You left out he was the 37th out of 39 QBs in downfield attempts. It's nice that he has the physical ability to go downfield (nobody really questions his arm strength), but it's always been an issue if he has the mental makeup to go downfield often. The fact that Cassel is in the top 10 shows just how misleading stats can be.

Yes, but all we heard the prior offseason was that he couldn't even complete a deep ball. At least that's the way folks acted.

Who's supposed to be catching these downfield attempts?

http://www.nfl.com/videos/kansas-cit...-in-first-half

apparently, that's just an "excuse" for the QB. :facepalm:

He doesn't make the majority of his clutch plays from in the pocket. He's much better outside the pocket.

I didn't realize that I had to be 100% perfectly clear so that you couldn't argue about technicalities instead of actually bringing some substance to the conversation.

No, it's actually a valid criticism of the WRs.

But when you only mention that, and don't ever acknowledge the shortcomings of the QB, THEN it becomes and excuse.

I'm sure you know the difference, considering you like to nitpick on technicalities and all.

With respect to CK, I only said (or meant to say I guess) that if he wanted to prove the "He'll never win a super bowl" crowd wrong, his failing to generate points on three straight possessions didn't do him any favors. Doesn't make him a failure but it leaves him firmly in the column of not having proven his case, if he has one.

IMO, there is no evidence yet to suggest he's going to develop into a great passer. He has played well at times on a pretty elite team. A lot of scramblers could pile up yardage improvising with Davis, Crabtree, and Boldin out there, and win games with a defense that can cover for him when it needs to.

Situations like the 4th quarter against the Seahawks in the postseason probably tell us more, IMO.

That's what we Chiefs fans say we care about (as if we deserve to call ourselves quarterbacking snobs), the ability to win the super bowl and not regular season games... right?

I'd like to see the game by game break down of Smith's deep pass attempts.

I'd bet that 60+% of his deep balls came in the last 7 games.

And again, one could say the same about Alex Smith. The Colts started their comeback in the midst of a 3-drive swing where we managed 25 yards, a fumble, and had to settle for a FG after the defense got a turnover at the Indy 28 yard line.

Like Alex Smith did.

Absolutely. You're 100% right there. That's why I voted for Alex Smith. :)

Shouldn't we give Alex Smith a little bit of credit for 44 points on the board or whatever it was?

Absolutely.

He didn't lose the game. He also didn't WIN it.

Isn't that, after all, what was said about Kaepernick?

It's not about blaming everything on Alex Smith anymore than it's not about making sure he takes zero blame.

It's about being fair and objective.

Well sure, but if we grade each QB on their performance in the respective big games, you give Alex Smith an A-, and Kaepernick a D-

Oh yea.

Bowe?

Of course, as long as he gets a little bit of blame for the scoring drought the last 25 minutes of the game.

Treading lightly here... but... if Bowe points his toe, we win. Does this argument then change? Everything else stays the same, the pass, the placement the "4th down - game on the line" situation, everything the same, except Bowe points his toe. If that happened then we are saying he did WIN it right? We would be saying that he can "put the team on his back and carry it"... even after all the injuries, the complete meltdown of the D, etc. that he can carry the team and win it?

Seems strange that Bowe's toe has that much power to change the entire conversation?

Note here, I'm not blaming Bowe for the loss. Just pointing out that if he points the toe, we are talking about Smith in a different way. Seems strange that the isolated action of one could alter the conversation of another.

First of all, in what world was the pass to Bowe a scoring play?

The Chiefs were down by 1 point and facing a 4th and 11. Bowe stepped out at the 19 yard line.

The game wasn't "won" if Bowe makes that catch. It certainly COULD have been won but it wasn't "won" until somebody scored.

Second, everybody is conveniently forgetting what setup that play. Alex Smith was penalized for intentional grounding on 2 and 7 and then on 3rd and 17, dumped it off to McCluster for 6 yards.

For the record, I don't blame Bowe OR Smith. The defender made an excellent play against the boundary.

Blame Reid for poor 2nd half play calling and his timeout before the last throw.

I didn't leave it out. I noted that the article doesn't show number of attempts and I didn't know them.

I personally don't want Alex to be a downfield gunslinger without the right receivers. Rather, I'd rather he keep mixing his game up.

Pretty much only Donnie Avery is his consistent down field receiver, which is pretty sad considering Avery's tendency to drop passes.

