Flowers going down was the KILLER.

My opinion has changed, too.

I didn't think Alex Smith had in him what we saw yesterday. It's not about protecting the ball or hitting wide open guys (like the Avery throw - as Mike Mayock would say, every starting NFL QB should hit wide open guys in the middle of the field). It was the ability to take risks and make throws into tighter spots that really surprised me. He has not always shown that ability or willingness, even in San Francisco, except when his back was to the wall. The shovel pass to Sherman, the scramble pass to Knile Davis... not always plays he would have made.

I don't think you can say Jamaal Charles being out hurt them through getting to 38 points. The offense was operating so well, it's hard to see Charles making much difference.

In the third quarter, though, when the offense disappeared after the Luck turnover? Sure that Charles would have helped there.

The fumble, then back-to-back 3 and outs (with the second one producing 3 points because of field position after a pick), were pretty critical to the comeback. Turn the 3 into 7, and I'm pretty sure the comeback stalls out.

This truly is a team loss, though. The Chiefs needed someone to step up and close the door and couldn't get it done.

The defense, even as poorly as it played in the 2nd half, still set up 17 points for the offense with turnovers/short fields.

Alex Smith, even as well as he played, couldn't quite out-duel Luck in crunch time. He still had a costly grounding penalty and couldn't make the perfect throw (it was OK, but not great) with Bowe on the do or die play.

Dwayne Bowe had a huge game but couldn't make the exceptional play on the do or die play.

Andy Reid's (offensive) staff coached a really great game... but the quick burning of timeouts in the 2nd half turned the 4th and 11 into 4th and the season.

I have more faith in Smith at this point than I have all season. I still wouldn't want to see him get an extension that pays him Flacco money - not after going 0-6 against the 6 good teams he played - but a modest extension (something in the $15 million/per range, and that is easy to walk away from in 2-3 years) would not see any wailing on my part.

That was not the case before Saturday.

The best thing Alex did in this game was climbing the pocket. At times he tends to avoid pressure left or right, rather than stepping up. Not against Indy, and the results speak for themselves.

Flowers was the key. Dunta got benched after the first series. Then when Flowers got ko'd Dunta was back on the field and Luck feasted on the secondary.

Smith made some incredible plays in the first half and deserves to play with some more talent around him. Don't be surprised when you still see the second half Smith

True but with Jamal in the game we score points in the 2nd half. IMO

It seemed like we lost a player every two drives...

I agree. I think with Flowers there we could have pulled it out.

I just saw that Houston doesn't need surgery on his knee.

WTF was wrong with that field? I know its turf and its not as forgiving as natural grass, but it seemed to be a lot harder than normal. Maybe it had something to do with the freezing conditions outside. Ill be curious to see if the Chiefs say anything about it...

I liked Smith from the get go. I felt he was the best option and he was better than I expected.

I'm sold on Alex Smith. The only way to upgrade that position now is to draft Manziel :whackit:

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com...-quarterbacks/

Smith had a game like no other. Until Saturday, no player in NFL history had ever passed for 350 yards, four touchdowns, no interceptions and added 50 yards on the ground in any game, regular season or postseason. But Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith became the first player to do it on Saturday when he passed for 378 yards and four touchdowns, with no interceptions, and added 57 rushing yards. Quarterbacks shouldn’t be judged on wins and losses: When a quarterback plays the way Smith played on Saturday and leads his team to 44 points, he shouldn’t be judged harshly just because his team’s defense gave up 45 points. But the reality is that quarterbacks are judged on wins and losses, and so a lot of people will choose to remember that Smith overthrew an open Cyrus Gray on what could have been a touchdown pass, that Smith lost a fumble and that Smith’s intentional grounding penalty took the Chiefs out of field goal range late in the game. Me, I’ll remember that Smith turned in the game of his life

It's always always always better to take the intentional grounding. They won't call it as often as they should and you avoid A) the damage done from the sack, and B) the possibility of a fumble.

I didn't like the Alex Smith trade. I wanted Geno first overall. I still say Geno would be doing better with Reid than he is with Rex Ryan.

But Alex Smith IS the Chiefs QBOTF. Period. And two second rounders is absolutely worth it for someone who can do that in the playoffs on the road.

