Giants head coach Tom Coughlin was either telling the truth on Wednesday afternoon or he was trying to cover his butt, when he said said that former New York wide receiver Steve Smith faces a “long haul” as he tries to recover from microfracture knee surgery.
Smith wasn’t about to hear it.
“I would disagree with that personally just because I feel good,” the wide receiver said. “I’ve been running, I’ve been doing different things, cutting and stuff and it’s been feeling good. I haven’t been having any setbacks so hopefully that will continue but we’ll see.”
Yes we will see. The Giants head coach might find out the hard way that his former receiver was able to recover because the Eagles and New York meet two times this season.
Like me, Smith also seemed to wonder whether Coughlin was covering his butt with his comments.
“I don’t know, maybe Coughlin has a plan or something up his sleeve when he said that,” Smith said. “Who knows, but I got checked out by both team doctors and have positive reports, so we’ll see what happens when I get on the field.”
He didn’t feel like the Giants had pursued him with the same passion with which the Eagles did.
“The Eagles have been involved pretty diligently for weeks now, talking to my agent [Ben Dogra],” said Smith. “We were just waiting, waiting to see what’s going to happen with the Giants. I don’t know what happened there. I’m just fortunate that Philadelphia, such a great team, wanted me.”
Smith’s deal is believed to be worth around $4 million, with $2 million guaranteed. The wide receiver says he wasn’t able to get that
type of offer from the New York squad.
I’m interested in seeing how the Birds are going to use Smith. He’s one of the best 3rd down slot receivers in the league, but the Eagles already have a very good slot receiver in Jason Avant.
Smith is very comparable to Avant. He’s not a burner when it comes to his speed, but I do believe he’s a bit faster. Will the Eagles move outside in Jeremy Maclin’s spot, if number 18 continues to remain on the sidelines?
Although the Eagles have said that the acquiring of Smith has nothing to do with the health problems of Maclin, I do think the Birds will put Smith in Maclin’s spot. He’s bigger than DeSean Jackson and is able to work inside like Maclin has been able to do.
He runs great routes and has a great pair of hands. Smith can make the tough catch in traffic with a defender zeroed in on him.
I think this was a great move. Right now it’s like there’s “SALE” going on in the NFL and teams are able to sign some great football players for 25% to 30% of the regular cost. The Eagles are wisely taking advantage of the situation.
I think this is a great move and tarnishes steve smith from the giants (which i love) but i can never get over the thought that it wastes cap space. if hes a 4th slot receiver that starts playing mid october then could we put that cap space in a little friendlier place (desean)… What i do see is that andy reid is putting depth in the skill positions.. That way by week 15 when desean jackson begins to disappear we’ll have an anxious young stud to take the reps. When every player contributes, starters and backups, then we will finally be able to do it.
I just cant see how you put out that kind of money for damaged goods, The guy is coming off a serious knee injury, Stay Away ! Forget all this talk about it weakens the Giants, The guy isnt gonna play until mid oct and then its gonna take another few weeks to get up to speed, Their were other recievers out there Healthy ready to come right in, What does this say about the other recievers we just picked up? Higgins, Moss ? They must not like what they see.
It’s a long 16 Game Season and if Smith gets healthy in plays in the final 8-10 Games at full speed, then it’s worth it and would be another dangerous weapon for the Playoffs.. If he remains injured and just can’t get back in the field then at least the Eagles are not stuck with a big, long-term deal.. It’s a great move to add a quality WR’s whether he plays the slot or out wide, Smith can do a lot of things for an offense
I’m not in the least bit worried that this signing has much to do with Maclin. They are two different types of players. Maclin is a speed guy with good hands. Smith is a possession guy with great hands and below average speed. I think this signing just adds to our depth and if we have an injury early in the season we have a great backup who will hopefully be ready mid season.
I do think if the Eagles are concerned about Maclin then we should see what it takes to get Johnny Knox from the Bears who is unhappy that he has been demoted to the 4th receiver. He is someone who is more like Maclin and could be had for a mid round pick and has a very low salary.
