Rick Smith [Contract Extension thru 2012]

[kravix]

Originally Posted by Keith

Don't extend my meaning... the nothing refers to spending big in free agency, not something broader than that.

Anyway, for many of the good things that can be said for Smith so far, I think that Kubiak is the kingpin here. I'm not trying to take away from Smith, he has done well learning on the job for the sorts of things we can evaluate, but his grade is still very much an incomplete in my book, especially until we see how Schaub and his first day picks progress.

Safe to say most of us including me are very optimistic here, I just don't want to jump the gun.

Kieth, after rereading your post i got what you meant. Maybe I should slow down. Im not a big fan of big money free agents.. so to me that is a plus.

I think Schaub was way more of a Kubiak pick than a Smith pick though, moreso than even any draft picks we have picked up save maybe Studdard. The picks we gave up were steep but if Kubiak wanted him then whats Smith to do?

Draft picks will reflect on him, but I think only to the point of how well him and his team evaluate talent. Not just talent but talent that fits the coaching scheme and team needs. Mostly because Kubiak is "kingpin" like you said Keith. The vibe I get is that Smith evaluates and says here is what you are asking for, which one do you want? And the coaches single out the players.

To me the easiest factors to evaluate now are the mid season FA signings, trades, and contracts. Talent gets pretty thin once things start up.

Typically it takes 3-5 years to really grade a draft class. Some are better up front, and others pay more over time. Smith has had 1 draft class which played 1 season... Amobi and Bennet gave us quality play. Diles looks to be a starter this year. Three quality startes out of 6 picks is not bad.

I agree that we have no way of knowing if Smith is great or not, but at this point, with the body of work we can evalute, it should be easy to say Smith doesnt suck as a GM. I am not saying he is the greatest GM ever. He may be signed through 2012 but we will know by 2010 if he will really be around that long.