When Can We Get Out of the Alex Smith Contract???

[Skinsinparadise]

2 hours ago, goskins10 said:

 

Agreed. Only way they rip that band-aid off is with both Jay and Bruce gone. Hear me out, but this is why I see us actually in a win-win situation. 

 

If the team say has a second half like the first half and makes the POS they will have had done something right. 10-6 is very good and I do not care how supposed down any conference is or what kind of schedule we play. 10 wins in the NFL is a damn good job - period. So they would get a deserved chance to improve on that for 2019. 

 

If the season goes south, then Bruce will be out on his ass. Jay will probably be collateral damage. But then there would finally be a clean break - of course unless danny boy hires a HC then a GM and tells the GM to deal with it. And I could care less about injuries. Too many of the guys injured have had injury issues, including our top FA acquisition. They made the decision to go with the guys they have. It's all on them if they can;t over come the injuries.

 

There is I guess a middle ground. They go 7-9 or 8-8 and they both get another chance citing injuries again. But I do not think so. This thing either goes way south - like lose the next 4 or 5 or they pick it up and win several more games, enough to get with striking range of 10 at least. No data to support that - just my gut feeling. 

 

 

 

 

I am doubting there is a middle ground.  Will see.   The problem I think with the injury excuse is the injuries are happening squarely in the same spot the off season criticism was directed at. Their Plan A was the guy who didn't even make the team last year and has been nothing special his whole tenure here.  He got hurt. The plan B was PFF's lowest rated OG last year and a dude with a major history of injuries.  And for good measure they let go Long who can play C & LG and replaced him with no one. 

 

 So they made a big bet their often injured LG would make it through the season with no safety net for him or anyone else on the interior.  What a IMO a wacky way to learn from their depth problems last year.

 

Then they build all this hype about Alex Smith in the off season.  Jay got into it.  The FO.  They leaked all the stuff to beat reporters and national guys about how in love they are with the new toy and good riddance to the old one.  

 

With all of that, they really didn't give him many weapons to help him thrive.  Again on the FO.  I know some say it wouldn't matter if he had better weapons but I'm not in that camp. 

 

Finlay among others said the FO had a very arrogant off season both in their actions and rhetoric.  So they made their bed IMO.  And they will either sink and swim with it.

 

In a weird way, the collateral damage would be Alex Smith.  He even is in a commercial where he joked about being an upgrade.  If I read him and Larry right they goofed on that commercial in the last Alex report with Alex saying live and learn.  Unless, I misunderstood. 

 

[DJHJR86]

15 minutes ago, megared said:

I'd love to know whose idiotic idea it was to give Alex Smith this much leverage in contract negotiations.  

 

[Skinsinparadise]

Some new quotes from Jay, article from Keim

 

http://www.espn.com/blog/washington-redskins/post/_/id/37607/redskins-need-alex-smith-to-deliver-more-in-passing-game

 

...“The key to this team being successful is having balance,” Gruden said. “The best teams [Smith has] been on with San Francisco and Kansas City, they had really good balance. That’s his comfort zone. ... We’re better off with balance.”

The Redskins could use more play-action to buy the makeshift line more time to protect (as Atlanta did against the Redskins in Week 9), though it hasn’t been a successful tactic. Smith ranks 24th with 42 play-action passes -- and 29th in completion percentage on such plays (54.8). His passer rating of 92.2 on play-action ranks 22nd, according to ESPN Stats & Information data.

“Yeah, we’ll do more,” Gruden said of play-action. “We have to do more.”

But that’s also reliant on the tight ends blocking a defensive end consistently. If they can hold up, the Redskins can run more play-action. If not, Gruden said they can’t.

The Redskins say their passing attack can improve. They see signs; they need consistency.

“We have grown a ton in a good way,” Smith said. “But week to week, the highs and lows are so big.”

[DJHJR86]

^ 

 

Jay's basically admitting he's not good enough without a solid running game.

