One of the greatest comebacks in professional football has come to an end, as Quarterback, Alex Smith, has officially retired from the NFL.

Smith came into the pros with lofty expectations, and how could that not be the case when you are a Quarterback who was taken first overall?  From Utah, it was the San Francisco 49ers who chose him in 2005, but it was a mixed bag of success, as he struggled on the field and with injuries.  

Missing the 2008 season due to shoulder issues, Smith had to fight to get his job back in 2009, but again, he could not make the upper-echelon of NFL Quarterbacks, though he took the Niners to the playoffs in 2011, and looked to have turned a corner.  Smith got off to his best start in 2012, but a concussion led to him replaced in a game by Colin Kaepernick, who eventually became the permanent starter.  With Kaepernick’s ascendence, Smith was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs after the season’s conclusion.

Smith’s tenure at Arrowhead was the best of his career.  A chief for five seasons (2013-17), Smith led Kansas City to four post-seasons, and he went to three Pro Bowls.  His best year was 2017, where he led the NFL in Passer Rating (104.7) and had career-highs in Passing Yards (4,042) and Passing Touchdowns (26), but this would be his last year with the Chiefs, as they had a young QB in Patrick Mahomes in wait. Smith, who helped mentor Mahomes, was dealt to Washington, but tragedy was on the horizon.

On November, 18, 2018, Smith broke his right leg when he was tackled by Houston’s Kareem Jackson and J.J. Watt.  Following his first surgery, Smith contracted flesh-eating disease, and it got so bad that amputation was considered.  Seventeen surgeries later, he began rehab, and was a back-up in 2020, until an injury to Kyle Allen put Smith back into the game.  Smith played six Games in 2020, winning five, and he was rewarded with the Comeback Player of the Year Award.

Smith retired with 35,650 Yards, a nice amount for a player that always seemed to be a placeholder.  

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to wish Alex Smith the best his post-playing career.

Yes, we know that this is taking a while!

As many of you know, we here at Notinhalloffame.com are slowly generating the 50 of each major North American sports team.  That being said, we have existing Top 50 lists out and we always consistently look to update them when we can and based on necessity. As such, we are very happy to present our pre-2021 revision of our top 50 Indianapolis Colts of all-time.

As for all of our top 50 players in football we look at the following: 

1.  Advanced Statistics.

2.  Traditional statistics and how they finished in the NFL. 

3. Playoff accomplishments.

4. Their overall impact on the team and other intangibles not reflected in a stat sheet.

There are two new additions in the Top 50, and one small elevation, from our current Colts, but none of which impact our top five.

As always, we present our top five.  They are:

1. Peyton Manning

2. Johnny Unitas

3. Gino Marchetti

4. Marvin Harrison

5. Raymond Berry

You can find the entire list here.

Wide Receiver, T.Y. Hilton moved up one spot to #24.

Left Guard, Quenton Nelson, who has been a First Team All-Pro in all three of his seasons comes in at #48.

2018 Defensive Rookie of the Year, Darius Leonard enters at #49.

We welcome your input and commentsand as always, we thank you for your support.

It was announced that former Kansas City Chief, Fred Arbanas, passed away at the age of 82.

Like many in the early '60s, Fred Arbanas was drafted by both the NFL and the AFL, but usually, those who chose the AFL were drafted higher by the new organization.  This wasn't the case with Arbanas, who was a 7^th Round Selection by the Dallas Texans, where the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2^nd Round.

No matter, as Arbanas would go on to the All-AFL Team at Tight End.  He was an AFL All-Star as a rookie, and with the Texans, he would help them win the Championship, but the organization would relocate to Kansas City, where they were rechristened as the Chiefs.  Arbanas would continue his elite status at TE, where he would have another four AFL All-Star appearances and had First Team All-Pro honors three times (1963, 1964 & 1966).  He would aid Kansas City in winning the AFL title in 1966 and 1969, the latter where he would win his only Super Bowl Ring (IV).

Arbanas retired after 1970, recording 3,101 Yards and 34 Touchdowns, both high numbers for someone who played his position in the 1960s.

In our latest Notinhalloffame.com list of those to consider for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Arbanas was ranked #254.  Arbanas was inducted into the Kansas City Chiefs Hall of Fame in 1973.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to extend our condolences to the friends, fans and family of Fred Arbanas.

New York Yankee, Jay Bruce, announced that he is retiring from baseball.  Bruce won a spot as a non-roster invitee, but the 34-year-old struggled this year, with a .118 Batting Average and .466 OPS.

Bruce debuted in 2008, where the Outfielder had 21 Home Runs as a rookie, beginning a six-year streak where he blasted at least 20.  An All-Star in 2011 and 2012, Bruce was also a two-time Silver Slugger (2012 & 2013), and was tenth in MVP voting in both of those years.  Bruce was an All-Star again in 2016, the season he was traded to the New York Mets.

Following the 2016 season, Bruce’s skills declined and he bounced around with stays in Cleveland, Seattle and Philadelphia.

Bruce is unlikely to make the Baseball Hall of Fame, but he will be on the ballot in 2027.  He leaves the game with 319 Home Runs, 951 RBIs with 1,455 Hits.

We here at Notinhalloffame.com would like to wish Jay Bruce the best n his post-playing career.