Alex Smith

Hello Faithful,

I'd like to present a counter to Nick's lovey dovey Alex Smith post.  While I certainly can understand Nick's mush (man crush) on Alex, I have a much different perspective.  Now in his 8th season, I think we have seen everything Alex has to offer.  Here is my assessment.  Alex is a starting quality QB in the NFL.  Having said that, he barely cracks that label, and should not be considered any higher than a top 25, maybe a top 20 qb in the league.  His arm strength, pocket presence, ability to make the 3rd 4th and 5th reads are below average.  He makes up for it with a marginal level of athletic ability, an ability to make smart check downs, and find playmakers often enough to warrant remaining a starter.  Consider this: Randy Moss has 12 receptions for 188 yards on the season.  He has been targeted 21 times.....how is a guy like Moss targeted 21 times for a TOTAL of 188 yards?!  That's mind boggling.  It's because Alex doesn't see him often enough, and when he does, he doesn't get him the ball in time.  Moss has looked very good this year, whether or not he gets the ball actually thrown to him.  Everything from route running to blocking has been better than expected.  He is a HUGE target.  Alex simply cannot take advantage of his skill sets. 

Now, let's remember we have Crabtree, who catches every high pass Alex throws (there are a lot of them) and is one of the better over the middle/slot threats in the game.  We also have VD- the most athletically gifted TE maybe outside of Tony Gonzalez to ever play the game.  We have several drafts of 1st round picks on our line who are constantly getting attention for mauling D lines (the ground game results prove this).  We have Manningham, who is coming on very strong and always racks up extra yards when he gets a ball thrown his way.

How is Alex continuing to put up clunkers like he has 3 of the last 4 weeks?  The level of QB play against inferior opponents (Vikes, Giants and Seahawks) is just unacceptable.  He had an entire offseason to prepare for this year, and yet there are times he is still the same guy getting booed off the field in favor of DAVID CARR.

Now, the problem is, we are uncertain of what turning over the reins to Kap would really look like.  We do know this: he has a rocket for an arm, has had time to absorb the offense, and is an athletic freak with quasi RG3 abilities running the football.  Looking at what Washington has done with a rookie QB, and what Carolina did last year, the argument against Kap is harder to make.  I think the next several weeks are critical for Alex.  If he continues to play poorly, it gets very hard not to give Kap a shot at a full game to see what he can do.  I do expect Alex to play better against the Cardinals given the time between Thursday and Monday's game....but I am more interested to see what he does over the course of the next 3-4 games.

Let the debate continue...

GO NINERS!