The Panthers legend turned NFL Network analyst joined Kyle Bailey on Monday’s edition of the Clubhouse as he reacted to the fallout from Championship Weekend, and what the Panthers could take away from it for next year.
Things started more serious today with Steve as he started by discussing that he and his foundation (Steve Smith Family Foundation) announcing plans along with Mecklenberg County and Alliance Health to establish a new behavioral health and urgent care center in Charlotte to provide substance abuse and mental health treatment for both children and adults as Steve told Kyle that he is glad for the collaborative effort with the county as now the steps are to get both the county and the state involved in this effort as this is a community service and it is a personal thing for Steve because of the stigma surrounding substance abuse and mental health.
The attention then went to the NFL Championship Weekend as it first went to Kansas City where the Bengals hot run continued as they advanced to the Super Bowl after trailing by 18 points as Steve said it was absolutely crazy considering how the first half went, and Steve is concerned for the future for the Chiefs as if they don’t fulfill the high expectations starting next year then the Chiefs could be in a similar situation with Andy Reid that the Eagles were in towards the end of Reid’s tenure as well.
On the NFC Championship Steve thinks the big key was that Matthew Stafford really kept his composure which is something that he has struggled with at times this year and made smart plays throughout unlike Jimmy Garoppolo who threw his 49ers career away with that last INT according to Steve.
Kyle then asked Steve if it would be a good idea for the Panthers to trade for Jimmy Garoppolo as Agent 89 quickly said:
“If you get Jimmy Garoppolo, I don’t know how you’re going to expect anything different with Jimmy and Sam (Darnold) if you don’t have good protection up front.”
Steve ended with the rumors that Tom Brady could very well be retiring as Steve doesn’t know but he has a theory that what could decide whether or not Brady retires or not is if Byron Leftwich stays at Tampa Bay or takes the Jaguars job as Steve said he has heard that Leftwich has been a strong buffer between Brady and Bruce Arians.
