The_Philster
08-06-2003, 06:28 PM
Justin Smith makes progress thanks to his unexpected chance to play in Tokyo.
LAKE BUENA VISTA - Opportunity.
It comes in a flash and just like that, it's gone. It's the thing all players covet and for reserve outside linebacker Justin Smith, it recently came his way.
With NFL Defensive Player of the Year Derrick Brooks absent from the team the past week because of his mother's illness, the team asked Smith to start the preseason opener.
Smith, 23, held his own and gave the coaching staff a hint of the linebacking depth the team will have when Brooks returns.
"When you take the field with the No.1 defense in the world, you look in the huddle and you have Warren Sapp and Simeon Rice in front of you, you look to your left and there's Shelton Quarles and you have John Lynch and Ronde Barber behind you, that's overwhelming," linebackers coach Joe Barry said. "From that aspect, I think he has handled himself pretty well. ...
more (http://www.sptimes.com/2003/08/06/Bucs/Sudden_chance_suits_l.shtml)
LAKE BUENA VISTA - Opportunity.
It comes in a flash and just like that, it's gone. It's the thing all players covet and for reserve outside linebacker Justin Smith, it recently came his way.
With NFL Defensive Player of the Year Derrick Brooks absent from the team the past week because of his mother's illness, the team asked Smith to start the preseason opener.
Smith, 23, held his own and gave the coaching staff a hint of the linebacking depth the team will have when Brooks returns.
"When you take the field with the No.1 defense in the world, you look in the huddle and you have Warren Sapp and Simeon Rice in front of you, you look to your left and there's Shelton Quarles and you have John Lynch and Ronde Barber behind you, that's overwhelming," linebackers coach Joe Barry said. "From that aspect, I think he has handled himself pretty well. ...
more (http://www.sptimes.com/2003/08/06/Bucs/Sudden_chance_suits_l.shtml)