The Washington Football Team Should Not Be Starting Alex Smith
Quarterback Alex Smith being able to overcome his devastating leg injury from back in 2018 is remarkable. But Smith actually being able to suit up and start a NFL game in 2020 is even more impressive.
Yesterday, Smith made his first start since injuring his leg against the Houston Texans. Washington Football Team coach Ron Rivera gave Smith the nod for him to be under center as they took on the Detroit Lions.
Alex Smith takes the field for his first start in 728 days đź‘Ź
(via @NFL) pic.twitter.com/YjN1mSQEtW
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) November 15, 2020
Sadly for Rivera and Smith, their team fell to 2-7 after the 30-27 loss handed to them by Matthew Stafford and the Lions. Regardless, it is a great story that Smith was able to make it back.
The former number one overall pick almost lost his leg. He had to go through umpteen surgeries just to make sure he didn’t need a prosthetic. But somehow he managed to get back and make it to the NFL. It is truly incredible. He is almost a shoe-in at this point for the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year. But with all that being said, Smith should not be starting The Football Team.
Smith was originally inserted as the team’s quarterback when Kyle Allen went down with a season-ending ankle injury against the New York Giants last week. In relief Smith went 24/32, threw for 325 yards, and threw 1 touchdown to go along with 3 interceptions. It wasn’t a great performance by any means (granted, it was Smith’s first action since his leg injury).
Yesterday Smith was better than he was against the G-Men, but he was still the same old Alex Smith. He was a check down machine, missing on a couple of big throws that NFL quarterbacks should be able to make.
Missed opportunities:
1. Hopkins missed FG
2. Alex Smith misses a wide open McKissic
3. Alex Smith misses a wide open McKissic again
4. Alex Smith misses a wide open Logan Thomas— shrihan (@FeedScaryTerry) November 15, 2020
Yes, Smith is still capable (he threw for 390 yards on 55 attempts) but he isn’t anything special. That is not to say that Washington has any “special” quarterback on their roster, but we still don’t really know what their former first-round quarterback Dwayne Haskins is.
I don’t know why Haskins has been banished to the bottom of the depth chart, but at 2-7 in a horrible division that will almost certainly make zero noise in the postseason there is no reason not to start the former Ohio State Buckeye.
Even if Haskins were to have disagreements with the aforementioned Rivera, he should still be seeing the field to either prove he is Washington’s long-term answer, or establish himself as a worthwhile trade chip for other NFL teams.
Like I already said, everyone knows what Alex Smith is. If you don’t just take a look at the box score from the past two games Smith has played. Washington running back J.D. McKissic has received a whopping 29 targets. Smith is clearly willing to check it down all day, and that is not going to help a team win games.
And at this point why would Washington even be trying to win? There are numerous holes on the roster, and like I already mentioned, they won’t be able to hang with the upper echelon of the NFC. So my question is why not throw Haskins in there?
If he doesn’t fit the culture Rivera is trying to build fine, ship him out this upcoming offseason. But at this point why not give the guy who hasn’t even started a seasons worth of games a shot? The team did draft him in the first round for a reason, so they should give him a chance to show what kind of QB he really is. Haskins will at least push the ball downfield more and give it to the team’s real star – wide receiver Terry McLaurin- rather than a journeyman scat-back.
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– Jarrod Ribaudo (@jarrod_ribaudo)