News: Smith, who spent the recently completed minicamp working with both the first and second-team defense, is acclimating quickly to his new team, Chargers.com reports.
Impact: With Stephen Cooper scheduled to miss the first four games of the season, there's a strong chance Smith will be the starter at the "Mike" linebacker position for the first month. He impressed his head coach in his first weekend on the field with the Chargers. "Veteran players just have a presence about them," head coach Norv Turner said. "He's come in and picked up what we're doing. He's very, very sudden and very, very quick. He's got a lot of confidence and a lot of experience. It gives us depth at the linebacker position."  (RotoWire - Mon. May 5, 2008)