Alex Smith doesn’t believe in assigned seats.As he tried to get to know his new Washington Redskins teammates Austin Bryant Jersey , Smith sat in a different seat for each meeting.Defensive line coach Jim Tomsula knew that from his time with Smith in San Francisco, and running back Chris Thompson beamed, “That’s a trait from your quarterback that you like to see.”It’s a concerted effort by Smith to fit in with the guys, something he did quickly after taking over as the Redskins’ franchise quarterback.Be it his personality, his depth of NFL experience or the long-term contract that previous starter Kirk Cousins never had in Washington, Smith has already assumed the place of unquestioned leader and made players sense an entirely different vibe around the team.“(It’s about) putting yourself out there, being real and nothing fake, nothing phony but getting to know the guys, letting your guard down,” Smith said. “I’m more conscious of it as I’ve gotten older about that, about the responsibility as a teammate, being a good teammate.”No one around the Redskins is calling Cousins a bad teammate, and team brass is reluctant to compare him and Smith on or off the field. But ever since Smith took the field in practice in burgundy and gold Rashan Gary Jersey , he has been the subject of glowing praise about his ability to lead.“He’s always been a leader,” left tackle Trent Williams said. “You could tell he’s comfortable in that role. He’s what we needed.”A series of one-year contracts made Cousins unwilling or unable to fully fill that void. After signing a guaranteed $84 million, three-year deal with the Minnesota Vikings, Cousins felt he finally had a “license to lead” that was never there with the Redskins, who took him in the same draft as Robert Griffin III, made him compete for the starting job and never agreed to a long-term contract.Washington not only acquired Smith from Kansas City but signed him to a $94 million, four-year extension with $71 million guaranteed and put the pressure on him to get back to the playoffs for the first time since the 2015 season. That’s as much as license to lead as anything, but the 34-year-old brushed off the trappings of that kind of security.“All you’re guaranteed is a year at a time here and even game by game,” Smith said. “I appreciate so much the opportunity I have today and right in front of me and I’m not really thinking past that. Contract, all this and that, I’m not feeling any kind of comfort in that. No. I’ve got a huge sense of urgency to go out there and to go right now, to go today. I’m not waiting on anything. So it doesn’t change my approach at all.”It’s that approach that quickly won Smith the respect of teammates, who spent the opening days of training camp talking about things feeling “different” this year.This was a team with Jay Gruden entering his fifth season as head coach with almost the same core of players except at the most important position.“We got a lot of leaders on this team Darnell Savage Jr. Jersey , especially with your quarterback,” safety D.J. Swearinger said. “When you get a guy like Alex Smith in here, a lot changes. … He’s changed the leadership of how the offense approaches (the game). When they break the huddle, it’s a different bounce. It’s a different way he comes on the line and commands the offense.”That’s what senior vice president of player personnel and retired QB Doug Williams thought the Redskins were getting in Smith, who is coming off a season in which he set career highs with 4,042 yards passing and 26 touchdowns. Cousins threw for 4,000 yards the past three seasons, but Washington wanted a long-term answer and found it in Smith.“What we’ve seen since he’s been here is everything that we thought, that Jim (Tomsula) was talking about, from a leadership standpoint,” Williams said.“When he walked in the building, you could feel Alex Smith taking control of the locker room and being part of what we were looking for from a stability standpoint.”The practice field has been the setting for Redskins players getting an up-close look at Smith. Cornerback Josh Norman bemoaned not being able to get enough work in because Smith was too accurate and wouldn’t make mistakes, and Swearinger called him the kind of player defenders hate to face.Gruden Elgton Jenkins Jersey , a former QB himself and an offensive guru, sees Smith as someone who can run his playbook and is also tailoring some things to him to maximize his mobility and decision-making prowess.“Really what CAN’T he do?” Gruden said. “We’re just trying to come up with a plan of attack that utilizes his skillset and make him as comfortable as possible.”Smith looks and feels comfortable off the field, too. In addition to players admiring how the playbook has grown because of his addition, Thompson and said Smith “seemed to just fit in with us right away.”Gruden said Smith “doesn’t walk in here like he’s king. He’s walking in here like he’s one of the guys.” As one of the fittest players on the team, Smith sets a work ethic example, and his personality is such that Gruden thinks he could play a pickup basketball game with anyone and fit in.Perhaps that’s why his transition to Washington has been so seamless that Williams said it feels as if Smith has been around a long time. The Redskins hope he actually is.“He has the charisma, he has the character, he has everything that you want in a quarterback,” Williams said. “And that’s what they’re supposed to be: a face of the franchise, and I can tell you this: Alex Smith fits that mold as the face of a franchise.”
TORONTO — The Detroit Tigers will be trying to avoid making more history Sunday afternoon when they face the Toronto Blue Jays on Canada Day at the Rogers Centre.

