ALEX SMITH and moving forward.

A lot of those comments by Visitor are true of Smith’s play in 2016 and years prior, but were certainly not true last year on the whole. The GIF was taken from a game in 2017 when KC hit the skids there in the middle of the season - his protection broke down frequently and yes he certainly missed some plays that game. You can see in the GIF he flushed right as he felt 92 James Harrison leave Kelce and rush the passer. If he stood in there and took the shot he could have hit the wide open deep post before the hit from Harrison. But his protection failed him that game and you can tell he got jumpy.

But later in the season as the Chiefs offense regained its footing and protected him better he got hot again. By the end of the season he had a Pro Bowl berth and led the NFL in a lot of categories.

It bodes well for him as a Redskin, because for all the Redskins’ problems with running the ball consistently, the one thing anybody will tell you is they can pass protect with the best of them. As Jay adds some of the RPO stuff Smith did in KC, it’s easy to see how Smith will enjoy a comfortable pocket. He’ll have as good a chance as anybody to deliver from a clean pocket.

First bold: It was actually from the 2016 season, but it was a 2017 playoff game. A game where our defense held the Steelers to ZERO touchdowns, and our inept offense couldnt win the game.

Second bold: I appreciate that you are trying to look for other reasons why Alex failed to attempt a pass that game. However, Smith being jumpy was not from a lack of protection that game. That is Smith. He leaves clean pockets regularly (and often times runs into sacks).

This is from our playoff game loss just this past season:

twitter.com/ClayWendler/status/950493766598692865

That happens all the time.

First bold: It was actually from the 2016 season, but it was a 2017 playoff game. A game where our defense held the Steelers to ZERO touchdowns, and our inept offense couldnt win the game.

Second bold: I appreciate that you are trying to look for other reasons why Alex failed to attempt a pass that game. However, Smith being jumpy was not from a lack of protection that game. That is Smith. He leaves clean pockets regularly (and often times runs into sacks).

This is from our playoff game loss just this past season:

twitter.com/ClayWendler/status/950493766598692865

That happens all the time.

What's your point?

We know he's not perfect. Most of us think he's roughly equivalent to Kirk Cousins in ability.

We signed him to a multi-season deal and we're committed to him as our starter, so we'll just have to hope for the best.

First bold: It was actually from the 2016 season, but it was a 2017 playoff game. A game where our defense held the Steelers to ZERO touchdowns, and our inept offense couldnt win the game.

Second bold: I appreciate that you are trying to look for other reasons why Alex failed to attempt a pass that game. However, Smith being jumpy was not from a lack of protection that game. That is Smith. He leaves clean pockets regularly (and often times runs into sacks).

This is from our playoff game loss just this past season:

twitter.com/ClayWendler/status/950493766598692865

That happens all the time.

Fair enough and thanks for correcting me. I still think the protection he'll be afforded in DC will be the best he's ever had in his career. It makes his likelihood to succeed within our scheme quite high.

First to say Alex was propped up by the run...certainly it was a major help, but the defense?

KC was one of the worst pass defenses in the league and wasn’t much better against the run. Alex play bailed out your defense...not the other way around. That’s a big oversight.

Alex smith’s play this upcoming season won’t be the reason Skins struggle...just like cousins wasn’t the reason the team struggled this past year.

We didn’t take a big step back at the qb position with Alex smith.

Good luck this season...

Thanks for the good luck. And I certainly wish you and your fellow fans good luck as well. But yes, Alex absolutely was propped up by the defense. Last year was the only year in the last 5 years where my Chiefs didnt have a top 10 defense in terms of points allowed per game. Here are our ranks:

2017: 15th
2016: 7th
2015: 3rd
2014: 2nd
2013: 5th

My Chiefs had had a top defense in terms of points allowed for 4 of the last 5 years. You what that yielded for us? 1 playoff win and 4 playoff losses...and the one win was when Brian Hoyer turned the ball over five times.

Now lets compare that to the Redskins the last five years in terms of points allowed:

2017: 27th
2016: 19th
2015: 17th
2014: 29th
2013: 30th

Like I said, Alex Smith is a fine QB when he is playing on a team that could mask his weaknesses. If you guys get Alex of 2017, your team wont miss a beat from Cousins to Smith. If you guys get pre2017 Alex, it could be a long 5 years with him.

What's your point?

We know he's not perfect. Most of us think he's roughly equivalent to Kirk Cousins in ability.

We signed him to a multi-season deal and we're committed to him as our starter, so we'll just have to hope for the best.

I was simply trying to offer the perspective from a guy who has seen every snap he has taken for the last 5 years. If you choose to ignore my posts, fine. I promise I wont be posting much here. As a fan of the team your QB has played for, for the past 5 years, I thought some would be interested in my thoughts. If the situation was reversed, I would like to hear from fans who were invested in my new QB.

