Jaworski rates Chiefs QB at No. 20 among NFL starters

[Tribal Warfare]

Jaworski rates Chiefs QB at No. 20 among NFL starters

The Kansas City Star
Former NFL quarterback-turned-broadcaster Ron Jaworski ranks new Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith No. 20 among the NFL's 32 starting quarterbacks.

That's according to Jaworski's ratings on ESPN's MediaZone site, transcribed from his three-minute daily segments dubbed "Jaws' QB Countdown" on SportsCenter and NFL Live.

Smith, of course, was acquired in a trade from San Francisco this offseason, and has yet to throw a pass in Kansas City (aside from OTAs, that is).

Here are some excerpts from Jaworski's evaluation of Smith:

“A year ago, Smith was coming off his best season in the NFL, having led the 49ers to the NFC Championship. This year, he’s the starting quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs. It was a great move by (Chiefs coach) Andy Reid to acquire Smith.

“The defining element of Smith’s play is efficiency. He executes the offense the way it’s designed, and he makes very few mistakes. Last season – for the second year in a row – he was exceptional on first down. In 2012 he led the NFL in first-down passing, with a quarterback rating of 119. Much of it came off play-action, or in the case of the 49ers, hard run-action out of base personnel. There was no better play-action quarterback last season than Smith. He had a quarterback rating of over 132.

“Smith has been outstanding out of multiple tight end personnel over the last couple of seasons. No quarterback has thrown the ball more with three tight ends on the field. You don’t see that very often in today’s NFL.

“This play was beautifully designed with all three tight ends to the same side. First, look at the impact of the run-action on the two linebackers and the safety. This was hard run-action. Then you see that Delanie Walker’s vertical route occupied the corner. That left Vernon Davis matched on a safety, a safety that initially reacted to run. He had no chance on Davis’ wheel route.

“One area Smith improved in 2012 was in the pre-snap phase of the game. He was much better at the line of scrimmage checking and audibling.

“It will be interesting to see what Andy Reid does in Kansas City. Don’t be surprised if he turns Smith loose a little bit and features an up-tempo offense with an emphasis on quick throws. Remember, Alex Smith played for Urban Meyer at Utah.”

Other QB's that Jaworski has analyzed so far:

No. 32 Matt Flynn

No. 31 Jake Locker

No. 30 Kevin Kolb

No. 29 Chad Henne

No. 28 Mark Sanchez

No. 27 Christian Ponder

No. 26 Brandon Weeden

No. 25 Michael Vick

No. 24 Ryan Tannehill

No. 23 Carson Palmer

No. 22 Sam Bradford

No. 21 Josh Freeman

[BigMeatballDave]

Originally Posted by aturnis

Do you really think any of the players expect to play in a Superbowl with Alex Smith as their QB?

Just so you know, they all talked a good game about playing with Cassel too...

The player's view is a lot different than ours. They have to buy in to what the team is doing. It's really easy for fans to sit and do what we do. Players are homers. They have to be.

[Hammock Parties]

I wasn't the "first" to do anything but suck Cassel off hard before he had even played a down for us.

But you are right that I was extremely critical of him during 2010. That Buffalo game made me start to ****ing hate him, and it only grew from there.

[BigMeatballDave]

Originally Posted by Alex Smith HATER

But you are right that I was extremely critical of him during 2010. That Buffalo game made me start to ****ing hate him, and it only grew from there.

Yep. Pawnmower fell hard for Matt. That was funny.

[crazycoffey]

Originally Posted by TrueFanDave

Quarterback. Plain and simple. That's the difference.

Yet 2007 and 2012 patriots didn't win a Super Bowl. If QB play is your only "plain and simple" difference. You lose your argument.

[BigMeatballDave]

Originally Posted by crazycoffey

Yet 2007 and 2012 patriots didn't win a Super Bowl. If QB play is your only "plain and simple" difference. You lose your argument.

Reread that sequence of posts. I don't think you understand what I was talking about.

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by aturnis

... and yet he was the only guy with a vote who voted for Pioli to stay after last season...

And if Payton Manning hadn't told him what a joke Pioli was to the rest of the league and how much all the players hated him and didn't want to play for him, and the fans hadn't outright revolted, we'd probably still be stuck with Scooter.

But he was the best GM on the board!

[duncan_idaho]

Man, what terrible fans they have in San Francisco.

Look at this blog that dares to question the experts running a San Francisco franchise, that thinks a player sucks because of his observable history.

What bad fans.

[Marcellus]

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

Man, what terrible fans they have in San Francisco.

Look at this blog that dares to question the experts running a San Francisco franchise, that thinks a player sucks because of his observable history.

What bad fans.

This whole post is nonsensical.

You are equating SF picking up Frenchy to what? KC trading for Smith? Really?

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by Marcellus

This whole post is nonsensical.

You are equating SF picking up Frenchy to what? KC trading for Smith? Really?

reductio ad absurdum

Our favorite Niners/Chiefs fan keeps telling anyone who isn't 100 percent sold on the front office moves that they're a terrible fan because they don't have faith in the "experts" in the GM and coach's seats.

Here is a San Francisco fan being extremely snarky, disappointed and critical of the Jeff Francoeur pickup and what it means for his team.

