All Joking Aside: the Alex Smith Debate

When you think about Andy Reid, what comes to mind?

Personally, my first instinct is “fat guy in a little coat” but if the Tommy Bahama-Cheeseburger-smuggling-shirt stories are true then Big Red would never go for it.

That was a joke.

Business time. Coach Reid is all about offense. He’s routinely referred to as a wizard, genius, mastermind or something of the like. Now, you’ll have to pardon my cliché but the coach is just the coach. What about the guy who actually runs the offense? Maaaaaaaaannnnnnn… We’re talkin’ bout Quarterbacks.

Arguably the most heavily-debated topic this offseason has been the acquisition of Alex Smith. By now you know the story on him: you probably think he’s an oft-injured former first overall pick with underwhelming stats and a seemingly limited skill set. You heard he has a brilliant football mind though – the kind of guy you want around six days a week… but the seventh is the one that matters most, right?

Did anyone tell you about his three head coaches (two of which were defensive-minded), seven offensive coordinators (there's even a game about it), atrocious supporting cast and so on and so forth?

Look: we could parry and joust about our new signal-caller, but I think our time would be better spent talking about Andy Reid’s Quarterback in Philadelphia: Donovan Jamal McNabb.

So… there’s this well-publicized myth about him being an elite player; a borderline Hall of Famer, even. Sure, the Eagles had a great five-year run between 2000 and 2004 that included four straight NFC East crowns, four-straight NFC Championship games and a trip to the Super Bowl… but statistically speaking, McNabb was a slightly above-average player. His passing numbers should remind you a lot of Troy Aikman (not a compliment) but Donovan doesn’t have the rings to sweeten the deal.

Here are some freebies you may have missed along the way:  McNabb started all 16 regular season games just four times over 11 seasons with Philly. In his 13 total years, he only eclipsed 20 TDs five times, 30 just once and never topped 4,000 yards passing.

He was, however, drafted by an organization that assembled one of the greatest coaching staffs in recent memory. Shoot man - despite all the booing on draft day, McNabb’s transition from college to the NFL went about as smoothly as you can imagine.

Remember that time I said Coach Reid was all about offense? Well, during the Eagles’ prime [2000-2004], they ranked 4th, 2nd, 2nd, 7^th and 2nd in scoring defense (points against)... shows what I know. That’s not to say the offense wasn’t effective – they were sometimes downright electric – but having that kind of defense can aid even the worst of Quarterbacks [see: Smith, Alex] win a hell of a lot of games.

For example: McNabb started all 16 games in 2003, he was significantly below 60% completions, threw for 3,216 yards with 16 TDs, 11 INTs and 9 fumbles. The Eagles went 12-4, got a first round bye, won a playoff game and then fell to Carolina in the NFC Championship.

Then they traded for T-O and McNabb had his lone great statistical season. Then T-O went T-O-O far, and it was back to the same ol’ Donovan. Then T-O did this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOweupNOBVU and we all laughed about it.

But I digress.

Frankly, I see a lot of similarities between Andy’s old flame and his new one. Neither is particularly strong-armed but both have plenty of velocity when the throw requires it. Each of them showed a propensity to fumble the football about every other game, perhaps a byproduct of their scrambling.

Speaking of - rushing effectiveness is one area where McNabb proved to be vastly superior. He averaged four carries for 22 yards/game and crossed the goal line 28 times, while Smith averages three for 10 and has only four TDs on the ground. It’s hard to say if this has more to do with coaching, play-design, instinct, ability, the offensive line… or maybe just skin tone?

That was a joke. You can laugh.

While you’re at it, laugh at this elaborate Wikipedia page for former San Francisco General Manager Scot McCloughan. I bring this to your attention to strengthen the argument that Alex Smith became a product of poor management and even worse coaching while a member of the 49ers. Did you know that before Jim Harbaugh and Greg Roman arrived, Jimmy Raye was the only offensive coordinator Alex Smith had for more than one season and he got fired during his second season?

That wasn’t a joke, but you can still laugh.

Perhaps more humorous are the names you’ll see atop the 49ers stat sheet for Alex Smith’s first few seasons in San Francisco. I got 20 bucks says this is the first time you’ve thought about Kevan “with an A” Barlow since... forever. Let’s also show some respect for Arnaz Battle, who was clearly the best receiver on the team for three straight years thanks to the likes of Antonio Bryant and Darrell Jackson getting a chance to start. Somehow I totally forgot that THE Isaac Bruce led them in receptions one year, but wouldn’t you know… that was the year Alex was put on IR in September. And don’t forget about that “elite” offensive line the 49ers have - Joe Staley is the only starter that wasn’t acquired by Trent Baalke and John Harbaugh.

This wasn’t supposed to become a pissing contest between McNabb and Smith, but somehow the conversations about our new Quarterback are always so fucking polarizing that I feel obligated to defend him.

Something we can all agree on is that Alex is entering his prime, he looked best when he finally had competent coaching and he should continue to improve under Andy Reid.

I know everyone wanted to use the first overall pick on a QB and develop him from scratch, as seems to be the formula for winning in the NFL. Hindsight is 20/20 so let’s be realistic here – which of the three QBs drafted in the first 97 picks did you want to bank our future on? Or was it that guy that went 98^th?

Damn you, Knile Davis.

At the very least, the narrative has changed after the draft… now the majority opinion seems to be that Reid and Dorsey “got it right” when evaluating the Quarterback class, which seems premature but it supports my argument so I decided it was worth mentioning.

Let’s face it: we could be in far worse shape at the Quarterback position. I mean, we probably have been since what… 2006? For the time being, I suggest everyone relax just a smidge. John Dorsey may not have earned your respect yet but Andy Reid sure as hell deserves a chance to prove he knows what he’s doing. Alex Smith is the guy they chose… and that’s like… their job.

For the record: I don’t think the Chiefs are going to win a Super Bowl with Alex Smith… but hot damn if there aren’t a ton of QBs without a ring that you’d love to see in red and gold. Like Dan Marino.

Now that was a joke. See what I did there? Its called exaggeration for effect. Clearly the only thing Marino and Smith have in common is not winning a Super Bowl. That seemed ridiculous right? Well so are the Matt Cassel comparisons, so knock that shit off already.


Look... I know you're upset that its been 30 years or something since we drafted a Quarterback in the first round. You hate this strange adoration the Chiefs have with other teams' backups. You don't want another "game manager" type. Let me try to offer you some solace: if Alex Smith is a "game manager" he's like a... hmmmm... like a "game GENERAL MANAGER". Because that's a significant upgrade. He also hasn't been signed to an extension yet so as of right now, you're only guaranteed to have to watch him for two seasons.

Mark Twain once said "history doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme" so I feel obligated to tell you that when the Chiefs acquired Cassel in 2009, his extension wasn't announced until July 14th. Let's keep our fingers crossed something like that doesn't happen again.

Here are a couple links to get you started if you want to dig a little deeper, but you can get lost on that site. Don't say I didn't warn you.

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/A/AikmTr00.htm

http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/M/McNaDo00.htm
http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/S/SmitAl03.htm