QB David Garrard, Jacksonville Jaguars
To begin the 2009 NFL season, David Garrard hasn’t been very good. In Week 4, he broke out of his slump. He finished the game 27-for-37 with 323 passing yards, 38 rushing yards and three passing touchdowns.

RB Rashard Mendenhall, Pittsburgh Steelers
Willie Parker who? With Parker sidelined by turf toe, Rashard Mendenhall took advantage of the opportunity to show the Steelers how good he can be. Mendenhall finished with 165 rushing yards, 26 receiving yards and two rushing touchdowns.

Rashard Mendenhall - Pittsburgh Steelers (Image: Zuma Press)

WR Steve Smith, New York Giants
Eli Manning probably doesn’t miss Plaxico Burress anymore with the way Steve Smith is playing. In Week 4, Smith had 11 catches for 134 yards and two touchdown grabs.

TE Antonio Gates, San Diego Chargers
When it comes to tight ends, it’s difficult to argue against Antonio Gates being the best of the best. On Sunday night, Gates caught nine passes for 124 yards and two touchdowns.

Post from: EveryJoe

Top NFL Performances – Week 4

“It doesn’t hurt as much,” said Smith. “Sleep is kind of difficult, but it’s all right.”

This is obviously great news for the Panthers. Smith is one of the best wide receivers in the NFL and his big play ability is invaluable. Without Smith, the Panthers’ hopes of bringing home a Super Bowl trophy would have all but evaporated.

Although Smith didn’t participate in the team portion of the practice, he was in pads and went through the individual drills. With plenty of time before the start of the regular season, there’s no reason for Smith to not be 100% by Week 1.

With Smith healthy, Muhsin Muhammad will likely be the second wide receiver and Dwayne Jarrett the third wide receiver.

Steve Smith - Carolina Panthers (Image: Zuma Press)

Post from: EveryJoe

Steve Smith Already Back at Practice

Back on July 10th, Quenton “Rampage” Jackson lost his UFC Light Heavyweight Championship to Forrest Griffin via the judges’ decision, and then, just 10 days later, Jackson was all over the news again when he was arrested and booked on account of felony reckless driving.

Well, it’s no big secret that most professional athletes tend to follow other sports outside of their own, so it’s no surprise that Carolina Panthers WR Steve Smith heard about Jackson’s endeavours on the news as well. His reaction to the situation?

As you can see, Smith is an athlete of the purist form as he holds true to the age long motto that ‘actions speak louder than words’, and all indicators are that Smith’s got his sights set on the big prize over in the UFC. Unfortunately for Steve, though, Panthers Head Coach John Fox wasn’t all too impressed with his assault on teammate Ken Lucas, and as a result, he was removed from Panthers training camp and suspended for the first two games of the season.

To add insult to injury, apparently after taking the long walk of shame, once he got home Smith realized one of two things:

A) Chuck Lidell – the man that Jackson originally defeated for the title – will be fighting on pay-per-view on August 9th, and that a win will likely put him back in contention for another title fight;
or
B) UFC President, Dana White, was just flat-out equally unimpressed with Steve’s fight tape audition, and the road to a title fight might take just a tad longer than originally expected.

Whatever the case may be, Smith has since returned to Panthers training camp, and has issued formal apologies to his coaching staff, his team, and most importantly, to Ken Lucas, whom suffered a broken nose as a result of the incident. Smith will be allowed to participate in team practices and exhibition games, but as of right now, his 2-game suspension to begin the season remains in tact.

Written by Tim Zaegel

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Steve Smith’s Short-Lived UFC Tryout