Quote:
Originally Posted by Wonton Prejudice
Really?
You really think Andy Reid is going to get MORE out of this guy?
This is the same kind of optimism that was rampant here last offseason, insisting that Cassel was going to improve.
The guy has been a checkdown artist his entire career. That's not changing.
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You don't know that for a fact. And he wasn't a checkdown artist early in his career.
[I tried posting a video of Smith's 2006 season, but I'm not allowed to yet. If you search on youtube for: "2006 Alex Smith highlights", it's the first video.]
Look at that video and tell me if you recognize the guy? That's Smith in his 2nd season before the major shoulder injury and with Norv Turner as offensive coordinator (i.e. the guy who likes to go deep). It's like a totally different guy out there. There are more deep balls in this video than either the 2011 or 2012 season.
A lot of the Smith checkdown stuff has a lot to do with the mental aspect of extreme ball security, but quite frankly the Harbaugh era was nothing spectacular from a purely passing context. In fact, Smith's redzone production in 2011 and 2012 were not his career best despite more appearances in the redzone. He actually was very good in the redzone.
The running game in SF is like a reincarnation of the west coast offense from the ground perspective....and that was before the pistol was unleashed. The OL in SF is top notch in run game, but not elite in pass protection. If the Chiefs can manage to run the ball as well as the 49ers did, that would be very promising, because it looks like pass protection will be better in Kansas City. 5.82 ypc from Jamaal Charles....NFL record....yeah, just like Fisher is his new Staley, Charles is his new Gore.
I trust Reid to do his thing. He'll find the right balance to make it work.
As for Smith, this is a brand new team which could mean good things in the intangibles department. I think the high point for him was the Saints playoff victory, then after that it was the same thing all over again for him except in much subtler ways.
Should be very interesting. The good news is Reid knows the NFC East very well, so I'm sure he'll come up with some great game plans to smash those teams.