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.”

[Marcellus]

Originally Posted by milkman

Yeah, cause Alex Smith began his ascension well before his 4th season.





Oh.......wait.



2011, the team that Alex Smith plays for just tradede up in the second round to draft a QB,.
What does that tell you about Alex Smith?

Valid point. You think anyone would trade a 2nd for Sanchez right now?

[milkman]

Originally Posted by Marcellus

Valid point. You think anyone would trade a 2nd for Sanchez right now?

Was there a team that showed any real interest in Alex Smith when he was available for free?

[Marcellus]

Originally Posted by milkman

Was there a team that showed any real interest in Alex Smith when he was available for free?

To answer your question the team that drafted him resigned him. He had had a rather unimpressive career to that point, I understand that.

Look we can agree to disagree here on both QB's.

I never liked Sanchez coming out of college & I thought Smith was doing what he needed to do and winning games in SF before he had the concussion so I see no reason to change my mind now he is a Chief.

I know Smith isn't Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, or Andrew Luck. I think he is good enough to take a team to a SB, he proved that even though he came up a drive short. Some may disagree with that, I dont care, I believe it.

I would love to have an elite QB, I dont see where Dorsey and Reid had a chance to get one so we are where we are and we have a shot IMO. I think part of the issue this off season is this team whether its just perceived or real has a lot of talented players in their prime to the back end of their prime and they didn't want to just burn the next few years on a developmental QB project which is what this draft had.

The key is that they continue to work to develop a guy long term via the draft, and not just sit on their hands and expect Smith is it.

[Coogs]

Originally Posted by milkman

Next, to Coogs primarily, I believe the thing that separates Joe Montana from Alex Smith is confidence.
The confidence in one's self and the confidence the players around them had/have in them.
Montana believed in his reads, in his ability to put the ball exactly where he had to, and his teamates believed.
I din't believe that Smith was ever going to earn that confidence from his team in San Francisco.
Just too many years of mediocrity or complete suckage there.
He needed a change of venue.
He's got that.
Now it's up to Andy Reid and staff to instill that self confidence.
I keep reading that Smith is a smart QB whose pre snap reads and adjustments are on Peyton Manning's level.
So what happens after the snap.
I'll tell you.
He doesn"t believe in his ability to put the ball where it needs to be in tight windows.
If Andy Reid can get Smith to trust himself, he will back up his claim that he can turn Smith into a HoF QB.
The problem is that I don't believe that's going to happen at this stage of Smith's career.

I'll buy most of that.

Even though the Saints defense was not the best in the NFL, Smith made huge plays when he needed to, both throwing and running.

He opened 6-2 following the loss in the NFC Championship game. I'm not sure if I saw any of those 8 games, so I really can't comment on his performances early last season. Stats seem to indicate he was performing pretty well.

Since he seemed to be getting it... at about the same stage Brees did and where Sanchez is... I'm counting on the change of scenery... and all that goes with that... to put him over the top.

JMO

[Coogs]

Originally Posted by milkman

Yeah, cause Alex Smith began his ascension well before his 4th season.





Oh.......wait.



2011, the team that Alex Smith plays for just tradede up in the second round to draft a QB,.
What does that tell you about Alex Smith?

Maybe a small difference here, but Sanchez's original coaches just brought in a 2nd rounder. Smith's coaching staff was new to the team when Keap was brought in. Bit of a difference none the less.

[milkman]

Originally Posted by Marcellus

To answer your question the team that drafted him resigned him. He had had a rather unimpressive career to that point, I understand that.

Look we can agree to disagree here on both QB's.

I never liked Sanchez coming out of college & I thought Smith was doing what he needed to do and winning games in SF before he had the concussion so I see no reason to change my mind now he is a Chief.

I know Smith isn't Drew Brees, Aaron Rodgers, or Andrew Luck. I think he is good enough to take a team to a SB, he proved that even though he came up a drive short. Some may disagree with that, I dont care, I believe it.

I would love to have an elite QB, I dont see where Dorsey and Reid had a chance to get one so we are where we are and we have a shot IMO. I think part of the issue this off season is this team whether its just perceived or real has a lot of talented players in their prime to the back end of their prime and they didn't want to just burn the next few years on a developmental QB project which is what this draft had.

The key is that they continue to work to develop a guy long term via the draft, and not just sit on their hands and expect Smith is it.

The team that drafted Sanchez gave him a generous contract extension well before he had the opportunity to test free agency.