[goskins10]

2 minutes ago, Skinsinparadise said:

Some new quotes from Jay, article from Keim

 

http://www.espn.com/blog/washington-redskins/post/_/id/37607/redskins-need-alex-smith-to-deliver-more-in-passing-game

 

...“The key to this team being successful is having balance,” Gruden said. “The best teams [Smith has] been on with San Francisco and Kansas City, they had really good balance. That’s his comfort zone. ... We’re better off with balance.”

The Redskins could use more play-action to buy the makeshift line more time to protect (as Atlanta did against the Redskins in Week 9), though it hasn’t been a successful tactic. Smith ranks 24th with 42 play-action passes -- and 29th in completion percentage on such plays (54.8). His passer rating of 92.2 on play-action ranks 22nd, according to ESPN Stats & Information data.

“Yeah, we’ll do more,” Gruden said of play-action. “We have to do more.”

But that’s also reliant on the tight ends blocking a defensive end consistently. If they can hold up, the Redskins can run more play-action. If not, Gruden said they can’t.

The Redskins say their passing attack can improve. They see signs; they need consistency.

“We have grown a ton in a good way,” Smith said. “But week to week, the highs and lows are so big.”

 

Hmm... Understatement of the century? 

 

[goskins10]

47 minutes ago, Skinsinparadise said:

 

 

I am doubting there is a middle ground.  Will see.   The problem I think with the injury excuse is the injuries are happening squarely in the same spot the off season criticism was directed at. Their Plan A was the guy who didn't even make the team last year and has been nothing special his whole tenure here.  He got hurt. The plan B was PFF's lowest rated OG last year and a dude with a major history of injuries.  And for good measure they let go Long who can play C & LG and replaced him with no one. 

 

 So they made a big bet their often injured LG would make it through the season with no safety net for him or anyone else on the interior.  What a IMO a wacky way to learn from their depth problems last year.

 

Then they build all this hype about Alex Smith in the off season.  Jay got into it.  The FO.  They leaked all the stuff to beat reporters and national guys about how in love they are with the new toy and good riddance to the old one.  

 

With all of that, they really didn't give him many weapons to help him thrive.  Again on the FO.  I know some say it wouldn't matter if he had better weapons but I'm not in that camp. 

 

Finlay among others said the FO had a very arrogant off season both in their actions and rhetoric.  So they made their bed IMO.  And they will either sink and swim with it.

 

In a weird way, the collateral damage would be Alex Smith.  He even is in a commercial where he joked about being an upgrade.  If I read him and Larry right they goofed on that commercial in the last Alex report with Alex saying live and learn.  Unless, I misunderstood. 

 

 

I also do not see a middle ground as I said to start. This next game I believe will tell a lot. They could come out like they did after NO and rip off a few wins and ride some momentum into the last 4 or 5 gms on their way to 10-6 or 11-5. Or they get beat by Tampa - likely badly and it all unravels - we wind up like 6-10. 

 

As for injuries, you and I are saying the same thing. I was saying Dan might buy the injury thing and give Bruce and Jay another year. I do not buy it. They made their decisions on who to keep. And what a surprise, they are again injured. LG is the most glaring but not the only example. 

 

But who knows. Jay's team tend to play pretty well off beat downs - obviously not always but often enough. 

[ThomasRoane]

On 11/7/2018 at 12:48 PM, bobandweave said:

Less turnovers from the QB helps the team win more games. There isn't and shouldn't be any arguing about that.

 

 

You see?  I didn't miss your point.  You're still dogmatic that a QB with fewer turnovers wins more.  You're not taking into consideration the chances a QB takes (or doesn't take) going downfield to make big plays.  You're also completely ignoring running game and defense when you compare AS with KC.  That shows that you are prejudiced. So am I.  I don't think Alex can lead this team to a playoff win without all of his weapons and a healthy O-line.  Even with that I'd give him zero chance to beat the Rams or Saints. At least I'm honest enough to admit my bias.  Deep down, you know that Alex is not going to show the fearlessness it takes to make big plays when it matters.  I know that KC might throw a bonehead pick.  But given a running game and defense it's easier to overcome an interception than a QB who has shown time and time again that he is gutless when it's time to bring the team back from a big deficit. 

