Steve Smith burst onto the scene this season — his first as a starter — and just as he was beginning to really have some fun, the league hit back. Excellence doesn’t go unnoticed.
Smith in his first four games had 34 receptions for 411 yards, tops in the NFL in both categories. He also had four touchdowns. Once tape of that production circulated the word was out and the free ride was over. Confronted with the treatment that elite receivers see every week, Smith’s pace slowed. He’s caught 11 passes for 183 yards and no touchdown in the past three games heading into Sunday’s NFC East showdown with the Eagles.
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“I’m getting double-covered, getting more attention, which is fine. If that’s going to create more openings for other guys, so be it,” Smith said. “Even just the easy routes I remember running last year and this year, now I’m getting jammed by linebackers and stuff. I just got to be aware of that and take my game to the next level.”
Such notice is a compliment to Smith, a third-year receiver from USC asked to take a quantum leap forward now that Plaxico Burress and Amani Toomer are no longer on the scene.
Smith’s existence as a nice little possession slot receiver running free over the middle is finished. He’s a starter alongside a second-year player, Mario Manningham, and suddenly the burden is far more considerable and there’s no proven teammate to turn to for help.
“It’s tough because I could have asked [Toomer] for advice,” Smith said. “It’s new to all of us. It might have happened in college, but this is a whole new level.”
Even factoring in his recent drop-off, Smith has 45 receptions (second in the NFL to Wes Welker of the Patriots) and his 594 receiving yards rank third in the league behind Andre Johnson of the Texans and Hines Ward of the Steelers. The pace Smith has set would leave him with 103 receptions and 1,358 yards, which would break Toomer’s single-season franchise record for catches (82) and yardage (1,343), both achieved in 2002.
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Smith won’t come close unless he’s able to deal with the extra attention. He first started noticing it against the Raiders but it really hit home in New Orleans, where the Saints were determined not to allow him to beat them.
“You got to just realize that’s going to happen,” Smith said. “If you get jammed, Eli [Manning] has to go to his next option. I want all the catches I can get.”
It’s a scenario Burress faced each week, a badge of honor that all premier players learn to deal with or else they cease to be premier players.
This weekend could be a different story. The Eagles prefer to play straight-up with cornerbacks Asante Samuel and Sheldon Brown up at the line of scrimmage in press coverage. Smith has already laid down the challenge, stating, “You can run right by ’em sometimes” and “There’s going to be a few plays where you’re going to be wide open.”
During the Giants’ two-game losing streak Manning has been unable to connect with his young receivers in these situations. “They have to do it,” Manning said. “I have great faith in them. [The Eagles] will play a lot of man and single high, the receivers on the outside will have to win and we need to put them in a position to do that.”
If he’s left to beat one cornerback, Smith believes he can do it.
“That’s when you got to rise to the occasion,” he said, “and you got to take advantage of the few plays you do get.”