Shallow Thoughts & Nearsighted Observations
The Mile High Report — ... .  On the free agency front, I liked the low-dollar signings of CB-RS Chris Carr and TE L.J. Smith, and I think both can make the team and contribute.  The Ravens had to re-sign ...

The Linc - Desean Jackson reflects, Baskett wants a boy, & Bradley the best in the East?
Bleeding Green Nation — ... a reliable target over the middle. L.J. Smith came along in 2003, but really became "the guy" in 2005 when he caught 61 passes, tying him for the team lead. Lewis is long since gone and now Smith has traveled down I-95 to Charm City. ...

2009 Schedule Preview: Week 2 @ the Philadelphia Eagles
Canal Street Chronicles — ... (that's how it's done, Meachem!), the Eagles look to maintain their high-powered aerial attack, despite the loss of tight end L.J. Smith. ...

Can TE Randy McMichael rekindle past glory in the Rams new offense?
Turf Show Times — ... under 60%. In 2006, his last season before becoming a Ram, he had a 66% catch rate. One other factor complication McMichael's fantasy value is Daniel Fells, last season's waiver wire addition that showed potential filling in for McMichael and an expert level grasp of the playbook in camp this spring. If McMichael succumbs to injury or loses a step, Fells could become a sleeper similar to what happened with the Eagles Brent Celek when he was filling in for L.J. Smith. That at least gives you some food for thought come ...

Ravens Passing Attack Will Improve In 2009
Baltimore Beatdown — ... and Marcus Smith have both made in the off season will only give them and Joe more confidence whenever they do get the chance to be on the field. Plus, the additon of tight end L.J. Smith along with a healthy ...

Ravens Rookies & Select Veterans Take The Field
Baltimore Beatdown — The Baltimore Ravens got off to a great start as their rookies and more than a few veterans took the field this morning at McDaniel College in Westminster, Maryland. Veteran QB's Joe Flacco (sounds sort of strange to be calling him a veteran now), Troy Smith and John Beck wore the red jerseys as other veterans such as Mark Clayton, Demetrius Williams, Justin Harper, L.J. Smith took part on the offensive side of the ball. They joined rookie draft picks Cedric Peerman (RB), ...

Baltimore Ravens Training Camp: Tuesday's PM Practice
Baltimore Beatdown — ... and TE L.J. Smith. Flacco's passes to Clayton look sharp as he catches everything with the glue-like hands that a #1 wide receiver should have. D. Williams looks confident and J. Harper also looks good. L.J. Smith looks every bit the receiver we were looking for when we signed him. He looks like a wide receiver in a tight end's body. ...

Ravens Training Camp - Wednesday AM Edition
Baltimore Beatdown — ... participated in non-contact offensive drills, while L.J. Smith reportedly tweaked a hamstring yesterday and was just a observer this morning. I saw him limping off the field yesterday afternoon and thought something was up, although Harbaugh said it was not anything to worry about. Flacco's "1st team" receiving corp included Drew, D-Will, Clayton, FB ...

Ravens Training Camp: Friday AM Edition
Baltimore Beatdown — ... right in front of me. Koch is built like a linebacker! Next to them, I see L.J. Smith standing along the sidelines, showing off his tatooed "guns!" Gano hits twice, from 39 then 35 yards. ...

Ravens Training Camp: Saturday Edition
Baltimore Beatdown — ... Troy Smith hits a couple of nice ones to L.J. Smith and another one handed grab by Justin Harper! Flacco splits defenders to put one into Marcus Smith in stride. Smith throws a short swing pass to Rice, who fakes rookie LB ...

Redskins QBs to face LaRon Landry's Older Brother, Dawan Landry
Hogs Haven — ... posted a very in-look article on the Landry brothers dating back to their youth. Some other notables from the guide include the Ravens' key additions/releases and all the connections between the players of the 2 teams. There are some good ones including the return of the name, Mark Carrier: Key Additions C Matt Birk (Min.) - Free Agent CB/RS Chris Carr (Ten.) - Free Agent CB Domonique Foxworth (Atl.) - Free Agent TE L.J. Smith (Phi.) - Free Agent Key Losses (w/ Starting ...

Bill Barnwell of Football Outsiders talks Eagles
Bleeding Green Nation — ... Well, I think we can all agree on something: He can't be worse than L.J. Smith. We've appreciated Celek for two years running now, placing him on the "Top 25 Prospects" list in our book. If the expectations for him are that he'll catch ten passes a game, well, he'll end up being a disappointment. A more reasonable expectation is that of a sure-handed receiver who isn't a great blocker, but offers a safety valve in the passing game and has no qualms about going over the middle or up the seam. If he had something like Chad Lewis' ...

'Football Outsiders' Breaks Down the 2009 Baltimore Ravens
Baltimore Beatdown — ... one, if so inclined). We could take the paragraph above and invert it and suggest that Flacco had an elite running game around him that came out of nowhere and may have been a one-year wonder, played against teams that didn't have any film on him and hadn't learned what he struggles against, has a group of receivers that alternately is unsure about playing (Mason), aging rapidly (Heap), yet to prove anything (Clayton), or an unquestionable mark on Ozzie Newsome's legacy (the execrable L.J. Smith), and an offensive line that's got question marks up and down ...

Ravens Training Camp: Monday PM Edition
Baltimore Beatdown — ... Special Teams were part of the afternoon drills, with even TE L.J. Smith taking part on the return team, along with outside blockers, safeties and roommates ...

