Volume 128 Issue 60
kansan.com
Wednesday, December 10, 2014
COMMENTARY Smith may not be long-term answer for Chiefs
Hindsight may be perfect, but before the start of the season
there were cries that extending Alex Smith to a four-year contract was premature, considering they had a year remaining to decide.
As favorable as the approval rating of Smith was after he gashed the Indianapolis Colts in last year's first round playoff exit, it has taken a sharp turn into doubting the Kansas City Chiefs' long-term future.
Propped up by Andy Reid's smoke and mirror offense, Smith hardly ever improvises at the line while making pre-snap reads. Last week in Denver, he had trouble reading the blitz, as he got sacked six times, including twice by Bronco safeties.
The last sequence of the game against the Arizona Cardinals was a dark moment for someone deemed as a high-IQ quarterback.
With a little over one minute remaining and the Chiefs down by three, Smith threw a 2-yard pass, 4-yard pass, 6-yard pass and two incomplete passes behind the line of scrimmage after failing to get past midfield and thus, surrendering the game.
Not even attempting a downfield throw doesn't inspire the utmost confidence in your $17 million quarterback and severely hampers any offense to become productive.
It becomes an even more untenable task when your best playmaker gets only 10 carries. Smith's best throws that go downfield result mostly from play-action, which includes faking the ball to the running back.
Smith has a disclaimer in that he has arguably the worst offensive line in the NFL. The Chiefs offensive line has been playing like mannequins and has been patched together after losing three starters on the line from last season.
Smith's style isn't getting rid of the ball immediately after the snap, and this formula doesn't bode well with an offensive line of this ineptitude. On Sunday, Smith held on to the ball for at least 2.5 seconds on more than half of his dropbacks.
Don't forget about the receivers. They haven't received much. But they celebrated their one-year anniversary of not catching a touchdown pass this week.
Alex Smith can succeed with the right amount of playmakers, but that might not happen if the Chiefs continue to be strapped of cash with his sizable contract.
The caveat of having Smith at the helm is that the offense has to cater to him instead of working with the pieces in front of him. Smith doesn't have one game under his belt where he was the primary reason the Chiefs won the game; it has always been other circumstances.
It's almost better to keep trying to draft a quarterback until you hit on one instead of just treading water with a fairly average one. You are going to be severely limited otherwise.
Edited by Jacob Clemen
LOOKING TO CAPITOL-IZE
Kansas aims to increase win streak to six in Washington, D.C., against Georgetown
BEN FELDERSTEIN
@Ben_Felderstein
After moving up to No.10 in the national polls, the Kansas Jayhawks will head to Washington, D.C., to take on the Georgetown Hoyas. They Jayhawks are winners of five straight games since the Champions Classic and will carry over a lot of momentum into Georgetown after defeating Florida 71-65 on Friday night.
The Hoyas are 5-2 on the season and are coming off of a blowout victory against Towson on Sunday. Head coach John Thompson III has a 232-105 record at Georgetown and is 300-147 overall.
Sophomore guard Wayne Selden Jr. is coming off his best performance of the season against Florida. Selden scored 21 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field and had many key defensive plays
This will be the fourth time the two teams meet, with the Jayhawks leading the series 2-1, including a 86-64 Kansas victory at Allen Fieldhouse last season. Their first meeting came in 1987, with the Hoyas knocking Kansas out of the Sweet 16.
Freshman Cliff Alexander is continuing to improve as he has in every game this season. Alexander went 2-for-4 from the field, but went 8-for-8 from the free-throw line, tallying 12 points. He added 10 rebounds to his effort, posting his first career double-double. Alexander will be one of many Kansas big men who will look to slow down Georgetown's 6-foot-10, 350-pound forward, Joshua Smith. The senior is averaging 12.7 points and seven rebounds a game on the young season with three blocks and a 67 percent field goal percentage.
centage.
"He's huge and he's got soft hands," coach Bill Self said of Smith. "He's good on his feet and is a great passer."
Kansas sophomore forward Jamari Traylor will not be one of Kansas' bodies to go up against Smith. Traylor was arrested early Sunday morning outside of a club in Lawrence. Self announced at his weekly press conference that Traylor will sit against Georgetown, but he will still make the trip.
"He realizes he was wrong." Self said. "He feels bad about what happened and understands why he won't play. I'm
going to hold him out of the game Wednesday. He will travel with us."
