FanHouse Steve Smith

The buzz surrounding Silent Bob's offense just keeps on growing in Charlotte. If you heard this, you wouldn't be asking where all the bees went...

Not only is Steve Smith excited with the new playbook, but 2nd-year running back DeAngelo Williams can't stop talking about how familiar this new offense looks to him...

"It's exactly like the Memphis offense when I was running there," he said.

Lest we forget, Williams averaged 6.17 yards per carry during his college career. He also scored 55 touchdowns in three seasons and is 4th all-time in rushing yards in Division I-A history.

Y'know, I'm just going to say this now. I like DeShaun Foster. I think he's a much better running back than most Panthers fans seem to think he is, and I think he can still be successful in the NFL. But there is no way on this planet or any other that he starts ahead of DeAngelo Williams next season. Maybe Foster keeps the starting job early in the season, but by Columbus Day, if both players stay healthy, Williams will be the Carolina Panthers' main guy. Bank on that now.

And if both Steve Smith and DeAngelo Williams, Carolina's two biggest weapons, are thrilled with this offense, can you imagine what they might do in it?

Previously at the FanHouse:
Carolina Bets the Farm on Silent Bob
Steve Smith Gives Silent Bob's Offense a Thumbs Up

Carolina Panthers All-Pro receiver Steve Smith is not happy about his team losing two straight. He seems even less pleased that he was asked to return punts Sunday night in an effort to spark his team's performance. It looked like he hadn't practiced punt returns in a while. It also looks like he won't do it again any time soon...

"That'll be my last time back there," Smith said.

When asked whether he or his coaches had made that decision, he bristled.

"The last time I checked, I've only got one person to answer to. That's my maker," he said.

I suppose we can surmise that "my maker" is actually a reference to God and not, say, Smith's mother. Smith probably wouldn't be swayed on his new no-return stance if Mom called him up and said, "You know how much I love when my baby returns those punts." Theoretically, though, if God decided to start talking to Smith the way he used to talk to, say, Reggie White, maybe then Smith would consider taking on punt return duties again.

Personally, I think all the Panthers receivers would be better off if they just asked God to stop smiting their hands. These guys dropped more balls Sunday night than a room full of 12-year-olds all hitting puberty at once. That sounds like something to practice during the bye week this week, and hey, God helps those who help themselves...

On his podcast this week, Steve Smith revealed that when he takes his kids to Disney World, the character he looks forward to seeing the most is Grumpy. When asked why, he replied:

"Because that's me."

Explains a lot, doesn't it? It's probably a good thing that Smith stopped short of suggesting which dwarves his teammates were. Keyshawn Johnson might have gone into more detail...

Regardless, if you want to get Grumpy's voice on your cell phone, you can meet Steve Smith at the Alltel Store on 9105 Pineville-Matthews Road in Charlotte on Tuesday, October 24 at 5:00 PM. The first 100 people in line will get a personalized voicemail greeting from Smith recorded on their cell phones, which will make all their friends blazingly jealous. Alltel's giving away phones, too, though you'll probably have to pay for the two-year contract if you get one.

I probably won't make it there, since I work for a living and all, but if you get out there, take some pictures and email them to dave@davesfootballblog.com, and I'll share 'em with everyone here. Cameraphone pics are fine. It is a cell phone store, after all...

Uh, uh, check the rhyme...

Just some quick hits (and a throwaway reference to one of the best hip hop albums of all time) before I take off for the weekend:

Al Wallace will be fined $7,500 for his late hit on Chris Simms, which was widely believed to rupture Simms' spleen. Wallace told reporters he was physically sick after that game, claiming he didn't want to "jeopardize anybody's health that way."

Not sick? Steve Smith. Reports out of Charlotte indicate that the YACrabbit's hamstrings are finally at 100%, and he should be at full strength for Sunday's game against the New Orleans Saints in Charlotte. That spells trouble for the Saints' secondary.

Oh, and while we weren't looking, Pete Prisco of CBS Sportsline decided to start drinking the Keyshawn kool-aid...

He might have screamed loudly -- and wrote a book -- and he has been involved in his share of controversies over the years, but Johnson seems to be at peace with his lot in life, playing second-fiddle -- being the other guy -- to star Steve Smith on the Panthers.

That can be tough to take for some receivers, particularly a guy like Johnson whose ego rivals any I've encountered. But, so far, Johnson hasn't griped, hasn't called for the ball. What we have is a more mature Keyshawn Johnson.

And you know what: Give me 22 like him and I'll play anybody, anywhere.

But what's Keyshawn if he doesn't have gall? What's a YACrabbit if he ain't got the ball? What's football if it doesn't have violence? Chill for a minute, Doug E. Fresh said silence...

Here's how you know the Carolina Panthers have not hit the panic button just yet. They started working on their comedy routines after their last-second win over Tampa Bay on Sunday.

Scott Fowler of the Charlotte Observer recorded this exchange between Carolina's main offensive weapons in the locker room...

Steve Smith: "Between (Keyshawn) and Jake, I don't know who ran the slowest. I mean that reverse was sl-o-o-w. And that scamper Jake had was pretty slow as well."

Jake Delhomme: "I was trying to take time off the clock."

Keyshawn Johnson: *shrug* "Didn't matter. Touchdown." *trademark big grin*

Sure, there's still plenty of concern among Panthers fans about the state of the team, especially with the 3-0 New Orleans Saints, the surprise of the season, coming to town after that thorough spanking of the Atlanta Falcons on Monday night. In spite of an ugly start, though, the locker room is still loose.

Why not? Carolina started 1-2 last season and still made it to the NFC Championship game. We've still got a long way to go. We might as well laugh about it along the way...

Yesterday over at Dave's Football Blog, I wrote about Alltel's new NFL podcasts for several players, including Steve Smith, who talked about how he tried to coach up his fellow receivers from the sidelines during Week 1 and how his daughter thought calamari was chicken. I mentioned to the Alltel guy that I thought it was a shame that only their customers would be able to hear these.

Turns out I was wrong. These podcasts are only Alltel-exclusive for a few days. Then they go out on a regular old RSS feed like every other podcast. Very cool. Here's the feed for Steve Smith's podcast:

http://feeds.feedburner.com/SteveSmithPodcast

Episode 2 is up on that feed now, and I'll listen to it later today. I wonder if Smith will address those filthy, filthy rumors...

Here's some good news for Panthers fans: Steve Smith and Ken Lucas, both listed as questionable on John Fox's injury report, practiced with the team today, increasing the chances that both will play on Sunday.

You all know about Smith's hammy troubles -- which, by the way, are absolutely real and have absolutely nothing to do with his contract, just so you know -- but most people didn't notice that All-Pro cornerback Lucas left the Vikings game in the 4th quarter with a neck injury. Despite being listed as questionable on the injury report, Lucas has told the media that he'll be ready to go on Sunday.

Less likely to be ready? Safety Shaun Williams, who injured his foot in Minnesota and will likely be replaced by 2004 starter Colin Branch. Also, center Justin Hartwig is still sitting out with a groin injury. The Panthers' offensive line this Sunday should consist of Geoff Hangartner (center), Mike Wahle (left guard), Jordan Gross (left tackle), rookie Will Montgomery (right guard) and Todd Fordham (right tackle). Hopefully, this line will play better than it did in the first two games...

After Steve Smith lashed out at reporters earlier today for suggesting that there was credence to a rumor on "an Internet site" that his injury is somehow related to his contract, I decided it was time to look up the source of that rumor. Of course, the first Internet site for NFL rumors is Pro Football Talk, and sure enough, there's something there about Steve Smith from September 13:

SMITH HAS CAROLINA BLUE FLU?

As Panthers receiver Steve Smith continues to miss more and more time due an injury to one hamstring early in camp and the other one the week before the first game of the regular season, league insiders are beginning to wonder whether there's a connection between Smith's health and his contract.

Though we've yet to hear from anyone who has any specific information that Smith is embellishing his physical condition as a statement of dissatisfaction with his financial condition, folks are starting to think that maybe, just maybe, this is Smith's way of making it known that he wants more money...

The Panthers have the upper hand on this one, since Smith is under contract for the next four seasons. But if there's a connection between Smith's hamstring and his purse strings, the team needs to decide whether it's willing to adjust his contract to reflect his performance in 2005 -- or whether to risk having a malcontent in their midst for 2006.

So the source of your rumor is none other than Sports Bloggers Live heartthrob Mike Florio, and as per usual, he doesn't divulge any of his "league insider" sources and doesn't back up anything he's saying. At least Florio admits that's his usual M.O. But that's not the reason Smith lashed out today...

Depending on whom you believe, Steve Smith told Mike and Mike on ESPN radio yesterday that he expects to play on Sunday against Minnesota. Then he turned around and told Tom Sorensen of the Charlotte Observer that he's day-to-day and couldn't go if the game were today.

What intrigues me more, though, is that Sorenson says Smith has a podcast...

I'm a techno peasant. I've never seen a podcast...

You are a techno peasant, Tom. The vast majority of podcasts are audio.

...but I promised Alltel I would ask Steve Smith about the podcast he did Tuesday. Smith and three other NFL receivers - the Cardinals' Larry Fitzgerald, the Saints' Joe Horn and the Browns' Joe Jurevicius - do a weekly podcast for Alltel.

Smith answers e-mail from fans and talks about football and real-life subjects such as music and food. Smith, who did his second podcast Tuesday, says, for example, his family's favorite restaurant is Ruth's Chris steak house.

If you're an Alltel subscriber, dial #STEVE89, and you'll receive a password that will enable you to hear the podcast and get onto his Web site.

Of course, I'm a Verizon guy, so I'm out of the loop on this one, but if any Alltel subscribers out there would be willing to hook a blogger up, I'd be much obliged. It would be a nice change of pace from the Panthers' web site, which still uses RealAudio to stream Panther Talk with John Fox. Seriously, guys, nobody uses RealPlayer anymore; it's been an adware-choked mess for years. If you need help setting up a podcast, let me know. I have experience with such things...

After all the talk about whether Steve Smith and Keyshawn Johnson would be able to play together this year, Brett Friedlander of the Fayetteville Observer-Times reminds us that Smith and Johnson still haven't played together yet.

Because of a hamstring injury suffered by Smith on the opening day of practice, the Panthers' dynamic pass-catching duo has yet to appear on the same field at the same time under game conditions.

"I don't think we did it even in our scrimmage," said Johnson, who caught seven balls for 77 yards in four preseason games. "When it happens, I think it will be fun."

The problem, nobody is certain when the much-anticipated event will take place.

One week into the 2006 season, we're still not sure. John Fox has provided no clues about whether Smith would be ready for next week, and he probably knows as much as we do at this point.

Even if Smith isn't ready, though, the Panthers have to find ways to get more out of Drew Carter and Keary Colbert, even if the main culprit is the O-line's pass blocking and Jake Delhomme's apparent lack of confidence in them. Colbert didn't get do much to earn that confidence, either, especially after he sunk out of bounds yesterday instead of fighting to get the 1st down on a late 4th-and-long play. He came up a yard short. Any other Colbert would have put Keary on notice after that play.