Teicher:Prodded by Andy Reid, Chiefs QB Alex Smith learning to be more aggressive

[Tribal Warfare]

Prodded by Andy Reid, Chiefs QB Alex Smith learning to be more aggressive
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star
One of the qualities the Chiefs like in new quarterback Alex Smith is his recent history with few turnovers. Smith threw just 10 interceptions in his last 25 games for the San Francisco 49ers, a stat that looks extremely pretty in Kansas City after Chiefs quarterbacks committed 27 turnovers last season.

Smith’s low turnover rate was due at least in part by his reluctance to throw the ball down the field. He was referred to by frustrated 49ers fans as Captain Checkdown for his habit of throwing shorter patterns to receivers for shorter gains.

Smith is in the process of being reprogrammed by Andy Reid, his new coach. Reid doesn’t want to turn Smith into a turnover machine but wants him to be more aggressive, particularly during offseason practice.

“You want to get a feel for the offense now, particularly when you’re new at it (and) if there are close throws, challenge it, see what you can get away with,” Reid said. “If it ends up being an interception, OK, it’s an interception. You learn from it. These are smart guys so they learn from it and once they get into the season, they’re not experimenting with it on game day and they know what they can get away with and know what they can’t.

“It’s a new offense. I would tell any quarterback that comes in new that that’s what you need to do. I’ve told them all that. Go ahead and take your shots and see what you can get away with, within reason. But if it’s a close throw, there are going to be a few of those in the National Football League on game day so you need to know what you can get away with on each route.”

Smith and the other Chiefs quarterbacks were rewarded with several long completions in Wednesday’s practice. Smith had three such plays, including two to Jon Baldwin, while Tyler Bray and Ricky Stanzi had one apiece.

Wednesday’s barrage of big passing plays isn’t necessarily an indication the deep ball is back in the Chiefs’ offense. But since such plays have been scarce for the Chiefs in each of the past two seasons, they’re taking it as an encouraging sign.

“We’re just kind of continuing to press to see what we can do … finding out what we’re capable of,” Smith said. “You’ve got to find that out at some point. This is what the practice field is for.”

Smith was the NFL’s highest-rated passer last season before he was injured, missed a start and then replaced by Colin Kaepernick as San Francisco’s starting quarterback. Smith was completing more than 70 percent of his passes, a high rate, and had just five interceptions.

Still, he had just 30 touchdown passes in his final 25 starts for the 49ers. While that’s a good number as a ratio with his 10 interceptions, it still represents a shortage of big plays.

Smith won’t turn into a mad bomber overnight, if he ever does.

“You want to stay aggressive,” Smith said. “But in the end I’m always trying to make the right read and throw where the defense is telling me to throw. You don’t come out here and predetermine anything, like ‘Oh, I’m going to chuck it deep on this play.’ I’m constantly trying to just trust my eyes and what I’m seeing out there, trust my reads and what I’ve prepared for and then come out here and throw good balls.”

For his part, Reid might be OK with that. But for now, when an interception costs the Chiefs nothing, he would prefer Smith be more of a gambler.

“Everybody is all on board (with Smith),” Reid said. “He’s a good football player. He’s showing that (along with) good leadership. I’m asking him to do a ton of things. He’s handling it. We’ve had an interception here or there but that’s all part of this thing. You’ve got to find out about the offense and you can’t do it with your hands in your pocket. You’ve got to go out and try things and experiment. That’s what he’s doing now.

“It’s just good stuff. He’s staying aggressive with the ball, and I appreciate that.”

The final offseason practice is today. The Chiefs won’t get together again as a group until training camp begins in July at Missouri Western State University.

Smith indicated he may try to throw to some Chiefs receivers during their downtime in an effort to stay sharp.

“We’re heads and shoulder above where we were a couple of months ago,” he said. “But that’s a never-ending thing. I don’t think it’s something like, ‘We’ve got a good feel for each other so we don’t need to work anymore.’ You’re constantly working at it. This is our job, this is our craft. Every single day, it’s coming out here and pushing to get better.”

[O.city]

I'm curious to see which of the past few draft picks turns out to be the best and takes to coaching.

