Alex "F It" Smith

[sith13 1,746]

Smith finished this game without his WR1, WR2, or WR3. His TE1 didn't practice for much of the week because of the concussion protocol.

 

Let that sink in for a minute.

 

I don't think the problem is the lack of talent around him, at least from my perspective. I would be content with Smith making the plays needed for a win only to have our receivers drop the passes or miss routes, whatever. Lack of our better receivers basically turned Smith into a conservative version of Cassel.

 

Starting from now I'm actually rooting for the opposition defense to intercept a few throws from Smith. Otherwise we don't stand much chance in the playoffs. 

[MisChief-Maker 135]

I don't think the problem is the lack of talent around him, at least from my perspective. I would be content with Smith making the plays needed for a win only to have our receivers drop the passes or miss routes, whatever. Lack of our better receivers basically turned Smith into a conservative version of Cassel.

 

Starting from now I'm actually rooting for the opposition defense to intercept a few throws from Smith. Otherwise we don't stand much chance in the playoffs. 

 

Are you suggesting that by throwing a few interceptions, it would mean Mahomes gets a chance? Would Reid ever do that even if Smith had a few bad games?

[sith13 1,746]

Are you suggesting that by throwing a few interceptions, it would mean Mahomes gets a chance? Would Reid ever do that even if Smith had a few bad games?

 

I'm counting Mahomes out for the year unless there's a serious injury. I think Smith will only get better at playing QB if he throws a few interceptions as I believe he's too scared to take the risk of interception in quite a bit of occasions to make the right throws. 

[soonerborn77 276]

Smith finished this game without his WR1, WR2, or WR3. His TE1 didn't practice for much of the week because of the concussion protocol.

 

Let that sink in for a minute.

Yea but our WR6 was wide open in the corner of the end zone which could have cut the lead back to 2, that is a throw that needs to be made.

[dksww 484]

It was the ideal situation where smith could put down all the naysayers and put together an ending where he could be the hero because other things weren’t working and he kept missing throws. The Steelers defense made mistakes at the end that an elite qb exploits and wins a game that the other team dominated. I think today simply cemented what we already know, that smith can look good when things are going great, but when the chips are down and the team needs the qb to take them team on it’s back , he gets erratic. He’s a good qb, not a great one, and not one that in the 4th quarter of the afc title game that makes you think that he’s gonna engineer a td drive inside of two minutes. Take this season for what it is and have fun with it, but Smith isn’t delivering a super bowl.

 

so just to confirm, a QB can't ever miss one single throw and must play perfect in all 19 games to win a Super Bowl?

 

Say what you will about Smith's talent, but the way you're stating it suggests the above statement.

[PhataLerror 370]

Ah, Smith is supposed to throw dimes to guys he hardly practices with. Not Hill, not Conley, not Wilson, but rather Robinson and Kemp, guys playing in the West Coast Offense who aren't well-developed as route-runners.

 

In case you missed it, De'Anthony Thomas just had the most statistically productive game of his four-year career, with 61 yards receiving. He also has for the first time of his career produced a receiving touchdown in two consecutive games. Practice matters.

[MisChief-Maker 135]

Ah, Smith is supposed to throw dimes to guys he hardly practices with. Not Hill, not Conley, not Wilson, but rather Robinson and Kemp, guys playing in the West Coast Offense who aren't well-developed as route-runners.

 

In case you missed it, De'Anthony Thomas just had the most statistically productive game of his four-year career, with 61 yards receiving. He also has for the first time of his career produced a receiving touchdown in two consecutive games. Practice matters.

 

Practice matters yes, but when players are wide open, the very best QB's will spot them a mile away whether they've practised a whole bunch of times with them or not. Smith can be good when we're in the groove and leading the game. But how many times does he actually dig us out of a hole? I think of the great comebacks we've had In recent times when we've needed someone to step up. Berry at Atalanta, Peters and Berry at Carolina, Hill at Denver etc. I can't think of many times when Alex has won us a game single handily tbh and that's what we need in a QB if we ever intend to go to the big dance.

