NEW YORK – It has been about a week since the news broke about WR Steve Smith going to the rival Philadelphia Eagles. I didn’t write an entire article on this subject because I was still in a state of shock and denial about it for most of this time. It is time for me to give this topic a full article. Now, I know the Giants have some great young WR’s on the team and I know it is time for them to step up. But we are talking about Steve Smith here and not some run of the mill player. Smith is a Super Bowl Champion and Pro Bowl player who was QB Eli Manning’s favorite safety valve. Manning must be fuming at the reality of losing so many of his familiar faces on offense (Smith, Boss, Hedgecock, O’Hara, Seubert, Andrews). I think the game on Saturday showed that he was rattled and will need to put in a lot of work with the new guys before he can settle down.
Giants fans were absolutely disgusting in their remarks to Steve Smith after hearing the news. Some were wishing him dead or for him to get a worse injury then the one the 26 year old is already mending. I couldn’t believe some of the venom being thrown at the man who just 24 hours earlier was a fan favorite. Of course, I understand their anger about him going to a division rival and you could compare it to breaking up with a loved one and saying things that you don’t really mean. I was honestly shocked too by the news that he would accept that deal and jeopardize the New York love he had received so deeply. Apparently, there were some things that did not make it to the press about his situation and following his exodus from Big Blue, there were a ton of back and forth remarks that raised some eye brows. The Giants say they offered him a $35 million dollar deal last year and Smith’s camp says that it never happened. Someone is lying but fans will have to wonder who it is. It’s just plain ugly, either way you look at it.
I think we can all agree that WR Hakeem Nicks is the No.1 WR on the team. The one thing I am certain of is that the Giants do not have a better No.2 WR then Smith on the team. A lot of fans will say that Mario Manningham is better then Smith but I disagree. I am not saying that Manningham is a bad WR at all. In fact, Mario is one my favorite players on the team and can handle his business with the best of them. What I’m saying is that Mario hasn’t done what Smith has done yet. Is the potential there? Sure it is. But we will need to see what happens on the field before making a final assessment. Some will say that Manningham would have taken the No.2 WR spot anyway and that Smith would be the No.3 guy. OK, let’s look at that then for the sake of argument. As far as there being a better No.3 WR on the team, there isn’t. There just flat out isn’t anyone who matches up with Smiths talent that deep into the roster and if you think there is, you’re kidding yourself. Smith holds the all-time single season receptions record for the New York Giants with 107 and until another WR comes close to that kind of production, I simply cannot compare them to Smith.
Steve Smith was the first interview ever for nygreporter. I cannot ever thank him enough for doing that for me (thank you to N.S. and Smith’s agent again for helping set that up). I will forever be a fan of his for that reason (except when he plays the Giants of course) and will always consider him a first class guy off the field. You can check out the interview I did with him here: Steve Smith Interview 3/6/11, nygreporter Edition 0001
Now that you have had some time to really think about the Steve Smith departure, what are you thoughts about it?
RD – nygreporter.com
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my whole thinking process through all of this was steve smith as young as he is was,was also the only veteran presence in anotherwise young receiving core,and even though i beat the idea of plax and other receivers going to the g-men to death,that was my whole reasoning for wanting another veteran presence that could really help the young guys on this team.i think the young wideouts will surprise a lot of people,but steve smith had the veteran experience when we played the big key games and was known to make the key third down conversion,especially against the eagles,hows that for irony.i dont know where we are right now with the g-men,but it looks like we might be in for a long season,even though reese guaranteed the playoffs.but hey,stranger things have happened, if you would have told me we werent going to make the playoffs with the team we had the last couple of years,i would have said your crazy.listening to brian baldinger and willie mcginnest made me feel good the other day,they feel the g-men will be right there with the nfc east season.
