Going deep with Smitty

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Here is a good read from the Panther's Website by Mick Mixon.


January 25, 2008
Mick Mixon
special to Panthers.com

Mick’s Bag: Smitty, how will you remember the Panthers 2007 season?

Steve Smith: I think this whole year was an opportunity for me, personally, to get some growing and learning done. Obviously with the team success being up and down and us not doing the job we wanted to, you would have to say we fell short of our goals. Going to the NFC Championship game, going to the Super Bowl, those were our goals and that’s a good, high standard that we set for ourselves. Individually, I struggled a little bit with some things as far as what’s going on with the team and not doing as well as we’d like to, but the biggest thing that I accomplished is that I learned a lot of things.
In my route running game, for example, I’ve learned some things that I can take into the off-season...things I know will make me an even better player for many years. Things I can teach to the younger guys, too.
I think I run pretty good routes, but I’ve learned some things that will help me. It showed in the Dallas game, in the Seattle game, it even showed a few times against San Francisco and Jacksonville. There were sprinkles of it and I know exactly how I can plug it in next year to pick apart cornerbacks.
Through adversity, through trials and tribulations, can you stand the test of adversity? Each individual guy has to look themselves in the mirror and say, “Can they?” Speaking for myself, I think I’ve scratched the surface but I can still improve. I can evaluate better, watch film better, everything that contributes to extending your career and establishing yourself as a decent wide receiver.
MB: How will it feel to you to get your buddy Jake Delhomme back next season?
SS: It will be great to get number 17 back. It will be great to get all the guys back who fell to injury. The test of time shows how much a guy is missed and what he contributes. I’ve said it to Jake, I’ll say it on record. A lot of times when you have a guy there you really just don’t know how much a guy is missed and what a key role he plays (until he is gone.) I missed Jake as a friend and as a player. Not having my guy back there was very difficult but it showed how well and how much Jake means to this team and means to this offense. And how much he means to me as well.