Quotes from Alex Smith

Certainly, there were tough times, but no, you can't go back and change it. So, why dwell on it?

I've been to so many deals with so many of my peers. I hate to say it, but you go, and it's some tournament or big party or dinner, and you don't even know what you're raising money for. It's like, 'Oh, it's for the kids.' Thanks. But what are you doing?

As a quarterback, when you do have a three-and-out or things do not go right, you are the first one to know. You know more than anyone out there what went wrong and what needs to be corrected and don't necessarily always need to hear it when you come off to the sideline.

As a quarterback, especially when I come off to the sideline, I am trying to get things corrected, trying to get things figured out and move on to the next series.

Dead silence is so much more foreign to me than people screaming at me, good or bad.

Failures and setbacks are inevitable for all of us.

Instincts and fundamentals take over sometimes.

This is the honest truth: I could absolutely care less on yards per game. I think that's a totally overblown stat.

I don't really care how many yards I throw for; as long as we score more points than the guys we're playing.

I think that's the great thing about the NFL. You're out there, and there are very few perennials. It's a battle every single year. You can go first to worst, worst to first.

You have to prove yourself year in and year out, and if you can't get the job done, every team is going to go and try and find somebody else that can.

I've been in this league a long time. The league's not perfect. But I'm definitely proud of a lot of my teammates, coaches, trainers, owners.

Sometimes when you've only got a few snaps, guys try to do too much and try to make too much happen.

To a lot of people, I might just be the guy who went No. 1 in the draft. Or the guy who lost his job to Colin Kaepernick. Or the guy who helped turn a 2-14 Chiefs team into a back-to-back division champ... but then couldn't put them over the top.

It's one thing as a quarterback to sit there and warm up. And there's one thing to throw routes. And there's another thing when you drop back in the pocket and, when a guy comes open, to really be able to urgently - bam - all of a sudden. That guy's open; your body has to do what your mind's telling you.

Once you pull the trigger, you've got to throw balls aggressively and with conviction.

When I watch good friends play, it's almost worse when you're watching, because you have zero impact: you have zero hand in what's going on. When I'm playing, you don't have that because I'm involved in it. I have some kind of say in what's going on.

There is a strike zone in the pocket that's very clear. Can't hit QBs low, can't hit them high.

You love playing on a national stage - anytime you get these games. The Thursday ones are tough; I have a mixed opinion. I think if you win them, they're awesome because you get another little bye week in there, so to speak. They're tough on the quick turnaround.

This is the ultimate team sport, and I really feel that the quarterback position is the epitome of that.

Obviously, college was an unbelievable experience.

That's a special time, to get drafted.

Embrace the new, no matter how uncomfortable, and make it work for you.

I think the quarterback position, moreso than in all of sports, no other position compares - you rely on so many people to do your job.