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Smith offers another guarantee - once again

this is this years version

Some guys never learn
Smith offers another guarantee

New year. Same big yapper.

Pittsburgh safety Anthony Smith, who guaranteed a win over the Patriots before last season’s contest against New England only to be pan-fried during and after the game, has told reporters that with this year’s Patriots-Steelers game looming Sunday, he’ll say the same thing again this season.

While he stopped short of offering the same flat guarantee he made last year, he still didn’t back down when asked about last season’s ill-fated boast that put him right in New England’s crosshairs.

“If they ask me again, I’ll say the same thing,” Smith told Pittsburgh-area reporters.

“We’re the No. 1 defense,” Smith told the Indiana (Pa.) Gazette recently when asked about his take on this weekend’s Patriots-Steelers game. “If we play like we’ve been playing, and our offense comes around and has a good game, and we’re clicking on all cylinders, we’re going to win the game.”

Smith’s point is undeniable: Pittsburgh is the top-ranked defense in several categories, including total yards allowed, average yards per game allowed, rushing yards allowed per game, total points and average points allowed per game. Buoyed by the likes of linebacker James Harrison (12 sacks) and safety Troy Polamalu (five interceptions), they are one of the best units in the NFL. But the spectre of Smith guaranteeing anything is sure to cause some consternation among the Steelers and their fans, many of who viewed Smith as a scapegoat for last season’s loss to New England.

Before that one, Smith told the media: “I can guarantee a win. As long as we come out and do what we got to do.” The Patriots then went out and made an example of the young safety, targeting him on a number of occasions. There was a sharply executed play-action fake in the second quarter where Smith took the bait, leading to a 63-yard touchdown pass from Tom Brady to Randy Moss. The Patriots followed that with a third-quarter play that featured a pair of long laterals involving Brady and Moss before Brady found Jabar Gaffney for a 56-yard score over Smith. And New England fans had a chance to taunt the young safety in the waning moments of the 34-13 blowout when Smith was shown repeatedly on the scoreboard.

After the game, New England coach Bill Belichick took a few shots of his own.

“We’ve played against a lot better safeties than him, I’ll tell you,” Belichick said. “The safety play at that position was pretty inviting.”

While opponents in the past have been able to provide the Patriots with plenty of bulletin-board material, it’s been a bit of a mixed bag this season. Miami linebacker Joey Porter was clear about his intentions before New England met the Dolphins prior to Week 3 — and managed to back it up on the field. But this past week, Porter’s mouth wrote a check his body couldn’t cash, failing to back up a week’s worth of trash talk when the Patriots rolled to a 48-28 win.

It remains to be seen what will become of Smith and his latest pregame boast. It couldn’t end any worse than it did last time, an outing that left a veteran receiver like Jabar Gaffney chuckling.

“He basically called us out,” Gaffney said. “He’s young. He’ll learn.”

That last point might be debatable.

Christopher Price

Metro - Smith offers another guarantee