Bruised Steve Smith Sr. confused about who belongs on his ‘lifetime hit list’
At one point during his team’s 23-20 overtime victory on Thursday night, veteran Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Steve Smith Sr. just grabbed young Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Antwon Blake’s jersey and stared blankly until he felt like releasing it. This is what Smith does. He establishes dominance.
So, when a hard hit to Smith’s lower back late in the third quarter sent him to the sidelines for the remainder of the game, he didn’t take too kindly to former Carolina Panthers teammate Mike Mitchell talking some trash after the safety’s Steelers defense stopped Smith a yard shy of the first down.
Here’s how Smith reacted to the play with reporters in the aftermath of his team’s first win of the season.
“I got speared in the back by an ex-teammate,” Smith said. “I kind of know his character, who he is. After he hit me he said, ‘How do you like that?’
“The best thing I could do without threatening him and saying that I will assault him when I see him, is I’ll say I look forward to playing him again. He’s on my lifetime hit list.”
But while Mitchell is guilty of racking up $40,000 in fines during the 2013 season and leveling a hit to Smith’s head last year, according to Baltimore’s team website, he did not actually spear Smith on Thursday night. Replay of the video shows Blake and Steelers linebacker Lawrence Timmons combined for the hit that thankfully only delivered a lower back contusion, according ot our own Eric Edholm.
Mitchell can be seen coming in after the play to offer some choice words. That was after Smith got to his feet and before he doubled over in pain on his way back to the huddle, so perhaps he should be partially excused. But we’re guessing Smith won’t be pardoning him from his so-called “hit list” any time soon.
The vengeful veteran wideout is, after all, one of the game’s great wordsmiths. The “ice up, son” comment directed toward then-New England Patriots cornerback Aqib Talib in 2013 was just one of many great lines during his 15-year career. For one week, at least, Smith will be doing the icing, saying this in response to a question about his expected availability for Week 5: “It’s probably the first time in my career I feel like I’m 36. I’m trying to get through tomorrow. I’m trying to make it to the airplane.”
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Ben Rohrbach is a contributor for Ball Don’t Lie and Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @brohrbach
