flgreen Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 JETS TOP 25: No. 23 Eric Smith Share on twitter Share on facebook Share on myspace Share on stumbleupon Share on digg Share on fark Share on reddit Share on email | More Sharing ServicesMore Print 9:23 AM, June 25, 2012 ι By BRIAN COSTELLO As the Jets enter the quiet part of the summer between the spring program and training camp, I am going to examine the roster and give you my top 25 players on the Jets roster. Each weekday we will reveal another person on the list, leading right into training camp. I am not including rookies on this list because I do not feel it is possible to fully evaluate them before they play a game. Hope you enjoy. No. 23: ERIC SMITH Position: Safety Age: 29 How acquired: Drafted in the third round of the 2006 Draft Contract status: 2 years, $5.1 million left How he did in 2011: Some Jets fans will have you believe that Smith is responsible for the falling price of Facebook stock, traffic on the New Jersey Turnpike and the weeds growing in your garden. Yes, Smith became one of the fans favorite punching bags last season, but it was not as bad as it looked sometimes. Smith had his problems, but he also was victimized sometimes by being the guy closest to the ball on a big play when he was covering for someone else’s mistake. That being said, no one is sending a highlight tape of Smith’s 2011 to Canton. His struggles in coverage were bad enough for the Jets to revamp the safety position, signing Yeremiah Bell and LaRon Landry at the position. Smith struggled to cover tight ends, who repeatedly killed the Jets. Even Smith’s critics have to admire his durability. Only Darrelle Revis, David Harris and Calvin Pace took more snaps on defense than Smith last season. This, despite playing the final five games of the year with a torn meniscus that required surgery after the season. Outlook for 2012: You will see less of Smith this season, which the coaches hope helps him improve. They felt that he got overexposed last year by playing as much as he did. Smith will be part of a three-man safety rotation with Landry and Bell. How much he plays probably depends on Landry’s health and how quickly those two pick up a new scheme. The Jets also have some three-safety packages that will involve Smith. Smith remains a huge part of Mike Westhoff’s special teams units. Last year, he had to scale back on special teams because of how much responsibility he had on defense. If his time on defense is reduced this year, that should lead to him being back on nearly ever special teams unit. Defensive coordinator Mike Pettine said Smith had a great spring after recovering from his knee surgery. Smith has shown some leadership in helping Bell and Landry learn the defense. He could have sulked over being pushed into a complementary role, but has been positive and seems to have embraced the role as teacher. With Jim Leonhard gone, Smith has taken on some of his “quarterback” role in the secondary, too. Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/blogs/jetsblog/jets_top_no_eric_smith_ztBmLwfhJPp3Sz03ukPGfN#ixzz1yooJZ2WW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smashmouth Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 Bleedin Green is commin for you Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleedin Green Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDKostempski Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 How are Landry, even if he's healthy, and Bell going to be better than Smith in covering TEs? Both are SSs and neither one has been noted for being particularly good in pass coverage. Bell may very well be a liability in the passing game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleedin Green Posted June 25, 2012 Share Posted June 25, 2012 How are Landry, even if he's healthy, and Bell going to be better than Smith in covering TEs? Both are SSs and neither one has been noted for being particularly good in pass coverage. Bell may very well be a liability in the passing game. Clearly you've never seen how horrendously awful Smith is in coverage. It's not a matter of them being all that good, it's just them not being as bad as he is. Basically as long as they can manage to stay in coverage without falling over completely untouched they already have a major leg up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sperm Edwards Posted June 26, 2012 Share Posted June 26, 2012 So based on the 2011 season, 2 of the first 3 listed in the Jets top-25 best players are Wayne Hunter and Eric Smith. That's not good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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