Redstate Sports

By Darin H Posted in Football — Comments (0) / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

He was arguably the hardest working man in the NFL during his playing days. He wasn't drafted and had to work on the practice squad and special teams for the better part of 2 years before he saw meaningful playing time. He never missed an off season workout in 12 years, not a single one. He wasn't showy. He wasn't a me-first player. He played his last few years with serious hip pain (which eventually caused his retirement). He just went out and did his job and did it well. As long as the team was winning, he was happy.

Rod Smith is exactly the kind of football player that deserves to be in the Hall of Fame. He has the stats, but he also has the intangibles that should not be overlooked.

read on

First, the stats:
His first reception in the NFL was a game winning touchdown to beat the Redskins (over Hall of Famer Darrell Green, I might add). He is only 1 of 2 wide receivers that have caught 70 passes in 9 consecutive season, The other WR to do so? Jerry Rice. Smith is the only undrafted free agent to have surpassed the 10,000-receiving-yard mark (only 24 WRs total have that). He is ranked 12th in NFL history in career receptions (849) and 16th all time in receiving yards (11,389). He has the most catches, receiving yards and touchdown receptions (68) of any undrafted wide receiver in NFL history. He had 8 seasons of at least 1,000 receiving yards. He made the Pro-Bowl 3 times and led the league in receptions in 2001. 6th player in NFL history to have 100 receptions against at least three teams. One of seven players in NFL history to record back-to-back 100-catch seasons (2000-01). All those taken together are better than most WRs in the Hall of Fame.

Oh, and he did all that on a run first team. Speaking of run first, unlike a lot of those "me-first" WRs, Rod took pride in being the best blocker he could for the team. The Team, that's all that mattered to Rod. His former teammates spoke out when his retirement was announced, and what they said speaks to the kind of football player Rod was.

Jake Plummer:

"Rod Smith was one of the best all-around players I played with in the NFL -- and I only got play with him when he was too old and too slow (laughing). He was the undisputed leader of the team, which took a lot of pressure off of me. The standard Rod set was high and he led by example. The game will miss a player like Rod Smith."

"Probably one of the most impressive things I've ever seen him do was, in my first year there, I had just gotten hurt and we didn't have a back up for a couple of days. So they had him take 7-on-7. I think he was 6-for-6. And it wasn't like he was dumping to the back or hitting the checkdown. He was throwing a skinny route, dead on. He'd throw a go-route, he threw an out-route. I was thinking, 'Good God, he'd be good enough to take my job if he spent a year working on it.' It was sick."

"Why I felt so good around him is physically he didn't look like anything. He'd walk kind of sideways. He sometimes had this high-type voice. I mean he didn't look like a professional receiver when you put him next to Terrell Owens. But the things he didn’t do well he worked on. It's hard to pick between them but Rod and Larry Centers had the two best sets of hands I've ever seen."

Keith Burns (who entered training camp with Rod in 1994):

"He knew he was willing to do anything and everything he had to do to make the team. It was a pact we made during our rookie orientation, that we were here for work. It was good to meet new guys, new friends, but when we leave here you never know what's going to happen."

John Elway:

"He was not only a great player, but a great teammate. He was a guy that was great for the city, great for the organization and a guy that worked his tail off. I mean, the guy came in as a free agent. It shows you what he's all about. He was not only a great football player, but a class act.
He was a guy you could rely on week in and week out."

Broncos owner Pat Bowlen:

"You are the greatest player next to John [Elway] to play for me. And if ever get anybody like you are like John again, I am very fortunate."

Coach Mike Shanahan:

"Rod is the only person I've been around on a consistent basis, day in, day out, that never cared about his stats. All Rod Smith talked about was winning. When you have a guy that talks about winning consistently, regardless of any number of catchers or any honors, anyone who is able to influence the locker room like he has, then you have a chance to do something special."

That statement by Coach Shanahan is why Rod probably won't get into the Hall of Fame, yet it is exactly why he deserves it. In Superbowl 32, Rod didn't have a catch, but was he angry about it afterwards? Hell no. He was happy that the team won, he was in the game, blocking and still running routes. He got his catches and yards the next year in Superbowl 33 with 5 receptions for 152 yards including an 80 catch for a TD, but he was more excited that the Broncos won again. Rod Smith, in his 11 years, had 118 wins. There is only one other player that has that many wins in an 11-year time frame, that's Hall of Fame worthy.

The Hall of Fame probably won't call his name. I am under no illusions about that. The media are the ones who decide who gets in or stays out. They are the same ones who like the soap-operas of the Terrell Owens, Randy Mosses and Chad Johnsons in the league, they value flash and style over winning. They favor the individual stats on the ultimate team game. You give me the choice of any receiver in their prime and I'm taking Rod Smith first. He'll catch, he'll block, he will never take a play off if he isn't getting thrown the ball that down, he'll play special teams if asked. And he will work as hard as he can at everything without complaint. And we will win.