Puffins Notebook: Team puts hopes in SF QB

Following one of the worst defeats in team history, the Horned Puffins used the #4 waiver spot Tuesday to pick up second-year QB Alex Smith. Smith had a terrific game in Arizona on Sunday, passing for 288 yards and a TD.
"We really debated whether or not to use our pick on Alex, but the bottom line is we felt he has a chance to be pretty darn good and we don't want to be kicking ourselves later for passing on him," stated GM Derek Harlan. "I realize he's not Carson Palmer, but he was a #1 pick like Carson was, so we'll see how it goes. He's probably gonna get a start at OC this week, so we're throwing him right into the fire. Hopefully he'll repond."

in other news...
...to make room for Smith on the roster, reserve RB T.J. Duckett was released. Duckett was unavailable for comment...with "free pickups" beginning Wednesday morning at 7:00 a.m. the team acquired backup RB Jerious Norwood. Norwood, a rookie with the Falcons, had an excellent preseason and saw some action in week 1 against the Panters. He rushed 10 times for 66 yards while serving as the backup to Warrick Dunn. "We like the kid and if Dunn were to get hurt, Norwood would be a hot commodity on the waiver wire, so we went ahead and added him," said Harlan. Backup TE Jeb Putzier was released...speaking of #1 overall picks, the Puffins roster now features the top pick from the 2002 NFL draft (David Carr), 2004 draft (Eli Manning), & 2005 draft (Alex Smith)...following Sunday night's game with big brother Peyton, Eli was reportedly spotted at the "nightclub" Scores. When approached about it, Eli followed his "no comment" with "why do you give a #&$@ anyway? I've been trying to get Jessica Simpson's number for two months, so don't worry about what I'm doing after a game." This is quite a different Eli than we remember from last year. He is supposedly bitter about the fact that some inside the organization think he was drafted as much for his colorful comments as he was for his playing ability. Nonetheless, Manning is, and will be a Puffin. For that, we here at tkn2 are thankful.