Smith Gets Advice: The Play’s the Thing

Alex Smith, the quarterback picked first in the draft by San Francisco in April, happily accepted some advice from legendary 49er Steve Young over the summer.

It was simple, uncluttered, memorable -- a nugget that could be boiled down to two words. Young told the rookie what to avoid at all costs:

The bench.

“I gave him tips on how to stay on the field,” said Young, who will be watching from the ESPN studio today when Smith makes his regular-season debut as a starter at home against Indianapolis.

“As a player, you’re not going to be that great when you’re starting out. That’s just the way it is. The first year is absolute survival.”

Smith, who replaces beleaguered Tim Rattay, heard as much in a post-draft conversation with Colt quarterback Peyton Manning, a former No. 1 pick whose team went 3-13 with him starting every game as a rookie.

“I say, ‘Play, play, play, play,’ ” said Manning, who was introduced to Smith by their mutual agent. “That’s what I did. The sooner you play, the sooner you taste live bullets on the field. You see what the blitz is like, and you know where your receiver is going to be. You can only learn so much on a chalkboard.”

Today, the 21-year-old Smith will face a Colt defense that would love to grind him into chalk dust. Indianapolis, once an offensive powerhouse with a swayback nag of a defense, suddenly is pounding opposing offenses into submission. The Colts have given up only 26 points through four games.

According to STATS LLC, since the league expanded to a 16-game schedule in 1978, only one team has surrendered fewer points through a season’s first four games: the 2000 Miami Dolphins, who gave up 22.

Smith is fully aware of what he’s facing.

“I know I’m going to take some shots,” he said.

The 49ers (1-3) have already taken plenty. A week after absorbing a 31-14 pounding from the woeful Arizona Cardinals, they return to a home stadium that definitely has felt like foreign turf. San Francisco has lost nine of its last 11 home games, giving up at least 21 points in each.

Smith began training camp as the starter but struggled before being replaced by Rattay, a six-year veteran. Coach Mike Nolan told them of the latest switch Tuesday.

Smith, the former Utah standout, had been running the scout-team offense against the No. 1 defense.

“Unfortunately, from a defensive standpoint, he has been highly successful,” confessed Nolan, whose defense has given up a staggering average of 473.5 yards a game, the most of any team since the 1950 Baltimore Colts.

Nolan told reporters Rattay was especially disappointed because the quarterback believed his play was improving. But Nolan said the rookie, who has been spending his Tuesdays, normally the players’ day off, studying his craft at team headquarters, “gives us the best chance to win.”

“The more experience he gets, the better he gets,” Nolan said. “He matures very quickly.”

But, as Manning said, only so much maturing can occur as a backup. Smith says he’s ready to make his mark in games that count.

“I think of the phrase ‘Keep punching,’ ” Smith said. “I’m going to keep swinging and keep throwing. I’m a rookie. I’m young. I’m probably going to take some shots and get knocked down, but I just have to get back up and keep going forward. Everything is not going to be golden for me, and there are going to be some bad times. That’s not unexpected.”

A victory, however, would be unexpected. Since 1998, four of the six quarterbacks selected as No. 1 lost their debuts: Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, Tim Couch and Carson Palmer. The two winners were Michael Vick and David Carr.

This should be of some comfort to Smith: None of those guys headed to the bench the next week.

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Lesson plan

Steve Young’s tips to Alex Smith:

1. Keep your cool. Try your best to never lash out at teammates, fans or the media.

2. Don’t be sloppy with the football. Turnovers are even more costly when you have no track record.

3. Move the chains. It doesn’t have to be pretty. Even if you have to crawl to get first downs, do it.

4. Forget the touchdown fixation. If you are moving the ball and you are getting into field-goal range, you’ll stay on the field.

5. Use your head. You’re a smart guy. Use it to your advantage. When you make a mistake -- and it will happen -- you’ll be able to tell the coach what you did wrong.