Let's All Get Behind Alex Smith! Or Not!! (M.E.T.) NO kirk talk---that goes in ATN forum

[NoCalMike]

Watching those old highlights of Vernon Davis looking like a WR at the TE position. The dude can still motor it down the field and get open.  I really hope we can get 12-13 games from Jordan Reed this season because having him and Vernon Davis running patterns at the same time will mess a defense up big time.

[TD_washingtonredskins]

Just now, Morneblade said:

 

Maybe. Smith has almost always had a stud RB. I hope he does not have to throw the ball a ton though. I can't find it now (of course) but I recently saw a stat where his production goes way down when he has to throw the ball a lot. So, I'd much rather we have a more balanced offense.

 

No, I'd prefer that too...I think the sweet spot would be 3,600 yards from Smith and 1,800 yards from RBs (1,000+ of which are from Guice). But we have no reason to expect THAT big a jump, so I still think Smith might have to shoulder more than he's had to in KC. 

 

My guess is that we'll see him in the high-3,000s and we'll see about 1,500 yards on the ground. 

[Morneblade]

1 minute ago, NoCalMike said:

Watching those old highlights of Vernon Davis looking like a WR at the TE position. The dude can still motor it down the field and get open.  I really hope we can get 12-13 games from Jordan Reed this season because having him and Vernon Davis running patterns at the same time will mess a defense up big time.

 

We've been screaming for that for years, but I don't think we're gonna get it. It WOULD be scary though. Davis is still eating people alive. Maybe we should just make Reed a WR? CB's can't cover him. and then..............he doesn't have to block anyone over 200 lbs.

 

Just now, TD_washingtonredskins said:

 

No, I'd prefer that too...I think the sweet spot would be 3,600 yards from Smith and 1,800 yards from RBs (1,000+ of which are from Guice). But we have no reason to expect THAT big a jump, so I still think Smith might have to shoulder more than he's had to in KC. 

 

My guess is that we'll see him in the high-3,000s and we'll see about 1,500 yards on the ground. 

 

I'm still thinking more like 3500. Even if he gets a lot of production out of the slot and the TE's I don't see our outside WR's getting open enough to put up those kind of numbers. I'd like to see more than 1500 yards out of the running game. We had 1448 last year, and that was ugly thing to watch.

[mistertim]

Passing yards to me is a really iffy stat, because many things can factor into that...mostly running game, coaching philosophy/playcalling, etc. Having a really good running game where you don't need to pass as much isn't a bad thing and I think that happened to Smith a fair amount through the years, though there's no denying a tendency to be careful with the ball many times. Hell, Drew Brees, who regularly goes over 5,000 yards passing only threw for 4,334 yards last season when he had a really good running game...that's his lowest passing yardage since he was in San Diego.

[JoeJacobyHOForRIOT]

So has anyone been to camp ? How has Alex Smith looked?

[Morneblade]

3 minutes ago, JoeJacobyHOForRIOT said:

So has anyone been to camp ? How has Alex Smith looked?

 

Everything I've seen has been that Alex has been really sharp. New system and all, that's a good sign.

[Malapropismic Depository]

But the Redskins don't have a Tyreek Hill !

Doesn't matter one bit.

 

 

[BatteredFanSyndrome]

Makes you wonder why Alex Smith was available and why more teams weren't throwing their hat in the ring.  Things that make you go hmm...

 

For all intents and purposes, I hope to god he's this mythical creature many here are making him out to be.  That'd be freaking great.  But I'm not going to hold it against him when he's who many of us are pretty sure he is.

[Malapropismic Depository]

10 minutes ago, BatteredFanSyndrome said:

Makes you wonder why Alex Smith was available and why more teams weren't throwing their hat in the ring.  Things that make you go hmm...

 

 

 

Must have been those "character concerns" and "off the field issues"

[TD_washingtonredskins]

I think there were QB-needy teams who were also interested. But, when a few of them were already planning to draft a QB and then you take into account his age, I wouldn't have expected to hear about more than 3-4 teams really interested in him. 

[AlvinWaltonIsMyBoy]

18 minutes ago, BatteredFanSyndrome said:

Makes you wonder why Alex Smith was available and why more teams weren't throwing their hat in the ring.  

There were other teams throwing their hats in the ring.  We threw our hat plus KFuller to get it done.

[BatteredFanSyndrome]

27 minutes ago, Malapropismic Depository said:

 

Must have been those "character concerns" and "off the field issues"

I don't think either of those things have ever been of concern in relation to Smith.

