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Alex Smith put up pedestrian numbers once again in the Redskins' huge win over Dallas Sunday, completing 14 of 25 passes for 178 yards and a touchdown.
After the game, Smith made it clear Washington's passing game with him under center is still a work in progress.
"The goal is to get better every week. Am I where I want to be? Are we — certainly not, no," Smith told reporters. "We found a way to win today, and I think continuing to progress every week. We've got to get better, and I think we have."
However, as DeAngelo Hall asserted on The Junkies Monday, if Smith is still not comfortable in the offense seven weeks into the season, wouldn't more preseason playing time have helped his progress? Smith appeared in just two of the four preseason games, making a total of 14 pass attempts.
"At some point, this team is gonna start jelling. It is still early in the season, but our problem as fans was, well if they're not jelling now, then maybe they should have been playing a little more together in the preseason and throughout the offseason," Hall said.
"You're telling us it's gonna take time. Well, maybe we would have been a little closer had we given them more snaps in the preseason."
It certainly appears Smith and the receiving corps could have benefited from more preseason work, but as the Derrius Guice injury proves, that puts your key players at risk. It's a difficult balance to strike, and for better or worse, Jay Gruden erred on the side of caution with his new quarterback.