Thanks for the good luck. And I certainly wish you and your fellow fans good luck as well. But yes, Alex absolutely was propped up by the defense. Last year was the only year in the last 5 years where my Chiefs didnt have a top 10 defense in terms of points allowed per game. Here are our ranks:

2017: 15th
2016: 7th
2015: 3rd
2014: 2nd
2013: 5th

My Chiefs had had a top defense in terms of points allowed for 4 of the last 5 years. You what that yielded for us? 1 playoff win and 4 playoff losses...and the one win was when Brian Hoyer turned the ball over five times.

Now lets compare that to the Redskins the last five years in terms of points allowed:

2017: 27th
2016: 19th
2015: 17th
2014: 29th
2013: 30th

Like I said, Alex Smith is a fine QB when he is playing on a team that could mask his weaknesses. If you guys get Alex of 2017, your team wont miss a beat from Cousins to Smith. If you guys get pre2017 Alex, it could be a long 5 years with him.

I was referenced specifically last year, and recent history is most important. He bailed yall last year...the defense was a major disappointment from the previous years. Got beat threw the air all day.

Without Alex propelling his game and going with Hunt RB...who wasn't the starter originally (???? which was strange)....it coulda gotten really bad.

I was simply trying to offer the perspective from a guy who has seen every snap he has taken for the last 5 years. If you choose to ignore my posts, fine. I promise I wont be posting much here. As a fan of the team your QB has played for, for the past 5 years, I thought some would be interested in my thoughts. If the situation was reversed, I would like to hear from fans who were invested in my new QB.

Thanks for your input. Usually what is heard whenever this team picks up a solid player from another team is that the fan of that team chimes in to say, "That guy was going down hill anyway. You over spent for him!"

For instance, Josh Norman. I remember seeing Panthers fans talk about how Norman wasn't a big loss. Now, they talk about how upset they are at their former GM for getting rid of good players - like Norman!

I think most of us 'skins fans know what we're getting in Smith. A solid player who is very similar to Cousins. A lot of what you said could be said about Cousins as well. There have been times where Cousins didn't see the wide open receiver down field. There are times where Cousins didn't have the pocket presence. But, unlike Smith, there were times where Cousins would throw the untimely INT. Not as much in the last couple of years, but he was guilty.

I think all in all, like Darrell Green said, we got Cousins' older brother. They're the same guy, only difference is, Smith will protect the ball slightly better, a bit more mobile, and of course, older.

I was referenced specifically last year, and recent history is most important. He bailed yall last year...the defense was a major disappointment from the previous years. Got beat threw the air all day.

Without Alex propelling his game and going with Hunt RB...who wasn't the starter originally (???? which was strange)....it coulda gotten really bad.

Alex certainly had the best year of his career last year by a mile. And out defense was certainly a disappointment. But like I illustrated, as bad as our defense was relative to the other 4 years, we were still ok relative to the rest of the league. We were just spoiled by the previous years.

Alex's season last year was very good on paper. VERY good. But he still left a lot to be desired. In pretty much every loss, Alex had an opportunity or 2 go win the game for us. He didnt. As great as his overall season was, he was pretty bad in clutch situations. You should check out the play by play of the final couple drives in our losses if you are curious. I think you would be pretty surprised at how poor the QB play was during that time.

Anyway, I feel like I am being overly negative and that in no way was my intention. I truly do wish the best for you and Alex.

I was simply trying to offer the perspective from a guy who has seen every snap he has taken for the last 5 years. If you choose to ignore my posts, fine. I promise I wont be posting much here. As a fan of the team your QB has played for, for the past 5 years, I thought some would be interested in my thoughts. If the situation was reversed, I would like to hear from fans who were invested in my new QB.

I went to a Minnesota board with the same intention, but ultimately decided to let the new fans of KC see him in their team. No reason to put the negativity he had created in me onto them. New team new start.

That said, I get that you were trying to give a long term perspective, and good discussion is always welcome here. Like one guy said, no one here thinks AS is going to be Tom Brady or Peyton Manning, but we also know (except the pessimists on the board) that our offense and coaching staff know how to get the most out of capable qb's. Cousins is a fine example of how our staff covered alot of his weaknesses (except RZ) by scheme. If AS can continue NOT to turn the ball over, and spark RZ points, we should be ok on the offensive side with AS. Hopefully team gurus are working feverishly on the defensive side.

Seriously the guy has been a top 15 QB for 90% of his career... He's the model of consistency for a NON ELITE QB. I don't see why anyone would question his future.