Quote:
Originally Posted by duncan_idaho
I don't buy that at all. That's the "he was just holding back" argument. If you want to say he got more comfortable in the offense, fine. If you want to talk about him being more aggressive throwing the football, that's fine, too. But the "he was holding back because he didn't need to" thing? I will never buy that.
None of those guys rely as much on their legs as Alex Smith did to be effective. Smith also has had shoulder and concussion problems in the past. A flare up or reinjury of either could be a big problem for his long-term health.
The bigger issue, that I was trying to call out, is that with the exception of Justin Houston and MAYBE Eric Fisher (who hasn't proven he is even competent yet), all the rest of the "core" players are guys who are nearing the end of their prime/hitting the wrong side of 30.
It seems like a strange time to switch to a long-term build approach.
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I didn't say he was holding back. I said that it is likely he was managing the game differently than when he was facing high-powered offenses and dealing with a struggling KC defense. He has been called a game manager for so long as an insult, now when it appears clear that it is exactly what he is doing, very successfully and to the strength of his team - people move away from the term