What is Wrong with Alex Smith?

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

2 hours ago, kingdaddy said:

No disrespect to Alex or Colt but the Skins have to find a QB for the future. Look around the league at how set up many franchises are because they have the answer at QB. Brady, Brees, Ben, Rodgers, Watson, Newton, Luck, Goff, Wentz, Mahomes, Wilson, Rivers and others give long term stability to the QB position which the Skins have not had since I don't know when.....This fan base deserves a stud QB who we can build around for the next 12 years or so. It has to be addressed in the next draft....period. Everything else is just a band aid.

 

Two and a half more seasons where it has to be Smith. Enjoy it.

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

Here is one of my complaints. I don't think any of you ****ers know what a check down is. Smith doesn't really check it down. The only QB we had here who really did that, I think, is Campbell. I don't even think Brunell did it. I think Brunell no longer had any arm strength so everything was built for a twenty yard box.

 

Smith doesn't check down. What Smith does is he throws to open guys and only open guys. His biggest flaw as a QB is he does not throw anyone open. By that I mean, he doesn't recognize that if a wide receiver is even with a DB, he's going to open when a deep ball arrives. (In fariness, he almost certainly recognizes that, he just will not throw when someone is covered - even if they are soon not to be covered).

 

I'm tired of talking about Kirk, but I think Kirk's biggest flaw is that he threw to space thinking that the receiver would eventually be there. Sometimes he was. If we wasn't, your kind of just tossing a ball into a zone and hoping it's not intercepted.

 

So, basically, Smith throws it to the first guy who is free. Usually that's a back or tight end or maybe a receiver on a slant.

 

It's a great way to convert a third and 4. When it's third and 12, you're toast.

[goskins10]

8 minutes ago, NoCalMike said:

I think the whole checkdown thing is missing the point.  Short passes are not necessarily an issue themselves.  It is what kind of short passes.  Are they slant routes, are they crossing patterns, are they designed to get someone in space so they can keep going after the catch? Are they screen passes? Are they pick plays?  All of those tend to be short passes but if you execute, they can go for a lot of yards.

Or, are they 4th option check downs, where a RB or TE is standing there flat footed and will pretty much get tackled immediately after the 2 yard catch?

 

"Short passes" is too vague of a statement to critique on it's own.

 

The issue with the passing game right now is that it seems like Smith is rarely passing the ball to the first or second option of where the play is designed to go, and instead ends up dumping it off as a bail out.  Is that Smith's fault?  Are receivers not getting open downfield?  I don't know.  Hard to know for sure without game film.  I do know that there were passes to Jordan Reed & Maurice Harris that were thrown in situations where they weren't wide open, but the receivers made a play.  Are those the kind of passes you want Smith to live or die by?  Sure, it might improve the overall stats, but it is also going to mean more turnovers and batted down passes and drive ending attempted plays.

 

Smith is having issues in this offense, no one is questioning that, but there is also an issue with the skill position players. They don't win their individual match ups and that is a problem over the course of the game.

 

I agree and disagree. You make a great point about the difference between short passes - the foundation of the WCO - and check downs. Those short passes - the crosses, slants, quick seam passes and all designed to get to the receiver in stride to let them get YAC. Those check downs are supposed to be last resort release valves to keep from getting nothing. 

 

Someone who is watching closer please correct me - but it almost seems like Alex is trying to find his check down guy first, then reading the other routes then coming back to the dump off. It's like he wants to make sure his safety valve is there before looking down field. Maybe that's just my perception. I have not actually had time to break him down. Honestly I felt like it might be too painful. I have better things to do. 

 

I do know he never really gets in rhythm with his feet. He is quite frenetic and therefore never seems to plant and drive the ball. Again, that's just me. Many of you out there are much better at breaking down video than me. 

 

I disagree about the skill positions. The one thing about Jay's offense is he gets receivers open. I know Cooley has broken this down a bunch. Guys are winning. But they are not getting the ball in time. He is too late in his reads (See above) that they are covered up by the time he looks for them. Or he throws it and misses them. Not always. And I am not saying we could not use an upgrade WR and probably TE to be honest. Reed is not the reed we had 3 yrs ago. However, those guys are getting open. Alex is just not seeing them or he does not think they are open enough. 

[PF Chang]

My dream is that one game this year we'll get a defensive TD on the first drive. We win 7-0 and don't attempt a single pass. Then I can come here and read about Alex Smith's great game, and how that guy is just an all-American winning machine who never turns it over, and how Kurt Cou$in$$$ would have lost us the game. 

[KDawg]

2 minutes ago, Lombardi's_kid_brother said:

Here is one of my complaints. I don't think any of you ****ers know what a check down is. Smith doesn't really check it down. The only QB we had here who really did that, I think, is Campbell. I don't even think Brunell did it. I think Brunell no longer had any arm strength so everything was built for a twenty yard box.

 

Amen. Campbell took the snap and immediately threw to the shortest receiver a good portion of the time. Regardless of pressure/higher priorities being open or not. He just caught the snap and fired it to his "check down" receiver. The guy you go to when things go to ****. But he did it without even looking at the D.

