Alex Smith: The Aftermath (Post SB)

Originally posted by boast:

only one, Donovan McChoke. and even in his rookie year, he didn't play until mid-season.

How is he a choker? Give me a break.

Originally posted by InHarbsWeTrust:

Originally posted by fryet:
I find it interesting that no one is mentioning Camp Alex. He was preparing the entire team when he wasn't even under contract, and the 49ers had spent a 2nd round draft pick on a QB. Alex has gone over and beyond the call of duty, so I don't see why the organization can't have some class on how they release him. Most likely it won't be an outright release, but they will probably offer him some say on where he is traded.

Btw, last year, it was clear that Alex wanted to return to the 49ers, so teams weren't that interested in bidding for his services when they knew it would only be used to negotiate a higher salary with the 49ers.

Who cares? This is business. Players go over and above all the time and get cut. No player is above the team. I care about the 9ers. I couldn't care less about players who are out the door.

Being a "nice guy" does not entitle you to being put above the team. Alex has a lot to be thankful of the 9ers for.

Yes, this is business, but it is also people. If you don't treat your employees right, you will lose in the end. All of these "this is business" people sure seem to not know much about business.

The team will trade him if they can get value (1 million worth). It's what they should do.

Originally posted by Phoenix49ers:
I disagree completely. If you're a new GM, you don't want to wait 2-3 years for your rookie QB to make an impact, you also don't want to be picking up off the trash heap of free agents to hope and pray that a guy like Matt Moore can deliver for you. A 3rd round pick for a guy who has played as well as Alex is a BARGAIN, 3rd round is me trying to be conservative, ideally a 2nd rounder or multiple picks is not out of the question.

There's about 7 or 8 teams that Alex could be starting on next year, even if teams only select him to hold down the fort for a couple of seasons, a 3rd rounder is still a bargain, you know what the success rate of 2nd and 3rd round QB's is???

Bottomline, in the NFL, you need to be able to compete and if you have a smart veteran QB like Alex available, there will be significant interest and I trust Baalke to extract the maximum compensation possible.


Regardless of your personal feelings about Alex Smith, he's a valuable commodity in this league, and the 49ers will act accordingly.

You make great points and I know you are one of the best with the talent evaluations here, but I am still disagreeing with a few thoughts:

I think GMs who need a qb are going to go after the aggressive types, the strong arms, the players who take risks, which is the best types to lead teams to wins, not conservatism for a couple years to "hold down the fort". Teams have to win now and have huge pressure from owners now a days.

Alex has an evaluation of his whole body of work, not just his 12 last games.

Success rate hasnt been good at all over the years, but that is rapidly changing, you know that. Youngs kids are coming in very prepared and smart and athletic, so that view is changing from what coaches are soon expecting from their players.

And draft picks I believe are becoming more valuable in todays game for the above mentioned. Teams want picks and more picks more than ever. And I think most of these teams who want a qb are banking more on finding the next Kaepernick in the draft than giving up a second round pick to nab Alex for three stop-gap seasons.

Originally posted by ayetee:
Since the Niners cannot get much out of it, I would release him. Building a positive corporate image IS good business. It will generate good publicity far beyond the value of another third round draft choice or something like that.

Yeah, "corporate image", that's exactly what they'll be concerned with in dealing with Alex Smith.

Ridiculous.

Originally posted by fryet:
Yes, this is business, but it is also people. If you don't treat your employees right, you will lose in the end. All of these "this is business" people sure seem to not know much about business.

They're basically paying him 1 million dollars to trade him. Boo hoo. I have always been a fan of Alex, but he made his own bed. He didn't have to put the ink to the paper. He'll be playing for a new deal with his next team too. Which he should get if he plays anywhere near like he did for us this year (and I think he probably will).

Originally posted by SFL49ER:
You make great points and I know you are one of the best with the talent evaluations here, but I am still disagreeing with a few thoughts:

I think GMs who need a qb are going to go after the aggressive types, the strong arms, the players who take risks, which is the best types to lead teams to wins, not conservatism for a couple years to "hold down the fort". Teams have to win now and have huge pressure from owners now a days.

Alex has an evaluation of his whole body of work, not just his 12 last games.

Success rate hasnt been good at all over the years, but that is rapidly changing, you know that. Youngs kids are coming in very prepared and smart and athletic, so that view is changing from what coaches are soon expecting from their players.

And draft picks I believe are becoming more valuable in todays game for the above mentioned. Teams want picks and more picks more than ever. And I think most of these teams who want a qb are banking more on finding the next Kaepernick in the draft than giving up a second round pick to nab Alex for three stop-gap seasons.

The age difference between them is very minimal. If Trent had his way we would be working with Dalton....and probably still starting Alex. If they kid can get to the NFCCG with a good coach he can do it again. If the goes to the right team I could see Alex back in the playoffs next year....the question is who is that team.

Quite honestly, I see the 49ers trading Alex, but hearing his say on where he wants to go.
For instance, if say, all the teams who wanted Alex gave a trade offer... the 49ers would obviously rule out the Cardinals (unless they offered something ridiculous). But I can see them taking a lesser draft pick if Alex seemed to want to favor going to a certain team. For instance, maybe the 49ers take a 4th rounder from the Browns, instead of a 3rd rounder from the Chiefs, because Alex wants to re-unite with Norv.

It'll definitely be an interesting situation.

Originally posted by AmpLee:
You are completely underselling Smith's abilities. He's not just a hold-the-fort-down guy. He's 28, in his prime, and capable of producing at high levels. If Kaep wasn't so darn incredible, I'm not sure we wouldn't be talking about how Alex Smith led this team to the Super Bowl the year after leading us to the NFCCG. His monicker of game manager is unfair and not indicative of his value on the field. Last year he carried the team to come from behind victories multiple times, including times when the defense didn't do their job up to typical standards. If a team wants to win now and they have pieces to do so, KC for example, a guy like Alex is the perfect guy to give them a shot at success while they develop younger talent. A heady GM will see this and understand it's value.

