How will Will Smith's transition from DE to OLB go?
 

We’ve hit the home stretch of the offseason with precious little time remaining for players and coaches to get their non-football lives in order. The first practice for the 2013 season is Friday, July 26.

WWLTV.com will take a look at 10 questions for New Orleans entering training camp and the season. They’re in no particular order, just numbered.

We’ve love to get your thoughts on each day’s topic. Leave your comment below or on the station’s Facebook page to further the discussion.

Which is the critical game on the '13 schedule?

No. 9: Can Will Smith make the transition from DE to OLB?
Will Smith is a 6-foot-3, 282-pound 32-year-old who has started 120 of 139 games in the NFL. The wear-and-tear and toll on his body has been heavy.

And he’s changing defensive coordinators one again, the fifth time since 2004 he has found himself playing under a new system and/or a new coach.

Add that up and it would appear that 2013 could be a tough year for Smith, a player many thought would be let go because of what was supposedly a giant salary cap number.

Smith, though, took a large pay cut, dropping his base salary from $9 million to $3 million, according to ESPN.com, and pulling his cap hit down to $8.5 million from nearly $14 million.

In other words, it appears Smith is itching to prove a point and he wants to prove it in New Orleans, the only place he has called home as a professional. He thinks the switch to Rob Ryan’s 3-4 can help him lengthen his career.

It’s certainly possible.

If there’s any player who can benefit from the switch, it would be Smith. He goes from a three-point stance to starting with his hand off the ground and his eyes in the backfield. He can be quick at the snap instead of reacting. He won’t automatically be hit at the ball is hiked, saving his body from some of the abuse.

In his nine seasons in the NFL, he has averaged a big season every third year. In 2006 he had 10½ sacks. That jumped to 13 in 2009. He finished with just six sacks in 2012 meaning he’s due in 2013 for that big year.

Still, it’s hard to think Smith is going to have another breakout season. He had his second-fewest tackle total since 2007 this past year with 67 tackle. And those six sacks were the third-fewest in his career.

While losing Victor Butler to a season-ending torn anterior cruciate ligament could help his chances of seeing more extensive playing time, he’ll still be in the position of battling younger, more athletic players for a spot on the field.

And you just can’t discount the miles Smith has put on his body and the skill it takes to consistently move 282 pounds into pass coverage.

It’s more likely that Smith has an average year at best than a big year and that means his transition to linebacker won’t be a boon to his career.

But the question is whether Smith can make the transition, not if it’ll be a boon, and the answer is he should be able to make the transition.

Saints Questions: How will Will Smith's transition from DE to OLB go? | wwltv.com New Orleans

Re: How will Will Smith's transition from DE to OLB go?
 

Does he mean average year for Will Smith or average for an OLB?

Re: How will Will Smith's transition from DE to OLB go?
 

I hope he flops in preseason like a certain CB did before the 2009 season so the team finally wakes up and cuts him

Re: How will Will Smith's transition from DE to OLB go?
 

I think he could play on the inside to prevent the run and blitz when its his turn.

Re: How will Will Smith's transition from DE to OLB go?
 

"Smith, though, took a large pay cut, dropping his base salary from $9 million to $3 million, according to ESPN.com, and pulling his cap hit down to $8.5 million from nearly $14 million.

In other words, it appears Smith is itching to prove a point and he wants to prove it in New Orleans, the only place he has called home as a professional. He thinks the switch to Rob Ryan’s 3-4 can help him lengthen his career."

Smith probably only did this because he knew there his chances of keeping a paycheck other than with the Saints was virtually zero.

Re: How will Will Smith's transition from DE to OLB go?
 

He's the guy I'm most uncertain about transitioning. I don't believe he'll do good.

Re: How will Will Smith's transition from DE to OLB go?
 

He'll be an average player that is best at run defending but not much more in my opinion, im more excited to see what Rufus Johnson can do

Re: How will Will Smith's transition from DE to OLB go?
 

Rotate him in in short yardage situations, line him up on the LOS... Should be really good at run defense and has the size to blow up TE's who try to block him...

Re: How will Will Smith's transition from DE to OLB go?
 

Should be fine. From what has been gathered this off season about the transition, it'll be no different than what he's done his whole career here. While he's a "3-4 OLB", he's going to be doing the same thing as if he were a 4-3 DE.

Re: How will Will Smith's transition from DE to OLB go?
 

I haven't liked him as a 4-3 DE for a long time either. Lol.

Re: How will Will Smith's transition from DE to OLB go?
 

Well playing the Jack position essentially is the same as what he's been doing... Just standing up instead of with his hand in the dirt. He won't be asked to cover. Besides, we'll probably be playing Nickel more often than base 3-4 and one of our younger pass-rushers like Junior Galette will be on the field.

