To make Giant strides
I put on tape on game day, and the way I interact with my teammates and coaches, more so than any negativity or something that could be bad.”
Why focus on the negative, anyway, when Smith is so encouraged about how healthy he finally feels?
Smith, 26, tore the ACL in his right knee last October as a Jet and endured a long rehab just to earn the opportunity for a second chance with the Giants. That’s why, in a nearly unprecedented but understandable comment, this young quarterback on Friday actually said the first hit he took in the Pittsburgh game “was awesome.”
Smith didn’t mean that he liked taking a sack. But after reflexively dancing out of the way of a hit by Pittsburgh linebacker L.J. Fort on the previous play, perhaps subconsciously protecting his knee, Smith felt refreshed to take a sack from corner Mike Hilton and get back up no worse for wear.
“That was good. I needed that. That first hit was awesome,” Smith said with a smile. “Not because I got hit, but because I was able to get up and shake it off. Those are things you can’t really predict until it happens. My trainer in California called. He was very excited. He said, ‘You looked like you moved around well, you held up to some hits.’ I try not to get hit, but if it happens you should be stable.”
Health, of course, won’t be enough for Geno to make this team. He’ll have to play better, including in what promises to be an emotional and nerve-wracking third preseason test against his former Jets teammates on Aug. 26 at MetLife Stadium. ut first thing’s first: Smith needs to play a clean game Monday night against the Browns. And if he does that, his strong arm and decisive play could force McAdoo to lean toward Geno as Blue’s full-time backup for 2017.
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