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| Main / American Football in real life / MTS NFL Question of the Week - Number 1 Search Forum | |
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MTS1972
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posted: 2013-10-31 20:40:11 (ID: 100012349) Report Abuse |
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Here is a new (weekly) segment of mine for the forum where i ask thought provoking and debatable questions (that i consider to be anyway!) about the NFL.
It could be team, player, ruling, game specific - sometimes serious - sometimes light hearted! This weeks question for debate is thus : It was (give or take) this time last season that Alex Smith was benched as the starting QB for the SF 49ers in favour of Colin Kaepernick. Smith seemed to be heading nowhere - Kaepernick lead the Niners to the SuperBowl, albeit a losing one - and seemed poised to repeat in this season - being a 'hot' QB coming into the season. Alex Smith ended up in Kansas City - a team coming out of a 2-14 season and were classed as 'transitional' at best. Potential there - but nothing overly huge expected (is that fair to say?) for this season from a solid yet unspectacular QB - despite Andy Reid at last leaving Philadelphia for the desert. Smith now finds himself head of the only remaining unbeaten team in the NFL, apparently playoff bound and proving a match so far for whoever has been put in front of them - including the Cowboys, Giants, Eagles and the Texans. So the question is : Are the Chiefs 8-0 because of Alex Smith - or despite him? And knowing then what you know now, were the Niners still right to bench and ultimately release him in favour of CK? |
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bwadders76
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posted: 2013-10-31 20:54:15 (ID: 100012350) Report Abuse |
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I wouldn't say that the Chiefs are still unbeaten because of Smith but I do think that he compliments the Chiefs playing style very well at the moment. Although they went 2-14 last season the Chiefs still managed to contribute something like 6 players to the pro bowl. Smith is an excellent game manager although he does lack the flair and pure ability of some of the more illustrious names under centre.
As for the Niners benching him although this was a ruthless decision it was probably the correct one as his replacement has proven to be more than capable as well as offering a little bit more than Smith did. The one negative aspect of it all was that Smith took himself out of a game because of an injury and it ended up costing him his job at the Niners. This decision by the Niners could lead to players staying in games when they shouldn't for fear of losing their jobs and may not be as fortunate at being given the opportunity to play at another team thus costing them their careers. |
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MTS1972
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posted: 2013-10-31 21:06:57 (ID: 100012351) Report Abuse |
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What is interesting to me is that despite both teams having a top 5 rated RB this season (Charles currently #2, Gore #3), Smith is owning CK in many of the key stats thru the first 8 games - yards passed, INTs, no of 1st downs, percentage complete - but has been sacked many more times than CK.
Now alot of this will be the ability of dumping the ball off to Charles and him getting plenty of YAC - Gore isnt a great pass catching RB at all so CK doesnt have that luxury - and has a WR corps missing 2 big components. Alot of interpretation and hypothesis i know - but i do get the feeling that with Smith, the Niners may well still be 6-2 and in no worse position they are in - but if CK was at KC would they still be 8-0? I somehow doubt it I think you are right - Smith is a steady QB who fits the current KC requirement nicely. Though they could also be the beneficiary of a nice schedule having played teams at the right times. Second half seems 2 x Chargers, 2 x Broncos, Redskins, Colts and Raiders - and the Bills this week - who over the last 2 seasons have beat KC twice by a combined score of 76-24 how many wins do you see for KC from that run in? 3 or 4? |
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JonnyP
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posted: 2013-10-31 22:36:48 (ID: 100012354) Report Abuse |
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Andy Reid has them playing to their strengths:
- tidy, tight offense, few turnovers - relying on Jamaal Charles who when fit is one of the best in the business. - excellent defense, ranked top 5, 2 of the NFL's best pass rushers It's unspectacular, get the job done type stuff. And as has already been said, their schedule has been easy, in particular they have played a lot of teams who turn the ball over frequently - which plays straight into their hands - quite literally! In my opinion they are a 9-7/10-6 team, being made to look better than they actually are by the opposition. |
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ryandinho
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posted: 2013-11-01 00:22:22 (ID: 100012356) Report Abuse |
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Good idea for a thread and good question
I'm a big Alex Smith fan and I think he is actually very underrated. That being said, the Chiefs aren't 8-0 because of him, no one player has that effect, but I think he has helped to put them into a position to be 8-0 at this point. I think everyone would say Kaepernick has probably a bigger upside and could lead the 49ers to a superbowl at some point. They were somewhat forced into going with CK since sitting him would only have delayed his development. |
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MTS1972
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posted: 2013-11-01 15:33:26 (ID: 100012368) Report Abuse |
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cheers for input and comments guys.
