Mellinger: The Chiefs are a mess and Alex Smith is the messiest part

[Hammock Parties]

http://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt...186621438.html

The Chiefs stink and their quarterback stinks and at this point it’s hard to separate where one ends and the other begins. More and more, the quarterback is claiming more of the stink.

Andy Reid has been an NFL head coach since most of his players were in grade school. He is fond of saying they all have a piece in it, good and bad, and that’s true but so is this: some pieces are bigger than others.

Seven weeks ago, actual humans had actual conversations about Alex Smith being the frontrunner for NFL MVP, and the bat-spit craziest part — it was true.

Today, we live in a world in which the Chiefs lost 16-10 at home to the Bills, a team that gave up 101 points the last two games, so we could have a reasonable debate about whether this was worse than losing to the Giants last week. But here’s a point that’s beyond dispute:

Right now, Smith is the Chiefs’ worst player, and a season that was so promising not that long ago is free-falling until that changes.

“Certainly frustrated, for sure,” he said. “And a little shocked there, no doubt.”

He was talking more generally about the team, with five losses in their last six games and what should’ve been rock bottom last week followed immediately by more incompetence this week.

But he could’ve been talking about himself, too. Whatever order you want to put them in, Smith has played his four worst games of the season in the Chiefs’ last four games.

Through seven weeks: 72.4 completion percentage, 8.7 yards per attempt, 283 yards per game, 15 touchdowns, zero interceptions and a 120.5 passer rating. That’s higher than any quarterback in the league since 2011.

Last four games: 63.1 completion percentage, 6.3 yards per attempt, 224 yards per game, four touchdowns, four interceptions and a 78.7 passer rating. That’s basically Matt Cassel’s passer rating with the Chiefs (77.5).

What in the world.

“It wasn’t anything we haven’t seen or haven’t been successful against,” Reid said. “We were off. We’ve got to get through this, and get it turned around.”

The only way through this is for the quarterback to be better. That’s often an incomplete analysis, and it’s true that Smith is far from the only one playing poorly right now, but it’s impossible to watch this team and not be convinced his “piece of it” is disproportionally big and important.

He is missing basic throws, against no pressure, often in crucial spots. Once, a drive stalled after Smith threw an uncatchable pass to a wide-open Demarcus Robinson. Another drive ended when Robinson was again open, but Smith instead decided to run for it, eventually taking a shot to the spleen short of the sticks.

Travis Kelce was open for a potential touchdown — a truly nice call by Reid, to beat zone coverage — but Smith instead threw incomplete to Albert Wilson, who was covered, short of the first down.

This is just a sampling. Smith appears to have no confidence in his offensive line, sometimes dropping way too far back, which ruins his blockers’ angles. On other plays he breaks the pocket far too early, occasionally even when a simple step up would create more time and protection.

“Especially these last few weeks there’s been some plays you’d love to have back,” Smith said. “That’s football, though.”

The Chiefs were once the best team in football, and for more than a month now they’ve been one of the worst. This is a complicated sport, layered with adjustment on top of scheme on top of sight-read on top of human imperfection, but the most obvious difference between the awesome 2017 Chiefs and the horrendous 2017 Chiefs appears to be a lack of respect for their passing game.

Defenses are stacking toward the line of scrimmage, and moving aggressively and freely toward the backfield once there. It’s aggression beating aggression, because when the line is overwhelmed with defenders, some of the Chiefs’ downfield talent — particularly Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce — is negated.

This is, essentially, a bet that defenses are making that Smith can’t make the right adjustments in time to beat them.

That’s been a winning bet, over and over and over again.

Smith is extraordinarily intelligent. Not just “athlete” intelligent, either. He earned an economics degree in 2 1/2 years, and runs what’s been called a model charity. But there are times it appears he struggles to make blink-quick decisions. When he makes the right diagnosis before the snap, it works. When he’s surprised, it doesn’t.

Far too often over the last month, he’s been surprised.

Opposing defensive coordinators saw the Chiefs’ first five games and seem to have collectively resolved to stop the run and force Smith to beat them with quick decisions and downfield throws. He has been fundamentally unable to do this, and as long as that remains true the Chiefs aren’t getting any better.

You might be angry that it took me this long to mention Patrick Mahomes. Many of you want him in, and Smith benched. Reid addressed that after Sunday’s game, quickly dismissing the suggestion that he’s even considering a switch.

For what it’s worth, I don’t think Smith should be benched, even now. We’ve seen him be effective as recently as this season. Mahomes is less than four years removed from his high school prom. He was drafted as a raw prospect, thought by most to need at least a year to learn.

Mahomes is taking no snaps with the starters during practice. A switch from Smith to Mahomes would require major practice adjustments, which would signal the switch to a locker room that has always been reverential toward Smith.

There is a point when this could become a real thing. But there is no indication that at this point Mahomes is anything more than an option for 2018. If Smith keeps at this pace, and Mahomes does enough in practice to convince coaches and teammates, maybe this conversation changes. You can’t fool the guys in the room. But we’re not there yet.

The bigger problem for the Chiefs is that this whole thing was built around Smith, to bring out his best, and we’re going on a month of seeing his worst. The reasons for staying with him are more about the backup not being ready, which is a bad enough sign.

The worse sign is that the only ways out of this include Smith playing a lot better. Reid is right. They all have a piece in it. But the defense has consistently done its part, the line can only do so much, and the receivers aren’t being given much of a chance.

This is what a free-fall looks like. Smith is the one man best positioned to stop it. He was a crucial part of their success early, and he’s an undeniable part of their failures lately. At this point, believing anything will change is based more on faith and hope than logic and reason.

