Would you want Alex Smith at QB next year?

[Ed]

With Kaepernick being named the starter again for the 9ers game this Sunday, I'm assuming that Alex Smith's days could be numbered in San Fran. He's currently signed for two more years, but the team owes him a big bonus of $7.5 mil if he's still on the team come April 1, 2013. I read some speculation that one of the reasons they may have been able to get a big extension done with their LB Bowman this past week is because they don't expect to pay Alex that bonus or his base salary. I think his base salary for the next two seasons is around $10 mil per year, so I doubt they would be willing to pay him that as a backup.

Assuming they cut him, would you want the Bills to pursue him? Could he be the answer at QB?

And if they don't cut him, would you be willing to trade for him? How much would you give up?

[stuckincincy]

With Kaepernick being named the starter again for the 9ers game this Sunday, I'm assuming that Alex Smith's days could be numbered in San Fran. He's currently signed for two more years, but the team owes him a big bonus of $7.5 mil if he's still on the team come April 1, 2013. I read some speculation that one of the reasons they may have been able to get a big extension done with their LB Bowman this past week is because they don't expect to pay Alex that bonus or his base salary. I think his base salary for the next two seasons is around $10 mil per year, so I doubt they would be willing to pay him that as a backup.

Assuming they cut him, would you want the Bills to pursue him? Could he be the answer at QB?

And if they don't cut him, would you be willing to trade for him? How much would you give up?

Eh. He's a 9 year vet who paddled around in iffy fashion who now has a couple of good years on a team with a good defense. It's looking like SF is closing the door on him - dunno.

[GingerP]

The reason Smith is being replaced is because Kaepernick throws the ball downfield. Smith is pretty athletic and very safe with the ball, not making a lot of mistakes, but he misses a lot of plays because he won't take chances. When forced into situations where he has to do more than check down, he struggles. He can't throw into tight windows like good QBs can, so he just checks down to the safe route or takes the sack.

So, no, he isn't the answer to anything. Without having one of the best defenses in football to allow him to play within his limitations, he will go back to sucking like he did before Harbaugh got there. He'd be exposed.

[MidnightVoice]

Without having one of the best defenses in football to allow him to play within his limitations, he will go back to sucking like he did before Harbaugh got there. He'd be exposed.

Agreed

[IAG]

I honestly do not know what to do at QB. I really don't. Some teams have a franchise guy. Others have young QB's playing beyond their years. Other teams have a young developing guys.

Buffalo is in no man's land. The FA options are not longterm answers or that much better than Fitz. The college QB's are below what we have seen the last few years.

I have no idea what to do.

[BuffaloWingEater]

That's easy; no.

[IlluminatusUIUC]

As the short term starter while we groom 1st rounder to be named later: Sure. But he's not the answer.

[DraftBoy]

He's actually an ideal fit for the Gailey offense, though same issues we have with Fitz exist with Smith, lack of down the field arm strength.

[MidnightVoice]

He's actually an ideal fit for the Gailey offense, though same issues we have with Fitz exist with Smith, lack of down the field arm strength.

And with him at QB, Gailey might well decide to abandon the run altogether!

[Jeff1220]

So, like Fitz, he hasn't got much arm strength, but how's his accuracy?

[Ed]

So, like Fitz, he hasn't got much arm strength, but how's his accuracy?
Well he leads the league in completion % at 70.0 and his yards per attempt is actually pretty high at 7.98. That actually ties him for third highest in the league, so I'm not sure what to make of the notion that he can't throw down field.

[IlluminatusUIUC]

Well he leads the league in completion % at 70.0 and his yards per attempt is actually pretty high at 7.98. That actually ties him for third highest in the league, so I'm not sure what to make of the notion that he can't throw down field.

Let's recalculate his stats without the Buffalo game and see how they look.

[Mr. Pink]

If Alex was the only choice we had, yes. He's much better than Fitz, not that that is saying really anything.

Hopefully we have a few more choices.

The goal is to always improve your football team, which Alex would do.

[Buffalogic]

Hell no!

[SquishDaFish]

Yep for sure

[MTBillsFan]

he's Fitz 2.0
Only he has a "bit" more zip on his ball from some of the games I watched.

[BLeonard]

No...

Admittedly, I don't follow the 49ers like I do the Bills, but the only time I really heard of Alex Smith was when he was drafted and after Jim Harbaugh got there... Maybe I'm wrong, but I have to assume that a lot of Smith's successes have been due to having Harbaugh as his Head Coach.

We have Chan Gailey, not Jim Harbaugh... My guess would be that Gailey would coach Smith similar to he has Fitz, expecting the QB to lead the team, even with 2 very good running backs available to him.

With Gailey as coach, to be successful, you're going to need a QB that can win games, not simply manage them, because it's obvious that Gailey doesn't coach that way, or he'd be running the ball more.

