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Our 2018 starting QB will be....

Nice read by John Feinstein...


Washington is getting much more than a solid QB in Alex Smith

Rarely do NFL player transactions elicit “wows,” but Washington's acquisition of quarterback Alex Smith five days before the Super Bowl — and subsequent agreement on a contract extension — is the exception.

Wow, indeed.

At $71 million guaranteed, Smith is a steal. Over the past year, I've gotten to know Smith well while working on a book project about the art of playing quarterback in the NFL. Here's what Washington fans, and his future teammates, should know: Excellent quarterback. Better person. Leader in the locker room.

And, for those worried that he will turn 34 in May, check out his 70-yard run against the New York Jets back in December. The Kansas City Chiefs even had some read option in their offense this season to take advantage of his speed and elusiveness.

The fast-twitch comparisons to Kirk Cousins are natural, but they miss one critical point: Cousins wasn't an option for Washington. The team wasn't going to pay $34 million to tag him for a third season, and regardless of any of the politically correct things Cousins said about wanting to stay, he was getting out the first chance he got. It wasn't a question of if, but when.

Click HERE for the rest of the story...
 
Trying to be open-minded, but the "refusing to throw the ball away, because he was obsessed with stats and completion percentage" does not add up.
If that is the case, then why did he force so many bad throws into interceptions ?
If he was so concerned with stats and completion percentages, I would think he'd be just as careful about avoiding interceptions, as he was about avoiding incompletions, because of course, the former is actually worse, in every kind of way.
 
Mostly agree Fear. I have never believed Kirk was concerned with stats. I think he wanted to win just as badly as anyone else. But I do believe that one of his limitations has been a higher than usual level of 'risk aversion'. Part of his 'growth' over the past 5 seasons has been that early on, he would have games where he'd throw 2 or 3 (or more) interceptions. That was something he needed to work on, and I think maybe he swung too far towards being overly cautious at times. I also think Kirk is slower than most to develop timing with and trust in new receivers.

I just think this is his personality - and never had anything to do with wanting to pad his stats. I don't know how anyone could read Kirk's mind and come to that conclusion fairly.
 
Fear The Spear said:
I'm not one of the people worried about his age.
The QB position has the longest average NFL career length, over any other position (save for kickers).
Click to expand...

One man's 'old' is another's 'experienced'. Watching tape of him, he seems to have a lot left in the tank. He was never going to be a new starter for a decade. I think we get him for one solid 3, 4, or 5 (if we're lucky) stretch and he retires. That gives us plenty of time to draft and develop his replacement. In theory anyway :)
 
Here's something to look at.
Comparing this trade to the Bailey for Portis trade.
There are enough similarities to compare the 2.
Bailey clearly had a much better resume than Fuller.
But I don't remember nearly the outrage about sending off a shutdown corner back then.
Yet, this trade by all accounts, appears to have much more possibilities for success for us, than that one.
 
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There was quite a bit of outrage. Skins fans, like most, are sentimental. I'll share a secret that I learned from a Redskins bigwig during the ES/Skins merger talks (what difference does it make now?). The reason the Skins made that trade was that Bailey had an affair with someone in DC. His wife was demanding that he move to another NFL franchise. The entire deal was a direct result of the team's awareness that they were going to lose Champ and that if they ever wanted to get something for him, they had to pull the trigger.

That is a good example though - because then, like now, fans struggled to recognize that they were getting value for value, just as we have with the current trade.
 
The situations were quite different.

Bailey had PERSONAL reasons for leaving town. He had allegedly been carrying on an affair with a DC News reporter and his wife gave him an ultimatum, which gave him motivation to seek a deal elsewhere, especially to a team that seemed more ready to win.

In that case, Bailey was not going to resign with the Redskins if we didn't trade him while he was still under contract.

Fuller on the other hand LIKED being here, was liked by teammates and coaches, and was just starting off his NFL career at age 23.

We could have kept him for the next year or so and then resigned him to a recognizable but not 'break the bank' contract extension.

The only comparison I make to the situations is that in each case the Redskins gave up that one extra 'piece' they probably didn't have to.

