Chiefs Let's do the Alex Smith thing again. - Page 10

Direckshun · 10-22-2014, 03:16 AM

Shall we.

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-...a-game-manager

The Week in Overreactions: Alex Smith is more than a game manager
By Ryan Wilson | CBSSports.com
October 21, 2014 8:16 am ET

Alex Smith isn't a game manager

It's easy -- and, frankly, lazy -- to categorize Alex Smith as a game manager because that appeared to be his ceiling early in his career. Some of those growing pains can be attributed to youth (he came into the league as a fresh-faced 20-year-old), expectations that come with being the first-overall pick in the 2005 draft, and landing on a bad 49ers team that had six different offensive coordinators in Smith's first six seasons.

That's the definition of setting someone up to fail. And while the perception of Smith didn't change once coach Jim Harbaugh arrived in 2011, the reality was that he became a more complete player.

• In 54 games (50 starts) from 2005-2010, Smith completed 57 percent of his passes (6.2 YPA) with 51 touchdowns and 53 interceptions.

• In 2011-2012 under Harbaugh, Smith played in 26 games (25 starts) completed 64 percent of his passes (7.4 YPA) with 30 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

• And in a season and a half with the Chiefs and Andy Reid, Smith has started all 21 games, completing 62 percent of his passes (6.6 YPA) with 32 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.

We've been as guilty as anyone as taking Smith's accomplishments for granted, even regularly referring to him as "a bridge quarterback" to whomever is pegged as the next face of the franchise in Kansas City. But he's proven to be much, much more than that. We saw it in last season's playoff loss to the Colts, when he was 30 of 46 for 378 yards, with four touchdowns and no interceptions.

We saw it again in Week 4 when Smith completed 20 of 26 passes for 248 yards, with three touchdowns and no interceptions as the Chiefs throttled the Patriots, 41-14. And we were reminded once again on Sunday in San Diego when Smith, who has long been criticized for his inability to play from behind, did just that.

He led the Chiefs on a late-fourth-quarter, eight-play, 62-yard drive that began on their 8-yard line, and included a nine-yard scramble and passes of 19, 16 and eight yards to set up Cairo Santos' 48-yard field goal.

It wasn't spectacular but that's not Smith's game. (And when did spectacular equate to franchise savior, anyway? Jay Cutler has plenty of "spectacular" plays on his highlight reel but he's regularly played some truly awful football.)

According to Football Outsiders, Smith ranks 15th among all quarterbacks this season, ahead of Tom Brady, Carson Palmer and Ben Roethlisberger, but his steady-as-she-goes approach fits nicely with what Reid wants to do offensively. And even if it means fewer big plays down the field, it's hard to argue with the results; the Chiefs started 9-0 last season before finishing 11-5. And after an 0-2 start this season, they have won three of four, their only loss an eminently winnable game in San Francisco in Week 5. And this all comes after the Chiefs, prior to Reid and Smith's arrival, won a grand total of two games in 2012.

When Smith signed a four-year, $68 million extension just before the season, our only reservation was that it would mean the Chiefs would put off finding their next young quarterback. But at 30 years old, he's entering his NFL prime; there's no reason to rush him off the field. In fact, he could be the key to helping the Chiefs to back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 2005-2006.

temper11 · 10-23-2014, 04:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pestilence

Are you ****ing kidding me? Whatever argument is brought up against Alex Smith....there will always be an excuse.

Game ending INT against the 49ers? Fasano was too slow and Alex was used to throwing to Kelce.

That could very well be true, I don't think so since he missed by quite a bit, but it'd still be Smith's fault even it it were true.

What I don't understand is the 100 pages crucifying the guy over that play.

temper11 · 10-23-2014, 04:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pestilence

Suck a dick. Do you know how happy I'd be if we never discussed Smith on this board ever again?

You have the option to not come into a Smith thread. Lots of other threads.

**The Franchise** · 10-23-2014, 04:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by temper11

You have the option to not come into a Smith thread. Lots of other threads.

. You OBVIOUSLY haven't been here long. Every thread turns into an Alex Smith thread.

**OnTheWarpath15** · 10-23-2014, 04:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sandy Cheeks

http://www.sportingcharts.com/nfl/st...rcentage/2014/

PFF also confirms this, and in better detail.

