Alex Smith's first start as a Chief...

**ctchiefsfan** · 09-09-2013, 02:21 PM

I hope everybody will keep this thread on Alex Smith rather than comparing him to someone else. Please?

So how did our new QB do?

Seems to me he did pretty much what he was supposed to. We scored TDs when we got in the Red Zone. We didn't give the football away. He threw for two touchdowns. Completed just shy of 62% of his passes. He threw no interceptions. He didn't lose any fumbles. He wasn't terribly exciting. But when all is said and done, we won a game we should have. And that alone is a BIG improvement. I certainly don't see him carrying us to a Superbowl by himself, but with the right team around him he certainly won't stop us.

All in all I feel the same way about him that I have from the start.....cautiously optimistic and without a doubt a BIG improvement.

**ctchiefsfan** · 09-09-2013, 04:42 PM

My "grading system" is did we win or did we lose. We won.

Yes....it was against the Jags.

Yes....Alex Smith only threw for 170+ yards.

But we led from about 5 minutes into the 1st quarter and never trailed again.

Smith didn't give the ball away.

We scored a touchdown EVERY time we got in the Red Zone. THAT IS HUGE!

Yes....it was against the Jags. Said twice intentionally.

Alex Smith's performance was nothing to ignite SuperBowl predictions, but we faced a team on the road that we should have beaten and we put a good beating on them.

I have seen a LOT of Chiefs teams over the years that would have won this game 10-2 or 13-2. And I'll tell you true, if the score during the Jag's last drive had been 10-2 I wouldn't have bet a lot on the outcome with many past Chiefs teams.

We beat the Jags and it wasn't close. I am happy with that from a new new coach, new GM, new QB, new offensive scheme and a team with so many new players.

I will never complain about a win.

**brdempsey69** · 09-09-2013, 04:48 PM

Originally Posted by ctchiefsfan

You have hit the nail on the head with the part I marked in bold.

Get the ball in the Red Zone! Then get TDs most of the time when you do. This has been one of our weaknesses for longer than I can remember. For way to many years the Chiefs have been the kings of the field goal. It's great to have an accurate and powerful kicker and he will save your bacon many times, but in a perfect world your kicker shouldn't be scoring a lot of points 'cause almost all he should be doing is kicking PATs.

Alex Smith may not be Superman, but if when he gets inside the enemy 20 yard line he becomes like a shark that smells blood in the water then we will be talking about him for a long long time.

On Bray....He certainly has a ways to go, but I think he may become one of the best decisions of the Reid/Dorsey era.

Truth be told, when I heard about the trade for Alex Smith, I had to think it through for a while ( unlike so many Chiefs fans who wrote him off before thinking it through ) and came to the conclusion that he was indeed the best option for them heading into this season. Daniel made sense as a backup & then they jumped all over Bray when he was undrafted & now as time has gone on, it's highly doubtful that Dorsey/Reid could have addressed the Chiefs QB any better than what they did.

If the O-Line in front of Smith continues to progress & become one of the NFL's better units, then Smith will stay upright & most likely give them a QB similar to Rich Gannon.

**ctchiefsfan** · 09-09-2013, 04:56 PM

Originally Posted by brdempsey69

Truth be told, when I heard about the trade for Alex Smith, I had to think it through for a while ( unlike so many Chiefs fans who wrote him off before thinking it through ) and came to the conclusion that he was indeed the best option for them heading into this season. Daniel made sense as a backup & then they jumped all over Bray when he was undrafted & now as time has gone on, it's highly doubtful that Dorsey/Reid could have addressed the Chiefs QB any better than what they did.

If the O-Line in front of Smith continues to progress & become one of the NFL's better units, then Smith will stay upright & most likely give them a QB similar to Rich Gannon.

EXACTLY SO!!! Smith will never be the best QB in the NFL, but I think he was the very best QB we could get for our needs THIS YEAR. And I think getting Bray as a UFA may have been the best thing that happened to us this year.

