When the Panthers moved on from receiver Steve Smith in the offseason, he made a beeline for Baltimore. And for good reason.
Smith identifies with the mentality that has made the Ravens a consistent contender and a two-time Super Bowl champion. Notwithstanding the inescapable comparisons to the Ray Rice debacle.
“When I look in the defensive meeting room and I see ‘Play like a Raven,’ Baltimore Ravens, ‘We build bullies,’” Smith told Brian Mitchell. “That’s what I’m talking about. . . . We take your lunch box. We take your sandwich. We take your juice box. We take your apple sauce. 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.”
It’s definitely football, even though pro football has tried to get away from that reality in recent years, perhaps in order to ensure that football will continue to survive and thrive.
Regardless, the Ravens and Smith both have that rough-and-tumble mindset. Which makes the pair a perfect match.