Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Daseal
Smoot has been a quality CB his entire career. Imagine that, putting lots of pressure on the QB and forcing them to make bad throws made Smoot look better. That's the same for every defense. However, he was making big plays when he didn't have any time. Also, could it be, that Smoot simply got better skill wise? He's still fairly young in the league and learning. Smoot was a great Redskin and because the Redskins didn't want to give him near the money MN would, I can understand him leaving. Same with Pierce - when you go that many years with damn near league minimum I understand going for more money. It's not like they had huge contracts they wanted to redo. Before I hear that crap that the Redskins offer was almost the same as MNs. MNs was front loaded to where he'd actually see some of the salary, along with a slightly higher SB than the skins offered. Meaning he sees a lot more of that.
Why do we bash players that we consistantly stick up for when they leave, especially when they just leave on normal terms. It's the new NFL. This isn't like Gibbs first era where you can stockpile talent and have them wait. Or give players what they want. It's the salary cap -- and we all know the game wouldn't be as exciting without it.
|
I am with you when you say Smoot was good and he had a lot of skill. I don't think Gregg Williams was the only reason Smoot was so good last year. If anything, Smoot and Springs allowed Williams to run the defense he wanted to. Without good corners, Williams can't operate his defense the way he wants. He is a great mind, but he does need some tools to work with, and Smoot & Springs were the most important tools in his toolbox last year.
That said, I honestly don't see much of a dropoff from Smoot to Walt Harris. I've been through this argument before, but just to reiterate, Walt was a former first round pick. He was a starter for many years. The only reason he wasn't a starter recently was because he busted up his knee and we got him for cheap. Now his knee is totally healthy as he proved last year, and he is quite capable of covering some top receivers. I don't think the drop from Smoot to Harris is that significant.
I am concerned about Rogers though, because you need more than two good CBs. While I'm totally confident in Springs and Harris, I'd feel better if Rogers were healthy enough to get a full training camp under his belt so he can fit into the nickel role. I like Garnell Wilds, he did nicely against Randy Moss last year. But honestly, it's a leap of faith to assume he can handle a nickel role on a consistent basis. Of course, Antonio Pierce made that leap last year, so I won't rule anything out. But I'd just feel better with Rogers in better health.