Is Alex Smith Better Today Than Two Years Ago?

ASHBURN, Va. - It was two years ago today, November 18, a day that Alex Smith's life and the fortune of the Washington Football franchise changed forever.

We're 17 surgeries later, with 728 days in-between starts, and while the results in the standings have only become worse, is it possible that Alex Smith is a better quarterback now than he was before the gruesome injury that almost ended his career and life?

It's impossible to fully know the answer. But ...

Certainly, the box score tells us one thing. Smith is putting up huge numbers in one start and two relief appearances.

What makes any argument difficult is his team is putting him in the ground and asking him to rise from the "football dead'' and salvage what is left of a rotting carcass of an offense.

OK, maybe that's a bit too dramatic. But the burden on Smith is suddenly great.

Smith hasn't been able to put up a win in relief of the injured Kyle Allen, but what is encouraging is it seems as though Washington will never be completely out of it with Smith back and improving each week.

After a moribund first half (down 17-3), which was really no fault of Smith's, Washington got further behind (24-3) Sunday in Detroit as the Lions carved up the vaunted Washington defense like a Thanksgiving turkey.

Then it was time for Smith to shine. He wound up with no touchdown passes, but don't let that fool you. He threw for 390 yards overall, and 261 in the second half.

Smith's arm and accuracy keyed three scoring drives that were all finished off via the run inside the five-yard line.

There's no doubt he doesn't have the same mobility that he once had. However, your eyes should tell you that he still has some, if not enough. He's able to roll out and flush away from pressure in most cases.

Is his arm stronger than it was two years ago? It seems like he has plenty of zip.

Maybe he's more comfortable in this system than he was in Jay Gruden's wordy, complicated system?

Smith has familiarity to some degree from his days in San Francisco.

Gruden, at one point, per our sources, was thinking about benching Smith in his first season in Washington. But ... Smith and Washington were winning; They were 6-3 when the fateful injury occurred.

Coaches in the NFL do not judge quarterbacks purely by wins and losses and neither should the rest of us. Smith was struggling to elevate the offense and they were scraping by thanks to a pretty good running game.

Now, Washington has to find a way to not be awful in the first half, which would be better for a true complimentary run game and would remove some of the pressure from Smith to be a 'miracle man' in more ways than one.

Two years ago today (Wednesday). A day that changed the lives and fortunes of Smith and the Washington Football Team. Smith has recovered just fine. The WFT, however, is 6-26 since.

Add us as a preferred source on Google