Alex Smith

To continue to fight, not get frustrated, to stay together and find a way - I think that's important. I think good teams do that.

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?

Golf is so different than football, in many ways. I think that's why I enjoy it.

You get a taste of playing in the playoffs and what that's like, and it's a completely different world. You get a taste in those meaningful games. You get that taste, and you can't get it out. You want more.

I carried around a lot of weight and anxiety - expectations of being a top draft pick and fulfilling those. It was really burdensome and not fun. Stressful. I had to go through some things before I finally turned that around and got back to playing for the right reasons.

The quarterback position gets a lot of attention.

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

Losing is not fun.

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

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.

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.

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.