Ryan and Pettine keep putting him out there. He must have value to the defense or they'd have fixed this. The offensive side Ryan is pretty clueless about but he should know what's going on on the defensive side so if Smith keeps getting plays there's a reason.
He's not that bad in coverage, he gets picked on because the rest of the secondary is good..... We could do a lot worse. He actually had a really good game against SD other than a miscommunication on the Gates TD.
That might be true on a site that has their own grading system but I meant he grades out well for he coaching staff who certainly look at game film differently than anyone else.
I think he has horrible lapses of concentration, and he's the guy the defense is going to try and exploit more often than not, but for the most part he's steady, and a plus in run support. People hated Kerry Rhodes because he wasn't a big hitter and didn't make plays like Ed Reed, but I think his athleticism was a major plus in the passing game. He didn't get a lot of picks, but he didn't give up many big plays either. I think we could do a lot worse. -X-
I don't think Leonhard does a much better job than Smith physically. Is he more important because he gets guys lined up and all that? I don't know enough about how that stuff works, honestly, and I'd be surprised if anyone here truly did. Point is, our safeties are nothing spectacular, but our strength at cornerback hides it. You can't be strong at every positon in this league.
Smith is fine, I mean look at our secondary. Revis-Inhumanly Good Cromartie- Above Average, Ball-Hawk Wilson- Above Average Leonard- Solid Smith- Average Who's the smart QB gonna throw at the most?
Actually, I'm tired of all the hating on E. Smith. As several people have already pointed out, he sticks out as the weak link in our backfield because the bar is set so high by the overall quality of the other guys out there. You never hear about it when the guy makes plays, only when he gets beat. He hits hard as a ma'fucker and plays with heart. Would I prefer that we had an all-pro safety out there that was great in coverage as well as a hard hitter? Sure, but you can't expect to have a top guy in the league at every position on the field.
I mean, don't get me wrong I thought he played very well last week and I don't hate the guy or anything, but I just hate seeing him get picked on and putting us in a bad situation. I know it's smart football by the other team, but sometimes it seems so glaring.
i'm surprised to see this thread especially after the Dilfer article. How many of those "FUCK YOU ERIC SMITH" game thread comments were actually just illusions in the coverage that allowed guys to be wide open?
