Calling someone a “game manager” is always more derogatory than complimentary.

We use it to describe NFL quarterbacks who just aren’t that great. These are the shrewd, mistake-free types who dink and dunk their way to victory on the strength of their skill players, special teams, and defense.

Alex Smith has always been the archetypal game manager, a guy who played five mediocre seasons in San Francisco before leading the Niners to a 13-3 record in 2011. The next year, he suffered a concussion and lost his job to an upstart second-year quarterback named Colin Kaepernick.

So Smith went to Kansas City, where he hasn’t had a losing season since. Yet the doubt always seems to be there; can this guy win you a Super Bowl?

Smith certainly looked like an elite quarterback in Week 1, completing 28 of 35 passes for 368 yards and four touchdowns. That bears repeating. Alex Smith completed 28 of 35 passes for 368 yards and four touchdowns (and he did it against the Patriots in Foxboro).

He hadn’t thrown more than three touchdowns since December of 2013, when he went for five in a 56-31 win against the Raiders.

Here’s Smith’s game log for the entirety of 2016:

Not much to see, right?

He didn’t throw a lot of touchdowns, but he also didn’t throw a lot of interceptions. Only once did he crest 300 passing yards, in a 33-27 overtime win against San Diego. Most of his games look plain on paper, but he “managed” the Chiefs to an 11-5 campaign.

Among NFL starters who played 10+ games, he finished 2016 in the top-half of these categories:

  • completion percentage
  • interception percentage
  • game-winning drives
  • fourth quarter comebacks
  • sacks against

For context with that last category, Smith was only sacked 28 times for a loss of 140 yards. Sam Bradford was sacked 37 times for a loss of 276 yards. Andrew Luck lost 268 yards on 41 sacks.

Here are the categories where he finished bottom-half:

  • pass attempts
  • passing yards
  • QB rating (16th out of 30, so almost right in the middle)
  • total yards
  • touchdown passes

That basically confirms what we already knew; Smith isn’t gonna heave the ball 45 times per game. He won with savvy, experience, and smarts, knowing when to pass, when to run, and when to chuck the ball out of play.

That’s why it was strange to see him slinging it all over the field last Thursday.

His most impressive throw might have been this 78 yard seam-splitter to Kareem Hunt, the third-round rookie running back out of Toledo:

Credit the offensive line for their protection on that play, plus the motion of Tyreek Hill, which pulls Duron Harmond from his starting position.

By the way, it was 27-21 New England at that point, so this was the most important score, another fourth-quarter comeback and game-winning drive for Smith. Kansas City out-scored the Patriots 21-0 in the final 15 minutes.

Gunslinging aside, Smith also showed off what we’ve seen from him in the past.

This three-yard touchdown toss to Hunt doesn’t look like much at first glance, and the throw probably could have been a bit better…

…but that’s a bread-and-butter West Coast Offense goal-line look.

There’s a bit of misdirection and three pseudo-picks in there as well, with Smith looking off coverage as Hunt sneaks out to the other side of the field. Two receivers are running short crossing routes while Hill occupies two ̶c̶h̶i̶c̶k̶s̶ Patriots at the same time.

The Eagles abused this look in 2013 with mazy matriculation from Riley Cooper in the red zone. Go watch the highlights from the Raiders game that year for examples. There are plenty of them.

Smith faced little pressure from the Patriot’s defense, so the key for Sunday is obviously to make him uncomfortable in the pocket.

Jim Schwartz blitzed early and often last week, forcing Kirk Cousins into three turnovers, one of which was a red zone interception and another which wound up being a game-sealing fumble. Cousins finished 6 of 12 against the blitz with 80 yards, a pick, and a sack.

For what it’s worth, Smith has been around a lot longer than Cousins and is certainly better at reading defensive looks. One smart audible or hot route to a guy like Hunt or Hill could go for a huge gain. I mentioned above that Smith didn’t lose a lot of yards via sacks in 2016.

It’s high-risk, high-reward in that department for Week 2, and it’s probably the game’s biggest storyline.

Smith is 2-4 all time against the Birds with a QB rating of 82.9, but that doesn’t seem to be at all relevant this week, because he looked like a much different player in Foxboro.