KC Warpaint 3,235 Posted February 5, 2017 Share Posted February 5, 2017 HOUSTON Sam Mellinger - KC Star You’d have fun here. The Super Bowl has long been a weeklong celebration of football that shuts down major American cities in the name of capitalism, fun, football, and also capitalism. There’s enough to do, no matter what. Interactive games. Music. Football shows and football stories and football laughs. But you want your team here. It’s a lot of money, and a lot of time, to spend celebrating someone else’s squad. Heck, even some Patriots fans might not be convinced. In line for coffee, a few lamented that next year’s game is in Minneapolis. Too cold. They might stay home. Chiefs fans, of course, would not have the same decision-making process. Their team’s playoff loss last month marked the 47th consecutive year without a Super Bowl. In major North American professional sports, only the Jets and Lions in the NFL, the Hawks and Kings in the NBA, and the Maple Leafs in the NHL have gone longer since their last championship appearance. All of which brings up the question: after 12 years in the league, and four in Kansas City, do we know whether Alex Smith is good enough to ever lead the Chiefs to this game? “Oh, that’s a good question, man,” said Marshall Faulk, the Hall of Fame running back and analyst for NFL Network. “In today’s league, watching what they call a quote-unquote franchise quarterback, it makes you say no.” This week, I asked seven football men this question — Faulk, Deion Sanders, Kurt Warner, Dick Vermeil, Terrell Davis, Steve Mariucci and Gil Brandt. All but Mariucci have won Super Bowls. Faulk stood alone in saying no, but the yesses came in varying shades of certainty, from Vermeil (”Yes, no question”) to Sanders (”Yes, but he can’t do it by himself”) to Warner (”Yes, but I believe he has to change the way he plays”). Actually, Warner gave the most thoughtful and nuanced answer, touching on a thought that several expressed but none articulated quite as well. He said he believes Smith is good enough, but needs to shed some of his natural caution in pursuit of bigger successes. “You have to be willing to lose games for your team, in order to win games for your team,” he said. “By that I mean, you have to be willing to take chances to make big plays, and you might make more mistakes than he makes, because he does a great job protecting the football. But you have to believe, ‘I’m going to make more big plays that are game-changing type plays, that can help us win against the best teams in the league.’ Especially come playoff time. “Alex has the ability to do that. I see him do that. But he plays more of a game manager role, instead of saying, ‘It’s going through my right arm.’ “I don’t know. If he never makes that switch as a guy who’s willing to lose games for his team, but more importantly believes he can win games for his team with his right arm, I don’t know if they ever get over that hump.” This is, of course, a version of something many in Kansas City have been talking about for years. But it does hit a little differently hearing it from Warner, a Super Bowl winner and new Hall of Famer. The Chiefs have gone through stages of encouraging Smith to take more chances. He’ll never be Brett Favre in that way, and he shouldn’t be, not with a strong defense. And Andy Reid’s offense tilts toward a short, controlled passing game anyway. But particularly with Tyreek Hill’s emergence, Smith knows he can and should take more chances downfield. Because what Warner is talking about — and this is a point alluded to by Davis, Mariucci, Sanders and Vermeil, too — is that without Smith making big plays and “throwing receivers open” the rest of the team is required to be something close to perfect. Four years ago, the Chiefs lost a playoff game because the defense gave up 35 points in the second half. Two years ago, they created no pressure on Tom Brady and couldn’t score enough. Last month, they simply missed too many opportunities — Smith and others. At some point, unless the rest of the team is overwhelming, the quarterback is probably going to need to do more than simply not screw up. “He always takes the side of, ‘I’m not going to make the mistake,’ vs. trying to make the big play,” Davis said. “Part of that is good. But part of it is that’s where the great plays come from, taking those chances.” The problem with this is the idea that after 136 starts and 4,108 passes Smith is suddenly going to make a drastic change. How often does that happen? But the other side of this is the Chiefs are too good to start over. Chairman Clark Hunt believes the team is good enough to win a Super Bowl with the right breaks, a stance backed up by most here. The best quarterbacks are often unavailable without a high first-round pick. The Chiefs are set to pick 27th. The Falcons used two first-round picks, a second, and two fourths to move from No. 27 to No. 6 in 2011. The Jaguars used a first, two thirds, and a fourth to move from No. 26 to No. 8 in 2008. This