No one bothered to tell St. Louis Rams cornerback Janoris Jenkins about the rules and regulations of the game, which have been established by Carolina Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith as "89, bottom line."
Smith put the exclamation point on a testy, fracas-marred game by breaking out the "You're no Primetime" touchdown dance directed at a trash-talking Jenkins.
Smith explained his actions in an epic post-game interview. Below is a transcript, via the Charlotte Observer's Jonathan Jones.
Take us through the touchdown, looks like you made some guys missed. "I'll let Janoris Jenkins go over it on film on Monday."
Did you point to him? "Yes, I directly pointed to him."
Did you think you'd get a taunting penalty? "Don't give a damn."
What was the dance you did? "Well he thinks he's Deion (Sanders). He's not."
To get your 800th catch against him? "He's just another notch on the bedpost. That's 800. He ain't no different."
For your 800th to be a touchdown, what's that mean to you? "Just another dude."
Did you have any run-ins with him before? "No. What I don't like is a young guy, comes in, obviously his first time ever using the Internet and Google, and he Googles information about me, talks about my wife and stuff like that. That's kind of some of the (B.S.) I just don't play with."
What specifically was he saying? "That's all I'm going to say. I don't play them games. When you try to take it personal like that, I don't have any great humbling things to say. So he can take his (butt) back to St. Louis and watch the (expletive) film because I don't play them games. And if I see him in the streets I'm going to bust him in his (expletive) mouth."
On your touchdown celebration, was that a little bit extra? "When you embarrass people, you rub it in their face. When your dog (urinates) on the carpet, you rub it in his face."
Smith is a complex character as far as professional athletes go. He's been voted by his peers as one of the NFL's funniest trash talkers as well as one of the players they would least like to fight.
He entered the league with a short fuse, fueled by an unhealthy level of intensity -- unique even among professional football players.
Smith sought help from a sports psychologist after pummeling practice-squad receiver Anthony Bright during a 2002 film session. Six years later, he rearranged cornerback Ken Lucas' face in a practice-field fight.
Smith has matured since then, emerging as a team leader and one of the most respected athletes in his community. He'll regret his threat to Jenkins. Just to be safe, though, the young cornerback ought to cross the street if he sees 89 coming.
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