danny smith

what do you talk about in you're meetings? how many pieces of gum you can fit into your face? we have a ton of ST only players every year kept on this team, why do they not know the rules? every week we get penalties, bad punts, some kind of screw up on ST's. why? do we need to think about replacing smith?

 

Probably not this year but he really needs to be reevaluated after the season. I've had my gripes with him in the past and I think it's a position that can be upgraded for sure. What is also disappointing coming out of this is Nix's comment that nobody should be " doggin" him and Switzer. I love me some Rosie but c'mon man up and admit you guys screwed up. At least Switzer took the blame even though Nix told him not to talk about it. There are certainly some thin skinned egos on this team...

 

Are you saying DS should be on the bubble....

 

that is one of the special teams meetings.

 

Naw just a gum joke.

 

DS fits in perfectly on Tomlin's staff along with Porter. They are who we think they are.

 

Holy cow what a bunch a knee-jerk BS.
I think it was more just a miscommunication between Nix, Brown and Switzer.
Have you ever seen the NFL rulebook? Good luck deciphering all that nonsense. **** happens they'll learn from it and be better because of it.

 

knee jerk? this isn't the first time our ST's have looked bad glenn. this falls on the ST's coach. i've known that rule since i was a kid. no they don't get a pass for this.

 

Except for the fact it happened last year against KC.....

 

I'm torn on this one. Obviously the players screwed it up first and foremost but if they don't know the rules I suppose that is on the coaches. At the same time it floors me that someone whose job is based solely on returns doesn't already know the rules for returns. These are supposedly professional athletes. You'd think being a professional would entail a thorough understanding of the rules. It never occurred to me that they wouldn't know the freaking rules already. I suppose Dallas also screwed the pooch since Switzer obviously didn't get knowledge of the rules there either.

 

I knew the rule sitting on my couch. You can't just gloss over it and chalk it up as a learning experience. His job is strictly STs and it's Switzers job to know the rules as well. Yeah it's a knee jerk reaction....except it happened last year as well. I'm guess we shouldn't be getting upset about it. Let's wait until it costs us a game ,preferably a playoff game. DS overall performance has been at or below the line since he's been here. You can't always sit back and accept mediocrity. His position needs to be very closely examined after the season. Let's just hope something else doesn't jump up and bite us the rest of the season.

 

I'd say it's mostly Switzers fault . Like you said it's his job but a good coach who is on his Ps and Qs is making sure his players know. It's not like it happens 3 or 4 times a game. A good coach doesn't leave it entirely up to the players. I'm relatively certain they huddled up quickly before the play and that was the time where DS should of made sure everyone was on the same page....he clearly didn't.

 

Yea there is just no excuse to not know whether to field a free kick or not after a safety. Switzer has been returning kicks for awhile now and that is pretty much his specialty. For him not to know that is simply inexcusable and they are lucky it didn’t turn that game around when it was 16-6 and the Browns ended up getting a TD out of it. I agree Smith needs to be re-evaluated for sure because too many simple easy mistakes are happening way too often on Special Teams every week.

 

That lack of fielding the punt was a horrible on-field decision by the players, confusion as to why Nix called for a fair catch then stepped up. While that was horrible, I thought our defensive performance on that mini drive was just as horrid.

 

It was bad, but the Browns also got a phantom penalty on Haden that wiped out a sack. I think if that play stands, there is a good chance they hold the Browns to another field goal.

 

It is inexcusable for the players not to know the rule, especially Switzer. That definitely falls on Smith. You have to remind the players that they have to field the ball on a free kick.

As you pointed out, this happened last year against the Chiefs. It's one thing to make an ugly, brain-dead mistake. It's far worse for the position coach to fail to ensure that it never happens again.

 

I think that was Donovan McNabb.

This is why I put it on Smith. After seeing his guys make the exact same mistake last October against the Chiefs, given how rarely it comes into play, how do you not remind the return guys of the rules?

 

Yeah nee jerk. You're wanting to replace the guy over that. Yes the players should know the rules and its Smith's job to make sure, but he's not getting fired over it.

 

Yup, it was Mcnabb, one of those ex-player analysts that 'some' here hold in such high regard.
ESPN gave him the boot but it wasn't due to his analyzing, he was a creeper (allegedly).

Terrell Edmunds didn't know a game could end in a tie either until after the first game vs. Cleveland when his team mates told him the game was over. He's a rookie so it's understandable, probably not high on the list of new/different rules he'd been learning. Mcnabb was nearly 10 seasons in.

 

I don't think mac was saying that DS needs to go today. He is just voicing his frustrations over the consistent sub par performances from our STs year in and year out. I'm pretty sure that falls on DS....
You can't act like this is his first mistake. The slate doesn't get wiped clean every week.

 

Exactly. I'm certainly not saying he should be fired today, but they should find a new special teams coach for next season. Smith's units have been consistently shaky and that makes twice in two seasons they have made the same inexcusable mistake.

 

it's not just that one play glenn. this unit has been up and down since smith has been here. just another down that shouldn't be happening. this is what he does. this is all he does and many players on this team are mainly ST's only players. ST's can make a huge difference in games. this is smiths specialty.