Jaworski rates Chiefs QB at No. 20 among NFL starters
 

Jaworski rates Chiefs QB at No. 20 among NFL starters

The Kansas City Star
Former NFL quarterback-turned-broadcaster Ron Jaworski ranks new Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith No. 20 among the NFL's 32 starting quarterbacks.

That's according to Jaworski's ratings on ESPN's MediaZone site, transcribed from his three-minute daily segments dubbed "Jaws' QB Countdown" on SportsCenter and NFL Live.

Smith, of course, was acquired in a trade from San Francisco this offseason, and has yet to throw a pass in Kansas City (aside from OTAs, that is).

Here are some excerpts from Jaworski's evaluation of Smith:

“A year ago, Smith was coming off his best season in the NFL, having led the 49ers to the NFC Championship. This year, he’s the starting quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs. It was a great move by (Chiefs coach) Andy Reid to acquire Smith.

“The defining element of Smith’s play is efficiency. He executes the offense the way it’s designed, and he makes very few mistakes. Last season – for the second year in a row – he was exceptional on first down. In 2012 he led the NFL in first-down passing, with a quarterback rating of 119. Much of it came off play-action, or in the case of the 49ers, hard run-action out of base personnel. There was no better play-action quarterback last season than Smith. He had a quarterback rating of over 132.

“Smith has been outstanding out of multiple tight end personnel over the last couple of seasons. No quarterback has thrown the ball more with three tight ends on the field. You don’t see that very often in today’s NFL.

“This play was beautifully designed with all three tight ends to the same side. First, look at the impact of the run-action on the two linebackers and the safety. This was hard run-action. Then you see that Delanie Walker’s vertical route occupied the corner. That left Vernon Davis matched on a safety, a safety that initially reacted to run. He had no chance on Davis’ wheel route.

“One area Smith improved in 2012 was in the pre-snap phase of the game. He was much better at the line of scrimmage checking and audibling.

“It will be interesting to see what Andy Reid does in Kansas City. Don’t be surprised if he turns Smith loose a little bit and features an up-tempo offense with an emphasis on quick throws. Remember, Alex Smith played for Urban Meyer at Utah.”

Other QB's that Jaworski has analyzed so far:

No. 32 Matt Flynn

No. 31 Jake Locker

No. 30 Kevin Kolb

No. 29 Chad Henne

No. 28 Mark Sanchez

No. 27 Christian Ponder

No. 26 Brandon Weeden

No. 25 Michael Vick

No. 24 Ryan Tannehill

No. 23 Carson Palmer

No. 22 Sam Bradford

No. 21 Josh Freeman

IF all the other QB's left under him on this list play better, which means they all score more points than the Chiefs....KC will have a really poor season.

I think they will be better than this.

It's about right. Its better than having 32 and 33 last year in Cassel and Quinn.

Except for Freeman and maybe Bradford that's a depressing list.

Where is gabbert?

I'll say it first:

If Smith stays healthy, he'll break into the top ten, or close, in Reid's offense.

Henne is starting in this league still?

Haha, Alex Smith. I have a hard time caring with him as our leader....already wanting this era to end...

This is a pivotal year for Bradford. The Rams have compiled the necessities he needs to be successful. No excuses if he sux teh penis this year.

Homer.

Couldn't crack the 32

He was at home, studying for his Wonderlic test.

He fell into a bottomless pit

Jaws used Henne as the Jaguars starter.

I still like Sam Bradford in this league. Austin and Bailey are going to help a LOT.