Last year, injuries on offense absolutely shredded the Baltimore Ravens. No one was spared, including wide receiver Steve Smith, who saw what was to be his farewell tour ended prematurely by a torn Achilles.
Well, Smith's back for swan song 2.0 in 2016. And while the old man has stated that was done with some individual goals in mind, make no mistake...
If the Ravens are going to rebound and get back into the thick of the AFC North this season, they're going to need that swan song to be a success.
As ESPN.com's Jamison Hensley reported, Smith said that he has his eyes set on a couple of large numbers in his 16th NFL season—1,000 and 14,000:
One thousand receptions. That's why, to be honest. Why not? You have to have something to strive for. I may catch that [1,000th pass] in my uniform, get in my car and go home. Straight from there, drive all the way from M&T Bank [Stadium] straight to Charlotte, one shot.
You think about the Hall of Fame. You think about the Super Bowl. Now with the way news is going, you think about the Pro Bowl in Orlando. You think about a lot of things. Ultimately, it's out of my hands, but I just want to go out and have fun doing it.
If Smith's intention is to one day be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame (and what player's isn't?), then hitting those benchmarks will do a lot to aid his case. Per Hensley, four of the six Hall-eligible players who have accrued 1,000 receptions are already in. The other two (Terrell Owens and Isaac Bruce) likely soon will be.
Seven players who are eligible for induction have totaled 14,000 career receiving yards. Five have busts in Canton.
With only 39 catches and 68 yards to go before he reaches those milestones, Smith would appear a good bet to surpass both easily in 2016.
Provided, that is, he can stay healthy. And at his age and coming off a major injury, that's hardly a given.
Two years ago, Smith came out of the gates like gangbusters. Four times in the first six weeks of the season Smith exceeded 100 receiving yards. He caught four touchdown passes. However, from Week 6 on, Smith didn't hit the century mark again, and he found the end zone only two more times.
It was a similar story in 2015. After a no-show in Week 1 against the Denver Broncos, Smith blew up for 150 yards on 10 catches against the Oakland Raiders. The following game was even bigger—186 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 13 grabs in a loss to the Cincinnati Bengals. Smith had yet another huge game against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 6. His performances the next two weeks (10 combined catches for 160 yards) were solid.
But in a Week 8 matchup with the San Diego Chargers, Smith crumpled to the ground in a heap, clutching at the back of his foot. There isn't a more readily apparent injury in football: the dreaded torn Achilles.
In short, while Smith has started each of the last two campaigns looking brand-new, he's ended them looking every bit his age.
Smith admitted to Hensley that he's no spring chicken anymore, and that's partly the reason it's unlikely he'll play at all in the preseason: "I've been very comfortable throughout my career not playing in the preseason. So, I don't have a problem with that. [It's] just four games that don't count and the liability of injury. At the senior-citizen age that I am, I think staying out would be good."
Smith declared the status of his rehab "day-to-day," but all indications are he's expected to be ready for Week 1.
And that's most assuredly a good thing, because without him the Ravens passing game is going to be in serious trouble.
When the Ravens drafted Breshad Perriman in the first round last year, the belief was the speedster from Central Florida would learn from Smith for a year before essentially replacing him. Instead, Perriman missed his entire rookie year with a knee injury.
Now, as Dan Hanzus of NFL.com wrote, it's unknown how long Perriman will be sidelined by a partially torn ACL suffered in OTAs. The injury doesn't require surgery (yet), but it's certainly not a development that makes one all tingly about Perriman's prospects in Year 2 of his NFL career.
The team also added veteran deep threat Mike Wallace in free agency, and Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun reported recently that the eighth-year veteran has impressed so far in workouts: "Wallace’s continued emergence—he has impressed team officials with his effort level in OTAs—will make Perriman’s loss much easier to swallow. The veteran should get plenty of chances as a starter this summer with Smith still working his way back."
However, Wallace himself admitted to Ryan Mink of the team's website that his ability to take the top off a defense isn't what it once was.
“I’ve probably run about 10,000 post routes and go routes since when I first came into the league, so [I’ve lost] maybe just a step, a half a step,” Wallace said. “But I can still get it done.”
If Wallace can still get it done, he hasn't given much indication of it lately. His 39 catches and 473 yards last year were both career lows, and Wallace hasn't topped 1,000 yards receiving since 2011.
Fourth-year pro Kamar Aiken was the equivalent of Bigfoot riding a unicorn for the Ravens offense in 2015—a pleasant shock. He's a gamer and a fine possession receiver who paced Baltimore in catches and receiving yardage last season. But "Kamar Aiken leads the team in receptions and yardage" is not a sentence that bodes well for an NFL offense.
Quarterback Joe Flacco and tailback Justin Forsett are both returning from severe injuries of their own. Free-agent acquisition Ben Watson is a 35-year-old tight end coming off easily the best season of his long NFL career. With the departure of Kelechi Osemele and the release of Eugene Monroe, the offensive line is undergoing a significant shakeup.
In an AFC North where two teams made the playoffs last year and three (including the Ravens) advanced to the postseason two years ago, the Baltimore offense faces one question after another in 2016.
The team badly needs to answer some of those questions in the affirmative after last year's disaster.
The team needs their leaders—their veteran core—back on the field this season.
The Ravens need Steve Smith to answer the call—to make his swan song count this time.
Gary Davenport is an NFL analyst at Bleacher Report and a member of the Fantasy Sports Writers Association and Pro Football Writers of America. You can follow Gary on Twitter @IDPSharks.
Read more Baltimore Ravens news on BleacherReport.com
from Bleacher Report - Baltimore Ravens http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2646710-steve-smiths-return-vital-to-ravens-resurgence-in-2016
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