Originally Posted by :
In case you weren't convinced yet, Monday night's primetime game between the Washington Redskins and New Orleans Saints proved that the Kansas City Chiefs made the right decision in moving on from quarterback Alex Smith. The Redskins got walloped 43-19, and Smith's performance was predictably bland. This wasn't just some game for the Skins, either-- this was a "prove it" matchup against a ferocious opponent.
Washington entered best in the NFC East and boasting one of the best defenses in the league, and to make things even more intense, the game was smack in the middle of primetime. And Smith posted 275 yards on 23-39 passing with zero touchdowns and an interception against a New Orleans team ranked 28th in the league in scoring defense.
Classic Alex Smith. Take 4 seconds and then stare down your checkdown so he gets killed before he can catch the ball pic.twitter.com/U40e9upbem
Meanwhile, in Kansas City, Patrick Mahomes is lighting up the league in Smith's place. The young gun leads the league in touchdown passes with 14 and has been electric from the jump. Of course, the Chiefs moved Smith to Washington after last season not just because they really liked what they had in Mahomes, but because they knew what they didn't have in Smith. And they were entirely right.
Smith is a game manager. He doesn't make a ton of mistakes. He can move a bit. He hits on some deep balls. But what Smith cannot do is take over a game. His arm talent can't hold a candle to that of Mahomes. He can't fire a bullet on the run. He most certainly cannot carry an offense. KC knew that and interpreted his excellent statistics last season as more of a reflection of their offensive scheme and alternative playmakers. While they didn't know that the young Mahomes would be quite this good so early, they were confident enough that he could operate well in their fantastic system. He was younger, cheaper, and from what they saw, more dynamic.
The choice was simple.
Patrick Mahomes is the first quarterback to throw for 300+ yards in the regular season against Jacksonville since last October, snapping a streak of 15 consecutive games.
The move paid off with unforeseen levels of success. Mahomes is the leading candidate for MVP thus far, and Smith has as many touchdowns as he has games played (4). There's no debating it. Smith is no franchise quarterback. He won't be carrying anybody to anything. If you want to win with him, you'll have to have everything else on your team be near-perfect.
Whether Mahomes can be the man come the postseason is yet to be seen. But so far, he's making the Kansas City brass look like geniuses for shipping Smith out of town.
Originally Posted by Hammock Parties:
Deep passing played a huge part in winning the Super Bowl.
The threat of the deep pass opens up everything else.
It's not the only thing but it is a big thing.
It's not just that.
"Deep passing' is more than 50 yard bombs over a defense. IT's also taking those big chunk 28 yard posts that you NEVER saw Alex even attempt. Good lord, there's a whole area between slants/screens/swings and bombs over the defense that Alex ALSO largely ignores. It's where Mahomes has been purging demons all season. I don't think he's completed a single 'deep pass' over the top yet. [Reply]
Originally Posted by WhiteWhale:
It's not just that.
"Deep passing' is more than 50 yard bombs over a defense. IT's also taking those big chunk 28 yard posts that you NEVER saw Alex even attempt. Good lord, there's a whole area between slants/screens/swings and bombs over the defense that Alex ALSO largely ignores. It's where Mahomes has been purging demons all season. I don't think he's completed a single 'deep pass' over the top yet.
He hit one to Hill vs the Niners
Would've had another if Sherman didn't interfere [Reply]
Originally Posted by tk13:
The funny part is people are so obsessed with going deep. Arm strength is important for being able to throw the ball into tight windows. This whole idea that the ability to throw deep is the most important thing is such a myth. Alex Smith had as many passes completed beyond 30 yards last year as Tom Brady has in the last 3 years combined. Peyton Manning's arm was shot his final year when he won a Super Bowl. Ain't nobody taking Alex Smith over either of them. But it's all you read about in these articles, on Twitter, fan boards, etc. You need to be able to threaten vertically but it doesn't equate to championships... Alex Smith was great last year at actually completing passes deep and it didn't mean squat.
The difference is in that 11-20 yard pass range. Brady, Matt Ryan, Mahomes, etc... kill it in that range. Alex Smith doesn't. But I guess it depends on what you classify as a deep pass.
Last year was an aberration. He was throwing deep to hill.
His accuracy normally past 5 to 10 yards drops a bunch outside of last year. He has neither the consistent arm strength or accuracy on deep throws. Just go man and he will look for check down if he didn't start with it.
He is horrible down 7 to 20 pts. Plays too conservative to bring most games back on his own. Go for the safe 5 yard pass on 3rd and 8 instead of 1st down throw.
But somehow once he gets down 21plus he starts opening up the throws. He gets his garbage time TDs and yards.
The skins would have been better with a rookie or some cheap backup starting.
Like how rbs are dime a dozen now. I think teams need to grab qbs and limit them like Smith limits himself. Same production for minimum. [Reply]
