Alex Smith Traded to Chiefs

[Deberg_1990]

Well, it looks like the deal is done.



https://twitter.com/intent/user?scre...w_p=tweetembed




Jay Glazer @JayGlazer
49ers have completed a trade with the Chiefs for Alex Smith, tho can't be official til March 12. Chiefs really made a commitment to Smith


Jay Glazer @JayGlazer
Deal has been agreed upon between Chiefs and 49ers. Compensation unclear but I'm told again Chiefs have made a clear commitment to Smith.

[opposition]

Originally Posted by Frosty

Game manager

Yup. Probably one of the better in the league at just doing that. Didn't realize a QB's job was to not be a game manager? Isn't that a QB's job?

But anything to hate on the guy. Calling a QB game manager when that's what a QB supposed to do. Manage your team to victories. You don't hear other QB's being called game manager because they don't "manage" their teams to victory. You hear Alex called a game manager, because he does manage his team to victory.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Frosty

If the Niners fans are right, Smith's YPA and Completion % are high because he refuses to throw the ball unless his receiver is wide open. He takes a lot of sacks instead of throwing the ball away. On the surface, that sounds smart but he kills a lot of drives, which you can see on the poor 3rd down conversion stats that the 49ers have had under Smith, even under Harbaugh.

And that's certainly something to keep an eye on; it's probably my biggest worry with him.

That said, his sack% didn't go up substantially until Harbaugh took over. He was pretty reliable about getting rid of the football in 2009 and 2010. In fact, it was almost identical to Kaepernicks.

But yeah, it's been unacceptably high over the last 2 seasons and that's a completely fair criticism. Over a 500 pass season, the difference between a 7% clip (reasonable) and a 9% clip is going to be 10 sacks, which is certainly not insignificant. I don't think it's quite as glaring as the folks in SF would make it sound (afterall, that's not even 1 sack/gm over an average QB), but it does make you take some pause.

But I don't think it's something that is ingrained into him; he started doing it when Harbaugh arrived. If it was seemingly coached in, then I don't see why it can't be coached out.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by JASONSAUTO

probably not this year.


but we wold have a better shot in future seasons than with alex ****ing smith

This is complete speculation

[SAUTO]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

This is complete speculation

ill admit that.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Chiefnj2

If he put himself in good 3rd down situations why do the 49ers have poor 3rd down conversion %'s.

Well the sacks is a start. He's also not a great high leverage passer because he's not a guy that has 100% of the field available to him (though Dalton wouldn't be either without Green).

I'm just speculating now, but how many 3rd downs did the 49er face respective to the rest of the league? An alternative thought would be that a guy that is a very high efficiency passer is going to do a fair amount of damage on 1st and 2nd downs, making 3rd down less common on a 'good' drive. Whereas on his bad drives, his 3rd downs are going to be fairly shitty situations; perhaps based in large part on the higher sack%.

That I truly don't know. From there you're trying to extrapolate statistics to a predict the future and when you have a guy going to a completely different system (or comparing them to a guy coming from a completely different system), I don't think you're doing much good.

Instead, you just have to look at skill sets. From a raw skill set perspective - I just don't see enough room to slip a business card between these two guys.

They will make your football team exactly what it is - no better, no worse. Is that the ideal situation? No, I don't think it is at all, but it sure looks to me like the good ship Geno has sailed.

[Frosty]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

And that's certainly something to keep an eye on; it's probably my biggest worry with him.

That said, his sack% didn't go up substantially until Harbaugh took over. He was pretty reliable about getting rid of the football in 2009 and 2010. In fact, it was almost identical to Kaepernicks.

But yeah, it's been unacceptably high over the last 2 seasons and that's a completely fair criticism. Over a 500 pass season, the difference between a 7% clip (reasonable) and a 9% clip is going to be 10 sacks, which is certainly not insignificant. I don't think it's quite as glaring as the folks in SF would make it sound (afterall, that's not even 1 sack/gm over an average QB), but it does make you take some pause.

But I don't think it's something that is ingrained into him; he started doing it when Harbaugh arrived. If it was seemingly coached in, then I don't see why it can't be coached out.

Someone posted an article (PFF maybe?)earlier that said under Harbaugh, Smith took a sack on 1 out of 3 pressures, which was worst in the league by far.

I don't watch the 49ers enough to know this: if no one is open enough for Smith, does he try to run it? That wouldn't show up as a sack or incompletion but a 1 yard run on 3rd and 6 would stop a drive just as effectively.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Frosty

Game manager

Of course he is.

But he's a game manager in the actual sense of the term, not the euphemism tagged to shitty quarterbacks over the last 5 years.

The NFL talking heads have spent 1/2 a decade propping up lousy quarterbacks on national telecasts by calling them "game managers" when that's simply not the case. Matt Cassel was never a game manager - he was a dogshit quarterback. Matt Schaub is a game manager. Sam Bradford is a game manager.

And yeah, Alex Smith is a game manager.

It's better than being a shitty quarterback.

[opposition]

Originally Posted by Frosty

Someone posted an article (PFF maybe?)earlier that said under Harbaugh, Smith took a sack on 1 out of 3 pressures, which was worst in the league by far.

