the quarterback whisperer

Some have called Jim Harbaugh 'The Quarterback Whisperer.' If Alex Smith's career continues on its current trajectory, that description will seem particularly apt, won't it?

Everyone agrees that having too many good quarterbacks is better than not having enough, although that would mean dealing with the inevitable and dreaded 'quarterback controversy.' Yet I get really excited thinking of the 49ers having a roster full of excellent quarterbacks in the years to come. In addition to Smith, whose stock is rising, there are recent 49ers draft pick Colin Kaepernick, undrafted rookie pickup Scott Tolzien who played exceptionally well against the 49ers this preseason as a member of the San Diego Chargers but is now a Niner, and even the prospect next year of possibly landing former Harbaugh pupil Josh Johnson as a free agent from Tampa Bay. All this without having much of a chance of landing next year's big fish in the draft, quarterback Andrew Luck out of Stanford, Harbaugh's quarterback from his coaching tenure there. I feel so secure having Harbaugh coach all the quarterbacks that are brought to the 49ers. And leading the system being run by Harbaugh, offensive coordinator Greg Roman, and the rest of the staff. It's all good... so far.

But getting back to the imagery of 'the quarterback whisperer' motif. I can't draw, but I can imagine. And what I picture is a drawing made by a cartoonist that has the following: on the left panel is a Robert Redford-looking character standing next to a horse with the words 'the horse whisperer' written below it; in the middle panel is a Cesar Millan-looking character standing next to a dog with the words 'the dog whisperer' written below; and finally, in the right panel, is a Jim Harbaugh-looking character wearing a cap with an 'SF' sewn on it standing next to a football player with the number '11' on the front of his jersey, and below, naturally, are the words 'the quarterback whisperer.' Maybe some day, someone who can actually draw will submit this to the newspaper. The season is still young though and we'll see how it unfolds for the young Jedi Smith.