Re: How will Will Smith's transition from DE to OLB go?
 

i think he will do ok overall in run support unlike Jr.
Blitz he should be ok like Jr
What he shares with JR is my concerns in pass coverage.

OLB that is more well rounded will be high on the 2014 draft list.
as will the DL like i said in another thread
Right now i can see 4 picks in the first 5 rounds going defense

Re: How will Will Smith's transition from DE to OLB go?
 

enlighten me? what positions for the first 4 picks?

Re: How will Will Smith's transition from DE to OLB go?
 

back end picks in each round

Round 1 - multi facet weapon that can play ILB and OLB

C.J. Mosley, OLB/ILB, Alabama
Height: 6-2. Weight: 234.
Projected 40 Time: 4.65

Round 2 - True depth for the DL to develope

DeAndre Coleman, DE/DT, California
Height: 6-5. Weight: 320.
Projected 40 Time: 5.34.

Round 3 - True depth for the DL to develope

Ra'Shede Hageman, DE/DT, Minnesota
Height: 6-6. Weight: 311.
Projected 40 Time: 5.37

Round 4 - add another OLB to the mix to develope at OLB

Christian Jones, OLB, Florida State
Height: 6-4. Weight: 232.
Projected 40 Time: 4.62

Its early yet but this is my wish list so far for the defense and I am sure it will change a bit. i think some of the players will play there way out of reach in the draft. I am going to be watching stanford closely this year. they will have a bunch of talent in this years draft.

it would allow us to let some mid range cap numbers walk next year. cap is going to be a bigger head ache next year than it was this year.

if we had the money i woild love to se the saints go after Geno Atkins CIN. i can not se the bungles letting him walk. but i can dream

Re: How will Will Smith's transition from DE to OLB go?
 

Besides Drew's cap number jump and resigning Graham, those are the only two I can think of. Aren't most players under cap friendly contracts now?

Re: How will Will Smith's transition from DE to OLB go?
 

Top New Orleans Saints salary cap figures for 2014 season
Larry Holder, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune By Larry Holder, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
April 10, 2013 at 11:13 AM, updated April 10, 2013 at 11:19 AM

The latest look at the New Orleans Saints' salary cap situation for 2014 paints a troubling future. The Saints, as of now, would enter the next league year with $139 million in committed money, according to ESPN.

New Orleans would rank only below Dallas as the Cowboys would have $146 million committed to next season. The salary cap will likely jump next season, but how high from this year's $123.9 million is always an inexact science.

Here's a look at the Saints' top 10 salary cap figures for the 2014 season:

Drew Brees -- $18.4 million

Will Smith -- $13.9 million

Jahri Evans -- $11.01 million

Ben Grubbs -- $9.1 million

Marques Colston -- $8.3 million

Roman Harper -- $7.9 million

Jabari Greer -- $6.825 million

Brodrick Bunkley -- $6.1 million

Curtis Lofton -- $5.2 million

Lance Moore -- $5.07 million

Of those names, five players restructred their contracts this offseason (Evans, Grubbs, Colston, Bunkley and Lofton) making their 2014 figures slightly higher than maybe anticipated. Restructuring wouldn't be completely out of the question for some of them, but the Saints would face the same issues in later years.

Yet the Saints have options to quickly fix much of the potential salary cap problems.

Smith took a massive paycut in 2013, so it's very unlikely Smith's cap number, if he's still on the team, would be anywhere near that figure. The Saints would save $11.55 million in 2014 by releasing Smith.

The Saints could also cut back at their massive 2014 cap figure by shedding Harper's cap figure. The team would save about $6.2 million in 2014 by releasing Harper.

Top New Orleans Saints salary cap figures for 2014 season | NOLA.com

While not completed updated and completely updated the issue remains the same.

Here are the players as FA in 2014 i think i have them all

Ramon Humber at Linebacker
Jerico Nelson at Safety
Eric Olsen at Guard
Preston Parker at Wide Receiver
Jay Richardson at Defensive End
Brian De La Puente at Center
Courtney Roby at Wide Receiver
Jason Smith at Tackle
Rafael Bush at Safety
Malcolm Jenkins at Safety
Kenyon Coleman at Defensive End
Jed Collins at Fullback
Zach Strief at Tackle
Tom Johnson at Defensive End
Bryce Harris at Tackle
Charles Brown at Tackle
Jim Leonhard at Safety
Isa Abdul-Quddus at Safety
Ricky Henry at Guard
Jonathan Vilma at Linebacker
Jimmy Graham at Tight End
Seneca Wallace at Quarterback
Jeremiah Warren at Guard
Luke McCown at Quarterback
Michael Higgins at Tight End
Joseph Morgan at Wide Receiver

Re: How will Will Smith's transition from DE to OLB go?
 

sorry this is turning into a thread high jack

Re: How will Will Smith's transition from DE to OLB go?
 

