Quotes from Alex Smith

Quarterback play starts with your eyes and feet. Those have to be in the right place and have to be on time.

The quarterback position gets a lot of attention.

You're the quarterback, if you lose games... it's the head coach and the quarterback. If you're not winning, it's on you.

No one's taking quarterbacks, for the most part, in the first round that haven't had a lot of success.

No quarterback goes out there and plays well on his own.

For anyone that's reached the NFL, especially top picks, you just come from success.

When I was young, you get into the point where you want to throw everything hard. And it looks good, it feels good... You get to the point, though, where it's not realistic.

That's the great thing about the NFL: A team can get hot and win a championship.

There are so many good things, great things that go on in this league.

In this league, you can't take your foot off the gas pedal. You think you have something won, but teams are too good, too talented.

I can just remember games as a young player, counting my stats on the sideline. 'What am I now? I'm this many completions for this many attempts. I wonder what my rating is.'

I know guys respect work ethic, and they respect the guys that are invested and committed.

You can always get better throwing the football.

You look at the best players in the league, the best players at quarterback - I mean Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, the top names - none of those guys are throwing it through a brick wall. They'll have touch.

When I got drafted, I was a spread-option quarterback. It was, 'OK, you've got to get under center, throw to the fullback, throw to the tight end. You've got to learn to be a pro quarterback.' And there was a learning curve there, and I did have to learn some of that.

It's far different aging as a quarterback than aging as a tight end.

I've seen a rebuild, and I've seen how quickly things can turn around when guys buy in.

I really have fun playing golf.

At the combine and at my workouts, I tried to be the perfect player. I tried to promote my strengths and conceal my weaknesses, and on paper, I kind of succeeded: I was the first pick in the draft. And with that, I inherited this big shiny trophy that I carried around, and it had one word engraved on it - anxiety.

More often than not as a quarterback, your performance is a reflection of the guys around you. I've been fortunate to be around some pretty good guys.

It wasn't until I stopped worrying about my own validation and finally refocused my energy on things I could actually change that I finally grew as a person and as a professional.

As a quarterback, you certainly don't want to hamstring your team in any way because - I know this more than anyone - you rely so heavily on those playmakers around you.

Playing quarterback, you rely on everybody. Everybody impacts you.

As a quarterback, you've got a huge responsibility: You're touching the ball every single play. You have such a big impact on deciding the game, just in your decision-making and how you are with the football and your fundamentals.