It’s
Steve Smith Week in the Carolinas. Well, it is for most.”We’re playing the Baltimore Ravens. Steve plays for the Ravens, and that’s just the way it is,” Panthers head coach
Ron Rivera said Wednesday. “This game is not about one guy.”Technically, all of that is true. And since both the Panthers and Ravens are 2-1, the results of Sunday’s game in Baltimore will be more important than what happens with one guy. But while Rivera didn’t want to get into questions about Smith, the fact is the Panthers will be facing the best player they’ve ever had, just six months after they released him.”I never really imagined I’d be in a different uniform. I never really thought I’d play against the Panthers, and now I am,” Smith said on a conference call with Carolina media Wednesday.During his 13 years with the Panthers, Smith set or tied nearly 50 team records, including most receptions (836), receiving yards (12,197) and touchdown catches (67). And as he has shown through the first three weeks of this season, the Ravens’ leading receiver can still play. That’s one of the reasons fans were so upset and confused when the Panthers unceremoniously cut him in March.But the fiery Smith took the high road Wednesday, perhaps because he still hopes to retire as a Panther. Or maybe he was just saving his words for Sunday.When asked if he was going to provide any bulletin board material, Smith replied, “You all are going to make something up anyway, so what’s the sense?”
He has a point. Part of Smith’s storyline involves Panthers quarterback
Cam Newton, who also attempted to say all the right things.”I can tell you that me and Steve have a healthy relationship,” Newton claimed. “I’m rooting for him, except for this particular Sunday. That’s all in the competitive love. I wish him the best.”But Newton and Smith did not have the best relationship during the three years they played together. Ultimately, the Panthers chose their young, dynamic quarterback over their aging, moody wideout.When asked what he remembered most about playing with Smith, Newton smiled and said, “That every day chip on his shoulder attitude. I don’t even know if there is a word to describe it. Anybody who has ever followed the Carolina Panthers knows what I’m talking about.”While Newton is right, Smith sounded less-than-enthused when reporters shared that comment and Newton’s seemingly harmless suggestion of “Mighty Mouse” as a nickname for his former 5-9 teammate.”Yeah, whatever. I’ve got to get going. They told me I’ve got to do the podium,” Smith said.But before he went to speak with Ravens reporters, Smith made it clear Baltimore is just where he works.”Carolina is my home and will always be my home,” the Charlotte resident said.”I miss everything about Carolina. I miss being at home. I miss my friends. But I also understand it’s a business, and sometimes in business you’ve got to temporarily go somewhere else.”And right now, that somewhere is seven hours northeast of Charlotte.Really, the only things that seem to have changed since the Panthers made their change is Smith’s uniform and office.”The biggest difference and similarities?” Smith said, repeating a reporter’s question. “Similarities – 89 is making plays. Difference – I’m in Maryland.”