I'm going to make a lot of you ill with this thread

[Mr. Flopnuts]

I wanted Geno Smith as much as anyone here. But I'm an it is what it is guy. So I started last night trying to find some kind of bright side to this whole fiasco. I've written the following piece, and am looking forward to being skewered for it.

The Alex Smith Experiment

Let it be known, I was in mourning all day yesterday. I had hitched my wagons so tightly to Geno Smith or some other young, QB stud coming out of this year's draft class that I never could bring myself to believe that the brilliant Andy Reid, and John Dorsey would actually trade for Alex Smith. Then they did. And I was crushed. I whined, complained, and proclaimed I could no longer care about this team. But I was born and raised inside the walls of this Kingdom. I could never pack my bags and walk away.

So I started thinking about what all of this meant. The first thing that came to mind was that it was obvious our new leadership didn't see what I saw in this year's crop of field generals. They agreed with the majority of people out there saying there was very, very little to be excited about out of the QB's entering the NFL this year. It also occurred to me that they must have thought very highly of Alex Smith considering the compensation that is being rumored to be given up for him. And I wondered if all the work we put in with Save Our Chiefs last year was in vein.

I mean, we've seen this movie. Over, and over, and over again. This is the 5th 49er retread this franchise has brought in for us over the last 25 years. And the great Joe Montana was the only one that has provided us with a playoff win. So naturally my thought process was “Here we go again! New Chiefs, same as the old Chiefs!”

Then I started doing my homework and watching the last couple of years of Alex Smith. This is a what have you done for me lately league, so I wasn't really worried about his first few years in the league. Coaching changes year after year, and no real continuity was what greeted him to the league. Jim Harbaugh came in and 2011 Alex Smith made some instant strides. I saw some things out of him that have now convinced me that this time the sequel could be better than the original. Here are some reasons I believe Alex Smith can help lead us to the promised land.

1. Leadership. Probably the most important thing a QB has to have, and something that has lacked in KC for the last couple of years. 2012 was a huge indicator of that. The Chiefs didn't believe in their QB and their play reflected it. On both sides of the ball. Alex Smith didn't have a contract with the 49ers the year of the lockout. Yet it was widely reported he still got his hands on Jim Harbaugh's new playbook and organized practices with his teammates. They rallied around him, and the proof is in the pudding. A muffed punt away from the Super Bowl.

2. Clutch. He has it. Tons of it. The biggest indicator was in his first playoff game. Back and forth, and they fell behind with around a minute left in the game. Alex marched them down the field and on a 3rd and 3 with his team in field goal position, he made his best pass of the entire game to score the game winning TD. On the biggest stage of his life. His coach could've easily played it safe and went for over time, but he believed in Alex. And that belief paid off with a win.

3. Field awareness. I watched a lot of tape. When Alex got loose of the pocket and had to scramble, he knew where the first down marker was. I watched him twist, and turn. Take hits, and deliver hits to get to that first down marker. No fetal position from Alex Smith. He went for it. Consistantly.

4. Progressions. I watched him go through progressions when he needed too. I haven't seen a lot of Alex locking onto a guy and just winging it in there regardless of coverage. That said, I've also seen him wing that ball in between two defenders where only his guy can catch the ball. And there's enough strength in his throws that the ball is there before the defender can respond too it.

5. Coaching. It took an elite coach to get the very best out of Alex Smith. And when he received that, he excelled instantaneously. What better coach, or situation could Alex Smith go to right now and replicate that success? There isn't one. This is it. Coach Reid, and our squad has the talent to put around Alex, and the ability to give him further insight, and tutilege to enhance, and grow his game.

6. Intangibles. This guy has a fire burning inside of him right now. He finally, finally got a head coach who was able to work with him, and he learned the system. He took his team to the brink of the Super Bowl and didn't get there due to no fault of his own. The very moment he was hurt, he was yanked, replaced, and watched his team go to the same spot that he himself probably could've led them too. He's the hungriest man in professional football right now, maybe in all of professional sports. He has something to prove, and he has a chip on his shoulder. And the way he conducted himself throughout that entire process as it unfolded last year was the mark of a leader.

