Steve Smith

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As Carolina Panthers’ wide out Steve Smith lined up against Bears’ defensive back Charles Tillman in the 2005 Divisional Round Playoff game on a frigid January night in Chicago, he was ready to warm up.

What Tillman and the Bears’ defense didn’t know was that they were about to be in for a long night.

Smith streaked past a fumbling Tillman as he struggled to keep pace with the jet quick receiver. It was over in a flash as Smith caught his first touchdown of the night on a 58-yard bomb from quarterback Jake Delhomme, virtually waking into the endzone by himself as Tillman fell down 20-yards behind the play.

Smith blasted the number one-ranked Bears’ defense for 12 receptions, 218-yards and two scores in the Panthers 29-21 victory to send the team to Seattle for the NFC Championship Game. The Bears hadn’t given up an offensive performance any where close to the one they gave up to Smith that evening, but any team that played Carolina in the ‘05-06 season certainly did.

Smith’s was just plain sick that year. He had career numbers in receptions (103), yards (1,563) and touchdowns (12). He also played in every single game, rebounding from a ‘04 season in which he broke his leg in the first game of the season.

Standing only 5-9, 185lbs, Smith is about five inches shorter than what a prototypical NFL receiver stands, but then again, he’s not a prototypical NFL wide receiver.

While fellow receivers like Randy Moss, Terrell Owens and Chad Johnson use their height as an advantage to catch passes over defenders, Smith uses pure speed and athleticism to make his plays.

One of the Panthers favorite offensive plays was a simple wide receiver screen to Smith right off of the line of scrimmage. Carolina would run the play multiple times a game, with Smith creating impressive gains on almost every single one of his chances.

Earlier in his career, however, Smith was more of a kick returner than a receiver. He led all rookies in net yardage with a 1,994 yards in 2001, and landed in fourth place overall behind Priest Holmes, Marshall Faulk, and Derrick Mason. With those impressive numbers, Smith was invited to the 2002 Pro Bowl as a kick returner and then welcomed back in ’06 Pro Bowl, this time as a wide receiver. He also won the Co-NFL Comeback Player of the Year award in ‘05 (the other player was New England linebacker Teddy Bruschi). Not bad for a guy who wasn’t even drafted until the third round (74th overall) during the ‘01 NFL Draft.

Smith had another solid season in 2007, catching 87 passes for 1,002 yards and seven touchdowns. But the Panthers struggled without Jake Delhomme, who suffered a season ending injury in Week 4, and failed to make the postseason.

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Career

Carolina Panthers Official Player Bio: Steve Smith
Career notes, photos and stats on Steve Smith can be found at the Official Website of the Carolina Panthers

NFL.com Player Profile: Steve Smith
Find a small profile, game logs, stats and merchandise on Steve Smith NFL.com.

Rotoworld Player Page: Steve Smith
Rotoworld.com has some of the best fantasy reporting and advice on the web. Click on the “Previous News” tab to get current and past information on Steve Smith for your fantasy football team.

Steve Smith Wikipedia Page
Find a comprehensive background on Steve Smith’s life and football career at Wikipedia.com.

Latest on Smith

News and Commentary

MVP (Most Valuable Panther) on a roll
This article is from USATODAY.com about the success Steve Smith encountered in the 2005-06 NFL season.

Talent: Smith small on stature, big on explosiveness
This is a pre-Super Bowl XXXVIII article about the dangers Steve Smith creates for opposing defenses.

Steve Smith – Small Size, Big Impact
This article from nflplayers.com is about how Steve Smith quietly has dominated the competition the past two seasons.

Carolina’s Steve Smith Is Unstoppable Against Chicago
In a huge playoff win against the very stout Chicago Bears’ defense, Smith racked up one of his greatest performances: 12 receptions, 228-yards and 2 touchdowns.

Bright suffered broken nose in fight during film session
The only real trouble Steve Smith has got into during his professional: being suspended for breaking fellow receiver Anthony Bright’s nose during a film session.

Receiver breaks leg, out indefinitely
One of Steve Smith’s worst nights was breaking his leg in 2004, this article from ESPN.com discuses his season-ending injury.

Steve Says

On making excuses:
“I don't make excuses. If you lined my mama up out there, I'd have to catch it over her, too.”

On getting flagged for touching a referee during a game:
“I wasn't trying to be demonstrative and all that stuff. I'm not trying to put my hands on the ref or get physical with the ref, that's not my style. I know I'm going to get fined. I'll deal with it and move on. It's my first time ever getting thrown out of a game.”

On the postseason:
“Once you get in, it's a whole new game. Everybody is 0-0 and you go from there. Once you get in, anything can happen.”