Alex Smiths accuracy wowing fans

[Hog's Gone Fishin]

http://www.kcchiefs.com/news/article...a-a4b423d11a12



Alex Smith's Accuracy Sparks Chiefs Practice
Posted 1 hour ago

Reid Ferrin
Chiefs Insider

KCChiefs.com

Email @KCChiefs_Reid
aaKansas City Chiefs QB Alex Smith wowed the crowd with pinpoint throws

Kansas City Chiefs QB Alex Smith didn't care that the skies were again overcast during practice on Monday; likely because his accurate throws would've outshined the sun, had it made an appearance.

Smith was on-point, nearly perfect, unofficially completing 17 of 20 passes for three TDs during the roughly two-and-a-half hour practice.

"It’s a reflection of the group,” Smith said. “O-line was great today; it starts with them. They did a good job communicating, especially in the blitz period, third down, everybody was on the same page and then there were guys making plays outside. We got off to a good start but really, I think the spark came from the guys up-front."

Among the many pass-catchers Smith connected with on Monday, Chiefs TE Anthony Fasano continues to play at a very-high level. Smith threw to Fasano three-straight times, late in practice, including one TD.

"He's such a dependable guy, so reliable," Smith said of Fasano. "He has such a great knowledge of the game, a great feel for it, defenses and how they’re playing him and he uses his body so well. He continues to make tough catches. He’s what you’re looking for in a TE, that reliable guy that continues to be open, time after time."

Another of Smith's targets was Chiefs WR Dwayne Bowe, whose best catch on Monday was a one-handed grab in 7-on-7s.

"That’s just him making me look good," Smith said. "There’s not much to it. I threw it up there and let him do the rest."

Bowe described the play from a different perspective.

"No, man," Bowe said of Smith's pass. "He put the ball right on the outside; he saw the inside leverage, and our job is to catch the ball; it happened to be a one-handed catch, but it was a great pass by Alex."



Bowe also shared how he's feeling just days away from the team's first preseason game of the year.

"I’m feeling good,” Bowe said. "We’re going against the best every day at practice, so when we get to the games, we will be ready."

Following Smith, Chiefs QB Chase Daniel stepped in Monday and continues to move the ball effectively, highlighted by his completion to a determined Chiefs TE Tony Moeaki on a third-down play in the red zone.

"Chase did a great job of getting the ball out quick," Moeaki said. "I was just trying to get the ball vertical and it was a third-down play, so getting the first down in the red zone, that’s huge. We as a TE group feel that’s where our number should be called; we’re just trying to help the team score."

Later in 11-on-11s, Chiefs QB Ricky Stanzi closed out the drill with a beauty of a throw for a TD to Chiefs rookie WR Frankie Hammond Jr.

"It was a great throw by Ricky,” Hammond Jr. said. "I kind of pinned the guy inside and he just made a great throw and I went up and got it."

Like the other Chiefs rookies, Hammond Jr. is ready and waiting for his opportunity to shine on Friday night.

"Definitely,” Hammond Jr said. "It’s just ‘lay it out all on the table’; you’ll only get so many opportunities in these preseason games, so when we get out there, we have to make the most of them and go out there and play hard."

The team played hard yet again today, which caught the eye of Chiefs head coach Andy Reid.

"Good work today," coach Reid said.

"This is our fifth day in a row of full contact and going. This is our longest stretch; we’ll have another day tomorrow. So, the guys pushed through a big red zone day today, big 3RD-and-long day today. I thought they traded back and forth, challenging each other and working hard.”



Part of the hard work paid off for the defense in 11-on-11s, when Chiefs DB Otha Foster III was in the right place at the right time for his pick-six INT.

"I was playing free," Foster III said. "The guy dragged across and the QB threw it to him, bounced off his shoulder and landed in my hands. We were going full contact, all the way, tackling to the ground and that’s why I ran it all the way back."

Foster hopes to carry the defensive momentum with him into Friday's road game against the Saints.

"I feel good about that because it’s close to my hometown in Louisiana," he said. "I’m going to have a lot of family there and they love the Saints, except when I’m playing; they’ll be on my side (on) Friday.”

The Chiefs return to the practice field tomorrow, before a day off on Wednesday, travel day to New Orleans on Thursday and then, the real fun begins Friday night at 7:00 PM CDT, from the Mercedes-Benz

[BossChief]

Originally Posted by mcaj22

isnt this article pointing out the same results though?

accurate, taking care of the ball, works the short to intermediate game, etc?

that's Alex's game, drop back 20 times in a game take 4 sacks complete 17 passes score a couple touchdowns, probably wont lead the team from behind to win a game, etc.

That's what he does, he's like a rich mans Damon Huard, very poor, poor, homeless man's Trent Green. Somewhere in the middle, good enough skillset for this team

It's a real shame that pressure effects Alexs game so much.

I say that because I went to every training camp that Trent Green was our quarterback of and Alex Smith is really close in terms of accuracy and the whole package.

But, of course, the real bullets weren't flying. That's when Alex seems to struggle the most...under any pressure.

