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Yes, Steve Smith is still an asset.
He's also - depending on his mood - a fiery prima donna, a prickly interview, a doting father and one of the NFL's best players.
Smith wasn't buying into the Panthers' company line of "we're just happy to get the win" after Carolina's 28-21 victory against Tampa Bay, in which Smith caught one pass for four yards.
"I'm no longer an asset to this team," Smith said in a 31-second interview with The Observer on Sunday. He said basically the same thing in a similarly brief interview to a reporter from another newspaper, so there's no doubt Smith had a message he wanted to deliver.
So No.89 is angry. This is not necessarily a bad thing. Like Michael Jordan or John McEnroe, Smith is the rare athlete who can actually translate anger into success on the field (although he has had well-documented anger management issues off it).
If I'm the Panthers, I don't fine Smith for speaking his mind. I coddle him a little. Smith is volatile, insecure and utterly indispensable on a team that has no one else to get open deep.
It sounded like John Fox was going down that path Monday. "I haven't had a chance to visit with Steve," Fox said carefully, "but I think that the fact that they double him every play is an asset."
Then, when asked if he could keep Smith happy on a run-based team, Fox said: "I think so. We have for, I don't know, going on eight years I've been here."
The stats are shocking for a team and fan base grown used to Smith's dazzle. Smith has zero touchdowns.
He ranks 36th in the NFL in receiving yards per game at 51.8. Last season Smith was No.1 in the NFL in that category with 101.5, and in 2008 he got constantly double-teamed, too.
But last year, Jake Delhomme still got him the ball. This year, Delhomme doesn't get it there much - even when Smith is single-covered.
Delhomme overthrew Smith twice on deep balls early against Tampa Bay. The Panthers didn't need to throw much given that they were about to run the ball for 267 yards - second-best in team history - so Smith didn't get a lot more chances.
Delhomme and Smith have always had an innate chemistry. Although from vastly different backgrounds, they are similar in many respects: impatient, confident risk-takers.
But Delhomme is so flustered these days that Smith can't help but be out of synch, too. Delhomme is tied for the NFL lead in interceptions (10). And although Delhomme is trying to convince himself and everyone around him that it's all OK, right now it's really not. He's simply not the same quarterback he has been for seven years here.
To be fair, Delhomme has gotten little help from Muhsin Muhammad or Dwayne Jarrett on the other side when Smith is double-covered.
That's why he has relied so much on throwing to the tight ends this season (all four of his touchdown passes are to tight ends).
So Smith has a valid point. He's not nearly the asset he could be.
And the Panthers have to find ways to get him the ball.
He needs to be in motion more, to get the ball on a reverse or in the Wildcat formation occasionally and to line up in the slot more often.
Panthers linebacker Na'il Diggs gave a thoughtful assessment of Smith on Monday. "I can kind of understand where Steve's coming from," Diggs said. "He wears his heart on his sleeve, as everybody knows. He's very intense and emotional when it comes to what he does ... I can't say I disagree with the guy about his comments. Were they necessary? Probably not. But he has extremely high expectations."
Because Smith expects so much of himself, he has turned himself into the player that he is.
You just have to accept that if you're the Panthers. He's going to get mad if he doesn't get the ball, win or lose.
That's part of the package with Smith. And because he's such a gift - a complicated one, but a gift all the same - the Panthers do need to keep him happy within reason.
They need him. He needs them. It's a marriage that needs to be saved.
