Funny, on the NFL network they were just talking about the misconception about the QB's who throw the ball down the field.

Mentioned both Brady and Manning.

Ummm, I think both are ok how bout you?

Brady was 5th in the NFL last year in passes attempted over 20 yards. Manning was 7th.

Please don't try to make stuff up.

Brady throws the ball down the field. So does Manning.

Alex Smith throws it down the field less than Matt Cassel.

Truly scary.

I know Alex has positives.

I actually pointed this statistic out as one of Alex's positives almost immediately when we traded for him.

But I believe the negatives outweigh the positives.

It doesn't mean shit if you're accurate on an 8-yard completion on third and 10.

A) I disagree that you can't win without flinging it downfield 80+ times.
B) I don't believe that will be the case with the 2013 version of Alex Smith.

He's a credible NFL quarterback. He isn't a star, he isn't Christian Ponder. I take umbrage with your high-handed insistence that you're just 'putting out the numbers for you rubes' when in fact that's certainly not the case.

You're absolutely putting forward numbers that fit your narrative and unquestionably manipulating them as you see fit.

There is nothing in Alex Smith's recent history to suggest that he can't be a good downfield passer. Or at least an competent one. There is plenty to suggest that he hasn't been asked to do it. And there is stat after stat that can be presented to show that, while downfield passing may even be a weakness of Smith's, there are a ton of things he does extremely well.

But you ignore them. Always. Because you desperately want this guy to fail so you can claim victory.

Alex Smith is in that Matt Schaub tier of decent quarterbacks. Yes, he did suck. No, he does not presently suck and yes, there is ample reason to believe he will not suck in the future.

God you are slow. The conversation is that Brady and Manning throw as % more intermediate to short passes.

Remember the last couple of seasons the 2 TE's in NE?????

I disagree. He's scared to throw the ball down the field. He only does it when the guy is wide open, so of course his percentage is relatively high.

Matt Schaub is a real stretch for me. We're more likely to get someone like Jake Plummer.

Yes, but Brady and Manning still throw the ball down the field.

A lot.

Alex Smith doesn't.

End of discussion.

Define a lot.

Smith's actually going to be a very interesting case study for me.

Last year, when I was watching Joe Flacco mis-fire on every other pass, be it 8 yards or 40 yards downfield, I realized that guys with erratic accuracy like Flacco and Eli Manning should be firing the ball downfield. Afterall, if you're going to miss on your pass, you might as well have some risk/reward for your efforts and if its picked, its no worse than a punt.

But if you're a really accurate passer, especially in the short and intermediate zones, long passes aren't necessarily needed.

Alex Smith's yards per attempt over the last 2 years bear that out. His accuracy was so sharp that he was averaging more yards per attempt than virtually every QB in the league. He was, by any measure, a successful and productive NFL QB despite not pushing the ball downfield.

And as the efficiency numbers and yes, the highlight clips show, Smith does have that club in his bag. He doesn't have a cannon, but he's absolutely capable of making a precise, well-timed, on target deep throw. I don't know why you keep saying "can't" when the operative word really is only "hasn't". We've seen the skill-set and the numbers support it - Alex Smith can be an above average downfield passer, IMO.

But if you can sit there and throw it through a swinging tire over and over again at 12 yards, a short passing game is probably the better way to utilize those skills. Whereas if you're someone like Flacco who isn't going to be much better on short passes than long ones, then firing the thing downfield is the most efficient use of your talents.

You know. We have been beating our heads against the wall with this for months. How about this. Why don't we stop saying what Alex Smith did or didn't do in San Francisco, and wait to see what he does in KANSAS CITY.

honestly. That's all that matters.

Its like there is a Bat Signal when something is said about Alex Smith that all of the Alex Smith Dicksuckers just swarm to.

But that's why I don't see how you're going to ignore the highlight reels.

You can find a lot of instances of him doing a really nice job of dropping the ball into closing windows and onto his receivers hands.

What he's not going to do, and what he shouldn't try to do, is rifle a ball into a tight window. His arm's not that strong; it'll get batted away. And his pass diagrams suggest that he's smart enough to know that. You're right in that he doesn't try those Stafford throws into small windows...because that would be quite stupid for Alex Smith.

But he absolutely will go over top of a WR and try to drop the ball into a hole in the coverage. And when he does, he's actually pretty good at it.

I won't try to guess raw numbers because I truly have no idea what Reid's going to do with this offense. But in Smith we're going to get an efficient passer that's smart with the ball and works with the strengths of his personnel. In other words, he's not going to be Jake Plummer; nothing in his career suggests that he'd be that kind of wild card.

You know who he really could be, though? Jeff Garcia. Garcia was athletic, smart with the ball and didn't force the issue but when he had an opening downfield, he took it. He disguised his average NFL arm strength through scrambling when needed and through making smart decisions with the ball. He was a very solid NFL QB that had his teams in legitimate SB contention on a fair occasion.

I think that's a very fair bar to set for Alex Smith.

Good post. What you also have to look out for is if Alex smith is running a short passing game or a check off dump off game. That concerns me more than the deep ball. I don't know that he takes enough chances and that leads to him holding on to the ball or too often checking down. You don't want him to be Brett favre but he has to be more willing to take chances.

Nevermind the fact that Welker was #1 in the league for YAC or that Thomas was #4....

Ding Dong doesn't seem to realize that when you put the ball on the money in short and intermediate throws your WRs can turn those into 20+ yard completions. You know, Welker goes deep soooo often yet he had 13 20+ yard receptions last year and Thomas had 29.

Solid insight.

By all means, offer any sort of substantive discourse whenever you'd like.

Mouthbreather.