Chiefs Teicher:Prodded by Andy Reid, Chiefs QB Alex Smith learning to be more aggressive - Page 28

**Tribal Warfare** · 06-05-2013, 06:26 PM

Prodded by Andy Reid, Chiefs QB Alex Smith learning to be more aggressive
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star
One of the qualities the Chiefs like in new quarterback Alex Smith is his recent history with few turnovers. Smith threw just 10 interceptions in his last 25 games for the San Francisco 49ers, a stat that looks extremely pretty in Kansas City after Chiefs quarterbacks committed 27 turnovers last season.

Smith’s low turnover rate was due at least in part by his reluctance to throw the ball down the field. He was referred to by frustrated 49ers fans as Captain Checkdown for his habit of throwing shorter patterns to receivers for shorter gains.

Smith is in the process of being reprogrammed by Andy Reid, his new coach. Reid doesn’t want to turn Smith into a turnover machine but wants him to be more aggressive, particularly during offseason practice.

“You want to get a feel for the offense now, particularly when you’re new at it (and) if there are close throws, challenge it, see what you can get away with,” Reid said. “If it ends up being an interception, OK, it’s an interception. You learn from it. These are smart guys so they learn from it and once they get into the season, they’re not experimenting with it on game day and they know what they can get away with and know what they can’t.

“It’s a new offense. I would tell any quarterback that comes in new that that’s what you need to do. I’ve told them all that. Go ahead and take your shots and see what you can get away with, within reason. But if it’s a close throw, there are going to be a few of those in the National Football League on game day so you need to know what you can get away with on each route.”

Smith and the other Chiefs quarterbacks were rewarded with several long completions in Wednesday’s practice. Smith had three such plays, including two to Jon Baldwin, while Tyler Bray and Ricky Stanzi had one apiece.

Wednesday’s barrage of big passing plays isn’t necessarily an indication the deep ball is back in the Chiefs’ offense. But since such plays have been scarce for the Chiefs in each of the past two seasons, they’re taking it as an encouraging sign.

“We’re just kind of continuing to press to see what we can do … finding out what we’re capable of,” Smith said. “You’ve got to find that out at some point. This is what the practice field is for.”

Smith was the NFL’s highest-rated passer last season before he was injured, missed a start and then replaced by Colin Kaepernick as San Francisco’s starting quarterback. Smith was completing more than 70 percent of his passes, a high rate, and had just five interceptions.

Still, he had just 30 touchdown passes in his final 25 starts for the 49ers. While that’s a good number as a ratio with his 10 interceptions, it still represents a shortage of big plays.

Smith won’t turn into a mad bomber overnight, if he ever does.

“You want to stay aggressive,” Smith said. “But in the end I’m always trying to make the right read and throw where the defense is telling me to throw. You don’t come out here and predetermine anything, like ‘Oh, I’m going to chuck it deep on this play.’ I’m constantly trying to just trust my eyes and what I’m seeing out there, trust my reads and what I’ve prepared for and then come out here and throw good balls.”

For his part, Reid might be OK with that. But for now, when an interception costs the Chiefs nothing, he would prefer Smith be more of a gambler.

“Everybody is all on board (with Smith),” Reid said. “He’s a good football player. He’s showing that (along with) good leadership. I’m asking him to do a ton of things. He’s handling it. We’ve had an interception here or there but that’s all part of this thing. You’ve got to find out about the offense and you can’t do it with your hands in your pocket. You’ve got to go out and try things and experiment. That’s what he’s doing now.

“It’s just good stuff. He’s staying aggressive with the ball, and I appreciate that.”

The final offseason practice is today. The Chiefs won’t get together again as a group until training camp begins in July at Missouri Western State University.

Smith indicated he may try to throw to some Chiefs receivers during their downtime in an effort to stay sharp.

“We’re heads and shoulder above where we were a couple of months ago,” he said. “But that’s a never-ending thing. I don’t think it’s something like, ‘We’ve got a good feel for each other so we don’t need to work anymore.’ You’re constantly working at it. This is our job, this is our craft. Every single day, it’s coming out here and pushing to get better.”

Sandy Vagina · 06-20-2013, 05:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Branden Albert's Huge Balls

He threw for 232 yards.

If this is the benchmark for "WOW WHAT A GAME BY ALEX" I'm horribly disappointed.

Efficiency above Fantasy Football hoopla.

Hammock Parties · 06-20-2013, 05:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mac-NinersChiefs

Efficiency above Fantasy Football hoopla.

Again, if a top end performance from Alex Smith is 232 yards, I'm not impressed.

232 yards should be an AVERAGE game for a top 10 QB.

mcaj22 · 06-20-2013, 05:54 PM

that was "good game" for him and he still took FOUR sacks

so even when he plays a great game hes still taking sacks like Damon ****ing Huard cause he holds the ball unless the guy is for sure wide open.

and that was behind a top 3 offensive line in the NFL. We have a rookie at RT that's going to have growing pains. Not to mention a first timer at LG (or a journeyman that hasnt played a full season since like 2010) as well and a Center that has yet to play a full 16 game season.

