Steve Smith Basically Says He Could Beat Peyton Manning In A Race With A Torn Achilles

ESPN – Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Steve Smith Sr. wasn’t impressed by Peyton Manning’s speed on his 12-yard run in the AFC Championship Game. On last week’s “Dan Patrick Show,” Smith was asked whether he could outrun Manning right now on one healthy leg. Smith, who is rehabbing an Achilles injury, paused before letting out a deep breath and saying, “It’d be a photo finish.” Smith laughed when he brought up that first-down scramble by Manning in the AFC title game. That was Manning’s longest postseason run since January 2000, which was a year before Smith played in the NFL. “When they put up that display of Peyton Manning running for a first down, oh my …” Smith said. “But that is the traditional quarterback and Peyton Manning and Tom Brady have made that who they are. They’ve owned that. They have made the example of how you do it that way. Now, Cam Newton, Russell Wilsonand even Aaron Rodgers add an element that’s changing the game.”

Steve Smith just can’t quit the trash-talking game. Whether it’s on the field on Sundays, on an operating table with a shredded achilles, or years from now when he’s six feet under, Steve’s gonna talk shit. Even if the guy can’t walk, he’ll hunt something down to conquer and call it his bitch while doing it. I know Steve seems mild-mannered and respectful towards Peyton in these quotes, but you just know he had that twinkle in his eye as he imagined beating poor lil Pey Pey in a foot-race, even if that means he has to hop on one foot the whole way. You never worry about somebody like him losing his mental edge when he suffers a debilitating injury, but it’s just good to see it ooze out of him in a casual radio interview anyway. Competing is like breathing to him, even if that means making up a wild hypothetical. He needs competition to survive.

It’s that kind of mentality that plants a little seed of doubt that he’ll even retire after next season anyway. A part of me thinks his competitive fire could keep him on the field for another 5 years. We’ve got HOF receivers calling it quits at age 30 and then we’ve got Steve Smith over here dying to get out there and be a winner. The sports world is running low on competitors like Steve Smith and that’s a crying shame.  I said it on our podcast that he’s the last of a dying breed with the likes of Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett. So many athletes these days like Lebron and JJ Watt just want to put on a show for their instagram and rack up the likes. Fuck likes. Sports should be all about beating the guy on the other side into a bloody pulp and not giving a fuck about the aftermath. If he dies he dies. That’s why I’ll ride with Steve Smith until the day he kicks the bucket. If Calvin Johnson gets in the HOF before Steve I’m gonna shit a chicken, but that’s an argument for another day.

PS: This morning I tested out my theory that he can’t turn down a challenge. While he appeared to have declined my challenge, he also obliterated my self-worth in the process so I guess I’m sorta right?