You are right... that play would have given them a 1st down in field goal range with time left on the clock. But it wasn't in-and-of itself a scoring play. I was assuming the eventual field goal completion.

I'm not conveniently forgetting anything. I remember the intentional grounding call that he took instead of taking a sack. It cost us 2 more yards than the sack would have, but had the refs not called it, would have saved yards. I'm ok with that. The 3rd down play was an attempt to cut the down and distance to something more manageable, and it worked.

My point wasn't to look at every play of the game. No one is going to be perfect (including Bowe, or the line or the D), my point was simply that if Bowe's points the toe, the narrative completely changes. I've just never really understood that. Another example is the San Diego game that Smith played in. Late in the 4th qtr, he leads the team down the field and throws what is likely the game winning TD. Standing on the sidelines, the D allows SD to march right back with seconds only on the clock and complete a desperate last second pass to win the game. The narrative for some was, "see, Smith can't put the team on his back". We all know that if the D just makes SD work a little harder, they run out of clock, Chiefs win and the narrative is Smith came through in the clutch and won that game.

How can the narrative on Smith (or any player for that matter) change due to the circumstances that are beyond his control?

Had the refs not called it? The single worst thing a QB can do in that situation, other than turn the ball over, is commit a grounding penalty. Grounding penalties are the result of panic and indecision. Guys that are "clutch" in the pocket don't commit them in key situations. Sorry.

4th and 11, down by 1, is manageable?

By taking advantages of the circumstances he CAN control. If they had scored even one more FG in the 3rd quarter, they would have won the game and the rest of this conversation is moot.

I'm not asking Smith to be perfect. But I'm also not going to sit here and pretend that he is when he's clearly not.

The addition of Charles in that game is the difference maker in regards to clock management. Props to Davis. He ran hard but he isn't Charles. Plus after he went down it sucked the life out of the offense. Smith was a stud in that game. It wasn't lost by the offense. They did their part.

Cue Kendrick Lewis highlight on defense.

Alright... someone already posted the article in which it showed Smith at the top of the list when it comes to avoiding pressure. I personally don't think one grounding call negates his body of work in the pocket. Furthermore, if Smith takes the sack there, there would be huge uproar of people talking about how "elite QB's don't take sacks in that situation, they get rid of the football." It's such a fine line and so easy for people to sit in judgement. The pocket collapsed rapidly. It was going to be a sack if he didn't get rid of it. He made an attempt and it was called grounding - cost 2 yards.

4th and 11 is better than 4th and 17 which is what you would be facing if you opt for a low-percentage play on third down and it falls incomplete. Furthermore, deeper routes take more time to develop and as you pointed out above, Colts were bringing the pressure. You opt for a high-percentage "quick" play and hope the receiver can make a move and recover a big chunk of those yards and put you in 4th and more-manageable. Screens are common in these situations. High percentage passes to shorten the down and distance and open up your playbook for more possibilities. It's not as if they specifically selected a "6 yard" play... they selected a high percentage play.

Thank you.... this was my point all along. So, for many people, if he'd have put up 47 points he's a clutch QB, nothing else matters, not the fumble, not the overthrow to Gray, not the intentional grounding... all that "conversation is moot". He put the team on his back, etc etc etc.

But 44pts - "he can't win the big game", can't come through down the stretch, can't step up when it matters most, etc.? In my opinion however, even having scored just the 44pts, he did do all of those things. When the game came down to do or die, Smith and the offense marched down the field. On 4th down and 11, with the entire KC playoff drought history in the balance, Smith throws a dart to his receiver that - if not for a fractured foot - puts the team in FG range and a high probability of putting those all important 3 pts on the board.

And I'm not pretending he is perfect, but likewise I'm also not going to sit here and pretend that he isn't clutch in the pocket, doesn't step up in big games, can't carry his team, isn't calm under pressure, and isn't a franchise QB because 3pts in a 44pt loss says he's not. I will not pretend he is perfect because I do not expect perfection from any QB.

In general, him avoiding pressure includes him LEAVING the pocket.

And it's still a negative play. A QB with more arm strength might have been able to throw it away without incurring a penalty.

You're misunderstanding the purpose of this argument, though, and playing right into exactly what I'm talking about.

So more excuses and moral victories. Got it.

Or you opt to dump it off to Dexter McCluster, who is know for his ability to break arm tackles and scoot for 1st downs in long-yardage situations.

Of course not. Alex Smith OPTED for the 6-yard play, like he often does.

