Andy Reid explains why Alex Smith is 'perfect' for the Kansas City Chiefs offense

I'm always interested in hearing Kansas City Chiefs coach Andy Reid talk to the opposing team's media so I flipped on Big Red talking with ESPN 1000 in Chicago this week to hear what he was saying to the Bears media.

One of the hosts asked Reid about Alex Smith. Why does Reid like him? It's been a while since Reid has explained what he likes about Alex Smith and now that they're in their third year together I figured it's worth revisiting.

Here's what Reid said when asked about Alex.

"He, to me, is perfect for this offense," Reid said. "Do you wish you would've had him as a rookie? Yeah, absolutely. I'm not telling you he's got the strongest arm but he doesn't have the weakest arm. That fits in this offense. He can make all the throws in this offense. Smart guy, studies like crazy. And he's got good mobility. He wants to be a great player. All of those things fit. It's just a matter of getting enough reps under your belt and he keeps improving as we go here which is kinda fun to watch."

Interesting that Reid acknowledges that Alex doesn't have the strongest arm. Not that there's anything wrong that because, well, Alex doesn't have one of the strongest arms. That's been one of the criticisms as we talk about Alex in this offense and the ability to stretch the field. This season, however, the Chiefs have found a bit of a playmaker in Jeremy Maclin, who is seventh in the NFL with 398 receiving yards.

Listen to Reid's full interview with ESPN 1000 in Chicago here. Good stuff in there on Matt Hasselbeck, who was drafted by Reid and the Packers in the 1990s and won a game for the Colts last night.