Eagles rookie Rowe enjoys chance to match up with Ravens' Steve Smith

Eagles second-round rookie cornerback Eric Rowe said he really appreciated the opportunity to match up against Steve Smith, still lethal at 36 and also Rowe's fellow Utah alum, when the Baltimore Ravens arrived for three days of joint practices Wednesday in advance of Saturday's preseason game.

"He is quick, but he's just crafty. Within his routes, he's just doing  little stuff that obviously I haven't seen anybody do except Miles Austin," Rowe said. "Body control, and body position. Within the route, he's doing like little bitty (hints at misdirection), and he has me thinking, 'Oh, he's doing this – no, he's doing THIS.' That's how he got that fade ball; I thought he was doing a post, and he went out toward the sideline."

On the play in question, Rowe seemed badly beaten in the end zone, but just as he'd done with Phillip Dorsett in Sunday's preseason opener, Rowe closed quickly and stripped the ball from Smith's hands.

"Especially being a rookie right now, seeing how crafty vets run their routes, it's always a key for the future," Rowe said.

Smith really played to the crowd of Philly media that enveloped him.

"He's a young guy. He's a Utah guy, long, rangy. I haven't seen much. I'll let you know after a few practices," Smith said the first time he was asked about Rowe. But reporters kept arriving, and they all seemed to have the same agenda.

"What do you want me to say? I'll say whatever you want me to say," Smith said.

Eventually, Smith opined that he would rather be home celebrating his wife's birthday than answering questions about "some rookie corner." He also promised Saturday would look different from practice.

Later, asked about the joint practice -- which featured a dramatically slowed pace for the Eagles -- Smith griped that Ravens practices often are three hours long, and this one, at 2:15, was "apple juice."