How Alex Smith and the Chiefs turned a season around
 

Great article about Smith and the nuanced aspect of his game that is overlooked by many.


http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2016/01/05/n...-2015-playoffs

If anyone reads this and still can't fathom why people like Alex Smith, then nothing is ever going to change their mind. He is the ultimate team player.

who honestly cares about people like that..

It's been much quieter on the front lately. And not just because Stop, Chiefs is 'gone'. I understood the frustration, but not the patience.

It's nice to see the positive press the Chiefs are receiving. This one is really great and has me pumped. Starting to get that "Royal" feeling.

It's been discussed ad nasium. It gets wearing when some posters here praise him as something Alex isn't.

I think they praise him for what he is. He is what he is and, according to the article, perfect for KC.

When his followers intimate that he's a Franchise QB which they often do then it becomes delusions of grandeur.

He's too hesitant and plays not to lose, which is the reason he can't keep up with the elite QBs in the league when it's a high scoring game.

Still doesn't change the changes culture in Kc or the stabilization of the position. If that's you're only gripe then it isn't a very strong one as he wins a lot of games regardless of your fact

I'm watching it happen right in front of my eyes. This team isn't built that way and that is not on Alex Smith. He IS our franchise QB. You want a high flying QB, you gotta get a new coach first.

56% overall.

In the WC, it is centered on the QB," checkdowns or touchdowns." Steve Young/ Montana had enough of that killer instinct to push it downfield for the calculated risk. Remember the MNF game in '94 against Elway.

Alex doesn't have that mentality.

I'm absolutely seeing that mentality emerging. He was running the called plays before with little deviation. It's not like he can say '**** you Coach, I'm going deep".

Now he has more leeway and the difference is striking. IMO. We'll see.

This. It's not like he took deep shots in our last playoff game or anything...
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**** Alex Smith

Apparently one of Alex's many faults is that he didn't tap you on the head when he was getting ready to explode his hot demon seed down your pie hole.

i only have a problem when you guys praise him like he is Trent Greenn or Rich Gannon entering his 30s when he hasnt come close to that yet. also when you act like the Chiefs wouldnt be better with the 10 other QBs in the playoffa not named Alex Smith or Brian Hoyer.

I like Trent. I named my son Trent. What the hell did Trent do besides set the record for most picks in a season?

Alex is the qb of the Chiefs and I will revere him as much. If he leads us to a championship I will revere him in the same manner as Lenny.

Since 2013, all any of the legit Alex "fans/followers/creeps/lovers" have said about him is that he is a GOOD quarterback that can win plenty of games if his team doesn't suck.

That's it in a nutshell.


You can point to very few random comments of some posters that call him ELITE or such other wild praise. These comments belong to a poster or two with a very low post count. Can we really know they are being legit? or maybe they are just anti-Alex fan mults that know how to create more friction and hate? creating a false generalization that all Alex fans dwell in some realm of insane delusion.


Same as it was, and getting better over time, now that he has Maclin and more time developing with all of the offensive pieces...

Alex is a good QB that will win at a high rate, unless the team around him just sucks, or falls to an epidemic of injury. I'm fine with leaving it at that, instead of forcing him into incredibly muddled and subjective rankings or silly terms like Franchise.

LMAO

The only thing that bothers me about Alex is when he misses wide open reads for something that he already made his mind up on. Good example is the first pick from last weeks game. maclin was 1v1 vs the free safety on a deep post.

Andy Reid has intimated that he is a franchise qb. I have zero say in that matter.

It's just a generalization.

Yeah, I can understand that. I don't think such decisions are rare for any QB. It's often a gamble to move through reads to go for a deeper shot. My guess is, Alex made a pre-snap decision based on what he expected of the defense. He clearly makes an adjustment pre-snap on this play.

6:27 in 2Q

It was a PA fake.. His eyes hovered initially to the left side of the field. He was trying to get the defenders to bite and clear out from his intended spot.. but they didn't. So as Alex released the ball, he probably cursed and knew it was trouble. He thought that Carrie in the slot on Mac was going to stay on Mac.. but he didn't. He drifted underneath on Wilson while Woodson stayed in single high on Mac running the deep post. (looked like Woodson would have been in good position to contest that deep post)

Not defending it. Alex screwed up by not waiting the extra moment to see Carrie, and then get set to throw to Maclin. Have to say it.. LDT was getting beat by #75 over his outside shoulder, so Alex rushed the decision. This split-second decision was a really poor one on this play.

