Our 2018 starting QB will be....

[Ax]

Smith has won bigger games than #8 .
Including playoff games.
I'm sure you hope you're as wrong about this as you were about Morgon Moses.

 

[Bulldog]

I was a strong proponent of drafting Morgan Moses. I thought we had a steal in Round 3.

Friends of mine are UVA alums and watched this kid play most of his college career in person and raved about him.

Look at Smith's all-time record in playoff games - it's sub .500 and not by just one or two games either.

In his last FIVE postseason games Alex Smith is 1-4.

So, he's no difference maker.

 

[Chris]

For one we are not really giving up a 3rd round pick, just delaying it one year when the compensatory pick is in. Secondly we will save somewhere in the neighborhood of 20-24m. Thirdly we have organizational stability at the position with a comparable talent that wants to be here.

So, in essence, the team received that in trade for Fuller. It can now go into the off-season with a clean slate and no longer have to be bogged down by the Cousins question marks.

 

[Ax]

I was a strong proponent of drafting Morgan Moses. I thought we had a steal in Round 3.

Friends of mine are UVA alums and watched this kid play most of his college career in person and raved about him.

Thought I remembered you labeling him a bust during his 1st season. Apologies if you never did.

Look at Smith's all-time record in playoff games - it's sub .500 and not by just one or two games either.

Okay, look at #8 's. He's sub zero. Smith is 2-5 lifetime. Yes, under Reid, known for his playoff failures, he was 1-4. How much of that was Reid, and not Smith?

So, he's no difference maker.

Neither was #8 . And unless he signs a deal equal to Smith's, he's a more expensive non difference maker.

 

[McD5]

From a strictly value perspective, trading a 29 yr old Cousins for his 34 yr old twin would have been okay. Not great, but okay.

The true cost of the move?

We just gave away a 22 yr old, very good starting CB.

A 3rd round pick. What do we need those for, right?

And another 2nd? round pick that we now have to use to replace Fuller.

And all within the environment of a QB-heavy draft and teams like Minny and Philly likely to release at least temporary starters.

It's nearly impossible to make Vinny Cerrato look smart.

Bruce Allen just accomplished it.

 

[Ax]

You avoided my question about Gruden's culpability.

 

[Chris]

There is still a thing called Free Agency, isn't there?

 

[Chris]

I wish Fuller wasn't the player involved. Admittedly I was a vocal detractor his first year and he proved me wrong in his second. That said- I guess the Chiefs should start planning their Super Bowl parade route for next year because they just landed a talented slot defender.

 

[Ax]

From a strictly value perspective, trading a 29 yr old Cousins for his 34 yr old twin would have been okay. Not great, but okay.

Hardly a twin. Smith has performed better in the big games. He's better moving the pocket, making unscheduled plays. And a better runner when he has to.

The true cost of the move?

We just gave away a 22 yr old, very good starting CB.

Not a give away. We got something back in return.

A 3rd round pick. What do we need those for, right?

We'll get one back the following year. Not as high in the round though.

And another 2nd? round pick that we now have to use to replace Fuller.

Says who? Maybe Gruden believes we have his replacement already on the team.

And all within the environment of a QB-heavy draft and teams like Minny and Philly likely to release at least temporary starters.

Bird in the hand. Two in the bush. Though I know all the Hindsight GM's are waiting to pounce.

It's nearly impossible to make Vinny Cerrato look smart.

Bruce Allen just accomplished it.

How bout that Gruden feller?

 

[riggins44]

Can't believe gave up Fuller and a 3rd round pick. There is no guarantee we will get a 3rd round pick in 2019 for Cousins. All depends on how active we are in signing players during FA.

 

[Bulldog]

unless the Redskins made a move in free agency to sign a player that costs franchise money, I don't see us losing out on that #3 pick.

the key here is to ensure our free agent moves are for mid-tier veterans that can help us at wide receiver and perhaps running back and then go into the draft and find an impact inside linebacker, depth on the DL and OL.

this free agent class isn't that strong at a number of positions the Redskins need help.

we may end up making trades instead.

Again, in re Alex Smith. I was sitting there on the couch watching Smith and the Chiefs choke a 21-3 lead away to the Bills in the playoffs at home.

My nephew is a Chiefs fan and when they were up 21-3 was beaming.

My immediate thought? Yeah, it's great IF Reid and Smith don't find a way to screw it up!

 

[Ax]

Maybe they did. But if 6 other suitors were in pursuit, we had to overpay a little.

Just like many were saying we'd have to overpay to re-sign #8 .
And they were fine with that.

 

[Ax]

So, do we assume that you absolve your boy, Gruden, of any responsibility for this move?

My guess is, if it works out for us, it will be yet another example of his player evaluation brilliance.

On the other hand, if it fails, then Snyder and Allen must have held a gun to Jay's head and forced him to sign off on the deal.

Which is it?

Just in case you missed this, Brother McD.

 

[Bulldog]

Gruden is like Cousins.

He's not a bad coach. But like Cousins he is in that mid-tier in the NFL, somewhere between say 12-18.

He's not a guy that comes in and immediately takes over and stamps the team in his image.