You can't say he won the big game because he didn't. That's all there is to it. All of the what if scenarios are meaningless. HE LOST.

Again, I don't blame it on him. But to sit here and act like he did everything he could to win the game and had nothing to do with the fact they lost is disingenuous. He had a fumble in the 3rd quarter too, did he not?

That's why you NEVER say anything critical and respond to everyone who has anything even remotely critical to say about him. Amirite?

No, you are not right. I just brought up his fumble. I just brought up the overthrow to Gray. You say you don't expect perfection and then dwell on the few plays in which he wasn't perfect as an indication that he isn't clutch. No QB is perfect, no player is perfect. But many of those imperfect QB's are still clutch. I think Smith has shown time and time again over the last 3 years, that he is clutch. I think that Colts game is a perfect illustration of just how clutch he was and that final drive proving it eventhough the points didn't go on the board, his play, what he could control, was clutch.

As far as responding to anything even remotely critical... You said he isn't clutch. I think he is. What's the point of MBs if not to respond when someone says something you don't agree with?

to: temper11

Pretty obvious that you are dealing with a "former" hater of Alex that either can't stop that hateful nit-picking habit that built up for months.... or is just completely full of shit to begin with about "suddenly being in his corner now."

And a QB with less poise might have chucked up an interception, what's your point. Again... you keep saying you don't require perfection, and then nitpick a perceived imperfection of lack of arm strength when being sacked.

If you want to call sound, proven play calling excuses - ok. It isn't at all uncommon for teams to attempt short passes or draw plays when facing large down and distances when they have two or more downs to work with. That's not an excuse that's just football 101. Moral victories?

He opted for a high-percentage play as detailed above and as the situation required - and for the record it worked.

WTF?

"Not doing everything he could do" implies lack of effort. That's not the case. If you are saying that he wasn't perfect in the loss, no one would argue. I believe I brought up the fumble even before you did. None of that means that he wasn't clutch in that game or hadn't been clutch throughout much of the season.

I don't know... HT has a lot of good shit to say sometimes. I think he views everything I say through a 49er fan filter - and that's ok. I realize I'm a guest here, unwanted or otherwise.

You look at all the winning QB's in the playoffs and you can't find one that had a better game than Smith, but that one point deficit is cause enough to point out any imperfection in his game while claiming perfection isn't required. Frustrating as an unabashed Smith fan.

What? Hasn't the knock on Smith always been his deep ball?

Rypien's games was the deep ball the year they won the SB.

ROFL

You're about the dumbest poster here and that's saying something.

Now leave the adults to their discussion and stop butting in.

Except I never said he wasn't clutch. There's that.

You have to realize that we've had to spend the last year listening to idiots like Sandy tell us that we're not allowed to criticize Alex Smith because he's the Chiefs QB and the Chiefs are above criticism.

This is called backlash.

I've been MORE than fair in my analysis of Alex Smith over the past 4 months. In return, I have to put up with shit like you see posted below.

So you'll have to excuse me if I'm not all sunshine and rainbows. I live in reality.

I'm okay with that, if true. I honestly would rather be dumb than to be an asshole quitter that whines and talks out of both sides of his mouth every day. You're a miserable joke, and the worst poster I have seen here. Everyone's got an opinion, and that's fine.

I am calling it as I see it, and I do not think I am wrong in my assessment. I'm not going anywhere, unless the mods force it. If anything, your negativity and posturing here is far more detrimental than some "overly optimistic homer/Alex fan."

It didn't pain me at all cause I'm a Chiefs fan and I want to see them win!

I wasn't a Smith fan to start the season but I probably underestimated him a little and underestimated Reid a lot.

I chose Kaep in this poll however for the fact of their ages and what Milkman said. Colin with Reid.

ROFL

I contribute more to this board in 1 day than you've contributed in your entire time here.

You don't know the first thing about me.

Turn your rep on pussy.

Let's see who the worst poster on Chiefsplanet is.

You contribute whining and misery in the guise of "keeping it real." That's what you do. That, and you pose yourself as an arrogant agitator of anyone who disagrees with your viewpoints.

temper11 is easily a better poster than I.. and he sufficiently put you in your place... so that's good enough for me.

rep is childish and gay. Your ego on an internet forum is nothing short of pathetic... and easily makes you the pussy here.

Of course it's childish and gay. When you're universally unpopular, you think everything is childish and gay because it constantly reminds you that not one goddamn person here likes you.