Not to mention being ranked the #4 QB in the nfl after being ranked the #9 last season....that my friends and neighbors is called a trend...and it speaks to consistency ..meaning it isn't a fluke. He's the real deal...a top 10 qb..which is all we ever asked of him...but we lucked out and found Kaep...who Canton is likely getting ready to cast a mold for.... Oh and Alex is on contraxt for 2 more years...with the 20th largest salary for QBs...that's a bargain.

Originally posted by AmpLee:
You are completely underselling Smith's abilities. He's not just a hold-the-fort-down guy. He's 28, in his prime, and capable of producing at high levels. If Kaep wasn't so darn incredible, I'm not sure we wouldn't be talking about how Alex Smith led this team to the Super Bowl the year after leading us to the NFCCG. His monicker of game manager is unfair and not indicative of his value on the field. Last year he carried the team to come from behind victories multiple times, including times when the defense didn't do their job up to typical standards. If a team wants to win now and they have pieces to do so, KC for example, a guy like Alex is the perfect guy to give them a shot at success while they develop younger talent. A heady GM will see this and understand it's value.

Good points and

Alex Smith >>> game manager. I hate that reference to him, just cant put him up there with BIG Ben, Flacco, or Ryan

Originally posted by SFL49ER:
Good points and

Alex Smith >>> game manager. I hate that reference to him, just cant put him up there with BIG Ben, Flacco, or Ryan

He performs one more year like he has last year and this...yes....yes you can.

Originally posted by InHarbsWeTrust:
All these "accomplishments" and yet he isn't regarded as anywhere near a top QB. Smith's numbers are extremely misleading.

They're not misleading. You just have to think about what you're looking at instead of blindly throwing stats around.

Alex has high QB efficiency ratings, high completion percentage, and a low turnover ratio.. likewise, he also doesn't have the same amount of touchdowns as a lot of top-level guys, and he takes a lot of sacks. It means Alex is a methodical/conservative passer who is efficient, but probably not explosive. Alex is a coach's dream because he plays within the framework of the system and is an outstanding teammate.

(These past two years though have been interesting for Alex. For one, as another person mentioned, he tied the record for most quarterback comebacks in the regular season, and this year, he had a pretty high yards/attempt stat. When you consider yards/attempt and his efficiency rating, that says he was starting to develop a balance between high-percentage short passes, and low-percentage intermediate/deep passes. It makes me really wonder how Alex would've turned out if he was developed properly for several years in the same system. He'd probably be in the top 5 for completion percentage every season, and possibly broken the record.)

I think a lot of run-first teams with tough defenses (becoming a rarity in the league) would do extremely well with Alex. Alex could win with, obviously our team... the Ravens... the Patriots... the Broncos... the Vikings... the Seahawks... and a lot of other similarly built teams.
He's not the guy for a team that airs it out, like the Saints or the Colts, but with a good surrounding cast, he can definitely move the offense pretty consistently.

But going back to the original train of thought, about Alex's future, it'll be a good fit for him if he goes to Cleveland with Norv. They've got a young team, with a developing running game. I think he'd do well there.

Originally posted by Wubbie:
They're not misleading. You just have to think about what you're looking at instead of blindly throwing stats around.

Alex has high QB efficiency ratings, high completion percentage, and a low turnover ratio.. likewise, he also doesn't have the same amount of touchdowns as a lot of top-level guys, and he takes a lot of sacks. It means Alex is a methodical/conservative passer who is efficient, but probably not explosive. Alex is a coach's dream because he plays within the framework of the system and is an outstanding teammate.

(These past two years though have been interesting for Alex. For one, as another person mentioned, he tied the record for most quarterback comebacks in the regular season, and this year, he had a pretty high yards/attempt stat. When you consider yards/attempt and his efficiency rating, that says he was starting to develop a balance between high-percentage short passes, and low-percentage intermediate/deep passes. It makes me really wonder how Alex would've turned out if he was developed properly for several years in the same system. He'd probably be in the top 5 for completion percentage every season, and possibly broken the record.)

I think a lot of run-first teams with tough defenses (becoming a rarity in the league) would do extremely well with Alex. Alex could win with, obviously our team... the Ravens... the Patriots... the Broncos... the Vikings... the Seahawks... and a lot of other similarly built teams.
He's not the guy for a team that airs it out, like the Saints or the Colts, but with a good surrounding cast, he can definitely move the offense pretty consistently.

But going back to the original train of thought, about Alex's future, it'll be a good fit for him if he goes to Cleveland with Norv. They've got a young team, with a developing running game. I think he'd do well there.

KC might be a good place too....Or even the Eagles.

I'd also add that being that methodical and efficient isn't easy...it requires a significant amount of skill. If every qb out there could do it...they would.

Originally posted by ayetee:
Since the Niners cannot get much out of it, I would release him. Building a positive corporate image IS good business. It will generate good publicity far beyond the value of another third round draft choice or something like that.

I agree with the idea of a good image. Free agents will want to come to a place where they feel they'll be treated well.

But to disregard the value of a third-round pick is silly. Some of our third-rounders since 2005 years have included Chris Culliver, Navorro Bowman, Ray McDonald, and Frank Gore. It's a good position to pick up project players with great ability (Culliver, Bowman), or guys who had injury concerns (Gore).

Originally posted by Jakemall:
KC might be a good place too....Or even the Eagles.

I'd also add that being that methodical and efficient isn't easy...it requires a significant amount of skill. If every qb out there could do it...they would.

He would get eaten alive in Philly.