Alex Smith Dumbfounded By Ron Rivera Comments

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Washington Commanders head coach Ron Rivera shocked a lot of people when he flat-out said the reason his team was trailing in the NFC East was their quarterback, Carson Wentz. One of those especially scratching his head is one of Rivera's former QBs, Alex Smith.

In case you were unaware of what Rivera said, here it is:

Definitely an odd thing for a coach to say, and it sure seemed like Rivera backed himself into a corner when confronted about the fact that he chose Wentz.

So, you can see why Smith would have some feelings about this whole situation.

Smith was talking about Rivera's comments on ESPN's Monday Night Countdown and was fairly critical of his old head coach.

"I had a really hard time watching that," he said. "When I heard it, I couldn't believe it. I'm not here to defend Carson Wentz … But this is a defensive head coach that's absolutely driving the bus over his quarterback."

Smith went on to point out some statistics, including that Wentz is fourth in the league in passing behind only Josh Allen, Justin Herbert, and Tom Brady. Plus, Smith had more stats on hand that seem to point to the Commanders defense being a substantial reason for their troubles.

"How a head coach can stand up there in front of the media and (utter) one word, and it's 'quarterback...'" Smith said, getting so befuddled over the Commanders situation that he didn't finish that sentence.

Smith's Comments Reverberated With People

Given Smith's history with the organization — he was the league's comeback player in 2020, after returning from a horrific leg injury — his rebuttal to Rivera's comments got a lot of attention too.

We'll have to wait and see if Rivera's comments light a fire under the team, although that's not typically the way coaches do that. They usually call out the whole team to galvanize them; not single out one dude.

The Commanders are on the road against the Chicago Bears this Thursday, then play host to the Green Bay Packers the following weekend.

Follow on Twitter: @Matt_Reigle

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Matt is a University of Central Florida graduate and a long-suffering Philadelphia Flyers fan living in Orlando, Florida. He can usually be heard playing guitar, shoe-horning obscure quotes from The Simpsons into conversations, or giving dissertations to captive audiences on why Iron Maiden is the greatest band of all time.