ESPN.com: Washington QB Alex Smith cleared by his surgical team for full football activity

[TheShredder]

On 2/14/2021 at 1:34 AM, Rdskns2000 said:

Just release him. That’s going to be the end result.  The Team probably won’t release him until that replacement is on the team.

Or they need the cap room but yeah like I pointed out he won't quit.

[I Love The Skins]

Alex Smith should retire 36 years and there is no guarantee that leg is going to get any better. 

[Califan007 The Constipated]

Can anyone explain specifically why we won when Alex Smith started over the last 3 years but did not when anyone else has started? "The defense carried him" and "it was a mirage in 2018" doesn't explain jack ****. I mean, damn...11-5 as a starter is a massive swing from 6-26 when anyone else started. What does he bring to the field that apparently none of the other 29 QBs even came close to giving the team? There's got to be something.

[Sacks 'n' Stuff]

2 hours ago, Califan007 said:

Can anyone explain specifically why we won when Alex Smith started over the last 3 years but did not when anyone else has started? "The defense carried him" and "it was a mirage in 2018" doesn't explain jack ****. I mean, damn...11-5 as a starter is a massive swing from 6-26 when anyone else started. What does he bring to the field that apparently none of the other 29 QBs even came close to giving the team? There's got to be something.

It’s cause Alex Smith doesn’t suck and Dwayne Haskins does. Alex didn’t necessarily win us football games but he didn’t lose them for us either. He’s not bad but he’s not great and we probably shouldn’t even say he’s good... He’s just fine there and we’re a decent team when our QB is just fine. Can’t settle for just fine though.

Edited February 14, 2021 by Sacks 'n' Stuff

[Califan007 The Constipated]

20 minutes ago, Sacks 'n' Stuff said:

It’s cause Alex Smith doesn’t suck and Dwayne Haskins does. Alex didn’t necessarily win us football games but he didn’t lose them for us either. He’s not bad but he’s not great and we probably shouldn’t even say he’s good... He’s just fine there and we’re a decent team when our QB is just fine. Can’t settle for just fine though.

 

- We've had far more QBs than just Haskins

 

- So the last 3 years the Skins have been such a good team that we could have had double-digit wins each season as long as the QB was just ok?

[evmiii]

Alex is ultra conservative, checks down and gets rid of the ball quickly.  This type of play results in few turnovers and keeps you in games.  Play really good D associated with this type QB play can win some games but never pushed you into the next tier.  We could possibly return to glory days of 8-8.

 

A journeyman, backup QB who can move around and is willing to push the ball down field a bit shows you what might be.  A guy that has been relegated to a backup and practice squad just makes you wonder what might be if we really had a franchise guy.

 

I have series concerns about TH’s durability; it has been a problem for him since he joined the NFL.  When healthy, he gives us a much better chance of winning than Alex at this point in his career.  I just don’t see how they can afford to keep Alex (at his current salary) as a backup.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Burgold]

17 minutes ago, Guard Bum said:

Alex is ultra conservative, checks down and gets rid of the ball quickly.  This type of play results in few turnovers and keeps you in games.  Play really good D associated with this type QB play can win some games but never pushed you into the next tier.  We could possibly return to glory days of 8-8.

 

 

 

 

That can't be it. When did we ever have a good defense under Jay Gruden? No, it's more than that. I suspect it has something to do with leadership and players working a little harder when Alex is on the field. It's an extra broken tackle here, a block sustained longer there, a bit better concentration by the receivers. Maybe even carryover in the defense, knowing that if they make a stop that Alex might get them three? Then again, I really only remember Washington's defenses rolling over and being open gates under Haslett, Barry, and Manusky except for very, very rare moments.

 

[Koolblue13]

1 hour ago, Sacks 'n' Stuff said:

It’s cause Alex Smith doesn’t suck and Dwayne Haskins does. Alex didn’t necessarily win us football games but he didn’t lose them for us either. He’s not bad but he’s not great and we probably shouldn’t even say he’s good... He’s just fine there and we’re a decent team when our QB is just fine. Can’t settle for just fine though.

11-5 isn't "fine", it's god loving winning football and something we haven't had in 25 ****ing awful years for crying out loud. He's a messiah but doesn't make it exciting.

 

Alex "winning football games and going to the playoffs is all I do" Smith is MY QB!!!

[Gurgeh]

27 minutes ago, Burgold said:

That can't be it. When did we ever have a good defense under Jay Gruden? No, it's more than that. I suspect it has something to do with leadership and players working a little harder when Alex is on the field. It's an extra broken tackle here, a block sustained longer there, a bit better concentration by the receivers. Maybe even carryover in the defense, knowing that if they make a stop that Alex might get them three? Then again, I really only remember Washington's defenses rolling over and being open gates under Haslett, Barry, and Manusky except for very, very rare moments.

 

 

My recollection of the pre-injury Alex era was that we beat the bad teams and got outclassed by the good ones. 

[Cooleyfan1993]

19 minutes ago, Gurgeh said:

 

My recollection of the pre-injury Alex era was that we beat the bad teams and got outclassed by the good ones. 

Yep. We even lost badly to the falcons even though they had a bad season 

[Bacon]

2 hours ago, Califan007 said:

 

- So the last 3 years the Skins have been such a good team that we could have had double-digit wins each season as long as the QB was just ok?

 

Maybe not all three years, but the defense is sustainably good. Good enough to be top 5 in many statistical categories last season even with a bad offense putting extra pressure on them. 

 

Going forward, I think good QB play consistently gets us in the realm of double digit wins in a bad division. 