Of all the ways the Chiefs have let their fans down over the years, this one is new, at least.

[Ming the Merciless]

Originally Posted by NJChiefsFan

Yes I agree. The homers are a good balance to the haters. It is amusing to see the haters skirt around giving Alex credit and the homers skirt around calling Alex out.

Not to mention the drama....

If anyone on here truly, truly didn't like the drama, they wouldn't be members of this board.

this is truebut baby lee is not even worth talking to when you dont agree with him

granted it does make for good 'drama'

but you really cant have any kind of discourse with him, if you disagree because he is one of those flaring assberger types who cant concede a single point

whereas say, other peopel can get funny and nasty without being so autistic or vaginal

[stevieray]

Originally Posted by Pawnmower

exactly

he will take 10 giant pussies to join him in his flappy menstrual bleeding

i mean duh

of course he will, theyre both worthless

^badge of honor^

[Ming the Merciless]

Originally Posted by stevieray

^badge of honor^

LOL

even your stupid ass is coming around to the fact that smith wont be taking us anywhere

thats saying a lot

[NJChiefsFan]

Originally Posted by Pawnmower

this is truebut baby lee is not even worth talking to when you dont agree with him

granted it does make for good 'drama'

but you really cant have any kind of discourse with him, if you disagree because he is one of those flaring assberger types who cant concede a single point

whereas say, other peopel can get funny and nasty without being so autistic or vaginal

He is very stubborn at times, that's true. I personally enjoy talking with posters that don't take themselves too seriously. Especially with Alex, a lot of posters have planted their flags so deeply on their side that they really can't move it.

[Ming the Merciless]

Originally Posted by NJChiefsFan

He is very stubborn at times, that's true. I personally enjoy talking with posters that don't take themselves too seriously. Especially with Alex, a lot of posters have planted their flags so deeply on their side that they really can't move it.

exactly

this site is so much fun..because of those kinds of folks here

it really is the best chiefs site in the world I am convinced..like hands down...

coming here after tough losses always makes me feel better..and enjoying a good win here is a great feeling because of all of you guys

[Molitoth]

How about how Any Reid refuses to bring in good WRs?

Just read this gem on Facebook.
lol



This guy literally is blaming Andy Reid for not having any "good WRs" on this team right now.

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by Red Dawg

How can Mahomes do worse? If he can't then there is no reason not to play him. I understand raw but good grief, if he was that raw or needed that much time then they should never have traded up to get him. Smith had already ruined everything so why not play Mahomes.

Sadly, as others have said, the flag is so firmly planted in Alex's court. The fans outside of cp. The media outside of Mellinger. I could see mahomes hitting some lumps as any rookie would and the Alex homers saying: see, it's the supporting cast that sucks. Even if he plays better than Alex which wont be hard to do.

At this point, I just don't care anymore about this season. If we have to cringe our way through this season so that we firmly commit to mahomes next year, so be it. I'm convinced what the Chiefs are doing now solidifies that Alex is gone no matter what next year and that gives me comfort through the cringe.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Originally Posted by Black Bob

At this point I'd like to see Marshall part deux. Hope the whole team goes down in a plane crash and we start over with our badass safety. Seriously, **** all these guys.

Goddamn, this place has some insane mother****ers.

I mean, I can understand the "fire everyone" emotion that can happen when you are tired of a team's bullshit, but wanting the entire team to die in a plane crash...just..wow.

[bevischief]

What they are doing is crap. This crap isn't working. So go figure it out. We are done with crap.

[kccrow]

Originally Posted by bevischief

What they are doing is crap. This crap isn't working. So go figure it out. We are done with crap.

Reid said he has to make better crap.

[Rasputin]

Originally Posted by bevischief

What they are doing is crap. This crap isn't working. So go figure it out. We are done with crap.

Andy Reid says each have a part in this and says he needs to do better coaching.

[GloryDayz]

Originally Posted by Pestilence

If Reid won’t bench him....then I hope they continue to lose every game for the rest of the season. Which isn’t hard to fathom because we just lost to the ****ing Giants and Bills.

I hope the Chargers take the division.

If Reid won't bench him, Hunt should (by firing Reid). And if Hunt, Veach, and Reid are all in agreement, well, it might add 48 additional years to our quest for a SB appearance. It's a sign of being too stubborn to fix something that's clearly broken. It's not unlike buying that pipe repair kit then never using it, the house won't get repaired.

And if they're sure Mahomes isn't ready, well then Mahomes might not be the QB answer to the Chiefs problems, too many other teams have started their rookie QBs with success.

I'll add too that this sets a tone across the organization that performance doesn't matter. With the Hunt's owning being "player-friendly", and a head coach that doubles down on that mindset, I'm sure the players take plays/games/months "off", and the Pat's organization just laughs at us.

So at this point this whole "not benching Alex" is as much on Hunt and Veach as it is on Reid. Sometimes the boss's boss, and the boss's boss's boss, has to be the bad guy and force the issue. They won't.

Oh, and they're not smarter than us unless there's some kind of misdirection plot at hand, but I doubt that.

[SuperBowl4]

When does the home playoff game at Arrowhead go on sale to the general public?

[Marcellus]

Originally Posted by petegz28

When 75% of your passes are sideways or within 5 yards, how can Mahomes not be ready to do that?

No joke. I see what Smith is and isnt doing and any QB on about any roster could do what Smith is doing right now.

[Stryker]

It is so very hard to watch these games. This team has become a joke and just plain atrocious. I will never understand how you can be 5 - 0 and then just melt down. Sad.