Steve Smith called in WFNZ on the Frank and Buck show to explain his comments regarding his wildly exaggerated comments to Jake on the sideline during the Philly debacle.  For those of you who missed it, Smith said to Jake "I never really liked you as a quarterback. But as a person, that's who I love. I love you as a person".  Panther fans chalked it up as a mere joke, trying to lighten the mood.  However many in the media ripped Steve for kicking his QB when he was already down.

When Steve explained his remarks I thought he would say it was simply a joke.  However his explanation shows that it wasn't just a joke, and actually had far deeper meaning than I ever imagined.

You can listen to the audio of Smith's interview at:
http://www.wfnz.com/The-Frank-and-Buck-Show/3797096

And here is an article from FanHouse.com regarding his explanation:
http://nfl.fanhouse.com/2009/09/19/carolinas-steve-smith-explains-his-jake-delhomme-pep-talk/

Basically what Steve's comments really meant, was that what he "likes" about Jake, and cares for, is not his ability to quarterback an NFL team, but rather who he is as a person.  Or in other words Jake shouldn't be too hard on himself for not playing well, because who he is as a person is far greater.  Pretty deep stuff!

I got into a small dispute this week with a Falcon fan who was accusing Steve of being nothing more than another thug, prima donna wide receiver.  It's tough to explain because Steve Smith is a very complicated individual.  But despite all the anger issues, I believe he is a guy that truly cares about people, cares about fans and care about his team.  I think what he brings to the team and locker room has compensated for his issues, and prevented him from making the mistakes of many "prima donna" wide receivers.