[markmills67]

Thanks Alex for all you have done as a Redskin, but if you want to go far as a Team in any sport there is no room for sentiment. If he wants to play then we Have to release him. 

[Est.1974]

No way you can pay Smith starter money and role with him as your #1 this season. Too many concerns over durability and mobility. First sign of a churned up field and he couldn’t move. Time for an amicable split.

[Koolblue13]

We were 6-2 and in first place with a bad defense and less talent, coached by Gruden when Alex was preinjury and most of the fans couldn't stand how we were winning, which is really strange considering how bad we've been for so long.

[88Comrade2000]

Let him go. He will find reality smack him in the face. No team will offer him a starting job. A team might be willing to sign him as a backup, to help groom a young qb.

 

We saw it last year, despite his comeback, once he got hurt; he could no longer be relied on to play or be effective. He risks  another catastrophic injury.

 

You honestly can't count on Alex to play a half season, much less a full season. 

 

If he wants to remain in football, coaching is the path.

 

Let him go and he will find out the hard way.

[veteranskinsfan]

It just hit me where Alex will play next season.   He will go play for his old college coach Urban Meyer in Jacksonville.  If the college coach will take him as his

backup quarterback.   I cannot think of any other team that would sign him for starter money unless he took a lot less money.

[skinzplay]

Smith will not start anywhere in the league next season, except perhaps in Washington. If we cut him and bring him back on more acceptable financial terms, he can continue to help mentor the other QBs as well as the receivers and backs. He's an incredibly valuable resource for the offense, and has been one hell of an inspiration to his teammates. They believe in him, but I think they'd much rather see what Heinicke can do after a full off-season of conditioning and training. He might have delivered a playoff victory had it not been for the unreliable hands of some of our young receivers. That was one helluva performance, and I don't think it was at all surprising to any of the coaches; it's why he was there. Turner and Zampese want to go vertical. Life in the flats ain't where it is for this offense.

 

As far as Smith's record of W&Ls for us, the numbers, as usual, don't tell the whole story. For example, in that season when we started 6-3, I don't think we beat a single team with a winning record. Those teams all stunk. That '6' is a hollow number.

[Califan007 The Constipated]

16 hours ago, Burgold said:

That can't be it. When did we ever have a good defense under Jay Gruden? No, it's more than that. I suspect it has something to do with leadership and players working a little harder when Alex is on the field. It's an extra broken tackle here, a block sustained longer there, a bit better concentration by the receivers. Maybe even carryover in the defense, knowing that if they make a stop that Alex might get them three? Then again, I really only remember Washington's defenses rolling over and being open gates under Haslett, Barry, and Manusky except for very, very rare moments.

 

 

What I can recall being said is that (paraphrasing) Alex understands exactly how the play is supposed to work, where everyone is supposed to be, makes decisions quickly, and executes plays exactly the way coaches designed them to work. Also some player (McLaurin maybe?) said that when Alex is QB the offense feels like they know what's going to happen before it happens. I don't know how accurate my memory of those types of statements is, but I was thinking recently that believing the only things a QB brings to the table are TD passes and yardage is probably overlooking an incredible amount of what a good QB provides when getting a win. That would be a very shallow analysis, one that can be done merely by looking at the stats page on NFL.com (which is probably why so many fans hold this view lol).

 

When a QB has not had a losing season as starter in I think 9 consecutive years spread over 3 franchises and 4 head coaches, in my eyes it's impossible to chalk it up to anything other than he gives offenses something that definitely helps lead to wins that many QBs just don't seem to have, no matter their arm talent, health, or age. I don't really know what it is, but it's not a coincidence when it happens year after year after year after year.

[Malapropismic Depository]

Bottom line - Alex has an extremely high Football IQ.

It is extremely rare to find one that high in a QB.

So you have to keep him at this point. He's the best QB on our roster. And probably will be the best, come September, as well.

[Koolblue13]

1 hour ago, Malapropismic Depository said:

Bottom line - Alex has an extremely high Football IQ.

It is extremely rare to find one that high in a QB.

So you have to keep him at this point. He's the best QB on our roster. And probably will be the best, come September, as well.

Great point. Team with no QB, aggressively trying to find QB, releasing best QB?

[dyst]

1 hour ago, veteranskinsfan said:

It just hit me where Alex will play next season.   He will go play for his old college coach Urban Meyer in Jacksonville. 

Or did you read the article that said the exact same thing.

[Malapropismic Depository]

If you havn't seen this, it's cool.

Smith breaks down how the SB went down.

 

 

 

[SonnySideUp]

Most likely would be with the Jags and Urban Meyer. I don't see him ending up at any of those other places except maybe Chicago.

 

https://sports.yahoo.com/7-potential-landing-spots-washington-025940253.html

[evmiii]

7 hours ago, Malapropismic Depository said:

Bottom line - Alex has an extremely high Football IQ.

It is extremely rare to find one that high in a QB.

So you have to keep him at this point. He's the best QB on our roster. And probably will be the best, come September, as well.

Pre injury Alex would be the best QB on the roster.  Post injury Alex is unable to protect himself and instills zero confidence that he can stay healthy two games in a row much less an entire season.

 

He seems to be a very good human being, a great team mate and an excellent candidate to go into coaching if he wanted (clearly he has made enough cash he doesn’t need to work).  He is a great story of endurance and fortitude, but he is not the future.  The only way I see him sticking around is if we do not sign or draft a QB and he reworks his contract.  I’d be surprised if this is how it works out.

 

 

[profusion]

Alex made it about five games before his leg started giving him problems. I just don't see how he can realistically be on the roster next season. Too bad, because he'd be a good bridge to the next guy if he could hold up.