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Eagles sign former Giants free agent WR Steve Smith
Eagles sign former Giants free agent WR Steve Smith
By Doug Farrar
It hasn't been a very good offseason for the New York Giants. Not only have they had to watch the Philadelphia Eagles load up on free agents and trades at a crazy pace, but they lost tight end Kevin Boss to the Oakland Raiders, first-round cornerback Prince Amukamara
is out for an
undetermined length of time with a foot injury, and defensive end Osi Umenyiora is very unhappy about
his current contract and would like to go elsewhere.
Now, even more potentially bad news. Former Giants receiver Steve Smith, a free agent this year, has become the latest player to sign with the Eagles — the one-year deal was first reported by Comcast Sportsnet Philly's Reuben Frank on Wednesday afternoon.
The news is a blow to the Giants' offense, but it's still unknown just when Smith will play for the Eagles. He had microfracture surgery in December of 2010, and after meeting with Smith's agent, Giants head coach Tom Coughlin said that it may be midseason before the receiver is ready to go.
"I would disagree with that personally just because I feel good," Smith said after the deal was done. "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."
So what was Coughlin up to?
"Maybe Coughlin has a plan or something up his sleeve when he said that," Smith said of his former coach's assessment. "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."
The Eagles' doctors certainly seem more optimistic, and with their receiver corps, Andy Reid's team can afford to wait on Smith if he's not ready to go until the 2011 season is half-done. Michael Vick already
has DeSean Jackson, Jeremy Maclin and Jason Avant as his receivers, Brent Celek is one of
the best pass-catching tight ends in the league, and LeSean McCoy is an underrated option out of the
backfield.
Smith had an abbreviated season in 2010, but he made the Pro Bowl in 2009 when he caught 107 passes on 157 targets for 1,220 yards and seven touchdowns. He finished eighth in Football Outsiders' cumulative defensive-adjusted efficiency ratings and looked to be one of the better receivers in the league before the injury disappointments of 2010.
It's a smart play by the Eagles — they are essentially short-buying a potentially explosive talent on time payment with enormous upside and a negligible cap charge, and they're potentially sticking a fork in a division rival along the way.
As for the Giants, they have to be wondering, "What's next?"
Eagles sign former Giants free agent WR Steve Smith - Shutdown Corner - NFL*Blog - Yahoo! Sports
Last edited by short faced bear; 08-10-2011 at 11:42 PM.
Arguing on the internet is like winning the special olympics, even if you win your still messed up.
Restore the roar!
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Mike Vick hasn't beaten us yet, and I'll be the first to call them a New England-esque paper tiger.
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Junior Member
Agree wit ya 100%. How many big games does this guy have to lose? Absolute monster till about week 12 or 13 then he folds like a cheap suit come playoff time. They can keep Mr. Vick.
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Originally Posted by
seanski 
Agree wit ya 100%. How many big games does this guy have to lose? Absolute monster till about week 12 or 13 then he folds like a cheap suit come playoff time. They can keep Mr. Vick.
Coincidentally that's when it gets cold outside, he's terrible in the cold.
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Yeah but the way they're loading up on talent it may not make that much difference what Vick does. Their defense could be downright scary. This was a great low risk pick up by the way. These guys have one hell of an offseason buying off the top shelf while we went dumpster diving. We'll have to see who comes out of it better. I'm sure these guys plan a trip to the SB as much as we do.
I'm getting to that age where a lifetime warranty just doesn't mean as much to me anymore as an afternoon nap. 
Honey Badger Don't Care. Honey Badger Don't Give a Shit.
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Originally Posted by
soulman Yeah but the way they're loading up on talent it may not make that much difference what Vick does. Their defense could be downright scary. This was a great low risk pick up by the way. These guys have one hell of an offseason buying off the top shelf while we went dumpster diving. We'll have to see who comes out of it better. I'm sure these guys plan a trip to the SB as much as we do.
Redskins have tried this for some time and hasn't panned out for them, looking like it's this year or nothing for Philly with all these 1 year deals, don't know how you keep everyone happy next year, and they are still soft at the LB position. I'm from PA originally and hate the Eagles so will be happy to see them fall on their face (it's bad enough hearing about the Phillies with every other breath).
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High Fives / Like - 1 High Fives, 0 Dislikes
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Originally Posted by
Bear Goggles Redskins have tried this for some time and hasn't panned out for them, looking like it's this year or nothing for Philly with all these 1 year deals, don't know how you keep everyone happy next year, and they are still soft at the LB position. I'm from PA originally and hate the Eagles so will be happy to see them fall on their face (it's bad enough hearing about the Phillies with every other breath).
We'll have to see who does better this year. Their one year wonders or ours. That may be one reason why JA wants to sit on some cap coin. If guys like RWill and Okoye play lights out we'll need to lock them up on longer deals before they can hit FA. That may not be cheap with either of those two.
I'm getting to that age where a lifetime warranty just doesn't mean as much to me anymore as an afternoon nap. Honey Badger Don't Care. Honey Badger Don't Give a Shit.
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I was hoping Bears would nab him
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