Chiefs Trade For 49ers QB: Oops, They Did It Again!

It’s deja vu all over again on Groundhog’s Day while staring in Harry Potter’s mirror of Erised.

OMG… or LOL… or is there new abbreviated text word for “HIGHLY QUESTIONABLE?”

Let’s take care of first things first. Amos and Andy… uh… I’m talking about another comedy routine…John and Andy… better hope Geno Smith is a bust because if Geno ends up in a Raiders uni flinging the ball all over Arrowhead in a route of the Chiefs, the Save-Our-Chiefs cry may resurface sooner than anyone suspects.

Now, on to Alex Smith in red and gold. How regrettable is it that an organization that appeared to be on the verge of turning a corner from decades of an ugly first round QB bias, has taken an old, well worn path to bringing in the next Joe Montana: trading with the San Francisco 49ers for a back-up to supposedly be their new franchise knight in shining armor.

Was Clark Hunt in pre-school when the Chiefs brought in Steve Bono or Elvis Grbac from the 49ers so, he just doesn’t recall the Arrowhead pain and suffering? Also, as much as I loved Joe Montana he only played 25 regular season games in his two last seasons, both with the Chiefs. However, they paid dearly to bring him in for less than two whole years of service. In 1993, the Chiefs handed away their 18th overall, first round, pick to San Francisco for their 1994 3rd round pick plus the 9ers threw in Safety David Whitmore. The Chiefs got 16 undistinguished games from Whitmore in two season and then selected WR Lake Dawson (4 years and 103 total receptions) in the 3rd.

Now it appears the Chiefs are about to pay dearly once again.

Is this part of a losing legacy or can Andy Reid actually transform Alex Smith into a big game winner?

By using the second round pick (34th in this draft) this season the Chiefs aren’t likely to turn around this year and select a QB at #1 as well. Those would be long, long odds.

The people who say that Alex Smith is better than Matt Cassel should take a look at what they have been saying about Matt Cassel for four years: if the Chiefs surround him with good players (like Smith has been surrounded by in San Fran) then Cassel would be a very good QB.

That never worked out of course and I can’t see why anyone would think it’s going to work out for Alex Smith who is essentially a Cassel clone with a tiny bit of upside.

Alex Smith has 14,280 total passing yards. Matt Cassel 13,495. Smith has 81 TDs and 63 INTs — Cassel 82 TDs and 57 INTs. Smith has appeared in 80 games and Cassel in 78.

Sometimes when you look in the mirror the image is the same no matter how you turn the frame. I’m wondering which mirror Dorsey and Reid are looking in?

Even if you like this trade, you have to admit the Chiefs overpaid dramatically. Prior to this off season there was speculation in the Bay area that Alex Smith might end up being released. Just 18 months ago, no one would have wanted him.

Compare the Alex Smith trade to the Joe Montana trade: Montana for a #18 vs. Smith for #34 overall (plus a 2014 pick). Probably the best QB ever to pull on tights and pads compared to Mr. Nondescript (who’ll be best remembered for being drafted ahead of Aaron Rodgers).

The major question with this trade has to do with the difference between squandering a second round pick (and much more) for another team’s wreckage…. instead of investing a first round pick in a youthful contributor… who might need developing… but has a great potential.

Why isn’t that a risk that the Chiefs organization can take? Once again, the Chiefs will be taking their conventional risk. Isn’t there a built in risk now associated to taking the same path that hasn’t produced the desired results? The fans can see it. Why don’t the Chiefs see it?

Can’t anyone in the Chiefs organization see that time has proven repeatedly that this risk is greater than drafting their own young gun QB? Drew Brees took over in New Orleans in 2006 as a San Diego reject and has had great success. Name another QB reject who has done that. It’s slim pickin’s if you’re looking back through NFL history and are trying to find QBs who left one team and were a big success elsewhere.

Once you’ve compared Smith and Cassel and come to conclusions about their striking similarities, then the drafting of a young player who, at worst, needs to be developed appears like a much lesser risk to take. Why? Because everything we need to know about a veteran QB is already known… plus, there’s a high probability the vet has maxed out his potential.

Does anyone really think Alex Smith is going to be a better field general in the Chiefs offense than he was with the 49ers star studded group?

While old man Matt Cassel will turn 31 this May… next May, Alex Smith turns 30. So, anyone who believes the Chiefs just got a lot younger at the QB position because of this move needs to look at their calendar.

Even if the Chiefs authorities consider Alex Smith to only be a 2-3 year bridge to the future, they have underestimated the escalating costs… of this toll bridge.

I’m not even referring to the cost involved in the making of this trade. That’s extensive enough. I’m referring to the cost the next three years will take on the organization as a whole. This goes far beyond the loss of talent and youth that would have been injected into the Chiefs roster… picks which now belong to the San Francisco 49ers.

If you’re Dwayne Bowe, how motivated are you now to re-sign with your hometown homies? As far as he’s concerned it must look like — Matt Cassel #1 out — Matt Cassel #2 in.

Matt Cassel’s career quarterback rating is 80.4. Smith’s is 79.1. Many are looking at the fool’s gold that is Smith’s 2012 rating of 104.1, just as many were fooled by Cassel’s 2010 rating of 93.0. If you take each of their career ratings into account and factor their one year wonder scores… you get a clearer picture of what they are like in most years.

If this move makes LT Branden Albert expendable in favor of the new flavor, LT Luke Joeckel first overall, would the Chiefs be better or worse than last year? That’s a rhetorical question — so don’t try to answer it — because I’m pretty sure they will be worse. Hasn’t it been the interior of the Chiefs OL that has been the biggest problem since Barry Richardson left town? If that goes unaddressed this off season then it won’t matter who is placed behind center but, replacing Matt Cassel with another Matt Cassel absolutely won’t be the fix.

Three more years of QB shortcomings can be an organization killer.

What does three years of mediocrity mean to players like linebackers Derrick Johnson or Tamba Hali? DJ turns 31 later this year, Hali 30 and the window closes considerably on their effectiveness by the time Alex would exit onto the I-70 on-ramp for the last time.

Andy Reid may be a super QB savant but, this move comes across more as the making of a zen sand garden… the purpose of which is to symbolize “impermanence.”

The Chiefs organization is stuck with a very real yet undeniably pathetic pathology: buying another man’s junk and attempting to re-animate it into a football Jesus.

You’ve heard of the false Christ? Get your tickets here.

How can Clark Hunt allow a move like this to go down? It’s clear that no real lessons have been learned over the years.

When evaluating the Clark Hunt era with the Chiefs — his legacy will now be forever linked to the Re-Pioli-ization of the roster. It’s not enough to say that the Chiefs organization has repeated the same mistake of trading for a 49ers quarterback as in decades past — because previous GM Scott Pioli pulled this same lame 2nd round, second rate, QB trade just 4 short years ago… on Clark Hunt’s watch.

This is all now on Clark Hunt.

So, the masses collectively exhale.

In an attempt to inspire those seeking to make positive changes in their lives, motivational speaker Anthony Robbins has long espoused the adage, “The past — does not equal the future”.

Well, in Kansas City it does.