Philadelphia Eagles fans across the country are in joyful mourning with the news that L.J. Smith has signed a one year, 1.5 million dollar deal with the Baltimore Ravens, apparently set to be the second fiddle to All-Pro tight end Todd Heap. Now, folks in Philly will not be able to witness Smith realize his potential, the same potential they've been waiting on for years. And to think, that he was picked out of Rutgers, ahead of Jason Witten. There was some speculation on what that could mean for Heap, but why would the Ravens want to downgrade and potentially upset the development of Mr. Flacco. There is good news for Philly fans however, and that is L.J. will not be back in midnight green next year.
L.J. Smith was selected in the second round (61st overall) in the 2003 draft and was supposed to take over for a very serviceable Chad Lewis, providing Donovan McNabb with a receiver with both size and height. That never truly materialized however as L.J. was unable to become that go to guy in Andy Reid's offense. Smith wraps up his six year Eagles career with 231 receptions and 2,525 yards with 18 touchdowns. His best year with the Birds came in 2006 when he had 50 catches for 611 yards and 5 TDs. He was a Pro-Bowler in, wait....he never made it to the Pro-Bowl, big surprise.
Smith played in nine playoff games for the Eagles with his only touchdown coming against the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXIX (39) where he caught four balls for twenty nine yards.
There is not really that much to say about L.J. He came in with decent, but not lofty expectation, but ended up a typical underachiever, especially in a system that places good value on the tight end position. By the end of the 2008 season, he had lost his starting job to 2nd year man Brent Celek, and played in only 12 games. Perhaps Ravens' coach John Harbaugh, who is familiar with Smith's skill set, has special plans for him. At this point in his career though, I can't see him becoming anymore that what he is. In any case, he started to become whiney in the press when his contract with the Birds was up at the end of 2007 and for some reason didn't like have the franchise tag slapped on him. Now, that paycheck must luck nice. Good-bye Mr. Smith you won't be sorely missed.
Damaris Lewis
Cheney Larschied
Tweets of the Week
NFL Cheerleaders: Week 11
Comments (6) Add A Comment
Celeck is a solid TE who can block btr than LJ, stay healthy an can recieve the ball quite nicely, it sucks LJ never could stay healthy but im not to worried.
Brock Sampson
El Dorado Hills, CA
Total Comments (467)
Good riddence. Wish they had not have franchised him last year. What a waist of talent. Smith was lazy trying to live off of the size and speed and never learning the offense or how to catch.
eaglelover1
Missouri City , TX
Total Comments (33)
TRUE DAT!
The Sports Simpleton
Willingboro , NJ
Total Comments (414)
Really??!! There are very few TE's in the NFL that catch more than a few passes a game and consistently make a huge impact in the passing game. Given that our offense spreads the ball around (when #5 isn't throwing to #36), how much more do you really expect from him? Yes, it's been unfortunate that LJ's had injury problems, but eventually that happens to everybody. When he's been healthy, he's been a very reliable go-to guy through so many years when we were without a premier WR. Having LJ and Heap at TE is only going to make Flacco and the Ravens O better.
Nooma
Red Bank , NJ
Total Comments (3)
Nooma,
LJ was a prime example of a guy not living up to his potential, whether it was due to his injuries or otherwise. He was replacing a guy in Chad Lewis who didn't do any one great, but made the catches when he needed to an was there in the clutch. That is not the case with Smith and "eventually that happens to everybody" is only relevant is the guy gets old.
The Sports Simpleton
Willingboro , NJ
Total Comments (414)
Comment
Remember to keep your posts clean. Profanity will get filtered, and offensive comments will be removed.