Is Alex Smith Who We Thought He Is?

[oaklandhater]

http://kcpridesince99.sportsblog.com...ht-he-is-.html

Is Alex Smith Who We Thought He Is?
Jordan Foote , KC Sports Talk on November 16
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Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Coming into the season, Chiefs fans were looking for a lot less of this:


And a LOT more of this:


Anyone that has watched Alex Smith play during his 3 and a half years in Kansas City knows that he is a mobile quarterback with playmaking ability. Those same people also know that Smith is not as good at stretching the field compared to other quarterbacks. The eye test gives pretty solid evidence for that. The GIF above shows you the playmaking ability, but also: Alex is stretching the field! With a revamped offensive line, developing receivers and a fantastic RB Core, Alex should be ready more than ever to push the ball down the field, right? Right? Right?

Sadly, statistics aren't on our side. Alex has averaged 6.7 YPA (Yards Per Attempt) this season. Compare this to last year's average (7.4) and you are saying to yourself "Wow! I had no clue he had regressed in the YPA department this season..." The famous eye test sure doesn't do it justice, but our reality is that Alex is throwing the ball shorter than he was last year, which we didn't know was truly possible.


This doesn't mean that "Captain Checkdown" is making a return. This doesn't mean that Alex Smith isn't capable of throwing the deep ball. This simply means that Alex Smith is throwing the ball a shorter distance down the field compared to last season. Now, many factors can contribute to that. Below is a table of Alex's opponent, attempts and yards per attempt.

Opponent
Attempts
YPA
San Diego Chargers
48
7.56
Houston Texans
37
5.03
New York Jets
33
7.18
Pittsburgh Steelers
50
5.74
Oakland Raiders
22
10.18
New Orleans Saints
24
8.92
Indianapolis Colts
19
6.68
Carolina Panthers
38
4.68
7.1 YPA is the NFL Median so far this season, meaning that 7.1 is the middle of the road in terms of YPA. Alex Smith has thrown for above 7.1 YPA in 4 out of 8 games this season, with 4/8 below the median as well. His average in a game OVER YPA is 2.72. When he performs under the median level, he does so at an average of 1.57 YPA. This data may seem meaningless, but there is actually a lot that can be interpreted from it.

2.72 is greater than 1.57. When Alex Smith is stretching the field, he is doing so very well. When he doesn't stretch the field, he does so at a bit better of a distance from the median. He has great moments and bad moments.

Good moment:


Bad moment:


To make a long story short, Alex Smith is what we thought he is. Coming into the season, we wanted him to stretch the field more and make more big plays. He has done so, but there has been no in between. This is just the tip of the iceberg. I am not going to go in depth about how many good defenses he's faced or how his progressions look, etc. but I am going to say this: Alex is who we thought he is, a QB that can make throws on occasion, but can not make them consistently. Stay tuned for more analysis. Until then, here's what we used to put up with: