Monday, September 24, 2001
Smith on NFL debut: 'It was awesome'
Rookie gets some tackles, pressures
By Neil Schmidt
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Each year, the Bengals would spend a first-round draft pick on a player from a powerhouse college program who found culture shock in Cincinnati, his willpower tested by years of losing.
Meet Justin Smith, the exception. The defensive end from Missouri, a school that has endured a decade of losing, made his NFL debut Sunday for a 2-0 team.
“It was awesome,” Smith said of the experience. “The funny thing is, we were all expecting this (start). This is really fun now.”
Smith didn't start but played regularly in a rotation with fellow ends Vaughn Booker, Bernard Whittington and Reinard Wilson. He was credited with two tackles, he applied a few pressures to Baltimore quarterback Elvis Grbac and came close to blocking a couple of punts by Kyle Richardson on special teams.
“It's been a while since I've been out there, but I felt pretty comfortable,” Smith said. “I hit (Grbac) a couple of times; he just didn't have the ball when I got there.”
Smith, the fourth overall pick in the draft, was the last first-rounder in the league to sign — doing so Sept. 8, the day before the opener. But he was received warmly Sunday by Bengals fans, who cheered when his name was announced for a fourth-quarter tackle.
“He wasn't short on effort,” Bengals coach Dick LeBeau said of Smith. “You can see why we like him. He flashes, he's fast, and he's a spirited player. He's playing on limited experience. I thought he did a fine, fine job.”
Smith was matched up much of the day against perennial Pro Bowl tackle Jonathan Ogden. He got the better of Ogden on a play midway through the third quarter, as Ogden got called for holding Smith to wipe out a 20-yard run that would have given the Ravens first-and-goal. The penalty took the Ravens out of field-goal range, and Baltimore ended up punting.
“I thought I fared pretty well against him,” Smith said. “I don't think I got dominated. I'm not going to go up against anyone bigger, so why not start (by facing) him?”
Smith said he didn't get nervous. He said he wasn't even uncomfortable when the Bengals put him in some nickel packages in which he dropped back into pass coverage.
“I just do what I'm told,” Smith said. “I'm here to help as much as I can.”
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Smith on NFL debut: 'It was awesome'