To be honest.. with this INT and the next.. I think Alex needed to be humbled. He was playing so well up to this point that I think he started getting cocky.. and had to get slapped back down to Earth.

It's not an INT stretch we never see from other QBs. It's just not something we expect to see of Alex. Plays like those should stick in his mind for later use... and I was glad that he didn't crawl into his shell after them.

Very interesting article... great, long read.

Yep, I said this elsewhere as well.. was so sure we would crawl into a shell after those picks.

AKA Sour Grapes.

The part I try to understand, but try as I might I can't quite, is the people who go ballistic about EVERY LITTLE THING that doesn't go perfectly.

It's like the game is a failure if we don't win 55-0 with 10 sacks.

First off the draw of the game itself is the incessant tension inherent in the rules that keep the game competitive and allow for wild swings in the score and your teams fortunes.

Second, the other team is trying just as hard as our guys. And if it was easy to go 55-0 every game, it would be very boring very quickly. If incessant demolition was the draw, instead of the worlds series, we'd have the all-star home run derby every week on TV.

Breakdown of the tighter windows Smith has been throwing into and not caving after his two INTs: Arrowhead Pride /2016/1/6/10707090/kansas-city-chiefs-real-super-bowl-contenders-alex-smith-2-0

Arrowhead Pride /2016/1/3/10700154/anatomy-of-a-play-alex-smith-to-jeremy-maclin

A few videos, too.

You can be a franchise QB and also not be considered "elite". Alex is good enough to QB a team to a superbowl. Rather he does that or not is TBD. Not many "franchise" qbs even make it to the superbowl.

I've got to admit, he's really taken charge of the team. That's what he needed, what he was missing all along - that killer instinct. That 'go out and get a TD NOW' mentality. And that was a product of his coaching.

It's about time Andy Reid realized that SOMETHING had to change in order to get a different result


Kudos - I didn't think he had it in him



As of now, Alex Smith is the 2nd best QB in the AFC playoffs, Tom Brady being #1.





Frankenmanning doesn't count, with all the HGH and stem cell shakes blended from aborted human fetuses....

He's better than Jim McMahon, Trent Dilfer, Mark Rypien, or Brad Johnson ever were.

I'd put Ben over Alex.. Ben comes up big in the playoffs. Alex is top 5 imo, and I'd also put Carson over Alex.



The best thing about the OAK game is.. Alex started out AMAZING and that is the Alex they are going to need to go on the road and win playoff games. He made mistakes, but he came back and led a great TD drive.. thats one of the few times i've seen him over come bad mistakes in the game.

Luckily, Carson plays over in the NFC these days. :)

Ben can be a phenominal quarterback, but Ben can also self-destruct because he's trying to do too much on his own - make the more-than-perfect throw instead of throwing it away and taking a shot later (for example). While Ben's not quite the gunslinger that Brett was, he has Brett-like tendencies which can be exploited.

Funny thing about this article was that it confirmed what many 49ers fans thought at the time, Smith was a huge part of Kaepernick's and the 49ers offensive success in 2012 after he was benched. It's no surprise that Kaepernick's just got worse each year after that.

Wellllllll he does have a higher passer rating than Roethlisberger and Rodgers soooooooooo

oops.. missed the AFC plug lol. Ben and Brown are just a terrifying match up for a defense

Yep. While I'd love for us to be the first 19-0 team and do it winning by 40 points every game, it just doesn't happen in the NFL.

I think he's a franchise qb.

I don't think he's elite or anything though.

He brings stability to the position and plays at an above average level.

This cannot be said enough. There is one truly elite QB right now, and that's Tom Brady. Every other QB (even Rodgers) is showing that they aren't good enough to carry a team.

Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees are still elite QBs. Big Ben deserves his place in that conversation.

And Cam and Russell Wilson will be there if they aren't there yet. Carson Palmer has played like one so far.

I am pleasantly surprised that Alex Smith broke himself into the second tier this year. He has a lot more work to do to prove he belongs any higher than that.

