Chiefs hope Alex-to-Tyreek blossoms into an effective deep-ball combo

Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith saw receiver Tyreek Hill sprinting downfield in single coverage on Sunday, and Smith, who routinely peppers defenses with short and intermediate passes, didn’t hestitate. He uncorked a beauty downfield, right up top, and let his blazing fast rookie — who ran a 4.24 40-yard dash at his Pro Day — run up under it and haul it in.

Touchdown, Chiefs.

The 38-yard second-quarter strike gave the Chiefs a 14-point lead in their 27-21 win, and while Hill caught it with a bit of flair — his one-handed catch was worth a round of applause from the crowd at Arrowhead Stadium — it wasn’t like it came out of nowhere.

“Yeah, I’ve made the catch before,” Hill said afterward. “It wasn’t a surprise to me or anyone on the team. ... Alex and I have been working together a lot, and it’s working out.”

That’s right. Because throughout organized-team activities in May and June, and training camp in August, Smith and Hill routinely connected on deep balls. Smith, who is famously risk-averse, does not attempt dangerous throws unless he feels the odds are in his favor. Downfield throws can qualify as dangerous, but the frequency with which he tried to connect with Hill suggested a burgeoning comfort that was coming surprisingly quickly.

“He’s a guy that tracks the ball really well ... in the air and down the field,” Smith said. “Some guys just play bigger with the ball in the air. There are smaller guys that play the deep ball really well, and it has to do with body positioning, tracking the ball, timing. There’s so many things that go into that.

“Certainly you saw it there, with him going up strong, timing that ball well downfield.”

Chiefs coach Andy Reid agreed, noting that being a consistent deep threat takes more than pure speed.

“You have to have a whole game to do that, so he’s been working on that part of it,” Reid said. “If you just run down the field, they’re gonna cover you. He’s got other things he does that he’s getting better at.”

One of those areas is aggressiveness, something Smith requires from a receiver — barring him being wide open — to give him a shot on a go-ball. The thought process is this: an aggressive receiver — someone who attacks the ball in the air — reduces the chance of something bad, like an interception, happening. That, in turn, skews the odds of a favorable play occurring toward the offense, something Smith is always conscious of.

“More often than not, you avoid the negative play,” Smith said. “The advantage is to the offense — catch, pass interference and at worst, an incompletion.”

Still, Smith is aware that even in the absence of that trust, going up top every now and then still helps — though the Chiefs currently rank last in deep attempts to the left (eight), 19th in deep attempts down the middle (eight) and 23rd in deep attempts to the right (13).

“As far as stretching the field, putting that in (the defense’s) minds that you’re willing to do it,” Smith said.

But if you’re someone who hopes to see Smith go downfield more, that quote is still not necessarily an invitation to criticize his decision-making.

When Smith eschews an open deep shot — or what at least appears to be an open deep shot — keep in mind that within each playcall, there’s an unspoken communication of what they’re trying to get done. And within that, some of those plays — Andy Reid’s plays — allow for deep shots and some don’t.

Remember, Reid has lots of confidence in his playcalling ability, and Smith just last year received freedom to change plays at the line of scrimmage.

“Some plays, you get more leeway than others,” Smith said. “Some are ... really kind of a structured play where I don’t have as much freedom, sort to speak.”

The good news, Smith added, is that he when does have the freedom, he feels comfortable going up top to his other receivers, like Jeremy Maclin and Chris Conley, as well.

But Hill, who logged more snaps Sunday than No. 3 receiver Albert Wilson for the second week in a row, is certainly someone he’ll feel comfortable throwing it up to more going forward.

“You just rip it,” Smith said, “and let him go up. To be able to add that component to his game has been nice.”

This story was originally published October 26, 2016 at 3:09 PM with the headline "Chiefs hope Alex-to-Tyreek blossoms into an effective deep-ball combo."