I don't blame Steve Smith...

[jtm]

You sign a deal that makes you one of the highest paid players in the NFL that expires when you are 34 says it all. I am sure the Panthers didn't agree to pay him $7-$7.5 million when he was 32 and 33 because they thought these were going to be his best years. Clearly these contracts are signed out of mutual respect to allow both sides to not have to worry about their future - thanks Steve

[JawnyBlaze]

Andre Johnson was asking for a new contract...and is not the competitor Smitty is. He might be more talented and definitely more physically gifted, but you don't see the passion for the game out of Johnson that you see in Smitty. You don't see that passion in any other WRs. The claim that Smitty just wants his numbers is ridiculous if you've followed this team. Smitty wants wins. Smitty doesn't want to be embarrassed by the performance on the field of his team. Smitty wants people around him who care as passionately as he does. The lack of these things is what causes him to get pissed off. You don't see him publicly berating his QB like you see ACTUAL cancers like TO and 85. The closest he came was saying of Clausen "this ain't Notre Dame any more". That's a pretty weak berating. I think Smitty sees in Clausen a spoiled kid who has coasted all his life and is still trying to coast and that doesn't sit well with him. And it shouldn't. Anyone who that WOULD sit well doesn't belong on my team. (for the record, I'm not saying that is the case with Clausen, just a hypothesis on how Smitty perceives it.)

[OneBadassCat]

If Steve was a selfish player he would have murdered Jake Delhomme and John Fox a long time ago.

[Darth Urious]

same front office ran Smitty off that ran Pep off...

but yeah, all of you that are saying "good riddance" are the carriers of that same banner, and part of the reason the Panthers are going to be mediocre until ownership wants to field a winning team...

[panthersfan#2]

Steve Smith would be stupid to want to bail out of the Panthers right when they are about bring in Cam Newton. Trust me, Cam is going to electrify the Panthers team, the city of Charlotte and Panther fans around the country.

[JawnyBlaze]

You sign a deal that makes you one of the highest paid players in the NFL that expires when you are 34 says it all. I am sure the Panthers didn't agree to pay him $7-$7.5 million when he was 32 and 33 because they thought these were going to be his best years. Clearly these contracts are signed out of mutual respect to allow both sides to not have to worry about their future - thanks Steve

$7mil is far from one of the highest paid players in the NFL...Larry Fitzgerald gets $10mil a year. Brandon Marshall gets about $9.5mil. And I imagine Smitty's contract was backloaded in the event his injuries didn't heal they could release or trade him without paying him the bulk of his contract AND/OR helping alleviate salary cap issues back then.

[OneBadassCat]

The only thing I think Cam Newton could do for Steve is getting yards off broken plays.

[carolinarolls]

Steve Smith would be stupid to want to bail out of the Panthers right when they are about bring in Cam Newton. Trust me, Cam is going to electrify the Panthers team, the city of Charlotte and Panther fans around the country.

...in about two years,hopefully

[Pox 08]

I'd hardly call his actions temper tantrums. I see it as frustration with wanting to win, knowing that you have gotten a taste of the big game before but seeing that the FO has screwed you over. Clausen was just the unfortunate victim, even though he deserved to be barked at. If he can't stand up to Steve and tell him how it is, I don't see him being able to command a huddle or leading a team. People are always going to criticize you.. it's such a competitive and emotional sport so players get fired up and often say stuff in the wrong manner.

You don't see how screwed up that belief is?

As one of the few veterans left on the team, it's not alright to act like a complete dick and bully to a rookie qb. Throwing his hands up, jumping up and down, yelling because the ball didn't come his way, in the middle of the games, is , in fact , a temper tantrum.

Nevermind Clausen, what is any rookie qb going to do against that with a player of Smith's history? Stand up to Smith and risk getting his nose bashed in, or worse? How is that going to go toward a rookie Qbs credibility when it comes to leading a huddle , when he's getting the hell beat out of him by a wr?

I love me some #89, he's still my favorite Panther, but, I'm not letting that blind me anymore to what a dick Smith can be. Others can excuse and look past it by saying "Oh, that's okay, he's just a competitive player".

[The_Cannon]

I am happy to see this thread.

I felt the same way about Julius

People wanted to burn Peppers in effigy at the end of the 2009 season and booed the crap out of him when came to BoA last year. People HATE Pep. I wonder what Smiths reception will be if he ever comes to BoA wearing a different color jersey?

[MadHatter]

Steve Smith would be stupid to want to bail out of the Panthers right when they are about bring in Cam Newton. Trust me, Cam is going to electrify the Panthers team, the city of Charlotte and Panther fans around the country.

Yeah....if I were a WR in the waning years of my career, all I would want is a project QB that everyone agrees wil lnot be ready to see the field for at least a year or two.

Damn people, another rookie QB is NOT what he wants. He wants a vet starting QB that is ready to lead this team NOW.

[Snake]

You don't see how screwed up that belief is?

As one of the few veterans left on the team, it's not alright to act like a complete dick and bully to a rookie qb. Throwing his hands up, jumping up and down, yelling because the ball didn't come his way, in the middle of the games, is , in fact , a temper tantrum.

Nevermind Clausen, what is any rookie qb going to do against that with a player of Smith's history? Stand up to Smith and risk getting his nose bashed in, or worse? How is that going to go toward a rookie Qbs credibility when it comes to leading a huddle , when he's getting the hell beat out of him by a wr?

I love me some #89, he's still my favorite Panther, but, I'm not letting that blind me anymore to what a dick Smith can be. Others can excuse and look past it by saying "Oh, that's okay, he's just a competitive player".

The fact is Smith could not reach Newtons nose so Problem solved!!! He would have to give him a swift shot to the ankle.

[Phil Dees]

The fact is Smith could not reach Newtons nose so Problem solved!!! He would have to give him a swift shot to the ankle.

Or when he is sitting or kneeling down :cool:

[JawnyBlaze]

Throwing his hands up, jumping up and down, yelling because the ball didn't come his way, in the middle of the games, is , in fact , a temper tantrum.

Oh my God please don't throw your hands up! Oh no, not the yelling! he's YELLING OMFG WHAT IS POOR JIMMY GOING TO DO WITH SOMEONE YELLING AT HIM. SOMEONE GET HIM HIS BLANKY....

these are grown ass men playing a grown ass sport. I could see if he jumped all up and down his ass, rode him, berated him, or went overboard with it. But you never saw Smitty do more than a brief demonstration of his frustration. And I never heard a mic'd up with Smitty saying "fug you Jimmy for not getting me the ball". I saw plays where he threw his hands up because he was wide open and wasn't thrown to. That's what ALL WRs do. That seemed to me to be more frustration with an abysmal offense and a sinking ship than "just get me the ball because I need my numbers" attitude. They seemed to me more like "come on, we had an opportunity to score our first TD in 3 games and you didn't even look at me..." gesture.