Shaun King Trashes Alex Smith on ESPN 2

[FlaHawker 24]

Now, I know I am the biggest Alex Smith critic going, but I just heard Shaun King say that Ryan Leaf showed more as a QB than Alex Smith has. Wow!

[SaintsInDome2006 128]

Leaf completed less than half his passes and had 14 TD's and 36 INT's in 26 games.

 

Smith (edit) is way better than that. In fact I don't think anyone was as bad as Leaf for that long.

 

Shaun King was a good QB, but that's such an overstatement it's incredible.

[Filthy Fernadez 2,696]

Alex Smith's shiatty play has rendered Frank Gore irrelevant.

[Guest _my_2_cents_]

heard that. said he looked like a HS QB out there.

 

But Shaun King's job is to say contravertial things so that people like you flap your trap about it as though it's important. It's not. Look, the Niners suck this year - you want blood or something? Seriously Hawker, sometimes you're alright, but this constant trolling and Niners bashing just makes you look like a big pole smoker.

 

You really get off on kicking a team and their fans when they're down, don't you? Do you think Gore having an ankle injury all year has helped Alex Smith? Perhaps you think a separated shoulder should have improved his game? Perhaps you think losing Vernon Davis and never having DJax at 100% should have helped Smith's game step up a notch? Maybe it's Larry allen playing like garbage and Jennings having season ending surgery that has you thinking the Niners should be a good team and that Alex Smith should take all the blame?

 

Any time you mindlessly bash Alex Smith and act as though he is in a position to succeed but doesn't because he sucks, it just indicates that you have no idea what the situation in SF is. Hard to pass without an O-Line - Look at Bulger this year. He was god focking awful without his O-Line and RB. Got sacked so many times that he got his ribs broken. Sound familiar? Give Smith time and weapons and he can make plays. He's shown that - like all last year.

 

The guy is 23 y/o. I still give him the benefit of the doubt. But if he continues to struggle they will get another guy. Maybe they'll be able to get Quinn from CLE since Anderson is the man.

 

Who knows. All I know is that it's a long season already, and we get it: you hate the Niners. Not sure why since they weren't even in your pathetic team's division/conference a few years ago...your rivals are the Raiders - if you'd been a football fan more than a year or two you'd know that.

 

What will be awesome is if after all this bashing the Hawks lose at home to the Niners. I doubt it happens, but it would be amusing.

[fantasybubba 0]

Alex Smith was such a waste .....even SF did not want to draft him that year. No one would trade up and they took the QB they needed despite the fact that they new he was nothing more than a system QB with a decent arm.

[BuschWack 56]

Now, I know I am the biggest Alex Smith critic going, but I just heard Shaun King say that Ryan Leaf showed more as a QB than Alex Smith has. Wow!

I just found this post informative that someone would compare Alex Smith to Ryan Leaf. Interesting. Having watched him quite a bit here in Utah, I can say for certain that he has better judgement around the media than Leaf. However, his on-field decision making doesn't seem to be progressing, similar to Leaf. As much as he was touted as being a team leader at the University of Utah, his personality never quite reflected it, IMO.

[kilroy69 1,012]

I never liked shaun king.

[Guest _my_2_cents_]

Alex Smith was such a waste .....even SF did not want to draft him that year. No one would trade up and they took the QB they needed despite the fact that they new he was nothing more than a system QB with a decent arm.

 

While true that the Niners didn't want to take him that year at #1 overall, Smith has the tools to be a lot more than a system QB. He's a big kid who runs well and has a strong arm. He's displayed tremendous athleticism at times and throws well on the run. There are flashes of being a bigtime talent here and there...just not enough consistency to date to give you confidence he'll get there.

 

Steve Young is high on the guy, if a bit critical this year...while I think it's unfair to judge Smith as harshly as others have based on the team around him, this definitely has been a disappointing year.

 

We'll see what happens. It's very hard to watch your QB get drilled, hit, hurried, sacked and pressured all game long though with constant breakdowns in protection.

[Dr. Octopus 0]

Shaun King was a good QB,

 

link?

[kilroy69 1,012]

I have to agree that smith has been in a terrible situation this year. That being said he WAS a system QB. Urban Meyer made him look good. Which is why I wonder about how talented tebow really is.