I'm hoping Baldwin but I'm doubtin it

[Sweet Daddy Hate]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

Please don't include me in the "we" category.

We would never. You're such an original, filled with nothing but original thoughts! Original Dane!

I guess that sounds better than "Douche of the Year" right?

But wait, that was all in fun, right? Right?

Uh, huh.

One thing I can say I've never done on this board, is pull the bitch move by creating a crybaby thread about leaving forever. How's about you, Original Dane?

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by Sweet Daddy Hate

We would never. You're such an original, filled with nothing but original thoughts! Original Dane!

I guess that sounds better than "Douche of the Year" right?

But wait, that was all in fun, right? Right?

Uh, huh.

Truth hurts, don't it?

Originally Posted by Sweet Daddy Hate

One thing I can say I've never done on this board, is pull the bitch move by creating a crybaby thread about leaving forever. How's about you, Original Dane?

No. Instead, you welch on bets, lie, cheat, get banned, return under various user names and continue to act like a moron.

You have no honor. Doomy3 owns your ass.

And my sperm are smarter than you.

[Sweet Daddy Hate]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

Truth hurts, don't it?



No. Instead, you welch on bets, lie, cheat, get banned, return under various user names and continue to act like a moron.

You have no honor. Doomy3 owns your ass.

And my sperm are smarter than you.

Your and idiot. Good night.

[Chris Meck]

Originally Posted by Sweet Daddy Hate

Your and idiot. Good night.

impotent rage man is impotent.

[bigjosh]

Originally Posted by O.city

I do think we will see more QB's who might not be as "sure" things as some in the past because of the CBA, but I think that also shows just how shitty this years class was.


Typical Chiefs though. Had we just sucked for Luck I guess.

As much as I would have liked having luck, our coaching staff would have made him look like garbage. He probably would have gotten us 2 or three more wins and saved pioli and crennels jobs, and we would be banished to a few more years of mediocrity because of it. It would be just like the jake locker situation.

[BigMeatballDave]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

Before the season, I would have agreed. But after watching that disastrous coaching staff, I'm not sure that Peyton Manning could have willed that team to eight wins.

Seriously.

Again, people are forgetting about all those turnovers and a lousy offense. Horrible QBs.

Hard to win under those conditions.

And, yes. That coaching staff was awful.

[Rasputin]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

I'm not trying to bash you or insult you but this is a false narrative.

You've acted all offseason as if you're above someone or anyone else because you wanted the Chiefs the draft a QB. You acted as if you were the only person that wanted the Chiefs to draft a QB in the history of the franchise and continue to spout off on anyone that has a different opinion. They're suddenly a "homer" or a "True Fan" because they didn't like the available options.

That is complete and utter nonsense.

There have been very few years, especially as of late, in which the consensus on this forum was to draft a QB. When Brodie Croyle was chosen in the third round of 2008, everyone was behind that move and saw him as the successor to Green. Unfortunately, that didn't pan out.

In 2008, most "informed" members wanted Matt Ryan. They saw past his supposed flaws and interceptions. Unfortunately, he was chosen before the Chiefs selected, so he wasn't an option. There were those that suggested Flacco as an alternative but the Chiefs selected Dorsey and Albert instead (the correct answer would have been Clady and Flacco).

In 2009, a very vocal group (myself included) wanted to see Mark Sanchez drafted, even though the Chiefs traded for Cassel. That didn't happen and instead, the Chiefs made the worst selection in franchise history.

In 2010, the consensus was split between Berry and Clausen. Very few people were unhappy with Berry's selection and as it turned out, Clausen has been a major disappointment (and would have been a disaster at #5 overall).

In 2011, the Chiefs moved back and selected Baldwin. Matt Cassel had just come off of his finest season as a pro and there was very little hope that his successor would be drafted that year. There was very little discussion of QB's.

In 2013, everything came to a head. New coach, new GM, new direction from ownership, etc. That management team traded for, what they saw, as the best available option. Every QB in this draft comes with great risk and after successive seasons of 4-12, 2-14, 4-12, 10-6, 7-9 and 2-14, 2013 was not the time to make a gigantic leap of faith or take a risk. How this move turns out remains to be seen but it would be shocking if Alex Smith did not outperform any of the QB's selected in the 2013 draft.

