Steve Smith gets shout out in MMQB

[Mekeritrig]

Found this in Today's MMQB from Peter King. I agree completely with his analysis of Smith's tenacity and toughness. Some great quotes from an interview in there as well.

Steve Smith, the Carolina Steve Smith, leads the NFL in guts.

Steve Smith says his broken forearm is "a minor nuisance.'' Right away in the NBC viewing room at Rockefeller Center Sunday, when Smith got slammed by Giants safety Michael Johnson as he gathered in a pass from Matt Moore near the goal line, Rodney Harrison said, "His arm's broken.'' Harrison knows about broken arms. He broke his in the Patriots' third Super Bowl game this decade, against Carolina, and stayed on the field for the rest of the series though he knew it was broken.

"Toughest wide receiver in football,'' Harrison said of Smith.

Toughest player, I'd say.

The play came two minutes into the second half, from the Giants' 21-yard line.

"When I came out of my break to catch the ball,'' Smith told me from the Panthers' locker room, "I knew I didn't have long to go up and make the catch before I was going to get hit. I felt him [Johnson] coming. But that happens all the time. You catch the ball, you take the hit, you hang on. And so the ball came and I caught it, and he slammed into me. I felt it [break] right away. The bones were moving, shifting in there.''

"How'd you hold onto the ball?'' I asked.

"There was no chance I'd drop it,'' he said. "I'd die before I'd drop that ball.

Then I fell into the end zone, and when I got up, I knew it was broken.''

He went to lift the left arm to help him cradle the ball, but the left arm wasn't working; he couldn't use it for support. So he went to the sidelines -- without grimacing -- and said to the trainer who came to meet him, "It's broken, man.''

"I didn't want anybody to touch it,'' he said.

He said he recalled in college colliding with BYU linebacker Rob Morris and breaking a neck vertebrae. He said it's part of the game.

"He gave me his best shot,'' Smith said, "and I must be a pretty good player. Because I broke my arm and still scored the touchdown.''

When Smith was getting the arm X-rayed, the doctor told him he'd have to have it set in surgery this morning. Smith wanted the doctor to cast it so he could play Sunday in the season finale against New Orleans -- a game that means nothing because Carolina's been eliminated from the playoffs. GM Marty Hurney told him that would be impossible, obviously. Bones set in three months, not five days.

"You in pain right now?'' I asked.

"Sort of,'' he said. "It's more of a minor nuisance.''

Football players are different than the rest of us.

Read more:

[X-Clown]

Dude just broke his arm, but STILL wanted to play in this week's game despite there being little to nothing to play for and our fans want to trade him and some go as far as to call him a diva. What's wrong with this picture?

[brian032]

Mad props to Smitty. After I saw his arm limping and kind of floating around after the touchdown I had a gut feeling his arm was broken. Btw, Matt Moore gets some props from Don Banks also.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/don_banks/12/27/snap.judgments/1.html

[bleys]

Dude just broke his arm, but STILL wanted to play in this week's game despite there being little to nothing to play for and our fans want to trade him and some go as far as to call him a diva. What's wrong with this picture?

this.

f**k the haters..

[Darth Biscuit]

Watch the play again... after it's hit and broken, he's spun around and holds the ball with his right hand and uses his left broken arm to brace himself to the ground... tough motherf*(ker he is...

[KBRed]

I really wish he could get an 18-yd catch next game just to break 1,000. He deserves it.

[Mekeritrig]

Watch the play again... after it's hit and broken, he's spun around and holds the ball with his right hand and uses his left broken arm to brace himself to the ground... tough motherf*(ker he is...

Steve Smith reveals his true identity...

[Plewis]

damn. I asked Ryan Kalil if Smitty broke his arm last night and he said it was something with Smitty's wrist... shows what the linemen know.

[CharlotteBeer.com]

Toughest player, I'd say.

That's all King needed to say (and perhaps the realest sh*t he ever wrote).

[HubKat]

Here is the best thing of all..

When it happened I cringed...they replayed it and my wife cringed..then she says:

"And Jake Delhomme is on Injured Reserve with a broke finger?" "Smith just caught the ball, broke away, scored a touchdown, landed on the broken arm, was helped up by a teammate who grabbed the broken arm, and he just calmly walks off the field"....yeah - Jake is done.

And she doesn't watch football all that much..

Kind of stuck with me.

[Jackofalltrades]

I wish he could play this last week. Just get his 1k yards and call it a season.

[Sultan33g]

Where u at jase?

[panthers55]

Here is the best thing of all..

When it happened I cringed...they replayed it and my wife cringed..then she says:

"And Jake Delhomme is on Injured Reserve with a broke finger?" "Smith just caught the ball, broke away, scored a touchdown, landed on the broken arm, was helped up by a teammate who grabbed the broken arm, and he just calmly walks off the field"....yeah - Jake is done.

And she doesn't watch football all that much..

Kind of stuck with me.

What kind of logic is this??

One has nothing to do with the other. Smitty is on IR and won't play this week. Jake is on IR for rest of season. Smitty gets up and walks off the field because he broke his arm and Jake played after his finger was broken.

Both are tough players. Most quarterbacks have to be to deal with the beating they suffer every week. If Fox wanted Jake to play he would be out there slinging the ball. Do you want Jake out there throwing the ball? Jake is sitting as much because he stank it up as he can't play due to injury.

These situations aren't remotely related at this point.

[Mekeritrig]

This may be overlooked, but Steve Smith had 982 receiving yards and 22 rushing yards for a grand total of 1004 all purpose yards. Thats gotta help him with some records.