Alex Smith vs. Russell Wilson. Let's compare.

[ctchiefsfan]

These Alex Smith threads usually annoy me, but I'm always willing to listen to a real Chiefs fan rather than some random Smith-hating troll.

So I had a little time on my hands and decided to see how one of the most successful QBs these last 3 years compares with Alex Smith.

I'm not saying this "proves" anything and I don't expect to change anybody's "opinion" but hey.....Wilson has 3 years in the NFL and he has a pretty impressive record. 5 playoff wins. 2 Super Bowl appearances. 1 Super Bowl win. NOBODY is going to say that is not impressive.....RIGHT??????

So Wilson must be HUGELY BETTER than Alex Smith.....RIGHT??????

LET'S LOOK AND SEE.....

I'm only going to compare 2013 and 2014 because Alex was with the 9ers in 2012 and only played 10 games that year...But for the Smith-haters, please be aware that Alex's per game numbers were pretty similar in the 10 games he played in 2012 to the 2 years he played in KC.

I'm not good at putting charts and graphs on bulletin boards like this but I'll do my best. Wilson is in black. Alex is in (red).

Attempts.....completions....% complete...yards.............avg completion....yds / game...TDs ......INT...sack.....

2013

407-(508).....257-(308)....63.1%-(60.6)..3357-(3313).......8.2-(6.5)........209.8-(220.9)..26-(23)..9-(7).44-(33)


2014

452-(464)...285-(303).....63.1-(65.3)....3475-(3265).......7.7-(7.0).......217.2-(217.7)...20-(17)..7-(6?).42-(45)

FULL DISCLOSURE......All above numbers are from nfl.com. There is a "?" after Alex's # of interceptions in 2014 because my memory is that he had 7 ints last year, not 6.

So what does all this tell us????.....

First off, there is ONLY one stat where Wilson is vastly better than Alex and that is yards per completion. But is anybody REALLY SURPRISED???? We all know our WRs SUCKED in 2014 and were nothing special in 2013. Reid-Dorsey seem to have taken steps to address that problem.

2cond.....Alex Smith's average completion % is ALMOST IDENTICAL to Wilson.

3rd.....Alex Smith averages MORE yards per game passing than Wilson. (remember, Alex only played 15 games per season these 2 years so while he had substantially fewer yards per season, his yards per GAME averaged more yards per game than Wilson....although only by 5.8 yards per game. Essentially, identical numbers.

4th....Alex averages 0.2 fewer touchdowns per game (1.2 FEWER POINTS PER GAME BY PASSING TOUCHDOWN) than Wilson. IS IT JUST POSSIBLE THAT THIS HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH SECOND RATE WIDE RECEIVERS?????

5th.....Alex Smith averages fewer interceptions per season than Wilson. IS THAT A BAD THING????????? I don't think so.

6th....Alex Smith averages fewer sacks per season than Wilson. IS THAT A BAD THING??????? I don't think so.

CONCLUSION......Alex Smith over the last 2 years has been nearly identical to Russell Wilson (the most successful QB in the NFL those same two years in all stats EXCEPT yards per completion.)

The only nagging area where Alex is not almost a TWIN of Wilson (or slightly better) is yards per completion. And unless my memory has completely failed me I think this has been discussed here at some length and that the general consensus has been that this problem has been a combination of sub-standard wide receivers and a weak offensive line.

SUMMATION.... The Chiefs CAN win playoff games with Alex Smith at QB. The Chiefs CAN make the Super Bowl with Alex Smith at QB. The Chiefs CAN win a Super Bowl with Alex Smith at QB. WHY??? Because his VIRTUAL TWIN in stats has won 5 playoff games, made 2 Super Bowls and won one Super Bowl in the last 3 years.

ALEX NEEDS BETTER WIDE RECEIVERS AND A BETTER OFFENSIVE LINE. HAVE WE DONE ENOUGH IN THOSE TWO AREAS? I DON'T KNOW. BUT I DO KNOW THAT ALEX CAN TAKE US WHERE WE WANT TO GO IF WE WILL GIVE HIM THE TOOLS HE NEEDS.

[Stevie Ray]

Are you saying that Smith and Wilson seem to be pretty much cut from the same cloth and that with Smith at QB the Chiefs could achieve substantial success if he had the right team around him? Did I get that right or should I have had another cup of coffee before reading this?

