PHILADELPHIA -- Steve Smith's retirement tour will be glorious; this was never in question.
But on Wednesday, immediately following a brutally hot two-hour joint practice between the Baltimore Ravens and Philadelphia Eagles here in Pennsylvania, the NFL's most honest player gave his assessment of the new it trend in the NFL preseason.
Q: Do you enjoy these joint practices?
A: No, I'd rather be at home. Because you asked me my opinion, I'd rather be at home. Today's my wife's birthday so I'm not at home, I'm out here doing this bulls---, and I'm missing my wife's birthday. That's my honest opinion. I'd rather be at home singing happy birthday to my wife. But I'm out here getting questions to assess a rookie corner (Smith was previously asked about Eagles second-round pick Eric Rowe).
The best part about Smith's assessment is that there were at least 50 other players on the field Wednesday that felt the exact same way. While joint practices are looked at as an invaluable tool for head coaches, they can often be completely useless and aggravating. Smith had a twinge of humor in his response, but isn't that always the fastest shortcut to the absolute truth?
To double down on this theory, Smith addressed the fact that coaches often deviate from their typical playbook so as not to tip their hand during the regular season.
"Everybody is playing coy, everybody is keeping their poker face on," Smith said. "...Everybody is in man coverage, but in a game they'll probably play zone. We're running all our routes but we'll mix it up. It's a lot of deception that is going on, so we'll see."
So basically, a coach has to water down his playbook, hope none of his players get angry enough to start a massive brawl and, at the end of the day, pacify the NFL's most honest player -- a guy who simply wants to be home for his wife's birthday.
Is it worthwhile?
The latest Around The NFL Podcast continues with its fantasy extravaganza and takes you behind the scenes in Cleveland with Marc Sessler.
