Open Rants by RichardKPE

Let's face it:  the NFL off-season might as well be a series of articles in The Onion.  We get treated to things like the Ideal Gas Law, Johnny Manziel parties (to be fair, this one happens during the season too), Brian Cox's tastes in movies, and JJ Watt's diet.  This off-season though, instead of getting pissed off at the NFL for being incapable of defining a catch, take a moment to appreciate true greatness.  We recently thought it was gone forever, but it's coming back, and it's coming back with a vengeance.

I'm of course talking about Steve Smith Sr.

This guy has been the best thing in the NFL for 15 years.  He existed in the shadow of receivers like Marvin Harrison and Terrell Owens playing in the purgatory of Carolina while catching passes from Jake Delhomme.  Hey Marvin, try getting in the HoF with the Manning to Delhomme downgrade!  Most people failed to notice Smith even though he was the greatest receiver on earth.  Just take a refresher on his greatest hits:

2001 - Takes the opening kickoff of the opening game of his rookie season for a touchdown.  He had 10 catches for 154 yards and added 4 rushes for 43 yards in that game.  At this point, he was on pace for 546 fantasy points as a rookie.

2003 - Catches the 69 yard OT pass that ended the greatest show on turf.

2005 - Comes back from a broken leg and gets the NFL receiver Triple Crown leading the league in receptions, TD's and yards.  Got Jake Delhomme to the Pro Bowl (we like to forget this happened).

2007 - Gets an 87/1002/7 line on the year while enduring FOUR different QB's.  Those QB's?  Glad you asked: Vinny Testaverde, David Carr, Matt Moore, Jake Delhomme.  Testaverde was pulled out of retirement and started 4 days later.  What does Steve do in that game?  10 catches, 136 yards, 1TD.  I'm serious.  That actually happened: http://scores.espn.go.com/nfl/boxscore?gameId=271014022

But that's just a microcosm of the greatness that is Steve Smith.  Where he has really shined over the years has been when he got pissed off.  Let's run through some examples:

2002 - Gets into an "altercation" with Anthony Bright during film study.  Bright has a fractured eye.  Steve has no injury.

2008 - Breaks teammate's nose in the offseason.  Proceeds to lead NFL in yards per game.

2010 - Broke his arm playing flag football.  FLAG football.

2013 - Tells Aquib Talib to "Ice up son," and makes a custom t-shirt to commemorate the occasion.

In 2014, after being cut from the Panthers, I couldn't wait for him to play against his old team because literally anything was possible.  Would he bring out a sword and go Kill Bill on his old team?  Who knew?  Well, he didn't take out a sword, but he did this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-bnAUo9z6Y and posted a 7/139/2 stat line.  Oh, and he stiff-armed a defender's face into the ground on the first play prompting my wife to ask "is that even legal?"

Oh, and lets not forget this gem in 2014: "When I look in the defensive meeting room and I see, 'Play like a Raven,' 'Baltimore Ravens: We build bullies,' that's what I'm talking about.  When I think of a Baltimore Raven, what I think of is you go in there, we take your lunch box, we take your sandwich, we take your juice box, we take your applesauce and we take your spork and we break it. And we leave you with an empty lunch. That's the Baltimore Raven way, that's the bully way and that's football."

That's right.  Steve takes your damn spork!

Now, Steve is back, and the world is a better place for it.  That's one more year of a twitter feed that features sketch art of him stiff-arming a tiger right above a cartoon of him taking a dump (not kidding: https://twitter.com/89SteveSmith ).  One more year of photos of him as a jedi ( https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ce-pNTYWQAAMO5A.jpg:large ) and the occasional happy picture that's still awesome ( https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CejiQCPWIAE4Q9u.jpg:large ).  One more year of the greatest interviews outside of Gregg Popovich ("You can ask my wife about my stamina.") The Ravens' preseason opener is against Carolina. What are the Vegas odd on him playing in that game?  3:10?  2:1235?  

Last year, we were cheated out of a proper Steve Smith farewell tour which I imagine would be just like Derek Jeter's except Smith would break each gift over his head right before the coin toss.  This year, the NFL fans and the world will get what it deserves.  Steve Smith has once again been slighted.  Not by a player and not by a single team, but by the sport itself which robbed him of his final act.  Not this time.  Not this player...never again.

Welcome back Steve Smith Sr.  Unleash hell.