Eagles cornerback Eric Rowe grew up idolizing Ravens wide receiver Steve Smith.
But their shared background at Utah didn’t earn Rowe any special treatment from the veteran wideout when they practiced against each other yesterday.
“He told me to get my feet right. And then when I broke up the pass, he was like, ‘I saw in your eyes, it looked like you [soiled] yourself,’ ” Rowe said, via Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer. “And I was like, ‘No, man, I don’t panic out here.’ I expected that coming from him, but I just laughed.”
Smith has always tormented and taunted opposing corners, largely to try to get in their heads and distract them from the job at hand. But he was generally complimentary of the Eagles rookie, who batted a pass away from him on one play.
“He made a play, I think,” Smith said. “You can write whatever you want. You’re going to find out Saturday. It’s 15 years, bro. Fifteen years, come on. A little guy — I’m the guy from Utah. He’s from Utah. We’re going to come out here, make plays, have fun.
“But I can’t assess someone out of a six-second route if he’s going to be the next Deion Sanders. I’m not saying that he won’t.”
For Smith, that qualifies as praise. And for Rowe, simply leaving the practice clean is a good thing.