Frankenmanning LMAO

Thanks for posting, JF08... interesting read, its not often a national voice does a piece this long on the Chiefs.

This.

This too...

Pretty clear that Reid was holding the team back the first part of this year.

This is the point I've been hammering. Some are hell bent on this team focusing all efforts on finding that one QB who erases all flaws. There are three, maybe four of those in the entire league over the past generation [Rape, Russel, Brady]. Below that are Brees, Romo, Manning, Rivers, on down the line that require a decent team, and often that isn't enough.

Better to focus on a quality team, and a competent leader at QB to do an Aikman, Simms, Kelly, early Brady type of job over a period of years.

The Pats O-Line is exposing Brady to a ton of pressure, and he isn't carrying them right now any more than any other QB, having lost 3 of their last 4?

Elite QBs carry their teams by raising the level of talent around them.

But they need talent to raise, and Brady hasn't had any for weeks.

Rodgers, Luck when he's healthy, Roethlisberger,Cam,Brees,

are the elite, and who Alex will have to keep up with to get out of the one and dones.

Brady is no game manager and can't run. Doesn't hold a candle to Alex Smith.

Literally only Rapistberger is in the AFC, Luck isn't in the playoffs.

let's dial it down a notch back into the realm of reality.

When Luck was healthy, he was 2-5 this year, his backups were 6-3. One might say but his supporting cast was bad - but then he's not carrying the team is he?

The WRs were good, it was the oline that was bad, but when it's bad for us, people don't give it the same effect. If bad oline makes elite Luck just good, then a bad line makes a good Smith average or below. Yet, some people just claim that Alex is average or below all by himself.

Brady's combeback to bring Pats to OT loss against the broncos was about as epic as a QB can do with limited options. Brady has routinely done all a QB can possibly do with limited talent at times.. Amendola stayed healthy somewhat last season and helped brady out. People place unreasonable guidelines on QBs.

really you dont know what you are preaching. i respect the hell out of you, but you are talking about the past. the rest of us want a win. the next game. if i go to the game i wont boo because we lost other games. ill yell and holler for a win. like gblow would

They turned the season around by winning duh. Can someone be honest to a bit? We have not played the best quarterbacks this year and our defense has been the beneficiary of it. It's been a great run we just best keep it up in the playoffs. I do think we can beat any body even with a good quarterback. Don't call Payton Manning a good quarterback he is of shit this year.

I just think Chiefs have a lot to prove in the playoffs before I'm going get thrilled about Alex Smith. Yes he has done some good things this year and he keeps the ball in the offense hands for the most part. The opening drive against the Raiders was a thing of beauty but they did not sustain that level throughout the game.

I am very pleased with the season but unless we win in the playoffs I'm not sold on Alex Smith. Win and I can change my mind about him and be thrilled. We needed consistency at the realm and he at least brought that. So my expectations have been exceeded.

I have no ****s to give about franchise or elite labels

is he losing games?

We know his limitations and he is playing through them, should be happy for him and the team.

He is playing far above your expectations of him, and you still won't give him any credit.

c'mon that's ****ed up.

I thought the standard around here was that, no matter how bad an OL is, a QB worth his salt will always be able to perform well and light up the score board in spite of them?

http://www.arrowheadpride.com/2016/1...alex-smith-2-0

AP on point.

yes, and the ultimate WC QB was running practically the same Offense. I'm preaching that an elite QB can make this team a legit SB contender. Instead of playing not to lose like Alex .

If you want your heart torn out then by all means stay complacent with the QB situation.

So this team isn't a Superbowl contender? Which team in the playoffs is better than them no questions asked?

And playing not to lose has won us 10 straight games and 31 games in 3 years. Looks like its working our just fine for Alex.
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Because he's proven to be ultra-conservative in the playoffs. ROFL

One outlier game defines his career? I'm not drinking that considering what he's done, and the Chiefs still lost to the Colts.

Everyone is going full True Fan

No he's not. He's 20th in tds and yards. He did the same thing last year.

Not really.

You're just digging in, not changing anno pinion based on new evidence

As milkman says, stats mean jack.

Also, they're like 28th in the league in pass attempts so that's a little skewed.

GREAT article!