[SaintsInDome2006 128]

I never liked shaun king.

 

Ha.

 

Well, he got Tulane to an undefeated season and a No. 7 ranking so he might as well be Johnny Unitas and Joe Montana rolled into one.

 

And for one brief moment at Tampa he got them to the NFCC.

 

But that's all I got; should I look, I'm guessing there will be no evidence available to support my assertion.

[Gepetto 993]

Leaf completed less than half his passes and had 14 TD's and 36 INT's in 26 games.

 

Smith (edit) is way better than that. In fact I don't think anyone was as bad as Leaf for that long.

 

Shaun King was a good QB, but that's such an overstatement it's incredible.

 

Alex Smith threw 19 TDs and 31 INTs in 29 games. Not really much better than Leaf.

Alex Smith career completion percentage is 54.8%. His yards per pass attempt is 5.9 which is terrible. Career passer rating for A. Smith is 63.9 career and for this year it's 40.8. He's on a pretty good pace to end up like Leaf and Couch.

[Gepetto 993]

Leaf completed less than half his passes and had 14 TD's and 36 INT's in 26 games.

 

Smith (edit) is way better than that. In fact I don't think anyone was as bad as Leaf for that long.

 

Shaun King was a good QB, but that's such an overstatement it's incredible.

 

It's interesting you conveniently left out Alex Smith's stats. Let me help. Alex Smith threw 19 TDs and 31 INTs in 29 games. Not really much better than Leaf.

Alex Smith career completion percentage is 54.8%. His yards per pass attempt is 5.9 which is terrible. Career passer rating for A. Smith is 63.9 career and for this year it's 40.8. He's on a pretty good pace to end up like Leaf and Couch.

 

nfl.com alex smith

[FlaHawker 24]

heard that. said he looked like a HS QB out there.

 

But Shaun King's job is to say contravertial things so that people like you flap your trap about it as though it's important. It's not. Look, the Niners suck this year - you want blood or something? Seriously Hawker, sometimes you're alright, but this constant trolling and Niners bashing just makes you look like a big pole smoker.

 

You really get off on kicking a team and their fans when they're down, don't you? Do you think Gore having an ankle injury all year has helped Alex Smith? Perhaps you think a separated shoulder should have improved his game? Perhaps you think losing Vernon Davis and never having DJax at 100% should have helped Smith's game step up a notch? Maybe it's Larry allen playing like garbage and Jennings having season ending surgery that has you thinking the Niners should be a good team and that Alex Smith should take all the blame?

 

Any time you mindlessly bash Alex Smith and act as though he is in a position to succeed but doesn't because he sucks, it just indicates that you have no idea what the situation in SF is. Hard to pass without an O-Line - Look at Bulger this year. He was god focking awful without his O-Line and RB. Got sacked so many times that he got his ribs broken. Sound familiar? Give Smith time and weapons and he can make plays. He's shown that - like all last year.

 

The guy is 23 y/o. I still give him the benefit of the doubt. But if he continues to struggle they will get another guy. Maybe they'll be able to get Quinn from CLE since Anderson is the man.

 

Who knows. All I know is that it's a long season already, and we get it: you hate the Niners. Not sure why since they weren't even in your pathetic team's division/conference a few years ago...your rivals are the Raiders - if you'd been a football fan more than a year or two you'd know that.

 

What will be awesome is if after all this bashing the Hawks lose at home to the Niners. I doubt it happens, but it would be amusing.

Actually I used the shocked emoticon because I totally disagree with King's statement. I was actually shocked that King had the nerve to even remotely compare anyone to that pile of crap Leaf.

[SaintsInDome2006 128]

It's interesting you conveniently left out Alex Smith's stats. Let me help. Alex Smith threw 19 TDs and 31 INTs in 29 games. Not really much better than Leaf.

Alex Smith career completion percentage is 54.8%. His yards per pass attempt is 5.9 which is terrible. Career passer rating for A. Smith is 63.9 career and for this year it's 40.8. He's on a pretty good pace to end up like Leaf and Couch.

