Smith proves he’ll go a long way to help Birds
PHILADELPHIA » Like the double coverage he’s sure to draw on frequent occasions this season, Torrey Smith was getting it from both sides now.
In the locker stall to his right, fellow Eagles receiver Bryce Treggs opened with a feigned question about Smith’s first preseason catch as an Eagle. With a laugh of a follow-up from Smith’s left, Nelson Agholor chimed in as best he could, too.
Smith just kept his head down, his smile affixed, as he dressed. He’s ready to take a real bow.
“No,” he half shouted when asked if he was ready for some more preseason action after the Eagles’ 3831 semi-victory over the Miami Dolphins Thursday night. “I’m ready to play the real thing.”
The Eagles saw Smith as the very thing they needed to help stretch defenses and give Carson Wentz a vital deep-threat weapon. In six seasons with Baltimore and San Francisco, Smith had compiled 266 receptions, 37 of them going for touchdowns.
So they signed him to a three-year, $15 million deal in the offseason, then watched him work at his own pace. In this first real foray at Lincoln Financial Field, Smith zipped past a puzzled Dolphins secondary and perfectly gathered in a 50-yard Wentz pass for a touchdown.
That done ... essentially so was he. You’ll next see Wentz, Smith and the rest of the starting skill people in Eagles uniforms Sept. 10 in the season opener in Washington.
For now, this taste of things come was satisfying.
“It was pretty cool, being that it’s my first time here,” Smith said. “I’m just glad that we were able to connect on something that we’ve had success in practice with. For it to happen in a game setting, it’s always fun.”
Although Doug Pederson had sort of promised earlier in the week to let the Birds’ starters have some offensive fun for perhaps well into the second half, they were all given a free sideline pass just after one active to quarter.
Maybe the fans that had journeyed here felt somewhat cheated by that, but it fit perfectly with Smith’s preseason agenda.
“Practice is more important than any preseason game,” he said. “You take something out of the defenses ... but it’s just practice. I’ve been playing for years. Carson is obviously a young guy but he’s had his reps. We haven’t played maybe, what, 50 plays altogether (in preseason games)? But the other day at practice we had, like, 50 plays together. So it’s important to know that we’re executing that.
“I was anticipating playing all the way out to the second half, so when he pulled us I was happy. But again, it was good that we left on a positive note, being able to move the ball down the field.”
OK, so it was merely a practice game against a Dolphins team that had practiced with the Eagles in South Philly all week. In that first quarter Thursday night, these Dolphins proved that Miami fans can expect to see the opposition try to go deep on their unseemly secondary. Wentz attempted 10 passes, hitting on six for 129 yards and two touchdowns.
The Birds’ other free-agent receiver, Alshon Jeffery, caught the other scoring pass.
But the one to Smith was pretty, no matter how little regard the veteran receiver holds preseason achievements.
“A great call,” Smith said. “The offensive line did a great job as well. I knew I just had to beat my guy outside. I was able to do that and Carson made a great throw.
“I mean, it’s always nice (to get one in a game). But if I would have went without a catch, I wouldn’t have lost any sleep over it. I was just glad that offensively we were able to score some points.”
Finally, however, in reliving the play, Smith added, “It was exciting. The crowd reaction was pretty awesome.”