I agree that the Chiefs arent 8-0 because of Smith - but it does make you wonder about having the right type of QB in for the right team. Would the Chiefs still be 8-0 with any QB under centre? Jonny is quite right - the Chiefs are unbeaten mainly because of Jamaal Charles (who i said preseason would be a fantasy god this year!) and a fine Defensive unit. But would they be there with Weedon or Gabbert UC? Would they with CK, RGIII or Mike Vick? I think once you take out the true elite QBs, that are simply awesome whomever they suit up for (Manning, -G.O.A.T-, Rodgers) i think its selecting the right shape for the right hole - and i think the Chiefs have got it spot on with Smith. To what ends - to be seen - but either way I think KC have shown superbly well what can be done after a horror show of a season with some astute signings. And that must include Andy Reid as well. |
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Fummer
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posted: 2013-11-01 19:48:16 (ID: 100012376) Report Abuse |
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There are 53 men on a roster, and X amount of coaches. Not one player or one coach can take credit for a win or the blame for a loss. Then there are the opponents, how much do they prepare for each team? each player? and how successfull? Then there are elements like (key) injuries, refs and their calls and so on and on.
Only after all of that does it come down to the QBs abilities in surtain situations and/or HCs systems. This is real life. shit happens, good or bad. Statistically this means the Eagles will win it all one year. I hope to live to see it happen. Last edited on 2013-11-01 19:50:03 by Fummer |
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MTS1972
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posted: 2013-11-01 21:03:05 (ID: 100012378) Report Abuse |
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Fummer wrote:
There are 53 men on a roster, and X amount of coaches. Not one player or one coach can take credit for a win or the blame for a loss. Then there are the opponents, how much do they prepare for each team? each player? and how successfull? Then there are elements like (key) injuries, refs and their calls and so on and on. Only after all of that does it come down to the QBs abilities in surtain situations and/or HCs systems. This is real life. shit happens, good or bad. Statistically this means the Eagles will win it all one year. I hope to live to see it happen. sigh........i cant be assed to rip that to shreds as it really deserves - ill just stick to conversing with members who 'get it'. |
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bwadders76
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posted: 2013-11-01 22:54:11 (ID: 100012387) Report Abuse |
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I was watching the SNF game on channel 4 on Sunday and they had Mike Carlson with the ginger coach who was sometimes on BBC1 last season. And they hit the nail on the head perfectly when they said that it was rare that they put out all their top players in the same game last season. So luck with injuries does play a part but Smith and Reid have been perfect for one another this season. I wish them all the luck in the world because although what the 49ers did made footballing sense it still touched a nerve with me as loyalty has to be there too especially at a key position like QB. You need to know that your coaches will back you in the bad times as well as the good.
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Gambler75
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posted: 2013-11-04 01:51:30 (ID: 100012528) Report Abuse |
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MTS1972 wrote:
... It was (give or take) this time last season that Alex Smith was benched as the starting QB for the SF 49ers in favour of Colin Kaepernick. Smith seemed to be heading nowhere - Kaepernick lead the Niners to the SuperBowl, albeit a losing one - and seemed poised to repeat in this season - being a 'hot' QB coming into the season. ... Smith was hardly heading nowhere ... he was leading the NFL in passer rating last season when he got a concussion in week 10. So he wasn't benched for performance reasons - he was injured. Kap went nutty in the games replacing him, and he simply wasn't GIVEN his starting job back a few weeks later once he got healthy. In a way ... you could draw the comparison to Drew Bledsoe and Tom -G.O.A.T- back in 2003. Drew had broken ribs and a collapsed lung though, so it was a bit more severe ... but there were still people calling for Bledsoe to get his starting gig back for the Superbowl. Did they make the right choice? I think so ... I think moving forward they'll have a more dynamic offense with Kap. But, Smith is a perfect fit for KC ... he might not be flashy, but he is good at zipping through the progressions and taking what a defense is giving and not making bad passes. Earlier in his career, he was trying 'to live up' to being the #1 overall pick IMO, and pressed the issue and tried to make things happen that weren't there and threw a lot of dumb picks in the process. Last edited on 2013-11-04 01:54:52 by Gambler75 |
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