[CutPryorNow]

So Alex Smith has 1 year that is head and shoulders above the rest in comparison to his career and we as fans thought he was going to come in here and light it up? I will take 5-3 and a shot at the playoffs every year compared to captain self righteous and his stat collection. That being said I don't care for A. Smith or Kirk Cousins as our franchise QB1. I especially don't care for the dysfunction of the front office and it looks like that's a long process to respectability, but I actually like the potential that the rest of our roster has. However, if the play creators don't put away the vanilla ice cream it won't matter who the Skins suit up in burgundy and gold they will still reek of mediocrity 

[ThomasRoane]

23 minutes ago, CutPryorNow said:

However, if the play creators don't put away the vanilla ice cream it won't matter who the Skins suit up in burgundy and gold they will still reek of mediocrity 

 

You mean like the cast of average, no name play creators that were able to get over 4K yards the last three years?  With no defense and no running game and no field position thanks to crappy Special teams.

 

As DJax once said:  "You can't do epic S*** with basic people." 

[bobandweave]

14 minutes ago, ThomasRoane said:

 

You see?  I didn't miss your point.  You're still dogmatic that a QB with fewer turnovers wins more.

 

That's because they generally do

 

 

14 minutes ago, ThomasRoane said:

You're not taking into consideration the chances a QB takes (or doesn't take) going downfield to make big plays. 

 

And I showed you the comparison of stats from the team wins from last year and this year to prove this point. 

 

14 minutes ago, ThomasRoane said:

You're also completely ignoring running game and defense when you compare AS with KC

 

No I'm not. You said that there was nothing that Alex was doing to help the team win. I said he's not turning the ball over as much as the last guy. You debate that means nothing when it's at the top of stats for team wins. When a team wins the turnover battle 80% of the time. Alex = Less turnovers from the last guy. Alex = more wins. All he has to do is win three out of the next eight games and he will win more games then the last guy did here. And Alex has already won more games against NFC East teams then the last guy did last season. Sorry I'm not on the bandwagon that says Alex is trash and the last guy was better you want me to ride but honestly the numbers between the two QBs are pretty much similar after 8 games except the last guy had 400 more passing yards and 3 more TDs then Alex does after 8 games. Big deal.

 

14 minutes ago, ThomasRoane said:

That shows that you are prejudiced. So am I.  I don't think Alex can lead this team to a playoff win without all of his weapons and a healthy O-line.  Even with that I'd give him zero chance to beat the Rams or Saints. At least I'm honest enough to admit my bias.  Deep down, you know that Alex is not going to show the fearlessness it takes to make big plays when it matters.  I know that KC might throw a bonehead pick.  But given a running game and defense it's easier to overcome an interception than a QB who has shown time and time again that he is gutless when it's time to bring the team back from a big deficit. 

 

No I'm not prejudiced, you might be but I'm not. All that you just posted there I have never taken a side for or against so your just trying to put words in my mouth I never said. All I said was that a QB who turns it over less than the other guy is gonna win more games. Never did the last guy ever start a season 5-2 for this team like Alex has in all his years here.

 

Make all the excuses you want to but that turnover guy you like so much is still doing the same things he did here on another team. And that other team has WAY more talent on both sides of the ball then is in DC now and has more losses and ties then Alex does. Remember that other team was in the NFC Championship game last year. We haven't sniffed that since 1992. 

[CutPryorNow]

10 minutes ago, ThomasRoane said:

 

You mean like the cast of average, no name play creators that were able to get over 4K yards the last three years?  With no defense and no running game and no field position thanks to crappy Special teams.

