Re: Cutting Will Smith
 

Can we stick him on the practice squad making room for someone better on the 53?

Re: Cutting Will Smith
 

Its basically dead money, except the player is still on the 53.:p

Re: Cutting Will Smith
 

Will Smith being the highest paid player on D is a shame and a poor example to set for other players. He shouldn't make the 53 man roster. We may have dead money to deal with, but I am more concerned about the roster spot Smith will occupy. We have a lot of young athletic guys that need a chance to prove themselves.

Pay Smith the millions to sit on the bench and do nothing or pay him the millions to sit at home and watch Atkins take his spot?

You never know whos roster spot he will take, but what can Smith do for us. If he stays (which he most likely does) I can only see him playing during FGs...

Re: Cutting Will Smith
 

He could be utilized extensively when in the "46", his only job will be to stop the run and/or rush the passer.

I'll put my money on Smith against a TE or RB trying to block every time.

It was evident though that he doesn't have the speed to be out in space. Can't keep up with his cover assignment and too slow to get to the outside to contain the sweep.

Re: Cutting Will Smith
 

He will stay, only to justify the dead money spent...

I've been critical of Loomis - and this is what I point to...

Re: Cutting Will Smith
 

Whether you're spending 10 cents or ten million dollars on a turd, you're still not gonna want to leave the thing sitting on your kitchen counter. Just sayin'...

Re: Cutting Will Smith
 

Come on guys, the first preseason game with base vanilla defense! The entire starting D looked bad. KC came out with no huddle playing like it was the first round of the playoffs. Let's see what Smith and the D looks like in the next 3 Weeks before we're ready to write off 8 million $$!

Re: Cutting Will Smith
 

Haha! We had a vanilla defense with one frozen vanilla out there....

Re: Cutting Will Smith
 

Slow against vanilla is still slow regardless of the situation.

Re: Cutting Will Smith
 

Don't worry guys, Junior Galette and Martez Wilson will be back soon and Will Smith will be on the bench... Out of sight, out of mind. I don't care if we have an expensive back-up on the bench this season if things are still getting done on the field.

Re: Cutting Will Smith
 

I want to think the same thing that Smith will be a back up but Sean can be loyal to a fault sometimes, Junior should have been starting for the last two years. For some reason I keep thinking Smith won't get cut and Steven Jackson is going to keep on catching passes in the flat come Week 1

Re: Cutting Will Smith
 

And our WLB (Vilma) will be right there waiting for him.

Re: Cutting Will Smith
 

"If" Ryan has time to plant.

Re: Cutting Will Smith
 

I rather be slightly less optimistic and pleasantly surprised then over confident and utterly disappointed. See last year for example. As of now, Smith is garbage, replacing Strief on my "needs to be replaced" list. I'm not so sure about David Hawthorne either...Junior Gallette and Martez Wilson will determine whether our defense is better by their success or lack of pass rush.

Re: Cutting Will Smith
 

Why not just be realistically confident?

Re: Cutting Will Smith
 

Realistically my mindframe is Super Bowl or bust. As long as we've got a QB like Drew Brees and not Aaron Brooks I've got the utmost expectations. My feelings fluctuate from day to day. I'd be more confident if I actually had a part in what's going on. Its out of my control though. Don't you hate that? Smh..

Re: Cutting Will Smith
 

Personally I would rather have Smith in that position waiting on Jackson than Vilma. Jackson will run over Vilma like a freight train trucking on down the tracks.

Re: Cutting Will Smith
 

Yup. Linebacker is entirely different than DE and I've been skeptical from the beginning that ANY of our guys would transition smoothly. After watching that game I think we're going to have a mess on our hands.

Re: Cutting Will Smith
 

Stiff and slow to sum it up, he'll get abused at that position. That much is certain.

Re: Cutting Will Smith
 

Because Jackson is bigger than Vilma? You never saw a guy named Sam Mills hit people? He was small but just rocked people.

Re: Cutting Will Smith
 

Next to rehiring Smith, Jackson's going to be Atlanta's worst move of the offseason. If it's five feet from the center snap to the sidelines -Smith. Any more distance than that, Vilma, Junior or anyone else.

Re: Cutting Will Smith
 

True, Jackson is 6-2 240, Vilma is 6-1 230. Not a huge difference.

Re: Cutting Will Smith
 

8-8 if they don't cut Smith, 10-6 to 12-4 if Sean and Co. do the right thing

Re: Cutting Will Smith
 

Smith is not getting cut, he will be very limited to what he is exposed to however....

For the sake of having no other option, lets wait until the end of the Texans game, when we are making adjustments etc to drop the guillotine.


As far as your 8-8... We won a Super Bowl with Shanle on the field and went 13-3 in regular season, I am not prepared to say 1 defensive player is going to effect our entire season. .

Re: Cutting Will Smith
 

I see him returning to DE. Like he said, he's back to his rookie weight. That should help him out some if he comes in on rotation. That and special teams.

Re: Cutting Will Smith
 

Is he replacing Jordan or Hicks?

Re: Cutting Will Smith
 

Junior and the rest of the guys Smith is holding back have something to say about that one

Re: Cutting Will Smith
 

You want to replace Jordan or Hicks with Smith, you got to be kidding me. This just goes to show us that he has no place on this defense now and is better off being on a team that suits his mediocre RDE in a 4-3 position

Re: Cutting Will Smith
 

Not as a starter but relief. If we are up late in the game or getting worn out.

Re: Cutting Will Smith
 

Read what I said in context.

Re: Cutting Will Smith
 

This season poses a number of issues for Smith, he is having to learn a new position, he is too expensive to cut or trade; however, by far the biggest problem for Smith personally is that next year he will be a FA and if he does not at least give a mediocre performance at what ever position he takes the field at he hurts him self badly next year in his free agency.. Unless he is prepared to retire, in which case we could get hosed by a player with no drive.

Re: Cutting Will Smith
 

There is no way to compare Mills to Vilma it would be almost funny. Mills was better hands down. Vilma might make 4 games as an ILB, he already has to take days off.

Re: Cutting Will Smith
 

Good point... In the commute to the regular season, we do have a couple of people that have to stop and take mini vacations before they actually get to work.

Re: Cutting Will Smith
 

There are a number of factors to consider why they won't cut him:

The obvious cap hit previously discussed.
The lack of DE depth.
If he gets injured, insurance will pick up the tab on his salary; if he gets cut, it's all on the team.

I kinda like the last one.

Re: Cutting Will Smith
 

Last part helps Benson... Cap hit doesn't change.

Re: Cutting Will Smith
 

Think we are flat out stuck. It could be worse, at least we got a backup DE back to his original playing weight.

Re: Cutting Will Smith
 

Will Smith was never worth the amount of money the Saint's signed him to a few years back regardless of what position he was playing and its coming back to haunt them & us. The only thing I can think of right now is to let him man the water cooler.

Re: Cutting Will Smith
 

This may be true but as far as I'm concerned, the OLB experiment with Smith is over. I trust the Big Lebowski (Rob Ryan) will see this and make the necessary adjustments.

Re: Cutting Will Smith
 

They need to just put him back at DE. He's big and strong enough to hold an edge and with Coleman being gone they need somebody there.

It was pretty bad to see how much quicker Richardson was at OLB out there.

Re: Cutting Will Smith
 

I don't think Smith beats out Jordan, Hicks, Johnson, Foster, Richardson or even Atkins at DE. Smith just isn't a 3-4 DE.