GREEN BAY PACKERS
Shortly after Darren Perry was hired as safeties coach, he didn’t mince words on how the defensive backs would be in for an adjustment period as the Packers moved forward with their new 3-4 defense.
“The big thing going in our favor - me and (cornerbacks coach) Joe (Whitt Jr.) - is they’re going to have to listen because we’re going to have to teach it to them,” Perry said. “We’ll grab their attention with that alone.”
Fortunately for safety Anthony Smith, he’s been there and done that.
Smith’s playing background in a 3-4 system - and a familiarity of playing for Perry - worked to his advantage as he landed a two-year contract valued at nearly $1.5 million as the Packers’ first acquisition in free agency. The signing was finalized March 9.
The 6-foot, 200-pound Smith had been on the outs with the Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers, who rarely used him on defense in 2008 after he started 10 games as an injury replacement in ‘07. They didn’t bother extending a qualifying offer to Smith, a restricted free agent who was a third-round draft pick in 2006, and thus made him available to sign with any team.
Picking up a safety wasn’t a need for the Packers, who have Nick Collins and Atari Bigby entrenched as starters, but Smith brings value with his 3-4 knowledge and having the starting experience.
While Collins is coming off a highly productive season that ended with his first trip to the Pro Bowl, Bigby was ineffective for most of 2008 because of ankle injury that required late-season surgery. So, Bigby isn’t a sure thing to come back and be as effective as he was in 2007.
Smith also is further seen as an insurance policy after next season because Collins is entering the final year of his contract and Bigby, who has yet to sign as a restricted free agent, also could be an unrestricted free agent a year from now.
Smith brings a physical prowess to the safety position and has been a playmaker. He had four interceptions with the Steelers after picking off 14 passes as a three-year starter in college at Syracuse.
Knocks against Smith, however, are his foot speed and how he moves in space.
His signing with Green Bay reunites him with Perry, who was Smith’s position coach his rookie season with the Steelers.
The pickup of Smith came after the Packers brought in safety Mike Adams, an unrestricted free agent, for a visit. Adams re-signed with the Cleveland Browns before the Packers settled on Smith.
The only other free agent the Packers were known to have taken at least a mild interest in was former Dallas Cowboys linebacker Kevin Burnett. Green Bay was ready to bring Burnett in for a visit, but negotiations between Burnett and the San Diego Chargers picked up and he signed a two-year, $5.5 million deal with them March 10.
NOTES
# Defensive end Michael Montgomery has attracted feelers from other teams, but the unrestricted free agent apparently is most interested in staying put with the Packers.
The fifth-year backup told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that he was considering a one-year contract offer from Green Bay.
“I’d love to come back. I’m still talking to them,” Montgomery said in the published report March 11.
Montgomery had initial interest in free agency from the Atlanta Falcons, who wound up canceling his visit after they re-signed defensive end Chauncey Davis. Montgomery visited the Houston Texans on March 9, but they had yet to make an offer.
The 6-foot-5 Montgomery wasn’t believed to be enticing for the Packers to retain since his 2008 playing weight of about 275 pounds would make him undersized to be an end in the team’s new 3-4 scheme.
Montgomery, though, said he has begun to put on weight to get to at least 285.
“I believe I can play it (end in the 3-4),” Montgomery said in the report. “All you’ll be is head-up on a tackle. It’s all about attitude and determination.”
QUOTE TO NOTE: “I don’t see major change. I think you may see some players maybe adjust their training, but the scheme needs to fit the players. We’re not only going to have certain players play in Green Bay. That’s not the path that we are going with this new defense.” — Coach Mike McCarthy on whether changes will have to be made to the body type of some players in the new 3-4 defense as the Packers begin their offseason program March 16.
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