Holy Christ.

We're a whopping 3% above the league average.

THREE.

PERCENT.

I knew you guys had lost a marble or two, but you're honestly going to try to make the argument that this 3% makes a huge difference?

At Smith's current average of 31 attempts per game, that's not even a FULL DROP per game difference from the league average.

Yep. 9/10ths of a drop is what's causing Alex Smith to be an average QB and keeping him from being an elite QB.

Quote:

While it's easy to blame the wide receiver for dropped passes, but partial blame can sometimes fall on the quarterback.

Unless you're a "new" KC fan - then it's ALL the WR's fault.

This place has become a ****ing joke.

temper11 · 10-23-2014, 04:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rausch

He's a conservative game manager with great scrambling ability.

He also needs a better than average O line. He can scramble fine and avoid the rush right now. We all see that. But if we want him to actually take a slight risk every now and again he needs time for our SLOTH ASSED WR's to get blatantly and obviously open...

These two statements to me seem conflicting. I happen to think he is one of the better QB's you can have, if you have a crappy line, because of his football IQ and his scrambling ability.

**The Franchise** · 10-23-2014, 04:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OnTheWarpath58

Holy Christ.

We're a whopping 3% above the league average.

THREE.

PERCENT.

I knew you guys had lost a marble or two, but you're honestly going to try to make the argument that this 3% makes a huge difference?

At Smith's current average of 31 attempts per game, that's not even a FULL DROP per game difference from the league average.

Yep. 9/10ths of a drop is what's causing Alex Smith to be an average QB and keeping him from being an elite QB.

Unless you're a "new" KC fan - then it's ALL the WR's fault.

This place has become a ****ing joke.

Bengals lead the league in drops.....yet Andy Dalton sucks. Chiefs are 2nd....it's not Alex Smith's fault!

**The Franchise** · 10-23-2014, 04:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by temper11

These two statements to me seem conflicting. I happen to think he is one of the better QB's you can have, if you have a crappy line, because of his football IQ and his scrambling ability.

Which is why he shits his pants with a clean pocket....right?

temper11 · 10-23-2014, 04:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pestilence

. You OBVIOUSLY haven't been here long. Every thread turns into an Alex Smith thread.

Maybe... don't know why that would be either, but you specifically came into a thread titled "let's do the Alex Smith thing again"... and then stated you don't ever want to speak about Alex Smith again.

**Rausch** · 10-23-2014, 04:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by temper11

These two statements to me seem conflicting. I happen to think he is one of the better QB's you can have, if you have a crappy line, because of his football IQ and his scrambling ability.

Because we have bad route runners and slow WR's.

It means he won't THROW THE BALL DEEP without time.

He can avoid the rush. He can move. He can NOT get sacked.

That isn't the same thing as being able the make the throws he needs to make. Keep in mind his best season ever SF had an absolutely tits O line. He had time...

temper11 · 10-23-2014, 04:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pestilence

Which is why he shits his pants with a clean pocket....right?

I don't think he does... I know you like saying that a lot...

temper11 · 10-23-2014, 04:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pestilence

Bengals lead the league in drops.....yet Andy Dalton sucks. Chiefs are 2nd....it's not Alex Smith's fault!

Andy Dalton isn't responsible for his receivers dropped passes either. Who said that?

temper11 · 10-23-2014, 04:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rausch

Because we have bad route runners and slow WR's.

It means he won't THROW THE BALL DEEP without time.

He can avoid the rush. He can move. He can NOT get sacked.

That isn't the same thing as being able the make the throws he needs to make. Keep in mind his best season ever SF had an absolutely tits O line. He had time...

So who can make those throws with a shit o line, bad route runners and slow WR's?

**Rausch** · 10-23-2014, 04:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by temper11

So who can make those throws with a shit o line, bad route runners and slow WR's?

No one.

AND I MADE THIS POINT BEFORE THE SEASON STARTED.

I don't think it's even fair to judge the guy after Dorsey ****ed him in the offseason and Phat Andy has multiple-coordinator-personality-disease...

Sandy Vagina · 10-23-2014, 04:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OnTheWarpath58

Holy Christ.

We're a whopping 3% above the league average.

This place has become a ****ing joke.