 

As DJax once said:  "You can't do epic S*** with basic people." 

Actually we know their names and you can have your 4000 passing yards, no balls hero

[Tsailand]

1 hour ago, Skinsinparadise said:

The problem I think with the injury excuse is the injuries are happening squarely in the same spot the off season criticism was directed at.

 

The other problem with the injury excuse is that if you have to keep using it every year, it stops being bad luck and it becomes the team's fault. 

 

2 hours ago, megared said:

either we:

 

• Pay him for 2 seasons (1 to play, 1 to go away) $55 M
• or we pay him for 3 seasons, $71 M  

 

That decision point is near the beginning of the new league year, in March. 

 

That first option would get reported as paying $55M for one season, which is a fair way of looking at it.  Bruce couldn't survive that, so he won't do it.

[Veryoldschool]

1 hour ago, DJHJR86 said:

^ 

 

Jay's basically admitting he's not good enough without a solid running game.

 

But he cost the Skins 5-8M less per year than Cousins.  Which reminds me of an old maxim that goes something like this:

 

If you want good, fresh oats you have to be ready to pay a fair price for the quality.  If the price is your top priority someone will sell you oats for less but you may end up buying oats that have already gone through the horse.

 

 

[Veryoldschool]

2 hours ago, Skinsinparadise said:

 

 

I am doubting there is a middle ground.  Will see.   The problem I think with the injury excuse is the injuries are happening squarely in the same spot the off season criticism was directed at. Their Plan A was the guy who didn't even make the team last year and has been nothing special his whole tenure here.  He got hurt. The plan B was PFF's lowest rated OG last year and a dude with a major history of injuries.  And for good measure they let go Long who can play C & LG and replaced him with no one. 

 

 So they made a big bet their often injured LG would make it through the season with no safety net for him or anyone else on the interior.  What a IMO a wacky way to learn from their depth problems last year.

 

Then they build all this hype about Alex Smith in the off season.  Jay got into it.  The FO.  They leaked all the stuff to beat reporters and national guys about how in love they are with the new toy and good riddance to the old one.  

 

With all of that, they really didn't give him many weapons to help him thrive.  Again on the FO.  I know some say it wouldn't matter if he had better weapons but I'm not in that camp. 

 

Finlay among others said the FO had a very arrogant off season both in their actions and rhetoric.  So they made their bed IMO.  And they will either sink and swim with it.

 

In a weird way, the collateral damage would be Alex Smith.  He even is in a commercial where he joked about being an upgrade.  If I read him and Larry right they goofed on that commercial in the last Alex report with Alex saying live and learn.  Unless, I misunderstood. 

 

 

Nothing makes my head explode faster than thinking about the low priority the Skins brain trust has assigned to improving the center of the OL.

[goskins10]

On 11/9/2018 at 2:23 PM, bobandweave said:

 

Edit

 

No I'm not. You said that there was nothing that Alex was doing to help the team win. I said he's not turning the ball over as much as the last guy. You debate that means nothing when it's at the top of stats for team wins. When a team wins the turnover battle 80% of the time. Alex = Less turnovers from the last guy. Alex = more wins. All he has to do is win three out of the next eight games and he will win more games then the last guy did here. And Alex has already won more games against NFC East teams then the last guy did last season. Sorry I'm not on the bandwagon that says Alex is trash and the last guy was better you want me to ride but honestly the numbers between the two QBs are pretty much similar after 8 games except the last guy had 400 more passing yards and 3 more TDs then Alex does after 8 games. Big deal.

 

No I'm not prejudiced, you might be but I'm not. All that you just posted there I have never taken a side for or against so your just trying to put words in my mouth I never said. All I said was that a QB who turns it over less than the other guy is gonna win more games. Never did the last guy ever start a season 5-2 for this team like Alex has in all his years here.

