12-21-2017, 03:30 AM
Harrison Smith may have missed the Pro Bowl, but he’ll be Brett Hundley’s toughest challengeWhen Aaron Rodgers went down with a collarbone injury early in the Green Bay Packers’ matchup with the Minnesota Vikings in Week 6, safety Harrison Smith gave Packers backup QB Brett Hundley several welcome-to-the-NFL moments.
Hundley, who had only thrown 10 NFL passes prior to Green Bay’s October 15 game at US Bank Stadium, was sacked twice and picked off by Smith in a 23-10 loss. He only completed two passes in Smith’s direction for a total of 12 yards.
“He’s an instinctive football player, a smart player,” Packers head coach Mike McCarthy said. “You can see they are doing a really good job of looking for tips on formations and manorisms, timing the cadence off the 40-second clock, all things that the really good defenses do. Harrison is probably at the front of the line there…you definitely have to be aware of him. When he sees something, he doesn’t hesitate, he’s always going 100 miles per hour. “
Strangely, Smith was left off the Pro Bowl roster, which was announced on Tuesday, despite being rated No. 1 at his position in the NFL by the analytics website Pro Football Focus.
One of the keys to Smith’s game is being able to line up in different places and adjust prior to the snap. Especially less experienced opposing quarterbacks – even good ones like Jared Goff – have struggled with making quick reads against Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer’s defense.
http://www.1500espn.com/vikings-2/2017/1...challenge/
