FSH: TUESDAY (FOOTBALL) TALK

July 14th, 2009 9:37pm PST

TUESDAY (FOOTBALL) TALK

Fantasy Football’s Best Kept Secret!

Carolina Panthers: WR-Steve Smith….
The next time you sit down with your chronies to talk some football and the discussion comes up, who is the best receiver in the NFL, listen carefully. You are sure to hear the names, Larry Fitzgerald, Randy Moss, and Andre Johnson, but see if anyone remembers to mention the Panther’s very own Steve Smith?

Sure those others are pretty good, actually very good, but even at 5’9” and a world of athletic talent the speedy Smith more than holds his own compared to his behemoth counterparts who average over six foot, three inches. Over his last three seasons Smith has been among the best performing wideouts in the game averaging over 80 catches and nearly 1,200-yards receiving along with 21 touchdowns. This followed the 2005 season, his best as a pro when the Carolina Panther caught 103 passes for over 1550-yards with 12 touchdowns.

Little can argue his talent, but when you look back at Smith’s 2008 campaign the real amazing feat of his 78 receptions, 1,421-yards (ranked 3rd), and six touchdowns were all completed in just 14 games. Smith finished last season with 18.2-yards per catch (ranked 2nd among receivers with at least 50 catches) and his 101-yards per game was best of anyone in the league. Projected over a full 16 game schedule and Smith is posting some strong numbers (90 catches/1600-yards) to be considered among the three aforementioned.

Since the 2005 season Smith has totaled 0ver 350 catches for well over 5,100-yards with 33 touchdowns. With a full 16 game schedule expected this season barring any suspensions, Steve Smith could very easily and very quietly be one of this season’s biggest secrets. With flashy names like Fitzgerald, Moss, Wayne, Marshall, and even Owens likely to be taken ahead in some fantasy leagues, the smart owners that are patient could easily find this season’s biggest steal fall into their lap as a middle early round receiver.

What will make Smith a great pick for fantasy in 2009, not just what he does, but how he does it. The Panther’s number one target is the epitome of consistency. Last year Smith had only two games with fewer than four catches and in his 14 starts he eclipsed 100-yards eight times, missing two other occasions by just four yards. He also only had two games last season when he finished with less than 70-yards receiving.

I’m sure many of those that stay close to the game of fantasy know Steve Smith is a great talent, but it’s not likely many would argue this fistful of dynamite is better than Larry or Randy. I might not be so bold either, but I dare anyone to argue that he’s not every bit as good, especially in fantasy!


By David Ortega


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