Yep, you know nothing at all about me.

There's dozens of people here that do though. That's why you won't enable your rep.

One of the longest tenured and most respected posters on this board is "the worst poster here".

I've seen some stupid shit posted here, but this might take the cake.

Just saying something like this makes you look pathetic and needy of internet affections. How does that work for someone IIRC said they were near 40 years of age? Dude... that is truly pathetic.

Did my rep pop up now? Would it make your world happy if 10000 people dropped my green to red? that would somehow matter? pathetic.

... and there's always OTW58 that follows along after him, lol! Two peas in a pod! Love it!

I said mean things about Alex Smith.

Even though I also said I LOVE him as the Chiefs QB.

And even though I was man enough to come back and admit that I was DEAD WRONG about Alex Smith and ate enough crow to kill a small 3rd-world nation, I'm an asshole quitter.

It's ok. I might be concerned if this weren't coming from the village ****ing leper.

I don't care about rep.

Only someone who REALLY cares about rep disables it.

You are an asshole quitter because you admitted to leaving for a while because you disagreed with F/O moves, and had said repeatedly that "you no longer care" what happens with the Chiefs."

Your words... but you will likely backtrack from this as well to "save face" and keep your green rep up. Pathetic!

my rep is in the GREEN, fool... why would I care about being in the green and then disable it? So stupid.

Cute, but feel free to ask anyone who has been here for any significant amount of time to name the 5 best football posters on this board.

While it might rub your vagina the wrong way, he'll be named over 80% of the time - and that's being conservative.

Forget about rep color - making a comment like the one you made tells the membership here everything they need to know about you.

ROFL

I told everyone why I left and it wasn't because of the Chiefs or any of their personnel moves.

Once again, you're completely wrong. There's no need for me to save face, everybody knows why I left.

Might I remind everyone that, in the end, we all want the same thing. (Why is it that everytime I say that it sounds like I want it "in-the-ass"?) :) Dammit.

At the end of the day, we all want the same thing. There, fixed.

So you originally said "we all want the same thing in the end"?

ROFL

I sent Sandy a PM. As far as I'm concerned, I was wrong and this is over.

What do you expect these Alex only fans are +14 years behind the curve( including the KCStar BB) in comparison to realize their ignorance

I think more often than not, these "flare-ups" are just more miscommunication than mal-content. It's the product of written (typed) communication. I had to step away there, so I missed a lot of the fire works. I know Sandy meant no harm, but as you know, I wasn't aiming to "put you in your place"... And I for one hope that he isn't moderated out because his is another valued opinion - and lets be honest... one of the best avatar's here (speaking of "wanting the same thing in the end")!... HELLO!

First of all, that's not really fair or accurate. Sure, I became a strong fan due to Alex coming to KC.. but I'd always liked KC and many of their players prior to that. As I watched every game this past season, I grew to like those and more players as well. To be perfectly honest, if gun to head and forced to truth, I'd say I am more a Chiefs fan than 49ers fan at this point. That's for many reasons.. and not just Alex.

I await the typical response now of "no one cares, **** off and die in an aids tree fire soaked with antifreeze."

:)

Right.......... and your join date proves that , yep a real die hard that suffered through the shit times and can give valid opinions instead crushing on Alex.

never said any of that. I don't pretend to know your previous pain. Frankly, the pain of the past is.. in the past.. and should have no real impact on the present and future. If you need therapy, then seek it. You need to move on and spare yourself, then that works too.

People are built differently, and handle sports disappointments differently... there's no shame in that.

Case in point, thanks for underscoring your existence here.

Noting an outcome doesn't reveal a skill set.

You can't say a marksman who hits 70% of his bullseye's at 100 yards is a better shot that a marksman who hits 55% of his bullseye's at 1000 yards. Unless both are shooting at the same range, you can't compare them. So you can't compare Alex's high-percentage heavy passing with Kaepernick's.

Back on the real subject of Kaepernick's accuracy, here AGAIN for all of you who ignored it, is a chart showing that last year Kaepernick was the 2nd most accurate deep passing QB in the league last year. Unless you think that completing deep passes has NOTHING to do with passing accuracy. :)

************************************************************

"But who's throwing the most accurate deep throws? Pro Football Focus also tracks receiver drops, so instead of completion percentage—which knocks the QB for throws that should have been caught—we can use PFF's "accuracy" figure, which is a measurement of how many throws were on target (completions + drops over attempts):"


http://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/...tjf4zbyjpg.jpg

Source article for you to ignore:

http://regressing.deadspin.com/chart...nfl-1469917039

I said both Alex and Kaepernick are mid-tier QBs at this time. I said Alex has hit a plateau while Kaepernick has the elite potential to be the best in the league, someday.

