LNBS: Can Alex Smith be "Fixed"?

[BossChief]

Part of me wants to think so.

We saw flashes in 2013 of him testing defenses downfield and being a lot more than a game manager.

Then his OL got severely downgraded through 3 big losses in free agency (all 3 got overpaid) and his 2 guards weren't even nfl quality, let alone starter quality.

His receivers needed a major upgrade last offseason (they were an obvious team weakness) and other than adding Jason Avant late in the year and developing a promising rookie in Albert Wilson...not a whole lot was done to help provide Alex Smith with adequate weapons. Losing Avery to injury further weakened an already subpar unit.

Here's my question:

If they improve the OL and receivers...will we see Alex Smith come out of his shell again (like we saw flashes of in the second half of 2013)?

If he does, how far can this team go if the defense plays like it has and Dee Ford steps into Hali's shoes adequately?

[Bowser]

He is what he is, and he will always be just that. There's no fixing him of that. You want him to be some fantasy football super stud QB? Go find Tony Gonzalez, TO, and Randy Moss in their primes, and then MAYBE he'll crack 4,000 yards with 300 TDs. Not before.


Watching Alex this past season made me wonder if Aaron Murray could conceivably do the things Alex did at the exact same level. I'd assume the interceptions would be higher, but in our Daboll-esque offense we ran, Murray could have done the same things. Hell, he was more of a gunslinger at Georgia than Alex has been here in two seasons. Just food for thought.

['Hamas' Jenkins]

Originally Posted by Saccopoo

That's bullshit and you know it.

When you pick up a guy like Jason Avant off the street in the middle of the season and he immediately looks like your best receiver on the team two days later, you know you got problems at the position.

When you insert Jeff Linkenbach into the starting lineup and he's immediately your best guard, you know you got problems at the position.

And I won't even get into the whole 11-5, 9-7 after the worst ten year stretch of football in the franchise's history.

Jason Avant, best WR on the team:

2.6 catches per game, 11.7 yards per catch, 30.4 yards per game

[O.city]

Originally Posted by Fairplay

If you played behind our OL wouldn't you play scared?

If this were the first year of that, then yes

[BossChief]

Originally Posted by Fairplay

If you played behind our OL wouldn't you play scared?

After that late hit by Von Miller, I'm not sure I could feel comfortable back there...but maybe that would change if you gave me 15 million dollars.

[O.city]

Yeah at no point did Jason avant ever look like our best wr.

[BossChief]

Avant was never our best receiver, but he was a useful possession receiver.

[Saccopoo]

Originally Posted by BossChief

Drew Brees instead of Trent Green?
Aaron Rodgers instead of DJ?
Joe Flacco over Glenn Dorsey or Brandon Albert?
Moving up a couple spots to draft Tanehill?
Taking Bridgewater over Dee Ford?

At one point, this team needs to grow some nuts and at least try.

No they don't. Reaching for a position just to have one isn't a good philosophy.

Nobody on this board wanted Flacco. Nobody on this board knew who ****ing Flacco was. The guy who was too pussy to try and tough it out at Pittsburgh, the guy who was back up to Tyler ****ing Palko, so he transfers to Delaware to jack up his stats? That guy?

DJ has been an All-Pro and one of the top three guys at his position over the past five years. We also now have the guy that went first overall in his draft class, the guy most teams had rated over Rogers.

Seriously...those are your examples of the guys we should have took? Lose draft picks for Tannehill? Take Bridgewater when we already had two backups on the roster in Daniel and Bray? (And they drafted Murray in that draft anyway - a guy people liked around here.) Brees? Really? You are going that far back? Shit, why not start bitching it up about passing on Jim Kelly for Blackledge while you are at it.

[RealSNR]

Originally Posted by Saccopoo

They've picked up rookie QB's in each of the last two years and that's with Smith signing a new contract and bringing in Daniels.

Don't fall into the "But we gotta draft a QB in the first for it to count!!!!" bullshit that always gets thrown around here.

They are not sitting on their laurels. They'll pick a guy when the guy that they like is there and he's better than other guys on their board. That's about it. They aren't going to rush head long into the classic Chief's Planet philosophy of over drafting the QB position just to draft a guy at the QB position.

If this place was picking QB's, we'd have a roster of Jimmy Clausen, Mark Sanchez and Johnny Manziel.

"We shoulda drafted Bridgewater!!!! Oh noes!!! Because he was a QB on the board when we picked!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

This place goes into total epic meltdown when anything but a QB is picked in the first three rounds.

The only reason why people wanted those QBs was because we so desperately needed one at the time, but that's all that was available.

