Those Who Are Against Drafting Alex Smith...

[sports24/7]

C'mon, Alex Smith's arm is not going down in history as the strongest one ever drafted and Dorsey's certainly wasn't the weakest one....as a matter of fact every draft profile I've read has at least one comment about Smith's lack of ideal arm strength. it's a given that Smith's biggest weakeness if you want to call it that is his arm strength. Even if you don't agree that it's inadequate, that doesn't mean that it's not without question.

Dorsey wasn't much more maligned for his arm strength.....this is from NFL.com draft showcase....
Same source on Smith....

The reason you hear that about Smith is because usually QB's projected to go that high have very strong arms. Smith doesn't have a very strong arm. He by no means has a weak arm. We're not talking about a Jay Fiedler here. Smith has above average arm. If you have ever seen him play you can see this.

As far as the scouting report at NFL.com, it is a bad scouting report. I read plenty that said his arm strenght was poor. It is obvious that this is the case just by watching him. The comparison between the two just isn't a good one.

 

[inFINSible]

The reason you hear that about Smith is because usually QB's projected to go that high have very strong arms. Smith doesn't have a very strong arm. He by no means has a weak arm. We're not talking about a Jay Fiedler here. Smith has above average arm. If you have ever seen him play you can see this.

As far as the scouting report at NFL.com, it is a bad scouting report. I read plenty that said his arm strenght was poor. It is obvious that this is the case just by watching him. The comparison between the two just isn't a good one.

It's enough to worry me....There have been too many QB busts for me to trust any scouting report....nobody knows what this kid will do in a real offense....there isn't ANY film of that.....and i have watched some highlight film of Smith, I know that's not much but, it's supposedly his best plays ya know, and I just don't see the zip that he's going to need in the pros.

 

[KB21]

I agree with all the intelligence and instincts stuff. That system was very sophisticated and Smith was extremely well prepared. He inevitably made the correct reads. I probably left out a key point in my previous post. When Smith is pressured and the play broke down, I thought he bailed a little early and took off instead of finding a place behind the line of scrimmage to settle and look downfield. But those plays are very rare plus you're looking at the likelihood of linemen down field.

I wouldn't call his intermediate zip great. Above average but not great. I agree, his throwing motion is shorter than Leftwich and probably comparable to Roethlisberger. But Roethlisberger's arm is superior, IMO, which makes his somewhat elongated motion less problematic.

IMO, his bailing on a play was more due to the design of the offense. Urban Myer runs an option based offense that uses multiple receivers. Kind of odd, isn't it? Anyway, Smith was given the run/pass option on a lot of plays. That's why he not only threw for 32 touchdowns, he ran for another 10 and around 650 yards rushing total.

I really like Smith, but I hesitate to put the label of having the highest upside of the quarterbacks on him. I like Aaron Rodgers as well, but he does seem a bit mechanical at times. He's polished, but he's going to need to be reprogrammed much like Kyle Boller has been. Over the past 8 games of last season, when Kyle started adapting to Fassell's style, he started playing extremely well.

I also like Jason Campbell, but I believe the buyer beware tag applies to him. He's had impressive accuracy over his career, but for some reason, he couldn't take over a game when teams stopped their running backs the way he did this past season. In his first three years, Jason had a big problem of locking onto his primary target. That's why his TD:INT ratio was nearly 1:1 during his first three years. He simply didn't make many plays at all, despite his accuracy. Last year, he put it together, but I worry that it may have been a product of the system.

I'm indifferent on Charlie Frye because I haven't seen enough of him.

David Greene is a QB that I like a lot. I love the coolness he exhibits in the pocket. He never gets flustered, has a great play action fake, a decent arm, and is money in the two minute drill. He has a lot of the same intangibles that Alex Smith has.

Then there is Andrew Walter, who I think may be the most gifted quarterback in the draft. He's got great size and a great arm, probably the strongest arm in the draft. I really wonder if the offense he played in held him back some. He has never excelled in the accuracy department, but ASU threw the ball down the field so much that you have to take that into account. I really think Walter would have been a first round pick had he not hurt his shoulder during the season.

 

[inFINSible]

BTW, sports24/7....thanks for playing along, and not throwing personal insults like some people tend to do....It's all about getting all the questions answered, ya know what I mean?:)

 

[jlfin]

If this was last year, Alex Smith would be rated about equal to JP Losman. The only reason he is being hyped is because this draft is very weak on QB talent. In fact, many experts are saying that Charlie Frye or Jason Campbell may be the best QBs in the draft, long term. If we were to draft Smith at #2, it would be a major reach, and not good value for the pick.

Not true. He would be closer to Rivers. Rivers became a hot commodity in the Sr. Bowl. He has an average arm (but accurate) as well as leadership and intangibles (just like Smith). Smith is a MUCH better athlete.
Losman fell because he was felt to be erratic at times and wasn't always accurate with his throws.

 

[Awsi Dooger]

IMO, his bailing on a play was more due to the design of the offense. Urban Myer runs an option based offense that uses multiple receivers. Kind of odd, isn't it? Anyway, Smith was given the run/pass option on a lot of plays. That's why he not only threw for 32 touchdowns, he ran for another 10 and around 650 yards rushing total.

I really like Smith, but I hesitate to put the label of having the highest upside of the quarterbacks on him. I like Aaron Rodgers as well, but he does seem a bit mechanical at times. He's polished, but he's going to need to be reprogrammed much like Kyle Boller has been. Over the past 8 games of last season, when Kyle started adapting to Fassell's style, he started playing extremely well.