 

Make all the excuses you want to but that turnover guy you like so much is still doing the same things he did here on another team. And that other team has WAY more talent on both sides of the ball then is in DC now and has more losses and ties then Alex does. Remember that other team was in the NFC Championship game last year. We haven't sniffed that since 1992. 

 

Yea, no bias. Not prejudice at all. Just being honest, right? Just keeping it real? Yet you can't type Kirk's name out. Despite what you may intend, doing that just makes it more clear you have an extreme bias. Saying anything otherwise is disingenuous.  

 

But more importantly, based on NFL.com - the bolded statement above is not true if you compare Kirk this year with Alex this year. They are a bit closer if you compare Alex this year with Kirk last year  (full data below). The way your statement is written - it reads that you are comparing both for this year. The difference is much greater:

 

Yds Kirk +654 - almost 100 yds a game

TDs Kirk +7 - Almost a TD a game better

Int - Kirk +1 - not too bad but not good either

Yds/Att - Kirk +0.6yds - Not inconsequential

Sacks - Kirk +7 - almost 1 per game. So Alex is clearly better here

Fumbles - Kirk +1 (6 to 7 - both guys dropping the ball)

Fumbles lost - Kirk +4!  That means over all Kirk had 5 more TOs in 8 gms. Not good at all. Alex clearly is better - or more lucky... lol  

 

Right now both QBs have about the same D  

Minn - total D 322 yds/gm (6th), Pts/gm 22.7 (13th), Passing 233.3 (11th), Rushing 88.9 (4th)

Redskins -  total D 343.5 yds/gm (11th), Pts/gm 21.5 (9th), Passing 254.3 (20th), Rushing 89.4 (5th)

 

Running game is clearly better than Minn -  

Redskins 121.9 yds/gm (11th) - 4.3 yds/att (14th)

Minn 91.7 yds/gm (29th)    4.2 yds/att (18th)

 

To recap - Passing game goes to Minn and it's not really close. Running game goes to Wash and its also not really close. Def is about a wash - Minn has a slight edge. Records - Minn 5-3-1  Redskins 5-3. Not directly at you, but it's not exactly a mystery once you look at the data. Kirk has been the better QB overall even if he has turned it over a few times more. Alex has the benefit of a very good running game (most of the time). Ds are about the same so you have virtually the same record - it's definitely an even record. 

 

That does not mean the Alex cannot improve. The question is will improvement in Alex be enough to overcome he Oline and other injuries - or do they surprise us and the Oline plays really well. If the coaches can pull off the miracle and get the Oline to play pretty decent and give AP some room to run, they could still have a legitimate chance at the Div even with Alex struggling. If Alex improves also then they could cruise. If not, it would be hard to find even 2 more wins on the schedule. 

 

I agree with those that believe the game this weekend will prove to be a turning point. Either they exercise the demons and put together another nice run on the way to at least a good chance at the division, or they crumble into dust and we get a new GM and HC next year. Honestly for me, either way its Christmas. 

 

[Skinsinparadise]

13 hours ago, goskins10 said:

 

I agree with those that believe the game this weekend will prove to be a turning point. Either they exercise the demons and put together another nice run on the way to at least a good chance at the division, or they crumble into dust and we get a new GM and HC next year. Honestly for me, either way its Christmas. 

 

 

Yeah should be be interesting this Sunday.  I'll be there.  I am jazzed to see how it pans out.   

 

I think the funny part about comparing Kirk 2017 versus Alex 2018 is this:  Kirk had a crap running game in 2017 and a crap defense.  That point is often thrown out the window in the debate by the Anti-Kirkers as some irrelevant point.  But its an operative point and obviously so.  Adrain Peterson >>>>> Robert Kelley.  2018 defense >>> 2017 defense.  If you gave Alex the way he's currently playing that bad running game from 2017 and a shaky defense, I think this team would be 2-6.  And that would be IMO the apples to apples comparison versus lets pretend Peterson was on the roster last year and the 2017 and 2018 defense was the same.  

