49ers QB Smith eager for fresh start

Shoulder healing; Smith, Nolan eager for a fresh start
San Jose Mercury News

Alex Smith said his surgically repaired throwing shoulder is easing its way toward a full recovery.
As for his standing with Coach Mike Nolan, the 49ers quarterback said that fractured relationship has 100 percent healed.
"I think we both understand each other," Smith said. "There are definitely things I look back at and wish I could do over again."
The 49ers, perhaps welcoming a respite from stories about their tampering penalty, put Smith on a conference call with Bay Area reporters Thursday. The quarterback sounded rejuvenated in spirit - and nothing like the player whose sour 2007 included a separated right shoulder and public feud with his coach.
The latter issue came to a boil in December, when Smith told the Mercury News that Nolan had tried to "spin" his teammates against him by indicating Smith's injury wasn't that severe.
Thursday, however, the quarterback declared the air cleared.
"(Nolan) and I are both looking forward to putting last year behind us," Smith said. "I've talked with him several times and I think we're both excited about it. I know I definitely am. (Last year) is not a reflection of either of us.
"We're both better than that and I think we're looking forward to obviously erasing that and proving not only to the people in this building, but everywhere, that we're going to move on and we're going to do better than that and we expect better."
Smith, at the 49ers' urging, held off on surgery until
Advertisement

December. He is now working his way back into playing shape with an eye on re-establishing his claim to the starting quarterback job.
He said he throws every few days, with a schedule similar to a baseball pitcher. At this point, Smith is playing catch at a distance of up to 40 yards.
"I'm definitely not out here gunning these things," he said. "But to throw the ball 40 yards, you've got to be throwing it decent."
He is more encouraged by his progress in the weight room where, he said, "I've been lifting pretty much full go."
Smith's health will be crucial if he is to fend off Shaun Hill for the No. 1 role. Nolan, as well as new offensive coordinator Mike Martz, has declared the job wide open.
Smith said he is already working with Martz and quarterbacks coach Ted Tollner to get a feel for the system. He is excited by Martz's success rate with previous passers, even previously unheralded players such as Kurt Warner and Marc Bulger.
"No question," Smith said. "You just look at the track record he had with all those quarterbacks and the numbers they've put up.
"I'm just excited for the chance to reach my potential. I feel like I haven't even been there yet. With Coach Martz's help, and all the guys around here, I hope to get there."
Smith, the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2005, has 19 career touchdown passes, 31 interceptions and a meager 63.9 passer rating.
He acknowledged that he took inspiration when Eli Manning - another former No. 1 pick who had a rocky career start - blossomed into the Super Bowl MVP last season.
Smith and Manning share the same agent, Tom Condon, and have spoken several times since the Super Bowl.
"If you look at Eli two years ago and what was being said in New York, and if you look at it now, a lot has changed in that time," Smith said. "That's the exciting thing about this game - you have a chance to do that and erase last year."