Steve Smith Sr., his ‘grandpa stomach’ not going quietly in retirement tour

When Steve Smith Sr. announced in training camp that the 2015 season would be his final one in the NFL, you had a feeling this would not be a feel-good nostalgia tour.

Smith is doing his best to take his final cuts at the league, and through three games he’s third in the league in receiving yards — only Julio Jones and Antonio Brown have more — with 349, prior to Monday night’s game.

His 13 catches (second-most in his career) for 186 yards (third-most) and two touchdowns (both of them insane physical efforts) represented a valiant effort, but not even Smith could rescue his Baltimore Ravens from an 0-3 start, making a playoff appearance in Smith’s swan-song season that much more unlikely.

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We’ll miss Smith, one of the best receivers of his generation. But we also will Smith, an all-time talker. Sunday was no exception, when Smith was in rare form. First, he was caught on the CBS cameras rolling through the Cincinnati Bengals’ defensive backs, one by one, calling them “trash” and, um, other names.

Then after the game, Smith offered more gems — these more of the PG variety. Asked about leaving the field, throwing up and needing an IV, Smith explained that, while his tongue might be a bit salty, his diet is decidedly bland before games.

“When you’re old like this, that’s the first thing that goes is your stomach. As [Justin] Forsett says, I have an old grandpa stomach,” Smith said. “On game day, I get really sensitive, so I have to eat bland food. I kind of stretched myself at breakfast a little bit. I wanted some different kind of carbs, and it didn’t work. So I have to do the B.R.A.T. diet before the games. So bananas, applesauce, bland foods, toast, no butter … just stuff like that.” 

The quote is amusing. Smith is a great talker, an all-timer even. But think about that: He still gets nervous for games. He’s not retiring because he has lost that fire — Smith said he doesn’t want to miss out on his kids growing up — that clearly still burns.

Smith, for instance, explained where he was after the 28-24 loss.

“Losing is not frustrating. Losing pisses me off. I don’t like losing,” he said.

He also was fine with calling out some of his Ravens teammates for their slow start.

“We were moving at a slow, snail’s pace in the first half. We finally woke up in the second half, so that improved. Offensively, we didn’t do anything to help our defense. We put them in crucial situations. We made key mistakes. So the first half, [the] offense did not play well. In the second half, we woke up but we have to put four quarters of excellent play together.”

That starts Thursday against the Ben Roethlisberger-less Pittsburgh Steelers, and the Ravens and Smith have no time to feel badly about their current plight.

“We don’t have a choice,” he said. “If we would have won, it would have been a quick turnaround. Let’s go down there. We’re going to Pittsburgh. That’s going to be a physical, bullish kind of game – high-spirited, physical. The first time I ever played [the Steelers as a Raven] on Thursday night here last year, I was sore. It was the sorest I’ve ever been in a long time. So I’m anticipating that. I expect that and am preparing my body. I’ll get an extra lift in, and I’ll be ready to go.”

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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Eric_Edholm