 

Kirk, Alex Smith, Mark Brunell, Patrick Ramsey... none of them did that.

[goskins10]

4 minutes ago, Lombardi's_kid_brother said:

Here is one of my complaints. I don't think any of you ****ers know what a check down is. Smith doesn't really check it down. The only QB we had here who really did that, I think, is Campbell. I don't even think Brunell did it. I think Brunell no longer had any arm strength so everything was built for a twenty yard box.

 

Smith doesn't check down. What Smith does is he throws to open guys and only open guys. His biggest flaw as a QB is he does not throw anyone open. By that I mean, he doesn't recognize that if a wide receiver is even with a DB, he's going to open when a deep ball arrives. (In fariness, he almost certainly recognizes that, he just will not throw when someone is covered - even if they are soon not to be covered).

 

I'm tired of talking about Kirk, but I think Kirk's biggest flaw is that he threw to space thinking that the receiver would eventually be there. Sometimes he was. If we wasn't, your kind of just tossing a ball into a zone and hoping it's not intercepted.

 

So, basically, Smith throws it to the first guy who is free. Usually that's a back or tight end or maybe a receiver on a slant.

 

It's a great way to convert a third and 4. When it's third and 12, you're toast.

 

This I disagree with. If he would do that we would be a much better offense. I wish he would get rid of it quickly. He seems to labor back there. I am not sure I have seen him yet just drop and throw. He is looking for his security blanket. 

[KDawg]

2 minutes ago, goskins10 said:

 

This I disagree with. If he would do that we would be a much better offense. I wish he would get rid of it quickly. He seems to labor back there. I am not sure I have seen him yet just drop and throw. He is looking for his security blanket. 

 

Which isn't necessarily a check down. Vernon Davis appears to be his blankey. He was not a check down on a lot of his throws yesterday.

[NoCalMike]

7 minutes ago, Lombardi's_kid_brother said:

 

Two and a half more seasons where it has to be Smith. Enjoy it.

 

There is no reason they can't draft his replacement this offseason though. 

[Morneblade]

43 minutes ago, KDawg said:

 

And key fumbles. And key errors in key spots in games. It happened over and over. And despite Smith's flaws he hasn't done that part... yet... Doesn't mean he won't.

 

 

Alex likely won't which is why he'll never bring a team back. Kirk did, when there was nothing else around him. He did it more often when he was a young QB. I can live with that, it's called growing pains. Did he force things when the team was down and he was the only option to bring the team back? Yes. To me that still better than being down 20 points and on 3rd and 9 throwing a 3 yard check down to a flat footed RB. At least try to make a play.

 

43 minutes ago, KDawg said:

 

 

Agreed. I think you're looking into my statements a bit too much for some kind of hidden agenda. There is none. I assure you. I wasn't happy with Kirk for the money he wanted, but was happy if he would have taken a lesser rate. I am also not happy with Smith at the moment. I am not comparing them, versus saying what I believe their strengths and weaknesses are within this system.

 

 

 

Well, you started off with saying Alex is perfect for this team. He's not. This team is perfect for Alex, because the rest of the team can cover up his deficiencies. He can lean on them. This team would be much more competent with a good QB. He is far from perfect for this team.

 

43 minutes ago, KDawg said:

 

Good thing that I'm not comparing. Just looking into their strengths and weaknesses. Not sure what triggered this rant, though. I didn't say anything bad about Kirk Cousins. Just spoke about what I have observed to be his weaknesses and Alex Smith's weaknesses.

 

 

[goskins10]

16 minutes ago, KDawg said:

 

Which isn't necessarily a check down. Vernon Davis appears to be his blankey. He was not a check down on a lot of his throws yesterday.

 

That's fair. But most times he is going to his check down. That's why the nick name Check down Alex. But as far as "blankeys" go, I am not opposed to it being Davis. But he is missing bigger plays that are there. 

 

 

 

[Going Commando]

32 minutes ago, NoCalMike said:

 

There is no reason they can't draft his replacement this offseason though.  

 

One good reason would be if no one was available.  This is looking like a hollowed out QB class coming on the heels of a couple strong ones.

 

Believe it or not, we an do worse than Alex Smith.

[CjSuAvE22]

What I’m still confused about it is year after year they wanted to see more from Cousins.....and then boom all of a sudden they have seen enough to sign Smith for 90 million??? Makes Zero sense 

[BatteredFanSyndrome]

58 minutes ago, PF Chang said:

My dream is that one game this year we'll get a defensive TD on the first drive. We win 7-0 and don't attempt a single pass. Then I can come here and read about Alex Smith's great game, and how that guy is just an all-American winning machine who never turns it over, and how Kurt Cou$in$$$ would have lost us the game. 

Hilarious.  Quoted for emphasis to see if it sinks in how some folks really come across.

[Going Commando]

22 minutes ago, CjSuAvE22 said:

What I’m still confused about it is year after year they wanted to see more from Cousins.....and then boom all of a sudden they have seen enough to sign Smith for 90 million??? Makes Zero sense  

 

They ****ed up the Kirk Cousins negotiations.  It wasn't about logic, it became personal.

