49ers are counting on quarterback Alex Smith and improved supporting cast

RENTON — On the silver anniversary of the Chicago Bears' Super Bowl victory, San Francisco coach Mike Singletary, the mainstay of the 1985 championship defense, is building a playoff contender in the Bay Area similar to the Monsters of the Midway.

The 49ers like to run, stop the run and rush the quarterback, all traits the Bears used to dominate the NFL 25 years ago.

They have a no-nonsense coach (Singletary as Mike Ditka), Pro Bowl middle linebacker (Patrick Willis as Singletary), hard-charging running back (Frank Gore as Walter Payton) and reliable kicker (Joe Nedney as Kevin Butler).

But what about the quarterback?

It's difficult to draw many comparisons between unassuming Alex Smith and Jim McMahon, the self-dubbed "punky QB." Similar to the Bears quarterback, Smith is cast in a supporting role that often gets overlooked on an offense ranked 27th last season.

Still he has his moments. Especially against the Seahawks, who open the regular season at 1 p.m. Sunday at Qwest Field against the 49ers.

In their previous meeting, a 20-17 Seattle victory in December at Qwest Field, Smith had the best game of his pro career. He threw for 310 yards, with two touchdowns and no interceptions.

The Seahawks weren't thrilled Smith torched their secondary but Seattle allowed just three points in the second half and held Gore in check.

In their first game last season, Gore ran for 207 yards and two touchdowns during a 23-10 victory. In the rematch, Gore had nine carries and 25 yards.

"The first time we played them it was power and they pounded us," defensive coordinator Gus Bradley said. "We know we're going to get a big dose of him. He's their workhorse, and they lean on him quite a bit.

"They have the two-back run game, which they really like. And they have the ability to spread you out and get it to their key people."

That's where Smith comes in.

As much as San Francisco tries to minimize his role, Smith has never been more valuable to the 49ers than he is now. The 49ers, 8-8 last season, are the favorites to unseat the Arizona Cardinals and claim the NFC West crown.

Rather than trade for Donovan McNabb or draft Jimmy Clausen, the Niners improved the talent around the 26-year-old Smith.

They drafted a pair of linemen — Rutgers offensive tackle Anthony Davis and Idaho left guard Mike Iupati — in the first round, traded with Miami for speedy receiver Ted Ginn and added free-agent running back Michael Westbrook, who arrived from Philadelphia.

Perhaps more importantly, San Francisco retained offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye. In his previous five seasons, Smith had five coordinators.

"When you look at the quarterbacks around the league, and you look at the successful ones, the one word, the common denominator that they share, is consistency," Singletary said. "For any quarterback, whoever he is, I don't care how great of an arm he has, how smart he is, or whatever, if there's not going to be consistency around him to create the timing and those things then it's going to be very difficult for him to be successful."

This season is set up for Smith to lead the Niners to the postseason after an eight-year playoff drought.

Considering his shaky start — he suffered a severe right (throwing) shoulder injury in 2007, broke a bone in his right shoulder in '08 and was benched at the start of the '09 season — it's a minor miracle the former No. 1 overall pick in 2005 has lasted this long with San Francisco.

Smith started the final 10 games last season and won five games and Singletary's confidence.

"He's kind of resurrected himself," Seahawks safety Lawyer Milloy said. "They stacked the team around him. He doesn't have to be the guy to win the game all the time. He just has to do his part, and he's doing an excellent job of that right now."

Percy Allen: 206-464-2278 or pallen@seattletimes.com