49ers coach Mike Nolan liked what he saw and praised his young QB’s performance.
“I thought Alex played real well,” Nolan said. “He did a great job on that throw to Arnaz Battle to get to the one-yard-line. As I have said before, (Smith) will continue to get better and better. He works hard in practice and in the meetings. Good things happen to those types of players.”
But if preseason games are going to give us any kind of impression as to whether the 49ers will be an ugly heifer or a hot team during the season, we only had two series to judge.
Alex Smith took every offensive snap last season, and judging by how bad Trent Dilfer looked in the second quarter of last night’s game – think Jim Druckenmiller bad – Smith will need to be under center for every snap this year as well.
The last time the 49ers made the playoffs was 2002, and Smith’s comfort level will likely determine if that streak adds another notch in the belt.
“It was nice to get out there,” Smith said. “I felt a lot more comfortable than I have ever played. Knowing what is happening and reading defenses. Everything is really slowing down. I felt really comfortable…”
With the looks to back up those words, 49ers fans should feel a bit more comfortable after the long anticipated first impression. This one could be a keeper.
