Smitty

[Squirrel]

Funny people defending Smitty and dont even know him. Meat's right Smitty a distraction the way he acts on the field isnt helping the team. He almost got a unsportsman like conduct penalty sunday and every time he catches the ball he is hollering at the sideline.

Funny couple years ago everyone was giving Jenkins a hard time because of his attitude.

[2plankingpanther]

In short, Meat personally wants Smith of the team cause he has anger issues

And that's a dumb reason to get rid of him!Yeah he blew a fuse a couple times but that fire also makes him a dangerous player!I don't blame Smitty,I understand why he's frustrated!Next year,we need to retain Smitty,make Delhomme a back up QB,trade Peppers,if he doesn't want to stay for a reasonable $,and fire Fox and Hurney,and maybe retain Meeks!

[Lumps]

When the players stop listening to the coach, you get rid of the coach, not the players.

I do think Smith has an attitude problem showing, which needs to be addressed. While it's hard to blame him, that doesn't excuse acting like a child, which is is very prone to do.

But as someone said his attitude problems sometimes work in our favor, in return we get an intimidating, passionate football player.

Personally I would rather give up Jake and Fox rather than Smith. I think Smith has given the the franchise a lot more than either of them.

[Kevin Greene]

Since I'm in a mood for being "brutally honest" lately, let's continue that here.

If Steve Smith didn't have a panthers logo on his helmet, most (if not all) of us wouldn't give a flying rodent's rectum about his apologies, his 'maturing', his community service or his apologies.

We'd look at his record (in game tantrums and incidents, punching out teammates, speaking to the press, etc) and we'd put him in the same category as Terrell Owens. Few, if any, would even try to defend him.

We're looking at it through homer glasses. Meat is not, and he has more direct experience with Smith and the Panthers locker room than anyone else commenting in this thread.

Saint fans defended Kyle Turley. Eagle fans, and later, Cowboy fans defended Terrell Owens. Chief fans probably defended Larry Johnson (up until today at least).

Think back a few months. Remember how many people downed Peppers when he wanted to be an ex-Panther? Now all of a sudden he's got fans all over. Why? Because he's on field wearing a Panthers helmet.

If Smith were traded, you can bet a significant portion of the fanbase would turn on him in a heartbeat. Deny it if you want, but deep down we all know it's true.

Meat is looking at it with objectivity. And let's just be real: right now, that can't be said for the majority of us :nonod:

Owens is an attention ***** who lives for the media coverage. Time and again his actions have shown what a worthless human being he is.

Deep down Smitty is a family man who cares for more than himself. He definately has his issues but I don't put him in Owen's class.

Football teams belong to the fans, they're going to chear for who's on the field. You could make your analogy for most any player traded away, but by and large I'd guess a huge segment of Panther fans would thank Smitty for his time here. I would.

[2plankingpanther]

Had you heard of Miles Austin before this year?

Who on our team is gonna be just as good as Miles Austin(besides Smitty)?That's what I thought!!

[2plankingpanther]

And yes,I heard of Miles Austin when he was just a backup,but Jarret aint him,now K Moore(?)needs more playing time!

[Matt Foley]

First of all, that guy is probably not on this roster. But next to kickers, wide receivers are probably the easiest position to find out there.

[2plankingpanther]

if good receivers are that easy to find,why is it that Smitty(Moose kind of)is the only exceptional receiver this team has had in the last few years?

[2plankingpanther]

With out Smitty,this team is about as good as the Browns!!

[Matt Foley]

if good receivers are that easy to find,why is it that Smitty(Moose kind of)is the only exceptional receiver this team has had in the last few years?

How many exceptional receivers has any team had in the last few years? Not every team has two great receivers, you know. How many exceptional offensive linemen have the Panthers ever had? How many exceptional quarterbacks?

What I'm saying is you can find receivers out there who will go out and catch 60-90 balls for you. If running is your bread and butter, that's all you need.

[Brooklyn Bully]

Since I'm in a mood for being "brutally honest" lately, let's continue that here.

If Steve Smith didn't have a panthers logo on his helmet, most (if not all) of us wouldn't give a flying rodent's rectum about his apologies, his 'maturing', his community service or his apologies.

We'd look at his record (in game tantrums and incidents, punching out teammates, speaking to the press, etc) and we'd put him in the same category as Terrell Owens. Few, if any, would even try to defend him.

We're looking at it through homer glasses. Meat is not, and he has more direct experience with Smith and the Panthers locker room than anyone else commenting in this thread.