I have an immense amount of respect for franchises that take proactive approaches to their QBs. Like when the Packers transitioned from Favre to Rodgers. The Niners with Montana to Young. Hell, even Andy Reid when he was in Philadelphia, transitioning away from McNabb with a QB he thought was promising while also throwing in Vick as insurance in case Kolb wasn't the guy.

Alex will be 31 and has no testicles. It's time for us to take the same approach instead of watching him get his brains bashed in and saying, "Uhp, but there aren't any good QBs for us to draft this year! Better trade for another team's backup!"

It's either that or we sit around bitching about how we're a "snake-bitten franchise" and there just aren't any Andrew Lucks available to us when we need them!

[Saccopoo]

Originally Posted by Bowser

He is what he is, and he will always be just that. There's no fixing him of that. You want him to be some fantasy football super stud QB? Go find Tony Gonzalez, TO, and Randy Moss in their primes, and then MAYBE he'll crack 4,000 yards with 300 TDs. Not before.


Watching Alex this past season made me wonder if Aaron Murray could conceivably do the things Alex did at the exact same level. I'd assume the interceptions would be higher, but in our Daboll-esque offense we ran, Murray could have done the same things. Hell, he was more of a gunslinger at Georgia than Alex has been here in two seasons. Just food for thought.

When he won the 2004 National Championship:

[O.city]

That's 10 years and about 500 sacks ago.

He's not that guy anymore

[RealSNR]

Originally Posted by Saccopoo

No they don't. Reaching for a position just to have one isn't a good philosophy.

Nobody on this board wanted Flacco. Nobody on this board knew who ****ing Flacco was. The guy who was too pussy to try and tough it out at Pittsburgh, the guy who was back up to Tyler ****ing Palko, so he transfers to Delaware to jack up his stats? That guy?

DJ has been an All-Pro and one of the top three guys at his position over the past five years. We also now have the guy that went first overall in his draft class, the guy most teams had rated over Rogers.

Seriously...those are your examples of the guys we should have took? Lose draft picks for Tannehill? Take Bridgewater when we already had two backups on the roster in Daniel and Bray? (And they drafted Murray in that draft anyway - a guy people liked around here.) Brees? Really? You are going that far back? Shit, why not start bitching it up about passing on Jim Kelly for Blackledge while you are at it.

Bridgewater would have accomplished nearly identical on-the-field results as Dee Ford in his rookie year.

[Saccopoo]

Originally Posted by SNR

The only reason why people wanted those QBs was because we so desperately needed one at the time, but that's all that was available.

I have an immense amount of respect for franchises that take proactive approaches to their QBs. Like when the Packers transitioned from Favre to Rodgers. The Niners with Montana to Young. Hell, even Andy Reid when he was in Philadelphia, transitioning away from McNabb with a QB he thought was promising while also throwing in Vick as insurance in case Kolb wasn't the guy.

Alex will be 31 and has no testicles. It's time for us to take the same approach instead of watching him get his brains bashed in and saying, "Uhp, but there aren't any good QBs for us to draft this year! Better trade for another team's backup!"

It's either that or we sit around bitching about how we're a "snake-bitten franchise" and there just aren't any Andrew Lucks available to us when we need them!

Dude, they are doing it. Bray, Murray. I was ****ing livid when they drafted Murray. Wasting a ****ing draft pick on a guy who was no more than Chase Daniel's clone. But yet the picked the guy.

Like I said, when they like a guy, and he's on their board above the other guys, they'll take that QB. Neither Reid nor Dorsey have ever just sat on the position.

The trade for Smith was proactive. We've gone, in two scant seasons, from the worst team in the league to having back to back winning seasons for the first time in nearly 20 ****ing years. Coaching has a lot to do with that, but so does the QB position. The signing of Daniel was proactive. The signing of Bray was proactive. The wasting of a draft pick for Murray was proactive.

It will happen and thank the little baby Jesus they aren't going to reach for the position to do it so we end up with some Chiefs Planet All-Pro like Jimmy Clausen or Mark Sanchez.

[Saccopoo]

Originally Posted by O.city

That's 10 years and about 500 sacks ago.

He's not that guy anymore

11-5.

9-7.

With what was not very arguably the worst WR and OL corps in the NFL.

He is that guy.

Still.

[Sweet Daddy Hate]

The Chiefs are just ****ing pussies.

It is what it is.

Tell me history says different.

[O.city]

Originally Posted by Saccopoo

11-5.

9-7.

With what was not very arguably the worst WR and OL corps in the NFL.

He is that guy.

Still.

Wins and or losses isn't a justifiable way to rate qb play.

If that's the only thing you're basing this off of, no, he's not that guy anymore