“The strongest of all warriors are these two – Time and Patience.” – Leo Tolstoy, War and Peace

Alex Smith certainly has spent a good amount of time wearing a San Francisco 49ers’ uniform while fans haven’t always found the patience to tolerate Smith’s mediocrity. In Smith’s case, it was the lack of patience and abundance of time that became his enemies and fought against him. Perhaps to the chagrin of some 49ers’ fans the team was unable to strike a deal with future Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning. All the while, scorned quarterback Alex Smith was off meeting with the Miami Dolphins.

In the end, however, things fell into place as they were destined and Manning is now a member of the Denver Broncos and Smith is once again a 49er – this time with a three-year contract in place.

His return in 2012 should be a very special one indeed. After a 2011 season where Smith led the 49ers to an appearance in the NFC Championship Game and put up the best numbers of his seven-year NFL career he can only get better, in my opinion. Why is that, you ask? There are several reasons, but these seem to be the ones that best explain Smith’s projected development:

Playing in the same system for the second straight year. In 2012, Alex Smith will enjoy the comforts of running the exact same offense, with the exact same coaches and coordinators for consecutive years for the first time in his NFL career. The only difference in 2012 will be the upgraded pieces the 49ers have surrounded Smith with. With the ability to work out of the same offensive scheme as the previous year, the focus can be drawn away from learning the plays and geared more towards Smith’s development. Smith didn’t have a perfect 2011, but his offseason work and stability should prove to be the building block for an even better 2012.

Upgrading of key offensive positions. The 49ers have their top-ranked defense back in full force, so the only logical thing to do in the draft and free agency was to upgrade the offense. Among those upgrades include an improved wide receiving corps with acquisitions A.J. Jenkins, Randy Moss, Mario Manningham, and Chris Owusu. Not to mention that the 49ers picked up LaMichael James, Jewel Hampton, and Brandon Jacobs to bolster the running back position. With a much more versatile offense, Alex Smith will have more options than he did in 2011 – and he still has Frank Gore, Michael Crabtree, Vernon Davis, and Delanie Walker.

Working out with Tom House. It was reported on May 13 that back in March, for one week, Alex Smith worked out with former MLB pitcher Tom House. While his crossover to coaching a football player may seem lost in translation, Tom Brady, Matt Cassel, and Carson Palmer were all there with Smith, working with House. Perhaps the fact that Tom Brady was there says enough about his credibility, but what would House really know about throwing a football? When he was coaching baseball, House used to have his pitchers throw with footballs because it’s the same neural pathway as throwing a baseball and it could help improve their throwing motion. (Apparently it’s all about getting your body behind the ball for the most efficient throw – regardless of sport.)

According to Jim Harbaugh, Smith has already made dramatic improvement in his throwing motion – something that had been affected by his shoulder surgery in 2008 and has hindered his ability ever since. But now, Smith has the opportunity to build on his 2011 performance and once again have the best year of his career.

Which of the three reasons make you feel the most confident in Alex Smith in 2012: the same offensive scheme, the new talent around him, or the workout with Tom House? Is there something else that has you feeling confident in Alex Smith or do you not have confidence in him to lead the 49ers?

David is co-founder of wrapupp sports blog where fresh content is posted daily and present sports blogs and sports opinions – all with a West Coast bias. Growing up in the Bay Area, David is a huge supporter of all the local sports teams; the Giants, Athletics, Warriors, Sharks, 49ers, and Raiders. His one fault, admittedly, as many of his friends and family would say, is his love for the Los Angeles Lakers. Growing up, Magic Johnson was his favorite basketball player and he fell in love with the team. He chalks it up to, “Not knowing any better”. Now his love for sports has turned just as academic as it is intuitive and he follows most all sports all over the nation.

You can follow David on Twitter: @officialwrapupp

Sources:

NFL.com. Baseball man helps Alex Smith rediscover groove. NFL 2012

More from David Mehrwein and the Yahoo! Contributor Network:

San Francisco 49ers’ Undrafted Free Agent Chris Owusu Ready to Prove Doubters Wrong: Fan Breakdown

Will San Francisco 49ers’ Randy Moss Help Guide Michael Crabtree in the Right Direction? Fan Question

Los Angeles Lakers’ Metta World Peace Ready to Face Oklahoma City Thunder: Fan Preview

Is Andrew Bynum a Cancer to the Los Angeles Lakers? Quote Roundup

Andrew Bynum Lacks Intensity as Los Angeles Lakers Fall to Denver Nuggets: Fan Reaction

Alex Smith is just way too good at dealing with this crazy stuff and deflecting the drama. It’s understandable. He has had plenty of practice.

