37 minutes ago, brkmsn said:

LOL

Why is it a concern to see a backup get 19 1st half snaps in the 3rd preseason game? To me, it's more concerning (as it is every year to me) that we don't utilize the preseason games to further prepare the starters and key players for actual games. 10 years ago virtually every team in the NFL played their starters for around a combined 4 quarters in the 1st 3 preseason games and then let them rest for the final one. Now we only have 3 preseason games and a greatly reduced practice allotment  and an extra week of rest between the final preseason game and the regular season. 

It’s concerning because the Eagles rested pretty much everyone else that they expect to be a starter/regular role player. Your argument about not playing starters/key backups enough is valid, but as the Eagles rested all of their key players, it’s a bit concerning that they obviously felt that they hadn’t seen enough from Smith. 

13 minutes ago, ManchesterEagle said:

It’s concerning because the Eagles rested pretty much everyone else that they expect to be a starter/regular role player. Your argument about not playing starters/key backups enough is valid, but as the Eagles rested all of their key players, it’s a bit concerning that they obviously felt that they hadn’t seen enough from Smith. 

I'm not a fan of resting starters in the PS. At least put them out there for a couple series 

2 hours ago, brkmsn said:

LOL

Why is it a concern to see a backup get 19 1st half snaps in the 3rd preseason game?  

It's the context of that specific pre-season game.  Just look at the stats of that game.  Most of the players aren't even 2nd string backups.  The majority will likely get cut. 

But Nolan Smith played.  He didn't register a tackle.  He played against backups or players that will get cut by the Vikings.  And his performance was underwhelming.

I'm not declaring him a bust or saying he should be cut, but Julian Okwara, who was just cut, looked a lot more impressive than him.

I don't know what to expect from Smith but, he was basically red shirted his rookie year.  He was known to be a raw athlete that needed some work when he was drafted. So with that in mind, he just needs more time and work he is far from a bust right now

I liked Smith coming out of college and was thrilled when he slid and we were able to snag him at the end of the first, but, yeah, he's been totally underwhelming so far. It's a bit concerning he wasn't able to get off the bench last year at least as a situational rusher to spell some of the vets - especially during our epic collapse the last fourth of the season - and this preseason hasn't really done anything to change that. He'll definitely at least be in the rotation this year and we can get a good look at him. 

6 hours ago, Kz! said:

I liked Smith coming out of college and was thrilled when he slid and we were able to snag him at the end of the first, but, yeah, he's been totally underwhelming so far. It's a bit concerning he wasn't able to get off the bench last year at least as a situational rusher to spell some of the vets - especially during our epic collapse the last fourth of the season - and this preseason hasn't really done anything to change that. He'll definitely at least be in the rotation this year and we can get a good look at him. 

I think during the late season struggle the team looked to the vets to step up, not the youth.

 

As for the Nolan Smith pick, I wanted a DB. I had nothing against Smith. There were a lot of people mocking him to us and comparing him to Reddick. But I'm tired of reading how little patience many fans have when you draft somebody to be a future replacement for somebody else. I mean, Cam Jurgens did absolutely nothing in his first season. Last year, after the team drafted Steen as a Guard, the naysayers were in full panic mode saying Jurgens  was a bust ...

After we drafted Smith to be groomed under Reddick, I knew everybody would be losing hope in him while he learned. There were plenty of people that gave up on Aaron Rodgers while he sat and Jordan Love while he sat.

I didn't want to quote any posts and make it feel like I was singling anybody out, but I have a question for those of you that have growing doubts in Nolan Smith:

 

Knowing that Smith, this season, is likely to be a rotational guy that comes in to give the starter some rest, I'm just curious what kind of production would he have to have to restore confidence in his future? What is your benchmark he needs to achieve this season to sway your opinion? 

7 minutes ago, brkmsn said:

I knew everybody would be losing hope in him while he learned

Not me!! I'm actually with you on this one lol

Just now, Bwestbrook36 said:

Not me!! I'm actually with you on this one lol

You're actually one of the most optimistic people here on a regular basis. I don't think I've ever seen you rush to judge or badmouth a young player. 

1 minute ago, brkmsn said:

You're actually one of the most optimistic people here on a regular basis. I don't think I've ever seen you rush to judge or badmouth a young player. 

I don't think anyone has ever called me optimistic lol. There are players that i eventually give up on like Barnett last year ( I was wrong on that one) and Quez Watkins who was just cut by the Steelers. Those two I didn't agree with you on. I was on the Barnett bandwagon up until last year too

That being said giving up on Smith after one season and a pre season is just stupid, he was drafted knowing he was going to need time. 