[soonerborn77 276]

Practice matters yes, but when players are wide open, the very best QB's will spot them a mile away whether they've practised a whole bunch of times with them or not. Smith can be good when we're in the groove and leading the game. But how many times does he actually dig us out of a hole? I think of the great comebacks we've had In recent times when we've needed someone to step up. Berry at Atalanta, Peters and Berry at Carolina, Hill at Denver etc. I can't think of many times when Alex has won us a game single handily tbh and that's what we need in a QB if we ever intend to go to the big dance.

 

yes exactly this isn't a timing route issue, it's not like the infamous colts playoff game where he missed the throw to our 3rd string RB, that I agree is just lack of chemistry between the two.  The guy standing wide open in the endzone with no one near him and ball sailing 5 yards over his head is not because of lack of practice between the two, that's just a terrible throw.

[soonerborn77 276]

It was the ideal situation where smith could put down all the naysayers and put together an ending where he could be the hero because other things weren’t working and he kept missing throws. The Steelers defense made mistakes at the end that an elite qb exploits and wins a game that the other team dominated. I think today simply cemented what we already know, that smith can look good when things are going great, but when the chips are down and the team needs the qb to take them team on it’s back , he gets erratic. He’s a good qb, not a great one, and not one that in the 4th quarter of the afc title game that makes you think that he’s gonna engineer a td drive inside of two minutes. Take this season for what it is and have fun with it, but Smith isn’t delivering a super bowl.

 

The only thing I disagree with is you could have said the same thing after the Redskins game but he led us back to win it in the last minute against a defense that was giving us trouble all game long, same thing with multiple other games (SD and Denver games come to mind last year).  You can't point to this game and say this should put down the naysayers and ignore the times he did do it...

[PhataLerror 370]

Take this season for what it is and have fun with it, but Smith isn’t delivering a super bowl.

I now recognize which camp you come from. This team wouldn't be 5-1 without Smith, not with this sieve of a line, ragtag bunch of receivers, and a defense that allows 6.8 plays per possession and gives up back-breaking chunk plays. In a game in which the Chiefs' offensive line was overwhelmed by the Steelers' defensive front, winning the field position battle was going to be key to the Chiefs' success, and the defense responded by giving up almost 440 yards.

 

I'm tired of hearing from fans who point the finger at the quarterback while propping up other ailing facets of the team that are grossly underperforming in their respective roles.

[MisChief-Maker 135]

I now recognize which camp you come from. This team wouldn't be 5-1 without Smith, not with this sieve of a line, ragtag bunch of receivers, and a defense that allows 6.8 plays per possession and gives up back-breaking chunk plays. In a game in which the Chiefs' offensive line was overwhelmed by the Steelers' defensive front, winning the field position battle was going to be key to the Chiefs' success, and the defense responded by giving up almost 440 yards.

 

I'm tired of hearing from fans who point the finger at the quarterback while propping up other ailing facets of the team that are grossly underperforming in their respective roles.

 

The rush defence has gotten a beating from fans, as has the O-Line, Sutton and the WR's. If we want to become a dominant force in this game we're gonna have to look at everything. Smith was poor yesterday, and the worry is this kind of performance will haunt us once again in the playoffs when we need him the most.

[PhataLerror 370]

The rush defence has gotten a beating from fans, as has the O-Line, Sutton and the WR's. If we want to become a dominant force in this game we're gonna have to look at everything. Smith was poor yesterday, and the worry is this kind of performance will haunt us once again in the playoffs when we need him the most.

Any team that plays as badly in two of three phases of the game as the Chiefs did yesterday will lose in the playoffs to a team that plays well. You can't hang Smith's performance exclusively on him, and you can't point to him as being even primarily responsible for the loss. Or secondarily. The offensive line has to do its job. The defense has to get the opposing team off of the field.

 

I mean, you can, but to do so would display a gross lack of understanding of what happened yesterday. Smith didn't have a great game yesterday, but he had next to nothing left to work with by the end of the game.

[moons314 2,463]

I now recognize which camp you come from. This team wouldn't be 5-1 without Smith, not with this sieve of a line, ragtag bunch of receivers, and a defense that allows 6.8 plays per possession and gives up back-breaking chunk plays. In a game in which the Chiefs' offensive line was overwhelmed by the Steelers' defensive front, winning the field position battle was going to be key to the Chiefs' success, and the defense responded by giving up almost 440 yards.

