I think Alex Smith silenced a lot of his haters last year. He's never going to be a 5000 yard guy like Stafford, Brees, or Eli but I don't think people who know what they're talking about ever thought he would be when he was drafted #1 overall.
Didn't he only throw for 2000 yards his senior season enroute to a perfect season?
He checks down and when he needs to moves in the pocket. With a steady offensive gameplan (he's had something like 6 different offensive coordinators since being drafted) and a healthy shoulder/arm he's going to manage the game, which is all you need to do.
He's a better Pennington.
People always go to the 49ers defense when talking about last year's success but I think first and foremost have to look at their lack of turnovers. 5 int's all season? That's nuts. Weedon and Vick both had 4 yesterday.