Many older Chicago Bears fans probably remember the name Bobby Wade. He was a 5th round pick of the team in 2003 out of Arizona. His best offensive season came in 2004, when he had 481 yards for an injury-riddled team. Then, in 2005, he had 317 punt return yards, including a touchdown against Detroit. He was eventually cut later that season. From there, he bounced around the league with four different teams before finally stepping away in 2010. Nobody at the time ever would’ve thought he’d cross paths with somebody like Steve Smith.
The former Pro Bowl wide receiver has established himself as a top analyst, especially going into the draft. He focuses on his specialty of evaluating receivers, which was the case again this year. However, he stirred the pot recently when he revealed his personal rankings, which had Texas’ Matthew Golden at #1, overtaking consensus favorite Tetairoa McMillan. Smith explained his reasoning.
“I think he (McMillan) leaves a lot of plays on the field. I don’t see his route tree being very elaborate. Good player, not a great player.”
One person took exception to that: Wade. He was McMillan’s wide receiver coach last season and had something to say about Smith’s comments.
“I just don’t think he’s watched enough film on T-Mac and that’s just about it…I would tell him to watch more film and really digest it.”
Anybody familiar with Smith knows that you never trash-talk him unless you’re expecting a war. That is exactly what Wade got. Smith replied shortly after and didn’t hold back.
Subscribe to the BFR Youtube channel and ride shotgun with Dave and Ficky as they break down Bears football like nobody else.
As always, Steve Smith is vicious.
There was probably no better trash-talker in professional football during his era. He even kept doing it after he retired. Everybody saw the infamous clip of him speaking to Cam Newton about taking D.J. Moore off of his fantasy team, with Moore standing right next to them. He has zero filter and when he feels disrespected, he’ll come back firing with everything he has. What makes it especially harsh for Wade is nothing Steve Smith said was false. Every barb had an element of truth behind it. There are legitimate questions about his route-running ability and his overall lack of attention to detail. This could be why he ends up going later than many project. While Wade’s influence over that is somewhat overblown, it’s still erroneous to say Smith didn’t do his homework.
@Rocketrider
Hmmm . . . I couldn’t say. But after the last couple of days, I don’t want anyone coming up to me about some egotistical bloviation or I’ll stick a Johnson outboard motor up his ass and put him on spin cycle. I’ve been talking about the Bears and it’s the same damn thing. Build, build, build, build. And know what you’re doing. Don’t give me some crap about a wall, or “fixing” something.
Thanks!
I think Dreddog and I see things on nearly the same wavelength. Love that line, “egotistical bloviators and their narcissistic gas bombs” hum….who does that remind me of? Let me think……anyone care to guess….
@David Saw that. People think that “politics” and “sports” and “race” or totally different things. I totally disagree. If someone is incompetent, they shouldn’t have the job, or they should get better. Getting pissed off and belligerent doesn’t prove you know whatever gibberish is coming out of your mouth, whether you talk trash or talk nice. Just do the damn job. Admit that you screwed up, or shut up, or get out of the way and let someone who DOES know, get to work. I hate trash talk. Therefore I should hate Steve Smith. But he knows the position and… Read more »
Steve Smith is EXACTLY the kind of receivers coach I would hire. He knows what he is talking about about and became an All-Pro receiver without many of the qualities that “great” receivers are supposed to have. He knows how a middling receiver can become great. A couple years ago he criticized Jerry Jeudy while Jeudy was in Denver. Jeudy took offense and the Smith got specific. Jeudy was traded and became the top receiver on the Browns(?), but Denver went to the playoffs with a different receiver group and Cleveland is picking third with Jeudy. Receivers (good ones) can… Read more »
The former All Pro SSmith is correct. T-Mac is not a Top 10 prospect because he does not have elite WR skills. The route running is not exceptional and he has average speed but because of his size he’s been elevated beyond where he should go in the Draft.
Bears will not bother with him and that’s really all that matters.