After Blue Jays first baseman Justin Smoak smacked a 1-0 fastball from Joe Jimenez for his second career walkoff homer in the bottom of the ninth inning on Saturday, the Tigers have lost 11 games in a row.

The last time the Tigers put together a losing streak like that was 2003. On Sunday, in the third contest of the four-game series, the Tigers will be trying to avoid dipping deeper into their history by losing 12 in a row for the first time since 1996.

The Tigers will start right-hander Jordan Zimmermann (2-0 Jace Sternberger Jersey , 4.35 ERA) against Blue Jays left-hander J.A. Happ (10-3, 3.62).

Saturday looked promising for the Tigers when they took a 3-0 lead in the third inning, but the Blue Jays came back to tie in the fifth.

Both Toronto wins in the series have been by one run.

“Honestly, nobody wants to play extra innings,” Smoak said. “To be able to do it in the ninth and get it over with is always a good feeling.”

The Tigers would beg to differ. They would have been happy to try their luck in extra innings if that’s what it takes to end their funk.

“We’re all trying hard,” Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire said. “Everybody’s trying. We tried all kinds of things today to try to make this happen. And we were in the game again and ultimately we lose the ballgame.”

The Blue Jays have dominated the Tigers at the Rogers Centre in recent years, winning 12 of their past 14 meetings.

There could be times when it seems as if the Tigers might be trying a little too hard to make things happen and then paying for it. First baseman John Hicks, who hit his seventh home run of the season in the second inning Saturday, was not so sure that is the case.

“I don’t think guys are trying to do anything more than we’ve been trying to do all year,” he said. “We’re in a losing streak, but we’re going out every day playing the same way we’ve been playing all year. But when you are losing, things get magnified.”

Losing a close game or a lopsided one does not matter, Hicks said Dexter Williams Jersey , adding “A loss is a loss.

“They all stink, every loss is frustrating. It just happens to be in a losing streak, so it happens to magnify things more. We’ve had opportunities to win pretty much every ballgame we’ve lost.”

The task Sunday falls to Zimmermann, who will make his 10th start of the season.

Despite pitching five scoreless innings Monday against the Oakland Athletics, Zimmermann did not factor in the decision, He allowed four hits and three walks and struck out three.

In three career starts against the Blue Jays, Zimmermann is 1-1 with a 3.93 ERA. This will be his first start against Toronto since June 8, 2016, when he took the loss, giving up seven runs and eight hits with two walks and three strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings. He will be making his first career start at the Rogers Centre.

Happ has not lost since May 10. In his eight starts since, he is 6-0 with a 2.60 ERA. One of the no-decisions came June 2 in Detroit when he allowed four runs and had eight strikeouts against the Tigers in five innings.

In nine career games (eight starts) against the Tigers, he is 3-1 with a 4.10 ERA.

The Blue Jays lead the season series between the teams 3-2. Two games are left.

Both teams had injuries to relief pitchers Saturday. The Blue Jays put Ryan Tepera on the 10-day disabled list with inflammation in his right elbow and recalled Jake Petricka from Triple-A Buffalo.

Tigers reliever Alex Wilson left the game — and was replaced by Jimenez — in the eighth inning with a strained left calf. He is listed as day to day.