I distinctly remember the San Francisco Chronicle’s headline back in 2008, when it was announced that Alex Smith would be placed on injured reserve with a broken shoulder.

“END OF AN ERROR,” it read, acknowledging that the Niners would not be bringing back the player they inexplicably chose instead of Aaron Rodgers.  According to then GM Scott McCloughan, a $9 million base salary was just too much money to pay a backup quarterback.

Cringing everytime we saw Rodgers throw another touchdown pass on his way to 4038 yards and 28 touchdowns that season, Niner fans nevertheless breathed a sigh of relief, knowing we could finally wipe the slate clean and move forward.

Not so fast. Smith restructured his contract in 2009, taking a massive pay cut for the chance to compete. With Singletary calling the shots, the Niners were embracing a run-dominant offensive strategy, a strategy that apparently didn’t need a drastic improvement at the quarterback position to execute. Alex Smith was not going to be our franchise quarterback, but an intelligent game manager? Perhaps.

Unfortunately for Singletary and company, it wasn’t hard for opposing defenses to stop an offense that ran the ball up the middle on every fucking down and the Niners stumbled into a 14-18 record over the next two years. So Singletary gets canned, Alex Smith becomes an unrestricted free agent, the Niners win the Jim Harbaugh sweepstakes and optimism somehow begins to flicker again in the hearts of Niner fans.

But then a curious thing happened during the NFL lockout’s brief recess in May.

Jim Harbaugh, former illustrious NFL quarterback, savior of two collegiate programs in decline, mentor and developer to the best quarterback prospect in decades, stepped into the role of NFL head coach for the first time and the first thing he did is hand over his unwavering trust – and playbook – to an unrestricted free agent, a player whose average quarterback rating in five seasons as a 49er was 67.

While the media and Niner fans alike erupted with shock and dismay, Alex Smith quietly went about his business, studying, learning, absorbing and working. He led a players-only camp – “Camp Alex” – during the lockout, where he acted as head coach and quarterback, teaching the playbook to his teammates, taking snaps and leading the team.

Still, and understandably so, the doubt persisted and many wondered if Jim Harbaugh really knew what he was doing. “If Jim Harbaugh can make a quarterback out of Alex Smith, then he will go down in history as one of the best coaches ever,” was a repeated refrain on local sports radio. But the popular sentiment was that Alex Smith was not fixable and that the Niners were destined for another season of mediocrity, with rookie Kaepernick inevitably thrown into the fire too early to relieve a beleaguered quarterback that was bound to fail.

Flash forward to the halfway point of the NFL season and guess what?

With Alex Smith as their starting quarterback, the 49ers are 7-1. They have a five game lead in the NFC west and are routinely ranked as one of the top two teams in the NFL. Sure, their defense has been dominant and Frank Gore continues to be Frank Gore, but Alex Smith has become much more than just a game manager.

After eight games as the starter, he is in the top 6 in the NFL with a passer rating of 97.2. He is not making mistakes (10 TD passes and only 2 picks). He is making clutch plays that win games (winning touchdown pass on 4th down @ DET; 201 yards and 2 TD passes in the second half to erase a 23-3 deficit and beat PHI on the road). He is routinely zipping the ball into tight coverage, hitting his man in stride. While scrambling on third down two weeks ago against the Browns, he dove head first into defenders to get the first down. He is playing within himself, within the system, calm and under control. He is winning games.

And while Smith certainly deserves credit for his unexpected turnaround, he would not have had this opportunity if it were not for the ballsy vision of Jim Harbaugh. This fierce competitor with an impeccable pedigree and proven success grooming successful quarterbacks went against the grain and handed his offense to a player whose name had become synonymous with failure. He gave him a creative and well-balanced offensive game plan that makes the most of his abilities. But above all else, he gave him his unwavering confidence at at a time when everyone else wanted to give him the boot.

Eight games into the season, it appears as though the only error would have been to give up on him.