49ers' Alex Smith is a winner

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After six seasons of unrealized expectations, quartrback Alex Smith has the 49ers one win away from the Super Bowl. | Thearon W. Henderson~Getty Images

Updated: February 21, 2012 8:43AM

Here’s the question Ted ­Phillips should be asking Tim Ruskell and the other candidates to succeed Jerry Angelo as the Bears’ general manager:

Based on these scouting reports, which of these quarterbacks are you more likely to draft:

Player A: ‘‘Has good size, strength and athletic ability … Has a cannon of an arm that allows him to improvise and get out of trouble. … Throws a tight spiral, generates great velocity on his ball and can drill the deep out. Gets rid of the ball quickly and can make throws many NFL quarterbacks are not capable of making. … Demonstrated fine poise in clutch situations.’’

Player B: ‘‘Outstanding intelligence. Excellent leader with all the intangibles. Very good accuracy. Does an excellent job of managing the team and running the offense the way he is coached to do it. Reads coverages well. Good but not great arm strength. Can make plays with his feet. Understands the game. … Outstanding mental maturity. Winner.’’

Of course, no general manager is going to draft a quarterback based on Pro Football Weekly’s annual draft guide (though some could do worse). But it serves to determine which ‘‘positives’’ you prioritize: a quarterback with tremendous athletic ability or one with a tremendous knack for playing the position.

It’s relevant not only to the Bears, but to the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday in the NFC Championship against the New York Giants at Candlestick Park.

Player A is Jay Cutler, who is tough and smart but became a first-round draft pick despite an 11-34 record at Vanderbilt because of his ‘‘cannon of an arm.’’

Player B is Alex Smith, who has a good-but-not-great arm, but became the No. 1 pick in the draft because of his ability to play quarterback.

Until now, it seemed as if the 49ers were fools for drafting a spread-offense quarterback No. 1 overall. But after six difficult seasons, Smith is on the brink of leading the 49ers to the Super Bowl and the reasons he was drafted No. 1 overall are re-emerging. The kid is a winner.

So while many were surprised when Smith made two clutch plays for touchdowns in the final 2:20 of the 49ers’ 36-32 victory against the Saints in the divisional playoffs last week at Candlestick, others were not.

‘‘He has great mental toughness,’’ 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh said. ‘‘He has a way to be focused and loose in the most pressure situations. He’s got that makeup about him that allows him to play and execute. Experience, demeanor, confidence — all those things give you a chance.’’

Smith struggled for most of his career, but he had a lot of growing up to do — he was two weeks shy of his 21st birthday when he was drafted. But he’s still the same guy who was 25-1 as a starter at Helix High School in San Diego with two playoff championships and 21-1 as a starter at Utah with a 35-7 rout of Pittsburgh in the Fiesta Bowl.

And he’s got what Harbaugh refers to as ‘‘a wicked, competitive fight’’ in him. When Smith faced the one team that beat him in high school in the semifinals of the state playoffs in 2001, he threw six touchdown passes in a 61-28 ­victory (having running back Reggie Bush on his side didn’t hurt). He avenged his only loss at Utah (to New Mexico, 47-35) as well.

The Packers’ loss to the Giants ruined the storyline of the week. The careers of Smith and Aaron Rodgers have been linked since college. Smith’s first start at Utah was a victory over California in 2003. When Cal fell behind, coach Jeff Tedford turned to Rodgers, whose magnificence in defeat was the start of his glorious path to the NFL. They were rated 1-2 in the 2005 draft. But while Smith went No. 1, Rodgers stunningly dropped to No. 24.

That was ultimately the best thing for Rodgers — and for a while the worst thing for Smith. But now that Smith has a team he can win with, it looks like the scouts might be right after all.