Ravens Training Camp: Tuesday AM Edition
Baltimore Beatdown — ... looks explosive as he burst up the middle, while DT Justin Bannan collapsed the 2nd team offensive line to meet the running back in the backfield for a loss. One of the funnier plays of the morning had Flacco rolling out looking for someone to throw it to before winging it out of bounds, but into a kneeling Ray Lewis' arms on the sidelines, drawing laughter from the players as well as the fans!   After an incomplete pass to L.J. Smith, DT Kelly Gregg rags on him, saying "way to go, LJ, ...

Ravens Training Camp: Thursday Edition
Baltimore Beatdown — ... Goal line offense: Flacco fakes a dive to Rice then lofts a TD pass to a wide open L.J. Smith., Next, Rice bursts up the middle for a touchdown. Jalen Parmele beats ...

Ravens Recent Injuries Create Opportunities
Baltimore Beatdown — The Baltimore Ravens are not unlike most any other NFL teams in that they've had their share of injuries in Training Camp as well as pre-season. Luckily, other than Adam Terry and Marcus Smith, both looked at being reserves anyway, the team has escaped the devastating loss that could drastically affect a team's season. After the game Monday night against the New York Jets, a couple of other injuries came out to the public. Tight end L.J. Smith has a bum hamstring and DT Kelly Gregg injured his shoulder. There is every ...

The Final 53
Baltimore Beatdown — ... game.   With an extra spot because Rolle is on the PUP list, the final roster should look something like this: QB: Joe Flacco, Troy Smith, John Beck RB: Willis McGahee, Ray Rice, Cedric Peerman FB: Le'Ron McClain WR: Derrick Mason, Mark Clayton, Demetrius Williams, Kelly Washington, Justin Harper, Yamon Figurs TE: Todd Heap, L.J. Smith, Davon Drew OT: Jared Gaither, ...

Ravens 53 Man Roster: My Picks
Baltimore Beatdown —

Three Chiefs Listed on Injury Report for Ravens Game
Arrowhead Pride — ... Battle (Illness) Matt Cassel (Knee) Brandon Flowers (Shoulder) Maybe Battle has this wicked bug that's sidelined me for the last week. Flowers is expected to play on Sunday.  He told reporters his shoulder was fine.  Cassel's the big question mark.  Coach Todd Haley expects to list him as questionable. And for the Ravens..... Did Not Participate in Practice TE L.J. Smith (Hamstring) Limited Participation in Practice ...

Homers vs. Haters, the Philadelphia Eagles edition
Cat Scratch Reader — ... A lot of Eagles fans are happy that the team has finally rid itself of pass-dropping specialist L.J. Smith, replacing him with ...

Week 1 picks
Stampede Blue — ... , L.J. Smith combo gives Flacco a little bit to work with. Baltimore straight up. On the other hand 9.5 is a BIG number for me, and the Outsiders like the Chiefs to attain mediocrity, even with a skeptical view of ...

Denver Broncos Season Storyline - Week 2 Vs Cleveland
The Mile High Report — ... so hopefully Orton has it down by then.  Quentin Jammer is still the real deal though.... Say what you will about Norv Turner and the slow starts and playoff losses...  the dude doesn't seem to ever lose patience.  Maybe he should... @ (1-0) Baltimore: 501 total offensive yards against KC... Terrell Suggs doesn't look like the same player.  No sacks, no pressures, no hits on the QB. TE L.J. Smith may not be ready to go; but then, he may not have to, what with ...

Dissecting The Ravens Loss: What Went Wrong?
Baltimore Beatdown — ... playing at all? What about L.J. Smith? So many key contributors from our three wins were absent either physically or spiritually from yesterday's gameplan. How many times did it seem like both Brian Billick and Matt Cavanaugh were calling the plays? I heard a unnamed newspaper columnist say after the Patriots loss that our offense has to take what the defense gives it. I totally disagree with this as good offenses force the defense to compensate, not the other way around. Perhaps this team has such a long history of a weak offense that even they believe ...

Ravens @ Vikings: Prediction & "Open Thread"
Baltimore Beatdown — ... this game than they did last week, which should open up the passing game. Willis McGahee needs to be involved on a regular basis to spell Ray Rice, plus pounding LeRon McClain into the front wall of the Vikings defense should soften them up for the big play. The Vikings have been susceptible to the passing game, usually to the slot receiver and the tight ends. Expect to see a lot of throws to both Kelley Washington and Todd Heap and perhaps even a L.J. Smith and David Tyree sighting. With that gameplan, I ...

The All-Unknown Team
Niners Nation — ... I ended up with this guy in a fantasy league, and I have to say that I have been pleasantly surprised by his production. A 5th round pick from Cincinnati, Celek ranks 5th among tight ends in receptions (33) and 4th in receiving yards (386). He has already eclipsed the 298 yards compiled by last year's starter L.J. Smith, and it is only Week 8. He has also become more than just a possession receiver. Celek's five catches of over 20 yards rank him among the elite tight ends in the league. By adding a dynamic playmaker at the ...

Ravens v. Broncos: Prediction & 'Open Thread'
Baltimore Beatdown — ... leading to the game changing plays that we know this defense is all about. Joe Flacco continues to show why he is the best young QB in the game today, as he withstands the pressure and his offensive line gives him the time to find his open receivers. I expect Todd Heap, Mark Clayton and Kelley Washington to make big contributions and even won't be surprised to see a significant appearance from seldom seen Demetrius Williams and perhaps even L.J. Smith. Derrick Mason will be blanketed by Denver's Champ ...

Saturday Injury Report: Ravens at Packers
Acme Packing Company — ... . TE L.J. Smith will miss the game too, but I think the Ravens can find a way to replace the 2 catches he's recorded so far this season. ...