[BatteredFanSyndrome]

19 minutes ago, CjSuAvE22 said:

What I’m still confused about it is year after year they wanted to see more from Cousins.....and then boom all of a sudden they have seen enough to sign Smith for 90 million??? Makes Zero sense 

This isn’t new for Snyder’s Redskins, going back Pre-Bruce.  We’ve been known to let our guys hit FA, and overpay for others.  That has subsided under Bruce but the Cousins thing was different in that Bruce wanted to be the smart guy that got the deal and that never happened.  Definitely more personal than business.

 

 

[NoCalMike]

32 minutes ago, CjSuAvE22 said:

What I’m still confused about it is year after year they wanted to see more from Cousins.....and then boom all of a sudden they have seen enough to sign Smith for 90 million??? Makes Zero sense 

 

Cousins leaving was a done deal before 2017.  I actually believe if there were no fractures in his relationship with management up to last season, he'd be here signed to a 2-3 season extension.  The seeds of Cousins's departure were planted long before 2017. He was simply biding his time.

[KDawg]

1 hour ago, BatteredFanSyndrome said:

Hilarious.  Quoted for emphasis to see if it sinks in how some folks really come across.

 

I’m confused. 

 

Who said Smith was good?

[HardcoreZorn]

3 minutes ago, KDawg said:

 

I’m confused. 

 

Who said Smith was good?

Lol I'm not sure, he lives in this delusional world where anything that isn't disparaging or totally negative means you are blindly following the team with your rose colored glasses on. Quite annoying tbh.

[BatteredFanSyndrome]

6 minutes ago, KDawg said:

 

I’m confused. 

 

Who said Smith was good?

Granted, it’s died down.  But we’ve been hearing about how good he is because he doesn’t turn the ball over and that’s why we win.

[KDawg]

1 minute ago, BatteredFanSyndrome said:

Granted, it’s died down.  But we’ve been hearing about how good he is because he doesn’t turn the ball over and that’s why we win.

 

It is part of why we win.

 

Doesn't mean people don't see his shortcomings, too... Why do people here think everything has to be either all positive or all negative? Each player has strengths and weaknesses.

[BatteredFanSyndrome]

1 minute ago, HardcoreZorn said:

Lol I'm not sure, he lives in this delusional world where anything that isn't disparaging or totally negative means you are blindly following the team with your rose colored glasses on. Quite annoying tbh.

I find your condescending, snarky takes where you feel sorry for everyone that can’t see how great the team is to be annoying too, tbh.

 

Interesting statement coming from you as well, considering you’re one that subscribes to the insane theory that Alex is good because he doesn’t turn it over.  Completely overlooking so many variables as to why that actually is.

[HardcoreZorn]

1 minute ago, BatteredFanSyndrome said:

I find your condescending, snarky takes where you feel sorry for everyone that can’t see how great the team is to be annoying too, tbh.

 

Interesting statement coming from you as well, considering you’re one that subscribes to the insane theory that Alex is good because he doesn’t turn it over.  Completely overlooking so many variables as to why that actually is.

Yeah, no I don't.

[BatteredFanSyndrome]

1 minute ago, KDawg said:

 

It is part of why we win.

 

Doesn't mean people don't see his shortcomings, too... Why do people here think everything has to be either all positive or all negative? Each player has strengths and weaknesses.

I guess I just have a hard time crediting overly pedestrian QB play because he doesn’t turn it over.  The entire world can see why we win and only here does anyone go out of their way to credit Alex Smith for his contribution.  It’s not a coincidence which folks tend to do that the most.

 

[KDawg]

1 minute ago, BatteredFanSyndrome said:

I guess I just have a hard time crediting overly pedestrian QB play because he doesn’t turn it over.  The entire world can see why we win and only here does anyone go out of their way to credit Alex Smith for his contribution.  It’s not a coincidence which folks tend to do that the most.

 

 

I'm confused again. 

 

Being a part of the reason the team wins doesn't mean he IS the reason the team wins... I think you're getting a little bit too deep into the "defend my quarterback Kirk Cousins and crush their quarterback Alex Smith" trap.

 

Cousins was our quarterback. Smith is our quarterback. Both had positives. Both have negatives. I don't get this kind of commentary (from either "side" {which is hilarious, too, by the way, considering its the Redskins and we're all supposed to be fans of them and not just these QBs})

[BatteredFanSyndrome]

4 minutes ago, KDawg said:

 

I'm confused again. 

 

Being a part of the reason the team wins doesn't mean he IS the reason the team wins... I think you're getting a little bit too deep into the "defend my quarterback Kirk Cousins and crush their quarterback Alex Smith" trap.

 

Cousins was our quarterback. Smith is our quarterback. Both had positives. Both have negatives. I don't get this kind of commentary (from either "side" {which is hilarious, too, by the way, considering its the Redskins and we're all supposed to be fans of them and not just these QBs})

Smith just stinks. It’s that simple.  You were one of the folks saying this was a good move and it’s not.  So you’re taking the easy out by making it about Cousins.  I never liked Smith, before or after, he was brought in here.  So yeah, I’m going to talk about it.