I finally understand....
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@dylans I think initial reports were player to be named, 2nd rounder and then a late one. But I would guess when Alex agreed to sign the extension that Chiefs wanted more. So it ultimately changed to Fuller and a 3rd.
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@dylans I think Revis is gone.
This was Smith’s best year but he is 34, being paid a lot and still not elite. He was a “safe” option and I think retaining him would have INSURED mediocrity. Is that what we really want? I like going for it.
Completely agree that defensive help is needed. I’d like to see KC add a couple linebackers in FA/draft as well as a pass rusher.
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https://www.hogshaven.com/2018/1/30/16953622/alex-smith-traded-to-washington
Redskins fans are NOT happy.
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Fuller appears to be better than I realized. HUGE upgrade.
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Oh and his brother is a very good corner as well and a FA. That would be sick if it happens.
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On paper appears to be a good deal now with the stud corner. http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/22273770/dj-swearinger-rips-washington-redskins-trading-cb-kendall-fuller
We have $17 million now in cap space. We’ll need to spend on a back up QB. But if we can translate some of that to perhaps some more defensive help, this gets more exciting.
@nuleafjhawk Don’t despair. We have moved into the “risk” area now. High risk, high reward. We’d enjoyed steady winning. This is a gamble for a higher level of achievement. But it has downside to be sure.
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This was about getting the cap space.
If Mahomes is 80% the QB that Smith was, he’s doing that at basically a quarter of the salary. That means that you can have Mahomes, Kendall Fuller (contract is less than $1M), the pick and another $12M in cap space to play with this offseason, and you have basically only lost 20% of QB production. $12M can go a long way towards retooling the defense and solidifying the offensive line. And of course, by getting the third round pick, you have another guy on a rookie contract that can be productive for the next three or four years on a low cost deal.
I understand why the Redskins fans are upset. The Chiefs got a great deal out of this. And if Mahomes is better than 80% of Alex Smith, this was a real life fleecing.
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HighEliteMajor said:
On paper appears to be a good deal now with the stud corner. http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/22273770/dj-swearinger-rips-washington-redskins-trading-cb-kendall-fuller
We have $17 million now in cap space. We’ll need to spend on a back up QB. But if we can translate some of that to perhaps some more defensive help, this gets more exciting.
@nuleafjhawk Don’t despair. We have moved into the “risk” area now. High risk, high reward. We’d enjoyed steady winning. This is a gamble for a higher level of achievement. But it has downside to be sure.
Alex Smith meant purgatory. I’m with you. I’d rather have a miss the playoffs floor but also a real chance to win the super bowl.
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Mahomes currently projects as the 19th best QB. Alex as the 21st best…I know projections, but on paper at least it shouldn’t be a downgrade even in year one. What will be way different is the floor and ceiling have gone from fairly close tougher to waaaaay far apart. The bad games will be epic fails; the good games will be amazing. Hopefully it translates to much more post season success, time will tell.
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dylans said:
Mahomes currently projects as the 19th best QB. Alex as the 21st best…I know projections, but on paper at least it shouldn’t be a downgrade even in year one. What will be way different is the floor and ceiling have gone from fairly close tougher to waaaaay far apart. The bad games will be epic fails; the good games will be amazing. Hopefully it translates to much more post season success, time will tell.
Projections are usually fairly accurate. And it is unrealistic to expect Alex to duplicate the best season of his career. Plus it is worth noting that a lot of his numbers were put up in the early part of the season. When Andy had new stuff cooked up, before the rest of the league caught on.
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Interesting that Smith, a very steady and non-controversial player, could be such a polarizing figure; people either like him or they don’t. I f you like Smith you probably think that the Chiefs should have kept him since he is a known and proven commodity, albeit an expensive one. If you don’t then you are perfectly happy with the trade since it saves cap money, gets something of value in return, improves the defense which is dire need of an overhaul and starts the career of a promising and young QB.
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I like Smith but not at his current price point.
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@BShark Ditto.
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You don’t like his price or that KC cannot afford him? He was the top ranked player in the League so logic dictates his salary would be high, right?
In my case it is not his salary, which I think he deserves, but the fact that KC can use that money more efficiently improving other areas such as the defense.
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JayHawkFanToo said:
You don’t like his price or that KC cannot afford him? He was the top ranked player in the League so logic dictates his salary would be high, right?
In my case it is not his salary, which I think he deserves, but the fact that KC can use that money more efficiently improving other areas such as the defense.
You can’t say he is the best QB in the league.
I don’t like his price period given his skill level/ability.
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I did not say he was the best but the top ranked/rated QB.
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By what stat/metric?
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I watched Mahomes all during his incredible college career. I think people that expect him to be the next Tom Brady (or whomever your dream QB is) are going to be disappointed. After all, he will have to work within the confines of the Chiefs outdated offense. Smith had a level of maturity and just plain ol job experience that Mahomes doesn’t bring to the table. It will be an interesting year.
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@JayHawkFanToo I think they need to prep for the future, and getting his huge salary off the books is a big step. I like Alex Smith, but he was not going to shepherd the team through an overhaul. I also hope he thrives with Wash. I hope to like Mahomes.
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@nuleafjhawk That’s the thing, he doesn’t have to be Brady/Rodgers immediately. If he is even close to Alex it’s a win because his contract is so much cheaper.
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I am a big Alex Smith fan and was hoping to see him back in KC but considering his age and contract value this move by Chiefs was a no brainer, it had to be made.
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@BShark #1 passer rating of 105, QBR he was 7th.
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Ah thanks. Yeah that won’t happen again.
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Get a backup for a backup price. Perhaps we can pay both Poe AND Logan now with the saved cash!
