bloodsunday
12-07-2006, 09:20 AM
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/sports_columnists/article/0,1299,DRMN_83_5196280,00.html
December 7, 2006
ENGLEWOOD - These are hard times for the most prolific wide receiver in Broncos history.
At 36, Rod Smith is on pace to finish the season with fewer catches and receiving yards than he's ever had as a starter. After a decade as the team's No. 1 receiver, he's now No. 2, and No. 3 is gaining on him.
Smith has caught at least one pass in 120 consecutive games, but he might be happier if the streak had come to an end at 119. It was kept alive Sunday by a single catch for 6 yards that became a fumble and a turnover when Seattle cornerback Marcus Trufant knocked it free.
More ominous, the best play of the day came from rookie wide receiver Brandon Marshall, a 6-foot-4, 22-year-old poised to grow into the offense with fellow rookie Jay Cutler.
Smith declined to speak with the wretches after the game and declined to speak with me Wednesday, so I don't know if he's been contemplating the beginning of the end. But it's easy to imagine him facing the Jerry Rice option next summer - competing against a bunch of kids for the No. 3 receiver job.
Just last year he was still No. 1, putting up 85 catches for 1,105 yards, the eighth 1,000-yard season of a career that defies credulity all these years later. Find an anonymous, undrafted free agent on somebody's practice squad somewhere. That was Rod Smith.
This year, through 12 games, he has 39 catches for 388 yards. His per-catch average is the lowest of his career.
"As an offense, any time you're down in numbers everybody's going to be affected by it," coach Mike Shanahan said. "The thing that's encouraging to me is Rod Smith knows how to win.
"Even though I know he is so disappointed that he doesn't have his normal numbers, he understands what it takes to win and he's one of our best leaders to explain to guys that everybody's got a role and everybody's got a piece of the puzzle. And one person not doing that affects everybody. So even though he's quite disappointed, he's still the leader that he's always been."
One of the tensions in the Broncos locker room is the transition to rookie quarterback Jay Cutler while veterans like Smith, John Lynch and Tom Nalen watch their windows of opportunity closing.
"I'd be lying if I told you sometimes I don't scratch my head about this new generation, but I think everyone goes through that," Lynch said.
"But I thought really that would be a strength of this team in preseason, when some of these young guys really started stepping to the forefront. Because I think when you study the teams that have success in this salary-cap era, that's what you need. You need a great veteran presence, but you really need your youth to come to the forefront also."
I suggested that some ambivalence about the youth movement must remain among veterans looking to win right now.
"It's hard to say that, because you see a guy like Brandon Marshall go out and give us an opportunity to win," Lynch replied. "So those guys are contributing. Do you want more out of them? Always. But we need more out of myself, more out of everybody."
Smith has always been the ultimate team player. The question now is when it will be best for the team for Marshall to move ahead of him into the starting lineup. My guess is next summer.
"It's always tough to make a decision between a guy that's been a great player for you and a guy coming in, if you're going to make the change," Shanahan said.
"But a guy like Brandon is almost in a perfect position with our offense to play sparingly in different personnel groups because he's not ready to play every down. It takes time in terms of knowing what he's doing and understanding everything that we have in.
"Not that he couldn't handle it, but for us to be as effective as we need to be, it would be better for him to come in like he is, spotting Rod or Javon (Walker) when they get tired. And then the process, when a guy you can see is really starting to flourish, which he is right now, he's getting better each week, then he deserves more playing time and you've got to make a decision as a coach on which personnel groupings are going to be most effective."
In other words, look for more of the three-wide-receiver set. In what is suddenly a long shot bid for the playoffs, the Broncos need Walker and Marshall on the field.
In all fairness, Smith's lack of production is not even mostly his fault. The Broncos' dirty little secret is they can't pass protect, especially since Matt Lepsis went down. Even Walker, their leading receiver, has only 53 catches.
Still, for whatever reason, Smith has all but disappeared from the offense. He's been so good for so long, it's hard to see him like this.
Perhaps Cutler will settle in quickly enough to make use of him yet. Perhaps not. Either way, the end is quite suddenly in sight for the best wideout the Broncos ever had.