 

Our passing game right now is one of the worst statistically in the NFL.  It's actually starting to become a punch line on some of the national NFL shows I watch.  You bring a bad passing game with a bad running game and a bad defense its not hard to put together that you'd have a lousy team. 

 

If what we've seen from Alex is who he is some contend -- most as a slam -- some as defending it -- then I am negative on him because I think what I've seen is a below average QB.  The idea that hey if all the other units are great then Alex won't screw it up for them -- I get the logic but it doesn't float my boat even a little. But I am with the crowd that Alex can't be this mediocre.  Jay will figure something out.   Give him some more weapons -- soon we should see Crowder, Thompson, Quinn and he will improve.   Hopefully so.  I am not 100% confident in it but I see the logic in it playing out that way.

[Morneblade]

5 hours ago, goskins10 said:

 

I also do not see a middle ground as I said to start. This next game I believe will tell a lot. They could come out like they did after NO and rip off a few wins and ride some momentum into the last 4 or 5 gms on their way to 10-6 or 11-5. Or they get beat by Tampa - likely badly and it all unravels - we wind up like 6-10. 

 

As for injuries, you and I are saying the same thing. I was saying Dan might buy the injury thing and give Bruce and Jay another year. I do not buy it. They made their decisions on who to keep. And what a surprise, they are again injured. LG is the most glaring but not the only example. 

 

But who knows. Jay's team tend to play pretty well off beat downs - obviously not always but often enough. 

 

I actually do see a middle ground. But I don't see an upper ground.

 

I think the best the team can go is something around 8-8/9-7 and that is going to take a herculean effort. The defense is going to have to play better than it has, and Peterson will have to do more than he has.

 

Otherwise, it's going to be 5-11/6-10

 

The running attack is the only thing keeping the offense afloat. it is now in a boatload of trouble with a OL that is signing people off the street to start. Points are going to go down. The Defense is going to need to start scoring and doing even more to shut teams down than they are now, for us to even have a chance got get to .500. The passing attack, that has been on life support all season, just flat lined. Smith has been bad all season with a good OL in front of him, he's going to be worse now. He doesn't stand in the pocket in the face of a rush. He has bad pocket presence, and his happy feet are going to be worse now. And his only deep threat is gone for the year.

[Veryoldschool]

48 minutes ago, Morneblade said:

 

I actually do see a middle ground. But I don't see an upper ground.

 

I think the best the team can go is something around 8-8/9-7 and that is going to take a herculean effort. The defense is going to have to play better than it has, and Peterson will have to do more than he has.

 

Otherwise, it's going to be 5-11/6-10

 

The running attack is the only thing keeping the offense afloat. it is now in a boatload of trouble with a OL that is signing people off the street to start. Points are going to go down. The Defense is going to need to start scoring and doing even more to shut teams down than they are now, for us to even have a chance got get to .500. The passing attack, that has been on life support all season, just flat lined. Smith has been bad all season with a good OL in front of him, he's going to be worse now. He doesn't stand in the pocket in the face of a rush. He has bad pocket presence, and his happy feet are going to be worse now. And his only deep threat is gone for the year.

 

Other than that how did you enjoy the play, Mrs. Lincoln?

 

The Skins made be mediocre but they have a lot of weak teams on their schedule and who knows the replacement guys may be able to run block. Maybe their problem has been weak pass protection but they can run block, let's hope.

[skins island connection]

2 hours ago, goskins10 said:

 

 

To recap - Passing game goes to Minn and it's not really close. Running game goes to Wash and its also not really close. Def is about a wash - Minn has a slight edge. Records - Minn 5-3-1  Redskins 5-3. Not directly at you, but it's not exactly a mystery once you look at the data. Kirk has been the better QB overall even if he has turned it over a few times more. Alex has the benefit of a very good running game (most of the time). Ds are about the same so you have virtually the same record - it's definitely an even record. 