 

I'm tired of hearing from fans who point the finger at the quarterback while propping up other ailing facets of the team that are grossly underperforming in their respective roles.

The defense gave up 17 points, 7 of which were on an absolute fluke play after the defender missed the INT.  If your defense holds the opposition under 20 points, they did their job, period.  Yardage doesn't show up on the scoreboard. 

 

I never said the team would be better or worse than 5-1 without Smith.  I never said Smith was a terrible quarterback.  I said he's not going to carry a team in January.  You might be tired of hearing from fans that point fingers, but I'm tired of people twisting my words into something I did not say.  

[MisChief-Maker 135]

Any team that plays as badly in two of three phases of the game as the Chiefs did yesterday will lose in the playoffs to a team that plays well. You can't hang Smith's performance exclusively on him, and you can't point to him as being even primarily responsible for the loss. Or secondarily. The offensive line has to do its job. The defense has to get the opposing team off of the field.

 

I mean, you can, but to do so would display a gross lack of understanding of what happened yesterday. Smith didn't have a great game yesterday, but he had next to nothing left to work with by the end of the game.

 

So missing the throw to Kelce, and not spotting Robinson at least two to three times when he was wide open is "not his fault"? Come on bro. That might be acceptable for an average QB. But the best QB's thrive off of those fine margins. 

[moons314 2,463]

The only thing I disagree with is you could have said the same thing after the Redskins game but he led us back to win it in the last minute against a defense that was giving us trouble all game long, same thing with multiple other games (SD and Denver games come to mind last year).  You can't point to this game and say this should put down the naysayers and ignore the times he did do it...

This game was different.  This was the it moment where he had to be the guy.  He had the advantage of being on his home turf with the stars aligned perfectly to be the hero, and he missed open receivers on multiple occasions.  The reason this was different is because Pitt is a physical playoff team, a team that has beat up on us in the playoffs in the past.  It's the caliber of opponent combined with style of play.  These are games that are part of getting over the proverbial hump.  The Steelers are likely the best team in the AFC, and they are a class above beating the likes of Denver/Oak and a SD team that can hope for being nothing more than a spoiler.  This was about taking the next step. 

[moons314 2,463]

So missing the throw to Kelce, and not spotting Robinson at least two to three times when he was wide open is "not his fault"? Come on bro. That might be acceptable for an average QB. But the best QB's thrive off of those fine margins. 

This is what I'm saying.  If receivers weren't open and the opportunities weren't there, I wouldn't be saying a word about Smith.  He missed throws that a QB can't miss against top competition.  The receivers were open. 

[dksww 484]

The defense gave up 17 points, 7 of which were on an absolute fluke play after the defender missed the INT.  If your defense holds the opposition under 20 points, they did their job, period.  Yardage doesn't show up on the scoreboard. 

 

I never said the team would be better or worse than 5-1 without Smith.  I never said Smith was a terrible quarterback.  I said he's not going to carry a team in January.  You might be tired of hearing from fans that point fingers, but I'm tired of people twisting my words into something I did not say.  

 

The defense did hold them under 20 points but giving up yardage and countless 3rd down conversions keeps the offense off the field.

 

With any offense, it's all about getting into a rhythm which they couldn't do.

 

I understand he missed throws in yesterday's game, there were also 2 drops by Hill and Kelce that killed a drive.  I can even argue Harris dropped the 4th down pass in the end zone.

 

Regardless, the idea that Smith or any QB has to hit every single throw ever is ridiculous. 

 

Not even the top 5 QBs do that.

[Chiefmanzada 466]

I don't think the problem is the lack of talent around him, at least from my perspective. I would be content with Smith making the plays needed for a win only to have our receivers drop the passes or miss routes, whatever. Lack of our better receivers basically turned Smith into a conservative version of Cassel.

 

Starting from now I'm actually rooting for the opposition defense to intercept a few throws from Smith. Otherwise we don't stand much chance in the playoffs.