December 7, 2006
ENGLEWOOD - These are hard times for the most prolific wide receiver in Broncos history.
At 36, Rod Smith is on pace to finish the season with fewer catches and receiving yards than he's ever had as a starter. After a decade as the team's No. 1 receiver, he's now No. 2, and No. 3 is gaining on him.
Smith has caught at least one pass in 120 consecutive games, but he might be happier if the streak had come to an end at 119. It was kept alive Sunday by a single catch for 6 yards that became a fumble and a turnover when Seattle cornerback Marcus Trufant knocked it free.
More ominous, the best play of the day came from rookie wide receiver Brandon Marshall, a 6-foot-4, 22-year-old poised to grow into the offense with fellow rookie Jay Cutler.
Smith declined to speak with the wretches after the game and declined to speak with me Wednesday, so I don't know if he's been contemplating the beginning of the end. But it's easy to imagine him facing the Jerry Rice option next summer - competing against a bunch of kids for the No. 3 receiver job.
Just last year he was still No. 1, putting up 85 catches for 1,105 yards, the eighth 1,000-yard season of a career that defies credulity all these years later. Find an anonymous, undrafted free agent on somebody's practice squad somewhere. That was Rod Smith.
This year, through 12 games, he has 39 catches for 388 yards. His per-catch average is the lowest of his career.
"As an offense, any time you're down in numbers everybody's going to be affected by it," coach Mike Shanahan said. "The thing that's encouraging to me is Rod Smith knows how to win.
"Even though I know he is so disappointed that he doesn't have his normal numbers, he understands what it takes to win and he's one of our best leaders to explain to guys that everybody's got a role and everybody's got a piece of the puzzle. And one person not doing that affects everybody. So even though he's quite disappointed, he's still the leader that he's always been."
One of the tensions in the Broncos locker room is the transition to rookie quarterback Jay Cutler while veterans like Smith, John Lynch and Tom Nalen watch their windows of opportunity closing.
"I'd be lying if I told you sometimes I don't scratch my head about this new generation, but I think everyone goes through that," Lynch said.
"But I thought really that would be a strength of this team in preseason, when some of these young guys really started stepping to the forefront. Because I think when you study the teams that have success in this salary-cap era, that's what you need. You need a great veteran presence, but you really need your youth to come to the forefront also."
I suggested that some ambivalence about the youth movement must remain among veterans looking to win right now.
"It's hard to say that, because you see a guy like Brandon Marshall go out and give us an opportunity to win," Lynch replied. "So those guys are contributing. Do you want more out of them? Always. But we need more out of myself, more out of everybody."
Smith has always been the ultimate team player. The question now is when it will be best for the team for Marshall to move ahead of him into the starting lineup. My guess is next summer.
"It's always tough to make a decision between a guy that's been a great player for you and a guy coming in, if you're going to make the change," Shanahan said.
"But a guy like Brandon is almost in a perfect position with our offense to play sparingly in different personnel groups because he's not ready to play every down. It takes time in terms of knowing what he's doing and understanding everything that we have in.
"Not that he couldn't handle it, but for us to be as effective as we need to be, it would be better for him to come in like he is, spotting Rod or Javon (Walker) when they get tired. And then the process, when a guy you can see is really starting to flourish, which he is right now, he's getting better each week, then he deserves more playing time and you've got to make a decision as a coach on which personnel groupings are going to be most effective."
In other words, look for more of the three-wide-receiver set. In what is suddenly a long shot bid for the playoffs, the Broncos need Walker and Marshall on the field.
In all fairness, Smith's lack of production is not even mostly his fault. The Broncos' dirty little secret is they can't pass protect, especially since Matt Lepsis went down. Even Walker, their leading receiver, has only 53 catches.
Still, for whatever reason, Smith has all but disappeared from the offense. He's been so good for so long, it's hard to see him like this.
Perhaps Cutler will settle in quickly enough to make use of him yet. Perhaps not. Either way, the end is quite suddenly in sight for the best wideout the Broncos ever had.