Aaron Smith: To play or not to play? That's the question being asked by the media as the injured defensive end practices this week and tries to see the field for the first time since tearing his triceps Oct. 24 in Miami.
I just hopped out of the car and heard Seibel and Starkey on the radio debating whether or not to give Smith any PT at the expense of another player, but I say as long as he's able to see the field for at least 10-15 plays, you go for it. It's a veteran/respect/emotion thing that should go over incredibly well in the locker room, and those are the little boosts that a team needs at this point in the season. Besides, Will Allen sounds like he's iffy with a bum knee, so that should make the "who gets to sit" question a little easier.
As for other wounded Stillers, Bryant McFadden (ab strain) will be limited in practice this week, as will the aforementioned Will Allen. OTs Jonathan Scott and Flozell the Hotel are both cleared and ready to go after leaving last week's game, so that is welcome news for the offensive line. All in all, I'd say the team is in relatively good shape for this time of year, especially if Smith can contribute in some way. But we shall see how that story develops as the week rolls on.
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4 comments:
If he can play, you have to get him snaps. He makes the team stronger, no question. The only question is, how often do you use him vs Ziggy Hood? He's going to have to shake off a lot of rust if he's coming back, and I don't think you give him the full workload even if he's 100% for that reason. But for him to be able to come in on a few crucial downs would be a big boost to a defense that's already playing at a high level.
Honestly, compared to years past when Aaron's been hurt, I really haven't seen much dropoff when Smith's not in there due to the emergence of Ziggy Hood.
We spent a 1st round draft pick on Ziggy for a reason. He's good.
@Louis
Ziggy is really coming along.
Meanwhile,
Pens beat the Red Wings 4 - 1 at Consol Energy Centre. Some notes;
*Chris Connor scored the Pens first home Penalty Shot goal since Jarko Ruutu did it on 1/20/07
*Jordan Staal chipped in another goal - let's keep Staal/Kennedy/Cooke together - it works
*Where the f#(& is Evgeni Malkin? I love Geno but he has not been a top 5 player for about a year.
*The Pens signed Mark Letestu to a two year, one way contract - He is one of Disco Dan's favorites and fits this system well.
*Sid said he is trying to make it back for the All Star game - this "announcement" was made to counter a report in a Montreal paper saying he would not play as a form of protest over the lack of discipline against those responsible for giving him a concussion.
The question of how much to play Aaron Smith has somewhere between Jack & Shyt to do with Ziggy's emergence. Don't get me wrong, Ziggy is playing incredibly well... but he's not aaron smith. If Aaron's healthy enough, he should play. If Ziggy is good, then 'great' isn't a strong enough word to describe Aaron Smith's play, when healthy.
This is a question ONLY of Smith's health. Ziggy is an excecllent plan B, but Smith is potentially the greatest 3-4 DE EVER.
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