Green Bay Packers: Production from Smith Means Team Can Play It Safe with Bishop

When you place a player like linebacker Desmond Bishop onto Injured Reserve, it's never a cause for joy.

In this case though, it's also no cause for panic.

That's because second year linebacker DJ Smith will more than fill in for the veteran he is replacing.

Smith had a decent but unspectacular 2011, producing just 32 tackles and 11 assists over the course of 16 games. His playing time, as well as his consistency, was sporadic.

However with Bishop hurt this August, Smith was given a chance to step up and fill in.

And step in he did.

Smith has played very well, both in practice and in preseason games, showing a nose for the ball carrier, good speed and explosion and a, more importantly, consistency.

It's a lot to ask of him to step in and immediately fill Bishop's shoes.

However, it's important to remember that Bishop, a five year veteran, took several years to reach the level of production he finally did for the Packers.

If Smith hadn't stepped up, it's entirely possible the Packers might have kept Bishop active, hoping he could rejoin the team for a playoff push. Instead, they have the luxury of resting him and allowing him to rehab slowly to make sure he;s 100% and won't re-injure himself.

Some of that was due to playing time, but some of it was also the learning curve of a young player.

So far, Smith seems to be on an accelerated curve himself.

The Packers are depending an awful lot on their young players—guys like Jerel Worthy, Nick Perry, Jerron McMillian, MD Jennings and, yes, DJ Smith.

They need them to bring a fresh energy to a defense which struggled to produce a pass rush last year.

So far the group has been up to the task.

This is especially important for the inside linebacker position with Bishop out as AJ Hawk hasn't exactly blown up during his career.

One might argue it's closer to an implosion.

In fact, the other upside to all this is that if Smith continues to play at a high level, the Packers might have a much better group of linebackers on the inside. Whether that means Hawk is gone or not is another matter, but right now they are discovering what they have in Smith.

With Bishop out, what they have is piece of mind.

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