At least you can say Kansas City Chiefs offensive coordinator Doug Pederson has confidence in his team. Blind, incredibly naive, fantastical, nonsensical confidence… but confidence nonetheless. Pederson was quoted in the Kansas City Star as saying new Chiefs QB Alex Smith is the best quarterback in the league.
Not the best QB out of Utah, not the best one named Alex, not the best quarterback to be benched in favor of Colin Kaepernick… the best overall in the entire NFL.
“Ultimately, every team has to have a quarterback,” Pederson said. “I think we have the best in the league.”
“There are a lot of great ones,” Pederson said, “but over time, Alex has proven he can get it done. He’s a sharp guy, he brings a wealth of knowledge, he’s experienced, he’s a proven winner the last couple of years, and he needs a team to embrace him.”
Kansas City is actually looking like a solid rebuilding project this year with Smith and Andy Reid, but these delusions of grandeur aren't going to do anyone any good. To be fair to Alex Smith, the last time I remember him was when he was running wild all over my Saints in the playoffs, so he has proven he can have some success in the league.
But best in the league?
Let's look at some brief numbers…
*79.1 Career QB Rating – 24th among active QBs between Kyle Orton and Byron Leftwich.
*59.3 Career Completion Percentage – 21st among active QBs right behind Tavaris Jackson
*81 Career TDs and 63 Career INTs
Smith had by far the best season of his career in 2011, setting personal bests in almost every category, and was still 9th in QB Rating behind Rodgers, Brady, Brees, Romo, Stafford, Schaub, Eli Manning, and Ryan. He's never been All-Pro and never even made a Pro Bowl. Even Vince Young did that. Twice! In fact, the best NFL achievement on his Wikipedia page is one Fed Ex Air NFL Player of the Week in 2012.
So "best in the league" may be just a bit of an overstatement, but you probably knew that already.