I cant see how any can say this is a bad move. You now have 3 probowl caliber WR’s in which I dont think any NFL team has. He is not a risk because its a one year deal. If he gets hurt again you have Riley Cooper who is having a good camp. You also can pick his brain about the Giants playbook which im sure andy reid already has given we kick their butts every year. How is this in anyway a bad signing?
Guys why cant we keep them all? Seriously, the eagles obviously have the money and will continue to have the money they can do what they want with it.I see them keeping all these guys and starting the season in similar formations as the packers with those 4 or 5 wrs sets.I see that as a strong possibility for the next 4-5 years…
Yes Desean will get paid by the eagles and will get a long term deal, there is too much attention on the matter for them not to address it.. they will pay the man and extend his contract. Hes too valuable for this team and his very young. When you look at it The entire wr core is young. Avant is maybe 27 28 and hes the oldest out of them all, smith is 26 so this wr situation can exist for the next 4-5 years if everyone stays healthy and on top of there games…
I said this and i keep saying it, the eagles are building there entire roster like that of the greenbay packers, and i mean in every way, from top to bottom, but now i think there trying to exceed that team, the birds are loading up and loading up for the long haul not just this season…
Yes the giants are done. They have way too many internal issues and now they lost eli mannings top 2 targets, boss and smith, (In ny they call steve smith 3rd and smith, the guy is money) so i see them not even making the playoffs… But we should be elated over this, we pulled a robbery again and this time to another nfc east foe lol We stole there guy. This guy was so valuable to them….and coughlin is not in touch with reality its his way or the high way and guys get sick of that, also what type of medical staff do they have there? The eagles are talking about starting him come the start of the season, the giants said he was far off from coming back, they just look really really bad all around… the birds have taken this entire league by storm…
Paulman reported the Giants were Toast 2 weeks ago JH..
By re-signing DE/OLB M Kiwanuka, they were unable to keep Boss and Smith which will turn out to be a mistake which was also reported by Paulman 2 weeks ago..No sources needed, just my observations..
Paul, well im certainly in agreement with you… esp now that they have lost 2 of there main targets… Iam curious to see how there defense will look, they lost there rookie corner Amukamara, and theyve had consistency issues in that secondary, the dline is always a force so we ll see… my gut is telling me they wont even make the playoffs but now that all these bad things are happening to them i think they may have a chip on there shoulder and something to prove… missing the playoffs 2 yrs in a row? it has happened before…
I wouldn’t be so quick to count the Giants out. They still have a very good defense–best in the NFC East–until games are played. They have a very good running game and Hakeem Nicks is a beast. As for Boss, he is just simply not that good and will be easily replaced.
Don’t forget that the secondary gets Phillips back, who was looking like an All Pro before injury.
I hate the Giants, but they are the second best team in the NFC east, and in my opinion will challenge for the wild card.
@Paulman I agree with you there…Boss was a big loss for the Little Giants…plus the loss of players on their O line I think will hurt them more than they know…
Fran, you gotta look at the overall team. The giants online has taken so many hits, theyve lost sooo many guys…. lets not ignore that fact, secondly the osi situation, third there loss of there rookie corner amukamura…i could name more but they have alot of questions on that team…
Desean has to be taken care of sooner rather than later. How can you tell Desean going into the season that we are paying you 600,000 and by the way Steve Smith who has 1 good leg and may miss 4-6 games is getting 2 million guarenteed. How can they possibly sell that idea? If I was DJax and no negotiations have started by week 1 im a distraction. Im in the media everyday throwing ALL of management under the bus. F that! All you fans sit up here and and act llike thats just the way it is. I guarentee you if you were in that situation you would feel alot differently. They are essentially embarassing him and making him look like a fool.
Depending on how well he heals from the surgery the dude is fast. He’s a lot faster than Avant. Prior to the Giants going WR crazy in the last two drafts he was doing quite well against a lot of defenses as the Giants speed option at WR.
Actually Fran I disagree with you, I suspect Dallas will unfortunately be #2 in the East. I hate to admit it, but I think Jason Garret will actually get to team to perform to it’s level of talent. Of course the Eagles revamped D should be able to clamp down on them though like no other.
I agree with Butch about the NFC East this year
Eagles 12-4
COwboys 9-7,maybe 10-6
Giants 8-8
Redskins 5-11, maybe 6-10