7. History. Time and time again we've seen the stats that 1st round QB's win Super Bowls. We have not only a 1st round QB in Alex, but the very first pick in the draft. This is what we all wanted. Not how we envisioned it, but history is now on our side.

So there you have it. I've gone through mourning, and I've done my homework. I believe in our coach, and our new general manager, and I do not believe this in any way, shape, or form is remniscent of Scott *****, and the moves he made when he came to Kansas City. And I think that is truly our biggest fear. Because this move looks SO closely like the one Scooter made when he came to town, that we are all going to be relegated to that kind of failure over the next half decade.

I just don't think so. I think we have a former number 1 overall pick, that was the consensus number 1 at the time. This isn't a guy who backed up Matt Leinart in college. He played, and he played well. And again, this is a what have you done for me lately league. Alex has grown immensely in the last 2-3 years and has shown he has the ability to make the plays, make the throws, use his legs, and win when the game is on the line.

This is the new face of the franchise. Join me in optimism. Let this Kingdom stand tall, and proud, and root our warriors onto victory. We have our field general. And he's proven recently that he has the ability to lead our troops to victory.

[Sandy Vagina]

Good thread. Had not realized at first that it was created many months ago, lol.

I am glad to see some of you are happy and enjoying the KC season. I know I sure have been, and have grown to significantly like many Chiefs players on both sides of the ball. I find my heart-rate and tension elevated when watching KC games more than any other team... did not expect that.

Heading to the playoffs... where anything can happen!

[Wallcrawler]

Originally Posted by Mosbonian

Interesting....so in assessing a QB's performance you take away the highest receiver/RB stats and then you decide if he is good?

I need to call the NFL....they need to reassess the stats of probably 2/3 of the QB's that ever played.

JFC. You cant possibly be that obtuse.

The statement was that ALEX had a "stud" performance.

Im sorry. Tossing a screen pass, against a completely inept defense that cant seem to stop it and it results in three touchdowns is not a stud performance. That's just completing a pedestrian pass, and watching your halfback take it to the house.

ANY ONE OF US could have done what Smith did on those 3 screen passes.

Snap the football.
Wait 1.5 seconds.
Toss ball over to Jamaal.
Profit.

Hell, the one screen pass for a TD was almost incomplete it was thrown so high. A ridiculous one handed stab by Charles saves the play and he takes it to the house.

When the Chiefs get back to playing teams that can actually play defense, we will all be screaming in frustration as we normally do when we call screen passes that net little to no gain.

As I said, I like Alex Smith and I want him to succeed, but lets not go throwing around "stud" when we talk about his performance.

The guy has been making the safe throws all season. It just so happened that today, the safe throws ended up working out in the best possible scenario for the west coast offense. The WCO is all about completing short throws and hoping for a missed tackle that results in a big play.

Ill give him the 71 yarder to Charles, because that was a big throw. 20 of it was through the air, right on the money and Charles did the rest.

But come on. Those 3 screen TDs, that's not Alex Smith being a stud. That's Charles. I cant even imagine the adjectives thrown around here toward Alex if that one handed stab isn't made on the screen. Hes 5 yards away. How do you over throw that?

I can tell you with a fair amount of certainty though, that "stud" would not be among them.


But hey, no sense debating this. Alex himself admits how he got the statline right here. Another reason that I like him, he knows what he is.

http://www.kcchiefs.com/media-center...7-f9723ffdcd0f

[Mav]

Talk about how easy the passes were. Okay. How about that streak pass to bowe that bowe didn't fight for.

[Fat Elvis]

Originally Posted by BossChief

Alex has been playing at a high level for a few weeks.

You know why these screens were so effective? Oakland respected our ability to throw into those intermediate zones and compensated to slow that part of our game down by bringing more on the rush and dropping safeties.

You can't come out and slam Alex for running with the gameplan that yielded s 56 points.

