Hammock Parties
02-06-2017, 12:21 AM
http://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/sam-mellinger/article130790654.html
After 12 years in the league, and four in Kansas City, do we know whether Alex Smith is good enough to ever lead the Chiefs to this game?
“Oh, that’s a good question, man,” said Marshall Faulk, the Hall of Fame running back and analyst for NFL Network. “In today’s league, watching what they call a quote-unquote franchise quarterback, it makes you say no.”
This week, I asked seven football men this question — Faulk, Deion Sanders, Kurt Warner, Dick Vermeil, Terrell Davis, Steve Mariucci and Gil Brandt. All but Mariucci have won Super Bowls.
Faulk stood alone in saying no, but the yesses came in varying shades of certainty, from Vermeil (”Yes, no question”) to Sanders (”Yes, but he can’t do it by himself”) to Warner (”Yes, but I believe he has to change the way he plays”).
Actually, Warner gave the most thoughtful and nuanced answer, touching on a thought that several expressed but none articulated quite as well. He said he believes Smith is good enough, but needs to shed some of his natural caution in pursuit of bigger successes.
“You have to be willing to lose games for your team, in order to win games for your team,” he said. “By that I mean, you have to be willing to take chances to make big plays, and you might make more mistakes than he makes, because he does a great job protecting the football. But you have to believe, ‘I’m going to make more big plays that are game-changing type plays, that can help us win against the best teams in the league.’ Especially come playoff time.
“Alex has the ability to do that. I see him do that. But he plays more of a game manager role, instead of saying, ‘It’s going through my right arm.’
“I don’t know. If he never makes that switch as a guy who’s willing to lose games for his team, but more importantly believes he can win games for his team with his right arm, I don’t know if they ever get over that hump.”
At some point, unless the rest of the team is overwhelming, the quarterback is probably going to need to do more than simply not screw up.
“He always takes the side of, ‘I’m not going to make the mistake,’ vs. trying to make the big play,” Davis said. “Part of that is good. But part of it is that’s where the great plays come from, taking those chances.”
The problem with this is the idea that after 136 starts and 4,108 passes Smith is suddenly going to make a drastic change. How often does that happen?
Smith is good enough to win with, but limited enough that Faulk’s and Warner’s analyses ring true to many of us who watch the Chiefs regularly.
After 12 years in the league, and four in Kansas City, do we know whether Alex Smith is good enough to ever lead the Chiefs to this game?
“Oh, that’s a good question, man,” said Marshall Faulk, the Hall of Fame running back and analyst for NFL Network. “In today’s league, watching what they call a quote-unquote franchise quarterback, it makes you say no.”
This week, I asked seven football men this question — Faulk, Deion Sanders, Kurt Warner, Dick Vermeil, Terrell Davis, Steve Mariucci and Gil Brandt. All but Mariucci have won Super Bowls.
Faulk stood alone in saying no, but the yesses came in varying shades of certainty, from Vermeil (”Yes, no question”) to Sanders (”Yes, but he can’t do it by himself”) to Warner (”Yes, but I believe he has to change the way he plays”).
Actually, Warner gave the most thoughtful and nuanced answer, touching on a thought that several expressed but none articulated quite as well. He said he believes Smith is good enough, but needs to shed some of his natural caution in pursuit of bigger successes.
“You have to be willing to lose games for your team, in order to win games for your team,” he said. “By that I mean, you have to be willing to take chances to make big plays, and you might make more mistakes than he makes, because he does a great job protecting the football. But you have to believe, ‘I’m going to make more big plays that are game-changing type plays, that can help us win against the best teams in the league.’ Especially come playoff time.
“Alex has the ability to do that. I see him do that. But he plays more of a game manager role, instead of saying, ‘It’s going through my right arm.’
“I don’t know. If he never makes that switch as a guy who’s willing to lose games for his team, but more importantly believes he can win games for his team with his right arm, I don’t know if they ever get over that hump.”
At some point, unless the rest of the team is overwhelming, the quarterback is probably going to need to do more than simply not screw up.
“He always takes the side of, ‘I’m not going to make the mistake,’ vs. trying to make the big play,” Davis said. “Part of that is good. But part of it is that’s where the great plays come from, taking those chances.”
The problem with this is the idea that after 136 starts and 4,108 passes Smith is suddenly going to make a drastic change. How often does that happen?
Smith is good enough to win with, but limited enough that Faulk’s and Warner’s analyses ring true to many of us who watch the Chiefs regularly.