For cheap, I won’t mind having him. We do need 3 solid TEs after Rader proved he does more good for the opposing team. Hartstock and Peele aren’t phenomenal, but they are far from insignificant.

For the right price, I’d like to see him help us get through another year, but picking up a TE a little later in the draft and letting him grow on the practice squad for a year wouldn’t be too bad of an option.

My opinion of this guy is going to be very dependent on the price – if he is cheap, I’ll be hailing TD’s name (per norm), if he gets picked up way over what I would like to see, I’ll have a nice little “wtf is going on with the management I blindly trust” rant.

Awesome! He can officially be useless somewhere else!

he held so much promise and never came through

Fuck you LJ. Get the fuck out of this town and dont even come back for a cheese steak.

1. If had a dollar for every touchdown pass he’s dropped since he’s been there, I’d be able to pay my short term parking bill in full at the airport.
2. Tired of watching him carry the ball like a loaf of bread.
3. Hope Turner and Ryan are ready for that end blitz when LJ whiffs a block.
4. I’ll be able to laugh, rather in cringe when I read articles about him spending his offseason learning how to play the guitar to woo the ladies
5. Not our problem anymore – Adios stiff!

he will be an amazing TE now just to spite us

He has had the skill set to be an elite TE. Good luck, Atlanta!

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I’m sure we all have our variance of opinions. So its nice to hear it from the source of current teams fans as well.

and frankly, I really don’t see where the team has the need. Do we need a better long-term solution at the TE position? Sure, but the TE position hasn’t seemed to play a prominant role in our offense and if Smith is taking anything away from his time in Jacksonville, then it probably never will. I think Hartsock and Peele can fill the gap just fine until we find a talented pass-catching TE.

If it goes down as an extremely cheap signing just to add depth, then that’s really not that bad of a thing. More depth really is never a bad thing to have. But if this guy is looking for starter money and expects to play a large role in the offense, then I think we are better served just holding still with what we’ve got.

Four things:
1. Philly fans are NEVER happy. So … while I respect the viewpts of their fanbase as a whole, I don’t know how much credibility we can assign to their opinions.

2. I agree that he needs to come cheap. But let’s be honest, TD isn’t going to throw a ridiculous contract at this guy. He isn’t A Gates, T Gonzalez, or C Cooley. He’s not even in the same zip code as those guys. So, given his mediocrity in recent years, he might very well come at a discount.

3. McNabb was upset about his departure. In fact, he held a mtg w/ Eagle mgmt re: whether they were planning on bringing in other offensive weapons (in light of Smith’s departure). To me, that says something, namely that the kid has potential.

4. I’ve started to think Dave and Company may be right about not pursuing a TE early in the draft. Our defensive needs are too great right now (to justify it).

1. Even if LJ comes cheap, his game is full of flaws. The falcons are primary a running team and he can’t block. Add to the fact he’s loaded with ability but when will he perform?

2. Who says we have to address our tight end needs this year or at the moment?

3. The Falcons have enough tight ends on the roster for pass catching and blocking which can carry them into next year. Then they can set their sites on Jermaine Gresham, now that’s Tight End.

4. I agree and stated in several messages, this draft will be defense! Obviously the organization doesn’t want to get involved with older players with hefty contracts. They want to build a defense of young talent for a long period of time.

Personally I’m a big fan of Justin Peele, he’s a solid blocker and can catch when his number is called. Look, it boils down to this, I say sign L.J. to a 3 year $6 Million contract with $2 Million guaranteed, then dump him in year 3. The only reason I am saying this is because I am terrified of taking Pettigrew in the first round…sorry but I would be severly disappointed if TD calls that name out in round 1. Or don’t add him and take a shot in the 5th round on a flier!

I really don’t want Pettigrew in the first either. I want defense!

Sean Smith, Clint Sintim, Sammie Lee Hill, Scott McKillop, Steven Gardner…I don’t care how they get those guys…I just want them…

Peele can catch and block and can be valuable for a year until Gresham becomes available.

Take any amount of money would have to spend on LJ and give it to a decent defensive free agent (Jermain Phillips). Then draft a TE in the middle rounds to compete with Peele. Who knows, maybe we can find a gem.
Granted LJ could be twice as good as Peele, but that ain’t saying much. Neither LJ or Peele are gonna light the world on fire.

So I would strongly advise against L.J. I mean if you can’t perform during your contract year, what does that tell you about when he’s paid.

but I just don’t see the need in the TE position. It doesn’t play a major role i the offense from a production standpoint, outside of blocking, which we have two very capable guys who can do that. Signing another TE would just be a waste of money and drafting one would be a waste of a pick when we have many more pressing need on defense.

I guess I’m just confused as to where this TE firestorm came from.

But I had to look it up, so forgive me.

Listen, I’m a HUUUGE Football Outsiders fan, and they’ve been killing him for years (one of their writers is an Eagles fan – and just yesterday he made a joke about LJ dropping a baby on the concrete). Some examples:

1) Part of his quote in this year’s book (Pro Football Prospectus 2008) said, “Smith received the franchise tag following the season. If it could, the franchise tag would’ve hired a lawyer and sued for character defamation”. Does that sound like somebody we want??

2) He was badly, BADLY outplayed by Brent Celek the last 2 years in their #‘s (he was basically 15% worse than the average TE and Celek was 20% better than an average TE over that time), and was outplayed by Matt Schobel a couple years before that. The only reason he had that “big year” in 2005 was that the Eagles receivers were TO and some other chumps – and when TO got hurt (he only played 7 games) they just kept chucking him the ball. That year they threw him 114 passes (that’s Gonzalez, Whitten, and Gates territory), but he was STILL below average on a per play basis (by FO’s #’s).

3) Probably the only reason he got the franchise tag in the first place was because Celek had offseason shoulder surgery (before last season). Part of Celek’s quote in PFP’08 was "By the end of the year, Celek could replace Smith in the starting lineup.

4) His catch rate the last several years, working back from last year: 58% 50, 63, 59, 63. I’m sorry, but for a “receiving” Tight End, that just sucks. His Catch Rate should be up near 70, or he should have a huge yards/catch # from running deeper routes. Justin Peele looked better with FO’s #‘s than he did. And Peele’s Catch Rate last year was 65 (granted on only 23 passes). I think I’m pretty much convinced that LJ Smith is NOT an upgrade to the TE position!

5) I know there’s no better FA Tight Ends. But to put it in simple terms – if we’re competing with the Detroit Lions for Free Agents, we’re going after the wrong guys.

Sorry that was so long, but I had to get it off my chest.