naptownbuck
Da Truth :)
He is one of my favorite Buckeyes of this decade. Perhaps another Pro Bowl is in store for Big Will. Thanks for posting the articles.
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Buckskin86
Moderator
New Orleans Saints vs. New England Patriots: Inside the game
By Nakia Hogan, The Times-Picayune
November 30, 2009
Scott Threlkeld/The Times-Picayune
New Orleans Saints defensive end Will Smith has re-emerged this season as one of the league's top playmakers along the defensive line.
Keep an eye on ...
Will Smith
The Saints' veteran defensive end has re-emerged this season as one of the league's top playmakers along the defensive line.
After an injury-plagued 2008, Smith has been dominant at times this season.
His 8.5 sacks are the second most of his career and the total is tied for fifth most in the NFL. Six of his sacks have come in the Saints' past four games. He also has 28 tackles, three forced fumbles and an interception.
The 6-foot-3, 283-pound Smith is explosive off the line and routinely beats opposing tackles with jarring power moves.
Smith typically will be lined up against Patriots rookie left tackle Sebastian Vollmer, who has stepped in and played well in the absence of starter Matt Light.
New Orleans Saints vs. New England Patriots: Inside the game | New Orleans Saints Central - - NOLA.com
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Buckskin86
Moderator
Saints' Smith back in form
By SHELDON MICKLES
Advocate sportswriter
Published: Dec 3, 2009
Patrick Dennis/The Advocate
Saints defensive linemen Will Smith (91) and Bobby McCray converge to sack Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.
METAIRIE ? After the most frustrating season of his five-year NFL career in 2008, New Orleans Saints defensive end Will Smith is back.
Fortunately for the Saints, he isn?t just back. Smith is back and playing as well as he did, perhaps even better, than when he was selected to the Pro Bowl in 2006.
One year ago, he was plagued by a sports hernia that wasn?t repaired until after the Saints completed an 8-8 season. But as frustrating as that was for Smith, who was given a seven-year, $63 million contract after the 2007 season, it wasn?t his only problem.
Smith also had to deal with a positive drug test for a banned diuretic that he claims was not listed among the ingredients in a weight-loss pill he and several NFL players ? including teammate Charles Grant and former teammate Deuce McAllister ? ingested that summer.
So when he finished 2008 with three sacks, the lowest total of his career by four sacks, there were a lot of questions from media and fans ? questions that weren?t answered until it was revealed that Smith played almost the entire season with the sports hernia.
?I actually didn?t hear anything. You guys may be surprised but I don?t read the paper or watch the news,? Smith said of the criticism. ?Now and then, I?ll watch ESPN because it?s on here in the locker room. But for the most part, I don?t pay attention to that stuff.?
When the season was over, Smith underwent the same surgery that tight end Jeremy Shockey had following the second game of the season. Shockey missed just three games, but struggled when he came back.
Smith tried to play through it, knowing his production wasn?t up to his standards. From 2004 to 2007, the 6-foot-3, 282-pounder averaged more than eight sacks a season and was a force against the run.
Smith said as long as coach Sean Payton and management ? including team owner Tom Benson, who signed off on his new contract ? knew what he was playing through, that was fine with him.
?That was the biggest thing,? Smith said. ?That?s the only thing that really mattered.?
He said surgery was always an option, but he said the team wanted him to play through it and see how he did.
?They knew that even though I wasn?t as productive as I was before, I still was doing a lot of things and still helping the team out,? Smith said. ?I may not have been making a lot of big plays, per se, but I still was productive. I wasn?t really good, but I figure I was just average.?
2theadvocate.com | Sports | Saints' Smith back in form — Baton Rouge, LA his stamina has been outstanding. He?s having one of those years.?
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Buckskin86
Moderator
New Orleans Saints defensive end Will Smith disappointed in Pro Bowl snub; team alternates announced
By Nakia Hogan, The Times-Picayune
December 30, 2009
In the mind of New Orleans Saints defensive end Will Smith, the season he is having is the finest of his career. It's worthy of the Pro Bowl.
Scott Threlkeld/The Times-Picayune
New Orleans Saints defensive end Will Smith said Wednesday he's playing better now than he did in 2006, when he was a Pro Bowl selection.There are statistics to back up his assertion.
But despite a career-high 13 sacks, which ranks fourth in the NFL, and totaling 48 tackles, three forced fumbles and an interception, Smith was not selected to the NFC team for the Pro Bowl on Tuesday.
Smith, who made the Pro Bowl in 2006 when he had 10 1/2 sacks, was selected an alternate behind Jared Allen of the Minnesota Vikings, Julius Peppers of the Carolina Panthers and Trent Cole of the Philadelphia Eagles.
"I thought by far I played better this year than the year that I either made it or was a first-team alternate, " Smith said. "I thought I played better this year than I did in the past. I guess I've got to play better."
