Smith confident Niners will be back in playoffs in '07

	After accumulating a 40.8 passer rating in nine games his rookie season, Alex Smith improved to a 74.8 rating last season. Peter Read Miller/SI
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Alex Smith was driving his parents' 2001 Mitsubishi Montero around his hometown of San Diego the other day when the subject turned to the most improved team in the NFC: His own.

"Our expectations have never changed but I think the word has gone out there about us a little bit," says Smith. "There are teams that have something about them, like the Patriots, and I think we're heading the right way. Coach [Mike] Nolan has done a great job bringing the right guys in. Not just the right talent but the right personalities. This team has a different energy about it than any team I've been on."

Yes, it's safe to be a Niners fan again. The team has become a fashionable playoff pick following an offseason makeover worthy of Project Runway. The defense, which allowed an NFL-high 412 points in 2006, should be vastly improved thanks to a trio of free agents -- cornerback Nate Clements, strong safety Michael Lewis and outside linebacker Tully Banta Cain -- and first-round pick Patrick Willis, an NFL-ready linebacker out of Ole Miss.

The offense also has added depth -- especially at receiver. The Niners jettisoned problematic wideout Antonio Bryant and added Darrell Jackson and third-round pick Jason Hill to join Arnaz Battle and star-in-the-making tight end Vernon Davis. If the mercurial Ashley Lelie, another free-agent signee, gives San Francisco anything this season, watch out.

"Last year we had one or two guys to make plays," says Smith, who enters his third year as the Niners starting quarterback. "This year we'll have five or six receivers that are dependable and can win a one-on-one battle if we need them. I have not had that as a pro. There had been one or two guys that I could maybe depend on, and other than that, you didn't know what you would get."

Smith knows what he'll get with running back Frank Gore, who rushed for a franchise-record 1,695 yards and was rewarded with a four-year, $28 million contract extension. Gore says he is aiming for 2,000 yards this year and Nolan plans on getting the running back between 20 and 25 carries per game.

"He's very unselfish and brings an attitude to this team that we need," Smith says. "He has a chip on his shoulder."

Football has not been the only thing on Smith's mind this offseason. Last month he launched the Alex Smith Foundation, which will help Bay Area foster students make the transition to college. Smith said that his foundation will initially provide 10 to 12 five-year scholarships, each of which will provide year-round housing and extensive individual guidance and support. The eventual goal is to provide scholarships for 50 students annually.

Last October Smith and his mother, Pam, a Health and Human Services official in San Diego County, attended a Welfare Directors Association meeting in Monterey, Calif., where the keynote speaker was Antwone Fisher, the foster care-child-turned-author-screenwriter whose life story was the subject of a 2002 film starring Denzel Washington. Smith and Fisher were seated at the same table during the event and hit it off immediately. They've since become close friends and last week stood side by side (along with Mayor Gavin Newsom and a host of Niners officials) for the official launch of the scholarship program.

"I'm the antithesis of a foster care kid," says Smith. "I have a great family, great brothers and sisters and parents. I guess I got into it because I was the opposite of it."

"Sometimes you just meet people and like them," Fisher told the San Francisco Chronicle. "Obviously, he didn't grow up as a foster kid, but apparently he has a feeling for the subject."

Smith's continuing maturation will go a long way in securing a postseason spot for the Niners. Last year he played every snap (he finished with 16 touchdowns and 16 interceptions) after starting seven error-filled games during his rookie year. Smith and the Niners still have several areas in which they could improve. They were 26th in third-down efficiency and 29th in red-zone production in 2006.

Last season's 7-9 season did end on an upbeat note when San Francisco knocked the Broncos out of the playoffs with a 26-23 overtime win in Denver. "We were not playing for much except pride, and to go in there and beat up on that team like that was a big step for us," says Smith.

Now they look to take a bigger step and an advantageous schedule should help (the Niners face teams with a combined winning percentage of .469). The team last reached the playoffs in the 2002 season, and Smith doesn't hesitate when asked if he expects to make the postseason. "I expect it," he says. "I expect it, absolutely."