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09-22-2005, 12:16 AM
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/sports/football/nfl/kansas_city_chiefs/
SMITH GRABS PASSES, NOT ATTENTION
Denver’s nice catch
Receiver hasn’t let not being drafted keep him from piling up big numbers
By RANDY COVITZ
The Kansas City Star
DENVER — In this era of showboating, trash-talking, hey-look-at-me wide receivers, Denver’s Rod Smith is the anti-T.O. and the direct opposite of Randy Moss.
Smith doesn’t make cell phone calls after touchdown catches, and he doesn’t moon anyone under the goal post or feud with his quarterback and front office.
Maybe it’s because Smith went the hard route. He still thinks of himself as the unwanted, undrafted wide receiver from Missouri Southern who earned a spot on the Broncos’ practice squad in 1994 and toiled on special teams during his first two seasons.
But most people around the NFL know him as a two-time Pro Bowler and two-time Super Bowl champion whose 727 career receptions are the most in Broncos history — and more than any undrafted player in league history.
“The way he’s flamboyant is on the field,” said Broncos five-time Pro Bowl cornerback Champ Bailey. “He makes big catches in tough situations.”
Smith, the Broncos’ offensive captain, prefers to let others bask in the limelight.
“I try to fly under the radar,” Smith said quietly in the Broncos locker room. “I don’t want to be in your paper or mine. I don’t try to make a big deal out of too much. I do my job, and all the yards and the records are something you look at when you’re done playing.
“Then you go back and ask, ‘What did I actually do during the 12, 15 years?’ You go look at the stats, and you say, ‘Hey, I did all right.’ ”
Even at 35 years old, Smith is still the Broncos’ go-to receiver. In two games, Smith is tied for third in the AFC with 15 receptions for 173 yards.
“I don’t know why age is such a big factor,” Smith said as the Broncos began preparations for Monday night’s game against the Chiefs. “You look at some of the receivers in the league right now like Jimmy Smith, Keenan McCardell …
“I’ve always said I go to work daily, I don’t go to work weekly. And if I do something special today, they’ll let me come back tomorrow. I’ve been doing it that way for 12 years, and it works for me.”
Nearly 12 years ago, Smith thought he’d be playing in Kansas City. But just as the Royals didn’t take a flier on a fellow named Albert Pujols, the Chiefs passed on Smith and selected Lake Dawson and Chris Penn in the third round of the 1994 draft.
Dawson and Penn combined for 156 catches for 2,170 yards and 15 touchdowns in four seasons for the Chiefs. Smith, on the other hand, holds every significant career receiving record in Broncos history and is 55 yards shy of 10,000 for his career, to go with 59 touchdowns.
Among undrafted players, only Washington’s Gary Clark has more yards (10,856) and touchdowns (65).
“It’s kind of crazy,” Smith said. “I had talked to some scouts from Kansas City before the draft, and being from a small school in Missouri, I thought I was going to go there. I wasn’t fast enough. I wasn’t good enough for them.
“I’m not really saying that motivates me to play against them, but when you have scouts tell you they want you, and then … but I respected their decision, and I love the situation I’ve been put in.”
While Smith, who is from Texarkana, Ark., led all Division II receivers with 1,439 yards for a record 24.0-yard average in 1991, he suffered a serious knee injury on the first play of the third game of the 1992 season.
Smith, who already had used a redshirt season as a freshman because of a broken foot, was granted a sixth season by the NCAA for the 1993 season. He caught 63 passes for 986 yards and 13 touchdowns for Missouri Southern, where his No. 9 jersey is the only one the school ever retired, and where he earned three degrees — in business administration, economics and finance, and marketing and management.
But concerns about his knee scared NFL teams, who took 29 other wide receivers in the 1994 draft.
So instead of playing with Joe Montana in 1994, Smith hooked up with another future Hall of Famer in John Elway. Elway’s work ethic had a profound influence on the wide-eyed Smith.
“No. 7 changed my life and how I approached the game,” Smith said. “I saw him in the offseason every day busting his rear, and I’m thinking to myself, ‘This guy is a Hall of Fame quarterback, and he’s here at voluntary workouts each and every day. So there is no way I can miss,’ and I’ve never missed because of guys like him.”
Smith doesn’t have to be reminded that he has caught more passes — 104 — for more yards — 1,575 — and more 100-yard games — nine — against the Chiefs than any other NFL team.
“Yes, but some of my hardest losses are against those guys,” Smith said. “I think I had seven straight 100-yard games against them, and I think we lost four of them.”
Smith’s most famous catch was the 80-yard touchdown bomb from Elway that broke open the Broncos’ Super Bowl XXXIII win over Atlanta. But he doesn’t consider that the highlight of his career. Smith’s personal favorite was the first catch of his career, a leaping 43-yarder over Washington star cornerback Darrell Green as time expired gave Denver a 38-31 win in 1994.
“To me, being able to catch that ball for our team at a time when I was on special teams …,” Smith reflected. “I wasn’t playing real well on special teams, but the opportunity was there for me. The other receivers were hurt, and I was the only guy left. John threw it up to me and gave me a chance. I didn’t catch another pass for six weeks.”
But Broncos coach Mike Shanahan knew he had someone special and paid Smith the ultimate compliment this week.
“I can’t think of a guy that I’ve enjoyed more as a professional than Rod Smith,” Shanahan said. “Just by the way he practiced and handled himself, you knew the guy was a winner and would have success.