All of that said, I don't think there's a single soul that posts in this forum that does not want the Chiefs to take a QB in the first round in hopes of developing him into a Franchise QB. So for all your bluster, you are not alone, so stop acting as if you're the only guy on Chiefsplanet that wants the Chiefs to draft, develop and win championships.

It's old. It's tired. It's boring. But most of all, it's completely false.

First I will apologize if I came across the way you say I do here.

Heh all though this offseason I mostly just argued with those cross 49erChiefAlexSMithfans that came here to tell us how happy we should be with Alex Smith. They annoyed the **** out of me. They made me sick, I wanted to throw up every time they said how great Alex Smith is going to be for us and bla bla bla. All the talk about Alex Smith has been nauseating. I'm not going be happy with Alex Smith unless we actually win in the playoffs and give some reason that we can win a Super Bowl with him. Making the playoffs isn't good enough. It seems to me that Chiefs fans are justifying being a mediocre team again like the Carl Peterson years just so that we don't have another putrid losing season.


I know good and well I'm not the only one who wants to draft a quarterback yet this offseason has sucked the big one out of disappointment for not doing so. A lot of my post have been out of flustration just for that.

After they made it known we got Alex Smith for our QBotf couldn't even get excited for the 1.1 pick. He is not a stop gap QB for the picks they gave up to get him.

I also get all the reasoning behind why Geno Smith was passed on till the second round. Doesn't change I would have been stoked if we pulled the trigger and took a chance on him, or even another qb in the draft like Barkley if he hadn't hurt his shoulder he would have gone sooner. I think he would have been a good risk reward guy too. It's all about risk and reward in the draft. It's just a shame year after year we pass on the quarterbacks and then excuses excuses excuses & more excuses.

[Sandy Vagina]

Originally Posted by KC Tattoo

First I will apologize if I came across the way you say I do here.

Heh all though this offseason I mostly just argued with those cross 49erChiefAlexSMithfans that came here to tell us how happy we should be with Alex Smith. They annoyed the **** out of me. They made me sick, I wanted to throw up every time they said how great Alex Smith is going to be for us and bla bla bla. All the talk about Alex Smith has been nauseating.

Can't speak for everyone, but one 49erChiefAlexSMithfan here came in simply saying that I believe he will be a good addition for the Chiefs... despite the compensation given. The response to that opinion was surprisingly met with childish hostility and general dick-headedness.

For most on forums.. and I have been on forums a long time.. when a team acquires a new player and that player's former team fans stop in to applaud? The response is generally taken as an encouraging thing... or at worst, an eyeroll. So I ask myself.. why would the receiving fanbase act so belligerent when other team's fans come in and express a positive vibe? The only answer seems to be "oh, we heard this shit before, **** off!"

... but now, I am pleased to see other KC fans showing some maturity and accepting that your team just may find success. There's nothing wrong with skepticism, but some folks just take it too far and really need to develop some mature social skills. Most SF fans I have read here are really only suggesting that you give this new regime a chance before giving up.

... and why would people even continue to click into a thread when you must expect more nausea? People suggesting to you that Alex might be good for the Chiefs and that makes you... sick? Do you not find that a rather bizarre reaction?

[Mav]

Originally Posted by BossChief

Scouts and the NFL in general didn't like Colin Kaepernick, Russel Wilson and many other recent "drafted after the first round" quarterbacks, either.

It's how these guys respond to adversity that will dictate if their draft positions were true, or fantastic steals due to following one of the best quarterback drafts in NFL history.

I just happen to think there are a few guys in this class that have 9" dicks and are trying to follow Lex Steel.

Height was the issue for Wilson, and elongated delivery, and the fact that he was viewed as a running qb, was the reason keep fell.

Originally Posted by RunKC

I'm not sure about Kaepernick, but you're definitely wrong about Russell Wilson. Teams loved him. The only reason he was not drafted in the top half of the first round was his height.

He had basically everything you want from a QB, but ideal height.

bingo. If hes 6'2, hes the third qb off the board behind Luck, and RG3.