I know my posts require at least a 3rd grade reading level, but try to keep up.

basing the bolded on... a hunch? your gut? just don't feel like he can get even better? Do you feel Smith improved from 2011 to 2012? If so.. why can he not improve further now that he will be further immersed in Reid's system and perhaps an added upgrade at WR?

Laughable.


NFC Championship Game

Largest comeback: 17 points (trailed 17–0; won 28–24), San Francisco 49ers, 2012


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NFC_Championship_Game




NFC Championship: Colin Kaepernick Overcomes 17-Point Deficit in Record Win

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1...-in-record-win




Falcons vs. 49ers: Colin Kaepernick leads stunning rally to the super bowl

http://www.sportingnews.com/nfl/stor...k-jim-harbaugh

That Andrew Luck sure throws an inaccurate pass.

Right?

I would like to see how many of those deep passes were Jamaal Charles taking a pass behind the line of scrimmage more than 15 yards upfield. I would not be surprised if a fair percentage of Alex's "deep" balls came from Charles behind or within 5 yards of the LOS.

You'd be wrong. Next year, watch the games instead of just that stat book if you want to have an opinion on Smith.

Does anybody here realize that Kaepernick overcame a 17-point deficit to beat the Falcons to get to the super bowl? A record, by the way. The largest comeback in the history of the NFC Championship game.


Does anybody here realize that Kaepernick and the 49ers have twice as many road playoff wins as Joe Montana and Steve Young combined? Or that Kaepernick is the only 49ers Quarterback to win back to back road playoff games?

I am NOT comparing Kaepernick, who is currently a middle tier QB, to Hall of Famers. I am just giving perspective of his elite potential.

My knock on Alex is that he is too cautious, is too risk averse. That is a far bigger issue than no deep ball.

Alex CAN throw deep passes and has done so. I am sure you've seen them. He is just unwilling to throw deep passes. He craves the sure thing. He hates failure and every incompletion is a failure. So he craves his check downs and short passes.

Fortunately he is a master of the short passing game. Fortunately, Andy Reid likes that. Fortunately Jamaal Charles can break big runs when Alex passes to him behind the line of scrimmage.

It is Alex's cautiousness that is my knock on him, not his deep pass. He would rather take the sure sack than risk a bad play. He would rather hit the open receiver behind the line of scrimmage, than the half-open wide receiver 30 yards downfield.

He manages the game and brilliantly. He is very smart. But you don't usually see the killer instinct you see dwelling in the champions. The ones who would rather hacksaw their cars in half than lose.

I will take Kaepernick's killer instinct any day over Alex's caution.

Keep enjoying those playoff losses then... I know I won't. Alex has already disposed of the ultra-cautious, though he is right to play smart football. Live for another play and don't force stupid shit when you don't have to. If Kaep could only take some of that mindset while he tries to learn to read defenses.. he may just be a real SB quarterback.

98 career starts and a cautious nature. How many NFL QBs improved more than marginally after 100 career starts? It is certainly not impossible that Alex has not hit a plateau, but I remain convinced. That is my strong opinion.


Rich Gannon is the only QB I can think of who leaped above his previous plateau after about 100 career starts. He had just about as many starts as Alex does now when he went on a tear with the Raiders and balled out. Became a beast. Rich Gannon is the exeption that proves the rule. It is almost unheard of for an NFL Quarterback to leap in performance after 100 starts.

http://www.pro-football-reference.co...nRi00/gamelog/


Brees did improve and he had about 60 starts and showed elite flashes when he was still in San Diego. They just lost patience with him and were seduced by Phillip Rivers.

http://www.pro-football-reference.co...eDr00/gamelog/

To be fair, Rich Gannon was the perfect fit for Gruden's offense. Without that offense, Rich Gannon was a career journeyman and not much more. Sometimes lightning strikes like that.

I'm not the world's biggest Alex Smith fan, but Andy Reid gushes about him like he's the QB he's wanted since he started coaching.

Of all those QB's show me how many of them played for 4 different HC and what is it now, 9 different OCs?

I seem to remember Joe Montana losing a playoff game in a KC uniform.

