In addition to getting his 1,000th career reception, Steve Smith had himself an interesting week by pissing off a(nother) rookie defensive back with a relentless barrage of trash talk. You may remember that Smith got under the skin of fifth overall pick Jalen Ramsey back in Week 3, and he continued down that path by driving Cowboys cornerback Anthony Brown nuts, causing Brown to admit after this past Sunday's Baltimore-Dallas contest that "I had respect for him before the game, but after the game, I have no respect for him anymore." All this led to Smith telling reporters a few days that "I can really give a flying f*ck," when he was asked about the rookies' opinions of him.
This week Smith will actually get to face somebody that he does give a flying f*ck about, 10-year NFL veteran Adam Jones. Possibly because, according to him "Older guys, they understand the respect game. These young guys, these new millennium guys, they don't really get it."
From there he pivoted to giving specific praise to the 33-year-old Jones, who he spoke about as nicely as he'll speak about any opponent (despite the fact that the last time he faced the Bengals he torched them for 13 catches, 186 yards and two touchdowns). "I've been knowing [Jones] for a long time. It's pretty cool to see how, he's always been known for a speed guy, and now as he's gotten older he's transcended his game," Smith said. "He's been able to be an older guy, more of a technician and really has good technique. It's been really cool to see him evolve and play hard and just do the things he's been doing. I always have a good interaction with Adam. We go at it, we're physical, but there's always a respect."
On the flip side, Jones also had praise for Smith, telling The Cincinnati Enquirer, "I live for those type of matchups," before adding "I don’t like it when guys are just totally quiet. Of course, I’ve got mutual respect for the guy. It goes both ways. We enjoy playing against each other. At the end of the game, we always dap each other up and still talk a little sh*t to each other.”
Coincidentally, Jones also said earlier this season that he was unimpressed by Ezekiel Elliott, before adding that his daughter could run behind the Dallas Cowboys line. As you probably know Elliott is currently leading the NFL in rushing (by a lot). Which is to say, damn, there really is no way to wow these old relatively old guys, is there?