Dude might take 50 sacks this season

**SAUTO** · 06-20-2013, 06:04 PM

I'm not sure he will survive a 50 sack season
Posted via Mobile Device

mcaj22 · 06-20-2013, 06:19 PM

he wont he usually gets hurt by the 25-30+ sack mark, except that good 2011 when he took 40+ sacks in a full season

unless Andy Reid's offense has him dinking and dunking the whole time, his biggest flaw will be taking sacks/hits and hes injury prone the way it is. A bad potential combo.

But hey we got butt chin as our #2 QB so our season will be fine.

RunKC · 06-20-2013, 06:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Branden Albert's Huge Balls

Again, if a top end performance from Alex Smith is 232 yards, I'm not impressed.

232 yards should be an AVERAGE game for a top 10 QB.

I don't understand why you are focusing so much on yards thrown?

Otter · 06-20-2013, 06:41 PM

There's a shit ton of QBs that very well may have been great if they fell into the right circumstances. How does that saying go? Something like "opportunity is when circumstances meet with timing". Something like that anyway. What if Steve Young was drafted by the Chiefs under Marty? He'd be a blip on the radar that NFL fans barely remember at this point as opposed to a great QB. Coming out of college Jake Plummer was one of the most highly touted QBs but he wound up being drafted by the Arizona Cardinals. That's the same death sentence for a QB as being drafted by the Chiefs. Seriously be honest with yourself, the Chiefs have the foresight of the evolution of the NFL the equivilent of what my grandfather had with first person shooters and MMO video games. They're just clueless. Maybe Reid and Dorsey can change that, I hope they do but I don't I'm not getting my hopes up anymore. This is the same team and ownership that had Joe ****ing Montana and didn't draft a QB for him to mentor. You might as well be working for Atari if you want to compare the NFL and game evolution.

BigBeauford · 06-20-2013, 06:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RunKC

I don't understand why you are focusing so much on yards thrown?

It means he usually finishes off his drives, rather than stalling at the 20 or 30 and allowing his kicker to set the club record for most points scored in a season.

Hammock Parties · 06-20-2013, 06:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RunKC

I don't understand why you are focusing so much on yards thrown?

Because Alex Smith sucks at throwing for a lot of yards.

That wins games, son.

This isn't 1995.

RunKC · 06-20-2013, 06:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Branden Albert's Huge Balls

Because Alex Smith sucks at throwing for a lot of yards.

That wins games, son.

This isn't 1995.

You don't need your QB to air the ball down the field all the time in today's NFL. That's a misconception.

Hammock Parties · 06-20-2013, 06:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RunKC

You don't need your QB to air the ball down the field all the time in today's NFL. That's a misconception.

The quarterbacks who pile up the yards are the ones winning games today.

RunKC · 06-20-2013, 06:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Branden Albert's Huge Balls

The quarterbacks who pile up the yards are the ones winning games today.

Most of those yards are yards after the catch, which is the same thing Alex Smith is gonna be doing here.

Hammock Parties · 06-20-2013, 06:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RunKC

Most of those yards are yards after the catch, which is the same thing Alex Smith is gonna be doing here.

Puppy dogs and rainbow farts for everyone!

RunKC · 06-20-2013, 07:03 PM

Big Ben threw 20 TD's and 2,869 yards in passes thrown from the LOS to 20 yards.

Tom Brady threw 26 TD's and 4,101 yards in passes thrown from the LOS to 20 yards.

Hell Brady threw 21 TD's alone on passes either behind the LOS or 1-10 yards out.

Hammock Parties · 06-21-2013, 01:40 AM

Not sure why we are comparing Alex Smith to QBs who throw for more 300 yard games per season than he does for his whole career.