 

19 minutes ago, AlvinWaltonIsMyBoy said:

There were other teams throwing their hats in the ring.  We threw our hat plus KFuller to get it done.

Yeah, I do recall the Browns being cited as another suitor, but they reportedly were not okay with 3 years fully guaranteed on the contract.  We'll never know what's true and what's not in that regard.  My point was primarily that I've seen so many memes and bits and pieces about Alex's performance last season that one would be led to believe that he's a hall of famer that's found the fountain of youth.  That would be great and all, but he's going to have a hard time living up to the hype created by some of this fanbase.

[Warhead36]

Its not out of the realm of possibility that Smith's best football is ahead of him. Guys like Brees and Brady are still dominating in their late 30s. Warner did too. Gannon won an MVP at age, what, 37? 40 is the new 30 for QBs.

[Malapropismic Depository]

6 minutes ago, BatteredFanSyndrome said:

I don't think either of those things have ever been of concern in relation to Smith.

 

 

Yes, but it's a Guice reference to reflect how teams can be wrong in their assessment of a player.

SF certainly was wrong deciding between him and Kap

[TD_washingtonredskins]

4 minutes ago, Warhead36 said:

Its not out of the realm of possibility that Smith's best football is ahead of him. Guys like Brees and Brady are still dominating in their late 30s. Warner did too. Gannon won an MVP at age, what, 37? 40 is the new 30 for QBs.

 

Yes, your post does a good job of showing guys who both sustained high-level play and even one or two who continued to improve at this age. It's not a ridiculous thought at all. 

[wit33]

40 minutes ago, BatteredFanSyndrome said:

Makes you wonder why Alex Smith was available and why more teams weren't throwing their hat in the ring.  Things that make you go hmm...

 

For all intents and purposes, I hope to god he's this mythical creature many here are making him out to be.  That'd be freaking great.  But I'm not going to hold it against him when he's who many of us are pretty sure he is.

 

Stop, I haven’t read anything stating Smith is an elite QB or however you characterize it. The Kirk supporters are developing a narrative that everyone thinks Smith is going to be amazing MVP type QB and shatter records, positioning themselves to be “right” down the road in discussion. 

 

 

[BatteredFanSyndrome]

4 minutes ago, wit33 said:

 

Stop, I haven’t read anything stating Smith is an elite QB or however you characterize it. The Kirk supporters are developing a narrative that everyone thinks Smith is going to be amazing MVP type QB and shatter records, positioning themselves to be “right” down the road in discussion. 

 

 

 

You of all people talking about how Kirk Supporters 'position' themselves.  The AntiKirk crowd that desperately wants to 'move on' but coincidentally never does are the kings of 'positioning'.  Ahem - yeah, that's you.

 

Not a day goes by on social media or this site where a new chart or theory about Alex's 2017 season is merely a glimpse of whats to come, as far as the deep ball accuracy, with/without Hill, how his leadership is going to do this or that, etc.  I could care less about being 'right'.  I don't even know what your claiming I'm trying to be 'right' about.  What I'm saying is that the amount of emphasis put on all the things I listed above would lead one to believe that this dude is a QB cyborg sent from outer space to destroy everything in his wake.  As I also said, that'd be freaking great if he was all those things.  I just have a hard time believing it and won't be disappointed when it doesn't come to fruition. 

[wit33]

Just now, TD_washingtonredskins said:

 

Yes, your post does a good job of showing guys who both sustained high-level play and even one or two who continued to improve at this age. It's not a ridiculous thought at all. 

 

So many more doing it as we speak. Guys are signing new deals at 32,33,34 is now the norm. 

 

With that said, in 10-15 years when the NFL is full of starting QBs and backups in the mold of Lamar Jackson, that might be different for the “old timers” (pocket QBs)

[TD_washingtonredskins]

2 minutes ago, wit33 said:

 

So many more doing it as we speak. Guys are signing new deals at 32,33,34 is now the norm. 

 

With that said, in 10-15 years when the NFL is full of starting QBs and backups in the mold of Lamar Jackson, that might be different for the “old timers” (pocket QBs)

 

I've been hearing about the NFL being full of mobile starting QBs since Randall Cunningham revolutionized the game. I don't think we are about to see a huge paradigm shift in that way anytime soon. 

[wit33]

19 minutes ago, BatteredFanSyndrome said:

 

You of all people talking about how Kirk Supporters 'position' themselves.  The AntiKirk crowd that desperately wants to 'move on' but coincidentally never does are the kings of 'positioning'.  Ahem - yeah, that's you.

