Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith's performance Monday night didn't impress Kansas City Star columnist Sam Mellinger.
Smith was sacked five times and threw an interception in the Chiefs' 38-28 loss to the Green Bay Packers.
"Metaphorically speaking," Mellinger wrote, "the Chiefs showed up to a job interview drunk, lost and wearing only jorts.
"They weren't ready for an important moment, and at times looked only vaguely like they knew it was an important moment. This was supposed to be a chance for them to see how they measured against one of the NFL's better teams, but instead turned into a nationally televised embarrassment.
"Alex Smith, who is being paid top-tier quarterback money and is bound to the Chiefs through at least next season, deserves every bit of criticism coming his way.
"His team lost 38-28 to the Packers here at Lambeau Field on Monday, and that score is unnecessarily generous to the Chiefs.
"This looked more like the Romeo Crennel years than anything up to the standards of Andy Reid, one of the game's highest-paid and most experienced coaches. Reid answered virtually every question of his postgame press conference -- about Smith's performance, about why they started so slow, about why they committed so many penalties -- with a short version of 'that's my responsibility' or 'we're moving on.'
"Those are the responses of a man who either doesn't know the answers, or doesn't want to say, and neither is a good sign in what is a critical season for Reid, Smith and General Manager John Dorsey."
He said it
From Brad Dickson of the Omaha World-Herald:
• "I was watching Wrestlemania XIII -- wait, that was the Washington Nationals dugout."
• "A men's soccer team in Estonia lost a game 36-0. It was closer than the final score indicated. How could it not be?"
• "During the Texas football team's loss to Oklahoma State on Saturday, the Longhorns were flagged 16 times. You know what Nebraska fans call this? 'Game of the Century.' "
Cherry talks
CBC hockey analyst and former NHL coach Don Cherry defended Washington Nationals pitcher Jonathan Papelbon when he fought right fielder Bryce Harper on Sunday in the team's dugout.
Cherry said his mind was boggled by people blaming Papelbon for the fight.
"He's having a tough time this year anyhow, now the so-called face of baseball throws him under the bus, his own teammate," Cherry wrote on Twitter. "People who criticize Papelbon, rightly so for doing it openly, never played the game. Never, never, ever openly criticize your teammate no matter what he does.
"In the dressing room that's OK, yes. But what is said in the dressing room stays in the dressing room. Some people say they can understand how Harper just jogs down to first on a pop up. They say, 'Well, they have already played 152 games.' The guy is getting 10 zillion dollars a year, at least he can hustle to first base."
SPORTS QUIZ
How many seasons has Alex Smith reached the NFL playoffs?
ANSWER
Two seasons (2011 with San Francisco, 2013 with Kansas City)
Sports on 09/30/2015