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Kansas City Chiefs 2015 Profiles: Alex Smith

By Kevin Parvizi

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Kansas City Chiefs starting quarterback Alex Smith has shown that he’s good enough to be “the guy”, having led two top-notch teams in the 2011 San Francisco 49ers and 2013 Chiefs. Smith’s arm strength is the only real part of his game that is criticized by observers, because nobody questions his accuracy, decision-making, and athleticism. This is a guy who completed 65.3% of his passes last season despite not having a true No. 1 receiver, and he’s thrown an interception on just 1.3 and 1.4% of his pass attempts in each of the past two seasons.

ALSO ON SPIN ZONE: Where Does Smith Rank Among NFL’s Best QBs?

When it comes to commenting on Smith, most people focus on what he can’t do, because, well, he has so many limitations that he’s become an exception to the rule. Off the top of my head, he’s the only quarterback to have sustained NFL success despite not being able to consistently deliver the ball downfield, but his playing style, while boring, is effective.

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The term “game manager” has come to be a derogatory term, but it should really be viewed as a playing style, rather than a form of criticism. Smith is indeed a game manager, but the Chiefs are probably more than cool with that. I mean, game managers tend to do well when they have an excellent defense and star running back to support them, and it’s obvious that the Chiefs check off both of those boxes emphatically.

This offseason, the Chiefs also checked off another important box for their starting quarterback, as they signed “X” receiver Jeremy Maclin, who was the Philadelphia Eagles most valuable player last season, to a big contract. Some see it as overpay, but the Chiefs simply had to pay their first “complete” receiver what he deserves. Maclin is obviously not elite, but he showed off No. 1 skills last year, particularly when he took Patrick Peterson to school with 12 catches for 187 yards and two TDs, then followed it up by dropping 158 on the Houston Texans CBs on just six receptions.

With ten touchdowns and over 15 yards per reception last season, Maclin took well to Chip Kelly’s aggressive downfield passing offense after suffering a season-ending injury in 2013, so we’re all naturally pumped to see what Smith can do with a speedier receiver. Dwayne Bowe struggled to gain downfield separation, but there are those who appropriate some of Bowe’s struggles to Smith’s own limitations as a QB.

Whatever the case, the Chiefs are certainly cognizant of Smith’s flaws as a passer, which is why they’ve surrounded him with YAC demons. Whether it’s guys lower on the depth chart like De’Anthony Thomas or key players like already-elite TE Travis Kelce and promising rookie Chris Conley, the Chiefs have players who can make things happen with the ball in their hands (and that’s not even mentioning Jamaal Charles).

But while Alex Smith has shown little as a deep passer throughout his career, there’s hope that replacing Bowe with Maclin could invigorate some more effective vertical play from the 31-year-old. Firstly, while Smith has averaged just 10.8 yards per completion in his two seasons with the Chiefs, he averaged 11.5 yards per completion in his final three seasons as the San Francisco 49ers starting quarterback, which is a middle-of-the-pack average.

He also had one more 25+ yard pass than Andy Dalton, Cam Newton, and Teddy Bridgewater last year, though the obvious caveat here is that he benefited immensely from the YAC that Kelce and Charles brought to the table.

The fact in the above paragraph is as much a statistical quirk as Smith’s lack of touchdown passes to a wide receiver last season, because neither are indicative of his play as a quarterback; they are just good for trivia (or quick-fire Twitter bites).

The Kansas City Chiefs are more than fine with Smith at the helm, as you can see by their quick success in the two seasons since the new regime took over and he was acquired by John Dorsey and Andy Reid. Smith is one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL at avoiding interceptions, and while he’s boring to watch, the narratives against him have grown too much. At worst, he’s a league-average quarterback, and, at best, he’s solidly above the average starter.

With Maclin in tote and Kelce growing into one of the NFL’s most formidable weapons, Smith has everything around him to have a better 2015 season. He wasn’t bad at all last year, but the man with the NFL’s 13th-best QB Rating and 14th-best adjusted yards per attempt should have a higher mark than his 7.0 yards per attempt, which put him outside of the top 20 in that stat.

I concur. Smith may have a weak arm and isn’t as good as, say, Eli Manning or Joe Flacco, but, again, he’s shown that he’s good enough to start for top team if he has a strong defense and running game in place. Accuracy and decision-making can’t be under-estimated, and he’s so good at avoiding mistakes that it trumps his lack of arm strength.

There’s no real reason to praise Smith effusively, because he’s an average quarterback. But he’s good enough for the Chiefs, and there’s no point in continuing to bash a guy for doing his best to overcome his own physical limitations and the constraints in the offense around him last year.

Next: Is Kelce One Of The Best 5 TEs In The NFL?

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