That is the standard, when you have weapons that get "NFL" open that allows the QB to get out.

That said, Alex Smith is raising the level of the line in front of him over the last 10 games with his legs and his decision making.

I have been highly critical of his game the past.

But he is playing good ball right now, and I think I have been fair about it.

This is not well received because it contradicts the CP brain trust's talking points about Smith, but obviously the more control Pederson has of the offense and the more control Smith has at the line of scrimmage, the better the team's fortunes have been. And the more they open up the offense and let Smith throw the football (not sideways), the higher the team's fortunes climb.

The main problem was Reid. When he started getting out of the way, the team began to ascend.

Playoff games are outliers. I mean they are 1-4 games versus 16 games in a season. Add years that you don't go to the playoffs and years that you don't advance in the playoffs, playoff games are rare, outliers. If they weren't another animal, season on the line, you wouldn't get the criticisms of Andy Dalton, you would just hear about his career winning percentage and division titles or number of playoff appearances.

In three playoff games, Smith had two good to great games and one ehh to ok game. 2:1 ratio. It's a small sample size but it's more likely that the former would be expected. I don't expect a great game by Smith, but his approach was different enough in the 2013 Colts game and this season that I expect a good showing by him. If the defense shows up in the second half of the game, like they have multiple times this season, I expect a win.

Tom Brady has looked like shit lately, honestly.

Rodgers is having a down year but have you looked at his dogshit team?

Russell Wilson, Cam Newton and Carson Palmer are all having elite seasons.

I don't think anyone outside of Clay and his lackeys would argue that. Most would say a great QB is the best kind of deodorant.

kept up just fine against the colts

One thing I have been wondering. During our current 10 game winning streak, how much % have we played with a lead, and what % have we had to come from behind? It seems our best chance to win is score first and play tough defense. If we are down by 10+ points in the 4th quarter, do we have what it takes to win?

Posters get pissed when Andy likes fatties but fail to see that almost all of thes QB's have struggled mightily when their OL's struggled.

Brady and Rodgers look average compared to there normal selves. Alex looks better than last year.

Hmmm. I wonder why

only on CP...

Outside of a few comments made here and there about Pederson calling plays once in awhile, there's nothing to support this theory. Reid said they took the reigns off Smith, that doesn't make it Pederson's idea. This idea that "Reid" got out of the way is ridiculous. This is Reid's offense and he still calls the plays.

Very true.

I don't know about 4th quarter, but we've overcome 10 point deficits this year. We've scored 11+ points in the 4th, but the situation of burning clock could hurt, while prevent defense could help.

According to pro football reference KC only has 1 fourth quarter comeback this year and it was the first game against Oakland.

The comeback was really all due to the defense. Mauga had an INT return to the 2 yard line which the offense converted into a TD. Peters had an INT return to the 13 yard line which was converted into a FG and then Branch had an INT return for a TD.

One thing worth mentioning that relates to this article that isn't mentioned.

As a side effect of giving Smith the keys to the audibles, Smith is a master at using cadence to draw the other team offsides. By the end of his campaign in SF he was getting teams with it seemingly every game. It kind of disappeared in his game when he came to KC though, and this article perhaps is the reason why.

I've seen it sneakily making it's way back into his routine over the last few games. Don't be surprised to see this come into play neutralizing Houstons first steps from the D-Line.

How much do you guys think the hate for Smith is due to the fact that he wasn't drafted by KC? That seems to be a recurring theme from the "haters;" that Alex is a "retread" from another team (and the Niners no less).

I get the feeling that a few posters/fans won't be satisfied unless KC drafts the QB and then that QB becomes an elite/franchise player. Meaning, even if Alex wins a Super Bowl, is MVP, and is a top 5 QB - they still won't be truly satisfied.

You'll get some of that. There are some who will hate Alex no matter what.

I think most of his critics, myself included, just hate the bullshit idea that he can conservatively ride on the coattails of his teammates. I didn't like how he played the last two years or with San Francisco under Harbaugh. Winning games on strings of three and outs isn't game management. I like what in starting to see from him this year but again, the Houston game is a true measure of how much he's actually progressed. If Smith plays slightly more aggressive, as he has the second half of this season, many of his critics will embrace him.