NEW ORLEANS — Phil Simms watched Alex Smith stand tall in the face of the Media Day media blitz Tuesday, and felt for the replaced 49ers quarterback.
Smith suffered a concussion and lost his job to Colin Kaepernick. Simms sustained a foot injury in December 1990 and watched Jeff Hostetler lead the Giants to their Super Bowl XXV upset of the Bills.
“I would say there’s a big difference — the difference is, he’s able to play,” Simms said. “I think it would be much tougher what he’s going through than what I did. The fact that I was hurt, I realized there was nothing I could do, so I don’t know if that softens the blow or not. I think it probably does.
“I saw Alex Smith being interviewed this morning, I did feel for him. He’s handled it great. I don’t know this for a fact, but if he doesn’t get hurt, I don’t think he would have been unseated as the quarterback. I kind of thought maybe he would have been, I always had that vibe, but I think my vibe was wrong from what I understand.
“It’s a tough situation. He has no choice. You have to take it like a man. He knows he’s going to be somewhere else next year with a chance to play, and that’s what you have to look forward to.”
After watching the beginning of the Super Bowl from the sideline, Simms recalled, he retreated.
“I left. I went in the locker room, just ’cause I couldn’t stand there no more,” he said. “Hell, I didn’t want to stand there on crutches and get run over. And then sit on the bench, I couldn’t see what was happening. … Maybe right around the start of the fourth quarter I went to the hotel to finish watching the game. A cop actually took me to the hotel ’cause I wanted to watch it there.”
Smith, who has two years left on his contract, pooh-poohed a report saying he would ask the 49ers to release him.
“It didn’t come from me, I don’t know where any of that came from, no clue,” Smith said. “I think it’s ridiculous. In a week’s time, there will be plenty of time to think about that stuff, talk about that stuff.”
Smith likely will be the best quarterback on the market. If they can navigate their salary-cap mess, perhaps the Jets will be suitors.
Smith is not necessarily keen on being the No. 2 guy for the next few years.
“I want to play football,” he said. “I feel like I have a lot of football left in me, a lot of years left in me. But there will be plenty of time to think about that stuff.”
He put on a brave face, took the high road, continued to act like a professional. NFL Network’s Deion Sanders came by and told Smith it was inconsiderate there was no podium reserved for him.
“Those guys are starters, there’s only so many podiums,” Smith said.
The 28-year-old former No. 1 overall pick said he has no regrets about being honest about the concussion symptoms that turned him into the football Wally Pipp.
“There’s no brain transplants that I’ve ever heard of,” Smith said. “You only get one. Not something to mess around with.”
Smith was asked if it was fair losing the job the way he did.
“This isn’t about fair or unfair,” he said. “[It’s about] trying to win games.”
He only will concede it has been tough and frustrating.
“I wasn’t going to sit and pout and mope around,” Smith said. “This too shall pass.”
He likely will pass on to a new team. He is certain, after this bit of career adversity, he can pass the mental toughness test anywhere. Even New York.
“I feel like the things I’ve been through, I mean it’s not like the Bay area’s a small market by any means,” Smith said.
And he remains Kaepernick’s backup for Sunday’s big game. Maybe the fates will give him some kind of Super break.
“You don’t ever know,” Simms said. “First quarter: ‘Alex, you gotta go in.’ That probably would be the hard part for him is that he mentally and physically has to stay sharp and ready to play.”
If not, in five days he can start thinking about next season, and his next team.