DE Antonio Smith Signed, 5 yrs $12.5 Million Guaranteed

dadmg · #1 03-02-2009, 01:26 PM

In a fit of wild procrastination, I actually read a Peter King column this morning. And while I don't give a damn about Peter King's non-existent player evaluation skills, I did find a quote in his blurb about Antonio Smith to be quite interesting:

Quote:

I think the best deal of the weekend was Antonio Smith, the versatile defensive lineman for the Cardinals -- and the best defensive lineman they had, one of their former coaches told me at the Super Bowl (emphasis added by dadmg) -- going to the Texans for $7 million per. "I think it's going to be an electrifying year for our defensive line. We [Mario Williams and Smith] are going to be a great pair. We're going to cause a lot of havoc for offensive linemen,'' Smith said.

This is not a good signing by the Texans for the money. It's a great signing.

I hold Darnell Dockett in pretty high regard, so to hear an Arizona coach consider Antonio their best lineman does boost my opinion of him a bit. Hopefully his play will convince me to come all the way around.

RunninRaven · #2 03-02-2009, 06:20 PM

I've read several places where Arizona fans claim that Smith was double teamed a great deal this past season, much like Mario was these last two years. Playing opposite M. Williams, I think Antonio will get a nice breath of fresh air realizing he only has one man to beat on pretty much every down. Could be a lot of fun to watch.

dalemurphy · #3 03-02-2009, 07:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RunninRaven

I've read several places where Arizona fans claim that Smith was double teamed a great deal this past season, much like Mario was these last two years. Playing opposite M. Williams, I think Antonio will get a nice breath of fresh air realizing he only has one man to beat on pretty much every down. Could be a lot of fun to watch.

I'm very excited about the Smith signing. However, I'm not crazy enough to expect teams to slide their protections away from Mario because Smith is on the other side.

coloradodude · #4 03-03-2009, 01:52 AM

Smith has a great burst. I agree that this is an excellent signing.

What about the LB's? Who are we targeting?

nunusguy · #5 03-03-2009, 08:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by coloradodude

Smith has a great burst. I agree that this is an excellent signing.

But I dunno, where's the production ? Didn't Tim Bulman (who got "NO STARTS IN 2008") have as many sacks as Smith ?

cadams · #6 03-03-2009, 09:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nunusguy

But I dunno, where's the production ? Didn't Tim Bulman (who got "NO STARTS IN 2008") have as many sacks as Smith ?

not sure on that stat, but Smith slid over to dt in passing situations last year i believe, which will absolutely cut down on sacks.

jppaul · #7 03-03-2009, 10:59 AM

Hopefully, without lessening the pressure...

RunninRaven · #8 03-03-2009, 08:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dalemurphy

I'm very excited about the Smith signing. However, I'm not crazy enough to expect teams to slide their protections away from Mario because Smith is on the other side.

That was exactly my point. A. Smith will only have one man to beat on most plays because teams will be focusing on Mario.