San Francisco 49ers WR Torrey Smith was on Murph & Mac on KNBR 680 this morning to discuss the team's change at quarterback and their offensive woes as they head into Week 6 to face the Buffalo Bills in New York.
First, he was asked to look back to Super Bowl XLVII when he was on the Baltimore Ravens and facing the 49ers. San Francisco was facing a 1st-and-goal on the 7-yard line.
How did Smith feel during the following set of plays prior to his Ravens clinching the victory? "I was sick over there," Smith said. "I thought it was going to be a blowout then I was like, 'We're about to lose this game.' I just knew, you get into the red zone, you get this sad feeling that they had all of the momentum. It's like, 'Aw man. We're really about to lose.' But then I thought they were going to score quicker so we would have an opportunity to get some points back."
It was a great segway into the next topic because the quarterback for the 49ers that day was Colin Kaepernick, who this week was named the starter for San Francisco against the Bills. How has the locker room reacted to the quarterback switch? "I don't think I really see any big change in the locker room," Smith answered. "I think our team has a lot of respect for both guys. I don't think it's one of these things where you would chant for one guy to do well or fail for the next guy to get in. If Blaine was playing extremely well, no one would say anything. But being that there's a switch, no one is saying anything either. So it's like, 'Alright, let's just go out there and make something happen.'
"Either way, they're both our teammates. They're both our brothers. We want to go out and play well regardless of who is behind center."
"He's a competitor," Smith continued. "No one wants to be the greatest than Kap. No one works harder than Kap. No one believes in Kap more than himself. I don't think it's a question of him doubting his ability or us not believing in him. It's simply going out there to get it done."
Smith was asked if he expects to see more deep balls with Kaepernick in there. He said that the team has been calling them so he always felt like they have that chance. "I always feel like if I'm one on one, give me a shot," Smith said. "I'll definitely be in his ear about that."
"I think I'd be lying if I said I haven't been frustrated at all," Smith said when asked about his frustration level. "There have been times when we're winning, when we're up 14 to zero versus Dallas and I didn't have the ball thrown to me, I didn't say a single word. And then my first target we missed on with the big post. I was obviously very upset about that. That was a game-changing play for us. It just all depends. When we're winning, I don't care. I'm getting dead serious when I tell you that. I don't need to get the ball because we're doing our job. But when we're struggling, I know I can play ball."
Smith ended the interview by agreeing that there are probably people that want to see him fail because of his protests, but that Kaepernick has handled it well. "I think it will mean a lot if he goes out there and plays well because there are a lot of people who are rooting for him to fail," Smith said.
You can listen to the entire interview on KNBR 680.