Absolutely. Alex is making teams pick their poison. You don't have to cover deep if the QB hasn't shown that he can throw deep. Alex has demonstrated that he can do it. It's not his fault that defenses have chosen to respect him as a passer and he can get the ball to a complete stud on a screen pass.

[Fish]

Originally Posted by BossChief

Alex has been playing at a high level for a few weeks.

You know why these screens were so effective? Oakland respected our ability to throw into those intermediate zones and compensated to slow that part of our game down by bringing more on the rush and dropping safeties.

You can't come out and slam Alex for running with the gameplan that yielded s 56 points.

Bolded sentence is really all that needs to be said....

[Wallcrawler]

Nobody is slamming Alex Smith. He had a solid game aside from the fumble he lost.

However, there are some individuals that believe that his 5 TD performance was the product of some sort of wizardry on his part at the QB position.

He wasn't making throws and moving the ball down the field tearing apart a defense with his awareness, going through his progressions and then making the throw. These weren't big throws into the endzone to beat tight coverage.

These were essentially four passes that exploded in the YAC category, and then a more common 6 yard pass into the endzone. Three of them were screen passes. Easily the most pedestrian pass type in the National Football League. Long handoffs, if you will.

He wasn't really put into a position where he needed to do a whole lot else, and that's no fault of his own, and he did what he was supposed to do, he executed the plays.

But lets not make this out to be that his 17/20 for 287 and 5 tds was some sort of surgical clinic on passing the football in the National Football League.

It wasn't.

[The Franchise]

Originally Posted by Wallcrawler

Nobody is slamming Alex Smith. He had a solid game aside from the fumble he lost.

However, there are some individuals that believe that his 5 TD performance was the product of some sort of wizardry on his part at the QB position.

He wasn't making throws and moving the ball down the field tearing apart a defense with his awareness, going through his progressions and then making the throw. These weren't big throws into the endzone to beat tight coverage.

These were essentially four passes that exploded in the YAC category, and then a more common 6 yard pass into the endzone. Three of them were screen passes. Easily the most pedestrian pass type in the National Football League. Long handoffs, if you will.

He wasn't really put into a position where he needed to do a whole lot else, and that's no fault of his own, and he did what he was supposed to do, he executed the plays.

But lets not make this out to be that his 17/20 for 287 and 5 tds was some sort of surgical clinic on passing the football in the National Football League.

It wasn't.

That last TD to Charles was not only an awesome run after the catch....but it was a perfectly thrown ball that allowed Charles to take it to the house. Smith gets a ****ing kudos for that throw.

[Mosbonian]

Originally Posted by Wallcrawler

JFC. You cant possibly be that obtuse.

The statement was that ALEX had a "stud" performance.

Im sorry. Tossing a screen pass, against a completely inept defense that cant seem to stop it and it results in three touchdowns is not a stud performance. That's just completing a pedestrian pass, and watching your halfback take it to the house.

ANY ONE OF US could have done what Smith did on those 3 screen passes.

Snap the football.
Wait 1.5 seconds.
Toss ball over to Jamaal.
Profit.

Hell, the one screen pass for a TD was almost incomplete it was thrown so high. A ridiculous one handed stab by Charles saves the play and he takes it to the house.

When the Chiefs get back to playing teams that can actually play defense, we will all be screaming in frustration as we normally do when we call screen passes that net little to no gain.

As I said, I like Alex Smith and I want him to succeed, but lets not go throwing around "stud" when we talk about his performance.

The guy has been making the safe throws all season. It just so happened that today, the safe throws ended up working out in the best possible scenario for the west coast offense. The WCO is all about completing short throws and hoping for a missed tackle that results in a big play.

Ill give him the 71 yarder to Charles, because that was a big throw. 20 of it was through the air, right on the money and Charles did the rest.

But come on. Those 3 screen TDs, that's not Alex Smith being a stud. That's Charles. I cant even imagine the adjectives thrown around here toward Alex if that one handed stab isn't made on the screen. Hes 5 yards away. How do you over throw that?

I can tell you with a fair amount of certainty though, that "stud" would not be among them.