As a a bronco fan I hated seeing you guys land Alex Smith, that feeling was validated by the year you guys had and validated further by the phenomenal playoff game he had.

He was amazing in that playoff game.

He reminds me of a lesser version of Aaron Rodgers, and that's not a bad thing. Alex Smith is absolutely a franchise QB. Your problems are more about defense and a HC who has always had always tendency to abandon the run.

Plus it stops the clock for a little while.

Hands down changed my mind! Put up 44 pts without Charles. He proved he's more then a game manager.

Holy shit.

Dude was ****ing NAILS.

When it counted the most.

It takes one hell of a player to come in as the Chief's biggest question mark and end the season as our most solid piece.

That play was a busted screen if I recall. Seems he could have thrown it at the player's feet..

I can't blame him for looking elsewhere though. He couldn't have known there'd be a rusher coming off the other edge so quickly.

You would think chiefs fans would be ecstatic with smiths play considering the god awful play we've gone through since treat green left. Mike mayock even commented on smiths playing; saying it was the best he's ever seen him play. Give him another off season to prepare and train with this offense, and this team can go far from an offensive perspective. Defensively? That a another matter entirely.

Remember, this will only be the second time in his career that he will be heading into the offseason with the same OC. We all saw how much he improved from year 1 to year 2 with Greg Roman.

My oh my how opinions can change... :)

http://chiefsplanet.com/BB/showthread.php?t=270488

As for me, Smith exceeded my expectations. I think it turned out to be a good trade. Great, clutch performance on Saturday, especially with Charles out.

Some of those comments LMAO I wasn't excited about it by any means but he changed my mind.

lots of crashing and burning in there... but this isn't the time to mock them.. :(

True. Not trying to mock anyone, but perhaps I should have waited a little longer for some more of the hurt we're all experiencing to wear off from such a disappointing end to the season. This one, for me, hurt worse than any of the others due to the injuries and the "what if". :(

What if Charles hadn't gotten hurt...
What if Flowers hadn't gotten hurt...

:huh:

and Avery and Davis.

Yes, they all hurt, but I think Charles and Flowers going down were the real killers...

Houston for me. That's what I think sealed the fate.

luck never had to worry about anything at that point.

Everyone is talking about how reserved he was in the first half. Have we forgotten how bad our line and receivers were back then? The guy was making the most out of the crappy hand he was dealt.

Hoping Bray was watching Smith's performance in that game because that is how pros get it done.

It was ****ing insane.

After not having more than two serious injuries all year the whole team gets ****ing knocked stupid.

The only thing I can think of is the lack of turf/dome games...

I was wrong in that thread. 11-5 with a first-round playoff loss actually is different than finishing 2-14. It hurts a lot more.

Shouldn't have let myself "believe" until the clock was at 0:00.

Smith played a great game. I was glad to see it, even if I didn't believe it was possible for him to play THAT well until I saw it.

Hopefully, we see a lot more of it next season.

Great post, there is plenty to go around.

I am less disappointed in the trade now but I still view him as nothing more than a stopgap QB.

Alex's college coach said Alex has to master a system before he performs well in it. He is not comfortable until he knows every single aspect of a new system, then he shows a complete grasp of it. Somit was mostly just learning a new system from Andy Reid. Familiar, but still new. Alex should be good right out of the gate next year. He really is a solid middle ranked starting QB, better than about half the starters out there.

And I was serious to say I would take Alex over Romo or Cutler. Alex is unlikely to make the crippling mental error at the crucial time.

I agree totally.

No lower than 12th for me at this point.

But I agree with the rest of it.

You, and I know, that he will be better next year. Maybe not 378 4 tds every game good, but he will be better overall for the season.

I think a lot of you are going to be in for a shock when and if he gets an extension, that it is only modestly more than what he is making now.

I don't think he gets anywhere near 15. 12 would probably be my max.

Reid
 

I'm from Philly. Please take my experience with Andy Reid as head coach. Get used to his game mismanagement. Do not think that he will learn from this experience. He is the most rigid coach out there and unfortunately just "good enough" to get you solid seasons but not much more.

Do yourselves a favor and get rid of him while your nightmare is still young

I certainly hope it isn't more than that.

Oh look, another one.

Me either.

Would definitely affect my appreciation for his team first attitude.

You should post more, you are going to be extremely popular here.