 

That does not mean the Alex cannot improve. The question is will improvement in Alex be enough to overcome he Oline and other injuries - or do they surprise us and the Oline plays really well. If the coaches can pull off the miracle and get the Oline to play pretty decent and give AP some room to run, they could still have a legitimate chance at the Div even with Alex struggling. If Alex improves also then they could cruise. If not, it would be hard to find even 2 more wins on the schedule. 

 

I agree with those that believe the game this weekend will prove to be a turning point. Either they exercise the demons and put together another nice run on the way to at least a good chance at the division, or they crumble into dust and we get a new GM and HC next year. Honestly for me, either way its Christmas. 

 

 

 This is where I'm getting lost a little bit.

 Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Smith like a 12-13 year veteran?  He's been with SF then KC, now here. Typically, if a QB lasts that long in the NFL they would have seen most everything; defenses, comebacks, set-backs and how to overcome them, etc, knowledge on what to do in situations, compensating for losses or downgrades, and dealing with adversity.

 

 The o-line is now in shambles, replacements everywhere, and Smith is lining up behind them. He should have a much easier time dealing with these set-backs than a 2-3 yr vet, yet he struggled when the o-line was up and running good, and who knows what we will see sunday, but he's had to have been through situations similar in the past. Of course the game hasn't been played yet, so its a wait-n-see thing.

 

But, his overall performance this year has been disappointing overall; questions popping up about all sorts of things, and now the possibility of rumblings within the coaches table doesn't bode well for him. I think deep down Gruden believes Smith is not what he had in mind as a replacement for 'you know who', and if word gets out to the media that this is true, Alex is done here. He will shut down what little he's giving now, and then the fireworks show begins.

 

TBH, personally, I think he's protecting his stat line more than wanting to win. Yea, it sounds extremely brash and insulting for me to say that, but I've never seen a QB be so scared to throw the ball more than 20 yds in my life. The excuse of him not knowing his receiving group to me is BS; QBs, especially those who have been in the league as long as he has, have seen routes in their sleep and know where/when to throw the ball. Just because the name changes doesn't mean the routes do.  So, I think he knows he's not as good as some want him to be, and he's not intentionally trying to throw games, but he might figure that he won't be here in the next couple of years, and his window is closing fast, so his completions / atts stat and sack stat look deceivingly good for a QB in the league as long as he has been in, and there are GMs and owners out there who will take anything, so his chance on another team would look better for him as long as his personal stats look the part.

[thebeermonkey]

Gruden is gone. Allen will be gone if we only get two more wins.

 

theres a brightness in every storm

[Morneblade]

5 hours ago, Veryoldschool said:

 

Other than that how did you enjoy the play, Mrs. Lincoln?

 

The Skins made be mediocre but they have a lot of weak teams on their schedule and who knows the replacement guys may be able to run block. Maybe their problem has been weak pass protection but they can run block, let's hope.

 

Weak teams eh? I see one team in which I can say we're a better football team, and that's the Giants. Outside of that, every other team, before the OL injuries I thought had a pretty good shot to beat us. We barely beat Dallas at home and now they've added a passing weapon. Houston is really hot, and is a better team. The Eagles got help where we have our biggest defensive weakness, and we still have to play them twice. Tampa's strength is our weakness. Jax is like us, but they will have Fournette back, and their D is tougher.

 

If you through out the records, and look at our scoring offense and passing offense, it's really bad. Now, it's worse, and maybe worst in the league.

 

Scherff is one of the best Guards in the league. No one we bring in has a chance to be as good as he is run blocking.

 

You can hope, but I'm a realist. I see the only legitimate  chances of winning are the Giants and the Jags. Neither are gimmes. The rest, I don't think we have a realistic chance. Offensively, we're a very easy team to stop now. 8 in the box, and make Alex throw. You'll likely give up less than 13 points if you're D is average. Then, attack our Secondary.

