SMITH SAYS KEY IS NO MOOSE (from PFT.com)

SMITH SAYS KEY IS NO MOOSE

Panthers receiver Steve Smith hasn't exactly rolled out the welcome wagon for receiver Keyshawn Johnson, who signed last month with Carolina after being cut by the Cowboys.

During an April 7 celebrity golf tournament hosted by former N.C. State stars Torry and Terrence Holt, Smith told the Raleigh News & Observer that Keyshawn is no replacement for Muhsin Muhammad, who was dumped by the Panthers in 2005.

Asked if Johnson will help the Panthers' offense, Smith said: "I don't know. Everybody wants me to speculate. I can't speculate. The natural thing to say is 'yeah he's going to help us', but time will tell.

"Nobody plays like Moose," Smith added. "Nobody ever will play like Moose to me."

Smith, in our view, can expect a response -- public or private -- from Johnson, who has shown a tendency to fly off the handle from time to time. So has Smith, who several years ago suckered punch a teammate in the film room.

And it could be that Smith is in the process of developing into yet another NFL pass-catching diva, who might feel threatened by the arrival of a guy who once upon a time was far bigger than Smith has yet become. Though Smith is younger and, in our view, better than Johnson, Keyshawn could ring up superior numbers in 2006, since Smith will continue to be blanketed by opposing defenses -- making it easier for Johnson to get free.

At the same tournament, Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb complained that receiver Terrell Owens still won't talk to him.

"We've seen each other at different occasions but never spoke. I'm going to speak. That's just me, I'm going to speak to whomever. You don't have to like me, just respect what I do. I respect what you do," McNabb said.

Boo-freakin'-hoo. Move on, Donovan. For your sake. For everyone's sake.

McNabb also said that Owens public antics last season sucked the life out of the Eagles.

"You've got [other] guys [in the NFL] who are somewhat cancerous, but they don't come out publically [sic] . . . it can rip a team apart," McNabb said.

Okay, good point. But move on. You're starting to sound like your former offensive coordinator.

The connection between McNabb's and Smith's words, as we see it, is that Smith shouldn't have said anything publicly regarding Johnson, if Smith wasn't going to say anything positive. The Panthers made it to the NFC title game in 2005 without Muhammad, and Johnson can only help the cause in 2006.

But if Johnson and Smith are feuding, it could impede the team's progress toward the broader goal of delivering a Lombardi to Charlotte.

 

here we go

 

this is why I came to TBR.

nice.

 

PFT took that story from the Raleigh News and Observer.

Someone is trying to stir the pot. Smitty and Moose are close buds, so of course Smith is going to talk up his friend. I seriously doubt that Smith was being negative about Keyshawn. At one point in the article, Smith says he can't speculate, he'll just have to wait and see. If Smith puts up monster numbers again, then Key's addition will be a solid one.

 

I don't find anything incredibly awful about that quote from Smitty, and yeah, I'd expect that he'd have a problem with Moose = Key as a direct comparison.

But Key does have to think about what he's about to say, if this is going to work.

 

I agree it's not that big of a deal in reality. Smith is going to try to assert his dominance and that is fine. However, the pot stirrers will not let this go and will continue to try to dig at it.

 

At least fewer and fewer people are posting PFT's tripe. I think most people have come around to the realization that they post nonsense as news, and that believing their crap makes you a moron.

And as for the article itself, I imagine that Smith was asked if Keyshawn fills the void left by Moose, and Steve wanted to show loyalty to his friend by saying that no one can. Smitty can be a loudmouth, but he's always respectful of other receivers so I simply don't believe he would say anything insulting about Keyshawn.

Did this strike anyone else as funny? It sounds like Peggy Hill, "in my opinion kindling is the best way to start a fire."

Anyone else see this as a reasonable possibility, barring injury to either player?

 

I love how this thread was titled in ALL CAPS.

DOOM!!!!!!:fan_wave2

 

True enough, he's done that. You don't get the same tone here, but he's not slamming KJ.

Restating the obvious to people who already grasp it, yeah.

Depends on how much we're throwing in normal circumstances. Smith will get his, that's definite. It's like 2003 - how much the other guy gets might depend somewhat on whether we're down or up, but more dependent on whether we feel like throwing on average.

 

I think early on Smith will be locked on to hard. There will be a TON of tape used from the NFC championship game, and he will be triple teamed. In the first few games Keyshawn will have the chance to put up some VERY nice numbers.

As far as the comment goes, it looks like someone is trying to spin a feud out of nothing. Smith has a high respect of Moose, maybe even higher than his opinion of himself, and considering Johnson has yet to actually PLAY with Smith he can't speak for how they'll work as teammates. He didn't seem to be bashing Johnson at all in that article, but rather giving Muhammad his deserved kudos.