One of the more puzzling aspects of quarterback Alex Smith’s first season in the NFL was his inability to keep his grip on the football. He fumbled 11 times in his seven starts, but on several occasions the ball slipped out of his hand.
In his first two road starts, the ball squirted away from him six times, resulting in one incomplete pass, four fumbles and one botched handoff. Moreover, Smith said that some of his incomplete passes during a 9-for-22 passing performance against the Seahawks were off target because the ball slipped as he was throwing.
But thanks to a new NFL rule, Smith does not have to be at the mercy of the footballs that are handed to him when the game begins. Now, both the home and visiting teams are allowed to prepare 12 footballs to their liking to be used when their team is on offense.
“The problems I had in the past with the balls were always on the road,” Smith said. “It’ll be nice to travel with our own.”
[New rule could help Smith avoid ‘slipsies’] – Scout.com
Mike P. said:
Does having his own team footballs going to help Smith? I think Smith is going to be super this year with or without the team balls on the road. Now he has gotten past the rookie stage? What does the other fans feel about Smith?
2 hours after the fact.Vaughn said:
I don’t think we need to blame the footballs. Smith will come around thou
2 hours after the fact.felipe said:
i think itz about confidence if he feels hes better with his own balls then he plays better..
3 hours after the fact.Idaho Nick said:
Because, you know, one really is the only one who truly knows how to play with one’s own balls.
3 hours after the fact.Justin said:
I agree with Felipe. A new line should help his confidence as well.
3 hours after the fact.felipe said:
yea we could possibly have the best line in the nfc west if we stay healthy.a decision needs to be made at rb weather its barlow or gore.but gore averaged 4.8 ypc his rookie season thats amazing when he played the offense looked healthy a run game will be the key to smith’s development.
3 hours after the fact.AJVIII said:
Smith is going to be much better this year because he has a supporting cast. He will no longer be running for his life on every down.
3 hours after the fact.felipe said:
we also need to worry about defending the deep ball..com on we let jaime martin throw for 300 yards..
3 hours after the fact.Eric said:
It’s all in his head. If he thinks the home balls are better, he will throw better.
4 hours after the fact.jw said:
it’s not all in his head. A lot of QB’s (including P. Manning) complained about the game balls for road games. The home team wasn’t rubbing off the waxy coating from the manufacturer all the balls given to the visiting teams. It might have gotten to his head after a few games, but it didn’t start that way. He didn’t have this problem in college.
4 hours after the fact.hardgore9erfan said:
i agree with jw, eric ur a fuckin panzie, dipshit!
4 hours after the fact.dd said:
All footballs are different and if you aren’t used to a certain type of ball, it can be hard to adjust. So now, Alex should have no more excuses for why he can’t get a snap off or why he overthrows receivers by 15 yards.
5 hours after the fact.The Jason said:
I’ve been having trouble holding onto my sandwich, now that I rub down the hogie first I no longer have this problem.
5 hours after the fact.mdg said:
well i dont know if the football will make that much of a difference maybe if your used to throwin a sertin ball it could help we will see how he response on the field 49ers4life
6 hours after the fact.rick said:
everythings working in his favor this year…bring in bryant..draft davis..johnson and j.jennings are both healthy (for now)..bring in allen…he gets to use whatever ball he wants…and in my opinion, the most important of all is the addition of norv turner
7 hours after the fact.adman said:
Why are people so stupid on this thread.
7 hours after the fact.Home teams don’t rub the new layer of wax on the balls purposely. Peyton Manning and Drew Bledsoe have both complained about this way before Alex Smith ever had this problem. Therefore it’s not Alex Smith just being a rookie and not being used to the ball. It’s the fact that brand new balls have a layer of wax that are not taken off. theres no such thing as different balls in the NFL. They all practice with game balls. Its just that in SF when they practice they rub the wax off eliminating the slippery coating, while at away games, the home teams leave the slippery coating on. Stop being ignorant.
hardgore9erfan said:
adman, shut the fuck up, i’ll kick ur ass man
9 hours after the fact.brmoney said:
adman you are a fag, you don’t know shit and you have obviously never played ball
10 hours after the fact.shane said:
smith better show up… hes takin away all his excusses at once.. no weapons, now we got a line, antonio bryant and vernon davis,, away teams ball, now hes got his own,, first yeah gitters, now its his second.. i like him i juts watnt him to good for his sake, they wont hesitate to put in dilfer
11 hours after the fact.adman said:
No…you’re not a 49er fan if all you do is rip on Alex Smith.
12 hours after the fact.hardgore9erfan said:
adman ur a fuckin moran, y dont u suck a fart out of my asshole, fuckin panzie
1 day after the fact.