Alex Smith Cut (update: retired)

Well, the minute we "got rid of him" our offense tanked and we dwelled in the basement of suckatude. AS was a qb that you could develop the rest of the team around and still be a quality team. Fortunately, I think RR and company understood that, and once they could free themselves of DH, they used KA and AS to keep the qb spot from being a liability and taught the rest of the team how to play. Getting the qb spot right is such a huge undertaking for this offseason. Is it September yet?

our offense was never good with him. there was an obvious drop off from Cousins to Smith.

our offense was never good with him. there was an obvious drop off from Cousins to Smith.

offensive production drop off maybe, better record definitely.

Actually, both teams drafted a better player and let him sit behind AS for a year. Neither team "got rid of him and drafted a better player". Had we drafted a better player in lieu of Haskins, we would be in terrific shape as AS' contract expired. But alas - Haskins...

I am only talking about KC. Facts are when Mahomes took over they won a SB and went to another. Would never have happened w/ Smith.

I am only talking about KC. Facts are when Mahomes took over they won a SB and went to another. Would never have happened w/ Smith.

But the team that Mahomes took over, and the time behind AS is credited toward his growth. They also made the playoffs with AS.

My point is, had Haskins been a good qb pick, maybe we would be in a different place, but now we are stuck in a qb quagmire. None of that is Alex Smith's fault. The games he played, our team had measurably better success.

offensive production drop off maybe, better record definitely.

But again a QB W/L record is totally flawed. DeShawn Watson's W/L record this year was 4-12.

But the team that Mahomes took over, and the time behind AS is credited toward his growth. They also made the playoffs with AS.

My point is, had Haskins been a good qb pick, maybe we would be in a different place, but now we are stuck in a qb quagmire. None of that is Alex Smith's fault. The games he played, our team had measurably better success.

Mahomes was going to be a great player. With or w/out Smith.

Also I am not knocking him. Solid guy as it gets, I just never thought much of him as a QB and would have never traded for him.

I'd say looking at the stats alone is misleading. Were we likely to be consistent playoff contenders with Smith? Possibly and maybe likely. Would be be SB contenders and even winners? Unlikely.

What he brought were intangibles like leadership and improving the guys around him. What he didn't do was sling the ball around and light up the scoreboard. As a rule he wasn't going to make catastrophic mistakes and dig us into holes, but likewise he wasn't likely to dig us out of holes others put us in. He was a good bridge QB, and our problem is we didn't give him a Mahomes to learn from him and be the other side o the bridge.

Listening to Heinicke, you get the distinct impression he made the other QB's better (or at least feel better about themselves), the exception being DH. And DH could probably come out of a meeting with Joe Montana or Tom Brady and gain nothing from it.

We need to find a franchise level QB with those intangibles, but with the tools and capability to go to the next level. Better football minds can decide who that is.

I'd say looking at the stats alone is misleading. Were we likely to be consistent playoff contenders with Smith? Possibly and maybe likely. Would be be SB contenders and even winners? Unlikely.

What he brought were intangibles like leadership and improving the guys around him. What he didn't do was sling the ball around and light up the scoreboard. As a rule he wasn't going to make catastrophic mistakes and dig us into holes, but likewise he wasn't likely to dig us out of holes others put us in. He was a good bridge QB, and our problem is we didn't give him a Mahomes to learn from him and be the other side o the bridge.

Listening to Heinicke, you get the distinct impression he made the other QB's better (or at least feel better about themselves), the exception being DH. And DH could probably come out of a meeting with Joe Montana or Tom Brady and gain nothing from it.

We need to find a franchise level QB with those intangibles, but with the tools and capability to go to the next level. Better football minds can decide who that is.

Great post. Mahomes said as much about Alex's mentorship. Alex is a class act and exemplifies "team player" in its purest sense.

But again a QB W/L record is totally flawed. DeShawn Watson's W/L record this year was 4-12.

The difference, and the reason 11-4 means something tied to AS is because in 2 separate seasons, our team had 5 + wins with him starting qb, and in those SAME SEASONS we were 3-14 with out him. The reason the W/L record is significant is because the team and coaching around AS didn't significantly improve mid season to make his play insignificant, instead his play significantly impacted the play of the rest of the team to make the outcomes better.

I am only talking about KC. Facts are when Mahomes took over they won a SB and went to another. Would never have happened w/ Smith.

Exactly.
Again, none of this is a personal attack against Smith.
But that analysis is spot on.
Smith was way too conservative and just had no moxy when the chips were down. You were going to win 9-10 games with him some seasons, and go to the playoffs at times, but never the SB.