Saint fans defended Kyle Turley. Eagle fans, and later, Cowboy fans defended Terrell Owens. Chief fans probably defended Larry Johnson (up until today at least).

Think back a few months. Remember how many people downed Peppers when he wanted to be an ex-Panther? Now all of a sudden he's got fans all over. Why? Because he's on field wearing a Panthers helmet.

If Smith were traded, you can bet a significant portion of the fanbase would turn on him in a heartbeat. Deny it if you want, but deep down we all know it's true.

Meat is looking at it with objectivity. And let's just be real: right now, that can't be said for the majority of us :nonod:

While your logic may be true for a lot of the Smitty defenders, it's not for me. My user name title used to read: Dislikes Homers, before it's current title of Meeks Supporter. I'm far, far from being a homer. I just truly, and honestly think he hasn't been as bad as other NFL players have been. And while Meat may know things I don't (I don't even know the backstory on Meat), the point there is that he knows things that have gone on behind closed doors. And that's the WHOLE point of this. Had the camera never shown his rant after a Saints player hit him at his damn knees out of bounds, and had we not seen him toss the ball in anger after his big catch...this thread would not even be here today.

But the camera did catch him. There are a lot of hot heads out there in the NFL. And you can't blame them for their actions...all you can do is say they are immature and unprofessional. The game is heated and brings out people's emotions at such high levels. Hell, we fans get mad and rage in our own homes and at work. But as a player, you get labled as a "role model" and then get looked down on for having a normal, human outburst. How fair is that?

What Smith did was unprofessional and immature...but it happens to people every single hour of every single day. Thankfully Smith, if he is bad as I'm reading Meat to say he is, keeps most of his gripes off camera. And I highly doubt Meat has behind the scenes info on all 32 yeams, but I'd bet high dollar you'll find that same behavior in every locker room in the NFL. This team would have been nothing without Smith during his recent time here, and without the perfect trades, draft picks, and free agency signings, we'd be crap without him next season. I'm sorry, I can overlook his occasional "tv tantrums", not because I'm a homer, but because it's really in truly not that bad.

When IS it bad? When he does it on TV every week, and it costs us games. That has yet to happen so I will not yet bring the axe down on his neck.

[joemac]

I like Smith and all, but his antics this year a getting a little out of hand, and frankly a little tired. Can he not just make a single catch and just drop the ball, or hand it to the ref? No, he has got to act like he just scored the Super Bowl winning TD, or get pissed off at the guy who tackled him. I know he plays with passion and fire and all that, but hes taking it to a whole nother lever this year. Maybe its just frustration, i dunno....

[Mr. Scot]

A well thought out, reasoned post met with insults and logic-devoid "nuh uhs", just because it was about this franchise's golden goose?

Never saw this coming.

So you're saying bench Jake?

I've been saying it for a while now.

We've seen our players yap a bit more this season than usual, what do you think about them not 'fearing' anymore?

Or respecting? Either they don't care or don't respect them anymore.

I posted a couple weeks back that I thought Fox might be beginning to lose the team. This to me is just more evidence.

As a fan, I hate to see a good player suspended, especially with tough games coming up.

With that said, were I in charge of this team and any player pulled this stunt, he'd be sitting his can on the bench for at least two games, maybe more.

[Mr. Scot]

Let's be real on a couple points here:

- Meat's history gives him huge credibility on this matter. He has more direct knowledge about Smith than anyone on this board. In the past, he and I have disagreed on the matter, but I'm beginning to see signs he may have been right.

- Smith isn't the receiver he has been. Maybe it's age, maybe it's choice, but the Smith I see now isn't the same guy I saw in years past. And no, it isn't solely Jake Delhomme's fault. Smith himself bears part of the blame too.

- If Smith does go elsewhere next season, and he proceeds to say "the Panthers suck" and/or starts dishing up secrets, a whole lot of Panther fans will turn on him. Every incident in his past will be discussed ad nauseum and some will claim they always (secretly) hated him.

- Likewise, if Smith is traded and a new receiver comes in and starts lighting it up, you'll see a lot of "Steve Who?" on this board and elsewhere. Might seem unthinkable right now, but fans are as fickle as the wind.

- At this point, everyone seems to be subscribing to the notion that either Fox or Smith will be gone this offseason. Maybe, but I personally think it's possible you could see both of them exiting Charlotte this offseason.

And lastly, as far as the immediate future, a game or two suspension is possible, and might even turn out to be a good thing (ala 2008).

We'll see what happens.