Alex Smith, IMO, would be no better in a Chan Gailey system than Ryan Fitzpatrick has, so there's no reason to go after a QB who really is the "game managing" type.

Even if you fire Gailey and bring in a coach that simply needs a QB to manage a game, I think Fitz could do just a good of a job managing a game as Alex Smith would.

Fitz's main problem, IMO, is that Gailey expects him to do too much.

-Bill

[Pinkerton Security]

Hell no!

why hell no? Do you think Fitz is better than him?

[GingerP]

why hell no? Do you think Fitz is better than him?

Better? no. Different.

Say what you want about Fitzpatrick, but he isn't afraid to pull the trigger. He lacks the arm talent to accurately deliver the ball or throw downfield, but he is a gunslinger who will make plays as well. As scattershot and inconsistent as Fitz is, he has the right mentality, just not the talent to carry it off.

Smith is a different kind of QB. He will make the throws that are there, but if his first reads aren't there he is limited. Early in his career he would struggle to make throws into tight windows downfield, which is what an NFL QB has to do. Harbaugh has been successful with him by living with those limitations. Smith basically looks at his first read and takes it if it is there. If it isn't, he checks down, takes a sack or takes off running. He is a limited player that SF has been able to win with because they have a great defense, a good running game.

Because Smith doesn't turn the ball over it works, but it only takes you so far. There comes a time when your QB has to make a play and be more than a game manager if you want to win a SB. That is why Harbaugh went to Kaepernick. It had nothing to do with Kaepernick's athletic ability, though that doesn't hurt, it is because he is not afraid to throw the ball downfield. If Kaepernick starts making mistakes, they will go back to Smith, but SF is taking the chance because he has a shot at being the kind of QB that can win games when you need him to.

I guess the Bills could sign Smith if they want instead of having Fitz in there, but they would still need a long-term solution at QB. He wouldn't solve anything.

[Extremebillsfan247]

I don't know, I'm just kind of tired of watching this team try to win with other team's flunkies at QB. It hardly ever works. JMO

[Pinkerton Security]

I don't know, I'm just kind of tired of watching this team try to win with other team's flunkies at QB. It hardly ever works. JMO

I can understand that. I just think Smith is still a fairly young QB who has seen some success, just happened to perhaps be beaten out on the depth chart by a potential stud game-changer in Kaepernick. I like that he has made a habit the past couple years of not turning over the ball, which is Fitz's obvious downfall

[justasportsfan]

NO thanks!

Don't want another Dilfer type of qb.We tried that with Fitz and still no playoffs.

After all these years I'm still waiting for the next Jim Kelly. All efforts should be used towards finding a franchise qb. I want a qb who can make teams pay when the stack the line trying to stop Spiller or open the line for him.

[TrEd FTW]

he's Fitz 2.0

How so? Last I checked, Smith isn't known for making crippling mistakes that lose games. He's a big, mobile, accurate game manager who isn't great, but would be an easy upgrade over Fitzpatrick.


After all these years I'm still waiting for the next Jim Kelly. All efforts should be used towards finding a franchise qb. I want a qb who can make teams pay when the stack the line trying to stop Spiller or open the line for him.

Good luck finding that this offseason. You can't get blood from a stone.

[Mouldsie]

Maybe.

[JoeMama]

Alex Smith http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q263/JoeMama025/NO-1.gif

[TigerJ]

He's developed into a fairly consistent QB with limited physical talent. The limited physical talent is something he shares with Fitz, though right now he's a better QB. The problem is, San Fran is going to pedal him to the highest bidder, and somebody is going to over-pay. I don't know how high Buffalo should go in bidding for the services of a QB who has a few years left in the league. Granted, some QBs have much longer than the average NFL career (ie. Peyton Manning) but that doesn't mean a QB with average talent like Alex Smith is going to be one of them.

[ThunderGun]

No, but I'm willing to bet that he's on our roster next year.

[kishoph]

No, but I'm willing to bet that he's on our roster next year.

.......and Gailey will have him running the scout team.

[jamze132]

I would take Alex Smith over Fitz any day of the week and twice on Sunday.

[trapezeus]

alex smith only if all three QB's are cut and we take a qb that needs a little refinement in the draft. someone who has a lot of upside but probably won't be ready for week 1.

if the bills find a day 1 starter in the draft, i don't want alex smith and would ride with fitz as the back up the following year.

in short, fitz should be no where near the field next year.

[Bill Cody]

No but could we ask if they would take Aaron Williams for Colin Kaepernick. After all, Aaron was taken a couple picks sooner. :hurt:

[DynaPaul]

Why bother? What, we're going to overpay for Alex Smith just to get someone who is slightly better than Fitzpatrick? Seems like a bad deal to me. Let's just draft a QB high and try to work with a fresh product.

[justasportsfan]

Good luck finding that this offseason. You can't get blood from a stone.I agree but Smith wont be doing anything here so I don't want him.