We were without Wilson and Conley for the first time, and no Hill on that last drive with a couple backups at OL and a shaky Witzman. No more excuses after this game, I’ll tell you that though

[Chiefmanzada 466]

The defense did hold them under 20 points but giving up yardage and countless 3rd down conversions keeps the offense off the field.

 

With any offense, it's all about getting into a rhythm which they couldn't do.

 

I understand he missed throws in yesterday's game, there were also 2 drops by Hill and Kelce that killed a drive. I can even argue Harris dropped the 4th down pass in the end zone.

 

Regardless, the idea that Smith or any QB has to hit every single throw ever is ridiculous.

 

Not even the top 5 QBs do that.

He missed key throws in this game. Better not do the same in the playoffs when it really matters. He knows this. No reason to be upset with Smith after this game. We’re 5-1 because of him. That’s something nice

[moons314 2,463]

The defense did hold them under 20 points but giving up yardage and countless 3rd down conversions keeps the offense off the field.

 

With any offense, it's all about getting into a rhythm which they couldn't do.

 

I understand he missed throws in yesterday's game, there were also 2 drops by Hill and Kelce that killed a drive.  I can even argue Harris dropped the 4th down pass in the end zone.

 

Regardless, the idea that Smith or any QB has to hit every single throw ever is ridiculous. 

 

Not even the top 5 QBs do that.

Wait, so the offense going nearly an entire half was the fault of the defense causing the offense to not get into rhythm?  Pitt got the opening kickoff, moved a little bit, then punted.  The Chiefs offense promptly gave away 2 points, then after recovering the free kick, failed to advance the ball and kicked a FG.   Kickoff to Pitt, 3 plays later Peters picks off a pass, and the offense is back on the field, only to go 3 and out again.  The game began with what essentially amounted to two Pitt turnovers, and the offense couldn't even muster a single first down.  If anything, the inability of the offense to stay on the field, or even get a single first down, wore out our defense.  13 points for an NFL offense with modern rules is bad.

 

No one ever said he had to hit every single throw.  He didn't hit anything down the field yesterday.  It was like watching Alex of years past, wide left, 2 yards too high, etc on anything beyond 10 yards.  All QBs miss a throw, but great QBs don't miss multiple throws in the same game.  You make it sound like he was hitting all but 2 or 3 passes, which wasn't the case.  He barely completed 50% of his passes, and if you remove 2 dropped passes, his completion percentage is still a reflection of how off he was. 

[Mloe68 1,521]

This is what I'm saying.  If receivers weren't open and the opportunities weren't there, I wouldn't be saying a word about Smith.  He missed throws that a QB can't miss against top competition.  The receivers were open. 

Alex really struggled with the wind yesterday. His passes sailed on him all day. Part of that anyway was not being able to step into many throws as our interior line got manhandled. But he also missed some easy ones as well. 

[Mloe68 1,521]

Wait, so the offense going nearly an entire half was the fault of the defense causing the offense to not get into rhythm?  Pitt got the opening kickoff, moved a little bit, then punted.  The Chiefs offense promptly gave away 2 points, then after recovering the free kick, failed to advance the ball and kicked a FG.   Kickoff to Pitt, 3 plays later Peters picks off a pass, and the offense is back on the field, only to go 3 and out again.  The game began with what essentially amounted to two Pitt turnovers, and the offense couldn't even muster a single first down.  If anything, the inability of the offense to stay on the field, or even get a single first down, wore out our defense.  13 points for an NFL offense with modern rules is bad.

 

No one ever said he had to hit every single throw.  He didn't hit anything down the field yesterday.  It was like watching Alex of years past, wide left, 2 yards too high, etc on anything beyond 10 yards.  All QBs miss a throw, but great QBs don't miss multiple throws in the same game.  You make it sound like he was hitting all but 2 or 3 passes, which wasn't the case.  He barely completed 50% of his passes, and if you remove 2 dropped passes, his completion percentage is still a reflection of how off he was. 

