The Vikings released Dwight Smith yesterday, and the first thing Bucs fans are going to do is lobby to bring him in as a nickel corner since Brian Kelly is done in Tampa. Smith was good as a corner when he was with the Bucs, but it's not the way to go now.
If it was September and the team suddenly found itself short on cornerbacks, that would be one thing. But since it's so early in the year, the smarter way to go at corner is to draft someone high this season and work them into the rotation at nickel in preparation to take over a starting spot in 2009. Smith has been playing safety for the last several seasons and has been pretty productive there. I wouldn't mind seeing the Bucs bring him in to take the fifth safety spot in place of Donte Nicholson. With Kalvin Pearson set to leave, Smith could fill the role of kick coverage ax man (Smith can be a devastating hitter), provide real depth at safety, and act as an emergency backup corner. But with Smith being only 29, he probably wants a higher profile position on a team than role player.
Keep in mind that Minnesota had one of the worst passing defenses in the league last year. They need help in the secondary pretty desperately, yet they released Smith without hesitation. There's got to be a reason. It could be his off-the-field stuff, but his violations in that regard have been relatively minor compared to what Minnesota went through a couple years ago. Come on... pot possession outside a strip club and getting caught banging some whore in a stairwell? Who among us hasn't been guilty of both those "crimes" on multiple occasions? Compared to the Love Boat drug and dildo orgy, Smith looks positively chaste. On a completely different note, I'm excited by the traffic I'm going to draw to this site with the words "drug and dildo orgy".
If he's willing to work cheap and take a back seat to Tanard Jackson, I wouldn't mind bringing him in. But this isn't the signing fans should be clamoring for.
Comments (3)
I agree that the team shouldn't throw a lot of money at him, nor should they just give him a starting spot. But (if he comes at a good price) don't you think he would be good insurance in case Barber or Buchanon went down?
Posted by Jon | February 21, 2008 11:58 AM
You think Smith would be a better nickelback than Sammy Davis? I have my doubts. Like I said, I would take him for the right price to add depth to the safeties, and then if two or three cornerbacks were struck by lightning or something, Smith could go in. But I think a team with a bigger need will offer him more money than the Bucs should pay him.
Posted by Scott
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February 21, 2008 1:08 PM
I do think Smith would be better at the nickel spot (though I do like Davis). I remember how good the Barber/Kelly/Smith group was. If I remember correctly, he had 2 picks in the Super Bowl.
But I agree that he will likely get a starting spot (for more money) as a safety or starting corner somewhere else.
Posted by Jon | February 21, 2008 4:40 PM