 

nfl.com alex smith

 

Yeah, I thought about that afterwards. Truth is, it didn't seem possible that Smith could be that bad (though I don't remember him being all that good either), so I didn't look it up right away.

 

However I remember Smith had a terrible first year (1 TD and 11 INT's), and he had a better 2nd season than any season Leaf had. Leaf's best year (also his 2nd) he had 11 TD's and 18 INT's. I think Smith's regression is more due to Turner leaving, the running game disappearing and just Nolan as coach overall. And no matter what Smith just seems to have more of a clue than Leaf ever did.

 

I also said that no one could have possibly been as bad as Leaf. That's not true either, there were at least two: Danny Wuerffel and George Izo.

 

I don't know about Smith's prospects but I really get the feeling that it's not his fault and the whole `9'er situation needs to be blown apart.

 

Gotta give some credit to former LA Gov. "Fast Eddie" Edwards who did what Jim Mora Sr. could never do by implicating Eddie DeBartolo in a bribery scandal and ending his successful reign as SF's owner. The franchise has never been the same since.

[FlaHawker 24]

heard that. said he looked like a HS QB out there.

 

But Shaun King's job is to say contravertial things so that people like you flap your trap about it as though it's important. It's not. Look, the Niners suck this year - you want blood or something? Seriously Hawker, sometimes you're alright, but this constant trolling and Niners bashing just makes you look like a big pole smoker.

 

You really get off on kicking a team and their fans when they're down, don't you? Do you think Gore having an ankle injury all year has helped Alex Smith? Perhaps you think a separated shoulder should have improved his game? Perhaps you think losing Vernon Davis and never having DJax at 100% should have helped Smith's game step up a notch? Maybe it's Larry allen playing like garbage and Jennings having season ending surgery that has you thinking the Niners should be a good team and that Alex Smith should take all the blame?

 

Any time you mindlessly bash Alex Smith and act as though he is in a position to succeed but doesn't because he sucks, it just indicates that you have no idea what the situation in SF is. Hard to pass without an O-Line - Look at Bulger this year. He was god focking awful without his O-Line and RB. Got sacked so many times that he got his ribs broken. Sound familiar? Give Smith time and weapons and he can make plays. He's shown that - like all last year.

 

The guy is 23 y/o. I still give him the benefit of the doubt. But if he continues to struggle they will get another guy. Maybe they'll be able to get Quinn from CLE since Anderson is the man.

 

Who knows. All I know is that it's a long season already, and we get it: you hate the Niners. Not sure why since they weren't even in your pathetic team's division/conference a few years ago...your rivals are the Raiders - if you'd been a football fan more than a year or two you'd know that.

 

What will be awesome is if after all this bashing the Hawks lose at home to the Niners. I doubt it happens, but it would be amusing.

Lighten up on the Niner hating thing. I am actually cheesed off the NFC West has turned back into a joke this year. I actually thought each team had a chance of being competitive and shedding the label as the weakest division in the NFL. The Raiders are ancient history. The NFC West is where the rivalry now lies and as such it's nice to feed the fire sometimes to get the smack going before games. Unfortunately, as you accurately predicted eartlier in the year, winning the NFC West this year is no big shakes.

 

I guess the biggest oversight on my part in terms of the Hawks this year has been the poor OLINE play. I didn;t expect the line to be as porous as they have been. Combine that witht he fact that Alexander is done and you now have a one dimensional offense and I don't care who you play in the NFL; if you have a one dimensional offense,you are in trouble against everyone!

[Guest _my_2_cents_]

It's interesting you conveniently left out Alex Smith's stats. Let me help. Alex Smith threw 19 TDs and 31 INTs in 29 games. Not really much better than Leaf.

Alex Smith career completion percentage is 54.8%. His yards per pass attempt is 5.9 which is terrible. Career passer rating for A. Smith is 63.9 career and for this year it's 40.8. He's on a pretty good pace to end up like Leaf and Couch.

 

nfl.com alex smith

 

 

It's interesting that you conveniently lump Smith's rookie year in with his sophmore season and this year's stats - let me help

 

Smith's rookie year: 1 TD and 11 INT's

Sophmore season: 16 TDs, 16 ints

 

Way to represent the stats to make Smith sound worse than Leaf, who never threw 16 TDs in a season.