He's not a guy that got off to a good start here in picking the wrong coaches on the defensive side of the ball in successive hires.

He said no to Wade Phillips who went on to win the Super Bowl with the Broncos meanwhile we hired Joe Barry because Gruden 'had a feeling'.

I did too - Joe Barry was 0-16 in his one gig as DC in Detroit, working for his FATHER IN LAW!!!!!!!

Alarm bells should have gone off for Gruden and he should have gone with the proven coach.

But instead he let a 30 minute interview direct his course of action.

There are a LOT of guys that can impress you with their 'schtick' for 30 minutes.

It's what's on film that shows who and what they really are.

 

[Win4us]

Man, some of you guys sound like a 12yr old girl who just found out Justin Beiber already had a girlfriend.

You hush your mouth...he does not!

 

[Boone]

I was a strong proponent of drafting Morgan Moses. I thought we had a steal in Round 3.

Friends of mine are UVA alums and watched this kid play most of his college career in person and raved about him.

Look at Smith's all-time record in playoff games - it's sub .500 and not by just one or two games either.

In his last FIVE postseason games Alex Smith is 1-4.

So, he's no difference maker.

The problem with that argument is that he's played very well in those playoff games. He actually outplayed Tom Brady in one of them. I think we're all smart enough to know that a QB isn't solely responsible for playoff success. And Bulldog - who exactly was the difference maker that was available to the Redskins?

I hate losing Fuller, but again, he's not Darrell Green and it's a cornerback...we'll be fine... I love that we have a proven vet who can play (and Alex Smith can play - did you know that he's never thrown more than 8 INTs over the past 9 seasons and has thrown for 3200 yards or more for 6 straight seasons?). I also love that we can now draft a QB (if we choose to) in later rounds in a draft loaded with 'prospects' instead of being compelled to reach for a guy at pick 13 and hope that crapshoot pick somehow pans out.

 

[McD5]

Just in case you missed this, Brother McD.

I think it's safe (let's hope) to assume that Smith will look good here. Gruden put Dalton in a position to be successful, and the same with Kirk. I think all three are interchangeable.

That's not why this was such a bad deal. Here's what it comes down to:

GM 1: 34 yr old QB that's about to walk. He gets a third rounder and a very good 22 yr old starting CB for him.

GM 2: 29 yr old QB that's about to walk. He (hopefully) gets a third rounder and no 22 yr old very good starting CB in return. Furthermore, he loses a very good 22 yr old starting CB on top of it.

One GM plays checkers. One GM plays chess. It's that simple.

It's complete crap.

One guy made out.....and one got abused.

 

[Boone]

1: KC had no leverage. Everyone in the league knew Reid wanted to move on from Smith and that next season Mahomes was going to be his guy.
Bruce Allen, in his infinite wisdom, decided to give up a 3rd and the best young slot corner in the league for a 34 yr old QB KC didn't want anymore

2: They never even waited to see which of the three Minny Qbs would hit the FA market. Imagine that: Sign a FA Qb where you keep your 3rd rd pick and Fuller? That's too much 3 dimensional chess for Bruce and Doug.

So on a team that has plenty of holes to fill, we intentionally create a market for a 34 yr old washed up QB and take a strength and intentionally blow a hole in it by giving up a good up and coming cb.

There is no way anyone can spin what transpired last night as positive. Our defense became weaker and we traded for the original "can't win the big game" Qb...only older.

My hope is that both KC and the Redskins get busted for tampering and this deal goes south with it.

The word is that there were a total of 6 teams bidding for Alex Smith DP. That's not 'creating a market' - he's 34 - you think that's 'washed up' in today's NFL? We easily can get a 4-5 year contract out of a guy who arguably was 2017's most productive QB. Those that wanna argue 'washed up' and that Smith is somehow a scrub either haven't looked at his stats or watched him play. He can make all the throws, he plays much smarter than Cousins does (almost never throws bad picks), he can and does make plays with his feet, and his deep ball is much better than Cousins will ever be. He's a damn good QB. And he's a fiery leader who expects a lot from the guys around him

As for the Minny QBs, you're talking about Keenum (who I liked, but has only had 1 good season with a ton of talent around him), a guy who had a knee injury so bad they weren't sure he'd ever play again, and then Mr. Brittle. There's also the whole aspect of Minny's interest in parting with each of those guys and/or what they wanted. So that sounds good as a drive-by slam, but I'm not sure any of those options put us in a place to win right away with Alex Smith.

 

[Enforcer]

To me, it is essentially a Smith for Fuller trade. The 3rd round is a wash, if we get a 3rd in return for Kirk signing elsewhere. I really like Fuller, and wish we could have kept him. BUT, I do think it is easier to find a replacement slot corner over a starting caliber QB. Smith is solid. I think he is better than the likes of the Vikes qbs.

If Smith allows us more flexibility and we can resign FAs like Breeland, Brown, and/or sign the likes of Bennie Logan (somebody on DL), a starting LG, etc, as opposed to a Kirk megadeal and less money for FAs, then so be it.

 

[Fear The Spear]

And now Smith has got an even BETTER TE in Reed, than he did in Kelce...

oh wait