Alex Smith’s interceptions show why he’s been able to salvage his NFL career while also showing why he’s widely considered to be one of the leagues most limiting quarterbacks.

Alex Smith’s 2014: 3264 YDs, 18 TDs, 6 INTs, 93.4 QB Rating.

Interceptions by Receiver

Donnie Avery 3 Anthony Fasano 1 Dwayne Bowe 1 Albert Wilson 1

Donnie Avery wasn’t at fault for the Interceptions despite what the numbers make it seem like.

Interceptions by Quarter

1st Quarter 0 2nd Quarter 1 3rd Quarter 3 4th Quarter 2

That’s right, Alex Smith threw zero 1st Quarter interceptions this year.

Interceptions by Down

1st Down 3 2nd Down 1 3rd Down 2 4th Down 0

Interceptions by Route

Post 3 Vertical 1 Slant 1 Dig 1

Interceptions by Location

Outside Left Numbers Left Middle Numbers Right Outside Right 30+ 1 1 20-29 2 10-19 1-9 1 1 Behind LOS

1st and 10 at KC 2 (:38) A.Smith pass deep left intended for D.Avery INTERCEPTED by J.McCourty at KC 42. J.McCourty to KC 42 for no gain (D.Avery).

Chiefs are in a 1×1 I formation set. Titans respond with a cover-2 shell that seems to point towards cover-4.

Alex Smith drops back reading the left side of the field, from the pre-snap alignment the outside CB is hinting that he’s planning to funnel Donnie Avery inside so when the safety comes double the Tight Ends route, Avery now has a clear open path. However, Alex Smith just straight misses this throw and sails it wide left, right into Jason McCourty’s hands. This ball should have been thrown over the numbers for Avery to just run underneath it and catch it but that’s obviously not what happens here.

1st and 10 at KC 14 (6:41) (Shotgun) A.Smith pass deep left intended for D.Avery INTERCEPTED by J.McCourty at TEN 43. J.McCourty pushed ob at KC 15 for 42 yards (J.Charles).

Chiefs come out in a 1×1 Pistol set with one of the wideouts running a fake reverse. Titans show a cover-2 shell but change into a cover-3 with 5 potential rushers at the line.

After a play-action to Jamaal Charles, Alex Smith takes his drop back while staring down the center of the field. Jason McCourty becomes manned up with Donnie Avery since he’s taking a vertical route and again the free safety bites down on the Tight End’s route. Again, Alex Smith has a really simple role here. Just throw the ball far enough ahead of Avery that all he has to do is run under it and catch it. Again, he under throws it and McCourty has no issue taking it from him.

Although, Donnie Avery isn’t without blame here. Despite the under thrown ball, Avery sees it coming and chooses to lean back and play the ball passively, allowing McCourty the angle he needs to cut in front of him and make the grab. A more physical receiver might have chosen to either bump McCourty back or extend his arms before reaching for the ball in order to create space for himself, but not Avery.

3rd and 4 at TEN 49 (1:11) A.Smith pass deep right intended for D.Avery INTERCEPTED by M.Griffin at TEN 30. M.Griffin to TEN 42 for 12 yards (R.Harris).

Chiefs are in a 1×2 I formation set. Titan’s are in a cover-3 shell with the safety about 23 yards deep on 3rd and 4.

After a weak play action extension by Alex Smith, he brings his eyes straight to the right side of the field where Donnie Avery is again going deep on another post against an outside aligned CB. Smith knows that the slot receiver should create pressure on the deep safety giving him a window to hit this post route. This time Smith throws it a bit behind Avery, forcing him to adjust to the ball and be completely open for a hit from the CB which knocks the ball out of Avery’s hands. You can’t really blame Smith for the interception here exactly but you can put blame on him for this being an incomplete pass because of the poor placement.

2nd and 10 at KC 20 (2:07) (Shotgun) A.Smith pass deep right intended for A.Fasano INTERCEPTED by P.Cox at KC 43. P.Cox to KC 41 for 2 yards.

Chiefs are in a 1×3 Shotgun Set with a bunch on the right side. The 49ers start off in a cover-2 shell but as the free safety backs up, it starts to look the part of a cover-3.

Another chance for Alex Smith to just throw it ahead of the receiver, another off-target throw leading to an interception. So far, every play has Smith making the right read but making a bad throw. This one is all on Alex Smith again as he just overthrows Anthony Fasano on a post route. Fasano runs has a switch under the Receiver that’s on the line in the bunch, and takes a hard diagonal route towards the sideline until he has the DB in a position that he can’t recover from and then breaks inside. It’s a wide open space and a throw that Smith times perfectly but he just can’t connect.

1st and 10 at KC 11 (7:23) A.Smith pass short left intended for D.Bowe INTERCEPTED by D.Ware (T.Knighton) at KC 16. D.Ware to KC 13 for 3 yards (M.McGlynn). Pass deflected at line of scrimmage by T.Knighton.

Chiefs are in a 1×1 I Formation set. Broncos are switching between a cover-1 and cover-2 on the pre-snap that ultimately becomes a cover-1 man, with 5 potential rushers on the line.

A play-action pass that just gets deflected at the line of scrimmage. It’s unrealistic to put any real blame on Alex Smith for this interception. It’s just bad luck that it’s deflected. Smith has the right read on this play, Dwayne Bowe is running a slant against Cover-1 Man (which he can see at the snap thanks to the linebackers alignment over their man) and the CB he’s targeting is playing off coverage so the Slant should be an easy win here. Bowe doesn’t get the separation expected though, but it doesn’t matter, it’s still likely to be a catch as long as it’s ahead of him. Just bad luck.

3rd and 20 at ARI 29 (5:37) (Shotgun) A.Smith pass short middle intended for A.Wilson INTERCEPTED by A.Okafor (F.Rucker) at ARZ 32. A.Okafor to KC 42 for 26 yards (A.Smith).

Chiefs are in a 3×1 Shotgun Set with the receivers in a wide bunch. Cardinals are in Cover-3 shaded to the bunch side.

Smith drops back, expecting to dump this off underneath to Jamaal Charles but sees two linebackers are ready to blow him up. He goes to his next read, Albert Wilson crossing the field and ends up having to make a rushed sort-of panicked throw at Wilson, which ends up being taken by Alex Okafor who happens to be in the throwing lane. There’s blame to be placed on Alex Smith for not having thrown this over him but expecting a DL to be paying more attention to your eyes than rushing you is a little far-fetched. Okafor makes this play more than Alex Smith fumbles it, but there’s still some blame to be had.

In Conclusion

Alex Smith’s interceptions are all cases of one of two things: a great play by a defensive lineman or Alex Smith’s poor deep accuracy. That’s pretty good really, considering that on all the plays he never really made an incorrect read or threw into good coverage. It’s simply Alex Smith’s arm talent that limits him, which is a problem for the offense but one of the reasons why he’s been able to manage an NFL career despite limiting the playbook.