His transition will go smoothly....................straight to the bench. :wink:

Re: How will Will Smith's transition from DE to OLB go?
 

I'd say I don't see this working out but usually when I think that it absolutely does work out so that's what I'm going with. There is some value in having basically a quasi DE back there and I think they will do enough to keep him from getting exposed over the top which is the only negative.

Re: How will Will Smith's transition from DE to OLB go?
 

I see him struggling and the Saints regret not cutting him and saving a lot of money.

Re: How will Will Smith's transition from DE to OLB go?
 

Does anyone know of any other DE's who made this transition? I can't think of any that made a real impact so that's probably not a good thing right out the gate.

Re: How will Will Smith's transition from DE to OLB go?
 

And this is why I wanted Alec Ogletree in the first and Chase Thomas later to complement each other on the outside...

Re: How will Will Smith's transition from DE to OLB go?
 

Good question. I wonder if Terrell Suggs did it? I know the Ravens switched back and forth from a 4-3 and 3-4, and still play a lot of both, but I don't know if Suggs played DE and OLB in those packages.

Re: How will Will Smith's transition from DE to OLB go?
 

Aldon smith played DE in college and had never player OLB

Then transitioned to stand up OLB

Re: How will Will Smith's transition from DE to OLB go?
 

Tons. Over the past decade alone, plenty of guys have made the transition from DE to OLB vice versa coming from colllege into the pros. Even established All Pro veterans such as Mario Williams and Julius Peppers have made the transition once their respective teams switched schemes. As long as they're used essentially the same way, it's typically a pretty smooth transition. You're not going to all of a sudden move a Mario Williams out to cover a slot receiver.

Re: How will Will Smith's transition from DE to OLB go?
 

A&M has a position called the "Joker" its a DE/LB hybrid

Re: How will Will Smith's transition from DE to OLB go?
 

I don't see him as being that good at OLB - I hope he proves me wrong

Re: How will Will Smith's transition from DE to OLB go?
 

I thinks he is a one season fill in.
I can see Smith and a couple of other highly paid vets being gone as the change to 3-4 is completed.With the cap situation next year not looking good and Jimmy needing a new deal he would need a monster season to be back imo.

Re: How will Will Smith's transition from DE to OLB go?
 

I must admit I'm very skeptical about a smooth transition from DE to LB. I think playing the linebacker is 50% instinct which is accumulated over years and year of playing the positions. It's hard for me to grasp that our DEs will just pick this up.

The only place I've seen this attempted was in high school, which probably means nothing, but it ended very badly.

Re: How will Will Smith's transition from DE to OLB go?
 

Monster season or not, he WILL NOT BE BACK. The writing is on the wall, and we have much bigger fish to fry next season. I personally am more hopeful that Jenkins has a "monster season" so that we can re-sign him and shed Harper. I'd be willin to bet that Smith, Greer, Vilma, and Harper are all gone after this season. Anyone want a piece of that action? :-)

Re: How will Will Smith's transition from DE to OLB go?
 

I'll co-sign that.

Re: How will Will Smith's transition from DE to OLB go?
 

He will be good as a run defender and situational pass rusher as an OLB. But, they absolutely don't want him trying to cover someone. His versatility at DE and OLB, along with his veteran leadership and a complete lack of talent team wise at OLB, will keep him on the roster for this season.

Re: How will Will Smith's transition from DE to OLB go?
 

I don't think the Jack LB has much coverage responsibilty at all. And when required its usually just a small zone.

But I must agree with the consensus... it sure does look a lot like a square peg in a round hole. Its really the biggest question mark personnel wise on the roster.

Re: How will Will Smith's transition from DE to OLB go?
 

I believe speed is going to be his biggest problem at that position.

Re: How will Will Smith's transition from DE to OLB go?
 

My thoughts exactly when pertaining to Smith.

Re: How will Will Smith's transition from DE to OLB go?
 

That is the main reason I would like to see him on the inside, he could also take on offensive linemen better, he has for years playing DE.

Re: How will Will Smith's transition from DE to OLB go?
 

Unless Greer has an awful season then I anticipate that he will be back. We don't have any depth at the position and we may very well need him again next year. Before he goes we need good depth that we don't have currently on the roster.:bng:

Re: How will Will Smith's transition from DE to OLB go?
 

I can't argue with that. I just feel like after this season there is a solid chance that he will be a $6m a year back-up CB. With us being a little strapped for cash, I can see us dropping him and drafting his replacement after this season. Purely speculation on my part though. I hope he does have a hell of a season this year though. Make it hard on Loomis and Payton. :-)

Re: How will Will Smith's transition from DE to OLB go?
 

Looking at the Cap figures we can save over $3ml cutting Greer.
He will need a paycut

Re: How will Will Smith's transition from DE to OLB go?
 

Greer is already in his 30's isn't he. That's not a good age for that position.....