Alex Smith

You're never going to make everybody happy; there are always going to be people that, yeah, aren't with you. That's the nature of sports.

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.

Game day can be emotional, and there are a lot of ups and downs throughout a game, but as a quarterback, you have to be able to see the bigger picture, steady that ship, get all the guys focused in on the task at hand, and keep the thing moving.

The real football starts in training camp.

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

I was on some bad teams, and I played bad as a young player, certainly, at times. And that all mounts. Yeah, that all mounts. The perception. Everything that goes into that. And so, yeah, I think to kind of get over the hump of that, to change perception, it can be difficult. It's a tall task. And it takes a long time.

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.

Most of the time, you're just trying to be the point guard out there based on the play call and the defense that you're getting; that really dictates where the football goes.

That's a special time, to get drafted.

It's football. Guys get hurt all the time.

I think you have to enjoy the wins. If you're not enjoying the process, there's a problem. You're not doing it for all the right reasons.

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