[Fat Elvis]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

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.

Abso-freakin-lutely. There's been quite a few of us saying this for quite a while. Moreover, this type of passing efficiency affects the entire complexion of the game; an efficient, intermediate passing attack keeps the O on the field and the D off of it. I've said it before, and I will say it again: I believe that one of the reasons why the 49er defense was so good is because of what they were doing offensively. I don't think they were propping ASmith up during the year; I think it was a symbiotic relationship because--get this--football is a TEAM sport.