by Ryan Wilson
It was almost a year ago that Anthony Smith, the then-second-year Steelers safety, uttered these words as the team prepared to face the Patriots: "Yeah, I can guarantee a win." Of course, he qualified by adding, "As long as we come out and do what we got to do," but not many people were interested in the entire quote since it was barely newsworthy.
At the time, I didn't put much stock in pregame guarantees, and I still don't. But there's no denying that the Patriots targeted Smith all afternoon, and he was directly responsible for two New England touchdown passes.
It wasn't just the Patriots who took advantage of Smith's over-aggressiveness, though; opponents regularly targeted the free safety, and head coach Mike Tomlin had to bench him late in the year. As long as we're dredging up painful memories, it was Smith's replacement, Tyrone Carter, who David Garrard outran for a first down on a critical late-game fourth-down play during the AFC Wild Card matchup.
But what's done is done, so on and what not. The Steelers will travel to Foxboro this Sunday, and Smith is still talking. Sort of. Via the Indiana (Pa.) Gazette's Matthew Burglund:
Steelers' Anthony Smith Shouldn't Be Allowed to Talk During Patriots Week originally appeared on NFL FanHouse on Tue, 25 Nov 2008 15:20:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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