At the end of the day, neither of these moves mean a damn thing.

[Marcellus]

Originally Posted by milkman

The team that drafted Sanchez gave him a generous contract extension well before he had the opportunity to test free agency.

At the end of the day, neither of these moves mean a damn thing.

True but I would bet $$ had they not gave Sanchez that ridiculous contract he would already be gone in NY. They really tied their own hands with that move.

[TheUte]

Originally Posted by Coogs

Maybe a small difference here, but Sanchez's original coaches just brought in a 2nd rounder. Smith's coaching staff was new to the team when Keap was brought in. Bit of a difference none the less.

Also, he is a 28 year old who has been starting for 8 years.

Kaep is a 25 year who has never started a full season.

Not saying is everything, but it is a factor for sure.

[Sandy Vagina]

Awesome! about 20 pages of tears to read through this a.m. How nice that many spend their offseasons yapping about Alex and keeping me entertained. Proceed!

[beach tribe]

Originally Posted by milkman

Yeah, cause Alex started his ascension well before his 4th season.





Oh.......wait.



2011, the team that Alex Smith plays for just tradede up in the second round to draft a QB,.
What does that tell you about Alex Smith?

It tells me that the 49ers are smart enough to do what all teams should be doing.
Your current starting QB Should never stop you from drafting a QB anywhere outside the first round.
Especially one with 1st round talent.
Im a huge advocate of drafting QBs. Every year.
No matter who your starter is.

[beach tribe]

Originally Posted by Mac-NinersChiefs

Awesome! about 20 pages of tears to read through this a.m. How nice that many spend their offseasons yapping about Alex and keeping me entertained. Proceed!

Set your posts per page higher.
Fewer pages.

[milkman]

Originally Posted by Coogs

Maybe a small difference here, but Sanchez's original coaches just brought in a 2nd rounder. Smith's coaching staff was new to the team when Keap was brought in. Bit of a difference none difference the less.

The difference is irrelevant.
Either way, a statement was made by the moves made in the draft, and. One could argue the stronger statement was made by the 9ers.

[Ace Gunner]

Kerry Collins' Super - Run



Alex Smith = 2001 Kerry Collins in many ways. Up & down QB's, both of them, we will see what Alex Smith is gonna do soon, but he played better during the past couple seasons than Collins did during his SB season, so ya, with the right team, Smith can make a SB appearance imo.

[keg in kc]

The real difference between the two is that one of them is here, so he's going to be defended by some until the end of time, regardless of what he's proven himself to be on the field. That's really all there is to it.

And as I've said before, probably dozens of times by now, just to clarify: I don't hate Alex Smith. I hate the trade for Alex Smith. Giving up two second round picks for the guy was ridiculous.

And this whole idea of making him more "aggressive" is also ridiculous. His only palpable quality on gameday was that he didn't turn the ball over. If you take that away - which will happen if he's forced to be more aggressive - then he's basically nothing. He can't, physically, be Aaron Rodger or Drew Brees or Tom Brady any other top quarterback you want to name, because he doesn't have the arm to attack defenses. Not on the sidelines, and not down the field.

And that's precisely the reason I hate the trade: we gave up two seconds for a guy who can't physically do what Andy Reid's offense is going to ask him to do. It doesn't have anything to do with who else was available. It doesn't have anything to do with who I liked in the draft. It only ever had anything to do with Alex Smith himself. He simply doesn't fit.

All along it's looked to me like a situation where a coach fell in love with a guy for whatever reason, despite all logic and reason, and because Dorsey is his buddy, instead of fighting him on it like you would hope a GM would, he not only gave Reid what he wanted, he paid too much for it.

That's, to me, a disappointing first step. It reads like a repeat of 2001 and Trent Green. It reads like a repeat of 2009 and Matt Cassel.

I just hope it ends up closer to Green...

And I really hope that in the end Alex Smith does elevate his game and do things he's never done before at any level, college or pro. Because I don't want to be "right". I just want the team to win. Which is why I'm not thrilled, because this move does not strike me as one conducive to that.

[Rasputin]

I believe only the Chiefs were willing to give up a second round draft pick for Alex Smith. Our top of the third round would have trump any other offer imo. We could have gave up much less to get Alex Smith. Now we risk giving up a second round pick in next years draft just by going 8-8. This hurts our chances to draft a QB prospect that we can build a team around.



Nope I don't see any thing different than what Carl Pioli would have done.