I don't watch the 49ers enough to know this: if no one is open enough for Smith, does he try to run it? That wouldn't show up as a sack or incompletion but a 1 yard run on 3rd and 6 would stop a drive just as effectively.

Alex Smith has the highest rating against pressure in the entire NFL if I'm not mistaken.

[Beeker]

Chiefs release Eric Winston, confuse Branden Albert


http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports...draft/1969591/


"With the 1st selection in the 2013 NFL Draft, the Kansas City Chiefs select Luke Joeckel, Tackle ...."

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Frosty

Someone posted an article (PFF maybe?)earlier that said under Harbaugh, Smith took a sack on 1 out of 3 pressures, which was worst in the league by far.

I don't watch the 49ers enough to know this: if no one is open enough for Smith, does he try to run it? That wouldn't show up as a sack or incompletion but a 1 yard run on 3rd and 6 would stop a drive just as effectively.

From what I've seen, yes he does. He doesn't do the Cassel turtle, he does try to scramble free of pressure. Honestly, the sack numbers surprised me for that very reason.

I wonder if Smith hasn't been feeling his oats a little and trying to take advantage of his athleticism (only to be pulled down before breaking the LOS) rather than just chucking it away.

Like I said, it just showed up after 5 years in the league - that sure suggests a recently learned behavior. If it was learned, it can be unlearned.

[Frosty]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

I'm just speculating now, but how many 3rd downs did the 49er face respective to the rest of the league?

I don't have the exact stats right now but the number of 3rd down attempts in 2011 was within a handful (<10) between the Chiefs and 49ers (around 225, iirc). The Chiefs were 18th in 3rd down conversion % and the 49ers were 31st.

[-King-]

God the leash is short. Getting instructed to take sacks..

Since the start of the 2011 season, 49ers quarterback Alex Smith has thrown the fewest interceptions in the NFL (5) and taken the most sacks (51).

In the minds of the 49ers’ coaching staff, those numbers explain why Smith ranks second among NFL quarterbacks in wins (15) during that span.

Today, offensive coordinator Greg Roman echoed what Smith said Wednesday – there are worse things than sacks. And the worst alternative is a turnover, which is to be avoided at all costs.

It’s clear Smith has been instructed to err on the side of caution when he’s under pressure, which helps explain all those sacks … and Smith’s streak of 216 straight regular-season passes without an interception.

Roman referred to statistics that detail how sacks will typically kill drives, but don’t have a strong correlation to wins and losses. Turnovers on the other hand …

“One thing you’ve got to consider is what’s your ultimate goal?’ Roman said. “If you’re ultimate goal is to keep you stats low in sacks, then he needs to get rid of the ball. Our ultimate goal is to win games … You don’t lose games because you get sacked, generally. You lose games by turning the ball over and not scoring enough points.”

Said Smith: “I think there is some give and take with not just forcing balls and getting rid of a ball. And a sack’s not the end of the world. Sometimes the best thing is to protect it in the pocket and take a sack.”

Smith said he’s tried to emulate Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who routinely tries to make plays with his feet when pressured rather than throwing downfield. Rodgers’ numbers are startlingly similar to Smith’s in two categories. Since the start of the 2011 season, Rodgers ranks second in the NFL in interceptions (8) and has taken 44 sacks, the four-most in the league.

“The guy I’ve watched a lot of film on, you watch Aaron play, a guy that takes a lot of sacks, but he also makes a lot plays with his feet, keeps plays alive,” Smith said. “There is some give and take there I think.”

** Of course, taking sacks in an effort to avoid turnovers is also an excellent way to get the starting quarterback injured.

Smith has made 21 straight starts, the second-longest streak of his career, despite taking 60 sacks in those games. He also has lost just three fumbles during that span.

Roman said the 49ers’ quarterbacks are instructed on how to take a sack. At least, those sacks they can see coming.

“I think that gets covered, in terms of how to handle the ball and how to protect yourself as best you can,” Roman said. “… We really emphasize ball security at every position.”

blog.sfgate.com/49ers/2012/09/20/attention-alex-when-in-doubt-take-a-sack/

[Frosty]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

It's better than being a shitty quarterback.

True. He'll be better than Cassel. I was just hoping for better than "not shitty" at QB this year.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Frosty

I don't have the exact stats right now but the number of 3rd down attempts in 2011 was within a handful (<10) between the Chiefs and 49ers (around 225, iirc). The Chiefs were 18th in 3rd down conversion % and the 49ers were 31st.

Ha...okay, I have no clue what the hell to take from that.

The Chiefs got the worst QB play in the league and were only slightly below average in 3rd down%, so that at least suggests that maybe your QB play isn't a great indicator of success on 3rd downs.

[DJ's left nut]

Originally Posted by Frosty

True. He'll be better than Cassel. I was just hoping for better than "not shitty" at QB this year.

Me to.

But like I said, the Geno's not walking through that door. I hate it, but it is what it is.

So let's discuss what we will have for a bit. What we will have really isn't half as bad as some folks are making him out to be.