Desperate Times Call for Desperate Trades

It's pretty easy to laugh at the Chiefs for trading for inconsistent quarterback Alex Smith. My question to those laughing: what would you do if you were the Chiefs? Stick with Matt Cassel or Brady Quinn for another year? I don't think Aaron Rodgers or Drew Brees are available. If someone has a crystal ball and can tell me that Geno Smith or Matt Barkley will be a Pro Bowler, please get it to John Dorsey stat. This trade isn't official until March 12.

My take: the Chiefs had to do something, and they did the best thing they could.

I've grumbled before about what a lousy offseason the Chiefs faced. There are no great quarterbacks to be had. There is not a wealth of talented free agents. There does not appear to be an Andrew Luck or RG3 in this draft. Some draft analysts don't even have a quarterback worthy of going in the first round.

Bitter over his benching, Alex Smith now does what former
49ers QBs like Montana, Bono, and Grbac do: play for KC.

Quite simply, there is no one available at the quarterback position that will instantly make the Chiefs a playoff team. All Kansas City could do is slightly upgrade. Find someone better than Matt Cassel, who has really struggled with turnovers the last couple years. Whether it's his fault or not, Cassel has not worked in Kansas City. It's time to try something else, something other than Brady Quinn.

Despite his struggles in his first six seasons, I do think Alex Smith is a better quarterback than Matt Cassel. He was actually playing pretty well when he suffered a concussion this season and lost his starting job to Colin Kaepernick. 

In typical Smith fashion, though, he was good - not spectacular. In 10 games, completed 70 % of his passes for 1,737 yards and 13 touchdowns. He had 8 turnovers (5 interceptions, 3 fumbles). By comparison, Matt Cassel in 9 games completed 58% of his passes for 1,796 yards and 6 touchdowns and a whopping 18 turnovers (12 picks, 6 fumbles). 

Summary: Smith takes less risks (hence the fewer yards and higher completion percentage) and doesn't turn it over as much.

Make no mistake about it. I do not think Kansas City has acquired a top-flight quarterback. I also think they overpaid to get him - reportedly a second round pick and a mid-rounder next year. San Francisco took advantage of a seller's market and held KC hostage for the "best" quarterback available in a lousy market.

I am, however, willing to give Smith a chance. Heck, I was all aboard the Alex Smith bandwagon a year ago. After that dramatic win over New Orleans, I thought he had arrived. If Kyle Williams hadn't mishandled two punts against the Giants, Smith would have had San Francisco in the Super Bowl.

Yes, I know team success doesn't necessarily mean a guy is a great quarterback. Rex Grossman has been to a Super Bowl.

Nevertheless, if Smith can do for the Chiefs what he did in San Francisco the last two years, the Chiefs will be better. I'm not saying 12-4 better, but they'll be a far cry from 2-14. Smith is efficient and hasn't made a lot of mistakes the last two years. If he can just manage games and give the Chiefs some kind of passing game, then Kansas City has upgraded the QB position for 2013. 

In this weak QB offseason, that's really all Chiefs fans can ask for.