is a point made by several this week: it’s one thing to believe the Chiefs could use a better quarterback, but it’s quite another to figure a way to find that upgrade. “It’s like getting divorced and getting a new wife,” Faulk said. “You better know who your new wife is going to be. You better know. Because that old wife is going to cost you. And if you get another one, and it’s not as good as the first one, it’s going to cost you two times now.” This is the impasse, but the Chiefs have some advantages they can use right now if they choose. Smith’s contract becomes easy to get out of after the 2017 season. The Chiefs have extra picks in the upcoming draft, which includes four top quarterback prospects generally thought by the industry to be good fits. That means they can trade up without ruining their draft, if they want, and bring in a talented quarterback to possibly take over in the future. If the pick develops, they can cut or renegotiate with Smith. If they’re not sure, they can keep Smith and continue to search for an upgrade. They don’t have to get divorced, in other words. This doesn’t have to be monogamous. Smith is good enough to win with, but limited enough that Faulk’s and Warner’s analyses ring true to many of us who watch the Chiefs regularly. This is the most logical and sensible path for the Chiefs to chase the Super Bowl. It’s the one they haven’t tried in more than 30 years, to get where they haven’t been in more than 40 years. You really would like it here, too. Especially if you came to watch your team. Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/sam-mellinger/article130790654.html#storylink=cpy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Okiechief1 425 Posted February 5, 2017 Share Posted February 5, 2017 Warner is pretty spot on and its why alot of people are so frustrated with Smith and ready to move on. At this stage of his career its very doubtful he changes into the guy Warner and Davis suggest. I can't even think of a guy who has. Following Davis logic about great plays come from taking chances the same could be said about finding a player as well. Take a chance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
West 6,714 Posted February 5, 2017 Share Posted February 5, 2017 How many wives do you have? Taking a chance can be VERY expensive. I am fine having Smith play balls to the wall, that should be tried. I am fine with moving up in the draft to grab one of the 4 "possibly good" QB's. But there is no reason to panic. This team is building year after year..... How about we push Andy Reid to formulate VERY Aggressive Offensive Game Plans to start with? w Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azchief21 5,278 Posted February 5, 2017 Share Posted February 5, 2017 “You have to be willing to lose games for your team, in order to win games for your team,” he said. “By that I mean, you have to be willing to take chances to make big plays, and you might make more mistakes than he makes, because he does a great job protecting the football. But you have to believe, ‘I’m going to make more big plays that are game-changing type plays, that can help us win against the best teams in the league.’ Especially come playoff time. “Alex has the ability to do that. I see him do that. But he plays more of a game manager role, instead of saying, ‘It’s going through my right arm.’ “I don’t know. If he never makes that switch as a guy who’s willing to lose games for his team, but more importantly believes he can win games for his team with his right arm, I don’t know if they ever get over that hump.”- Warner Sounds like the broken record I've been playing. If you're afraid to lose, you can't win. If you're trying not to lose, you're losing. Sounds cliche. But it's fact. Anybody who's ever played any sport understands this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chiefsfan1963 1,101 Posted February 5, 2017 Share Posted February 5, 2017 Yes Smith can be on a SB winning team. I have always said, it 5akes more than a QB to win a SB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NChiefsCorner 496 Posted February 5, 2017 Share Posted February 5, 2017 Sure he can be on a SB winning team as a backup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KCSLC2008 606 Posted February 5, 2017 Share Posted February 5, 2017 Sure he can be on a SB winning team as a backup. He already tried that but Kaepernick kept forcing the ball to Crabtree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azchief21 5,278 Posted February 5, 2017 Share Posted February 5, 2017 He already tried that but Kaepernick kept forcing the ball to Crabtree. Kaepernick had 302 yds passing 1 TD 1 INT with 62 yards rushing 1 rushing TD had 2 receivers over 100 yds and scored 31 points. So I'm guessing by forcing you mean, trying to win. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chiefsfan1963 1,101 Posted February 5, 2017 Share Posted February 5, 2017 He already tried that but Kaepernick kept forcing the ball to Crabtree.And the year prior his punt returner dropped two punts in his own end of the field. Thus giving the Giants back to back scores without the offense touching the ball. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liquidfriend 1,151 Posted February 6, 2017 Share Posted February 6, 2017 Is he good enough? Yeah, possibly. Will he ever play at his good level consistently enough to do it? No. Too conservative and conservative ball hardly gets you there, much less win it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calichief 3,016 Posted February 6, 2017 Share Posted February 6, 2017 Is he good enough? Yeah, possibly. Will he ever play at his good level consistently enough to do it? No. Too conservative and conservative ball hardly gets you there, much less win it. Warner said, you have to be willing to lose a game for your team... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liquidfriend 1,151 Posted February 6, 2017 Share Posted February 6, 2017 Warner said, you have to be willing to lose a game for your team... And he's right. Even Smith's own teammate knows it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calichief 3,016 Posted February 6, 2017 Share Posted February 6, 2017 And he's right. Even Smith's own teammate knows it. Alex smith ball Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eraser 722 Posted February 6, 2017 Share Posted February 6, 2017 Is Alex Smith good enough to win a SB? Yes. Will he? I doubt it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eraser 722 Posted February 6, 2017 Share Posted February 6, 2017 Marcus Peters either called out his QB or he called out his coach. This is an issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calichief 3,016 Posted February 6, 2017 Share Posted February 6, 2017 Marcus Peters either called out his QB or he called out his coach. This is an issue. Good Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chiefsfan1963 1,101 Posted February 6, 2017 Share Posted February 6, 2017 Marcus Peters either called out his QB or he called out his coach. This is an issue.I would say Peters needs to learn how to speak if he is going to make comments to the world. What the hell was all after da? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liquidfriend 1,151 Posted February 6, 2017 Share Posted February 6, 2017 I think, and I'm really just guessing, he's saying that playing to not make a mistake is an actual mistake. Let them nuts hang means don't be a bitch, be a man. Blood....uh I guess means family? The next part is rather self-explanatory. He went out of the way with his final sentence to shit on dink and dunk football, aka Alex's bread and butter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eraser 722 Posted February 6, 2017 Share Posted February 6, 2017 You can think it. You might even voice it to your boys on the team. Don't go on Twitter, and air it to the public. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azchief21 5,278 Posted February 6, 2017 Share Posted February 6, 2017 If the AAA club didn't watch this game and realize we are light years behind in talent at the QB position then there is no hope. I guess we can fall back on some obscure SF vs NO game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEMO 6,811 Posted February 6, 2017 Share Posted February 6, 2017 Marcus Peters either called out his QB or he called out his coach. This is an issue. Except for Phatal, 63, and apparently you, we all know what the "issue" is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azchief21 5,278 Posted February 6, 2017 Share Posted February 6, 2017 Alex smith ball He shouldn't go public but I think it would be foolish to think a team that is this talented and being held back by dink n dunk AA doesn't feel this way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DefensiveMan 758 Posted February 6, 2017 Share Posted February 6, 2017 He shouldn't go public but I think it would be foolish to think a team that is this talented and being held back by dink n dunk AA doesn't feel this way. We are absolutely the most if not one of the most talented teams in the league. One essential component... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calichief 3,016 Posted February 6, 2017 Share Posted February 6, 2017 Except for Phatal, 63, and apparently you, we all know what the "issue" is.If there are 1,000,000 chief fans, them I'm guessing maybe there are about 10 more. In essence, everyone is Chiefs kingdom knows what the problem is including the 50Other teammates Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eraser 722 Posted February 6, 2017 Share Posted February 6, 2017 Except for Phatal, 63, and apparently you, we all know what the "issue" is. I'm not sure Alex Smith can take this team to the SB, let alone win it. In fact, I believe I said "I doubt it." However, Rypien, Hostetler, Simms, Williams, Dilfer, Flacco, and Johnson say he just may have a shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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