JREED wrote:Alex makes far less mistakes than Palmer - even in his losing seasons. Actually, Palmer has only had a couple of good seasons and everyone wants to act like he is a top 10 QB, while Alex gets bashed because he put up good numbers after (and before, but nobody cares to check the stats) he had a decent coaching staff and good team around him. It works both ways. There is a double standard here.
Smith is also much more of a team first guy, which has been proven on multiple occasions - taking pay cuts, resigning with an organizations whose fans threw him under the bus, not only being quiet about losing his job in the manner that he did, but being a huge resource and asset to Kaep's progression. On the other hand you have Palmer who is older, costs much more and he has proven multiple times that he is a ME first guy - I don't need to provide instances of this as Raider fans are quickly becoming indoctrinated in the ways of a selfish, overrated Palmer.
So yeah, even if Palmer was better than Smith, a team would be far better off with a guy like Smith as their QB. Especially considering that neither guy is a long term solution at QB (certainly not Palmer at 33) and whatever team has these guys are going to be looking for their QB of the future. Do you see Palmer coexisting with his eventual replacement? Let alone, aiding in his progression? lol, maybe it's not his fault for having the misfortune of playing for two of the least reputable front offices in the league and he's just saying "FU, pay me my guaranteed $$$ and then I'm out." If the Raider cut him, they're still on the hook for a lot.
I don't think the Chiefs made a good deal, but not for the same reasons that most think this way. I think that the disparity of value placed on QBs and other players is too much. We all know QBs are that important, but the league has gotten out of control with hoisting these guys up on their massive contracts. The question is, are any on the not top 5 QBs worth that kind of compensation? A starting caliber QB in this league is outrageously overvalued, particularly when you consider the success that these young guys are having. Was Joe Flacco worth the massive contract he was give? More importantly, is he worth reducing your SB winning team to what it is now over one guy? Is Joe ****ing Flacco worth 16.2% of your salary cap or is Peyton Manning worth 14.6%!?! You still have 52 other guys to take care of! I guess in this, "win now, worry about the rest later" league they are as coaches, GMs, etc are faced with unexpected and potentially, immediate dismissal.
Still the Chiefs made a far better deal than the Raiders did as they got a starting QB that makes less mistakes, that is 5-6 years younger, cheaper, more of a team player and will be there to help the team transition into there next QB when the time comes. Plus they gave up far less. Oh and he'll actually be on the roster - no getting those 1st rounders back now.
You're right, Cam's turnovers are a bit of a misconception, but I wouldn't go as far as to say he had a very low turnover rate, actually his fumbles (10) put him in the top (bottom?) five among all QBs which is pretty bad, but that's forgiven being a young mobile QB (Kaep was actually worse with 9, but 2 of those came from plays when he wasn't even the QB), his Int % pretty mediocre (2.5%) placing him around the middle of the pack.
His TOs aren't really the problem, actually I don't think he has many problems asides from being labeled a somewhat of an ineffective leader and student of the game. Perhaps it's the impossible comparisons with the younger (drafted in the past 2 seasons) QBs that are out performing him - Luck, RG3 (for entirely different reasons), Kaep, Wilson and Dalton. Not saying they are better (although I believe they are with the exception of RG3), but they are out performing him.
I actually like Cam a lot, I think he is an exciting young talent and I love watching him play. But I feel like I speak for all NFL fans when I say, "Dude Cam, STFU!!!" When you start pissing off veteran, all-pro guys like Steve Smith, then you've crossed a line and time to file back in and earn the right to speak out. Guys like Brady and Manning can say whatever the f*ck they want, whenever the f*ck they want, to whoever the f*ck they want because they have earned that right. Their teammates don't call them superman, they call them sir. When you've attained even a fraction of that respect, then you can feel partially entitled to throw your team under the bus, but until then... just STFU. Maybe that's why the myth exists... nobody likes a sore loser and an asshole that celebrates as much as he does on a losing team. You can be one or the other, but not both.
There is a reason why the Niners were very interested in Palmer the first season Harbaugh got there and why Smith got benched with in Kaep's first real game. Alex Smith can't go deep (13.2 percent of the time) and the Niners were winning because of the defense and a heavy running game with short passes. Smith didn't make mistakes because the system he was placed in didn't allow you to make mistakes. Palmer would absolutely strive in the Niners roster. Kaepernick got a lot more freedom with the playbook and for good reason. Harbaugh trusted Kaep and not Smith.
I am going to go ahead and say Smith is probably one of the most overrated QB's going into the year. There are equal QB's on the market for pennies. Like Matt Moore and Jason Campbell. I feel like the Niners demonstrated why they are an upper echelon front office with this move and why they will contend consistently.
lol I don't see the point in saying the Raiders deal was awful. I know it was awful.
http://boards.bengals.com/showthread.php?t=87161 - Kind of a source that the Niners were trying to trade for Palmer while he was with the Bengals?