Like Aids, syphilis, bloody vaginas, saggy boobs, nickelback and Miley Cyrus.

last sentence is redundant.

You never did. Montana was a 3rd round pick.

The problem is, a lot of the top QBs were correctly identified as top college prospects, and were taken in the first round. So it really helps to have a high first round pick in the draft, like going for Bridgewater this year.

The other key element is QB development. It is so underrated. People act as if pro quarterbacks are self-developing. Astute development of a prospect with slightly lesser physical and mental gifts beats ruining a top prospect with incompetent development.

you have a perfect example in Alex Smith. You would think a first overall draft pick getting $50 million would be a teams single top priority, yet you can see how the 49ers botched his development until Jim Harbaugh came along in year 7.

If Andy Reid is a QB whisper like Bellichick or McCarthy, then you should be able to develop a 2nd rounder into a franchise QB, if you pick the right guy.

That's what I said at the beginning of the season. I have no reason to change my mind now. :thumb:

I am going to run into his office right now and fire him.

Smith is easily good enough to win a Superbowl. 1 good receiving TE or explosive Wr away from being a consistently dominant offense and a couple of pieces defensively, specifically FS who can cover and a DE who can generate interior pressure along with Poe.

How's that Chip Kelly thing working out for you guys? You guys didn't fair too good on Saturday either.

Ya he was trying to see if he could make a play running the other direction...had literally zero time to do anything but throw it away and hope for the best...better than taking a sack i suppose...at least there is a small chance they won't throw the flag there..if it were manning/luck they probably wouldn't have.

Defense kinda ****ed them over.

That sounds familiar

just like the GB game yesterday.

True. It was interesting watching though. A D that had largely kept Brees in check and given 5 mins to get off the field vs. our D that just was eaten alive in the 2nd half.


I don't know which one makes you feel worse.

I couldn't watch football yesterday, I'm going to need a couple weeks to ease myself back into it.

I loved the trade from the beginning believing our window required a veteran that doesn't turn the ball over to compete in our division. The problem I saw early in the season was a breakdown in the protection everywhere. It wasn't just Fisher, it's in the middle too. I think Asamoah is a bust and Hudson did improve and I'm glad that Kush is on the roster. I don't know if we can improve on Allen and do other things we need to do. But they waited too long to put Schwartz in there. The line improved noticeably with him there.

I still believe we are better off with Alex for awhile. I have no problem waiting on Bray and I believe its going to be worth the wait. I see the QB problem solved for a longgg time.

I hated the Nile Davis pick and I was wrong on that one. I don't know about Kelce, I'm growing pessimistic. I will say this, Dorsey was brilliant to pick up the 7 guys at the last minute. That was smart.

The way he played tells me he would've won 2 Super Bowls with the 9ers if given the opportunity. He's become the #1 pick that I thought he could be when we had him. Too bad KC doesn't have SF's defense.

It was not entirely enjoyable.

Half of them. And three of the first rounders were first overall. And Brees was a second rounder, but went #32 and that makes him a first rounder today.

And some of us were begging for the Chiefs to take either Kaepernick or Russel Wilson in the first round.

You don't HAVE to. No. I don't HAVE to exercise in order to lose weight. I don't HAVE to measure the wood before I cut it. I don't HAVE to go to college to become a successful business man.

But there are reasons why people do all of those things. The odds of success greatly increase when you follow an established path.

Alex had the highest QB rating of wildcard weekend. Is he a franchise QB going forward?

You went 9-0 on the back of your defense. I would not say that was the defense screwing you "all year".

People don't want to answer this question. And they don't have to. Dorsey and Reid will when they do or don't extend him. I never thought he was until he led camp Alex during the lockout. After that I knew he was.

ALL YEAR DAMMIT. lol

Oh, he's getting extended. I have no doubt about that. I think he's a franchise QB, our franchise QB. I can't wait to see what he does I his 2nd year here, with his comfort level being way higher, and hopefully a few more weapons. Outside of the obvious Manning, Brady, Brees, Wilson and Luck, there'd isn't another QB I'd want for this team. And really out of the above mentioned, Wilson and Luck are the only ones I'd truly want, due to age. I'm way cool with ASmith. In fact, I'm happy we have him.

He was damn good, but didn't overcome his mistakes when it counted.

Yes.