[keg in kc]

Originally Posted by chiefzilla1501

Duce Staley, Brian Westbrook, and LeSean McCoy are pretty damn good RBs.

And all of them were similar style backs to Charles. We've already seen exactly what he does with back like Jamaal.

[Strongside]

Smith definitely has the best snap count. Sounds like a grown ass man up there compared to Cassel. That's what I took from attending camp.

[BlackHelicopters]

How did J Baldwin do?

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by BossChief

Smith was the best QB at camp. I said this multiple times.

He was sharp and crisp working the middle of the field and he threw it 30-50 yards downfield more than I thought he would. His passes were accurate and that will absolutely make a big difference from last year.

But watching him throw and then seeing Bray throw a few minutes later makes it easy to see his limitations.

I absolutely think Alex can have a year similar to Cassels 2010.

Well... The Cassel offense was largely R2P2. Cassel's performance that year was grossly overrated, as he lacked the accuracy to hit any of his targets. I'm not an Alex Smith fan, but I think if the Chiefs ran the 2010 offense with Alex Smith instead of Cassel, that would have been a significantly better football team.

Which is encouraging and deflating at the same time. It means Smith could easily lead an efficient offense that we haven't seen in years. It also means we could settle even if he's not the guy for a Super Bowl.

[Pasta Little Brioni]

Originally Posted by Strongside

Smith definitely has the best snap count. Sounds like a grown ass man up there compared to Cassel. That's what I took from attending camp.

Lincoln!!! Lincoln!!!

[Strongside]

Originally Posted by PGM

Lincoln!!! Lincoln!!!

Too Skinny/Lincoln

[RealSNR]

Originally Posted by PGM

Lincoln!!! Lincoln!!!

"North Platte! North Platte!"

-Buttchin

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

It's nice to hear that Alex Smith is picking up right where he left off in San Fran. It's also no surprise that people continue to dismis his effort.

Yet if he had been 10 for 20 with 3 INT's, the haters would be out in full force.

No shit.

Smith's a damn accurate passer, especially when he has time to throw.

The problem was that a lot of people dug their heels in hard on this guy vs. a Rookie and have absolutely refused to retreat from their initial positions on him.

I started out pretty damn opposed to Smith but once the deal was made, I did a hell of a lot more homework on him and the guy's a good QB. He's going to be very good in the Reid offense.

And every time he does something outstanding, for many it will be attributable to someone else or "what he's supposed to be doing".

[MMXcalibur]

Originally Posted by Hoover

Stopped reading

FYP

Sick of training camp legends.

[Hog's Gone Fishin]

I just wonder if Manziel will still be on the board for the 32 pick .

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

His last two seasons disprove this notion.

His last two seasons disprove those questions, Dane? Because those are the questions I continually saw 49ers fans asking over the past two years. They're the questions that have often popped up when all-22 film was broken down.

If he was aggressive enough with the ball the past two seasons, why was there so much talk early from Andy Reid about getting him to be more aggressive with the football?

[BossChief]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

No shit.

Smith's a damn accurate passer, especially when he has time to throw.

The problem was that a lot of people dug their heels in hard on this guy vs. a Rookie and have absolutely refused to retreat from their initial positions on him.

I started out pretty damn opposed to Smith but once the deal was made, I did a hell of a lot more homework on him and the guy's a good QB. He's going to be very good in the Reid offense.

And every time he does something outstanding, for many it will be attributable to someone else or "what he's supposed to be doing".

What days were you in st joes?

What did you see from Bray?

[Eleazar]

Originally Posted by Hog Farmer

I just wonder if Manziel will still be on the board for the 32 pick .

If only Tebow was still available.

[Kaepernick]

Originally Posted by BossChief

Smith was the best QB at camp. I said this multiple times.

He was sharp and crisp working the middle of the field and he threw it 30-50 yards downfield more than I thought he would. His passes were accurate and that will absolutely make a big difference from last year.

But watching him throw and then seeing Bray throw a few minutes later makes it easy to see his limitations.

I absolutely think Alex can have a year similar to Cassels 2010.

Alex can make the 20 yard throws when he is WILLING to do so. I never said he "couldn't throw", I said he "wouldn't throw". In SF he always seemed to read from short to long. On some deep patterns with Vernon Davis, that would often be the 1st read and when they connected, it was heaven -- but all too often, Alex read from short to long, taking what he could short without evaluating what was available long.

If Alex could ever overcome that game day caution of fearing an INT and just go out and attack DBs by throwing into windows, I think he would be OK. It seems to be mental with Alex, rather than limited by his physical skills.

In SF, he just never showed that attacking mentality, willing to challenge the secondary. With the one exception being the Saints Divisional win in 2011, when Alex had his back against the wall and said "screw it" and just ATTACKED.

The sad thing is, he showed some of that in 2006, his sophomore year, the year before his severe shoulder injury. Since recovering from the shoulder, he just doesn't want to attack. He wants to play it safe as Harbaugh beat into him.

He has the skill, he just limits himself by playing too timidly. It doesn't help that his arm strength does allow DBs to close on the ball on deep passes. But it is not like he has a noodle arm either.