Steve Smith: A look at the Baltimore Ravens’ ageless wonder

Did you watch the Baltimore Ravens’ Week 2 blowout of the Pittsburgh Steelers? Did you happen to keep an eye on Steve Smith? If you were a Steelers defensive back, you certainly did.

If not, let me jog your memory: six catches for 71 yards, three drawn penalties, and one signature passionate attitude. In Week 1, he caught seven passes for 118 yards, including a career-long 80-yard touchdown reception.

The veteran receiver is going on his 36th birthday. Judging from his on-field play, however, he doesn’t look a day over 25.

That Smith was in for another high-level year was evident during Organized Team Activities in June, when he drew rants and raves from his coaches.

Just ask Ravens defensive coordinator Dean Pees.

“The first thing I told the [defensive backs] is, ‘Look, don’t get him mad,'” Pees said, via the Baltimore Sun. “He plays a lot harder when he’s mad. Leave him alone, let sleeping dogs lie. He’s a heck of a player. He’s made some grabs out here. He’s a tough guy. He’s everything advertised. I’m glad he’s on our team.”

And offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak.

“Boy, I watched him today, and I’ll tell you it was his best day with me out here,” Kubiak said of Smith. “It’s just because each day he’s getting more comfortable with what we’re doing. He’s just so competitive. He brings an edge to practice all the time. He challenges people as far as how you play, how you go about doing things. He challenged coaches, too.  Every good offense that I’ve been around has had a few of those guys saying, ‘Get me the ball, coach.’ And that’s a good thing. That’s what you want. He works to get the ball, so that’s what’s impressive to me.”

The Ravens signed Smith to a three-year, $11 million contract in March, little more than 24 hours after he bid farewell to the only NFL team he’d ever known, the Carolina Panthers, who unceremoniously dumped him after 13 seasons.

Panthers brass reportedly feared Smith, coming off a season in which he totaled 745 receiving yards and four touchdowns, had lost a step. There was also concern of Smith, whose fiery attitude is well-documented, becoming a distraction to a young team on the rise.

Lost in the fray of their worries was Smith’s service to the organization, which included seven 1000-yard seasons, 67 touchdowns, and a handful of Pro Bowl appearances, and franchise record for career receiving yards.

Yet there was no grand ceremony. No celebrated departure. Just a “good luck in your future endeavors” sort of release. The NFL can be a cold business, with loyalty hard to come by. Smith found that out first hand.

So is that why he’s come out guns blazing in 2014? Was his exile from Carolina the fuel that’s kept his passion burning so heavily?

Yes and no.

Smith’s career needs no explanation or justification. Since entering the league in 2001, the diminutive yet loquacious wideout has proved doubter after doubter wrong, often times playing through nagging injuries or out-muscling much larger defenders for balls in a contested situation. His fight — you could compare it to a rabid, cornered pitbull — is among the best of this generation, and anyone with half a wit would recognize as such.

Baltimore surely did, bringing him aboard to complement speedy No. 1 receiver Torrey Smith. Together, they form a deadly duo for Joe Flacco, capable of moving the chains and making impact plays. It’s really no surprise that Smith leads the Ravens both in targets (25), receiving yards (189) and touchdowns (1) thus far in this young season.

Smith might have had a down year in Carolina in 2013, but he’s surely not the old man Panthers coach Ron Rivera made him out to be.

“He doesn’t have the top-end speed like he used to, but he still has good speed,” Rivera said in March.

Good enough to still torch overzealous cornerbacks and juke past defenders who underestimate his still-optimum skill. Right, Ike Taylor? Right, Adam Jones?

It’s truly remarkable — a privilege, really — watching Smith, arguably the last of the “old guard” of NFL receivers, continue to perform at such an incredible level. His passion for the game, his will to win, and his willingness to leave it all out on the field, even at 35-years-old, is deserving of an endless amount of kudos.

Smith easily could have retired. With such an engaging personality, he’s tailor-made for a role in the media. But he opted against a cushier gig, instead continuing to lay his body on the line in pursuit of his first championship.

“Sr.” might be on the back of his jersey, but there’s nothing old about Smith. He has plenty left in the tank. And we all should sit back and enjoy it.

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