After watching some of the videos in the other Brad Smith sections, I am pretty speechless. But it brings up an obvious question. Why isn't this guy returning kickoffs for us? I've been to a bunch of practices and have never seen him back there, has anybody else? His open field ability is remarkable, it makes NO sense for him not to be there, plus it makes him more valuable to the team. Randle El does it, yet there has been no mention of trying him there. I've seen Justin Miller and Leon Washington return kicks, they are not close to this guy in open field ability. What do you all think?
he doesn't have the same level of elite speed as Justin Miller has. That kid has to be one of the fastest players in the league. Speed kills, and that holds true especially in special teams.
I'm not an expert, but I wonder if Brad's elusiveness would be somewhat minimized on kickoffs where having the speed to hit a designed hole is more crucial than change of direction ability in the open field. I think the Jets should give it a shot though. Watching the game on Friday vs. TB, it looks like he was being utilized on a lot of wide receiver screens where they would try to take advantage of his ability to make opponents miss.
Doesn't Smith look a little thin to be doing that. i know there are plenty of skinny guys returning kicks, but I'd fear he'd get broken in half doing that.
I think it is a good idea to let Brad concentrate completely on learning the WR position. It also helps Miller's confidence to know that the Returner job is his to lose.