It was determined that 9.6% of Smith's throws are dropped so far. May not seem like much to you, but that is the worst in the league. Some drops are more brutal than others.. just ask Hemingway and Bowe about last week's game.

This place is not a joke.. it just has some people that can't discuss things without getting all childish and straying from the topic discussion.

You are always free to go back to wherever it is you go during most weeks.

Everyone knows what these Alex threads consist of... pages of people whining over a play here or there... to the point where others have to come in and point out how QBs are not perfect.. and there are plays that are underwhelming for all of them.

O.city · 10-23-2014, 04:32 PM

Funny how all we hear at CP is that the WR's are slow and can't get open, yet when wr see footage of said wrs or articles about it or from guys at the game, we have WR's running open.

Weird

10-22-2014, 03:16 AM
Direckshun __ Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Springpatch Casino cash: $2033447	Let's do the Alex Smith thing again. Shall we. http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/eye-on-...a-game-manager The Week in Overreactions: Alex Smith is more than a game manager By Ryan Wilson \| CBSSports.com October 21, 2014 8:16 am ET Alex Smith isn't a game manager It's easy -- and, frankly, lazy -- to categorize Alex Smith as a game manager because that appeared to be his ceiling early in his career. Some of those growing pains can be attributed to youth (he came into the league as a fresh-faced 20-year-old), expectations that come with being the first-overall pick in the 2005 draft, and landing on a bad 49ers team that had six different offensive coordinators in Smith's first six seasons. That's the definition of setting someone up to fail. And while the perception of Smith didn't change once coach Jim Harbaugh arrived in 2011, the reality was that he became a more complete player. • In 54 games (50 starts) from 2005-2010, Smith completed 57 percent of his passes (6.2 YPA) with 51 touchdowns and 53 interceptions. • In 2011-2012 under Harbaugh, Smith played in 26 games (25 starts) completed 64 percent of his passes (7.4 YPA) with 30 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. • And in a season and a half with the Chiefs and Andy Reid, Smith has started all 21 games, completing 62 percent of his passes (6.6 YPA) with 32 touchdowns and 11 interceptions. We've been as guilty as anyone as taking Smith's accomplishments for granted, even regularly referring to him as "a bridge quarterback" to whomever is pegged as the next face of the franchise in Kansas City. But he's proven to be much, much more than that. We saw it in last season's playoff loss to the Colts, when he was 30 of 46 for 378 yards, with four touchdowns and no interceptions. We saw it again in Week 4 when Smith completed 20 of 26 passes for 248 yards, with three touchdowns and no interceptions as the Chiefs throttled the Patriots, 41-14. And we were reminded once again on Sunday in San Diego when Smith, who has long been criticized for his inability to play from behind, did just that. He led the Chiefs on a late-fourth-quarter, eight-play, 62-yard drive that began on their 8-yard line, and included a nine-yard scramble and passes of 19, 16 and eight yards to set up Cairo Santos' 48-yard field goal. It wasn't spectacular but that's not Smith's game. (And when did spectacular equate to franchise savior, anyway? Jay Cutler has plenty of "spectacular" plays on his highlight reel but he's regularly played some truly awful football.) According to Football Outsiders, Smith ranks 15th among all quarterbacks this season, ahead of Tom Brady, Carson Palmer and Ben Roethlisberger, but his steady-as-she-goes approach fits nicely with what Reid wants to do offensively. And even if it means fewer big plays down the field, it's hard to argue with the results; the Chiefs started 9-0 last season before finishing 11-5. And after an 0-2 start this season, they have won three of four, their only loss an eminently winnable game in San Francisco in Week 5. And this all comes after the Chiefs, prior to Reid and Smith's arrival, won a grand total of two games in 2012. When Smith signed a four-year, $68 million extension just before the season, our only reservation was that it would mean the Chiefs would put off finding their next young quarterback. But at 30 years old, he's entering his NFL prime; there's no reason to rush him off the field. In fact, he could be the key to helping the Chiefs to back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since 2005-2006.
Posts: 59,693

10-23-2014, 04:32 PM	#150
O.city In Search of a Life Join Date: Jul 2009 Casino cash: $-775936	Funny how all we hear at CP is that the WR's are slow and can't get open, yet when wr see footage of said wrs or articles about it or from guys at the game, we have WR's running open. Weird
Posts: 84,253