Alex Smith is the best QB in the division!!!

[Alex Smith 4Ever]

A lot of people have been criticizing Alex this season, and some of it has been fair, I won't lie, but a lot of that criticism hasn't been fair. People act like we can just trade Alex and immediately replace him with a better option. Take a look around the division and check out the other quarterbacks.

Manning/Rivers - Both are washed up and completely done
Carr/Osweiler - Might be good in a few years but they're horrible right now

None of them can matchup with Alex. The reality is that Alex is quite a bit better than what most teams are throwing out at the QB position. Listen, I know we all want Tom Brady or Cam Newton as QB, but since we can't have those two, Alex is the absolute best option for this team to win the division and ultimately the big game.

[Sandy Vagina]

Originally Posted by FringeNC

This is exactly right. Our offensive line is actually pretty good at run-blocking and blocking in space -- hence all the horizontal stuff we do. It's a shit show if we get down a few early scores and have to have Smith take deep drops.

The OL is, imho, not good at run blocking. For most of the game, Alex was our only productive rusher. West had a 1.5 avr on 11 carries. If not for Ware's late runs ( 1 of which that 50+ yarder ), we couldn't generate lanes for our RBs.

Hopefully, the OL continues to improve/get healthy.. or maybe Ware can impress again. They have a nasty Buffalo front next weekend, so I expect another game where it's all on Alex.. as he's handicapped by much of Andy's wtf? playcalling.

... and maybe Kelce can figure out how to catch again, JFC.

[OctoberFart]

Derrick Carr disagrees. Smith better than Rivers is laughable and the only turds that believe that are the KC homers. Oh yeah, those same homers wanted Smith, Reid and the GM gone not long ago and were scouting the first overall pick.

[ThaVirus]

Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud

I'm not referring to Alex Smith.



It seems like everyone but me has highly overrated the Raiders this season, most likely because they just see Carr's stats. But they're not a good team.



Even Don Banks of SI suggested today that they may not win another game this season, which is a definite possibility, IMO.

They're not a good team, but that's mainly because their defense is one of the worst in the league.

But their offense is loaded with talent and potential. When it clicks, it's pretty good. Let's give credit where it's due. Carr, in only his second season, is likely going to throw for more TDs than Alex has in any single season in 10 years.

[ThaVirus]

Originally Posted by Sandy Cheeks

All of these things you individually blame him for are TEAM issues.



If receivers drop 3rd down passes, you blame the % decrease on Smith.

If the RB gets stuffed on 3rd and 3, you blame the % decrease on Smith.

If the Andy called screen on 3rd and 8 gets sniffed out and shut down, you blame the % decrease on Smith.



If opponents know we have to pass the ball for chunks at the end of a game, this exposes our awful OL. If we don't have legit deep ball WRs (we didn't till now), this just compounds that problem.



Who do YOU blame? of course, Alex.



Fix the larger team problems. At least upgrade them (Jah Reid + LDT suck).. Alex will do the rest.

Drops and getting stuffed in short yardage running plays haven't been an issue this year.

The defense has been balling it's ass off so that excuse is gone now. You're essentially saying we need 21 other starters to be Pro Bowl level in order for Alex to succeed. Even on the days when the offensive line plays well, we still struggle to score TDs despite having a RB stable that can put up big numbers no matter who is carrying the rock, Jeremy Maclin, and Travis Kelce.

It's Alex. It's always been Alex.

[stevieray]

Originally Posted by ThaVirus

Drops and getting stuffed in short yardage running plays haven't been an issue this year.

Kelce had how many drops yesterday?

[O.city]

Originally Posted by ThaVirus

They're not a good team, but that's mainly because their defense is one of the worst in the league.

But their offense is loaded with talent and potential. When it clicks, it's pretty good. Let's give credit where it's due. Carr, in only his second season, is likely going to throw for more TDs than Alex has in any single season in 10 years.

Seems like carr has torched bad defenses and not been so good against good ones.

[ThaVirus]

Originally Posted by O.city

Seems like carr has torched bad defenses and not been so good against good ones.

Sometimes that happens. Any given Sunday..

[Snapplez]

Originally Posted by O.city

Seems like carr has torched bad defenses and not been so good against good ones.

Why is that used against Carr but not Smiff?

[ThaVirus]

Originally Posted by stevieray

Kelce had how many drops yesterday?

1? Maybe 2? They weren't an issue either way. We beat the Chargers soundly in all phases yesterday. It was a complete slaughterhouse.