[Guest _my_2_cents_]

Lighten up on the Niner hating thing. I am actually cheesed off the NFC West has turned back into a joke this year. I actually thought each team had a chance of being competitive and shedding the label as the weakest division in the NFL. The Raiders are ancient history. The NFC West is where the rivalry now lies and as such it's nice to feed the fire sometimes to get the smack going before games. Unfortunately, as you accurately predicted eartlier in the year, winning the NFC West this year is no big shakes.

 

I guess the biggest oversight on my part in terms of the Hawks this year has been the poor OLINE play. I didn;t expect the line to be as porous as they have been. Combine that witht he fact that Alexander is done and you now have a one dimensional offense and I don't care who you play in the NFL; if you have a one dimensional offense,you are in trouble against everyone!

 

hey no worries Hawker - I apologize. i saw this topic from you and misinterpreted your comment based on past posts from you. My bad. Thanks for the clarification - it's been a tough year to take. While I didn't have the lofty expectations many in the news media did, I certainly thought they were improved over 2006.

 

I do think the Niners will have a good 2008 season still - they have a lot of young players who are up & coming, and while we lost our #1 pick we certainly got value for it, and the draft is more than 1 pick long. There should be O-Line talent available in the 2nd and 3rd rounds, and IMO the whole thing comes down to protection. Alex Smith was lauded as having improved leaps and bounds from year 1 to year 2. Turner got allthe credit for that, but having an 1800 yd rusher and an O-Line to protect him was more responsible than anything Turner did IMO. And now this year he lacks that protection, Gore gets bottled up and even with better receiving weapons Smith doesn't have time to check anything down and he's been disasterous. Again - not making excuses - it is what it is. Saying he's like Ryan Leaf is just retarded of King. Smith is intelligent, driven and has a great work ethic.

 

Those 3 qualities alone separate him from Leaf in every way. Football-wise Leaf might actually have had better tools - he was just too stupid and immature to put it together.

[Joey Gladstone 33]

I'd hold off just a little bit longer before writing Smith off. He looked like crap before, but the injury didn't help him out at all this year. If He doesn't show some serious progress next year during the preseason or a few weeks in, it'll be time to worry. Needless to say this offseason the Niners should be lining up some kind of long-term backup plan.

 

And this division is a joke, it looks like the Rams might have finally woken up. If they can pull a few divisional upsets we could see the Hawks or the Cardinals winning it at 8-8 or 7-9.

 

Despite some inconsistancy, I think the Cards are the best team in the division right now. I'll be at the game when thy come to town Dec. 8th...hopefully we've figured out the running game a little more by then, and it would be GREAT if Trufant could do as good of a job covering Fitz as he did on Braylon last week.

[DankNuggs 305]

Its all blocking....

 

Derrick Anderson is playing great, but the most startling thing i saw in the steelers game was that he had 5-step drop protection all day long.

 

You watch Indy play SD, manning getting harrassed all day didn't look like the same guy.

 

 

Don't blame a QB that spends his time on his back. You can't assess fault one-dimensionally unless it is due.

[FlaHawker 24]

hey no worries Hawker - I apologize. i saw this topic from you and misinterpreted your comment based on past posts from you. My bad. Thanks for the clarification - it's been a tough year to take. While I didn't have the lofty expectations many in the news media did, I certainly thought they were improved over 2006.

 

I do think the Niners will have a good 2008 season still - they have a lot of young players who are up & coming, and while we lost our #1 pick we certainly got value for it, and the draft is more than 1 pick long. There should be O-Line talent available in the 2nd and 3rd rounds, and IMO the whole thing comes down to protection. Alex Smith was lauded as having improved leaps and bounds from year 1 to year 2. Turner got allthe credit for that, but having an 1800 yd rusher and an O-Line to protect him was more responsible than anything Turner did IMO. And now this year he lacks that protection, Gore gets bottled up and even with better receiving weapons Smith doesn't have time to check anything down and he's been disasterous. Again - not making excuses - it is what it is. Saying he's like Ryan Leaf is just retarded of King. Smith is intelligent, driven and has a great work ethic.

