Long-term Smith injury would be cataclysmic for Carolina

By Connor Byrne  |   Monday, July 31, 2006  |  Comments( 1 )

Carolina Panthers
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Carolina Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith injured his hamstring in practice this past weekend at training camp, causing him to be carted off the field. The reigning NFL receptions leader is day-to-day, according to head coach John Fox, but it doesn't appear the injury is too serious. And as far as the Panthers go, they couldn't possibly be luckier in this situation. However, hamstring injuries do tend to linger for long periods of time, so the team should be caustiously optimistic at this juncture.

Had Smith gone down with a severe injury, Carolina's Super Bowl dreams for 2006 may have been demolished. The team has solid offensive talent in quarterback Jake Delhomme, running backs DeShaun Foster and DeAngelo Williams as well as receiver Keyshawn Johnson, but it's Smith who makes the unit tick. At 34, Johnson's no longer a capable No. 1 receiver, which would have limited Delhomme's options through the air; and to go along with that, the Foster-Williams combination would have been shut down by opposing defenses stacking the box to stop the run.

Instead, however, those weapons should work like a fine-tuned clock this year. Delhomme will continue to play at a Pro Bowl level with two big-time wideouts and the running game will likely be much better than it was last season. Since the passing game is so lethal, opposing defenses won't be able to anticipate run plays from the Panthers, which will open up lanes for both Foster and the rookie Williams, who was the 29th overall pick in April's draft.

In the Panthers' 11-5 campaign in 2005, the 5-foot-9, 185-pound Smith busted out as perhaps the best receiver in football. He posted career-highs in receptions (103), yards (1,563) and touchdowns (12). Ultimately, the 27-year-old--who missed nearly all of the 2004 season with a broken leg--won the Co-Comeback Player of the Year Award (with Tedy Bruschi) thanks to those numbers, led the NFL in yards, and tied for the league-lead in total receptions and touchdown catches, too.

Unfortunately for the Panthers, Delhomme's over-reliance on Smith came back to bite the team in the NFC Championship Game last January. In Carolina's 20-point loss to the Seattle Seahawks, Delhomme looked to Smith far too much because the Panthers lacked a running game and secondary receiver, and disaster resulted. The Seahawks' defense suffocated Delhomme, causing him to complete just 15-of-35 passes for 196 yards and three interceptions. As for Smith, he had one of his worst outings of an otherwise tremendous season, catching five passes for 33 yards.

With Johnson and the other new weapons in the Carolina Panthers' fold, the franchise should be in the thick of a championship run in the '06 season. But if Smith ends up succumbing to a lengthy injury, the team's chances of going a long way are all but over. Naturally, that's why Fox and company are so relieved that Smith appears to have averted a severe hamstring problem, rather than being just another unfortunate high-profile camp casualty.

--Connor J. Byrne can be reached at cbyrne@realfootball365.com

Get more on Steve Smith at Realfootball365.com
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