Smith falls flat on face</p> <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'></p> <span class="articleBegin">F</span>OXBORO - There are permanent guests at Guantanamo Bay who wouldn’t have traded places with Anthony Smith yesterday.</p> We’ll never know exactly what Smith was thinking when he decided it would be wise to guarantee victory this week, but by the end of last night’s 34-13 thrashing at the hands of the Patriots, it was pretty clear what he had wrought.</p> The Patriots fans in attendance for garbage time serenaded the second-year Steelers safety with chants of, “Guarantee! Guarantee!” while his sorry visage was splashed across the scoreboard.</p> “You can’t feel sorry for a guy that throws himself into the fire like that,” said Pats cornerback Ellis Hobbs.</p> Not only did Smith work the Patriots into such a frenzy that even quarterback Tom Brady was smacking helmets with him during some first-quarter trash talk, he also had a direct hand in the two longest plays of the day.</p> He bit on a play-action fake to spring Randy Moss for a 63-yard touchdown in the second quarter, then failed to get back on the wide receiver throwback from Moss to Brady to Jabar Gaffney for a 56-yard score.</p> When it was over, Smith reaped what he had sown. And the Patriots were only too happy to turn his words into added motivation.</p> “It’s almost like when you go to a pizza shop and you order your pizza and you say, ‘I want extra sausage,’ ” Patriots safety Rodney Harrison said. “There’s nothing wrong with extra sausage.”</p> Smith’s night of misery started early. He was stretching before the game when a battery of TV cameras rushed him. He tried to act nonchalant with a boom mike in his face, but eventually scuttled toward midfield.</p> He didn’t move fast enough. Harrison was leading the Pats DBs on a lap when he crossed paths with Smith and unleashed a torrent of God-only-knows-what in Smith’s direction.</p> “I just said, ‘Hey, you never know what’s going to happen,’ ” Harrison said. “It might be a long day.”</p> Smith cursed. Harrison laughed. Welcome to the eye of the storm. Enjoy your stay.</p> Smith’s teammates knew exactly what kind of mistake he’d made as soon as he uttered the guarantee, though they stopped short of blaming him for the lopsided loss.</p> “We didn’t lose the game because he made the guarantee comment,” said receiver Hines Ward. “We lost because they executed better.”</p> “I don’t think words can motivate Rodney Harrison. He’s a little firecracker himself. You’ve just got to be smart with your words. When you play the best team in the NFL, you definitely don’t have to give them any more bulletin-board stuff to feed off of.”</p> Smith wasn’t backing down after the game. He said the Steelers would be back, though demurred when asked if he could guarantee it. “You’re trying to make me make another guarantee?” he said.</p> Still, he had no regrets, even after the pasting the Patriots laid on him.</p> “It ain’t like we’re coming up here to lose,” he said. “We come out here to win every game. In this league, if you walk into the arena and play to lose, that’s really not the kind of guy you want to play with.”</p> That may be true, but has Smith never heard of Freddie Mitchell (“I’ve got something for you, 37.&rdquo or Mike Vanderjagt (“The Patriots are ripe for the taking.&rdquo? Even with the Patriots players admitting Smith has a bright future, they couldn’t understand what possessed him to open his mouth.</p> “For someone to come out that really hasn’t dominated the league or done anything of significance - don’t get me wrong, he’s a good player, I’ve seen him do things on tape - but you don’t have the credibility to be saying things like that,” Hobbs said. “Perfect example - look at Rodney Harrison or Tom Brady. They’ve got (two and three) Super Bowl rings (respectively) and all kinds of accolades, and not one time have I heard them say anything to that degree. Why? Because the game speaks for itself. Go out there and play ball.”</p> Only time will tell if Smith learned that lesson yesterday. If he did, it was certainly the hard way.</p> </div></p>
I find it hilarious how desperate the Pats are to continue this "us against the world" charade. Smith's guarantee really wasn't all that insulting, he just said that the Steelers would win if they played their game. The media just blew it up into something big and the Pats got all offended for no real reason.</p>
The Pats are the ones who have been a little insulting to their opponents (just in some instancess, don't freak out).</p> Watching the Colts take out Manning when they were up 44-7 on the road with 8 minutes left in the third quarter against Baltimore just emphasizes how worthless some of the points the Pats have gotten this season. Weren't they up 45-7 at home in the fourth quarter against the Redskins? Then they stuck Brady back out there to score another TD, that was somewhat low class. Oh well whatever.</p>
You can say what you want but it's running up the score, definitely in the Washington game at least.</p> And one can just say that Anthony Smith has a "positive" attitude, so if you want to make excuses about Washington, Anthony Smith has just as legitimate an excuse to make about his past remarks. Chutney said it perfectly.</p> </p>
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (CelticKing)</div><div class='quotemain'></p> Thats beating your opponent and letting them know that you're the best.</p> </p> </div></p> Actually, it's the ultimate in stupidity on Belicheck's part. If Brady gets hurt late in the 3rd quarter or 4th quarter of a game when the Patriots have already have the game won, we'll see how quickly the above philosophy changes.</p>
