With the 7th selection in the 2011 NFL Draft, San Francisco selects...

Before we get to that, allow me to applaud the fans in New York for booing Roger Goodell the moment he showed his face on stage. That may have been the best moment of the entire draft. For the most part, fans haven't really had an opportunity to voice their opinion regarding the NFL lockout and on the biggest stage, with all the networks on air, our voice was heard. Thank you.

Now, as a life long 49er fan, I have high expectations. Sadly, with high expectations come even bigger letdowns. A lot of people remember where they were the day Dwight Clark snatched that pass out of the air in the NFC Championship game, a lot of fans know where they were when Barry Bonds* hit the homerun to pass Hank Aaron. Well, I remember exactly where I was when Alex Smith was drafted. I was driving home from San Jose after a night of heavy drinking, I was exhausted and felt like garbage. I was listening to the draft on the radio and all I wanted to hear was the name of my favorite Cal QB Aaron Rodgers. Instead, I heard the name Alex Smith and with that I shut off the radio and drove home in hangover silence.

From that day forward I have not been excited about the draft. I know, we got some studs recently, Patrick Willis, Vernon Davis and we don't know about the guys from last year just yet. I just get the feeling that the Niners have no clue when it comes to drafting players. I had high hopes that yesterday would be different now that Harbaugh is manning the ship, but at 5:42 PM PST on April 28, 2011, it didn't feel that way. I felt like we were the laughing stock of the NFL and that's definitely not a good feeling. When there are pressing needs at Defensive Back, why not take Prince Amukamara? When you need a QB and your team just hired a QB guru, why not draft Blaine Gabbert?

With the 7th selection in the 2011 NFL draft, San Francisco selects Aldon Smith (WHO????) Linebacker from Missouri. I would imagine 97% of Niner fans had no clue who that guy was. I would imagine 90% of us were still confused, pissed off and uncertain after John Clayton came out and said the guy projects as an excellent pick, even if he could have been taken 8-12 picks later in the draft. Quick fact check. Aldon Smith (Niners should never draft a guy with first initial A last name Smith ever again) played in all of 22 career college games and broke his leg at the end of last season) but has huge upside and great potential.

I don't know if this guy is the next Patrick Willis, the next Rashaun Woods or if he will fall somewhere in between. What I do know is that this pick, with Blaine Gabbert being passed up by the Niners, is that we are faced with yet another year of Alex Smith. That makes me cringe. We have 11 more picks in this draft and I just hope they make some noise, get some guys who can play now and let's get a QB for Harbs to mold.