3 minutes ago, Bwestbrook36 said:

I don't think anyone has ever called me optimistic lol. There are players that i eventually give up on like Barnett last year ( I was wrong on that one) and Quez Watkins who was just cut by the Steelers. Those two I didn't agree with you on. I was on the Barnett bandwagon up until last year too

That being said giving up on Smith after one season and a pre season is just stupid, he was drafted knowing he was going to need time. 

Especially when Smith actually is coming off a good preseason. People have just downplayed the splash plays he did make. If I didn't watch the games myself, and just read what people here were saying, I would think Smith had 67 pass rush attempts and lost every rep to some homeless guy. Instead he had a sack in each of the first two games and nearly had a third in the finale on the play where Burks got the sack. The only real mistake he made was the personal foul penalty and now, because of that, he's "the new Barnett." 

When it comes to young players, I guess I just expect some struggles. There is a point where you have to give up on them. I'm usually waiting until year 3 before I concede hope in a player. 

3 minutes ago, brkmsn said:

Especially when Smith actually is coming off a good preseason. People have just downplayed the splash plays he did make. If I didn't watch the games myself, and just read what people here were saying, I would think Smith had 67 pass rush attempts and lost every rep to some homeless guy. Instead he had a sack in each of the first two games and nearly had a third in the finale on the play where Burks got the sack. The only real mistake he made was the personal foul penalty and now, because of that, he's "the new Barnett." 

When it comes to young players, I guess I just expect some struggles. There is a point where you have to give up on them. I'm usually waiting until year 3 before I concede hope in a player. 

I think playing well into the last preseason game is what has everyone in a panic over Smith. For all we know Smith could have asked for more work, after all he is known to be a high character hard working kid. Maybe Vic wanted to see more so he knows where he is at with him and getting him on the field. 

Lots of different scenarios as to why he was out there. 

55 minutes ago, brkmsn said:

I didn't want to quote any posts and make it feel like I was singling anybody out, but I have a question for those of you that have growing doubts in Nolan Smith:

 

Knowing that Smith, this season, is likely to be a rotational guy that comes in to give the starter some rest, I'm just curious what kind of production would he have to have to restore confidence in his future? What is your benchmark he needs to achieve this season to sway your opinion? 

Smith needs to be able to engage OTs and do something

30 minutes ago, brkmsn said:

Especially when Smith actually is coming off a good preseason. People have just downplayed the splash plays he did make. If I didn't watch the games myself, and just read what people here were saying, I would think Smith had 67 pass rush attempts and lost every rep to some homeless guy. Instead he had a sack in each of the first two games and nearly had a third in the finale on the play where Burks got the sack. The only real mistake he made was the personal foul penalty and now, because of that, he's "the new Barnett." 

When it comes to young players, I guess I just expect some struggles. There is a point where you have to give up on them. I'm usually waiting until year 3 before I concede hope in a player. 

He had a sack when the rb chipped him past the OT. Total fluke. Another sack was a blown blocking assignment where he ran in un touched. He hasn’t shown well for a 4 th round pick let alone a first rounder

52 minutes ago, weko said:

He had a sack when the rb chipped him past the OT. Total fluke. Another sack was a blown blocking assignment where he ran in un touched. 

lol

Last year in the wildcard game:

other:

 

Some players take more time to develop and Smith may be one of them.....not to mention he's on his 2nd coordinator and scheme in 2 years.

I think Fangio works him in more and more as the season rolls on.....especially pass rush situations,

 

13 hours ago, brkmsn said:

I think during the late season struggle the team looked to the vets to step up, not the youth.

 

As for the Nolan Smith pick, I wanted a DB. I had nothing against Smith. There were a lot of people mocking him to us and comparing him to Reddick. But I'm tired of reading how little patience many fans have when you draft somebody to be a future replacement for somebody else. I mean, Cam Jurgens did absolutely nothing in his first season. Last year, after the team drafted Steen as a Guard, the naysayers were in full panic mode saying Jurgens  was a bust ...

After we drafted Smith to be groomed under Reddick, I knew everybody would be losing hope in him while he learned. There were plenty of people that gave up on Aaron Rodgers while he sat and Jordan Love while he sat.

Meh, I think we all - or anyone who was paying attention - knew that Jurgens was going to redshirt his first year. We had Kelce at his future position and established vets at both guard spots. If anyone was impatient with him, they just don't follow the team enough. Rodgers/Love situation is different because QBs redshirt all the times and it actually seems to help their development. 

