Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith has carried the moniker of “game manager” around for his entire career. This weekend it’s time to stop the doubters.
When the Kansas City Chiefs were going through the transition with the addition of head coach Andy Reid and general manager John Dorsey, there was only one quarterback Reid wanted; Alex Smith. Smith had carried the infamous draft bust label around for the first part of his career, being the number one overall pick. It was not until Smith went down with a concussion and a young Colin Kaepernick took over that his time in San Francisco was coming to a close.
Since Alex has joined the Chiefs the combination of Smith and Andy Reid has led the team to four winning seasons; and three of the four saw wins in double digits. Smith’s numbers also show that he has been successful with KC. Completing 64.4 percent of his passes, he has thrown for 13,566 yards, with 76 touchdowns to 28 interceptions with a quarterback rate of 92.27. Those numbers seem a little more impressive for a man called a “game manager”.
Smith is a good quarterback. Is he flashy? Not even, but here is the thing: Alex Smith wins games. More importantly, Smith turns it on during the post season. In the five playoff games Smith has started in he completes 60.4 percent of his passes, has thrown for 1,309 yards, with 11 touchdowns and only one interception. Those numbers give him a rating of 99.1 in the postseason, and good seven points better than his regular season average.
Take the playoff game in Indianapolis against Andrew Luck’s Colts. Smith went off for 378 yards four touchdowns and added 57 yards rushing. Yes, the Chiefs would eventually blow one of the biggest leads in playoff history to lose, but you can’t blame Smith; he had a great game. The opposite can be said about the game last year against New England. Smith only managed a 58 percent completion rate for 246 yards and only one touchdown; his worst game in the playoffs.
Now is finally the time for Alex Smith to ditch the negative nickname that has followed him, and there is no better opponent than the Pittsburgh Steelers for him to do that.