“As a quarterback, you've got a huge responsibility: You're touching th...” — Alex Smith Quote

As a quarterback, you've got a huge responsibility: You're touching the ball every single play. You have such a big impact on deciding the game, just in your decision-making and how you are with the football and your fundamentals.

There are a lot of peripheral things that you have to deal with in this league, and I dealt with a lot of them when I came in. It's everything from being on your own to facing the media.

At the combine and at my workouts, I tried to be the perfect player. I tried to promote my strengths and conceal my weaknesses, and on paper, I kind of succeeded: I was the first pick in the draft. And with that, I inherited this big shiny trophy that I carried around, and it had one word engraved on it - anxiety.

Obviously, college was an unbelievable experience.

This is a fight. This isn't putting a ball in a hole. This has always been a fight for me, and I just love it when it's that way.

My feelings, as the last ball travelled over the net, and as I realized that the final match was mine, I cannot describe. I felt that here was a prize for all the games I had ever played.

The quarterback has to get rid of the ball quickly, so there's not a lot of time to make moves to gain separation.

Whenever you see me and I'm hitting ground ball after ground ball, you know I'm not feeling right.

I shared a dressing room with Pete Postlethwaite for 18 months, and he became a good friend. His discipline had an impact on me. You could have a laugh with him, but he was always on the ball when it came to work and very professional. Hopefully some of that rubbed off on me.