Quote:
Originally Posted by DJ's left nut
But here's the thing with W/L record as an evaluation tool - Smith played 3 of his absolute best games of the season in our 3 losses.
He played like a top 10 QB in those games and we lost because the defense wet itself.
What does that have to do with Smith? The guy did everything you could reasonably expect. He outplayed Manning in Arrowhead, IMO and was every bit Rivers' equal.
You really think we're improving as a football team by tossing that? Additionally, letting a QB play out his walk year sends a clear sign to the player and the team that you don't trust him. It creates a leadership crisis more often than not. Even when it works out (i.e. Flacco), it hurts the team through inflating his price tag.
Why do you need to see another year of Alex Smith? What can you possibly think you'll learn? Smith now has 3 straight years of doing the same thing - being a high end game manager that is capable of turning it up a little bit while taking very little off the table.
That's what you have - the end. If he wins the next 3 games, that won't change. If he loses the next 3 games, that won't change. None of your requests will change who the guy is.
And you're absolutely wrong that the guy hasn't done anything to prove he's not better than one of the 15-25th best QB options in the league. He's outplayed many of the guys you'd have put on that list ahead of him over the last 3 years. He's been better than Flacco, better than Manning, better than Kaepernick. He's nowhere near as flashy as those guys but damn is he smart with the ball and he's a very good leader.
You folks that are dismissing this out of hand are simply digging your heels in. If the Chiefs can get him signed to a reasonable deal they'd be fools not to. Even if they have to sign him for 6, everyone knows the first 3/4 is what matters. Moreoever, given the state of QBs in this league (God-awful), getting Smith signed to a reasonable contract where any signing bonus would accelerate onto the Chiefs cap in the event of a trade makes him a hell of a trade asset. If we do manage to get a young QB that is good enough to replace him, huzzah; we'll deal him.
If you let him play through his walk year he has no reason at all to extend without testing the market. Once that happens, his price will increase substantially. Additionally, are you really ready to go with Bray in that event? if so, that's just absurd - you've seen nothing to believe he's ready to play.
Letting an established QB with a clear track record play through his walk year is silly. He's not going to change in 2014.
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I'm not going to agree with Alex Smith playing like a top 10 QB in each of the past three games.
At Denver? Top 10 QBs don't complete less than 50 percent of their passes for 5.2 YPA. A few drops don't make up for 24 incompletions and a weak offensive effort against a mediocre-at-best defense.
He did play like a top 10 guy against San Diego (though it should be noted his performance against that defense was pretty similar to what the league has done against it this season).
And outplay Manning at Arrowhead? I think only a Chiefs fan would say.
Why do I need to see another year of Alex Smith? Because he has shown me nothing that makes me think he's better than what he was in San Francisco. Which is not good enough. It places him squarely in the middle of the starting QB pecking order, and it's damn hard to win anything of consequence when that's the case.
There's time to wait. At least get through this year's draft and FA period before signing the extension. If they get through those without acquiring another QB, I wouldn't squawk at a modest extension for Smith, for the reasons you state. Something that extends him at a similar salary to what he's making now would be fine.