 

Those 3 qualities alone separate him from Leaf in every way. Football-wise Leaf might actually have had better tools - he was just too stupid and immature to put it together.

Not a problem cents. Here's to a good game tonight!

[RoadLizard 73]

Its all blocking....

 

Don't blame a QB that spends his time on his back. You can't assess fault one-dimensionally unless it is due.

 

Yeah, I mean look at David Carr, he was the second coming of Johnny Unitas if ONLY the Texans could block for him. Oh wait.... David Carr sucks royal knob and Carolina is finding this out along with the rest of the NFL.

 

What Im saying is that guys like Brady and Manning make their line better by making plays and thinking quickly. Sacks are partially the QBs fault in many cases.

[Guest _my_2_cents_]

Yeah, I mean look at David Carr, he was the second coming of Johnny Unitas if ONLY the Texans could block for him. Oh wait.... David Carr sucks royal knob and Carolina is finding this out along with the rest of the NFL.

 

What Im saying is that guys like Brady and Manning make their line better by making plays and thinking quickly. Sacks are partially the QBs fault in many cases.

 

This is really an ignorant post. Warner had the fastest release of just about anyone I've ever seen in his superbowl year in Stl. He also had an O-Line that protected him when his receivers ran deep routes.

 

Brady has gone most of this season untouched. That is not an exaggeration - when the Colts sacked him last week, it was the 1st time he'd even been hurried in 4 games. Manning has one of the best O-Lines in the NFL outside of NE.

 

So your two examples really just lose you the argument - Brady & Manning don't "make their lines better" - that's ridiculous. Manning & Brady are great because they have all day to sit in the pocket and throw. The Chargers whole gameplan was to get after Manning yesterday and they did a damn good job of it - and as has been stated, he wasn't the same QB when he was flushed from the pocket. Thus the 6 Ints.

 

David Carr out of college was a great prospect. He has it all - vision, arm strength, some mobility (not a ton, but enough) pocket presence, touch on his passes. The reason he's the suck now is because he spent 4 years or so getting the hell beat out of him. That takes a toll both mentally and physically. The Texans ruined David Carr's career - not the other way around. They had zero O-Line to protect him. Put Brady behind the O-Lines that Carr had in Texas and he wouldn't win sh!t either.

 

I think you're using this as an excuse to rip Smith, because any thinking football fan will disagree with this post.

[berven 0]

I've been worried about Alex ever since he remarked that the NFL ball is a bit chubbier and harder to grip than the college version.I don't want my QB thinking things like that.

 

Interestingly, the rap on King was that he had kitty-paw hands that inclined him to bobble the ball. That's how it looked to me.

 

Smith will get better as his team does. As Phil Sims once remarked, you can't be a good QB on a bad team. You're always throwing on third and long, getting hurried, and playing from behind.

[NewbieJr 540]

Seperated at birth?

Alex Smith

 

Elliott Yamin

[idiotec 31]

Here is my take as an SF homer.

 

I believe he has the phyical talent to be a good QB, but right now he has some real mental issues. The guys just looks scared when he drops back. But look what he's been through. 3 different OC's in 3 years. Playing behind some very bad OL play. Battling injury this year.

 

The guys has just been in bad situations so far. SF needs to fix a lot problems including coaching, OL play, and some talent at WR before Smith takes all the heat.

[Gepetto 993]

It's interesting that you conveniently lump Smith's rookie year in with his sophmore season and this year's stats - let me help

 

Smith's rookie year: 1 TD and 11 INT's

Sophmore season: 16 TDs, 16 ints

 

Way to represent the stats to make Smith sound worse than Leaf, who never threw 16 TDs in a season.

 

Just giving the career stats in the same way the poster did for leaf which was the response to his post.

 

You're biased b/c you're smoking the 49ers Homerism crack pipe. Crack is a might fine drug, eh?

 

His sophmore season was ok. He has now regressed and it isn't pretty.

 

-------------------------------------------

Norv Turner leaving isn't the problem, it's on Alex Smith. Good QBs get it done. Below average QBs don't. Norv Turner isn't stopping Phillip Rivers regression so don't blame Norv's leaving, blame Smith.