That #2 pick to go with Portis was too much considering that cornerbacks generally have a longer career trajectory.

This time, there were other bidders for Smith and the Redskins probably wouldn't have won the day simply with the #3 pick.

But I would have tried to sell the Chiefs on Fabian Moreau, who has physical skills and was projected to be a #1-#2 pick before being hurt as a senior instead.

That would have been more of a 'fair' value swap for the Redskins.
 
The extra pick given for Portis was due to him having more years on his existing contract - not just as a pot-sweetener.

Also quite possible the Skins offered lots of things before it becoming clear the Chiefs would only do the deal if Fuller was included.


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yes, but a #2 pick was far too much consideration given that Bailey had indicated he was open to an extension with the Broncos and was likely to have a longer NFL career.

it's not that extra compensation was required but HOW MUCH.

I would also question what other teams were willing to give up for Smith.

Outside of Denver, where most of their quality players they won't part with, the only ones I can think of are guys like Talib or Thomas that are 30 plus years old and have big contracts which the Chiefs were already trying to unload with the Smith trade.

Other clubs like the Browns and Jets didn't have much talent to offer up as would befit clubs that have been near the bottom in recent years.

I am sure the Browns weren't going to give up either of their #1 picks and probably not their first pick in Round 2 either or the Chiefs would have probably taken that deal instead.

With the Redskins past history, the one thing you worry about most is we have a penchant for narrowing in on a deal and seeing with blinders on, where we end up negotiating against ourselves.

Reid suckered us into the McNabb trade at a time where he was shopping the quarterback but nobody else was offering up that much for him.

We ended up trading a high #2 pick - we could have probably done better than that in a swap but felt rushed to consummate the deal.
 
Bulldog's Twin said:
I am sure the Browns weren't going to give up either of their #1 picks and probably not their first pick in Round 2 either or the Chiefs would have probably taken that deal instead.
Click to expand...

I believe Adam Shefter tweeted that the Browns offered up the 33rd pick (first pick in the 2nd round). He also said the reason that the deal didn't work out is that they weren't willing to sign Smith to a LTD.

I won't swear to that - but I believe that's what I saw shortly after the deal broke...
 
If that's true, I wonder in part if SMITH himself refused to sign an extension to go to Cleveland and told the Chiefs to trade him to a team with SOME prospects of winning in the next couple of years?
 
Bulldog's Twin said:
If that's true, I wonder in part if SMITH himself refused to sign an extension to go to Cleveland and told the Chiefs to trade him to a team with SOME prospects of winning in the next couple of years?
Click to expand...

That's the sense I'm getting. How very un-Redskins-like of them that is if true, right? On the other hand - I can see the consideration being warranted. You're talking about a guy who got the Chiefs to the playoffs multiple years (even if he couldn't get them over the hump as you rightly pointed out). He's been a good soldier even when they went out and drafted his replacement. And it's not like they are shipping him out because he's got nothing left or can't play anymore. They just want to move on with his successor. So maybe all that gave him veto power on which offer would get accepted.

If that's the case, a little encouraging that he opted to come here. I can see the logic of it though. Skins offering a full contract term, similar offense to KC's, Gruden an offensive guy (and Smith is on record saying if he was traded, wanted to go to a team with an offensive-minded head coach), solid OL... makes sense in a lot of ways.
 
Boone said:
That's the sense I'm getting. How very un-Redskins-like of them that is if true, right? On the other hand - I can see the consideration being warranted. You're talking about a guy who got the Chiefs to the playoffs multiple years (even if he couldn't get them over the hump as you rightly pointed out). He's been a good soldier even when they went out and drafted his replacement. And it's not like they are shipping him out because he's got nothing left or can't play anymore. They just want to move on with his successor. So maybe all that gave him veto power on which offer would get accepted.

If that's the case, a little encouraging that he opted to come here. I can see the logic of it though. Skins offering a full contract term, similar offense to KC's, Gruden an offensive guy (and Smith is on record saying if he was traded, wanted to go to a team with an offensive-minded head coach), solid OL... makes sense in a lot of ways.
Click to expand...

