November 25, 2012; New Orleans, LA, USA; San Francisco 49ers quarterback Alex Smith (11) paces the sidelines during first quarter of their game against the New Orleans Saints at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick (7) started the game instead of Smith. Mandatory Credit: John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports

Jason Hirschhorn covers the Green Bay Packers for Lombardi Ave. He has previously written for Hail to the Orange, College Hoops Net, Mocking the Draft, LiveBall Sports, and the List Universe. He is currently a senior writer for Beats Per Minute, an indie-music webzine. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/JBHirschhorn.

Yesterday, the San Francisco 49ers sent backup quarterback Alex Smith to the Kansas City Chiefs. In return, San Francisco receives the 34^th overall pick in the upcoming draft and a conditional third round selection in 2014 that could convert to a second rounder depending on Smith’s playing time. That’s a large haul considering the dearth of demand around the league.

But it’s a robbery considering Smith’s low volume production.

While Smith finished with his most efficient year as a pro (he led the league in passer rating at the time he was benched), the former 49er has yet to produce a single season with 3000 or more yards passing and 20 or more touchdowns. Even Smith’s 2012 projected out to a full season – 2779 yards, 21 TDs, and 8 INTs – wouldn’t provide 3000/20 volume.

For the 49ers, Smith was more of a passenger of the ship than its captain. It begs the question: is a quarterback that is only efficient when he doesn’t take risks worth such a major investment?

There aren’t any great comps for the Smith trade, which is easy to understand. Teams with quarterbacks of any discernible quality rarely allow them to leave. Of the few occasions when a team did trade a quality quarterback, only the trades of Brad Johnson and Matt Cassel provide any insight into what the Chiefs can expect with Alex Smith.

Even though he lead Tampa Bay to a Super Bowl, Brad Johnson was never the most imposing passer.

In 2001, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers acquired Brad Johnson from Washington. An off and on starter, Johnson was a moderately efficient passer who the Buccaneers felt could optimize their talented but underachieving roster. In comparison to Smith, Johnson was a higher volume passer but less efficient. Regardless, Johnson was no one’s definition of a franchise quarterback. Rather, he was a quality short term solution to a prolonged quarterback shortage in Tampa. In Johnson’s first season as a Buccaneer, Tampa actually regressed, falling to 9-7 and third in the NFC Central. That led to head coach Tony Dungy receiving his walking papers and Tampa trading a truckload of draft picks for Jon Gruden. A year later, Tampa improved to 12-4 and won their first championship in franchise history. While that might imply the Johnson trade was a sterling success, it’s important to remember how much Tampa relied on their defense. That year, the Buccaneers lead the NFL in yards given up, points allowed, and points scored by a defense. By comparison, the Tampa offense finished 24^th in yards and 18^th in points scored. While Johnson provided leadership, he didn’t provide all that much in the way of an aerial attack. If Johnson’s performance is any indication of what the Chiefs can expect from Alex Smith, the Chiefs’ defense will have to improve dramatically, especially given the high draft picks Kansas City parted with.

November 18, 2012; Kansas City, MO, USA; Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Matt Cassel (7) is sacked by Cincinnati Bengals defensive end Carlos Dunlap (96) and defensive tackle Geno Atkins (97) in the first half at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports

More recent was the case of Matt Cassel. Cassel barely played in college or in New England prior to 2008. That was the year Tom Brady tore his ACL in week 1, clearing the way for Cassel’s first meaningful snaps since his senior year of high school. To the surprise of many, Cassel played well, throwing for almost 3,700 yards and 21 touchdowns while leading the Patriots to an 11-5 record. By the following season, Brady had healed and Cassel had been acquired by Kansas City. As with Brad Johnson, the early returns were disappointing. Cassel had as many interceptions as touchdowns, and the Chiefs went 4-12. In 2010, Cassel’s touchdown total increased by more than 10 while his interceptions were reduced by over 50%. Not coincidentally, the Chiefs won the AFC West for the first time since 2003. Unfortunately, that’s the best it got for Cassel in Kansas City. His next two years were a cocktail of injuries and unmet expectations, finally culminating in the aforementioned Alex Smith acquisition. Unfortunately for the Chiefs, both Brad Johnson and Matt Cassel suggest that this was a bad trade for Kansas City.

Now, the more pressing question for Green Bay: how will this trade affect the Packers? Or more specifically, how will the trade affect the Packers’ draft?

