There are many ways to describe a player, and far worse analogies have been used than the one Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid used to describe Alex Smith at the NFL league meetings.
It just seems sorta strange coming from an NFL coach.
"His ability to change things at the line of scrimmage is phenomenal," Reid told the gathered media. "You're not going to run out of gigabytes with the dude. His capacity to learn and still function at a high rate is second to none."
Gigabytes of RAM is the internal memory of a computer, which is essential to the speed and functionality of your computer. It all makes sense. Smith is a smart guy, and apparently, Reid knows more than just football X's and O's.
In 2012, when I was working for the Washington Redskins' team media, there was a young member of the coaching staff (who shall remain nameless) who was notorious for his computer illiteracy. Allegedly, he would only turn his computer on a handful of times each year--enough that each time he did so, he had to call the IT department to reset his login password, which expired after 90 days.
Without naming names, this coach is much younger than Reid and has gone on to bigger and better things after leaving the Redskins.
Understanding computers isn't essential to being a good football coach. Teams hire tech geeks who can fill in the gaps on the computer side, as long as coaches understand the game.In other words, give Reid some credit for correctly using geek speak to talk football.
Here's what else he said about Smith:
"You're talking about the No. 1-ranked quarterback coming out this year, and I don't think he's hit the ceiling yet," Reid said. "He'll be eager to get in there and get Jay [Gruden]'s stuff down.
"I think he and Jay will hit it off. I have a lot of respect for Jay as an offensive coach, and this is how much respect (general manger Brett Veach) and I had, was to get [Smith] in a place where he can win and be with a good offensive line."
That's the part where the Redskins might have a little trouble. After a season in which then starting quarterback Kirk Cousins literally met one of his offensive linemen in the huddle during a game, the Redskins still have some work to do to make sure Smith is protected up front.
Fortunately, the Redskins do have two Pro Bowl offensive linemen and several months to figure out who will play at guard.
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