Smith Makes the Big Leap
There was a point in late October when Giants wide receiver Steve Smith just wanted to put his rookie season to rest. It was the week before the team's game in London, and he had just returned to practice after breaking his scapula in Week 2 -- only to promptly pull a hamstring.
"I was talking to the trainer, and I was like, 'Man, just put me on IR, I'll come in next year,'" Smith remembered yesterday. "I'm really happy they kept me focused, they kept me going."
The trainers certainly look wise now. Smith missed 11 consecutive games in the heart of the Giants' season with the scapula and hamstring injuries, but has come back the past three weeks with clutch receptions in the season's most crucial games.
And with tight end Jeremy Shockey on injured reserve and Plaxico Burress continuing to play hurt, there is no better time than the playoffs for Smith to step in as the tertiary receiving threat the team wanted when it drafted him in the second round out of USC.
"It is a matter of him getting back, getting back into a routine, being a part of the offense again," coach Tom Coughlin said. "We had planned for him to be in that situation, and he performed well. It was ... another plus for our team."
After catching three passes for 29 yards against the Patriots in Week 17 and putting up the same stats against the Buccaneers in the wild-card game, Smith had easily the most essential performance of his brief NFL career last Sunday at Dallas.
As the Giants hurriedly drove down the field before halftime, Smith caught a 22-yard pass on a second-down fly pattern to put the Giants in Cowboys territory. On the next play, quarterback Eli Manning hit Smith for an 11-yard gain, plus the Giants earned 15 more yards on a face-mask penalty on Dallas cornerback Jacques Reeves. The drive ended with Amani Toomer's touchdown to even the score at 14-14 just 46 seconds before halftime.
Smith's two other catches against the Cowboys came on the Giants' game-winning touchdown drive in the fourth quarter. Faced with third-and-6 on the Dallas 20, Manning went to Smith for an 11-yard gain on a curl route, keeping the drive alive for running back Brandon Jacobs' 1-yard TD two plays later.
"Well, we always did know that Steve was a baller," Jacobs said.
That's the reputation he built for himself during four seasons at USC, where he caught 190 balls for 3,019 yards and 22 touchdowns playing alongside Dwayne Jarrett. But early this season, Smith's injuries took away the chance for him to immediately make such an impact as a pro.
"Guys are cool with you (when you're hurt), but they don't respond to you like they do when you're playing," Smith said.
The hiatus reminded him of his sophomore season in college, when he missed five games after fracturing his left leg -- only this time around, it was worse, because he hadn't proved anything yet. Plus, Smith was somewhat of an enigma to his new Giants teammates, some of whom perceived him as a loner.
"He's very easygoing, but when you get him on the field he's very intense," said veteran wideout Amani Toomer, a fellow Californian. "A lot of people who don't understand the mentality kind of see him as a goof-off or aloof or something like that. But when he gets in games, he doesn't make a lot of mistakes, and he always catches the ball."
Last Sunday, Smith remembers his teammates rooting for him on the sideline.
"It's great to come (in and contribute) at any point in the season but now especially because it's the playoffs," Smith said. "I feel like I'm going to make the plays every time."
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