06-05-2013, 06:26 PM
Tribal Warfare The Boom Boom Room Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Far Beyond Comprehension Casino cash: $1022813	Teicher:Prodded by Andy Reid, Chiefs QB Alex Smith learning to be more aggressive Prodded by Andy Reid, Chiefs QB Alex Smith learning to be more aggressive By ADAM TEICHER The Kansas City Star One of the qualities the Chiefs like in new quarterback Alex Smith is his recent history with few turnovers. Smith threw just 10 interceptions in his last 25 games for the San Francisco 49ers, a stat that looks extremely pretty in Kansas City after Chiefs quarterbacks committed 27 turnovers last season. Smith’s low turnover rate was due at least in part by his reluctance to throw the ball down the field. He was referred to by frustrated 49ers fans as Captain Checkdown for his habit of throwing shorter patterns to receivers for shorter gains. Smith is in the process of being reprogrammed by Andy Reid, his new coach. Reid doesn’t want to turn Smith into a turnover machine but wants him to be more aggressive, particularly during offseason practice. “You want to get a feel for the offense now, particularly when you’re new at it (and) if there are close throws, challenge it, see what you can get away with,” Reid said. “If it ends up being an interception, OK, it’s an interception. You learn from it. These are smart guys so they learn from it and once they get into the season, they’re not experimenting with it on game day and they know what they can get away with and know what they can’t. “It’s a new offense. I would tell any quarterback that comes in new that that’s what you need to do. I’ve told them all that. Go ahead and take your shots and see what you can get away with, within reason. But if it’s a close throw, there are going to be a few of those in the National Football League on game day so you need to know what you can get away with on each route.” Smith and the other Chiefs quarterbacks were rewarded with several long completions in Wednesday’s practice. Smith had three such plays, including two to Jon Baldwin, while Tyler Bray and Ricky Stanzi had one apiece. Wednesday’s barrage of big passing plays isn’t necessarily an indication the deep ball is back in the Chiefs’ offense. But since such plays have been scarce for the Chiefs in each of the past two seasons, they’re taking it as an encouraging sign. “We’re just kind of continuing to press to see what we can do … finding out what we’re capable of,” Smith said. “You’ve got to find that out at some point. This is what the practice field is for.” Smith was the NFL’s highest-rated passer last season before he was injured, missed a start and then replaced by Colin Kaepernick as San Francisco’s starting quarterback. Smith was completing more than 70 percent of his passes, a high rate, and had just five interceptions. Still, he had just 30 touchdown passes in his final 25 starts for the 49ers. While that’s a good number as a ratio with his 10 interceptions, it still represents a shortage of big plays. Smith won’t turn into a mad bomber overnight, if he ever does. “You want to stay aggressive,” Smith said. “But in the end I’m always trying to make the right read and throw where the defense is telling me to throw. You don’t come out here and predetermine anything, like ‘Oh, I’m going to chuck it deep on this play.’ I’m constantly trying to just trust my eyes and what I’m seeing out there, trust my reads and what I’ve prepared for and then come out here and throw good balls.” For his part, Reid might be OK with that. But for now, when an interception costs the Chiefs nothing, he would prefer Smith be more of a gambler. “Everybody is all on board (with Smith),” Reid said. “He’s a good football player. He’s showing that (along with) good leadership. I’m asking him to do a ton of things. He’s handling it. We’ve had an interception here or there but that’s all part of this thing. You’ve got to find out about the offense and you can’t do it with your hands in your pocket. You’ve got to go out and try things and experiment. That’s what he’s doing now. “It’s just good stuff. He’s staying aggressive with the ball, and I appreciate that.” The final offseason practice is today. The Chiefs won’t get together again as a group until training camp begins in July at Missouri Western State University. Smith indicated he may try to throw to some Chiefs receivers during their downtime in an effort to stay sharp. “We’re heads and shoulder above where we were a couple of months ago,” he said. “But that’s a never-ending thing. I don’t think it’s something like, ‘We’ve got a good feel for each other so we don’t need to work anymore.’ You’re constantly working at it. This is our job, this is our craft. Every single day, it’s coming out here and pushing to get better.”
Posts: 42,017

06-20-2013, 05:54 PM	#408
mcaj22 MVP Join Date: Feb 2010 Casino cash: $10014454	that was "good game" for him and he still took FOUR sacks so even when he plays a great game hes still taking sacks like Damon ****ing Huard cause he holds the ball unless the guy is for sure wide open. and that was behind a top 3 offensive line in the NFL. We have a rookie at RT that's going to have growing pains. Not to mention a first timer at LG (or a journeyman that hasnt played a full season since like 2010) as well and a Center that has yet to play a full 16 game season. Dude might take 50 sacks this season
Posts: 11,886

06-20-2013, 06:04 PM	#409
SAUTO Shit Join Date: Jun 2008 Casino cash: $10039067	I'm not sure he will survive a 50 sack season Posted via Mobile Device
Posts: 55,715

06-20-2013, 06:19 PM	#410
mcaj22 MVP Join Date: Feb 2010 Casino cash: $10014454	he wont he usually gets hurt by the 25-30+ sack mark, except that good 2011 when he took 40+ sacks in a full season unless Andy Reid's offense has him dinking and dunking the whole time, his biggest flaw will be taking sacks/hits and hes injury prone the way it is. A bad potential combo. But hey we got butt chin as our #2 QB so our season will be fine.
Posts: 11,886

06-20-2013, 07:03 PM	#419
RunKC Andy Reid Supporter Join Date: Apr 2012 Casino cash: $2359611	Big Ben threw 20 TD's and 2,869 yards in passes thrown from the LOS to 20 yards. Tom Brady threw 26 TD's and 4,101 yards in passes thrown from the LOS to 20 yards. Hell Brady threw 21 TD's alone on passes either behind the LOS or 1-10 yards out. __________________ Mike Greenberg@Espngreeny I can’t fathom what it must be like to be a fan of the #Chiefs. Adopt a Chief: Noah Gray
Posts: 45,814

06-21-2013, 01:40 AM	#420
Hammock Parties I'll be back. Join Date: Nov 2002 Casino cash: $4820478	Not sure why we are comparing Alex Smith to QBs who throw for more 300 yard games per season than he does for his whole career. __________________ Chiefs game films
Posts: 277,439

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