Alex Smith: “I Got Carried Away” Talking About Cam Newton
By Mike Dyce
I was talking to Alex Smith last Thursday on a media conference call for the American Century Championship when it was my turn to ask a question. Earlier in the year he had made comments about Cam Newton’s numbers but lack of a winning record so when my turn to ask a question came about I asked him the following:
“With so much depth at the wide receiver position for the 49ers, are you changing your perspective on the comments you made about Cam Newton, and game manager and maybe looking to become a more prolific passer this season?”
Alex Smith quickly and without hesitation responded.
“I was going after more of the passing-yards statistic and I don’t really believe there’s a great correlation to winning in the NFL,” Smith said. “I don’t. I don’t buy it. If you’re looking for a statistic that has a better correlation to winning, it’s probably yards-per-attempt.”
While he stood by his comments about passing yards per game being an overvalued statistic and that yards per attempt was much better to winning he did back off his comments about Cam Newton slightly.
“Obviously I got carried away there” Smith went on to say. “But for me it’s about winning games.”
Smith went on to use New Orleans Saints and their record breaking passing season as a comparison.
“We played the Saints in the playoff game, and that offense is pretty prolific and threw for over 5,000 yards. I’m trying to score more points than the other team I don’t care how we do it and that’s our philosophy at the 49ers. We got a lot of different ways to get it done and we’re going to make you defend the whole field.”
Smith certainly will have a chance to stretch the field. The 49ers added wide receivers Randy Moss and Superbowl hero Mario Manningham to join Michael Crabtree. Not to mention Vernon Davis and Frank Gore. But to Smith it’s still about winning games.
“I really don’t care how many yards I throw for as long as we score more points than the other team” Smith said.
To stay up to date on the latest from NFL Spin Zone, become a fan on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.