An absent Smith certainly makes things easier for the Eagles.


Carolina Panther's wide receiver Steve Smith hurt his shoulder in camp the other day, and now doesn't know if he'll be able to play in Week 1 against the Eagles, much less in the preseason.

"If I can play, then I'm playing, whether it be preseason or regular season," Smith said. "If I can't play, I won't play. If I'm not going to be effective and be able to compete, then it's not best for the team."

Smith clearly isn't real confident in his shoulder to be healed up in the next month or so, which could be because it's the same shoulder that he hurt last season.

"I felt it immediately," he told the Gaston Gazette. "The good thing is, I thought it was broke, because it started hurting immediately. But it's not, so we'll be playing it by ear. It was more frustration because I worked my tail off this offseason to strengthen it and make sure it didn't happen. But then also, those freak things happen," Smith said.

It's never a bad thing for the opposing team (in this case, our Eagles) when Steve Smith doesn't play. He's one of the most dynamic players in the entire NFL, and based on your preference, could be the best in the NFL. At the very least he's in the top five discussion.

However John Fox, the Panthers head coach, says he thinks that Smith will be ready for Week 1.

"I'm sure he'll be ready (to play) at some point in the preseason," Fox said. "Whether we play him or not in the preseason, I don't know that."

So while Fox is confident, Smith isn't. Fox is doing the typical head coach thing and speaking out of both sides of his mouth. There's no way that the confident (cocky) Smith is going to say that he might not be able to play if he doesn't really believe it.

We won't know for a few weeks, but if Steve Smith can't play, it certainly gives a huge advantage to the Eagles to start the season off with a Week 1 win.