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Eagles first-round pick Smith still in process of getting playing time

After switching from defensive end to linebacker, rookie Marcus Smith II is still learning his new position.

Eagles rookie Marcus Smith. (Yong Kim/Staff Photographer)
Eagles rookie Marcus Smith. (Yong Kim/Staff Photographer)Read more

A QUARTERBACK in high school, a standout defensive end in college and an outside linebacker for the first 130 or so days of his professional football career, Marcus Smith II is somewhat used to switching positions.

What he's not accustomed to is watching games from the sideline, which, for all but 59 forgettable snaps, has been the first-round draft pick's role through the first 10 games of this Eagles season.

Smith, who started working at inside linebacker about 9 weeks ago, is still learning his newest position, and coach Chip Kelly said this week that Smith "needs to be more consistent, from a practice standpoint, to show the coaches that we have the trust in him to put him on the field."

"It's definitely a process," Smith, the 26th overall pick in May's draft, said this week. "I know everybody's eager, like, 'You need to be out there' and stuff like that. But from my point of view, I'm at a different position, and I'm learning it as quick as I can and I'll be out there."

Smith, whom the coaches moved inside after Mychal Kendricks' Week 2 calf injury, insisted he sees personal improvement at the position. Skeptics would note that though Smith was among the 46 players to dress Sunday at Green Bay, he did not, despite the one-sided score, get on the field. The Louisville product has appeared in only five games and has yet to record his first tackle.

Among the 32 first-rounders in this year's draft, only three have played fewer snaps than Smith, according to the snap counts recorded by Pro Football Focus. Johnny Manziel, chosen with the 22nd overall pick the Eagles traded to the Browns, has garnered only five snaps as Brian Hoyer's backup. Outside linebacker Dee Ford, drafted 23rd by Andy Reid's Chiefs, and cornerback Darqueze Dennard, whom the Bengals took a pick later, have played a mere 50 and 49 snaps, respectively.

Then there's Smith, whom Pro Football Focus credits with two quarterback hurries in the Eagles' Week 5 win against the Rams and a QB hit the following Sunday against the Giants. He's played only once since, logging nine snaps in the Week 10 dismantling of the Panthers.

That about sums up the uninspiring start to Smith's NFL career.

"Well - I've said this before - he's made the positional switch, which is hard in and of itself," Eagles defensive coordinator Billy Davis said. "So, until that light goes on and we see that on the practice field, that, 'Boom, he's got the inside 'backer eyes and all those [things],' and it takes reps. He's moving along in the right direction, but that position change is hard, and he's just not there yet."

Smith is still working to train his eyes to see the game from the inside-out, rather than from the outside-in, the way he is accustomed. On running plays, he needs to discern more quickly when a guard is pulling or a tight end is cutting back across the middle. He's currently better suited in pass protection than against the run.

"The hardest part is, as an outside linebacker, it was go, go, go. You get to rush the passer, set the edge," he said. "But as an inside linebacker, you have to be real patient. You have to be able to just let everything sort out and [then] you can hit the ball, and I think that was the biggest issue for me at first. I was just kind of like see ball, get ball at first. Now I'm being more patient, know what's going on. Now, I have to be just more vocal and be able to make the calls and let the defense know that I'm there to make [the calls]."

In practice, Smith runs with the second-team defense alongside Emmanuel Acho or, when Acho rotates to the first team, with Casey Matthews. When cornerback Nolan Carroll enters in dime situations with the second-team unit, Smith makes the calls, something he hasn't done since his days as a quarterback at Hardaway High School in his hometown of Columbus, Ga.

Injured linebacker DeMeco Ryans (Achilles' tendon) has worked with Smith on the position adjustment. Ryans suggested to Smith Tuesday that before the next practice he, on his own, go through the film of each of the Titans' offensive plays from Monday's game against the Steelers and make the defensive calls as if he were on the field. Smith said it helped once he was on the practice field Wednesday.

But why can't Smith, an athletic, 6-3, 251-pounder, crack the lineup even on special teams? The question was posed this week to Kelly, who explained the three special-teamers in the spot Smith would play, Bryan Braman, Trey Burton and James Casey, are playing at a high level.

"They are three of our better special-teams players, so he's got three guys to kind of unseat," Kelly said. "He's not a wing, he's not a personal protector, he's not a gunner, [and] he's not a long snapper, so then, all of a sudden, when you look at the positions that that body type plays for us on special teams, there's only a select amount of guys that are in there, and we happen to have three, I think, of the better ones in the league right now, in Trey and James and Bryan, obviously."

Smith said he thinks he will garner more playing time "as soon as I have the [inside linebacker] position down pat." He added he thinks that day is coming - "I'm just not sure if it will be this week or next week," he said. Until that time, and until he shows something on the field, the questions and doubts regarding a first-round selection viewed by many as a reach will persist.

Birdseed

Guard Matt Tobin (concussion) is listed as probable for tomorrow's game but is not a sure thing to start. Andrew Gardner took the first-team snaps at right guard Wednesday and Thursday and appears likely to get the nod for his third NFL start . . . For the Titans, tight end Delanie Walker (concussion) is probable. Wide receiver Justin Hunter (knee), linebacker Derrick Morgan (knee) and cornerback Blidi Wreh-Wilson (back) are questionable . . . Former Eagles linebacker Byron Evans (1987-1994) will be the team's honorary alumni captain for the game.