Dec 29, 2012; Bronx, NY, USA; West Virginia Mountaineers quarterback Geno Smith (12) warms up prior to the start of the 2012 New Era Pinstripe Bowl against the Syracuse Orange at Yankee Stadium. Syracuse defeated West Virginia 38-14. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

As I wrote about earlier this month, the Packers will be greatly benefited or hurt by how many teams select quarterbacks in the first round. Any quarterback taken before the Packers’ selection will be a reach in terms of raw value, not to mention it keeps a player the Packers may desire on the board. Prior to the Smith trade, Kansas City was widely believed to be a possible destination for a rookie quarterback. The Chiefs had been connected to West Virginia’s Geno Smith, a quarterback with both speed and pocket passing skills not too unlike new Kansas City coach Andy Reid’s old protégé, Donovan McNabb.

Now with the Chiefs out of the quarterback market, it stands to reason that one less quarterback will be selected prior to Green Bay’s pick. The consequences of this are too remote to decipher at this time, but as we’ve seen it only takes one player to fall to change a franchise. Take the Packers for instance. In 2005, due to a confluence of a favorable draft order and quarterback demand, Aaron Rodgers fell from the top 10 to the mid-20s. The Packers snatched him up, and three years later the Packers were rewarded for their foresight and patience with a true franchise quarterback. But the Packers struck again in 2009, when B.J. Raji fell to pick 9 due to false reports of a positive drug tests. In just two years Raji became the most important defensive lineman on Green Bay’s Super Bowl winning roster.

There is another angle to the Alex Smith trade. The strength of the 2012 draft lies in the second to third round, where there is little to no drop off in value from player to player. Smart teams will try to maximize the amount of picks they can get for those rounds through trades. Had Kansas City not traded for Alex Smith, they might have drafted Geno Smith at number one. They also might have drafted another player and tried to trade back into the late first for another shot at a quarterback. The Packers were in prime position to be that team that trades back for more picks in that uber-valuable draft range. While that could still happen, there’s one less team vying for the Packers’ pick.

Former quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles and TV personality Ron Jaworski was removed from the Monday Night Football broadcast team. Howard Smith-US PRESSWIREHoward Smith-US PRESSWIRE

Everyone agrees that the Monday Night Football broadcast booth was never the same after the original team of Howard Cosell, Frank Gifford and Dandy Don Meredith were split up.

But I have to agree with those who are today complaining today about the removal of Ron “Jaws” Jaworski from the current lineup – in fact, Dandy Don and Howard are surely rolling in their graves about the shakeup.

Don’t get me wrong, Jon Gruden seems to be a personable fellow and of course has shown that he knows a bit about football – after all, he does have a Super Bowl ring or two.

However, if there is one suckup of an individual these days, it’s Gruden, and everyone knows it.

How many glowing adjectives can the guy come up with for a coach or player on a team that’s on a 2-12 team? Well, Gruden’s pretty good at that. Sure, it’s his job to sell the game and make sure those watching don’t turn to reruns of The Wheel of Fortune or Gilligan’s Island, but Gruden takes that sell job over the top many times. And most of the time it’s just plain annoying or even embarrassing.

Because of that, I was hoping he would get back into the coaching ranks where he belongs.

He doesn’t belong in the booth and I can only reiterate the comments being made by so many today that the wrong man was pulled from the broadcast.

I always liked Jaworski. He’s honest, knows the game and doesn’t glamorize and sugar coat reality.

I’m sure Jaws will land on his feet, but this decision only cheapens Monday Night Football and downgrades it one more notch.

So, will Aaron Rodgers and the Packers notch win #14 easily in Kansas City Sunday or will the Chiefs give the Packers their best shot?

OK, so it’s that time of the week when we hear from the opposing camp about this week’s Packers vs. Chiefs game.

With just three weeks remaining in the NFL regular season, we asked Patrick Allen, the bigwig over at Arrowhead Addict, what is thoughts are heading into Sunday’s Packers vs. Chiefs match-up. He was so kind to take some time to answer our questions.

Enjoy! He’s brutally honest.

And don’t forget to Like Lombardiave.com on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

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Presumably, the Packers don’t really want Favre back after all that’s happened. Essentially, their message is they aren’t going to free him to sign with any of the league’s other 31 teams — especially not NFC North division rivals Minnesota, Chicago or Detroit — and he won’t be given his starting job back if he returns to Green Bay.

The most likely scenario would have Favre petitioning the league for reinstatement and the Packers trading him to an AFC team, or at least an NFC team outside the division. Among the teams that fit that profile are the Miami Dolphins, Baltimore Ravens, Kansas City Chiefs, New York Jets, Carolina Panthers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Washington Redskins.