Got into it with a Chiefs fan about this on another board not to be named. How much of this was Smith and how much was Andy Reid being the HC? At halftime of the Chiefs vs Titans game, I told my father in law that the Titans were gonna lose, and it was because Reid is one of the worst 2nd half playoff coaches I've ever seen. He's got a losing record in the postseason, and even with 'the dream team' he couldn't get it done.
 
Reid's postseason record is almost as poor as Schottenheimer's, but did get the Eagles to the one Super Bowl.

That said, as a guy who gets on the phone and makes trades you very rarely get the best of Andy Reid in one of these deals.

He knew Donovan McNabb was done and got the #37 pick in the draft for him from Washington and a 4th rounder the next season.

While I think Alex Smith has a lot more left in the tank than McNabb had at the time, I think Reid made out rather well in the deal.

He not only gets a draft pick that is high enough to net a starting caliber player down the road, but also an instant starter at CB who is only 24.

In addition, he just cut $17M from his tight cap situation entering free agency and the beginning of the new league year.

And he has a #1 draft pick ready to start for him that has a better downfield arm and higher ceiling.

It may take Mahomes a while to get acclimated and be a consistent starter but the future in KC is pretty bright with him, Kareem Hunt, Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce as its core skill players.

I wish we had that core group of offensive talent here in Washington for 2018 :)
 
Bulldog's Twin said:
But I would have tried to sell the Chiefs on Fabian Moreau, who has physical skills and was projected to be a #1-#2 pick before being hurt as a senior instead.

That would have been more of a 'fair' value swap for the Redskins.
Click to expand...

Maybe Moreau winds up being the superior player. Personally, at this time a year ago I would have had zero qualms about shipping Fuller out.
 
Chris said:
Maybe Moreau winds up be the superior player. Personally, at this time a year ago I would have had zero qualms about shipping Fuller out.
Click to expand...

Charlie Casserly said Moreau actually graded out higher coming out of college... for whatever that is worth.
 
Boone said:
Nice read by John Feinstein...


Washington is getting much more than a solid QB in Alex Smith

Rarely do NFL player transactions elicit “wows,” but Washington's acquisition of quarterback Alex Smith five days before the Super Bowl — and subsequent agreement on a contract extension — is the exception.

Wow, indeed.

At $71 million guaranteed, Smith is a steal. Over the past year, I've gotten to know Smith well while working on a book project about the art of playing quarterback in the NFL. Here's what Washington fans, and his future teammates, should know: Excellent quarterback. Better person. Leader in the locker room.

And, for those worried that he will turn 34 in May, check out his 70-yard run against the New York Jets back in December. The Kansas City Chiefs even had some read option in their offense this season to take advantage of his speed and elusiveness.

The fast-twitch comparisons to Kirk Cousins are natural, but they miss one critical point: Cousins wasn't an option for Washington. The team wasn't going to pay $34 million to tag him for a third season, and regardless of any of the politically correct things Cousins said about wanting to stay, he was getting out the first chance he got. It wasn't a question of if, but when.

Click HERE for the rest of the story...
Click to expand...

Good read. Here's a link from that article as well that talks about the similarities between what the Chiefs did with him and what the 'Skins might want to do.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...-the-redskins-offense/?utm_term=.496138591750
 
SilentThreat said:
Charlie Casserly said Moreau actually graded out higher coming out of college... for whatever that is worth.
Click to expand...

I will tell you one thing. I was VERY impressed with his special teams play.
I'm not saying that directly translates into being an excellent corner.
But the way he hustled on special teams, showed me a few things that are absolutely relevant to playing corner :
- always plays with a full motor, and likely won't take plays off
- a very willing and skillful tackler
- a humble attitude, to be willing to play special teams with that much passion, when you KNOW you were designed and drafted to play as a starting corner.
- showed real good instincts on those ST plays.
 
SilentThreat said:
Charlie Casserly said Moreau actually graded out higher coming out of college... for whatever that is worth.
Click to expand...

I dunno. I'm a UCLA guy, follow them almost as closely as I do our B&G, and he never stood out to me in the games I watched. He's solid but unspectacular IMO.
 
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