Steve Smith held a conference call last night to discuss his surprising move from the Giants to the Eagles, the status of his injury and more. Let's start with the most important stuff though, which is that knee... Smith disagreed with Giants coach Tom Coughlin, who said this week that he was a "long" way from being healthy.
"Yeah, I would disagree with that personally just because I feel good." Smith said, "I've been running, I've been doing different things, cutting and stuff and it's been feeling good. I haven't been having any setbacks so hopefully that will continue but we'll see."
He implied that Coughlin's statements about his health may have even been a negotiating tactic.
"I don't know, maybe [Giants head coach Tom] Coughlin has a plan or something up his sleeve when he said that. Who knows, but I got checked out by both team doctors and have positive reports, so we'll see what happens when I get on the field."
One interesting revelation is that he said the Eagles have been after him for weeks and this wasn't a case of them swooping in at the last moment.
"The Eagles have been involved pretty diligently for weeks, now, talking to my agent. And we were just waiting and waiting to see what was going to happen with the Giants. But I don't know what happened there, I don't know. So I'm just fortunate that Philadelphia being such a great team wanted me and it just worked out." He continued, "I spoke to their front office often and they showed a great interest in me. And I think they're on the right path to winning a championship so it just worked out."
He said that he's been impressed with the Eagles' moves this offseason just like everyone else in the NFL.
"Yeah, I mean it's pretty exciting to watch and see; even just when I wasn't part of the Eagles yet I was just like, ‘Wow they're making some really big moves', and it's definitely something to look at and talk about."
And, he's excited to play with Michael Vick.
"It's going to be a thrill just to be able to play alongside a player like him who's battled through so much and he seems like he appreciates the game so much right now. So I'm really excited."
And how about that little twitter feud with LeSean McCoy?
"Yeah, it's going to be funny. I'm going to go up to [RB] LeSean [McCoy] the first day I see him and just shake his hand and give him a hug and tell him that was all just Twitter beef and it was just all in fun. And you know, it's just a great rivalry and I'm thankful to be a part of it. And having switched sides it's a little different but still it will be exciting to see what it's like on this side."