As Smith noted Wednesday after signing his new contract, he has “been through way worse than this” during his time with the 49ers.

Agreed. For references, please see Jim Hostler and Jimmy Raye, two of the substandard offensive coordinators Smith suffered through before Jim Harbaugh arrived as head coach. Smith also has endured injury, booing, theories about his hand size, scorn, backstabbing gossip and red zone dysfunction.

Still, there was a difference between those travails and Smith’s just-completed free-agent episode: It had far more soap opera elements.

A few missing details were filled in Wednesday.

For instance, Smith pretty much confirmed he never had any true intentions of going elsewhere. He said he might even have stayed if Peyton Manning had signed with the 49ers. According to Smith, Harbaugh had implied that he wanted both Smith and Manning on the roster. Smith said he would have “relished” the chance to compete against Manning.

Of course, he did not say how strong the relish would be — or why, if he was so eager for such a competition, he took that trip to Miami last weekend for a conversation with the Dolphins.

“I had never been to Miami Beach,” Smith joked, “and thought it was a good way to go see it.”

As I said, the guy has really developed the arts of

dealing and deflecting.

Smith was vague about when he was informed of the 49ers’ interest in Manning but said Harbaugh and general manager Trent Baalke made a house call to discuss the situation.

“I don’t know what day it was,” Smith said. “Obviously early last week sometime. I forget what day it was. It all kind of seems like a blur. … It was right there when they first started to look into the process of looking at (Manning). They came over and sat down with me and told me about

it.”

Smith is a bright and organized man. One would think that, given the conversation’s potential impact on Smith’s future, he would recall the exact day of that meeting. And if it took place after, not before, Harbaugh’s stealth trip to North Carolina for the Manning workout … well, that would mean the coach wasn’t as upfront as he could have been with Smith. But to Smith, it doesn’t matter.

“The conversation with Jim,” Smith said, “was about competition and the best man winning. The same way with me last year when I got brought in. Nothing was ever laid out there, nothing was given to you. You were going to have to earn everything. And I agree with it. Jim firmly believes in … that’s the nature of this game.”

Makes

you wonder if Harbaugh told Manning the same thing — that he’d have to compete for the starting job. Did that impact Manning’s Denver decision? And here’s another curious piece of information: Even though Smith and Manning share the same agent, Tom Condon, the two quarterbacks never spoke to each other through the free-agent process. They still haven’t talked.

From this point forward, however, all of that is trivia and folderol. It is time to ponder more significant questions, namely:

1. Will Smith be a better quarterback next season than last? Answer: No reason he can’t be. When the season begins, Smith should have a better fleet of receivers, assuming that Randy Moss’ attitude is right and his legs haven’t turned to overcooked

spaghetti during his year away from the game. Meanwhile, Mario Manningham will make at least five plays that turn underthrown or overthrown Smith passes into catches.

2. Will Smith be affected by Harbaugh’s desire to seek a better quarterback alternative this offseason? Answer: Can’t see why. Smith’s mental toughness might have been an issue his first few seasons in the league, but his grittiness should never be questioned after that playoff performance against a New Orleans Saints team that, we now know, was just as concerned with maiming quarterbacks as stopping them.

3. After Harbaugh and offensive coordinator Greg Roman gave Smith relatively conservative passing game plans a year ago, will he be allowed to open it up more in

2012? Answer: Yes, and he will need to do so. In the NFL, the same tricks never work twice. Plus, the 49ers’ schedule is much tougher. Smith will use the offseason to become a more sophisticated quarterback and work on his weaknesses — principally, not always being able to quickly identify the best receiving option on a particular play and not delivering more consistently accurate short passes.

Of course, that’s the dull and humdrum football stuff. It isn’t as compelling as rumors about which private jet is flying to which secret practice field, or whether someone’s wife is influencing a decision, or if one quarterback is miffed about his team bringing in a famous backup.

That’s still going on in other NFL regions. Around here, we’ll just have to wait until next year. Too bad. Those bogus trips to the beach were fun while they lasted.

Contact Mark Purdy at mpurdy@mercurynews.com or 408-920-5092.