SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Alex Smith acknowledges he couldn't figure out the NFL in his first season.
To be fair, the San Francisco quarterback didn't have a whole lot of help — but that's starting to change.
Everybody knows the 49ers were awful last season, from their offensive line to their receiving corps. Smith, the first draft pick of coach Mike Nolan's tenure, had a huge contract and a spotlight, but few talented teammates, no veteran mentor and a coaching staff also in its first season together.
Everything was set up for a slow start to Smith's career, but he still showed up to take his lumps every day, knowing every setback would be a valuable learning experience.
"There were a lot of things to learn, on and off the field, and I still don't have it all figured out," Smith said Wednesday as the 49ers began preparations for Sunday's home opener against St. Louis. "I don't think you can pick up everything in a year. Nobody starts out playing the way they want to be."
A year later, Smith is getting there. He went 23-of-40 for 288 yards and one touchdown pass — the same number he had in nine appearances last season — in San Francisco's season-opening 34-27 loss at the Arizona Cardinals' new stadium last week. It came down to an end-zone heave on the final play.
Perhaps league observers will soon forget Smith's 11 interceptions, 11 fumbles and that single touchdown pass last season. Everybody seemed to find a vicious way to compare Smith's numbers to historic lows — particularly his 40.8 passer rating, among the worst for a rookie first-round pick in NFL history.
But Smith now has what coach Mike Nolan calls "a whole box of tools he can use to be successful."
He is under the tutelage of offensive coordinator Norv Turner, and veteran Trent Dilfer has vowed to watch his back while mentoring him on the finer points of the job. The 49ers added receiver Antonio Bryant, rookie tight end Vernon Davis and offensive lineman Larry Allen in the offseason, finally bringing several positions up to league standards.
Smith, who skipped his senior season at Utah when he realized he would be a top pick, still is just 22, one of the league's youngest pros. He's younger than seven of the 49ers' draft picks last spring, but Dilfer believes Smith is smart enough to accelerate the learning curve.
"With everything he had to overcome last year, I'm still impressed with how he came out of it," Dilfer said. "There's a lot of things we can work on together that will help him. He's a smart guy, but he needs experience, and there's really only one way you can get that."
Smith had to figure out many nuances of the job by himself last season, particularly after the 49ers surprisingly traded Tim Rattay to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers midway through the season. Rattay, San Francisco's starter in 2004 and Jeff Garcia's longtime backup, was the closest thing to a daily role model for Smith. After his departure, Smith was on his own.
"I thought a lot about that last year, especially in the second half of the season when Tim (Rattay) was gone," Smith said. "A lot of it is just observing him, the decision-making process, but a lot of it is paying attention to how a veteran guy like Trent deals with things."