Saints Releasing Smith- Think we're Interested?

[Nick]

I don't have any links on his comments as I was told he said those things by some of my family that lives in Houma, LA.

I do have links to a few of his off the field problems but this MB says I can't post URL's until I get to 14 or 15 posts...

Well, without links to the comments, it's hard to take them as all that reliable. As for the off field problems, I've found most of the information on that. He plead guilty to aggrivated assault charges in spring 2003 for brandishing a gun at a motorist in a road rage incident. In March 2005 he was arrested for an incident at McDonald's which also involved a gun, but the state attorney's office dismissed the charges because it seemed Smith might have been defending himself. I didn't see anything about a Tampa night club.

[Goldenfleece]

I did a little bit of searching on this. I couldn't find any quotes to the effect that he's just in it for the money except in a couple forums. Doesn't mean it isn't true; I just couldn't find the sources. Most of the time, he is rumored to have said stuff to that effect in the locker room. I did find some quotes from 2004 when he was with the Bucs. Kind of a mixed bag in this article:

"You don't want to talk to me," the Bucs strong safety said as he dressed at his locker. "I am a disgruntled employee."

"I don't give a damn," he said. "I don't care if I had any takeaways or plays. ... It's a frustrating season, period."

"I play for the name on the back of my jersey," Smith said. "I'm upholding my grandparents' name that they gave me. So playing for the playoffs, I don't get into that. I play for the pride that my family has. So you never see me not give everything I got."

To be fair, the team was struggling at the time, and even Ronde Barber had said the previous week that the team was just bad.

Here is a bit on the road rage incident. He got out of his car and started waving a loaded gun around. He was found guilty on that count. Then he allegedly did it again, but with a BB gun a year later. However, it appears the charges were dropped. Smith's attorney claims that the guys who accused him made the story up after hearing the story of his first arrest.

[Nick]

Interesting quotes. The first one is a little concerning but seems more of him just voicing his frustrations at having lost the game more than being disgruntled in the sense of a TO or a Keyshawn. The latter two quotes I actually find rather positive. The second quote is him saying he doesn't care about his personal accomplishments since the team lost, and the third is him saying that he plays hard every down for his family's pride regardless of situation. Both of those I think are fairly good traits to have.

[Goldenfleece]

I think we get an interesting picture of him. On the one hand, the guy does seem to have a lot of pride similar to some of the more infamous problem child players in the NFL. But he also seems to talk more about personal responsibility than personal achievement. Fortunately, whether his attitude in the locker room was poor or not, Haslett is undoubtedly well aware of it.