L.J. Smith critical of Reid
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L.J. Smith critical of Reid
Sheil Kapadia, Philly.com
To say that L.J. Smith ripped into Andy Reid during a radio interview today would be unfair.
But to say he was critical of the way his former coach handled things last season would be accurate.
Smith appeared on The Monty Show on Sporting News Radio today and suggested that communication isn't exactly one of Reid's strengths. I haven't been able to get my hands on a podcast of the interview, so the quotes you see are courtesy of NFL.com.
“There were a lot of things that I felt like should have been handled differently,” Smith said. “You know, there were a couple of times where Coach (Andy Reid) should have came up to me and told me what what going on and how he was looking at things and how he was handling situations and what direction he wanted to go, but it didn’t happen like that.
“As a player, you never want to hear things through the media. Everyone’s wrong, and everyone obviously had to do the right thing to get to this point in the NFL, and you just want to be treated like that. You want to be treated like a man before an athlete. I think a lot of times in the NFL, coaches forget that. They're so involved with the numbers and schemes, and they forget how to approach a player, and I just felt like a couple of times throughout the season last year, there were a couple of coaches who forgot that.”
Per the report, Smith said he was "treated like a number" and added that he has not spoken with Reid.
“I don’t want to come across bitter or anything like that because as long as I’m in the NFL, that’s a blessing in itself,” Smith said. “I’m definitely grateful for my experience there -- good or bad. However, it’s one of those things where the coach knows. He knows how he should have handled the situation, and I don’t have to tell him. But if I see him, there’s no hard feelings.”
Eagles fans will look at this in one of two ways.
On the one hand, it would appear Reid and his coaching staff have a communication problem. You can go back to last season when Reid didn't tell Donovan McNabb he was being benched. Then there was the confusion with Brian Dawkins' departure. Joe Banner said he had no idea Dawkins felt the way he did after they met to talk about a new contract. Later in the offseason, Tra Thomas criticized the Eagles for being too business-like. And now there's Smith.
On the other hand, you could argue that the situations above involve players who are bitter and didn't criticize Reid until they left town. In each instance, the Eagles did not offer the players what they wanted, and that could create the sore feelings.
Where does the MTC readership stand on the issue? Do Reid and the Eagles' management have a communication problem? Or are the former players just bitter?
They have a communication problem but they do not view it as a problem...they keep it that way on purpose so it is always a business— Lemur
Comment removed.- LOL-Wait until L.J. drops 5 easy passes or missing a block here and there...pu-hhleez, this guy was a waste of my time.— Israel is my home
- LJ should be reminded that he became a VERY rich man because of Andy and the Eagles.— Fmitch
- Here's a guy who owes Freddie Mitchell a big thanks. If it was not for Mitchell we might be talking about that fumble of Smith's in the NFC championship game against Atlanta.Two things you could count on in a game. Dropped passes and no blocking. Thanks for the memories— phillychef817
- Stinkin losing whiner— JBP
- You can criticize ex - players all you want ! You can say the NFL is just a business. You can praise Andy Reid to high heaven. But when you look at the Mike Tomlins in the league. The Eagles front office is a day late and a dollar short ...— Gringo4
- Interesting---all the judgments by people never in a position to observe, let alone judge. Crybaby athletes--"he doesn't talk to me---who says he should?— J Ziggy
- Smith...WHATEVER!!!! Your a B*^*H!! You played Football for a living (not that great either bud), made millions and you wanna cry about communication. You would have left town for a multy million dollar deal in a heart beat. This is a business! A league of "what have you done for me lately" deal. Shut your mouth, go suck it up for B'more (though i actually wish you well punk), and be a MAN!!— mw_oco
- LJ Smith is a loser. Having said that,I don't thing there can be any question that Reid is a poor communicator. With his players, the fans, the media, and his kids. The evidence is really overwhealming, isn't it? Sure football is a business. Is it different from other buisnesses that thrive when management communicates with employees and suffer when it doesn't? Management 101.— steelydad
- Comment removed.
- Who cares what LJ thinks about Andy? He's bitter!! He should be kissing Andt Reids bean bag that he let him stay on the team this long.— phillybruce
- Andy gave Little John Smith more chances than he ever deserved. The Smith family will eat well thanks to Andy just like the Mahe family and the Pinkston family among others. I wish I could underachieve at the minimum requirements at my job and keep it for as long as they did.— pngrant
- LJ Smith: I appreciate your time as an Eagle, thanks for all your efforts, good luck in the future. Tra Thomas: The Eagles fans will not let the FO forget about your talent easily, and the mistake in letting you go.— Bazalite
- nice when you can complain about getting paid to drop balls, get hurt and not block.— scam
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