52 replies to this topic

[AwakenTheDemon]

Dear Torrey Smith,
It was a well known fact to most that coming out of the draft, I was not fond of seeing you in purple and black. Your hands, catching technique, and sloppy routes were some of my biggest issues with you. My opinion was only further solidified after your rather unimpressive preseason performance. Sure, it may have only been preseason, but it was also your first time on a professional field, where you wanted to showcase your skills. I had come to the conclusion that you'd quickly fall down the depth chart, behind the likes of Lee and Tandon, and probably finish the year with around 200-300 yards and perhaps 3 touchdowns.

However, Mr. Smith, you did in fact prove me wrong. Sure, I can say that I was impressed with how you actually played on the field. Your routes aren't always the cleanest, nor do you always seem to know where you need to be exactly, and sure you don't always rope in those deep lobs, however you seemed to always find a way to get open, even if it's not the exact route you were supposed to run. Ozzie and Harbs drafted you to "go deep" and you brought that demension to this team, something that was extremely lacking for quite a while.

Even more so than what you actually did on the field, I'm more impressed with you as a person. After that preseason performance that I mentioned earlier, you told all your fans and every Raven fan that you would work harder to make yourself a better player. People say that all the time, however not many truly follow up on that statement. You did however, and it showed. I never once doubted your work ethic and that seemed to be the one thing I was correct about. You can never have too many intelligent, hard working players who only want to improve themselves.

Rarely will you hear me say this, however I was wrong when it came to you, and I'm quite happy to be wrong in this case. You may still be raw, you may still be rough around the edges. However, if this season is any indication, the sky is truly the limit for a man such as yourself with such a tremendous work ethic. 841 yards and 7 touchdowns in a rookie season is nothing to sneeze at. Keep up the good work, and keep aiming to improve. Who knows, that number one spot may be your's not far off in the future, if you want it.

Sincerely,
ATD

Yeah, I'm eating my words from the draft right now. But hey, at least they're delicious.

[IMissMattStover]

Very classy.

[McBurks]

We almost got the same production out of Torrey as the Falcons got out of Julio Jones. Steal.

[Radinho84]

Really Classic ATD! Hope torrey reads this. I know he won't but its still a class Act!

[T-ray]

We almost got the same production out of Torrey as the Falcons got out of Julio Jones. Steal.

Only difference was, Julio was oft hurt whereas Smith was never out of a single game with any kind of injury. Durability is a plus in this league.

Plus, we didn't give up a whole draft for Smith, nor did we even take the dude in the first round. Thats pretty darn impressive.. good job Oz!

... and I was wanting to take Leonard freakin' Hankerson over this kid..... bleh.. lol

[T-ray]

Really Classic ATD! Hope torrey reads this. I know he won't but its still a class Act!

Any way we can possibly send the thread to him, or at least send ATD's message to Smith?? That would make his offseason lol.

[Purple Nurple]

ATD, good to see you out of seclusion. Nice post to boot!

[flynismo]

Who let ATD out of the dungeon??

[BALTIMOREFLACCO]

Torrey Smith! Torrey Smith!

[Ed_Reed20]

Great post after the long absence, ATD.

I can't wait to see Torrey grow as well. He's already a dangerous receiver. Once he adds savvy to his game, he'll be among the best in the game.

[Jamal]

I liked what I saw out of Torrey Smith. But I'm still worried about the hands. If he can fix that this off-season, it will make him that much better.

[T-ray]

Torrey is already an excellent deep threat. He can also take short passes and make something happen with them, so long as people don't pull him down by his hair (cut it or tuck it, Torrey.. probably the easiest thing you could do this offseason that would help your game). He can also make some good catches, but that needs a little bit of work sometimes, but its much better than I anticipated/saw in the Preseason. He has good size/height/muscle to a speed guy as well. Only thing I would love to see him improve on are his routes/anticipating where and when Joe is putting the ball up to him/more consistent hands. Otherwise, he's a good reciever, but has a ton of potential to be great, if not excellent, in the pros.

[T-ray]

I liked what I saw out of Torrey Smith. But I'm still worried about the hands. If he can fix that this off-season, it will make him that much better.

Not so much hands as it is just learning where the ball is going, and Flacco's tendencies... which only comes with time of practice from your Qb.

[AsianRice]

I also had doubts of Torrey after the preseason last year; however, I didn't really go hard on him for criticism. He really surprised me last year and made me so excited to see his growth this season. Joe to Torrey makes me drool......like Brady to Moss, Rodgers to Jennings, Ryan to White, Shaub to Johnson....

[bauer77]

ATD out of nowhere! Haha. Good post man.

[INRavensgirl]

Awwwwwww Demon, awesome post, man!

Am I the only one who was actually excited and happy when we drafted Torrey? Must have been.

[RoflDogs]

I liked what I saw out of Torrey Smith. But I'm still worried about the hands. If he can fix that this off-season, it will make him that much better.

I've already resigned to the fact that he'll struggle with drops throughout his career. His hands are just too small

[hawkprey]

Now do that for Terrance Cody.

[Militant X 1]

am i dreaming or was ATD really apologizing? lol!

~Mili

[CapoRocky]

Actually, I was hoping that we took Torrey in the first round. I was overjoyed when we ended up getting both Smiths that we wanted. It was a great day and they both will be stars in this league.