Few wide receivers gave the Chicago Bears greater headaches during the 2000s than Steve Smith. Think about this. He only played against them five times in his entire NFL career. Yet he torched them for 783 yards and two touchdowns. This includes the one-man show he put on in the 2005 playoffs for 218 yards at Soldier Field. He relished gashing Chicago. However, it would seem he’s grown soft in retirement as he decided to make amends. How so? By offering some crucial points to Bears rookie Riley Ridley.
It has been quite a fortuitous offseason for the 4th round pick. Before the draft, he got some lessons from Terrell Owens and Chad Johnson. Now after becoming a Bear, he gets even more from another of the great receivers from that time period. Smith though may be even more valuable as a teacher because he had to learn to excel without the benefits of size.
That could make it difficult to get off press coverage against physical defensive backs. So he had to learn crafty ways to beat the jam using his speed and his route running. After catching up with Ridley in an interview for NFL Network’s “Rookie Spotlight” series, Smith took to showing him how much deadlier it’s possible to be.
Riley Ridley now knows a crucial key to route running
It may not have seemed like much, but Smith did Ridley a huge favor. He showed one critical factor about the NFL. There can be, under any circumstances, no wasted motion. Every single millisecond counts. That’s why creating separations almost immediately is crucial. Rather than starting horizontally getting off the jam, he has to make sure his first step is going forward. This puts the defensive back on their heels right away.
Subscribe to the BFR podcast and ride shotgun with Dave and Ficky as they break down Bears football like nobody else.
The best part is Ridley has the size Smith never has. So he’s better equipped to match cornerbacks who like to get their hands on receivers. It will be interesting to see how much of the advice he puts into practice when he finally gets going in training camp. He’s currently sidelined with a nagging hamstring issue. Odds are he won’t return for a couple of weeks. Maybe during that time, he can continue calling Smith for more advice.
