moleculo
Footballguy
was reading a playoff-preview article today that really sang the praises of Smith. Got me thinking about his HoF credentials.
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I believe he should be comparable to Tim Brown, Andre Reed, Bruce, and I'm sure some will say Ward. Guys that should go in before Smith include Owens, Moss, Harrison, and Holt.
thoughts?
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his case (so far):Steve Smith made playoff magic exactly one decade ago Friday. He caught six passes for 163 yards in a playoff upset of the Rams, including a 69-yard touchdown pass in double overtime -- the greatest play in the greatest game in Panthers history, and one of the greatest playoff games in NFL history.
Yes, that was the same Steve Smith, not his father or some other receiver with the same name. He was the star of a playoff game that featured Marshall Faulk and Orlando Pace, Stephen Davis and Jake Delhomme, Aeneas Williams and Dan Morgan and … believe it … JASON SEHORN. He has been in Carolina the whole time. He has changed, as Pearl Jam would say, by not changing much at all.
Smith followed his double overtime heroics with four catches and a touchdown in the Super Bowl loss to the Patriots. He was back two years later to catch 10 passes and score two touchdowns in a playoff shutout of the Giants, 12 passes for 218 yards and two touchdowns (58 and 39-yarders) in a victory over the Bears and return a punt for a touchdown in an NFC championship loss to the Seahawks.
Smith has 10 career playoff touchdowns. The Panthers have scored 219 playoff points in franchise history. John Kasay, their kicker for a generation, scored 81. Smith scored 60. Everyone else -- Davis, Muhsin Muhammad, Wesley Walls, DeShaun Foster, Ricky Proehl, DeAngelo Williams, Nick Goings -- have combined for 78 points. Only Tom Brady has had as big an impact on his current franchise's playoff fortunes as Steve Smith has had on the Panthers.
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Smith is also the chronicler of Panthers history. He was there for double overtime, for Jake Delhomme's Arizona meltdown and Janet Jackson's nipple. He was there for 2-14, catching passes from Jimmy Clausen and Brian St. Pierre. He broke an arm scoring a touchdown that did nothing but edge the Panthers closer to .500. He welcomed Newton and challenged Newton, and the current Panthers have absorbed Smith's personality in a way that recent Ravens teams became extensions of Ray Lewis. The Panthers are dangerous, daring and scrappy, and they are not quite as new to the playoff picture as they appear.
- 13 seasons
- 5x pro-bowler, 2x all-pro (once as KR), 2x 2nd team all-pro
- 2005 comeback playoer of the year
- led league in 2005 is receptions, yards, TD's
- career receiving stats: 836 receptions (25th), 12197 yards (19th), 67 TDs (39th)
- playoff heroics are detailed above.
- if he plays one more season, it's likely he moves into top 15 receiving yards and top 20 in receptions.
I believe he should be comparable to Tim Brown, Andre Reed, Bruce, and I'm sure some will say Ward. Guys that should go in before Smith include Owens, Moss, Harrison, and Holt.
thoughts?