New Orleans Saints defensive end Will Smith disappointed in Pro Bowl snub; team alternates announced | New Orleans Saints Central - - NOLA.com
No Will? No way New Orleans Saints defensive end should've been overlooked
By John DeShazier, The Times-Picayune
December 30, 2009
Michael DeMocker/The Times-Picayune
New Orleans Saints defensive end Will Smith was snubbed for the Pro Bowl.My guess is that New Orleans Saints defensive end Will Smith didn't whine on Tuesday and isn't going to whine today over his Pro Bowl snub. (But you can tell us what you think, vote in the T-P poll)
But that doesn't dismiss that fact that someone in the Saints' hierarchy should be filing a police report over Smith being robbed by Pro Bowl voters. In the beauty contest that is Pro Bowl voting, no NFC defensive end has played any better this season than has Smith, who has a career-high 13 sacks entering the regular-season finale against Carolina. Throughout the season none have been any more disruptive or consistent or valuable.
But we know that the Pro Bowl isn't always about knowledge of the intracacies of the game, even though coaches and players have an equal voting share as fans, and the former two are supposed to be more educated and rational than the latter. We know it's not always about players who are respected by their teammates and opponents.
It is, though, about name recognition and popularity and perception.
So Smith is bypassed for an honor he deserves in favor of Minnesota's Jared Allen, Philadelphia's Trent Cole and Carolina's Julius Peppers. Even though only Allen has an advantage in sacks (by a half-sack), and only Cole has an advantage in overall tackles (54-48), and Smith's four passes defensed, one interception and three forced fumbles put him right in line with the other three
http://www.nola.com/saints/index.ssf/2009/12/no_will_no_way_new_orleans_sai.html
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Buckskin86
Moderator
New Orleans Saints' Will Smith key to pass rush against Kurt Warner
By James Varney, The Times-Picayune
January 16, 2010
Scott Threlkeld/The Times-Picayune
New Orleans Saints defensive end Will Smith relies as much on his speed and quickness as he does his power, which the Arizona Cardinals will face firsthand today at the Superdome.
One football principle holds that the team that harasses the opposing quarterback the most has the best chance of winning.
That certainly will be true when the New Orleans Saints play the Arizona Cardinals in an NFC divisional playoff game Saturday at the Superdome. Arizona quarterback Kurt Warner can, when given time, slice up any defense. When hounded, as he was by the San Francisco 49ers in a 24-9 loss on Dec. 14, Warner looks like an average quarterback.
Whether the Saints employ a defensive game plan that calls for extensive blitzes or not, defensive end Will Smith will be a critical piece of the pass rush. Many thought Smith should have been selected to the Pro Bowl after getting 13 sacks and an interception this season. By a wide margin, he was the New Orleans defender who produced the most consistent pressure in opponents' backfields.
Gregg Williams' ball-hawking approach turned around defense (Nakia Hogan)
Against the Cardinals, Smith will match up frequently against left tackle Jeremy Bridges, a journeyman who is making his fourth appearance on Arizona's roster since being selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the sixth round of the 2003 NFL draft.
Although he was a starter for the Carolina Panthers in 2006 and 2007, Bridges was suspended for the first two games of the 2008 season after a woman who worked at a strip club accused him of pointing a gun at her in the club's parking lot. Since then, Bridges has served primarily as a backup -- and he has started four games for Arizona this season after taking over for injured Mike Gandy. It was the first time in his seven-year professional career Bridges had played left tackle.
Bridges, 6 feet 4, 326 pounds, enjoys the kind of size advantage most offensive linemen have over Smith (6-3, 282), who often relies as much on his speed and quickness as he does his power.
The two have tangled in the past when Bridges was with the Panthers, but Smith said it's possible Bridges' inexperience at left tackle will require the Cardinals to offer support.
"I suppose they're going to help him a lot, with the chips (blocks), " Smith said. "They've been doing that since he's been playing, but he's a talented guy. I've played against him before, and I know what he brings to the table."
Smith added he is more focused on his goals for the game than he is the specific pluses and minuses of a particular blocker.
"I've got to go out and play my game and try to affect the quarterback as much as possible, " he said. "I'm not really worried about whether he's only been playing there since the end of the season. I'm worried about going out there and doing what I need to do to be successful."
New Orleans Saints' Will Smith key to pass rush against Kurt Warner | New Orleans Saints Central - - NOLA.com
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Bill Lucas
Assistant Coach
Cardinals are unable to block Will Smith so far in this game. He's forcing Warner up in the pocket on every play.
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buckeyes_rock
Great day to be a Buckeye
Bill Lucas;1644223; said:
And speaking of Smith...big INT right before the half
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BearBuck27
Game Day!!!
Will Smith with an interception of Kurt Warner and Warner is down after getting hit on the return.
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