Eagles' Smith doesn't deserve fans' scorn

Defending L.J. Smith right now is probably a job best suited for a good Philadelphia lawyer, but not because the tight end is guilty of anything.

After three games, Smith is the leading candidate for most blasted player by Eagles fans.

Evidence is everywhere. A recent Birds' Eye View blog entry on Philly.com had nothing to do with the sixth-year tight end, but the comments below focused on Smith anyway. They went something like this: "L.J. stinks," "L.J. does something worse than stink," and, "Why are we paying L.J.?"

Flattering stuff.

Here's the thing: The Eagles' starting tight end is not nearly as bad or injury-prone as he is being portrayed.

And here's a prediction: Before this season is over, Smith will prove his value to the Eagles.

Sometimes you can look at the box score and learn a lot about the player. Sometimes you can't. Smith had zero receptions Sunday during the Eagles' 15-6 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, but that doesn't mean he had a bad game. He did not.

Smith was on the field for six offensive series and 41 plays. He missed the fourth quarter because of lower-back pain. His assignment on 25 of those 41 plays was to block a defensive lineman or linebacker. With the exception of one play in the third quarter, he performed those blocking assignments well.

In fact, the only time he whiffed on an assignment, Correll Buckhalter got loose for a 7-yard gain anyway.

The point is that 61 percent of the time, the Eagles asked their tight end to block, which greatly reduces the chance for him to make the kind of receiving impact that Jason Witten has had with the Dallas Cowboys this season.

Smith ran pass routes on 16 plays against the Steelers, but the ball was thrown in his direction only twice. There were other times when he was open, but quarterback Donovan McNabb opted to go elsewhere. Often, McNabb made a good decision because his other option was a receiver open deeper down the field.

Only one of the two passes thrown in Smith's direction was fired by McNabb. Faced with a third-and-8 situation from the Pittsburgh 13-yard line with just under three minutes left in the first half, Smith ran a route into the end zone and McNabb tried to get the ball to the tight end.

The throw was low and the coverage was good. Smith had a chance to make the catch, but it would have been a sensational one. It certainly was not a drop.

The next time the ball came in Smith's direction was on the Eagles' second play of the second half. Reserve Kevin Kolb threw to Smith's inside shoulder and cornerback Bryant McFadden hit the tight end as the ball arrived. It was close to being pass interference, but McFadden made a nice play to deflect the football away.

Safety Troy Polamalu then made an incredible one-handed catch for an interception.

If you think Smith is to blame for that chain of events, you're mistaken.

McNabb and coach Andy Reid seem to have a grasp of what is happening with Smith.

"We've been spreading the ball around outside," McNabb said before practice yesterday. "We've been very effective outside throwing the ball. When you go through your reads and your first read is open, you give them an opportunity to make plays.

"We called maybe two or three plays last week, and I threw it to Hank [Baskett] and so did Kolb. Those could have been L.J.'s catches. It's not that we're taking him out of the offense; he's a major part of this offense. We've been very successful with him catching the ball, and we expect him to be more involved in these next couple of weeks."

Reid did not seem to be down on his tight end, either.

"I'm fine there," the coach said. "We dialed him up a few times and they ended up doubling him and it allowed other people to be open. He'll get his share. That's how those things go."

If there is a concern about Smith right now, it involves his back. He missed practice yesterday and is at least questionable for Sunday's game against the Chicago Bears.

"There is no structural damage, which is a good thing, because he did have the back surgery there," Reid said. "There is nothing that needs to be surgically repaired. That's a plus. From there, it's just a matter of his lower-back area calming down enough to where he can function. It started to do that over the last couple of days here. He is in a lot better shape than he was after the game."

The myth about Smith is that he is injury-prone and unable to play hurt. Yes, it is true that he played in only 10 games last season and he was never at full-strength, but he had a sports hernia, an injury that has been debilitating for almost everyone who tries to play through it.

Before last season, Smith had missed one game in four years. That's not the resume of an injury-prone player.

Can Smith perform better than he has at times during his Eagles career? Yes. Does he stink, really stink and steal money? Absolutely not.