Alex Smith Lays Down the Law

The New Orleans Saints’ Drew Brees is an attacker, a game-changer. In today’s NFL he represents the modern-day outlaw. A gunslinger who comes into your house guns blazing and steals a win.

Alex Smith of the San Francisco 49ers on the other hand is more of a game manager, a lead protector. If Brees is an outlaw then Smith rightfully typifies the role of the Old Western lawman. Reserved, calculating. He only uses his gun when the situation calls for it.

You see, every quarterback has a little gunslinger in him but few possess the aggressive mentality you see from the best of the best. Guys like Brees, Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers who always seem to be in attack mode. It doesn’t matter whether they’re defending their home stadium or invading your turf they know only one way to come at you and that is with an all-out assault.

And just like those tales of the Old West, the gunslinger is idolized in the NFL. Their faces are plastered all over the place. Not on wanted ads mind you but they’re wanted all the same. Every fan, every coach, every franchise wants one of these bad boys on their team.  

Which makes it easy to forget about the enforcers. Guys like Alex Smith who get the job done just not in the spectacular fashion of the leagues’ gunslinger-type quarterbacks.

But these guys can pull the trigger when called upon and usually at the most critical times. You don’t really want to see these guys get into a lot of shootouts but on the occasion when there is no other resort these straight shooters can deliver a win.

That is what Smith was able to do for the 49er faithful on Saturday. As the outlaw Brees looked as if he was going to successfully steal one at the Candlestick Pass, Sheriff Smith prevailed winning the shootout by firing a tight spiral to tight end Vernon Davis in the final minutes of regulation.

The towns people of the gold mining town of San Francisco cheered upon seeing Brees’s evil plot thwarted by the towns’ hero. There would be much jubilation in San Francisco that day and a newfound respect for their leader Smith.

Meanwhile Brees would be sent packing with his head hung in shame. As he boards his flight back to New Orleans later that day he would be greeted by a gentle reminder of the days’ events in the form of a song blasting over the airport’s loudspeakers. “I fought the law and the law won…”

Roosevelt Hall is an NFL Blogger for The Sport Mentalist and also writes for both The Penalty Flag and Outside The Redzone. He can be contacted at RHall_TPFB@Yahoo.com. Follow him on Twitter @Sportmentalist.