There will be many discussions as to whether Steve Smith will wind up in the Pro Football Hall of Fame someday, but there's no question he's in the Football Trash Talk Hall of Fame.
"I'm feeling good," Smith said. "Some people have said, certain people that work for this crowd (media) said that when this offense depends on a 37-year-old, it's in trouble. I look at a guy like that, he's just upset about what I'm doing at 37, he couldn't do at 31."
As one would expect, Smith wasn't shy in naming the guilty party, NBC Sports analyst and former NFL safety Rodney Harrison.
"I look at Steve Smith and he is your best player, but the problem is he is a 37-year-old wide receiver," Harrison said in October. "He is coming off a major surgery. Once he left the game, then your toughness and production left. They have some good young wide receivers, but they don't have a lot of NFL experience."
Age is only a number, but No. 89 wasn't afraid to counter that number nonsense with verbal punches.
"He knows how hard it is to play this game," Smith continued. "He's gonna take it away, and say 'If they depend on him at 37.' I respect the heck out of Rodney Harrison, but don't take digs at me, 'cause I dig back and dig deeper.
"My shovel's bigger than your shovel."
You might say Rodney needs to ice up after the hot fire that was unleashed.