I've just got back from a christening (what a bore!) so i missed out on NFL news these past few days. I knew we would probably sign a player who would add depth rather than as a starter, i also knew we were targeting players who had experience in the 3-4, just look at all the guys we looked at. Canty, Olshanky, Wright, Adams, Holliday, Burnett, Douglas and now Smith. It didn't take a genius to work out who we were looking at.
I knew that we needed better safety depth and the fact that 2 of our starters will be free agents next year. There was very few available that was young and played in the 3-4. Smith was one of the guys on my list. The second he was invited i knew we were gonna sign him cos he is only 25 and played in the pittsburgh system which i think Capers is trying to install.
I felt better having Adams because of his versatility and ability to play special teams, in my book he is a better depth signing. But the fact is he is already 28 and probably is not expected to improve much further so it was no surprise that he left without a contract offer.
Smith is interesting because i felt we missed the aggression that Bigby brought into our team this season, we didn't have anyone else on defence that other teams would be genuinely apprehensive of. Smith will bring his hard hitting nature and aggression into the team. McCarthy wants to see more aggression from our defence and more pass rush. This tells me that he likes to play aggressively as a coach, whilst his playcalling was conservative at times this season that was mostly down to the fact that Rodgers was a "rookie" so he needed to ease him into the NFL. I think McCarthy will return back to his aggressive ways next season.
He could turn out to be a great player or be a bust which is no biggie cos he is only a depth player anyway. The fact that he is only 25, knows the 3-4, very aggressive and just so happens to be available at a very cheap price is a good deal methinks. It won't financially hurt us if it didn't work out.
I think we will sign one more free agent. Either a CB or a DE and there's is still quite a few good quality players left in those positions. For example, McFadden, Bodden, Holliday, Carter, Wright. All has 3-4 experience.