Football is a young man's game, but some old(er) fellas have been showing age as merely a marking of time, not a determinate of production.
Both Steve Smith (35) and Reggie Wayne (turning 36 in November) are coming off 100-yard-plus performances and sit among the top 13 receivers this season.
Smith's 429 receiving yards (third in the NFL) are the most ever by a 35-year-old-plus player in the first four games of a season.
When No. 89's Ravenstravel to Indianapolis this weekend to meet Wayne's Colts, the duo doesn't plan on throwing any parties at the local senior center.
"He's doing stuff at 35 years of age that people haven't done ever in this league," Wayne said of Smith, per The Indianapolis Star. "Hopefully we can give you all a show, and not show you all our AARP cards."
Wayne is currently on pace for 92 receptions, 1,228 yards and four touchdowns in 2014 -- all this after returning from last season's ACL tear.
If the wideout hits those marks, he'll become one of only four players in NFL history to have recorded a 1,000-yard-plus receiving season at 36 or older (when the season ends). That exclusive club includes Jerry Rice (1998, 2001, 2002), Jimmy Smith (2005) and Joey Galloway (2007).
"They want to write these guys off at a certain age," said Colts coach Chuck Pagano. "We've got living proof on both sidelines this weekend that you can throw out age. They both visited the Fountain of Youth down there -- Ponce de Leon, whatever you want to call it."
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