Film Room: How Steve Smith revived his career with the Ravens

Besides his mouth, Steve Smith’s best assets in Carolina were his feet. He knew which steps to take and where to take them to fool defensive backs, getting open regardless of where he was on the field. 

The Panthers released Smith in March, ending a relationship dating back to 2001, when the then-young franchise drafted the wideout in the third round out of Utah. Smith and the franchise, founded in 1995, would grow up together. 

Before his first NFL game, the 2001 season opener in Minnesota, Smith was warned against running back the first-half kickoff after jawing with a Vikings player - Smith took it 93 yards to the house.

Minnesota said they'd make the rookie pay. "I'm still waiting," Smith said. 

Typical Smith: always talking, always backing it up.

Smith exceeded expectations in Carolina, playing 13 years with the Panthers while morphing from a rookie returner into the team's star receiver. He became the franchise’s all-time leading receiver with more than 800 catches and 12,000 yards, scoring 67 touchdowns in the process. 

In his final season, Smith recorded 64 receptions for 745 yards and four touchdowns, a drop-off in production from previous years, but still tops among Panthers wideouts. 

Why did Carolina cut Smith?

The Panthers didn’t have a suitable replacement, save for rookie Kelvin Benjamin, who was drafted after Smith's release. Tavarres King and Marvin McNutt sat next on the depth chart, but neither remained on the roster when the 2014 season began. 

Smith is now one of Baltimore's go-to receivers, to no one's surprise. He brings physicality and passion along with quickness you can't teach. He is the perfect fit for the Ravens’ new offense, led by coordinator Gary Kubiak.

Kubiak understands Smith’s strengths. While Smith isn't as explosive as in his younger days, he still has quick feet that allow him to beat defensive backs off the line and on short routes. He also has great technique against man-cover corners, while knowing how to pick his spots against zone coverage - an asset since he runs pivot and spot routes frequently. 

More importantly, Kubiak knows that Smith’s aging body can't sustain the same level of wear and tear it used to, and he's better off moving around the formation.

Through three weeks, Smith’s flying in the offense. He’s caught 18 passes while averaging 16 yards per catch, capitalizing on stack and bunch releases that eliminate sparring at the line of scrimmage and force defenses to change coverages.

In Week 2 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Smith was lined up outside the numbers in the waning seconds of the third quarter. A cornerback was four yards from Smith, set to play press-man until Smith was given a hand signal to reduce his split.

Suddenly, he trotted to the slot receiver and stood behind him, forming a stacked set that changed the defensive structure. The cornerback that was originally across from him was deeper now, while the nickel cornerback played press coverage on the slot receiver.

At the snap, the slot receiver released outside and was jammed by the nickel cornerback. There was confusion between the two defenders because they couldn’t figure out who would cover Smith, who released late and cut off of his right foot to the inside.

The near cornerback was late recovering after jamming the slot receiver, giving Smith a free release on a slant route that led to a catch. With a free safety deep and linebackers occupied underneath, he had room to run for 22 yards before being tackled.

This was vintage Smith. He was dangerous after the catch in Carolina, using open-field vision and deceptive quickness. He was always on the move, like he’s been before and after the snap in Baltimore.

In Week 3 at Cleveland, Smith had five catches for 101 yards, torching the Browns' cornerbacks, including star Joe Haden, with his quickness and free releases designed by Kubiak.

On third-and-10 during the second quarter, Smith lined up outside in the Ravens’ twins set and never motioned back inside. Even though the Ravens weren’t going to move him, despite Haden playing man coverage, they still managed to create a free release for him.

One of the best ways to do it is by running crossing routes. They create natural picks or what some offenses call “rubs,” giving the receiver freedom to run routes.

The slot receiver released outside colliding with both the nickel cornerback and Haden as Smith ran a slant route into the middle of the field.

When Smith caught the pass, there wasn’t anyone close to him because the free safety was in the deep middle and the other cornerbacks had their backs turned in man coverage. Smith scampered across the middle of the field, crossing the near hash, far hash and farther numbers before Haden finally got to him after 26 yards.

It’s not always this easy for Smith. There are times when he has to “ice up,” as he once said, to beat man coverage on his own.

In the fourth quarter against the Browns, the Ravens faced second-and-9. Smith was lined up a yard outside the numbers with Haden across from him, and there weren’t any motions or shifts to stacked releases. He had to beat Haden.

With two steps, Smith ate up the two-yard cushion and kept his shoulders square, pads low and released outside. This made Haden open his hips up to the sideline, negating his close coverage. Smith saw it and abruptly stopped, lowered his pads further and cut off of his left foot to the middle.

Haden was out of position and tried to extend his inside arm to slow Smith, but he was pushed away as Smith ran a square-in. Smith was wide open and caught an eight-yard pass.

Smith will use his quickness to make these same kind of plays in Week 4. He’ll be especially fired up playing against his former team, looking to make them pay for letting him go. 

As always, he’ll be talking and leaving his heart on the field, with a trail of Panther "blood and guts."