Kaepernick has 30 career starts and is still developing. Like Drew Brees who did not hit his stride until 60 starts, Kaepernick is still developing.

As a general rule, you do not know what you really have with a developing Quarterback before 50 starts. Around 50 starts, you know exactly what you have. Steve Young took more than 50 NFL starts to hit his stride.

If Andy Reid had come to the Chiefs in 2011 and drafted Colin Kaepernick, he would be insane to cut him or bench him today. Flat out insane. He would never do it. He would be thrilled with Kaepernick's progress after only a year and a half starting.

You know it and I know it.

And Drew Brees notched a 104.8 QBR in his 4th season in San Diego. Depending on which numbers you look at, statistically it was his 3rd or 4th-best season of his entire career. He's not even really in the discussion.

B
 

Which was all I meant. It is rare as hen's teeth for an NFL QB with 100 starts to show significant improvement. It is almost unheard of. Marginal, but nothing significant.

I don't know why Andy loves Alex, but you have to admit, Alex made Jamaal Charles all world last year. Charles is your offense's playmaker, so the more effective that tandem is, the more chance you have to win.

The question is, now that a year of tape is out there on the Alex to Charles connection, will defenses adjust, or will Charles still be able to score 4 receiving TDs in a game where 2 of them come off long runs from passes behind the line of scrimmage.

If Andy can get Alex to stretch the field to the Wide Receivers AT ALL, then this tandem has a good chance to repeat.

I can't find it now, but I read where Alex passing rate to Wide Receivers was 32nd in the league last year. The bottom. Dead last.

He had a low passing rate to WRs with San Francisco also. The tight ends and RBs tend to get above average passing rates from Alex Smith. Team doesn't matter.

Right. My point was that Gannon was the exception to the rule and he was allowed to be that almost SOLELY because of the Gruden/Callahan offense.

The Smith/Reid situation is strikingly similar. What that tells me is that Alex probably has a slightly better chance to strike gold than any old schmoe out there. He's literally in the perfect situation.

There were reports at the time that Reid talked to Alex during the bye week about being a leader and not being so cautious. Told him if he wanted to be a championship QB, he had to press the ball downfield more.

Whether or not it actually happened, I don't know. I do know that the Alex Smith we saw after the bye week threw the ball downfield A LOT more. I mean, the difference was almost immediately visible.

Our WRs suck. When the QBs favorite target is Dexter McCluster, you know you have problems. As always, the truth is somewhere in the middle. Alex needs to go downfield more often but the team needs to get him some people to throw to, too...

Please, the penalty for grounding is loss of down and 10 yards. The result of getting sacked is....loss of down and the yardage lost, which was what, 8 yards? Intentional grounding in that situation made no real difference at all.

As I said, "he showed flashes of elite passing while in San Diego".

I noted that already. What flashes of elite passing did Alex show in his 1st 100 starts.

So with Drew Brees you had a relatively late bloomer, but he showed flashes of it much younger.

With Alex, you have a consistently steady, unspectacular, workman, journey, reliable, game manager both in San Francisco and with KC. All indications are that Alex has hit his plateau and you are not going to see significantly higher performance from him.

This goes back to my claim that Alex's ceiling is Kaepernick's floor. Kapernick, like Brees, has shown flashes of elite potential even as he needs a lot of improvement to move up form his current middle-tier status.

A lot of people hate QBR, but Kaepernick is the only QB that I have ever heard has posted back to back games with 99 QBR (out of 100 total).

http://espn.go.com/blog/san-francisc...n-kaepernick-7


Colin Kaepernick is a mid-tier young Quarterback of 32 starts, showing flashes of elite potential, being groomed by one of the NFL's QB gurus. Que Drew Brees.

I was agreeing with you, FYI.

EDIT: You originally mentioned BOTH Gannon and Brees in comparison to Alex Smith. I was only letting you know that there was no comparison between Brees and Smith really. It's obvious now what you meant. You're going back and forth between Smith and Kap too fast. Slow down. :D

Well here is to Alex becoming the next Rich Gannon. There can never be too many great starting Quarterbacks in the NFL and it is far more fun to see quality play than mediocre play. I can't see it and predict it won't happen. If it does and Alex leaps up in performance, I will be thrilled for him.

Good luck Alex.

Thanks. I wasn't sure.

Internet communication is so much harder than sitting in a room and seeing how a guy says something.

Thanks for clarifying.

I added an edit, just so you know where the confusion came from.