Darkhorse Lion: Alphonso Smith

     The second player to be featured in my three part series of players that should make a big impact for the Detroit Lions without star power is cornerback Alphonso Smith.
Smith was a second round pick (37th overall) by the Denver Broncos back in 2009.  He was then traded to the Lions for backup tight end Dan Gronkowski.
     Smith has been scrutinized for his performance on Thanksgiving on national television against the Patriots in which he had a terrible game allowing many catches in which Patriots quarterback Tom Brady completed a perfect passer rating for the game.  Another example is the recent matchup between the Lions and Green Bay Packers where Packers backup quarterback Matt Flynn shattered backup quarterback records with over 450 yards passing and 6 touchdowns, and he picked on Smith, who was covering wide receiver Jordy Nelson, all day and completed 3 of his touchdowns.
     However, opinions don't include that Smith was put in a bad situation and was put out of place.  In those particular games, Smith was put as a starting cornerback, when in fact, he is better suited for nickelback.
Smith has 8 career interceptions in ten games where he saw legitimate playing time.  Those are numbers not easily replaced.

Alphonso Smith is looking to make the Lions roster and
to give an impact at nickel corner.

     Even with the Lions selecting three corners in April's draft (Dwight "Bill" Bentley, third round Louisiana-Lafayette; Chris Greenwood, fifth round Albion College; Jonte Green, sixth round New Mexico State) there is still a chance Smith can make the roster and be able to be a big contributor at nickel corner.
     The fact of the matter is is that Smith has to step it up not only for his sake, but for the teams' sake.  The consensus around state of Michigan was for the Lions to take a corner high in the draft last April because of the secondaries performance the last two games of 2011. Without using the first round pick, the Lions will have to depend on guys like Alphonso Smith to make an impact in a secondary that is actually underrated.