[mnvikejohn 1]

Ryan Leaf????

 

Funny note... I was at the Colts Chargers game last night and see a dude wearing a Leaf jersey/shirt (you know, the t-shirt that is suppose to look like a jersey). Leave it to a bandwagon Charger fan to grab the "ol' Charger shirt" out of his closet for the game. I kind of felt bad for the guy, I wanted to buy him another shirt. Colts fans just laughed (see Peyton Manning)... Chargers fans, on the other hand... wanted to kick that dudes a$$.

[Guest _my_2_cents_]

Just giving the career stats in the same way the poster did for leaf which was the response to his post.

 

You're biased b/c you're smoking the 49ers Homerism crack pipe. Crack is a might fine drug, eh?

 

His sophmore season was ok. He has now regressed and it isn't pretty.

 

So Alex Smith has "regressed" - did you even read what I posted? You make a generalization like this without even responding to the ancillary factors? Doesn't he need an O-Line? How about his receivers...does he need those? Maybe a running game could hlep him, you know, open up the pass? Perhaps not getting sacked, hit & hurried on every single play might help him avoid injury, like say, a separated shoulder?

 

You're just a hater making ignorant statements. It's ok - we get it. It's obvious.

 

-------------------------------------------

Norv Turner leaving isn't the problem, it's on Alex Smith. Good QBs get it done. Below average QBs don't. Norv Turner isn't stopping Phillip Rivers regression so don't blame Norv's leaving, blame Smith.

 

so first you & the haters said that Norv made Alex what he is and was why he was so much better year 2 than year 1....now Norv's leaving didn't have any bearing on Smith, but his arrival in San Diego has caused Rivers to regress as well...fascinating. A logical thinking person might see a contradiction in there somewhere. I wouldn't expect that of you though, so you're in the clear. whew!

[swirvenirvin 25]

Yeah I was watching a bit today too and he was ripping everyone..

 

Phillip Rivers Rex Grossman, Alex Smith

 

I'm like WTF is this guy, and then i see his name it was Shaun King

[Gepetto 993]

So Alex Smith has "regressed" - did you even read what I posted? You make a generalization like this without even responding to the ancillary factors? Doesn't he need an O-Line? How about his receivers...does he need those? Maybe a running game could hlep him, you know, open up the pass? Perhaps not getting sacked, hit & hurried on every single play might help him avoid injury, like say, a separated shoulder?

 

You're just a hater making ignorant statements. It's ok - we get it. It's obvious.

 

so first you & the haters said that Norv made Alex what he is and was why he was so much better year 2 than year 1....now Norv's leaving didn't have any bearing on Smith, but his arrival in San Diego has caused Rivers to regress as well...fascinating. A logical thinking person might see a contradiction in there somewhere. I wouldn't expect that of you though, so you're in the clear. whew!

 

I didn't read what you posted. Still haven't. Not planning to either. I'm not a hater, I just say it how I see it. Blaming those around him sounds very similar to how persons on this board defended Carr starting in Houston while blaming his line and lack of a solid WR2. Carr was allowed to start for five years and bury the Texans in the process.

[Guest _my_2_cents_]

I'm like WTF is this guy, and then i see his name it was Shaun King

 

count the rings, baby!

[Guest _my_2_cents_]

I didn't read what you posted. Still haven't. Not planning to either. I'm not a hater, I just say it how I see it. Blaming those around him sounds very similar to how persons on this board defended Carr starting in Houston while blaming his line and lack of a solid WR2. Carr was allowed to start for five years and bury the Texans in the process.

 

See, I disagree - I think the Texans burried Carr by not protecting him with an O-Line worth a crap. He was a geniune bigtime talent. He had a head for the game and all the tools to succeed. What he lacked was an O-Line that could protect him.

 

Do you really think Derek Anderson is a better QB than Carr was out of college? No way in hell - he just has an O-Line that gives him time to make his reads and make the play. Carr would do one checkdown and get blindsided.

 

Blaming Carr for the Texans woes when he was the single most sacked player in the NFL for several years running is just as ignorant of the "team" concept as throwing Alex Smith under the bus for the Niners being 2-8.

