In my analysis of the Eric Fisher deal I said it only makes sense from the Kansas City Chiefs perspective if they believe Fisher is going to continue to get better and the cap is going to continue to go up.
The Chiefs’ Alex Smith was asked about Fisher’s new deal and described his ascent over the past three years as a steady climb.
“Honestly, I think it’s been a steady climb since his rookie year, and I think he’s continued to work hard in areas that he’s needed to work,” Alex said via quotes from the Chiefs. “He’s never settled; he’s never gotten complacent. He’s been real with himself, he’s continued to work on things and he’s really just progressed.”
Alex summed up why it’s such a tough position: it only takes one mistake from your tackle to ruin a game.
“It’s one of the hardest positions in football,” Alex said. “There is no off-week. Every single team has a guy on that side of the ball that can go get the quarterback. As a young guy it’s hard, week-in and week-out. The guy makes two plays a game; you’re in the paper. You can dominate him the rest of the game, but he beats you twice and everybody knows it.”
The spotlight is on you when you screw up. When you don’t block someone right, the stadium and everyone watching it knows it. The upside? You can be a league average tackle and have a $63 million contract.