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

But that's not true. There were plenty of scouts that liked Kaepernick and Wilson but they were overruled by their GM (the Chiefs included).

Wilson's issue didn't stem from athleticism, leadership, or ability. It stemmed from his height. Kaepernick was passed over because of his competition.


And I disagree. As I stated earlier, E.J. Manuel is the only guy that I can look at and say "Wow, this guy has all the tools to be a Franchise QB". Smith has issues, Wilson has issues, Barkley has issues, Bray has issues.

And had Buffalo not needed a strong-armed QB, it's quite possible that he'd have fallen to the second round as well.

There were no "clean" prospects in this draft, despite the narrative passed around Chiefsplanet for five brutal months.

I think that the thing with Manuel was he ceiling was the highest of all of the qbs in this draft. I think the arm strength thing is WAY overblown. My proof? They signed Kevin Kolb. I think they wanted the intangibles that Ej Manuel brings. I was shocked they didn't draft the kid from Syracuse, mainly because he reminded me a lot of drew brees. But, kids like Ej, who is almost a carbon copy of Cam Newton, if harnessed, and have a positive leadership effect, can cover up a lot of uglies on a franchise, giving them time to address those, while said qb keeps the franchise relevant. Makes perfect sense.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by Maverick91579

I think that the thing with Manuel was he ceiling was the highest of all of the qbs in this draft. I think the arm strength thing is WAY overblown. My proof? They signed Kevin Kolb. I think they wanted the intangibles that Ej Manuel brings

Dude, that's proof of nothing.

The Bills signed Kolb because he was the best veteran QB available at the time. They drafted Manuel because they believe he is a leader, he has ideal size and a very strong arm (which is necessary in windy Buffalo). Whaley feels that Marrone is the perfect guy to develop and build an offense around him.

Kolb was insurance. Nothing more, nothing less.

Originally Posted by Maverick91579

I was shocked they didn't draft the kid from Syracuse, mainly because he reminded me a lot of drew brees.

He didn't have the arm stregnth necessary for Buffalo. He dropped to the fourth because has less than ideal size and an average arm.

As it stands, he'll be a backup until his contract expires in New York (or he's cut).

Originally Posted by Maverick91579

But, kids like Ej, who is almost a carbon copy of Cam Newton, if harnessed, and have a positive leadership effect, can cover up a lot of uglies on a franchise, giving them time to address those, while said qb keeps the franchise relevant. Makes perfect sense.

Manuel may share the same size as Newton but he's no where near as accomplished as a passer, in reading defenses and accuracy. A better comparison might be Colin Kaepernick, as he needed a year and a half of work before making his first start.

I doubt Buffalo waits that long for Manuel but he's definitely somewhat of a project.

[Hootie]

the problem with posters like KC Tattoo is they just regurgitate what the intelligent posters post...

SNR is a pretty intelligent guy. He pined for Geno. He yearned for Geno. He cried about Alex. He made good points.

Now the idiot leaches like Tattoo and ROR who can't formulate their own thoughts or opinions leach onto guys like SNR and then all of the sudden football talk is unbearable because all of the illiterate leaches start blabbing on and on and on about regurgitated thoughts from OTWP or SNR.

[Sweet Daddy Hate]

Originally Posted by unnecessary drama

the problem with posters like KC Tattoo is they just regurgitate what the intelligent posters post...

SNR is a pretty intelligent guy. He pined for Geno. He yearned for Geno. He cried about Alex. He made good points.

Now the idiot leaches like Tattoo and ROR who can't formulate their own thoughts or opinions leach onto guys like SNR and then all of the sudden football talk is unbearable because all of the illiterate leaches start blabbing on and on and on about regurgitated thoughts from OTWP or SNR.

You're banned.

I win.

[mcaj22]

Originally Posted by O.city

I'm curious to see which of the past few draft picks turns out to be the best and takes to coaching.

I'm hoping Baldwin but I'm doubtin it

None that already havent and excluding the newest draft.

[Alex Smith 4Ever]

Originally Posted by Mr. Laz

when game managers try to get more aggressive it usually leads to implosions.

Tom Brady was once called a game manager