The Dolphins Make Me Cry.com - Forums

To watch the Super Bowl!!!!

I'm sorry, is that supposed to be a joke?

Partly.  It's also pointing out that the superstar quarterbacks are watching two relatively unknown quarterbacks play in the big game.

Not to knock anything Joe Flacco, and Colin Kaepernick have accomplished thus far.  But at the beginning of this season, did anyone expect them to be facing each other in the Super Bowl?

Some would argue that Joe Flacco belongs in that same list of QB's.

Some would also argue that the 49ers were always the NFC favorite.

Not if they'd seen the odds on the Packers-49ers playoff game, as the Pack was favored by between 3-5 points, depending on which book you're reading.

If Smith is the starter, I don't see them getting past the Packers in the playoffs.  And Flacco was always in that second tier until this year

^^ You just said that "all the elites QB's are watching from home" and then said "...until this year"

So, which is it?

Because nobody expected him to do what he did.  And even when the playoffs began, people had their doubts.  His performance against Denver and New England are what shut the mouths of a lot of skeptics.  And if he regresses next season, that will get them talking again.

You don't have to be elite to be a Super Bowl quarterback.  Just ask the likes of Mark Rypien, Trent Dilfer, Brad Johnson, and Jeff Hostetler.

^^ well documented, but you can't look at his play and say that he is riding the coat-tails of great defenses like the jabrones you named.

Flacco out-played both Manning and Brady to get here and deserves the credit as such.

And look where Baltimore started.  At a seed that had Flacco playing in Manning's house and then in Brady's house.  That's tough for even a great quarterback to overcome.  He gets full credit for beating both those guys on their home turf, but he also had a hand in putting his team in a position where they had to beat them on their home turf to get to the Super Bowl.

He is a free agent this year, and it's looking more likely that the Ravens will re-sign him to a long term deal after his performance in the playoffs.  What he does from here on out will determine if he can ascend to that elite status.

So that defense had nothing to do with it? Flacco carried the team despite the defense?

I'm obviously a wee bit biased, but I believe that by this time next year, any conversation about the league's "elite QBs" will have Kaepernick's name involved.

The list of "elite" is short and I don't see anyone else jumping into this category right now or anytime soon. The list is

Brady
Rodgers
Eli
Peyton
Brees

That's it. There are others who are on the list of "very good" but aren't elite.  And that list is a lot longer!

I agree with that list 100%.  Although if Kaepernick can do what he's done on a consistent basis, he should be added to that list at the end of next year

Takes more than a couple good years to make that list. Hell Big Ben has 2 rings and he isn't even on the list!

That might explain the discrepancy between our positions... You appear to view the term "elite QB" as being synonymous with "lifetime achievement award," while I define it as "QB talent and production level right now."

Being "elite" means being great over a long period of time. Not just having a good year, half year or a few good games.

No...

"Being elite" means "being elite."

"Being elite over a long period of time" means "being elite over a long period of time."

I could go out today, catch a hot streak at a pool hall and sink 1,000 of the most amazing billiard shots ever seen in a row. Today, I would be an elite pool player, whether or not I have a resume that indicates that I was elite yesterday, or will be tomorrow.

Again...you see "elite" as a lifetime achievement award, and I see "elite" as a barometer of capability. I respect (and agree with) your position of rewarding long-term production, and simply disagree with the framework of your definition of the term "elite."

'nuff said on that one...

Agree to disagree. Regardless, Kappernick has played  well but I don't think he is anywhere near elite yet.  And the odds of him being mentioned in the same breath as Brees, Brady, Rodgers and the Manning's a year from now I think are very slim.

It wasn't like SF was a garbage team when Alex Smith was playing.

But if Smith is under center for the Niners, no way do they get past the Packers in the playoffs

don't know how you can say that when Smith beat GB on the road earlier in the season and was 20-26 passing in the game. I think he could have easily beaten them at home.

^^^ I wish you were an NFL GM with a need at QB and draft picks to spend...because nothing would make me happier than to see SF net an extra draft pick or two in an Alex Smith trade this offseason.

Oh I am sure they will. I could see a team like the Jets, Bills, KC, or Raiders part with some picks to land him

Which is why a trade wouldn't make any sense. Why would those teams give up draft picks that they need for a QB that won't make them any better?

I think Smith would make any of those teams better.  Starting QB's don't grow on tree's!

^^^ I agree... There are quite a few teams that could improve their QB position by adding Alex. Hopefully the weakness of this QB draft class will help the Niners maximize the return they get for a "good-but-not-great" QB.

I disagree. I could see bringing him as a free agent. Which he is not. He lost his job to a 2nd rd pick in his 2nd season. The same QB that led his team to the NFC Championship game last season. What changed? Outside of KC, I can't see anybody else making that trade. Let me rephrase that. If I were the GM of any of those other teams, I wouldn't.

He lost his job to injury. Let's be real. If Alex doesn't get hurt Kapernick never see's the field this year

Talking points for San Francisco when discussing an Alex Smith trade with other teams:

* He is still young (28)
* His contract is very reasonable ($8.5 million in 2013 and $7.5 million in 2014)
* He is healthy and has no existing injury concerns
* At the time of his minor concussion, he was leading the NFL in completion percentage (70.2%)
* Once Alex got past the "new O-coordinator every season, he blossomed into a very efficient QB (TD/Int rate the past two seasons: 30/10)
* "The deep passing game in today's NFL is extremely overrated!"
* "Who cares how small Smith's hands are...he's really smart!"
* "What are your options? No, seriously...what are your options?"

You're right. If special teams came through for him last year, he might be a defending champion. But when Smith was cleared to play, he didn't get his starting job back. I'm not saying that he is Sanchez bad, but I'm not saying he's franchise material either. If I'm the GM, I wouldn't make that trade.