[BufordT 371]

Maybe Shaun King should start comparing Alex Smith to Shaun King....that would be an accurate comparison.

[Moonlight 0]

My first reaction learning it was Shaun King making the hit on Smith was irritation.

 

It was because of Shaun King's play that TB didn't win their first SB.

 

Just a terrible QB.

 

Not defending Smith.

[My Negro! 3]

Who does King play for now?

[Guest _my_2_cents_]

Was just reading an article on Sportsline (league page, sorry no linky) and C&P'd the following because I think it speaks well to what Alex Smith is going through in SF.

 

Manning entered Sunday's game at San Diego in tough circumstances: He and his teammates were coming off a tough loss in what people called "Super Bowl XLI 1/2." He was on the road in the rain and was without WR Marvin Harrison, TE Dallas Clark, rookie WR Anthony Gonzalez and starting left tackle Tony Ugoh.

 

Then the Chargers took a 13-0 lead nine minutes into the game. But that's exactly where you want your Fantasy quarterback to be, especially early in the game, because it means he's going to throw the ball. Manning's problem? Aside from Reggie Wayne, who was he going to throw the ball to?

 

There's more. The Colts' left tackle replacement got hurt and forced the team into a makeshift offensive line. They had a practice-squad player in there protecting Manning. Oh, and by the way, the Chargers defense is generally pretty good.

 

So, yeah, this wasn't ideal.

 

Fantasy owners see a guy who threw six picks. I see a guy so incredibly talented that he managed to top 300 yards and only get sacked twice, all while keeping his team in the game and putting them in a position to win.

 

We can learn from this. Manning's night is fantastic proof that football is indeed a team game. Sometimes, a kicker might win one for a team, or a rookie running back will set the single-game rushing record en route to a win (then get hurt the next week), but you need your best guys on the field in order to do well statistically. When you evaluate Fantasy players, you must also evaluate their teammates.

 

Why is Steve Smith in the worst tailspin of his career? Look who's at quarterback for the Panthers. How is it that Tom Brady is on pace to break a ton of single-season QB records? Look at his receiving corps. How come the Rams are just now starting to put points on the scoreboard? Ask their team doctor and offensive line coach.

 

Now, is Manning's Fantasy future tied to the status of Harrison and Clark (and, to an extent, Gonzalez)? Manning proved in Week 10 that that's not the case. No one should be angry or upset to have Manning on his or her Fantasy team. Bad weeks happen, and we know that in Manning's case, they seldom happen. Will they keep up so long as Manning's supporting cast is on the shelf? I doubt it. And even if they did, what are you going to do? Pick up Alex Smith or Quinn Gray off the waiver wire? Good luck with that.

 

I'm a big believer in the theory that you're only as good as the players around you allow you to be. And Manning proved in Week 10 that he's an exception to that rule. He might be the only one. It doesn't really matter who he's playing with because he's going to be good.

 

If anything, the guy not to dwell on is Manning. If I were you, I'd go find Aaron Moorehead and Bryan Fletcher and pick them up off the waiver wire, especially if you've been counting on Marvin Harrison or Dallas Clark.

 

Obviously not making a comparison to Manning...just to the situation and to references to a team sport.

[OD99 0]

Gepetto - do you have an inferiority complex?

 

You repeat your post 2 times (feel free to learn how to use the delete function) AND your sig quote is of yourself?!

 

You are so brilliant that you felt it necessary to state the obvious in your sig? Yes, Romo is good. Good job in spreading that.

 

To the main point - I see where you are coming from but Alex Smith does require some type of team around him. Carr had AJ and DD yet still didn't improve. As much as I like Gore, at this stage I can't say he is better than DD...give Smith some time to develop within a system for more than 1 year and get an outside threat to compliment Gore and Davis.

[Melissa Stark 1]

Just wondering how much the Niners miss Norv as OC?

He is one heck of an OC, not HC.

 

What I would like to see is a p1ssing match between Harrington and Carr.

[Gephardt69 0]

Now, I know I am the biggest Alex Smith critic going, but I just heard Shaun King say that Shaun King showed more as a QB than Alex Smith has. Wow!

 

Wow, what an insult!