[ublinkwescore]

Geno Smith please.

[Mr. Pink]

Geno Smith please.

We have zero chance at drafting him. He'll go top 3 if not 1st overall. KC is terrible and they've gone to Brady Quinn who is garbage and Jax is terrible and Gabbert is so terrible someone else's bust, Henne, is starting. Either of those teams will go QB in Round 1 if not both, even if there isn't a high quality QB class this year.

[trapezeus]

bills lose to jax will go a long way to helping.

the thought we could have fitz becaues there is just nothing available makes me sick.

[better days]

He's developed into a fairly consistent QB with limited physical talent. The limited physical talent is something he shares with Fitz, though right now he's a better QB. The problem is, San Fran is going to pedal him to the highest bidder, and somebody is going to over-pay. I don't know how high Buffalo should go in bidding for the services of a QB who has a few years left in the league. Granted, some QBs have much longer than the average NFL career (ie. Peyton Manning) but that doesn't mean a QB with average talent like Alex Smith is going to be one of them.

Smith has a $7.5 Mill roster Bonus due in March. Too much money to pay a back up QB, unless Kaepernick craps the bed before then, Smith will be cut before that bonus is paid.

[D2K]

Let's recalculate his stats without the Buffalo game and see how they look.

Here you go (pretty impressive actually):

Wk 1 (GB) - 76.9 %

Wk 2 (DET) - 64.5 %

Wk 3 (MIN) - 68.6 %

Wk 4 (NYJ) - 57.1 %

Wk 5 (BUF) - 75.0 %

Wk 6 (NYG) - 63.3 %

Wk 7 (SEA) - 60.9 %

Wk 8 (ARI) - 94.7 %

WK 9 (STL) - 87.5 %

--------

Like I said, pretty impressive. He dipped below 60 % only 1 time and that was back in week 4 against the Jets, w/ a still healthy Revis, in a game the 9ers won 34-0. He also completed 25 of his last 27 attempts before the concussion.

If you compare that to our own catastrophe Ryan Fitzpatrick, you see that Fitz has 5 games under the 60 % mark, and his best day all season was a 77.1 completion % against the Titans (a loss).

Smith would be a great fit for this offense. He is smart and decisive in his reads. He knows where to go with the ball, and is comfortable and composed in the pocket. This offense doesnt call for vertical concepts, and is instead predicated on stretching the field horizontally which is a strength of Smiths. Find the hole in the zone, throw the ball, let your playmakers create YAC. Thats the offense that Gailey runs, and a QB who limits mistakes would thrive in his system. Smith has 5 ints on the year (3 of which came in the NYG game), and his last 4 years he has shown great improvement (it wasnt just the Harbaugh years). His completion % since 2009 read like this:

2009 - 60.5

2010 - 59.6

2011 - 61.3

2012 - 70.0

The kid has shown he continues to get better every single year. He was hampered early in his career by the fact that he had 6 offensive coordinators in his first 6 years. This year (2012) he had stability for the first time in his career by having Harbaugh and Greg Roman for consecutive years, and he absolutely flourished.

I would take Alex Smith in a heartbeat, if he were let go by the 9ers. Just my 2 cents.

[HAMMER]

There were may people around here who said we shouldn't make a run at Manning last year, just sayin.

[BADTHINGSMAN]

No, because he would need to sit out a year to "learn" Gailey's playbook like Jackson.

[notacon]

YES! And, i would draft a QB prospect in the first round next year.

Good teams have QB's...and keep on adding QB's.

The Bills biggest problem in their whole 52 year history is making terrible QB decisions. They have never used their first pick for a QB and only used a first round pick twice for a QB in their whole history.

That is pathetic and the #1 reason why the Bills have largely sucked during their sad existence.

[Extremebillsfan247]

There were may people around here who said we shouldn't make a run at Manning last year, just sayin. I was one of them. He's lucky to be walking. The fact that he's still playing football is nothing short of miraculous. This team needed a sure thing, not a gamble on a QB that no one knew would ever take a snap behind center again. Just saying, and Alex Smith isn't a tenth of what Manning is.

[YardRat]

No.

I'd rather go into next season with a high pick and TJax.

[lmcshadow]

H*** no..Charlie Chan Gailey wouldnt put him in until next december.

[Mike]

This has to be one of the worst ideas to date. To put it simple, a very good 49ers team that is the class of the NFC decided to shake things up and let a second year second rounder play instead of the guy who almost took them to the SB a year ago. Think about what that means. They are passing on a guy that is helping them win which goes to show 2 things: 1. How much Alex Smith really sucks, and 2. How much guts the 49ers have...

We cant get a losing team here in Buffalo to change QBs in the middle of a losing season with nothing to lose but a winner like the 49ers did it in the middle of the year, on a SB caliber team, with everything to lose.