Quote:
Originally Posted by Jakemall
Oh, I don't disagree with your bottom line. It was your argument that I felt was a little shaky.  |
I wasn't using them as an argument as much as I was using them as examples. There's this weird idea here that we should give a 29-year old, 8-year vet QB who purportedly knows the playbook well enough to coach it some kind of grace period to get up to speed, like this season is an evaluation and development year. When the reality is that he needs to hit the ground running. And I don't understand why anybody would expect less than that.
The ultimate goal here is to become a playoff team, and trading for Alex Smith is a move that speaks to immediacy with regards to that goal. He has one of the top RBs in the league, he has one of the top WRs in the league, he has what I think should be a quality #2 WR in Avery, he has a variety of good players at both TE and WR, all of whom are able to catch the ball. The main question, I think, is the interior offensive line, but I believe that should work out, too. So taken all together I can't see any reasonable justification for limiting expectations for this offense, or for Alex Smith. They're as loaded as any unit we've seen since the '02-05 period, and they're coached by an aggressive, offensive-minded staff. They chose him as their 'guy' and there's no reason he shouldn't be expected to perform at a very high level.
I have similar expectations for the other side of the ball, too.
This is more talented than any 2-win team has a right to be. Due in no small part to the circumstances that led directly to them winning only 2 games last year (i.e. coaching and QB play). They should be in the playoff picture by the season's end, although I don't expect them to quite make it.