Hey Bobby, I think the Giants will make it back to the playoffs this year too. I do not understand how some fans can say good riddens to Steve Smith. it sounds like they are just upset over the whole thing. It didn’t help that Smith said he doesn’t like the Giants anymore in the news today but I understand why he said that. it wasn’t that he actually meant it but rather that he had to say that to make the Eagles feel better about him signing there. Every time he looks at that Super Bowl ring he will fall in love with the Giants all over again.
i was wondering with the departure of steve smith,who do you feel will take the reins at wideout this season.and with all the familiar faces exiting the big blue,do you think that quietly,the g-men are rebuilding for the coming years without demolishing there chances for the playoffs this season.by the way,i understand how steve smiths exit with big blue hit you right in the heart,i think the reason you didnt feel we needed a plaxico this season was in part that smith was going to be the guy this year that got it done in key 3rd down situations.thats okay,eli will have to spread it around,i still believe we will make it to the playoffs this year and we are loaded at the receiver position.if osi decides he is going to give it his all,i believe the giants defense will win us games also.all and all,the g-men have a lot of talent and i think we will see significant improvement in that o-line in the next preseason game against chi-town.theres no way coughlin and the rest of the big blue staff will tolerate a tumbling wall around there franchise quarterback,chin up,talk to ya on the weekend,great articals as always.
I think Hakeem Nicks and Mario Manningham will be the No.1 and No.2 WR’s with Domenik Hixon is the No.3 spot. I understand that Hixon has a lot of value as a returner but they made need him to do work at the no.3 spot now because of Smith leaving. I also think the No. WR will be a sort of rotation. Ramses barden should see some work as well as Victor Cruz. If it were up to me, I would keep Hixon is for most of the plays though. They guy has earned his chance in my book.
I’m not sure what they can do to improve the O-line but I hope they do something soon. Of course, the salary cap space available is the big question but I think they have to bring in another O-lineman before the regular season starts.
i think your right on the money with hixon,especially now that there taking away the kick return game.i really like the kid cruz to show up huge this year and barden i always thought would turn into a plaxico burress type receiver with that wingspan,its amazing to me that when you sit back and look at those names at receiver,we look like an all star line up,but i understand that as the o-line goes,so does our receiving core.im looking forward to seeing much improvement on that o-line.cant wait to see your forum on eli saying he is as good as brady,you wont have to sell that to me,throw in another superbowl or 2 in the next couple of years and we have a good argument.
Give the guy a shot I say. At the very least I think it will be a committee at that 3rd WR slot. I don’t see the rookie Jernigan doing anything tis year at least, he was really brought in to handle the returns in my opinion. But he was also a playmaker in college so that could change in a year or two. I know this sounds crazy but Duke Calhoun wasn’t too bad either last year and made a few big plays. So I’m sure we will see a little bit of everyone this year with Smith gone. They could also still sign another WR before the season starts.
i dont think your crazy,i think duke calhoun could be very good used in the right plays,maybe theres a method to this madness of jerry reese,quantity over quality.even though there are at least 3 quality receivers,if the g-men are extremely loaded in that position ,other than giving away millions on 1 or 2 superstars that could go down at any time is very smart.with the depth,we could go 4 wide consistantly,throwing defenses off balance with the short pass game. i think the g-men know something the rest of us fans are not seeing.although the first preseason game looked sloppy,i feel this team will be more than ready september 11th.
I completely agree that they need to see what kind of value they have at certain positions. The WR group bring number one on the list. guys need to show and prove themselves this year.
Steve will seriously be missed. He was that spoke in the wheel u could not do without. That guy bailed Eli out so many times in route to his Pro Bowl year, so someone else must think that as well.
The Giants messed this one up big time. Steve was a class act. Upstanding citizen, never in trouble always said the right thing and represented NY with quality. That’s why he flew under the radar, he was not media worthy, cause he wasn’t cursin’ out the quarterback.
The dude was just solid!!
No doubt about it L, I have been saying that since he left for Philly. He is a great guy too. As I mentioned, he gave me my first interview for the website. I hope you followed the link I left in the story to that interview, he truly is a class act. He will be missed by all the true blue Giants fans. Enjoy the Giants vs. Bears game tonight!