I honestly can't remember any games this season in which drops were an issue.

Every team deals with drops anyway.

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by ThaVirus

Drops and getting stuffed in short yardage running plays haven't been an issue this year.

The defense has been balling it's ass off so that excuse is gone now. You're essentially saying we need 21 other starters to be Pro Bowl level in order for Alex to succeed. Even on the days when the offensive line plays well, we still struggle to score TDs despite having a RB stable that can put up big numbers no matter who is carrying the rock, Jeremy Maclin, and Travis Kelce.

It's Alex. It's always been Alex.

Not to mention the reason the run game gets stuffed is because defenses don't respect the deep game. I credit Smith for opening up the vertical game more than usual. I don't care if we have a vertical passing game. But you have a duty as a QB to do enough to at least get defenders out of the box. Amazing how much the running game opens up when Alex Smith does that. Smith has it in him. He just chooses not to do it most of the time.

[ChiefsLV]

His penchant for throwing short of the sticks on most third downs just kills me. The lack of ability to make defenses pay for cheating up because we can't complete a deep pass kills me. The Chiefs have a ceiling with Smith at QB and I'm not sure it includes winning in the playoffs.

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by Sandy Cheeks

All of these things you individually blame him for are TEAM issues.

If receivers drop 3rd down passes, you blame the % decrease on Smith.
If the RB gets stuffed on 3rd and 3, you blame the % decrease on Smith.
If the Andy called screen on 3rd and 8 gets sniffed out and shut down, you blame the % decrease on Smith.

If opponents know we have to pass the ball for chunks at the end of a game, this exposes our awful OL. If we don't have legit deep ball WRs (we didn't till now), this just compounds that problem.

Who do YOU blame? of course, Alex.

Fix the larger team problems. At least upgrade them (Jah Reid + LDT suck).. Alex will do the rest.

I've broken the numbers on third down conversions many times. And it is purely on pass plays. In most of smith's games he is about 30%. There is also a stat from I can't remember what writer that shows Alex Smith most frequently throws well short of the sticks of any QB. Andy Reid has been in this league for a gazillion years with a gazillion qbs. How many qbs have had this big of an issue with third down conversion?

Some of the throwing short is playcalling but not nearly enough to put you on the bottom of the list. Some of the overall third down issues is drops and playcalling, but not nearly enough to justify the really low percentage.

And none of this is at all surprising. Alex Smith doesn't take chances. He doesn't like to throw past the sticks. And he hates throwing into the end zone. This shouldn't exactly be surprising news.

[FringeNC]

I haven't seen Carr play that much, so don't have a strong opinion one way or another. I do know that the Raiders O-line is one of the best in the league.

If anyone thinks a guy like Carson Palmer or Andy Dalton could put up similar numbers to what they are now behind this offensive line, they're crazy. It's getting better, but pass blocking is still a weakness. At least now, it's not the entire line breaking down, so often times Smith now has somewhere to scramble.

By the way, did we even lay a hand on Dalton in the game earlier in the year?

Reid and Dorsey have done an excellent job with the roster except for offensive line.

[Misplaced_Chiefs_Fan]

While I believe the OP may be suffering from an overabundance of enthusiasm, I will admit that Alex Smith was the best QB in the AFC West this week.

What I'd like to see is him string several weeks like this together.

I saw (well, heard since the game was not broadcast locally, I listened to the Chiefs Radio Network) Smith tossing several balls downfield, several even over 20 yards. This is a major improvement over the usual. That I'd like to see a lot more of.

I'd also like to see the Chiefs get rid of that bubble screen that never seems to work, but that's more on Andy than Alex.

So, good start - let's see if we can do it more than one game.

[chiefzilla1501]

Originally Posted by Misplaced_Chiefs_Fan

While I believe the OP may be suffering from an overabundance of enthusiasm, I will admit that Alex Smith was the best QB in the AFC West this week.

What I'd like to see is him string several weeks like this together.

I saw (well, heard since the game was not broadcast locally, I listened to the Chiefs Radio Network) Smith tossing several balls downfield, several even over 20 yards. This is a major improvement over the usual. That I'd like to see a lot more of.

I'd also like to see the Chiefs get rid of that bubble screen that never seems to work, but that's more on Andy than Alex.

So, good start - let's see if we can do it more than one game.

I agree. This version of Alex Smith is better. He converted third downs and threw downfield enough to at least stretch the defense. I'll give credit where credit is due. But it wasn't nearly enough to convince me that he's turned any kind of corner.