No, I'm saying that ....... in the view of the apologist ..... there is no difference between a "real Chiefs fan" that doesn't think Smith is good enough, and a "Smith-hating troll" ......... these people are the same. Why? because the apologist simply doesn't like the fact that the Chiefs' chances for success are being doubted, and/or the skills of their QB is being called into question.

[Stevie Ray]

But we haven't had the opportunity to get a better QB than Alex in the years he has been here. There hasn't been a better one available in the draft or by trade or FA. That's just a fact.

Look up the definition of the term, "fact" .......

This is your opinion; an uninformed one at that -- because you have no idea what opportunities the Chiefs may or may not have had. It's also your opinion that no available QB was better than Smith.

Even in granting the premise that there were no better QBs available, it has no bearing on the conversation about how good Smith is or isn't. That is the particular conversation that I was referring to when I said, "Because those people don't want a real conversation about Alex Smith. They just wanna hear, "The Chiefs are just fine with Alex Smith as their QB."

So we Chiefs fans do the only sensible thing...



And if all we have is a QB whose stats are almost identical to the most successful QB of the last 3 years than that isn't doing all that bad.[/QUOTE]

[Stevie Ray]

Alex can be a very good QB.

What is this opinion based on? Is it based on what your standard is for a "very good QB" ..... or is it based on what you hope Smith will one day prove?

If it's the former, then I call your standard into question. If it's the latter, well ......... keep hope alive. Perhaps you were just using the description loosely, and if so, forgive me for taking it so literally.

By my standard (and I'd even claim it to be the general standard of the masses), "very good QBs" in today's game routinely throw for 4,000(+) yds, 30(+) TDs (ballpark figures for regular season) and lead their teams to post-season success. Alex Smith, over a 10 year career, has yet to meet that standard. IMO, we should at least wait until he does before we opine that he "CAN BE a very good QB."

If you don't accept that standard, then please name for the other QBs in today's NFL that you would label "very good QB" ..... who have career numbers that aren't better than Smith's (3,313 yds, 23 TDs).

Again, it's just a conversation. Is it in you to set your bias aside and approach it in good faith and intellectual honesty?

[Stevie Ray]

So we Chiefs fans do the only sensible thing...



Right, you can love the one you're with while at the same time be honest and objective about who they are.

[doobs_05]

http://nflbreakdowns.com/alex-smiths...tions-in-2014/

guy on r/NFL has been doing these for a few QBs, just got to Alex

[ctchiefsfan]

http://nflbreakdowns.com/alex-smiths...tions-in-2014/

guy on r/NFL has been doing these for a few QBs, just got to Alex

An interesting and comparatively fair article. 6 ints, at least 2 of which were pretty much just plain lousy luck. I'm also of the opinion that at least 2 more should have been broken up by the receiver. The fact that 50% if the ints were to Avery has to make you wonder about Avery. I'm not placing all the blame on Avery, but the fact that he was the intended receiver on 3 times as many ints as any other receiver does make you wonder if Avery wasn't more at fault than one would normally expect. Which may be part of the reason he is no longer a Chief.

[doobs_05]

An interesting and comparatively fair article. 6 ints, at least 2 of which were pretty much just plain lousy luck. I'm also of the opinion that at least 2 more should have been broken up by the receiver. The fact that 50% if the ints were to Avery has to make you wonder about Avery. I'm not placing all the blame on Avery, but the fact that he was the intended receiver on 3 times as many ints as any other receiver does make you wonder if Avery wasn't more at fault than one would normally expect. Which may be part of the reason he is no longer a Chief.

I'd have to look at it again. Could be the distance of the throw (majority of the INTs came from the longer throws). He should have the Alex smith TD passes up already or they'll come up later today, will post when it is up.

[ctchiefsfan]

I'd have to look at it again. Could be the distance of the throw (majority of the INTs came from the longer throws). He should have the Alex smith TD passes up already or they'll come up later today, will post when it is up.

Not saying for a minute that some of the blame doesn't lye with Alex. The QB always gets some portion of the blame for an int. But the two ints on tipped balls are more lousy luck than Alex's fault. And I'm not saying that the fact that Avery was the target on 50% of the ints absolved Alex of blame. But by the same token it's a coincidence that is hard to ignore. Sometimes a coincidence like that is nothing more than a coincidence. But other times it points to a problem.