San Diego Chargers’ coach Norv Turner remembers a lot about Alex Smith’s 2006 season.
After all, he had a front-row seat.
It was Smith’s second year in the NFL, and Turner was brought in as the 49ers offensive coordinator. Turner had a reputation for grooming young quarterbacks, so the two spent a lot of time together.
Smith has grown a lot since then, and Turner has kept track of his former pupil. He was impressed by what he saw last Sunday when Smith played perhaps the best game of his career, and Turner believes the sixth-year signal caller still has plenty of time to prove he can be a quality NFL quarterback.
“There’s no question in my mind,” he said Tuesday in a conference call with the Bay Area media.
And Turner has plenty of reason to believe so. When he thinks back on 2006, the first thing he remembers is Smith leading several late-game scoring drives to seal victories.
“That’s a quality I’m not sure if you develop, I’m not sure if you coach,” Turner said. “I think it’s a quality some guys have – when things get hot and heavy they step up and make plays – and he certainly showed me that.”
After that 2006 season Turner was named the Chargers head coach, and over the last three-plus seasons he’s spent considerable time grooming another quarterback, Phillip Rivers.
On Tuesday, Rivers spoke about Turner the same way Smith has. Rivers called his coach a great teacher of the game and talked about how Turner allows each player to be themselves while staying within the system.
And Rivers knows he will need to do both Thursday if he wants to beat a 49ers defense that forced five turnovers against the Seattle Seahawks.
Although the preparation time is nearly cut in half due to the short week, Rivers isn’t concerned. Both teams have to face the same challenges, he said, and Rivers has had little trouble adjusting to everything thrown his way in 2010.
The Chargers have had to piece together their offense all season due to injuries, holdouts and suspensions, but Rivers hasn’t missed a beat. He has completed passes to 17 different players, and ranks second in the NFL in passing yards (3,868), third in passer rating (103.1) and third in touchdowns (26).
While his top target from a year ago Vincent Jackson is finally back with the team, Rivers may be without the services of tight end Antonio Gates, whose status is still uncertain, Turner said.
