The 49ers’ current 5-1 record has been more than surprising. Although the 49ers are competing within a weak division, their 3-0 road record is more than impressive and has proven that they are not just winning their division because the other teams in the NFC West are so horrible. The 49ers’ defense has really carried the team and is the largest reason for the 5-1 record. The 49ers’ defense ranks 2nd in the NFL in points allowed per game at 16.2, they rank 2nd in the NFL in rushing yards allowed per game at 74.7, 2nd in the NFL in touchdowns allowed at 9, and 2nd in the NFL in total points allowed so far this season at 97. Clearly, the defense is solid and can keep our offense in any game no matter what the score is. The one factor that could hold back the 49ers in the future is their offense.

49ers Defense

Obviously, the fate of a team’s offense lies in the hands of their quarterback. Alex Smith ranks 26th in the NFL for passing yards, he is in a 6-way tie for 15th in the league for touchdowns thrown, and is tied for 24th in the league for completions. Although these stats appear pretty dismal, Alex Smith is surprisingly ranked 9th in the NFL for passer rating with a 95.2 and 9th in the NFL for completion percentage with 63.3%. Alex Smith is a bit of an enigma. He’s good enough to remain the starter, but he’s not good enough to ever be compared to the league’s elite quarterbacks. He will remain the starter throughout the season because Colin Kaepernick is not ready to become the everyday starter, and he probably won’t be for a season or two. The 49ers simply do not have any other options, and there are no potential free agents that the 49ers could target.

Alex Smith

If the 49ers make the playoffs this season, Alex Smith will not be the main reason for that. Unless he has a stellar second half of the season, the defense will be the force that drives the 49ers to the playoffs. This season, Alex Smith was placed in the absolute best possible situation to succeed. Jim Harbaugh not only was a quarterback in the NFL for 15 seasons, but he also has proven to be a “players coach,” which means that he gets along with players easily while still commanding respect and authority. Harbaugh has coached some great quarterbacks, and he knows how to get the best out of all his players. Because of all these qualities, Alex Smith should be playing the best football of his life. Yes, Alex Smith has had seven different offensive coordinators in his NFL career. However, if he was good enough to be chosen with the #1 overall pick in 2005, he should be able to adapt. Seven different offensive coordinators requires a lot of adaptation, but he should have been able to rise to the occasion and at least begin to establish himself after his first few years in the league. After seven seasons, we are currently seeing the closest to the best form of Alex Smith we are ever going to see. With an outstanding coach practically tailored specifically for him, with solid teammates around him such as Vernon Davis, Michael Crabtree, and Frank Gore, and with a defense fully supporting him, Alex Smith should have extremely strong stats.

Jim Harbaugh and Alex Smith

Alex Smith’s stats might be strong enough to lead the 49ers to the playoffs, but is he the right quarterback to lead this team to the Super Bowl? Not even close. Jed York (49ers owner), Trent Baalke (general manager), and Jim Harbaugh have all stated that they don’t want to run a team that is satisfied with just making the playoffs. They all want to create and enforce a winning atmosphere. However, Alex Smith is not the quarterback that will lead the 49ers to multiple Super Bowls. If Alex Smith leads the 49ers to the playoffs, it would be a great and, yes, admirable accomplishment, however, this would not sanction him to become the “quarterback of the future.” The 49ers organization needs to be very careful this upcoming offseason. If the team makes the playoffs this season, then the organization still needs to consider if Alex Smith is the right quarterback for this team. In his seventh season, Alex Smith should be hitting his peak, and his stats aren’t exactly “peak-worthy.” Under the best possible circumstances, we are seeing the best Alex Smith that we will see, and he is simply not a strong enough quarterback to lead the 49ers to the Super Bowl.

Jim Harbaugh and Trent Baalke

I would truly enjoy if Alex Smith was able to prove me wrong this season. If you know me personally, you know that I hate to be wrong, especially when involving sports. In this case though, I would love to see him succeed and lead this team to the Super Bowl. This event is extremely unlikely, but it would be gratifying to see Alex Smith come full circle and regain the trust of the 49ers faithful by proving that he’s a winner. The second half of this season will be a key stretch for the 49ers. It will determine if they can make the playoffs and officially start the journey towards a consistent winning team, and it will begin and end with Alex Smith. Let’s see where he takes them.

On opening day of the 2011-2012 season, the 49ers were hoping to play dominant football on both offense and defense. As if continuing the trend from the last season, the 49ers played excellent defense and struggled much more on offense though. The defense allowed no points in the first half and seemed to really bother Tavaris Jackson’s (the Seahawks QB) rhythm. The offense scored no points in the first quarter, but was able to get 3 field goals and Alex Smith was able to dive into the endzone for a touchdown at the end of the second quarter. It appeared as though the 49ers might be able to pull off a win with a 16-0 lead at halftime.

At the beginning of the third quarter, the Seahawks were able to get their first touchdown after a nice pass by Tavaris Jackson to Doug Baldwin on a 3rd and long conversion. After a field goal by the 49ers and several nice scoring runs by the Seahawks, they had cut the deficit to 19-17 with 3:56 left in the game. This game was no longer going to be an easy win for the 49ers, so they really needed a burst of energy. That is exactly what they got from Ted Ginn.

The Seahawks were kicking off and Ted Ginn was receiving the kick. He caught the ball in the endzone and ran 102 yards down the right sideline to return the kickoff for a touchdown. Talk about an energy boost. This made the crowd go absolutely wild. This put the 49ers up 26-17. Three plays and less than a minute later, Ginn was able to return a Seahawks punt for another 55 yards and another touchdown. 33-17. Game over. That was exactly the ending the 49ers needed.

Donte Whitner, one of the new safeties for the 49ers, went to high school with Ginn at Glenville High School in Cleveland. Whitner said, “Teddy’s been doing that stuff since high school. If you don’t get to those types of guys on special teams, they’ll break loose. All you need is a little room with world-class speed. I don’t know many people who can catch him once he sees the end zone.”

Watch highlights of the game here by clicking on the thumbnail: