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.”

[-King-]

Originally Posted by RunKC

Big Ben threw 20 TD's and 2,869 yards in passes thrown from the LOS to 20 yards.

Tom Brady threw 26 TD's and 4,101 yards in passes thrown from the LOS to 20 yards.

Hell Brady threw 21 TD's alone on passes either behind the LOS or 1-10 yards out.

there's a reason you chose to use LOS-20 rather than LOS-10. You bunched in short and intermediate yards together. Brady kicked his ass in intermediate passes.
Posted via Mobile Device

[Marcellus]

Originally Posted by Alex Smith HATER

Because Alex Smith sucks at throwing for a lot of yards.

That wins games, son.

This isn't 1995.

Thats worked well so far for Cam Newton, Tony Romo, and Matt Stafford.

[Sweet Daddy Hate]

Originally Posted by Alex Smith HATER

Not sure why we are comparing Alex Smith to QBs who throw for more 300 yard games per season than he does for his whole career.

Excellent new username. You are now rockin' it in Club Hate.

Hatah's gonna' hate, and winnahs gonna' WIN.

[NinerDoug]

Originally Posted by Alex Smith HATER

Again, if a top end performance from Alex Smith is 232 yards, I'm not impressed.

232 yards should be an AVERAGE game for a top 10 QB.

There was a lot of back and forth between stats vs. wins, points, etc., pretty much without end on the Niners boards.

At the end of the day, I suppose, points win games. Alex had 13 TDs and 5 INTs in about 8.5 games. I suppose that would put him on a pace for about 25 or 26 and 10 at the end of the season. Decent numbers, nothing to get really excited about. And that was with a stellar defense and running game.

On the other hand, that was how Harbaugh played it. Singletary and Jimmy Raye's game was run, run, pass, punt.

So, still a bit of an unanswered question, I suppose.

[BigBeauford]

I think people also fail to mention in this whole debate, a qb who can move the ball downfield in big chunks, is simply more fun to watch. Who wants to see a qb throw the ball for 180 yards per game. Part of the equation is winning games, but being bored to death in consistent 10-7 thrillers isn't exactly getting my money's worth. Probably why I will always prefer watching Drew Brees play.

[NinerDoug]

Originally Posted by qbsacker93

I think people also fail to mention in this whole debate, a qb who can move the ball downfield in big chunks, is simply more fun to watch. Who wants to see a qb throw the ball for 180 yards per game. Part of the equation is winning games, but being bored to death in consistent 10-7 thrillers isn't exactly getting my money's worth. Probably why I will always prefer watching Drew Brees play.

Very good point. (As long as he's not throwing for 400 yards but getting picked 3 or 4 times a game.)

[Sandy Vagina]

Originally Posted by qbsacker93

I think people also fail to mention in this whole debate, a qb who can move the ball downfield in big chunks, is simply more fun to watch. Who wants to see a qb throw the ball for 180 yards per game. Part of the equation is winning games, but being bored to death in consistent 10-7 thrillers isn't exactly getting my money's worth. Probably why I will always prefer watching Drew Brees play.

So you probably love quarterbacks like Tony Romo. A guy that can dazzle with big numbers and throws downfield.. but will also kill your chances of winning with some turnovers.

SF had a quarterback named J.T. O'Sullivan back in... 2008, I believe... with Mike Martz as OC. JTO was the QB you allude to in your post. The problem with JTO was.. along with the chunk plays he'd make down the field, he would fumble the ball and throw very costly interceptions. So when it came down to it? JTO was a more fun guy to watch. Turns out JTO was a detriment to the team when regarding chunk plays vs turnovers.

Some folks prefer that fantasy football gaudy numbers... some people prefer the QB that plays smart, field position football.

With Reid on Alex's side, I think you will get a nice mix of both. You'll get a QB that will take more chances than you expect... but will also play smart football that won't cost the team wins.

It really just depends on the gameplan and team around Alex. If you have a kick-ass defense and STs? but conversely have limited receivers, OL blocking, or an offense in need of crawling before they walk? It makes sense that Reid limits the "risk-shots" of his QB and plays field position ball.

Seems Alex is being persecuted by some because he had a strong D and STs with SF the last 2 years. You want more yards.. but that wasn't Harbaugh's gameplan. He recognized that our offense was a work in progress... many players didn't know what they were doing... the pass pro OL was an evolving beast... the overall creative design of the pass game was the last aspect to evolve... and that wasn't due to the QB.

[NinerDoug]

Originally Posted by Mac-NinersChiefs

So you probably love quarterbacks like Tony Romo. A guy that can dazzle with big numbers and throws downfield.. but will also kill your chances of winning with some turnovers.

SF had a quarterback named J.T. O'Sullivan back in... 2008, I believe... with Mike Martz as OC. JTO was the QB you allude to in your post. The problem with JTO was.. along with the chunk plays he'd make down the field, he would fumble the ball and throw very costly interceptions. So when it came down to it? JTO was a more fun guy to watch. Turns out JTO was a detriment to the team when regarding chunk plays vs turnovers.

Some folks prefer that fantasy football gaudy numbers... some people prefer the QB that plays smart, field position football.

With Reid on Alex's side, I think you will get a nice mix of both. You'll get a QB that will take more chances than you expect... but will also play smart football that won't cost the team wins.

It really just depends on the gameplan and team around Alex. If you have a kick-ass defense and STs? but conversely have limited receivers, OL blocking, or an offense in need of crawling before they walk? It makes sense that Reid limits the "risk-shots" of his QB and plays field position ball.

Seems Alex is being persecuted by some because he had a strong D and STs with SF the last 2 years. You want more yards.. but that wasn't Harbaugh's gameplan. He recognized that our offense was a work in progress... many players didn't know what they were doing... the pass pro OL was an evolving beast... the overall creative design of the pass game was the last aspect to evolve... and that wasn't due to the QB.

Actually he mentioned Drew Brees. QBs like Brees, Aaron Rodgers, can put up big numbers without being a turnover machine.

[milkman]

Originally Posted by Maverick91579

What ever you have to tell yourself. You should go back and look at that run. Their defense was HORRID during the regular season, but was LIGHTS OUT in the playoffs. Do some research before you go to calling people a dumbass, or do you not remember that it was in fact, BJ RAJI, with the game clinching INT for a td that sealed the super bowl. And, IM the dumbass lol.

You said that the defense fueled that SB run.

Yes, the Pack D played well in those playoffs, but to say that they fueled the run is utter bull.

Aaron Rodgers had one of the greatest playoff games ever in that WC game against the Falcons, and he came up big in clutch moments in each of the following playoff games, including the SB.

The Pack D finally showed, but Aaron Rodgers fueled that run.

To say anything else is dumbassery at it's best.

[Dave Lane]

So if Alex does become a gun slinger type, are you taking the over or the under on 15 INTs?

What about 20?

I think he could easily beat 20.

[Sandy Vagina]

Originally Posted by Dave Lane

So if Alex does become a gun slinger type, are you taking the over or the under on 15 INTs?

What about 20?

I think he could easily beat 20.

If gunslinger mode is engaged? then 15 sounds about right for the high end. Likely something closer to 26 TD and 11 INT.

If his targets are running their routes properly and not volley-tipping lots of passes, there won't be a large amount of picks.

[-King-]

Originally Posted by Dave Lane

So if Alex does become a gun slinger type, are you taking the over or the under on 15 INTs?

What about 20?

I think he could easily beat 20.

He wont be a gun slinger and he wont be asked to be one.
Posted via Mobile Device

[mcaj22]

if he was a gunslinger he'd be taking a lot of sacks dancing around that pocket waiting for routes to develop trying to decide if he has the arm strength to fit it in the window or not.

i'd rather him just get it out quick and throw 5 yard dinks and hope for the best

[Dave Lane]

Originally Posted by mcaj22

if he was a gunslinger he'd be taking a lot of sacks dancing around that pocket waiting for routes to develop trying to decide if he has the arm strength to fit it in the window or not.

i'd rather him just get it out quick and throw 5 yard dinks and hope for the best

But if he stops waiting so long and just goes Farve lite what would you think his INTs rise to?

[Mav]

Originally Posted by Alex Smith HATER

He threw for 232 yards.

If this is the benchmark for "WOW WHAT A GAME BY ALEX" I'm horribly disappointed.

They completely blew out the cardinals, how many ****ing yards did he need? He only needed to throw 19 passes in the entire ****ing game Clay. That's the point your dumbass keeps missing. When your team is leading huge in the second half, you aren't going to be throwing the ball all reeruned. Why? Because you don't have to.........That's the point you just wont get.

Originally Posted by Alex Smith HATER

Again, if a top end performance from Alex Smith is 232 yards, I'm not impressed.

232 yards should be an AVERAGE game for a top 10 QB.

Yes, a top qb, who doesn't have a top shelf defense, and the number one running game in the league. Both of which the 49ers had with Alex Smith at qb.

Originally Posted by mcaj22

that was "good game" for him and he still took FOUR sacks

so even when he plays a great game hes still taking sacks like Damon ****ing Huard cause he holds the ball unless the guy is for sure wide open.

and that was behind a top 3 offensive line in the NFL. We have a rookie at RT that's going to have growing pains. Not to mention a first timer at LG (or a journeyman that hasnt played a full season since like 2010) as well and a Center that has yet to play a full 16 game season.

Dude might take 50 sacks this season

Sacks Happen. They happen to everyone, even the great Aaron Rodgers. He takes sacks too.

Originally Posted by Alex Smith HATER

Because Alex Smith sucks at throwing for a lot of yards.

That wins games, son.

This isn't 1995.

Well, okay. Drew Brees lost a lot of games last year throwing for a ton of yards. Matt Stafford threw for a lot of yards. Yet the super bowl winner, in the regular season, didn't pass 4 k.....where was brady, Rodgers, and brees? Oh that's right, at home.......

Originally Posted by Alex Smith HATER

The quarterbacks who pile up the yards are the ones winning games today.

Games. Cool, regular season super heroes. The same shit you pissed off malcontents said you didn't want, nor care about. Remember, sneaking into the playoffs just to get blown out. That's what you guys didn't want. Yet, teams that have good defenses and running games, are the teams winning championships. Yet, you want that GUNSLINGER. whoooo hoooo.

Originally Posted by NinerDoug

Actually he mentioned Drew Brees. QBs like Brees, Aaron Rodgers, can put up big numbers without being a turnover machine.

That's because they have to carry their teams, and those guys are the exceptions......

Originally Posted by milkman

You said that the defense fueled that SB run.

Yes, the Pack D played well in those playoffs, but to say that they fueled the run is utter bull.

Aaron Rodgers had one of the greatest playoff games ever in that WC game against the Falcons, and he came up big in clutch moments in each of the following playoff games, including the SB.

The Pack D finally showed, but Aaron Rodgers fueled that run.

To say anything else is dumbassery at it's best.

They had the leagues worst defense during the season, which was a huge reason they went into the playoffs as the 6 seed in the NFC. Their defense played lights out in the playoffs, which is why they won that title... Their key turnovers in the playoffs, is the difference between them winning and losing in the playoffs.

Originally Posted by Dave Lane

So if Alex does become a gun slinger type, are you taking the over or the under on 15 INTs?

What about 20?

I think he could easily beat 20.

There is no way that he will pass over 20.... FIrst of all, Alex Smith is still going to rely on the running game. and why shouldn't he. Jamaal Charles is a top 5 running back. Ill say his max ints will be about 13......

Originally Posted by Dave Lane

But if he stops waiting so long and just goes Farve lite what would you think his INTs rise to?

I don't think that Alex Smith has that in him. He is too ingrained in doing whats best for the team. Hes never going to become that guy. He may become more aggressive under Reid, but Brett Farve lite? Never going to happen, and if it does, it means that things have gone complete to shit for the Chiefs. And that isn't going to happen.