**matthewschiefs** · 09-09-2013, 05:26 PM

Alex Smith's first start as a Chief was Solid.

There are things that will have to get better yes. But after week 1 you can say that just about of every offense and every QB in the NFL. Alex Smith was in his first start with a whole new Offense and a brand new group of guys around him. He wasn't going to be in Mid season form. But he was solid. He had command of the offense didn't turn the ball over although he was lucky on at least one occasion that he didn't. But he didn't try to force it. When it wasn't there instead of trying to force a pass somewhere he shouldn't he made something happen with his legs.

All in all Smith was Solid. Not great and there are things that HAVE to get better. But it was a nice start to his time in KC. He will grow in this offense and the offense will click more as they get more time together. But it was a nice start.

**azchiefsfan** · 09-09-2013, 06:22 PM

After jumping out to the lead, it's clear Reid went to "ball control" and a soft prevent defense in the 2nd quarter. Sadly, J-Town is just that bad. Let's get a better opponent to rate Smith and (I think more importantly) Reid as field commanders. But Smith's performance was a B+, when a D- would have won the game, so it's hard to really say how good I feel about him. AND a W is a W.

**Seek** · 09-09-2013, 06:49 PM

So last year we scored a total of 18 TD's with 8 of those being passin Td's. Production from Alex Smith was everything it needed to be and nothing less. We got what most of us expected.

**jason1981** · 09-09-2013, 07:33 PM

The biggest thing I noticed was we finally have a qb that knows how to go through his progressions from 1st to last options. Cassels worst thing was only looking at his first read and then steering the wr down. So sick of cassel that id settle for smith just to keep doing what hes doing. He doesnt need tl carry the team on his back. I think he could but dont think he needs to.

**ctchiefsfan** · 09-09-2013, 07:52 PM

Originally Posted by jason1981

He doesnt need tl carry the team on his back. I think he could but dont think he needs to.

That's the thing! Alex Smith is no Peyton, Eli or other "elite" QB. But he is miles beyond what we have struggled with recently. Sad as it is this just wasn't the year to grab an instant franchise QB out of the draft. But I think Alex Smith can make us respectable and maybe get us a playoff win while we groom Bray or maybe somebody else. If there is anything I am confident about it is that we won't be seeing 2-14 or 4-12 seasons with Alex Smith under center. If down the road we can combine Bray's arm with Smith's "reliability" we just might have our QB solution for the next 15 or so years. Put that together with Reid and Dorsey and we just might make people forget the damned Splatriots.

**tornadospotter** · 09-09-2013, 07:52 PM

When it was first rumored we was going after Alex Smith, I had my doubts, but after the trade he was a Chief, so he has my support. I am liking what I have seen and heard so far. A first game of the season win is already a huge improvement for us. I thought his play was solid. One of the biggest improvements for a Chiefs QB, no batted down passes at the line of scrimmage that I seen, haven't had that for a year or two plus.

**Eydugstr** · 09-09-2013, 08:12 PM

Originally Posted by matthewschiefs

Alex Smith's first start as a Chief was Solid.

There are things that will have to get better yes. But after week 1 you can say that just about of every offense and every QB in the NFL. Alex Smith was in his first start with a whole new Offense and a brand new group of guys around him. He wasn't going to be in Mid season form. But he was solid. He had command of the offense didn't turn the ball over although he was lucky on at least one occasion that he didn't. But he didn't try to force it. When it wasn't there instead of trying to force a pass somewhere he shouldn't he made something happen with his legs.

All in all Smith was Solid. Not great and there are things that HAVE to get better. But it was a nice start to his time in KC. He will grow in this offense and the offense will click more as they get more time together. But it was a nice start.

+1. The big difference that I saw with Smith was his accuracy, where he placed the ball. Outside of that, perhaps by Reid's design, nothing over the top. My impression is that once our recievers get adjusted to how hard he throws the ball, and how much passing there is in this offense, then you'll see the passing yardage numbers go up.