I think its a combination. Clearly controlling the clock creates problems for us in all types of ways. The way we beat Pittsburgh though is to turn the tables and limit their possessions as Jacksonville did. There are many offenses out there that do well in that scenario. Our offense was bad yesterday and deserves the criticism on about the same level as our rush defense. We've got 4 days to get it turned back around but if I'm Oakland I'm using the recipe Pitt did and grinding out drives behind Lynch. 

[dksww 484]

Wait, so the offense going nearly an entire half was the fault of the defense causing the offense to not get into rhythm?  Pitt got the opening kickoff, moved a little bit, then punted.  The Chiefs offense promptly gave away 2 points, then after recovering the free kick, failed to advance the ball and kicked a FG.   Kickoff to Pitt, 3 plays later Peters picks off a pass, and the offense is back on the field, only to go 3 and out again.  The game began with what essentially amounted to two Pitt turnovers, and the offense couldn't even muster a single first down.  If anything, the inability of the offense to stay on the field, or even get a single first down, wore out our defense.  13 points for an NFL offense with modern rules is bad.

 

No one ever said he had to hit every single throw.  He didn't hit anything down the field yesterday.  It was like watching Alex of years past, wide left, 2 yards too high, etc on anything beyond 10 yards.  All QBs miss a throw, but great QBs don't miss multiple throws in the same game.  You make it sound like he was hitting all but 2 or 3 passes, which wasn't the case.  He barely completed 50% of his passes, and if you remove 2 dropped passes, his completion percentage is still a reflection of how off he was. 

 

TOP was 36:39 to 23:21.  The first PIT drive that ended in a punt went 6:00 minutes and got ended by a sack and they punted.  2 plays later KC gave up the Safety.

 

PIT then botched the kick, KC got a FG on a 1:29 drive.

 

PIT then went 12 plays 6:25 for a TD.  This was with 14:55 in the 2nd.  They had the ball the entire 1st quarter.

 

Yes, the offense started slow, they didn't really have the ball until the 2nd quarter and couldn't gain any traction until the 2nd half.

 

I stated he missed throws.  If you give him the 2 drops and the Harris TD(arguable drop), he finished the day 22/34 with 2 TDs.  22/34 = 64% completion.

 

The throw to Robinson probably doesn't score a TD but gets them close and he should've made that completion.

 

We can nit pick other throws in the game, like a high one to Kelce when he was sort of open, but IMO the 4 mentioned here were the biggest and 3 of them were drops. 

 

Again, conceding that the Harris catch is possibly not a drop.

[moons314 2,463]

But TOP is going to be lopsided when your offense can't stay on the field.  When you continually go 3 and out,  you're going to be on the wrong end of TOP, especially if the other team has a pulse at RB.  If the offense puts together 3-4 first downs in the first half, TOP is suddenly 31-29 in favor of Pitt.  At this point I'm not even talking specifically about Alex, but the offense as a whole.  When you go nearly an entire half without generating a first down offensively, you can't blame the defense for TOP.  It wasn't until the 5th possession of the first half that the offense finally got a first down.  We averaged less than 2 minutes per possession in the first half.

[KCSLC2008 606]

The defense gave up 17 points, 7 of which were on an absolute fluke play after the defender missed the INT. If your defense holds the opposition under 20 points, they did their job, period. Yardage doesn't show up on the scoreboard.

 

I never said the team would be better or worse than 5-1 without Smith. I never said Smith was a terrible quarterback. I said he's not going to carry a team in January. You might be tired of hearing from fans that point fingers, but I'm tired of people twisting my words into something I did not say.

People here know that I have supported Smith plenty and this kind of response is OK by me. If one calls him terrible or says he sucks, it's hard for me to discuss football with them because it's a matter of opinion.

 

If one says he is not good enough to win the Super Bowl, that's OK because he will either prove it or he won't (injuries would muddle this a bit, but more or less, we have depth; I would accept saying that he was not good enough to overcome those injuries, if that happens.).

 

I would be elated to know that one was wrong about that if we win the Super Bowl. Even more if he leads it. And the great thing? The person who said that would be happy to concede. Now, the only exception to this would be if someone goes out of their way to explain away the Super Bowl win by giving credit to everyone else. (No, that doesn't mean we would need to sign him for a long term extension or even keep him the next year.)