I also like Jason Campbell, but I believe the buyer beware tag applies to him. He's had impressive accuracy over his career, but for some reason, he couldn't take over a game when teams stopped their running backs the way he did this past season. In his first three years, Jason had a big problem of locking onto his primary target. That's why his TD:INT ratio was nearly 1:1 during his first three years. He simply didn't make many plays at all, despite his accuracy. Last year, he put it together, but I worry that it may have been a product of the system.

I'm indifferent on Charlie Frye because I haven't seen enough of him.

David Greene is a QB that I like a lot. I love the coolness he exhibits in the pocket. He never gets flustered, has a great play action fake, a decent arm, and is money in the two minute drill. He has a lot of the same intangibles that Alex Smith has.

Then there is Andrew Walter, who I think may be the most gifted quarterback in the draft. He's got great size and a great arm, probably the strongest arm in the draft. I really wonder if the offense he played in held him back some. He has never excelled in the accuracy department, but ASU threw the ball down the field so much that you have to take that into account. I really think Walter would have been a first round pick had he not hurt his shoulder during the season.

I agree with the vast majority of that. Charlie Frye I can't comment on. I bet the MAC all year but they didn't show his games in the sportsbooks here. I don't want to evaluate based on one allstar game.

Aaron Rodgers throws short too often. Like you say, he is somewhat mechanical. He has a very good release and arm. I don't want the Dolphins to take him, but if we do I'll have to default to a hope Tedford actually held him back. Rodgers looks talented enough to make the downfield throws, but the system didn't allow it and maybe that contributed to Rodgers' erratic accuracy when going downfield.

David Greene has the stature and the touch and the smarts and the clutch ability. But he doesn't compare to Smith in terms of wheels. I also think he will have trouble adjusting to the speed and talent of the NFL. He needs to speed everything up, from drops to reads to release.

Campbell locks in to one receiver or area too much for my taste. I love the arm but I wish he threw more variety of pace and loft.

Walter is the biggest question mark for me. He could be great or a bust. Very true, he throws downfield almost without exception. I saw him force so many passes into coverage I put him down for that until I realized it had to be the system, because there were no receivers running short routes. You get him in a more conventional offense and he could thrive, provided the protection is excellent. He has plenty of Rob Johnson in holding the ball too damn long.

 

[LtDan]

What if we draft him and he's a bust?

Dan Marino= The guy people weren't sure of, let slip by and became the greatest ever

Ryan Leaf, A. Smith= Need I say more.

The draft is a crap shoot. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. That's the chance all 32 teams will be taking Saturday!

 

[phinfan2003]

I don't see how anyone can say that he isn't good. You've never seen him play. Just admit it. There is no harm in admitting that you are talking out of your ***.

Someone that isn't good can complete 65% of his passes and have a 7:1 TD:INT ratio.

True but any half decent quarterback can put up those #'s in that weak conference he was in. Ty Detmer was a hell of a QB in that conference (and in all of College football) and he wasn't a good pro. IMO, he may be good but I wouldn't call him a franchise QB or even in the same class as an Eli Manning.

 

[Ark139954]

edwards in 1st round and rb in thrid round this year

worry about qb next year, after seeing how feeley does this year.

I couldnt have said that better myself

 

[phinfan2003]

I guess my take on this whole drafting Alex Smith situation is that Smith may be the best QB in the draft but he's not the best player and he's not the type of QB that should be drafted #1 or #2.

 

[Dolfan99847]

No Smith Nor Rodgers with #2 A.J feely can get it down added with some help get a rb somewhere along the early stages of the draft is we draft Ronnie at 2 pick up a McPherson or Fyre or Campbell if we get Braylon get Merriman or Frank Gore

 

[Caddy24]

No Smith Nor Rodgers with #2 A.J feely can get it down added with some help get a rb somewhere along the early stages of the draft is we draft Ronnie at 2 pick up a McPherson or Fyre or Campbell if we get Braylon get Merriman or Frank Gore

wow... i love your thinking, Here is what i want it is almost exactly what you like if we draft a Qb i woul want to go with Barber. If we went with brown then i would want Mcpherson Frye or Campell. If we took Edwards then i would want Barber again or maybe FASON, either way it happens its gonna be one crazy saturday

 

[sports24/7]

It's enough to worry me....There have been too many QB busts for me to trust any scouting report....nobody knows what this kid will do in a real offense....there isn't ANY film of that.....and i have watched some highlight film of Smith, I know that's not much but, it's supposedly his best plays ya know, and I just don't see the zip that he's going to need in the pros.

It definitely is risky to take a QB high in round 1. That I can't argue with, but high risk yeilds high rewards. And I don't really think Smith has a high bust factor. When you look at these QB busts like Akili Smith, Tim Couch, Jeff George, and Ryan Leaf, and they all have one thing in common. They didn't have the head for the position. They either weren't smart enough or were just headcases or both. With Alex Smith I don't think that is a possibility. He is extremely intellegent, has great command of a huddle and is a great leader, and seems like he is far from a head case. His lack of elite arm strenght does worry me a bit as well as playing exclusively in the shotgun, but people questioned Joe Montana's arm strength and he seemed to be ok.

And as far as your comment about me not calling names or getting too upset: I'm not going to do those things unless someone does it to me first (or says something really dumb without much of an argument). That is the beauty of these boards though. People debating about what they feel is the right thing to do in a civil manner. People should be able to respectfully disagree without jumping on eachother.