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (DolfanDale)</div><div class='quotemain'></p> <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (CelticKing)</div><div class='quotemain'></p> Thats beating your opponent and letting them know that you're the best.</p> </p> </div></p> Actually, it's the ultimate in stupidity on Belicheck's part. If Brady gets hurt late in the 3rd quarter or 4th quarter of a game when the Patriots have already have the game won, we'll see how quickly the above philosophy changes.</p> </div></p> </p> Kimo where are you?</p>
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (CelticKing)</div><div class='quotemain'></p> Thats beating your opponent and letting them know that you're the best.</p> </p> </div></p> I agree w/ hk& Chutney on this.</p> What goes up must come down... the higher you get the more of an impact your going to make when you descend..... just something to ponder</p> </p>
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (DolfanDale)</div><div class='quotemain'></p> <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (CelticKing)</div><div class='quotemain'></p> Thats beating your opponent and letting them know that you're the best.</p> </p> </div></p> Actually, it's the ultimate in stupidity on Belicheck's part. If Brady gets hurt late in the 3rd quarter or 4th quarter of a game when the Patriots have already have the game won, we'll see how quickly the above philosophy changes.</p> </div></p> It's called putting it all on the line. Any play can be "that" play whether it's fourth quarter or first. Pats are winning and having fun while doing it.</p> It's amusing.</p>
Yeah as far as I know the game is 4 quarters, not 3, not 2, not 3 and a half. You play all the minutes you're supposed to play. Thats what I'm paying to watch, thats what other fans are paying to watch, thats what the players are getting paid to do, thats what the coaches are being paid to do.</p> </p>
I love how you guys are arguing about something that didn't even happen. Brady was taken out early in the Redskins gameand it was Matt Cassell who led the offense on its last scoring drive. And the Washington touchdown was the last score of the game so you don't even have the score right.</p>
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (DolfanDale)</div><div class='quotemain'></p> <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (CelticKing)</div><div class='quotemain'></p> Thats beating your opponent and letting them know that you're the best.</p> </p> </div></p> Actually, it's the ultimate in stupidity on Belicheck's part. If Brady gets hurt late in the 3rd quarter or 4th quarter of a game when the Patriots have already have the game won, we'll see how quickly the above philosophy changes.</p> </div></p> And I wouldn't blame opposing defenses one bit if they deliberately tried to lay out Brady.</p> </p>
If other teams took a big lead on the Patriots and left all their starters in, Patsies fans would be sobbing and crying about the score being run up while their merry band of elves to the exact same thing.</p> </p> Pats fans always show up in good weather, and always disappear when its a rainy day. Before 2001 I never heard of anyone who loved or even liked the Patriots that much.</p>
I'm not even talking about how they run up the score. I was just referring to how the Pats are clinging to this "we're being underrated/picked on" mentality when there's absolutely no reason for it anymore. Yes, the Cameragate stuff got a bit out of hand at one point, but that was at least 3-4 weeks ago. Everybody knows the Patriots are arguably the best team in the league and they've gotten more than enough praise for their play so far this season. In fact, the media exposure's been a bit overboard at times. But, the team still desperately searches for anything to get them motivated when they really shouldn't have to. It makes them look childish.</p>
I know, I was just making my point.</p> </p> </p> That's also pathetic though, how the Patriots have some pretty large mouths themselves but snivel about everyone else insulting them. Pussies.</p>
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (David_Ortiz)</div><div class='quotemain'></p> I know, I was just making my point.</p> </p> </p> That's also pathetic though, how the Patriots have some pretty large mouths themselves but snivel about everyone else insulting them. Pussies.</p> </div></p> Their large mouths back it up.</p>
But take this thing by Anthony Smith, the Patsieswon the game and THEN they talked shit about being offended or whatever that crap was. At least Smith had the balls to talk before the game was played.</p>
I think Randy Moss was asked about Smith's comments and replied by saying, "Who?" And that was before the game, so it was going back and forth.</p> Clearly, Moss has the skills to say things like that, while Smith is a reserve safety who should have just not said a damn thing.</p>
My opinion is no one should be guarenteeing anything. Keep your mouths closed and let your play do the talking.</p> And about the running up the score thing, it is totally stupid since Brady might get injured but other teams shouldn't be whining about it. They wouldn't be blowing out your team if your team had played better defense.</p>
Call me cruel but, if I was the coach, and they were running up the score on me, I'd tell my players to try injure all of their star players!</p>