Guess he must be a terrible fan, too, since he dares to question the front office and criticize it based on the history of the player being signed.

[Marcellus]

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

reductio ad absurdum

Our favorite Niners/Chiefs fan keeps telling anyone who isn't 100 percent sold on the front office moves that they're a terrible fan because they don't have faith in the "experts" in the GM and coach's seats.

Here is a San Francisco fan being extremely snarky, disappointed and critical of the Jeff Francoeur pickup and what it means for his team.

Guess he must be a terrible fan, too, since he dares to question the front office and criticize it based on the history of the player being signed.

Gotcha.

I think SOC proved last year that you don't have to have faith in the FO to be a good fan once that FO has proven inadequate. IN that case being a good fan meant voicing your displeasure loud enough to make an impact.

However railing on a FO that hasn't shown any propensity to be incompetent is kind of silly.

The Giants are well run organization. If you read that whole blog the guy isn't that harsh on the move IMO anyway.

[Coogs]

Originally Posted by aturnis

Do you really think any of the players expect to play in a Superbowl with Alex Smith as their QB?

Just so you know, they all talked a good game about playing with Cassel too...

Not all of them. When Orton was QB'ing, Hali was thrilled with finally getting to play with a QB who could help the defense out by staying on the field for extended periods of time.

[duncan_idaho]

Originally Posted by Marcellus

Gotcha.

I think SOC proved last year that you don't have to have faith in the FO to be a good fan once that FO has proven inadequate. IN that case being a good fan meant voicing your displeasure loud enough to make an impact.

However railing on a FO that hasn't shown any propensity to be incompetent is kind of silly.

The Giants are well run organization. If you read that whole blog the guy isn't that harsh on the move IMO anyway.

I think you can rail on the Alex Smith move without being critical of the Chiefs front office. I like everything they've done, with ONE exception (it just happens to be at the most important spot on the field).

They gave up a LOT for Smith, and I'm concerned about how tied the FO is to him. It's possible they'll cut him/replace him/trade him/draft his replacement after this season if it doesn't work the way Andy Reid wants it to work.

If he does end up being just a one- or two-year stopgap, Dorsey got ripped off at an epic level in the trade with the 49ers.

After so many years of dumbassery from the Chiefs front office when it comes to the QB spot, I'm going to HAVE to see the new front office make the right move at that spot before I believe they will.

[ptlyon]

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

It's possible they'll cut him/replace him/trade him/draft his replacement after this season if it doesn't work the way Andy Reid wants it to work.

They'd God damned well better

[Mav]

Originally Posted by aturnis

Die in a fire. There's a place for idiots like you. Warpaint illustrated, the coalition, Chief Concerns... Go, now.

Isnt that the way it is. Bitches like you, cant convert everyone into having your ' the world is ending' approach to things, and so your very childlike approach is to tell them to leave, say that we don't belong here. Blah blah blah. No one cares, no one is leaving because you are going to throw a tantrum like my 2 year old because you aren't getting everyone to agree with you. Comparing Matt Cassel in any way shape or form to Alex Smith, is stupid. Alex Smith is a well respected, liked, and proven leader. Matt Cassel was forced upon his coach by the GM. Alex Smith was wanted for several years by Andy Reid. Alex Smith is surrounded by coaches, Nagy, Reid, and Pederson, who understand the qb position, and they thought enough of him, to bring him in. This isn't Romeo Crennel bringing in Brady Quinn, this isn't Pioli bringing in Matt Cassel. This is John Dorsey, and Andy Reid getting their guy who was the best of a very bad year of qbs. Yes, a shiny turd, is still a turd. I get that, and he is not the sexiest pick. I can agree with all of that. Spending 1.1 on Geno Smith, would of at least given the appearance that the Chiefs were at least giving a look to the future. Unfortunately, Geno Smith is a project qb who is going to take years to win, and the Chiefs didn't want to wait that long. Essentially, if you just follow the draft, the Chiefs didn't see anyone draftable to even consider making their project qb. You are talking about a guy, who was apart of a front office in green bay, that despite having aaron Rodgers, drafted Brian Brohm, in the second round, and Matt Flynn in the 7th, and cut Brohm in camp. He has proven to have no problems drafting developemental qbs, yet, they didn't draft one at all this year. Think about that for a second.

Oh, and by the way. Im not leaving still.

[Mav]

Originally Posted by duncan_idaho

I think you can rail on the Alex Smith move without being critical of the Chiefs front office. I like everything they've done, with ONE exception (it just happens to be at the most important spot on the field).

They gave up a LOT for Smith, and I'm concerned about how tied the FO is to him. It's possible they'll cut him/replace him/trade him/draft his replacement after this season if it doesn't work the way Andy Reid wants it to work.

If he does end up being just a one- or two-year stopgap, Dorsey got ripped off at an epic level in the trade with the 49ers.

After so many years of dumbassery from the Chiefs front office when it comes to the QB spot, I'm going to HAVE to see the new front office make the right move at that spot before I believe they will.

They made the right move this year. For what was available to them, they made the right move. I don't know when or what it is going to be that is going to show you that, Alex Smith, via, trade, free agent, or draft, was the best qb they could of gotten this offseason. What more do you want?