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Very few Hiesman winners ever make it great in the NFL They were great in college yet there game didn’t transfer to the NFL. It’s no different in the Basketball game. Very few great College basketball players become great in the NBA.
Look I get your love for Alex. I have a good friend that is as 49ers fan and became a Chiefs fan just to watch Alex play. Yet even he believed it was time for Alex to move on.
Mahomes could be either a bust or a success? Yet in his one game that he started and played. It was against one of the best defense’s in the NFL. He did such a great job that Reid took him out of the game and then put him back in when the Broncos made a run. Mahomes calmly derived the Chiefs down the field and secured the win.
That doesn’t mean we Chiefs fans aren’t going to endure some growing pains. Yet Mahomes has a rocket arm and a humble spirit. I think you’ll be surprised how good this kid is going to play.
A another year on the bench isn’t going to matter to this kid. In fact keeping him on the bench another year only delays the growing process.
The Chiefs didn’t not disrespect Alex. The writing was on the wall. It was a great trade. The Chiefs got a 3rd round pick plus a cornerback that many are saying he would have been a first round pick if he didn’t get injured, and is the second best corner back in the NFL.
Reality is Alex was never going to be a Tom Brady, or Aaron Rodgers. He just wasn’t. Yet Mahomes just might?
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@DoubleDD I would have loved to see how Smith would have performed in an offense that was a little more…progressive. How many years did we all think that the dude couldn’t throw the ball more than 15 yards downfield. Much to our amazement, this year he showed us he could - he could air it out as well as anyone this year.
In a different offensive scheme the country may have very well mentioned him with Brady, Rodgers, etc.
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@nuleafjhawk KC should’ve drafted a gunslinging QB earlier. The competition (Mahomes) was slinging the ball downfield with great success giving Alex no choice but to follow suit. Alex was forced out of his comfort zone and he excelled for it.
Hopefully Alex will be able to continue his recent success in DC, but they don’t have a tight end as good as Kelce, or a deep threat as good as Hill, or a running back as good as Hunt.
I’d expect Alex to come in around 3,600 yards and 22 tds with 4 ints next season. Mahomes 3900 yards, 24 tds and 12 ints (I hope I’m wrong here).
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There are very few great QBs. Right now we have Brady, Rodgers, Brees. That’s about it for great. You have several really good (Newton, Wilson, Ryan, etc.) Then you have a bunch of solid guys. That’s the category Alex Smith is in. He’s solid, and in the right situation, can be very successful. He won’t make mistakes, so he won’t hurt you, but he also can’t carry you. There’s nothing wrong with that, because lots of NFL teams would give up a lot for that level of competence (Jacksonville, Cleveland, Denver, Arizona, Buffalo, etc.). You see what that level of competence did for San Francisco. You see what a lack of that did to other teams.
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@justanotherfan Well said. Look at what has happened to the Ravens since they overpaid Flacco…
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Remember Thigpen? You can do much worse than Alex Smith.
Brodie Croyle, Elvis Grbac, Damon Huard, Tyler Palko, yuck!
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Smith was a great passer in college but had 6 different Offensive Coordinators in his first 6 years in the League. Since he joined the Chiefs, only Brady and Wilson have more wins as starting QBs than Smith. With a better team around him, he would have been as successful as Brady; this year alone, with a better defense the Chiefs are in the Super Bowl. BTW, this season he had the most passes for 50 yards or more in the NFL. Smith was not the reason why the Chiefs did not get to the Super Bowl.
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Alex was 23rd in the league on average passing distance in the air. Hill distorts those long ball numbers as Smith never had that kind of success before last season. Just goes to show you how good he could’ve been with weapons around him, but he can’t do it himself.
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I can think of a lot of “great passers in college”.
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@JayHawkFanToo I concur with you
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See that just it. In order for Alex to win a superpower he has to have a great team around him.
I personally think this trade is good for Alex too. Players have to strike while the iron is hot. The Chiefs did him a big favor. Not only does he escape the Mahomes on his back, but he is going to sign a big time contractor to finish out his career.
Think about this for a second. If the Chiefs kept for next year? The first sigh of trouble and the fan base is going to be screaming for Mahomes. He doen’t have to worry about that now. He’ll be the man in Washington. Nobody looking over his back.
I too enjoyed Alex
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I don’t agree with that. If the Chiefs had, not a great but an above average defense, say in the top third of the League, they are likely in the Super Bowl. If I recall correctly the defense finished ranked #28 out of 32 teams.
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@JayHawkFanToo so how do you keep $17M on the books AND keep Alex AND improve the defense?
If money was no object, obviously you keep him. But the fact is, Alex is the worst kind of good. He’s so good he costs a lot of money. But he isn’t good enough to win you a Super Bowl without having an amazing roster around him. So the only way to win with Alex is to draft amazingly well on both sides of the ball.
The Chiefs could not improve the defense enough to win a Super Bowl AND keep Smith. That’s the reality.
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@Kcmatt7 is right on the money here. The Chiefs turned Alex Smith into $17M of cap space, a third round pick, and a very good third corner. So immediately they have improved their defense (they now have one of the best, if not the best slot corners in the league).
They have a way to improve even more with both proven players (cap space) and unproven guys (draft pick). They also have flexibility with trade options. They will probably not re-sign Spencer Ware, which frees up more cap space. Their RB situation is set, and its low cost. They can sign a solid backup QB without breaking the bank. They can add more help on both the offensive and defensive lines.
Simply put, the Chiefs put themselves in the best position to strengthen their roster in 2018 and 2019 by moving Smith, which means they can maybe make a run if not this year, then in 2019.
