Packers have strong in interest in Steeler free agent safety
By Tom Silverstein of the Journal Sentinel
Mar. 5, 2009 2:49 p.m.
It doesn't seem like much of a need position, but the Packers are seriously considering adding a safety with 3-4 experience.
On Tuesday they had Cleveland free agent Mike Adams in for a visit and on Wednesday they hosted Pittsburgh's Anthony Smith. Technically, Smith is not an unrestricted free agent. He was scheduled to become a restricted free agent, but the Steelers did not offer him a tender offer.
According to two NFL sources, Smith has drawn a lot of interest from the Packers, who probably think his experience playing behind Troy Polamalu and Ryan Clark would make him a valuable asset to have in the secondary. It's unclear exactly why the Steelers didn't offer Smith a tender offer, but some have speculated that he might have gotten in defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau's doghouse early in his career.
The 6-1, 200-pound Smith played sparingly in 14 games last year, finishing with just nine tackles. The previous year, he started 10 of 16 games after filling in for Clark, who had a spleen injury. He had 69 tackles and two interceptions.
But Smith didn't quite fit the type of free safety LeBeau wanted and so Clark became the starter last year. Smith can play both strong and free safety, but he plays aggressively, which is not how the Steelers want their free safety to play. They prefer he play deep.
There are other teams involved with Smith, but the Packers seem to have their foot in the door with him.
One of the reasons the Packers seem to be going after safeties is that they're probably unsure whether they'll be able to retain both Atari Bigby and Nick Collins, both of whom are unrestricted free agents next year (providing there's a salary cap). What's more, it's probably a priority that they have someone calling out coverages who knows the Steeler defense inside and out.
Smith was a third-round pick of the Steelers in 2006.
Some may remember Smith for guaranteeing a victory over New England during their perfect 2007 regular season and then getting beat for two touchdowns in a 34-13 loss. His comments drew a lot of attention leading up to the game and teammates passed it off as immaturity from a second-year player. The Patriots didn't take it lightly and quarterback Tom Brady even had words with Smith after throwing for a touchdown against him.
Athletically, Smith has the all the tools, AFC North source says
By Tom Silverstein of the Journal Sentinel
Mar. 5, 2009 4:32 p.m.
An AFC North official gave a glowing report about safety Anthony Smith's athletic ability, but said the mental part of his game is where he needs the most improvement.
The source said that if Smith came to the Packers he'd be one of the most gifted players on their defense. According to scouting combine records, Smith had a vertical jump of 41 inches. His 40-yard dash time was 4.71 seconds, which ranked behind the top safeties in the draft that year.
"He's got a lot of talent, no doubt about that," the source said. "He's just got to get the mental side together. That's the thing that will make him a real good safety. He hasn't shown he can do that yet. But if he goes there they have (safeties coach) Darren Perry. He knows Darren. He would help him a lot."
The official said that he thought Smith was probably a better strong safety than free safety and getting a chance to play somewhere other than Pittsburgh might help him. He said the Steelers seemed to sour on him a little last year because he wasn't playing well on special teams.
Not receiving a restricted free agent tender offer might be enough to make Smith realize nothing is given.
"Dom does a good job with safeties," the official said of defensive coordinator Dom Capers. "He'd probably be a good fit there. Sometimes getting a new start is the best thing for a guy like him. A lot of times guys will get it. The light will go on."