“But I don’t think anybody knew he was going to have this kind of success.”
SMITH GRABS PASSES, NOT ATTENTION
Denver’s nice catch
Receiver hasn’t let not being drafted keep him from piling up big numbers
By RANDY COVITZ
The Kansas City Star
DENVER — In this era of showboating, trash-talking, hey-look-at-me wide receivers, Denver’s Rod Smith is the anti-T.O. and the direct opposite of Randy Moss.
Smith doesn’t make cell phone calls after touchdown catches, and he doesn’t moon anyone under the goal post or feud with his quarterback and front office.
Maybe it’s because Smith went the hard route. He still thinks of himself as the unwanted, undrafted wide receiver from Missouri Southern who earned a spot on the Broncos’ practice squad in 1994 and toiled on special teams during his first two seasons.
But most people around the NFL know him as a two-time Pro Bowler and two-time Super Bowl champion whose 727 career receptions are the most in Broncos history — and more than any undrafted player in league history.
“The way he’s flamboyant is on the field,” said Broncos five-time Pro Bowl cornerback Champ Bailey. “He makes big catches in tough situations.”
Smith, the Broncos’ offensive captain, prefers to let others bask in the limelight.
“I try to fly under the radar,” Smith said quietly in the Broncos locker room. “I don’t want to be in your paper or mine. I don’t try to make a big deal out of too much. I do my job, and all the yards and the records are something you look at when you’re done playing.
“Then you go back and ask, ‘What did I actually do during the 12, 15 years?’ You go look at the stats, and you say, ‘Hey, I did all right.’ ”
Even at 35 years old, Smith is still the Broncos’ go-to receiver. In two games, Smith is tied for third in the AFC with 15 receptions for 173 yards.
“I don’t know why age is such a big factor,” Smith said as the Broncos began preparations for Monday night’s game against the Chiefs. “You look at some of the receivers in the league right now like Jimmy Smith, Keenan McCardell …
“I’ve always said I go to work daily, I don’t go to work weekly. And if I do something special today, they’ll let me come back tomorrow. I’ve been doing it that way for 12 years, and it works for me.”
Nearly 12 years ago, Smith thought he’d be playing in Kansas City. But just as the Royals didn’t take a flier on a fellow named Albert Pujols, the Chiefs passed on Smith and selected Lake Dawson and Chris Penn in the third round of the 1994 draft.
Dawson and Penn combined for 156 catches for 2,170 yards and 15 touchdowns in four seasons for the Chiefs. Smith, on the other hand, holds every significant career receiving record in Broncos history and is 55 yards shy of 10,000 for his career, to go with 59 touchdowns.
Among undrafted players, only Washington’s Gary Clark has more yards (10,856) and touchdowns (65).
“It’s kind of crazy,” Smith said. “I had talked to some scouts from Kansas City before the draft, and being from a small school in Missouri, I thought I was going to go there. I wasn’t fast enough. I wasn’t good enough for them.
“I’m not really saying that motivates me to play against them, but when you have scouts tell you they want you, and then … but I respected their decision, and I love the situation I’ve been put in.”
While Smith, who is from Texarkana, Ark., led all Division II receivers with 1,439 yards for a record 24.0-yard average in 1991, he suffered a serious knee injury on the first play of the third game of the 1992 season.
Smith, who already had used a redshirt season as a freshman because of a broken foot, was granted a sixth season by the NCAA for the 1993 season. He caught 63 passes for 986 yards and 13 touchdowns for Missouri Southern, where his No. 9 jersey is the only one the school ever retired, and where he earned three degrees — in business administration, economics and finance, and marketing and management.
But concerns about his knee scared NFL teams, who took 29 other wide receivers in the 1994 draft.
So instead of playing with Joe Montana in 1994, Smith hooked up with another future Hall of Famer in John Elway. Elway’s work ethic had a profound influence on the wide-eyed Smith.
“No. 7 changed my life and how I approached the game,” Smith said. “I saw him in the offseason every day busting his rear, and I’m thinking to myself, ‘This guy is a Hall of Fame quarterback, and he’s here at voluntary workouts each and every day. So there is no way I can miss,’ and I’ve never missed because of guys like him.”
Smith doesn’t have to be reminded that he has caught more passes — 104 — for more yards — 1,575 — and more 100-yard games — nine — against the Chiefs than any other NFL team.
“Yes, but some of my hardest losses are against those guys,” Smith said. “I think I had seven straight 100-yard games against them, and I think we lost four of them.”
Smith’s most famous catch was the 80-yard touchdown bomb from Elway that broke open the Broncos’ Super Bowl XXXIII win over Atlanta. But he doesn’t consider that the highlight of his career. Smith’s personal favorite was the first catch of his career, a leaping 43-yarder over Washington star cornerback Darrell Green as time expired gave Denver a 38-31 win in 1994.
“To me, being able to catch that ball for our team at a time when I was on special teams …,” Smith reflected. “I wasn’t playing real well on special teams, but the opportunity was there for me. The other receivers were hurt, and I was the only guy left. John threw it up to me and gave me a chance. I didn’t catch another pass for six weeks.”
But Broncos coach Mike Shanahan knew he had someone special and paid Smith the ultimate compliment this week.
“I can’t think of a guy that I’ve enjoyed more as a professional than Rod Smith,” Shanahan said. “Just by the way he practiced and handled himself, you knew the guy was a winner and would have success.
“But I don’t think anybody knew he was going to have this kind of success.”