Accept it -

As in jump on the bandwagon that it was the right thing to do.

I accept that is what is likely going to happen.

I want to kiss you.

No, not at all. I don't think it is the right thing to do, but I have accepted that is what they ARE GOING TO DO.

The record speaks for itself. In 53 years this team has not drafted and successfully developed a QB. They haven't really even tried in 30 years, and the excuses are clearly documented, even in your own posts.

This last draft was the clincher when they had the first pick, NOBODY was good enough, the only way out. Many think they were right, and we will see, but they aren't going to take a chance.

Depends on how.

If it helps us 'win big down the road' through putting us through 2-3 more seasons at 2-14 because we cast Smith aside and decided that Mettenberger/Logan/whatever was an NFL quarterback, that's not a good move. At that point it doesn't respect the short-term.

If it means that Mettenberger is a viable starting QB by 2015; works for me. Worst case scenario there is that he sits a year or two longer (the Rodgers route) and we have to trade Smith. If you build his deal around guaranteed salaries instead of signing bonuses, he has less trade value but he also becomes much easier to move from a salary cap standpoint.

There are ways to get Smith extended without hamstringing the organization long-term. You can do it while respective his efforts in this turnaround and committing to both him and the team - something that I think always plays well in locker rooms.

borderline

He must keep playing like he has the last 4 weeks for the rest of the year.

If the route they take is re-signing Smith this offseason, I hope they are smart about it.

I don't care if they give the guy a 6 year deal worth 70 million, as long as its not etched in stone past the first two. There has to be an escape clause in case of injury/underperformance.

5.5 million (with a 15 million signing bonus) 1st year
7 the second
8 the third (with a roster bonus of around 3 million)
9 in the fourth
11 in the fifth
12 in the sixth

I could deal with something like that if he plays well in the postseason and we win AT LEAST ONE PLAYOFF GAME.

I think it would be a waste of resources to do so, at this point.

Unless a top guy drops to us at the end of the first (not gonna happen) we NEED to use that first on a receiver or safety. No second, so we are waiting towards the end of the third to swing again and the only way I take one there is if he was a guy Reid loves and he was in mid free fall.

Taking one after the third is a complete waste.

We have a competent starter right now in Alex and we also have a developmental quarterback in Bray and a vet in the 2 spot. I think the way Alex has played thus far has earned him the right to be the teams starter next year without much debate.

Pretty much my thoughts exactly.

Smith has averaged about 7 yards per pass since the O-line shake-up /(switch to ZBS?). Offense has been completely different. If Smith and the offense play at the level they have the last three weeks for the rest of the season, you make extending Smith the priority of the off-season.

Add some more weapons, and I can see Smith putting up big numbers next year, not just a decent/high QB rating.

We still don't have enough data points, but the last 3 weeks certainly suggest the Oline was the entirety of the problem on offense early in the season.

I'd also like to point something out that might sway my opinion on the re-signing topic.

The jump Alex made between his first and second year under JH.

He went from completing 61% of his throws for 7.1 ypa and throwing 17 tds in 16 games in 2011 to completing over 70% at 8ypa and 13tds his second year in just over 8 games (he got the concussion in the 9th game around halftime iirc.)

That's HUGE improvement and Andy has talked multiple times about "using all those gigabytes" and how Alex is so much better once he is in the system for a year or two.

It's possible that we could get him signed to a reasonable deal this offseason, but that the price could o up DRASTICALLY next year if he comes out completing 70% of his throws while Andy has him throwing the ball 35 times per game.

Some simple math...

Alex has 460 attempts this year (a career high with 3 games to go) ...just over 35 attempts per game. If he has a similar amount of attempts next year and has a similar jump in effectiveness from year one to year two...

He would have 566 attempts
4,529 yards (566 x 8ypa)


1.0625 tds per game (17tds/16games) in 2011...1.529 tds per game (13tds/8.5 games) in 2012...that's a 56% increase in td performance.

Alex is currently at 1.385 tds per game in 2013...if you figure in the possible improvement in effectiveness that he showed in SF, that means he could see 2.16 tds per game in 2014...roughly 35 touchdown throws.

An Alex Smith throwing for over 4500 yards and 35 touchdowns while adding another 4-500 rushing yards and a couple scores there is gonna hard to get signed for anything less than what Stafford and Flacco got.

Do you really think there was a better option at QB this year than Alex Smith? EJ Manuel and Geno just were not good enough prospects to take that high. If it had been 2012, then yea.....Reid and Dorsey could be critiqued for passing on Luck and RGIII.
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Too soon to tell. Let you know in about 4 weeks.

Remember Urban Meyer's take on him heading into the draft:

That's incredible candor from a previous head coach and I think that does a lot to support your overarching point.

There's a chance that the guy could get really expensive, really fast. And that's even if he just duplicates this season's numbers.

Honestly, if we had traded 2 seconds for Andy Dalton, I don't think people would be having this discussion; everyone would be demanding we re-sign him. Personally, I don't see any reason to suggest Dalton's a better QB than Smith.

Yes ..only because our options are shit.