Originally posted by Afrikan:
Originally posted by tjd808185:
Wouldn't be the 1st quarterback in the world to develop from a "game manager" to a "gunslinger".
I think he's more than capable of doing it for us right now, but it's simply not needed or expected from him.
I think Rich Gannon was initially a "game manager" then went into an Elite mode where he and the Raiders had one of the deadliest passing attacks. They were one of the first to successfully exploit teams like the Steelers defense (when they were hot) by spreading them out.
I've always felt that Shaun Hill could be our Rich Gannon, the last few years he was here....until we found a franchise QB.
Rich Gannon only had 58 total starts in his first 11 years prior to the Raiders.
Alex Smith had 66 starts before this year.
Rich Gannon, in his first year with Gruden, threw for 3,840 yards. That was when Tim Brown was 33 years old and Gannon's next best target was James Jett. Also, Gannon was the focal point of that offense.
This biggest question is why isn't Alex Smith the focal point of our offense? Because running the ball gets a team wins in this league? I find that hard to believe.