I'm hoping we can lay this Alex Smith thing to rest. I have gone to the great trouble of pulling Alex Smith's career stats to compare to Fitz's stats.

Alex Smith career stats:

1. QB Rating: 79.1
2. Completion %: 59.3
3. Career Passing Attempts: 2,177
4. TD/Ints: 81/63 (or a 1.28 ratio)
5. Yards per game: 178.5
6. YPA: 6.6

Fitz career stats:

1. QB Rating: 76.8
2. Career Passing attempts: 2,249
3. Completion %: 59.5
4. TD/Ints: 92/81 (1.13 ratio)
5. Yards per game: 193.7
6. YPA: 6.4

If these numbers do not speak for themselves, let me be clear. These stat lines are a complete wash. Fitz is two years older that Smith, but their sample sizes are about the same. What we see is what you get with both. Smith may be SLIGHTLY less mistake prone, but Fitz has been a bit more productive in terms of yards per game. Some may say this isn't fair b/c Smith had garbage coaches before Harbaugh. Fair enough, but it's not like Fitz has had Bellicheck coaching him either.

Now, most people who have suggested taking Alex Smith do so hoping that he can be a bridge QB until our rookie develops enough to start. However, statistically, there is no reason to favor Smith over Fitz. Outside of stats, Fitz gets the nod for chemistry with the team, his leadership, continuity, and his lack of emotional issues.

So, if Smith = Fitz in terms of stats, and Fitz is better for intangibles (with this team), why on earth would you create tensions by cutting Fitz and bringing in a stranger? It can't be a money issue. Cut Fitz or keep him, it counts the same roughly to same against the cap. Smith will cost at least 6-7 million anyway, so the savings are minimal.

Conclusion: We need a bridge qb/backup. We'll swallow Fitz's cap numbers whatever we do. Therefore, we should keep Fitz as a bridge QB/backup. Seems like a no-brainer to me.