I think generally with a DE, especially one that was drafted in the first round, you'd ideally like to see him in the rotation early on in year one with more reps by the end of the year assuming he's playing well enough. We'll see, again, I liked the pick and am definitely not writing him off.

13 hours ago, brkmsn said:

Knowing that Smith, this season, is likely to be a rotational guy that comes in to give the starter some rest, I'm just curious what kind of production would he have to have to restore confidence in his future? What is your benchmark he needs to achieve this season to sway your opinion? 

Definitely want to see him as a consistent part of the rotation. Sacks can be a tricky metric to predict and judge someone by, but I think around 4-7 would be a good window for him to get into in year 2 if he's getting decent playing time. I kind of just want to see him flash some of the talent that made him a first round pick and had a lot of draft experts having him as a top 20 guy. 

14 hours ago, brkmsn said:

I didn't want to quote any posts and make it feel like I was singling anybody out, but I have a question for those of you that have growing doubts in Nolan Smith:

 

Knowing that Smith, this season, is likely to be a rotational guy that comes in to give the starter some rest, I'm just curious what kind of production would he have to have to restore confidence in his future? What is your benchmark he needs to achieve this season to sway your opinion? 

I’d like to see him get 40/50% of the snaps and ideally 5/6 sacks. But more importantly hold his own in the run game and be a pass rush threat. We don’t want to overuse Sweat or Huff so I want Smith to earn meaningful snaps and be fairly productive. 

 

After what happened with Brandon Graham, I try not to make fast judgements on players, unless they absolutely show NOTHING. But if we don't see steady improvement each week, except for an occasional bad game, then they gotta go. Smith has a lot to prove right now.

On 8/25/2024 at 10:26 AM, JamesK said:

So what does everyone think of him?  He's been playing against backups and guys who will likely get cut, but he still didn't look that impressive to me.

I think both Smith and Ojomo are playing out of position, seems to me those two should be a tandem, Ojomo at DE with Smith behind him at OLB. 

Ojomo's bull rushing requires two to block him, that'll free up Smith to utilize his pass rushing speed, Fangio should try thinking out of the box.

On 8/31/2024 at 7:57 PM, EagleVA said:

I think both Smith and Ojomo are playing out of position, seems to me those two should be a tandem, Ojomo at DE with Smith behind him at OLB. 

Ojomo's bull rushing requires two to block him, that'll free up Smith to utilize his pass rushing speed, Fangio should try thinking out of the box.

I would also like to see Ojomo get some snaps at DE.  We need size there and he seems to be able to move well for a big guy

On 8/27/2024 at 4:17 PM, Bwestbrook36 said:

I don't think anyone has ever called me optimistic lol. There are players that i eventually give up on like Barnett last year ( I was wrong on that one) and Quez Watkins who was just cut by the Steelers. Those two I didn't agree with you on. I was on the Barnett bandwagon up until last year too

That being said giving up on Smith after one season and a pre season is just stupid, he was drafted knowing he was going to need time. 

So what is your projection ? 4 years ? If he does not step up this year..next year we surely will address pass rushers in the draft.

1 hour ago, Traveler Vic said:

So what is your projection ? 4 years ? If he does not step up this year..next year we surely will address pass rushers in the draft.

I'm looking for improvement this year, meaning he gets on the field more and makes some more plays. I think 3-5 five sacks is reasonable expectations. Year 3 is when he would need to make the big jump. 

I think, like others, it´s way too early to assess Smith as a player or pick. He´s clearly an excellent athlete who has flashed in occasional moments, but the kinds of player he is up against in the NFL can´t be compared to college ball in any meaningful way. He has the tools, we know that. What he needs is to prove himself coachable and willing to learn while working hard to get better. I quite like the idea of moving him around a little. If we´re going to see more 3-4 defense this year I´d like to see Fangio put him as the outside linebacker against the QB´s blindside and see what he can do from there. 

Either way he still has time to learn and develop. I´m not worried about him at this point.

1 hour ago, Bwestbrook36 said:

I'm looking for improvement this year, meaning he gets on the field more and makes some more plays. I think 3-5 five sacks is reasonable expectations. Year 3 is when he would need to make the big jump. 

This year I do not see him generating a lot of sacks.... What i am looking for is his effort in disrupting the play.  Hurries. If he can produce that, then that will be a milestone. Timing is playing against him.  So he better pick it up before Vic demands new DE replacements.