 

Not a day goes by on social media or this site where a new chart or theory about Alex's 2017 season is merely a glimpse of whats to come, as far as the deep ball accuracy, with/without Hill, how his leadership is going to do this or that, etc.  I could care less about being 'right'.  I don't even know what your claiming I'm trying to be 'right' about.  What I'm saying is that the amount of emphasis put on all the things I listed above would lead one to believe that this dude is a QB cyborg sent from outer space to destroy everything in his wake.  As I also said, that'd be freaking great if he was all those things.  I just have a hard time believing it and won't be disappointed when it doesn't come to fruition. 

 

Nah, I love the discourse and know this discussion will not end for at least two years. Why move-on from it as a fan lol? It’s a fascinating sequence of events that’s never transpired in this form. As a fan-atic, this provides opportunity to go back and forth with fans as passionate as I. 

 

You’re allowing yourself to be set up for disappointment and in return you will be “right”.

 

I have no doubt Smith will provide average to above average QB level of play, like Kirk (With Smith having an ace in the hole— his legs). Add in the fact, that I personally like Smith’s approach to his leadership role and understanding that time, consistency, results, relationships will ultimately be the deciding factor in his influence. This total opinion based and more aligns with how I role, not a right or wrong.

 

Point being— less value on process and more on intangibles. 

 

Not all directed at you, sir. 

[BatteredFanSyndrome]

25 minutes ago, wit33 said:

 

You’re allowing yourself to be set up for disappointment and in return you will be “right”.

I'm not allowing myself to be setup for disappointment though.  I think Alex is a fine quarterback and given the fact that this team won 7 games last year with an atrocious running game, bad defense and a an injury list a mile long, this team should certainly win significantly more games this season. 

 

My point was that if Alex is and I'll use what you said as an example and it's not even as complimentary as a lot of the stuff that's been posted here:

 

29 minutes ago, wit33 said:

I have no doubt Smith will provide average to above average QB level of play, like Kirk (With Smith having an ace in the hole— his legs). Add in the fact, that I personally like Smith’s approach to his leadership role and understanding that time, consistency, results, relationships will ultimately be the deciding factor in his influence.

 

Personally, I think saying Alex is Kirk + wheels and winning leadership is saying a whole hell of a lot.  Kirk won 7 games with a scab squad last season.  If Alex is Kirk+, then there is absolutely no excuse for this team not to win 11 games this season.  If Alex is what some here have made him out to be, than this team should be 13-3.  That's taking into account the return of the key injured players and assuming Guice is a difference maker in the run game and I don't think either of those are a stretch.

[Califan007 The Constipated]

1 hour ago, Malapropismic Depository said:

 

Yes, but it's a Guice reference to reflect how teams can be wrong in their assessment of a player.

SF certainly was wrong deciding between him and Kap

 

 

I love when someone says "This is twice now that a team decided to move on from Smith...that says something."

 

I think it says that the 49ers ****ed up by doing so lol...time will tell if the Chiefs did as well.

[BatteredFanSyndrome]

1 minute ago, Califan007 said:

 

I love when someone says "This is twice now that a team decided to move on from Smith...that says something."

 

I think it says that the 49ers ****ed up by doing so lol...time will tell if the Chiefs did as well.

 

The 49ers had more problems than their QB though, problems Alex Smith wasn't going to fix alone.  Also, Kaep almost won the damn Super Bowl.  Obviously dude took a turn for the worse after injury and it's a bad look for the 49ers.  But at that time, you could see why they did what they did.

[TD_washingtonredskins]

Agreed - I think both things can be true...the teams were justified in moving on but it's also not an indictment of Smith. 

 

In SF, they had Kaep and felt like that was the direction the league was going. Think about what had just happened...Griffin was ROY, Wilson had just beaten him in the playoffs, and Kaep was killing it in SF. 

 

In KC, they had a young guy waiting in the wings and Smith is going to be 34. It was time to move forward while they have their strong offensive skill players still developing together. 

[Califan007 The Constipated]

1 minute ago, BatteredFanSyndrome said:

 

The 49ers had more problems than their QB though, problems Alex Smith wasn't going to fix alone.  Also, Kaep almost won the damn Super Bowl.  Obviously dude took a turn for the worse after injury and it's a bad look for the 49ers.  But at that time, you could see why they did what they did.

 

And Smith was one fumbled punt away from being a Super Bowl quarterback. Keeping him would have made sense as well. It seems like the positives he brought with him were overlooked and his perceived limitations at the time were considered things he couldn't overcome. He's since kinda showed both were wrong.