But hey, no sense debating this. Alex himself admits how he got the statline right here. Another reason that I like him, he knows what he is.

http://www.kcchiefs.com/media-center...7-f9723ffdcd0f

The interesting part of this is that you make an obtuse argument to substantiate your opinion of Smith.....and no I don't think you like him nor want him to succeed. I think you (like others) hope that the Chiefs succeed while Smith fails.

The absurdity of your argument lies in believing that Jamaal needs no one but himself....yet you forget he needs a QB to throw him the ball and players to block. Acting like Smith didn't have a good game is crazy, but yet everyone wants to dismiss his part. Smith is exactly what we want him to be...a good QB who manages the game well. Could he be better...I would hope. He isn't anywhere near as bad as some want to portray him, nor is he great.

The sad part....some people want him to fail so badly that they cannot enjoy the season for what it is. And for grins and giggles, we have had much better QB's here in the same situation and failed as badly in the playoffs as everyone is predicting we will with Smith as QB.

Where your concern should be is with a defense who suddenly seems as if they can't stop a piss poor offense like Buffalo, Houston or Oakland (2 times).

[Mosbonian]

Originally Posted by Wallcrawler

He wasn't making throws and moving the ball down the field tearing apart a defense with his awareness, going through his progressions and then making the throw. These weren't big throws into the endzone to beat tight coverage.

These were essentially four passes that exploded in the YAC category, and then a more common 6 yard pass into the endzone. Three of them were screen passes. Easily the most pedestrian pass type in the National Football League. Long handoffs, if you will.

He wasn't really put into a position where he needed to do a whole lot else, and that's no fault of his own, and he did what he was supposed to do, he executed the plays.

But lets not make this out to be that his 17/20 for 287 and 5 tds was some sort of surgical clinic on passing the football in the National Football League.

It wasn't.

There are probably only 5 QB's that would meet the standards you have created....everyone else is average and hovers between success/failure depending on the game.

And no...this wasn't a great performance, but it isn't to be taken lightly. I would ask the question.....since Trent Green have we had a QB that would make you happy?

[TEX]

Most of us here had enough sense to NOT want to draft Geno Smith. Glad Reid and Dorsey saw it the same way. All of you "Draft Geno Smith Guys" are blind and if you're part of the "Alex Smith Sucks" crowd, you're also idiots.

[The Franchise]

Originally Posted by TEX

Most of us here had enough sense to NOT want to draft Geno Smith. Glad Reid and Dorsey saw it the same way. All of you "Draft Geno Smith Guys" are blind and if you're part of the "Alex Smith Sucks" crowd, you're also idiots.

Have you ever stated an opinion about a player before they were drafted? If not....then shut the **** up.

[Wallcrawler]

Originally Posted by Pestilence

That last TD to Charles was not only an awesome run after the catch....but it was a perfectly thrown ball that allowed Charles to take it to the house. Smith gets a ****ing kudos for that throw.

As I mentioned before, I did concede that last one to Charles as it was a 20 or so yard strike through the air.

So if we remove the screens from the equation you end up with 163 yards and 2 TDs.

163 yards and 2 TDs is not out of the ordinary for Smith to end up with, but its hardly "stud" numbers. This was his downfield passing game statistics. He hit the 71 yarder to Charles, and a 6 yarder to McGrath for his 2 TDs.

He had a solid game, and kept the team focused and rolling when the Faiders had pulled within 4 points of us.

I simply refuse to crown Alex Smith as a QB wizard based on yards that Charles gained on what are essentially glorified handoffs.

[Wallcrawler]

Originally Posted by Mosbonian

There are probably only 5 QB's that would meet the standards you have created....everyone else is average and hovers between success/failure depending on the game.

Welcome to Parity in the National Football League, and now you can understand the difference between an average QB, and an elite QB.


Honestly, when Alex Smith completes a screen pass for a TD, do you jump up and scream "Keep ****ING doubting Alex Smith!!"?

Or is it maybe that you just sit and think what a beast Jamaal Charles is?

[Halfcan]

Alex was perfect yesterday-can't argue with that.

[Easy 6]

Flop was ahead of the curve.