The Packers’ best-case scenario, in which Favre would’ve simply stayed retired, almost certainly won’t happen. The Packers went so far as to send an intermediary down to Mississippi last week to try to talk Favre into staying retired, but their attempt failed.

The Wisconsin State Journal’s article puts serious contenders for Favre out there for the first time in a while. But would these really help Brett Favre? He obviously wants to go to a contender and the Minnesota Vikings are rumored to be his top choice (which means he’s looking to follow Darren Sharper and Ryan Longwell), but Minnesota most likely isn’t going to happen. Do these really give Favre a chance to be a winner though?

The Miami Dolphins were 1-15 last year and are starting from the ground up. They have a new coach in Tony Sparano and a new head man in Bill Parcells. If Favre wants to win, Miami would probably not be the best option. Parcells and Sparano are getting reputations as strictly business, given their run-in with superstar-turned-wanna-be-actor Jason Taylor. A Taylor-for-Favre swap is pretty intriguing, but I don’t think that’s what Taylor wants and Favre wants a winner, but I don’t see the Dolphins turning into playoff contenders right away. Right now, John Beck, Chad Henne, and Josh McCown are the quarterbacks on the roster for the Dolphins. Beck started last year and had a lot of trouble adjusting to the pro-game. He could have been Cam Cameron‘s quarterback of the future, but with Parcells coming in, his future is up in the air. Parcells used a high draft pick on Henne, who could be Parcells’ “guy” while McCown is the veteran in the mix. McCown also happens to be a friend of the Packers family, along with Nathan Poole, for knocking the Vikings out and Packers into the playoffs in (I think) 2003. God, I love opening old wounds. So the Dolphins do not look that likely if Favre wants to win. If he wants to play and end up on MediCare, he can go for it.

The Baltimore Ravens would be the worst situation for me besides an NFC North team. I may be in the Baltimore area, but I do not like the Ravens. Besides the personal anguish this would cost me, the Ravens cannot quite afford Favre. Right now the Packers have 2008 first round pick Joe Flacco, 2006 Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith, and bust Kyle Boller. The Ravens are also reeling from the Steve McNair-era where they were at the mercy of an aging quarterback on the downside of his career. I have read many columnists in the Baltimore-area newspapers, and it’s clear they do not want Favre. They know that on the heels of a 5-11 season that they need to rebuild and devote time and confidence to either Flacco or Smith, something they did not do with Boller. The only way to get their quarterbacks better and to put themselves in a position to win in the future would be to let Flacco and Smith play and become experienced.

I pretty much covered the Chiefs, one of the most inept franchises in history. But they can still have fantasies. Like this one. And this one. And finally this one.

The Jets are intriguing. Favre is older than head coach Eric Mangini. Kellen Clemens looks like he could be a good quarterback if he is given time to play, which wouldn’t happen if Favre joined the team. Chad Pennington is still on the team and he has had some pretty good moments in his time in the Big Apple. I’m no Jets expert, but this scenario is pretty mysterious. Who knows here. I just don’t know whether Favre would want to play for a team coming off a losing season.

It seems like every year Sports Illustrated picks the Panthers to win the Super Bowl. But it doesn’t happen. They are mired in the .500-ball heave that is the NFC South. The team does not have many offensive weapons outside of Steve Smith and at times last year, it seemed like they could not do anything right. Sure, they played in Super Bowl XXXVIII. But that feels like ancient history.  Also, the Panthers seems set with Jake Delhomme as their signal caller.

Tampa Bay is quarterback heaven. Jon Gruden is apparently tight with Favre because of the days of the Holmgren regime.  But seriously, how many quarterbacks on the roster?  Jeff Garcia, Brian Griese, Luke McCown, Chris Simms, and rookie Josh Johnson.  They’ve got about every type in there.  Let’s add aging-gunslinger to that category.  The Bucs won the division in 2007, but the fact that they won it at 9-7 leaves no guarantee for them to be a winner in 2008.  Not seeing Favre here.

The Redskins are another interesting possibility.  They’ve got plenty of money (aka Dan Snyder) and a young quarterback in Jason Campbell.  The Redskins know what they are doing with Campbell by letting him play last year.  The only reason a player can get better is by playing.  And he got better as the season went on before he got hurt and Todd Collins led the team to the playoffs.  The Skins have been down this road before with Mark Brunell.  I don’t think that worked too well.

So there we have it.  I’d say Favre doesn’t have any really good options out there.  Anywhere he went (Minnesota included) he would get in the way of the development of a team.