On June 7, 2001 the New England Patriots took a step toward improving their running game by signing RB Antowain Smith to a one-year contract. The 29-year old, who started college late and was thus a comparative latecomer to the NFL, had spent the previous four years with the Buffalo Bills.
Smith didn’t play football until he was a high school
senior, but excelled when he did, achieving both all-district and
all-conference honors. After working for two years to support the grandparents
who raised him, he moved on to Eastern Mississippi and then the University of
Houston, where he ran for 1847 yards and 19 touchdowns in two seasons.
Smith was chosen by the Bills in the first round of the
1997 NFL draft and backed up RB Thurman Thomas as a rookie but still managed to
rush for 840 yards. He followed up with 1124 yards in ’98 as he became the
starting tailback. However, injuries, which would become a recurring problem,
dropped Smith’s production to 614 yards in 1999, although he performed well in
the postseason loss at Tennessee (14 carries for 79 yards and two TDs). In 2000
he appeared in 11 games, starting only three of them, as he found himself out
of favor with offensive coordinator Joe Pendry.
With a new front office and coaching staff taking over,
the Bills released Smith. He joined a New England squad that had yet to suitably
replace star RB Curtis Martin, who departed for the Jets following the 1997
season. J.R. Redmond, a third-round draft choice in 2000, had been the latest
disappointment. He started five games and ran for 406 yards in an
injury-plagued year while Kevin Faulk, better suited to a part-time role, led
the club with 570 yards on the ground. The team as a whole dropped to 5-11 in
the first season under Head Coach Bill Belichick and was seeking to retool.
Smith was the sort of player that New England was rebuilding with – another
club’s misfit who nevertheless was also a highly-motivated, team-oriented type and
played with passion.
Smith moved into the lineup and became part of a
surprising turnaround by the Patriots that culminated in a NFL Championship.
While the biggest story was the injury to QB Drew Bledsoe that opened the door
for the unsung Tom Brady, Smith helped by having his best season. A slow start
gave way to a 94-yard, two-TD performance against the Colts in the third
contest and he had three hundred-yard performances in four weeks at midseason.
He reached a high of 156 yards on 26 carries against Miami in the next-to-last
game and ended up with 287 rushes for 1157 yards (4.0 avg.) and 12 touchdowns. In
the playoffs, Smith gained another 204 yards that included 92 on 18 attempts in
the Super Bowl upset of the Rams.
Smith spent two more seasons with the Patriots, rushing
for 982 yards in 2002 and catching a career-high 31 passes for 243 yards,
although he scored only six touchdowns on the ground and, at age 31, appeared
to be wearing down. While New England again reached the top in ’03, Smith was
less productive and was released in the offseason. His last hundred-yard game
for the Patriots was an even 100 on 22 carries against the Colts in the AFC
Championship game, and he rushed for 83 yards on 26 attempts in the Super Bowl
vs. Carolina, his final game with the club.
Smith played another two years, with Tennessee in 2004 and
New Orleans in ’05, and finished up with 6881 rushing yards on 1784 carries
(3.9 avg.) and 54 TDs. Never much of a receiver out of the backfield, he had
136 pass receptions for 982 yards (7.2 avg.) and three TDs. Not a breakaway
threat, he was a solid power runner who was at his best carrying the ball
between the tackles and wearing defenses down. In 2001, most notably, his
performance helped to take pressure off of a promising young quarterback, who
could typically stick to a conservative passing game, with excellent results.