[Thinking Skins]

31 minutes ago, Morneblade said:

You can hope, but I'm a realist. I see the only legitimate  chances of winning are the Giants and the Jags. Neither are gimmes. The rest, I don't think we have a realistic chance. Offensively, we're a very easy team to stop now. 8 in the box, and make Alex throw. You'll likely give up less than 13 points if you're D is average. Then, attack our Secondary.

Honestly, I think that's been the book since about week 3,but I don't think it's executed. In part because our defense has been so good at stopping them, like how we beat Dallas, Carolina and NY. Heck even GB. 

 

AP is a HOF RB who still has it. How much will that be affected by the OL? Or opposing teams defenses? We thought Atlanta had a bad defense but they were able to stop him, same for Colts, same for NO. Will that be the case for the 8 remaining games? I can't see it happening all 8 times. 

 

Add to that the fact that Smith hasn't been this unable to complete an NFL pass type QB, he's just been inconsistent and not making big plays. But he's been able to put some good drives together. Question is can he do it more often, especially if AP gets stopped. 

[goskins10]

 

9 hours ago, skins island connection said:

 

Edit

 

TBH, personally, I think he's protecting his stat line more than wanting to win. Yea, it sounds extremely brash and insulting for me to say that, but I've never seen a QB be so scared to throw the ball more than 20 yds in my life. The excuse of him not knowing his receiving group to me is BS; QBs, especially those who have been in the league as long as he has, have seen routes in their sleep and know where/when to throw the ball. Just because the name changes doesn't mean the routes do.  So, I think he knows he's not as good as some want him to be, and he's not intentionally trying to throw games, but he might figure that he won't be here in the next couple of years, and his window is closing fast, so his completions / atts stat and sack stat look deceivingly good for a QB in the league as long as he has been in, and there are GMs and owners out there who will take anything, so his chance on another team would look better for him as long as his personal stats look the part.

 

The statement bolded makes absolutely no sense what so ever. What possible motivation could he have for "protecting his stat line"? He just received a contract that for all intents and purposes is $71M for 3 yrs.  If he plays well and they win - he gets to almost $100M. What possible motivation would he have to not try his best? And what does protecting his stat line do anyway? If he is, he is very poor at it. Yes, low int and sacks, but low TDs and yds too. 

 

And in the end, what gets you signed is winning. That's how he got this gig. The W/L for the teams he has been on has been good. Now you are saying all of a sudden that they will ignore the W/L and just look at a few lines on a stat sheet to decide if a the 37 Y/O QB can lead their team? This is straight out a conspiracy theory 101. 

 

Alex has played like ****. That no one can or should try to deny. But there are much more logical reasons that he is padding his stat line. Like maybe he is just getting old that he can't drive the ball like he used to and/or the game is getting a little too fast for him. Or that he is losing confidence because he has struggled and he does not have the same athleticism he had when he went to KC. Or that the offense is a bit more complicated than he has seen and he is slow to pick it up. Or it has been a struggle to gain any rapport with the receivers since they have been a revolving door from the start of the season. Or this is who he is and we are expecting too much - I hope not but that still makes more sense than him protecting his stats.

 

I do think he is being overly cautious. But I believe it's because he doesn't want to let the team down by making the big mistake. It's because he does want to win not because he is less worried about winning than his stat line. Again, that just makes no sense at all. 

[bakedtater1]

11 hours ago, thebeermonkey said:

Gruden is gone. Allen will be gone if we only get two more wins.

 

theres a brightness in every storm

Yep this is what I'm thinking..if we go that route (getting out of the a Smith contract)Snyder is just gonna blow the whole thing up..

[Est.1974]

20 hours ago, Skinsinparadise said:

And for good measure they let go Long who can play C & LG and replaced him with no one. 

 

Personally letting Long go looked the right move to me, especially based on the contact he got signed up to. However, failing to add another durable, quality interior OL player was a clear mistake which has been compounded off the charts over the last 2 weeks.