Fellow sophomore guard Frank Mason has really stepped up his play as of late. While Selden and junior Perry Ellis are making the headlines, Mason is pulling the strings and quietly holding down the point guard spot. He has four straight double-digit scoring games, has 24 assists and is shooting 42 percent from the field. Mason and fellow point guard freshman Devonte' Graham saw a lot of the court together against Florida, especially in the second half.
"Those guys [Mason and Graham] need to play together some," Self said. "Everyone noticed the increased defensive pressure."
Mason and Graham will look to lead the way for the jayhawks as they attempt to defeat the Hoyas for the second straight year and extend their win streak to six.
"The thing that makes our schedule so hard is we haven't played gimmes," Self said. We knew we can win but we have to play to win."
Edited by Jacob Clemen
Cliff Alexander attempts a basket during the second half against Florida on Dec. 5. Alexander is averaging 12.7 points and seven rebounds a game.
ANNA WENNER/KANSAN
Beaty lays out plan for Kansas football
@RealBlairSheady
BLAIR SHEADE
The newly appointed head football coach David Beaty was introduced to the University on Monday morning. Beaty discussed his new staff and how he plans to win at Kansas.
New Kansas football head coach David Beaty introduces himself to the media at Anderson Family Football Complex on Monday. Beaty said he plans to recruit more players from Kansas.
"Kansas, the University and the students deserve a successful football program," Beaty said. "The foundation of our plans rest squarely on hard work and earning everything. We earn the support of our students, our fans, high school coaches of this great state and the recruits of this great state, earn them one relationship at a time."
JAMES HOYT/KANSAN
Beaty, who has 20 years of coaching experience, said he came back to Kansas because he genuinely loves Lawrence and the Kansas football program. He said while at Texas A&M, he would watch the Jayhawk football games.
This is the third stint Beaty has spent at the University, but the first as a head coach. He was the Kansas wide receivers coach for three seasons (2008, 2009, 2011), and has spent the past three seasons at Texas A&M as the wide receivers coach and recruiting coordinator.
"I have a love for the University of Kansas, I have a love for this football program," Beaty said. "It matters to me what happens with this place. When I had a free moment, I was watching to see how my layhawks were doing because it was important to me."
Beaty knew he wanted to keep former interim coach Clint Bowen on his staff as defensive coordinator because Bowen is highly recognized as a defensive mind in college football.
"I'm very fortunate to have kept Clint Bowen here," Beaty said. "The guy is one of the best in the country, if not the best in the country."
Bowen is known to be the only Kansas current staff member to return next season. Beaty said he'll bring in assistant coaches that are high-class coaches, who will be involved in developing players and being apart of a winning mentality.
"We will bring a staff here that is second to none in the country," Beaty said. "Not just men [who] can teach, but men [who] can recruit and develop relationships and produce productive citizens off the field. The pool of people that can do both teach and recruit is small, and relationships are key to bringing those men here."
The staff will have a lot of new faces, which will be ironed out in the next couple weeks, Beaty said. One position on staff Beaty said he thinks is the most important is the strength and conditioning coach. Beaty said he believes the weight room is one of the most important resources — Beaty met the team for the first time in the weight room.
"The most important hires that I will make here is the leader of our strength and condition program," Beaty said. "That program will be based on three simple things: hard work, discipline and accountability."
Athletic Director Sheahon Zenger said he hired Beaty because of his recruiting ability in the Big 12 conference, and his relationships with high school coaches in the state of Texas. Beaty compares recruiting to a relationship business.
"Our relationships we have already developed with high school coaches of this state and in states in other areas that we will recruit are key pieces to our success." Beaty
In the sense of recruiting, Beaty said it should be easy to recruit players to Kansas because of the fast-paced, up-tempo offense that Beaty will install — similar to the offense Texas A&M operates under coach Kevin Sumlin.
said. "We also want to do a great job of keeping the best players in the state of Kansas right here at home at their University. That is a top priority to us."
Beaty said a lot of recruits will want to play at Kansas, and said the program will implement a walk-on program, which allows Kansas to recruit more players than the program.
"We want to develop a walk-on program because
we only get so many scholarships a year." Beaty said. "That walk-on program can be powerful. We want it to be the most powerful walk-on program in the country and that's a goal of ours. We want to open the door to more than just 25 a year."
Beaty said the next few days will be very busy in order to put a staff together and hit the recruiting trail for the next couple weeks before the recruiting season dies down.
"We will be on planes, trains and automobiles all over the country, and it's going be very busy in that regard," Beaty said.
Edited by Jacob Clemen