Italianmobstr7
09-07-2010, 07:40 PM
Alphonso Smith admits he never regained his confidence...
This is from an interview by detroit media. He says that if he was still in denver, that he would still be lacking in confidence, and that he let people form perceptions of him based on how he carried himself around the facility. We all hoped he had turned it around, as he assured the Denver media he had at the start of the season. It does bite that he did not pan out, but after looking at his comments, it is clear that he was never going to for Denver...at least that is how he felt.
Alphonso Smith looks for a new start with the Lions
Chris McCosky / The Detroit News
Allen Park -- Alphonso Smith understands, probably better than most, the power of perception.
In Denver, Smith, a second-round pick in 2009, was perceived as an underachiever. He was perceived as someone who maybe didn't work hard enough, as someone who because of where he was drafted maybe carried a sense of entitlement. He was perceived as too small (5-foot-9) to be a starting cornerback. He was perceived, ultimately, as a bust.
Thus, the Broncos traded Smith -- for whom they traded a first-round pick in 2010 for the right to move up and select -- to the Lions on Saturday for tight end Dan Gronkowski, a fourth-string tight end taken 255th in 2008.
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"I was shocked," Smith said Monday. "If I said I wasn't, I'd be lying to you."
But the more he thought about it, the more he made sense of what happened, and he's grateful for the chance to form new perceptions.
"It's really good to have a clean slate," he said. "I allowed certain individuals back in Denver to form a perception of me, and I paid for it. Hence, the trade. So it's really good for me and my family to be in a new place and in a new town with new teammates just to try to start it all over again."
Smith didn't blame anybody but himself for the negative perceptions in Denver.
"You allow it," he said. "Just in the way you carry yourself around the facility, the way you practice, the way you play. There are a lot of things that go into helping someone form a perception of you, a perception you don't want to give off. Even if it wasn't the case, it's still a perception that you gave them the room to make."
The only perception the Lions have of Smith now is what they remember from his college years at Wake Forest.
"Smith is a guy we really liked in college coming out," general manager Martin Mayhew said. "He's a young guy with some upside, some potential. We had good college grades on him, so he's worth a look as a developmental guy that we will try to bring along. He may give us more than just development, but he definitely has ability."
So why didn't Smith pan out in Denver?
"Every situation is different," Mayhew said. "We've had guys who've been here and gone on to someplace else and played well. We hope he's going to play well for us."
While media huddled around Smith on Monday, safety Louis Delmas ran over and put his arm around him and said, "I want to welcome my dog Alphonso Smith back into the limelight."
Limelight might be a stretch right now. Smith's slated to back up starters Jonathan Wade and Chris Houston.
"I like a lot of things about him," coach Jim Schwartz said. "He's got a nose for the football. With DBs, getting interceptions are a lot like getting sacks for linemen, you either have the knack or you don't. He has the ability to find the ball in the air."
The question, though, is how fast can he deprogram the disappointment out of his system and learn the Lions' schemes.
"I don't know," Smith said. "I had some pretty good coaches in Denver and we ran every defense known to man. And coverages are universal. I just have to figure out how we play our coverages to certain formations and routes."
Confidence, he said, isn't an issue.
"Not much," he said, when asked how much his confidence has waned. "I'm in a new place. If I was still in Denver that answer would be different. I have another chance to leave a different perception here. That's why I am so appreciative of this opportunity. Now I just want to work hard and help the Detroit Lions win football games."
From The Detroit News:
This is from an interview by detroit media. He says that if he was still in denver, that he would still be lacking in confidence, and that he let people form perceptions of him based on how he carried himself around the facility. We all hoped he had turned it around, as he assured the Denver media he had at the start of the season. It does bite that he did not pan out, but after looking at his comments, it is clear that he was never going to for Denver...at least that is how he felt.
Alphonso Smith looks for a new start with the Lions
Chris McCosky / The Detroit News
Allen Park -- Alphonso Smith understands, probably better than most, the power of perception.
In Denver, Smith, a second-round pick in 2009, was perceived as an underachiever. He was perceived as someone who maybe didn't work hard enough, as someone who because of where he was drafted maybe carried a sense of entitlement. He was perceived as too small (5-foot-9) to be a starting cornerback. He was perceived, ultimately, as a bust.
Thus, the Broncos traded Smith -- for whom they traded a first-round pick in 2010 for the right to move up and select -- to the Lions on Saturday for tight end Dan Gronkowski, a fourth-string tight end taken 255th in 2008.
Advertisement
"I was shocked," Smith said Monday. "If I said I wasn't, I'd be lying to you."
But the more he thought about it, the more he made sense of what happened, and he's grateful for the chance to form new perceptions.
"It's really good to have a clean slate," he said. "I allowed certain individuals back in Denver to form a perception of me, and I paid for it. Hence, the trade. So it's really good for me and my family to be in a new place and in a new town with new teammates just to try to start it all over again."
Smith didn't blame anybody but himself for the negative perceptions in Denver.
"You allow it," he said. "Just in the way you carry yourself around the facility, the way you practice, the way you play. There are a lot of things that go into helping someone form a perception of you, a perception you don't want to give off. Even if it wasn't the case, it's still a perception that you gave them the room to make."
The only perception the Lions have of Smith now is what they remember from his college years at Wake Forest.
"Smith is a guy we really liked in college coming out," general manager Martin Mayhew said. "He's a young guy with some upside, some potential. We had good college grades on him, so he's worth a look as a developmental guy that we will try to bring along. He may give us more than just development, but he definitely has ability."
So why didn't Smith pan out in Denver?
"Every situation is different," Mayhew said. "We've had guys who've been here and gone on to someplace else and played well. We hope he's going to play well for us."
While media huddled around Smith on Monday, safety Louis Delmas ran over and put his arm around him and said, "I want to welcome my dog Alphonso Smith back into the limelight."
Limelight might be a stretch right now. Smith's slated to back up starters Jonathan Wade and Chris Houston.
"I like a lot of things about him," coach Jim Schwartz said. "He's got a nose for the football. With DBs, getting interceptions are a lot like getting sacks for linemen, you either have the knack or you don't. He has the ability to find the ball in the air."
The question, though, is how fast can he deprogram the disappointment out of his system and learn the Lions' schemes.
"I don't know," Smith said. "I had some pretty good coaches in Denver and we ran every defense known to man. And coverages are universal. I just have to figure out how we play our coverages to certain formations and routes."
Confidence, he said, isn't an issue.
"Not much," he said, when asked how much his confidence has waned. "I'm in a new place. If I was still in Denver that answer would be different. I have another chance to leave a different perception here. That's why I am so appreciative of this opportunity. Now I just want to work hard and help the Detroit Lions win football games."
From The Detroit News: