He is weak as well. People talking about defenders being good at defending by contributing in an attacking sense. Smalling does that, more so than Lindelof. First off he actually scores goals on set pieces. Also, he is physically imposing so he wins most duels and one on ones, often contributing to keeping our attacking shape, and continue the pressure. With Lindelof we concede possession a lot, and very unnecessarily. Not just from risky misplaced passes, but simply because he avoids duels. If he gets in a physical battle he'll lose the ball, or just play it out for a throw in. He does it all the time, when he should be winning the ball and getting it forward.
@A-man That is how traditional, strong defensive attributes in a player can be used to benefit the team in an attacking sense.
There's levels to what certain players can bring in certain setups. It is best to evaluate them individually for that reason, without the limiting context and different buzzwords flying around.